Seeing But Not Understanding

Seeing But Not Understanding

4/28/18

It is frustrating to know that when things are occurring around you that it is for a reason yet the majority of the people involved in the said surroundings do not have a clue about why things are spinning out of control. It then becomes increasingly more difficult to hold our tongues and serve the unknowing while they are focusing their actions on the innocent. We have witnessed this state of concern for millennia and even though we have progressed in many areas we still lag in the wisdom that God has given us to use in such circumstances. It sounds like a broken record but the only way to peace and structured purity again is to turn our hearts back to God and when we do He will allow us to see why the storm is raging around us and why it is there then through His searching of our own hearts can weed out that storm.

How many of you out there can say or would admit to jumping to conclusions to a setting before you had an opportunity to find out exactly what was going on when your eyes saw the setting? I have to admit this fact about myself, for I have done it plenty of times when it came to my daughters and on many other non-family occasions as well. It is easy to draw a quick conclusion to such matters and when we do we usually get things out of sort and then make horrible decisions in lieu of intelligent, rational, and wise thinking. Sometimes the conclusions we draw from immediate sight are hilarious while others force us to come to dire conclusions that serve as harmful resolutions for everyone involved. While some of these conclusions may not change after reasonable sorting out they will be more likely to be acceptable when all information has been presented.

I have noticed that when people are explaining how things occurred and then what they did as a response can be pretty drastic and dramatic at times. It is a common sight to see traumatic settings play out in the Emergency Department and even with our ED being considered a small rural setting we still see our share of these types of hyped conditions. If more than one person is trying to describe what occurred it can become quite funny to watch the competitive spirits come out and try to take command of the story and God forbid if three or more are involved. It is this positioning that many of us take when we are put into such settings and while this type of activity of sharing is a common natural event, sometimes our knowledge of what occurred can become clouded for various reasons. It is okay not to know exactly what is going on all the time but when we do not understand that specific surrounding it is our responsibility to find out why things occurred, in a calm manner of course, and then draw conclusions with the appropriate information in hand. If these conclusions can pinpoint a common cause then the process can be fixed and then society can move along the way in an opportune manner.

This brings us to the point in our Jonah series where the boat is in peril and the lives of the people onboard are striving to live at all costs. Everyone present can see the storm and how fierce its winds and other mechanisms are for the Bible calls the storm a tempest which means it is a violent one by all accounts. The passage we will be using here will be Jonah 1:5-8 and a bunch of information comes out here and once again serves as a pivotal point in Jonah’s disobedience and how it affects the people around him. It is also this not knowing of specific details as to why the storm is present and why the people have no clue as to why it is going on and serving as a warning either. I find it ingenious that God chooses to present a natural storm here for He has a specific reason for doing so. Jonah 1:5 states as follows: “Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man to his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone into the sides of the ship, and he lay, and was fast asleep.” This verse gives us a great deal of information about the storm, maritime laws, the weather, and of course, Jonah and I must say that every single detail about this verse is in present application to us today just as it occurred that day so long ago.

When a storm approaches and catches a boat in its path it is normal for the passengers to become a bit worried for they are not used to such violence out on the water. I understand quite clearly how these people must have felt but there is an added detail here that is unique in that it was the mariners who were afraid. This means that the people or crew of the ship was frightened with how the storm developed and how violent it was growing. There were no modern-day navigation systems present so all they had was their eyes and keen senses in order to steer clear of storms and other obstacles, but this storm was of a different origin and was directed squarely on their placement. The knowledge of maritime laws is a necessity when on the water and all emergency procedures must be in the forefront of sailors’ minds when at sea and from all indications the storm was tossing the boat around enough that the weight of the boat was becoming a hindrance to their survival so lesser important items were thrown overboard to lighten the ship. Even though they probably had been through many storms before this storm was a bit different, but the mariners kept the playbook intact and followed it as protocol demanded. 

An interesting point occurs in this verse where it states that “every man cried to his god”.  Now, all of us are human and have fears that we may have to face at some point in time.  We all have thought about those moments and how we would react if they ever came to fruition, and the storm that these men faced evidently was bad enough that they began to call upon their gods for help and salvation.  The interesting point here is that there is no mention of Jehovah God from these men but the deities that they called upon were still important enough to their lives that they cried out for their help.  The men had no clue of who to actually call upon for help and along with not understanding why the storm was upon them, were totally clueless and sitting (sinking) ducks and truly at the mercy of God.  What the did not know is that God was not going to let them all die but that God was trying His best to wake Jonah up, both in reality and to what he was supposed to do, yet the men in the ship were bystanders to this Divine act.  While noble enough to pray to a belief this action does not address the root of the problem since false gods can only represent a superficial understanding of impunity instead of dealing with the root of the problem.

The second portion of Jonah 1:5 gives us a picture of what was going through Jonah’s mind at the time that the ship was being torn apart, nothing!  We find that Jonah was down in the bottom of the ship fast asleep and had no guilt-ridden or laden conscience what-so-ever.  I know that it has been said that some people can sleep through tornados and not be woke up but it is hard for me to figure out how one could sleep through a violent storm especially when the boat was being shaken as such as it was.  At the very least one would be awake and trying to figure out what was going on but not in this case, Jonah was at peace with what choice he had made and was not even concerned that what was going on to his carrier was the result of his actions or in this case non-action.  In addition, when this type of setting occurs it is common point that everyone on board pulls out the stops and helps the crew do their jobs, because, in the end, it is the in the best interest of everyone to do what they can because if the ship goes down everyone in the confines goes down with it.  This portion of the verse also gives us a picture that Jonah did not need God in order to live and that his will was more important than what God wanted for his life; does this sound like anything we have heard today?

Jonah 1:6 states as follows: “So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so that God will think upon us, that we perish not.”  The diversity of people was great enough back during this time that everyone was allowed to think for themselves when it came time for their religious beliefs which meant that there were a great many people that did not believe in Jehovah God.  Plus, when a person gets singled out by the captain of a ship for not participating in what everyone else is doing and supposed to do it cannot be a good sign.  When God has given us a responsibility to complete and has entrusted us with gifts in order to be an example to others then we turn around and ignore or unwisely follow the advice He gives us to distribute such truth, we will have to reap such warnings and then judgments if we do not do what is expected of us.  It is this position that Jonah was in – both on the boat and in his sleeping status – that has defined the storm around them and while the actions and beliefs of the mariners might have been wrong, it is still Jonah’s responsibility to make things correct and to tell them the truth, both on the level of why the storm was present and that God wanted them to repent as well.  It is THIS picture that is painted for us way back in the Old Testament that we are currently witnessing unfolding today.

Things were so bad that the crew of the boat was casting lots to figure out how things became so bad and who was responsible for their current situation.  I am sure that this process of lot casting involved much blame and storytelling than any human could imagine saying in order to save their hide for that is how humans operate.  But after all of the reasoning and arguing were completed the only one that did not have a true verbal “alibi” was Jonah.  The actions of the mariners are quite common and should not come as any surprise especially after the words they proclaim in the first portion of verse 5 when they were all crying to their own deity and then finding or seeing any resolution to their situation.  They were on the path that they believed would save them but in truth, they were not even coming close to the root and reality of what was going on around them.

It is this example of Jonah that should hit right in our gut and also send an arrow through our heart because we are the epitome of this verse being played out today.  Even though we are in the boat together inside the confines of this nation, Christians have done a wonderful job of being comfortable with themselves that we do not care about what is going on around us.  We try and do our best to ignore the storms (warnings) that are around us, play them off as environmental shifts or “days of the age” complications and tend to our pews inside the church building.  Sitting in our church pews, whether it be literally inside a church building or having that mentality within our hearts, is the EXACT same thing as Jonah was doing inside the boat being asleep.  When aroused Jonah was not surprised at the storm around the ship which means he knew that conditions were bad and that from the crew’s reaction were becoming worse, yet he did nothing but make a lousy statement which made the crew totally upset – another state in which the church is portraying today and which will be written about shortly.

One of the greatest lies that Christians have bought into over the centuries is that it is okay to be divided in faith through personal feelings and interpretations of God and His Word.  The mariners in the boat give us a good example of denominations and how they operate in our lives for even though each one prayed to their own god and deity each one at the same time was not unified in worship and in prayer.  It is common for these types of divisions to recognize the one that is out of place or is doing something different than the remaining about like the old Sesame Street game I used to watch where they placed four people in squares but one of them was not doing what the others were and it was my job to pick the one out that was doing their own thing.  The one person who had the opportunity to shut things down correctly by recognizing and then taking the authority given to him kept quiet until he was prodded out, a continuation of the disobedience process that Jonah began as soon as God told him what to do, where to go and what to say when he got there.

While Jonah did his own thing we are following in those footsteps today and all the while the storms (warnings) increase and gain strength around us.  What is so ironic about this entire passage of Scripture is that through the actions of the Church we are helping the mariners lighten the load from the ship instead of standing up and taking authority over the root of the problems at hand.  Yeah, we are “doing a bit more” than Jonah did, but our actions are in the opposite direction of what God wants us to do, and just being another representative of Jonah instead.  Jonah knew why the storm was about the ship and he knew that it would be some type of similar destruction of Nineveh as well but he kept silent and had no intentions of repenting and making things right before God, therefore, not making thing right before his fellow shipmates either, only fulfilling his own punched ticket to the other side of the sea.

There is no way possible that we cannot see and know the storms that are around us and it is impossible to not know the reasons WHY those storms are gaining strength and in number either.  So, why isn’t the Church (YOU!) doing something about it so that our lives can be at peace once again?  Why are we throwing things out of the boat instead of focusing on the root of the storms?  It is obvious that we have not a repentant heart nor do we even want to repent and only cry out to our selfish earthly gods for help.  Something to think about for a while and that is this: if we are not willing to repent do we not think that God sees this condition of our heart and do nothing about it?  God cannot sit back and just watch His children foolishly perish, He will grab our attention somehow if necessary, but why do we have to have a whale come swallow us up in order for our spiritual eyes to be opened?  Wake up, now, Church and calm the storms around us before we have to see the water around us encroach upon our lands.  We have been personally taught for decades the truth and how to calm the storms around us, what are we waiting for?

DLB

Jonah"s Warnings

Jonah’s Warnings

4/26/18

God will never allow His judgment to occur without first giving us warnings and in these warnings will come evidence of why God is issuing such statements.  God will never surprise us with such devastating warrants but will give us plenty of opportunities to change our hearts before He must really grab our attention.  Many times it is understandable that we miss the first warning but after that, it is our own fault if we ignore such given and provided truth.  God does not miss on what He says for each letter and word has a Divine purpose for our lives, a detail we cannot afford to forget.  It is still possible for us to heed the warnings without true devastation occurring but we need to change paths accordingly and in a timely fashion if we are to escape impending direction.  Return to God and our hearts led to repentance is what God is calling for us to do and we need Him now more than ever.

Approximately twenty years or so ago I began to have physical warnings that my health was not in the best shape.  I was overweight, my diet was lousy and my stress level was outrageously high.  For decades previously I knew that my blood levels of cholesterol and triglycerides were abnormally high and that even when I was younger exercised regularly and ate better food they were still grossly elevated.  Back in the 1980s, the medications were not available yet to control such elevated lipid levels and while my metabolism was high and working properly the experts said that I would be okay.  Therefore, as we all know when the age factor sets in our metabolism slows and thus if any issues are present at that moment they will be sure to become an issue sooner or later.  It is a part of human nature for these types of processes to slow as time passes along but for those of us who have genetically stinky conditions, it does not bode well if these issues are not taken care of properly before severe events occur.

One of my doctor friends and I were talking one evening and she suggested that I get lab work done and see what my lipid levels were doing, I did so and when she received the report she came to me -that evening- with a few samples of drugs that could lower my lipid levels.  I was hesitant at first while she was explaining what the drugs would do but began taking them the next morning.  Now, as stated above I had not been feeling too well for quite some time so what was about to occur in a few days was not due to the drugs but because of my delay in treatment the previous years.  These symptoms or warnings as they were increased I did what any healthcare professional and normal human being would do, ignored them.  I have previously stated many times to others and even to my family members that I was feeling okay and that all was well even though as soon as my mouth closed with those words they responded that I looked terrible.  They were correct, I did look terrible and I felt terrible but since nothing had occurred yet I believed that I was in the “right”.  Boy, was I about to be in for a stunner.

Warning signs are designed to give people, animals, and any other intelligent creature the opportunity to figure out that something was not correct and to make the necessary changes in order to prevent something from drastically changing the normal appearance and condition of said opportunity.  However, since I continued to ignore the warnings that my body was producing that fateful Monday at lunchtime pain hit me in a very unusual manner and from that point onward my life and the lives of my family members.  My LAD was 99% blocked and technically when my chest began to hurt I should have hit the floor being dead before I did such movement.  However, God was not finished with me yet and from that point onward God has been doing mighty things in my life and I continue to try and stave off the further genetic conditions that I seem to be following.  The warnings signs were now over and the storm that I was facing was a real threat to my physical existence and if it was not for the advanced technological treatments available today I probably would not be here completing the mission that God has set me to do.  My life has changed in so many ways since that October day and I am thankful that God has seen fit to now teach others about His existence, His Ways, and His Definition and especially how much He loves us and desires for us to follow Him.

Up until a short time ago, I did not understand that when a person disobeyed that it meant they were running from the person who was in the authoritative position over them, even if they were the ones in the authoritative position.  When this setting of disobedience occurs warning signs will eventually show up simply because the numbers and mechanisms of such accountability will fall into question at some point in time.  Humans forget that we are a flawed lot and that if we do things correctly and then fail, how can we not think the worst when things are done incorrectly?  It is embarrassing enough when good things go wrong and turn south as they say but how many companies, governments, etc. fall and the conditions of the interior or infrastructure become exposed?  It is a sad state of affairs when this occurs and it all stems from the disobedience that we would rather harbor, a condition easily avoided.

It is this state that Jonah finds himself in when he has totally and completely disobeyed the command of God.  Jonah has taken matters into his own hands by believing and then acting upon his beliefs that he did not need to listen to God at all.  With the events having been completed in Jonah 1:1-3 we now have a setting where God is in the position to send out Jonah’s warning signals to him; however, the only problem is that there are other people with Jonah as well when this event begins, but remember while it is difficult to understand why God judges the just and the unjust at the same time, this event does occur.  Jonah 1:4 states as follows: “But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.”  Okay, we have here another pretty specific and concise effort of God that is intended to grab the attention of Jonah and to inform him again that God has a job for him to complete.  Now, I understand and all of us understand that when the Bible talks about ships it is not referring to the modern day ocean liners, cruise ships, cargo ships, or modern military vessels but of ones that were built by wood and had simple frames and structures to them.  Given that information, a storm is a storm and no matter what type of ship sailing that comes into contact with a fierce storm is always subject to sinking or totally being destroyed structurally before it goes down.  Water and storms are a powerful mix and many times cannot be conquered by the thinking of the human mind.

What many may find to be enough of a setting to claim as a judgment does not always fit with what eventually occurs.  There have been many times that I have heard stories from people who claim their issues and how they endured them but ended the setting with the words “what else could occur?”  I have learned never to say such a thing because if that door is opened Murphy’s Law many times comes right on through.  In this verse, we find that Jonah has boarded a ship and they have departed the port and are in the sea heading towards their next destination.  A violent storm appears and begins and is strong enough that it is threatening to sink the ship.  The ship is big enough to have a lower deck for that is where the Bible says that Jonah is in verse 5.

The Bible uses the word tempest to describe the storm that had overcome the ship and even describes that the strength of the storm went into the sea itself which adds another dimension of turbulence, a supernatural action that could only be created by God and this truth is mentioned in this verse as well.  The word tempest is defined as a violent windstorm and the Bible uses the Hebrew word “saar” which means the same as the modern-day translation.  However, an interesting note here is that this specific word is used only in one other place in the Old Testament and that is in Jeremiah 30:23 where it is talking about how God goes forth as a whirlwind with fury and how it will fall onto the heads of the wicked.  I find this specificity very intriguing and should be studied more by myself and others.

Warnings are not given for those who are in a good state of obedience but come during a state of disobedience before something occurs majorly wrong within that confined contingency.  When one reads this passage they could easily come to the conclusion that the storm that the people are facing is the judgment that God has intended for Jonah and also how unfortunate the people are to be unknowingly admitted to this process at the same time.  If we did not know the end of this story and how things turn out it could be concluded that God doubles down on Jonah but in truth, it is the warning that even though it was designed for Jonah the people around him were also exposed to such attention-grabbing method God chose.  And it is this portion of the story that becomes personal to us today as well for the same setting is currently being played out in our society and if we continue to perform just as Jonah did then we are all in for a devastation that is incomprehensible.

I have heard it said many times that God would not allow such devastation to come upon His people that His love for them is far greater than the “hate” that such devastation would portray.  This is where many of us fall into the trap and web of Satan’s lies because we do not take the Bible literally enough to understand what God uses in order to grab our attention concerning sin and the importance of seeking to live without it in our lives.  In order to make His point, God gives His people warnings before the real judgment arrives and He gives us plenty of opportunities to change our hearts and to turn back before He must go further.  Jonah 1:4 gives us the example of exactly what God is trying to teach us today and while everyone is in the same boat some do not understand why the storm is affecting them as well.  More importantly, they do not understand that what they are witnessing and experiencing is a warning that represents the tip of the iceberg for the actual judgment is much harsh.

It is obvious that everyone in this nation is witnessing what is being exposed because every industry and organization is being in the news with some type of allegation or accusation coming to light.  The picture that we are witnessing today stems from actions by an entire nation and belief not stemming from just one person.  We must contribute this land as to what Nineveh was raising up to God and the one who has the answers to this problem is asleep and not doing what he was told to do.  God’s warnings come in a vast array of truths and in the story of Jonah, Jonah is being exposed to everyone’s knowledge without them even understanding what is occurring, just as we are being exposed today and do not understand that the blame lies on all of us and not coming from one person.  It has never been an intention of God to scare anyone into submission to His Ways nor will He ever force one to make a decision based upon fear but God does send warnings to His people in order to get their attention as to what is going around them and that there is a reason for those tidings.

From the time that Lucifer fell from Heaven and including the time that Adam and Eve fell in the Garden of Eden to this very day, God has continually singled out people to lead His eternal Testimony while the majority of others fail to recognize what is going on around them.  When a few people stray God understands and hopes that those small factions stay and find the truth without major issues coming into light but when the majority of the people fail to recognize why failings occur.  Even when God told us in Genesis 6:5 about why He had to destroy the earth because every heart thought nothing but evil continually, this process did not happen overnight, it took time and God gave warnings before this devastation occurred. 

Today, God is sending out the same type of warnings to this nation and pleading with us to listen to these warnings and signals, for if we do not figure out that the storm that is around us has been established because of our actions then we will have no choice but to face a much greater catastrophe sometime soon.  As Nineveh was created to have a purpose so was this nation and as in both examples the purpose has been skewed greatly, we no longer can be fooled by the leader of the world and his lies.  On the other side of the issue, we have the people that have been charged with handling this redemption news and we have failed miserably in delivering the truth about what is going on around us.  Our hearts are sick and asleep and we have no choice but to wake up and go do what God has told us to do.  Repent, folks for God is still being patient with us for a while longer and I trust that we will change our hearts and turn back to Him before it is too late.

DLB

Jonah's Decision

Jonah’s Decision

4/25/18

How many of us immediately turn from the direction we were headed in when God calls us to do something for Him?  Some say it was an easy process while others mention a struggle that lasted for quite some time, whatever the response may be it is a glorious experience when the person being called of God agrees with the Almighty Creator of everything.  It can be tough responding to God and many times the human population will not heed or accept what the person has chosen to do, but if those people listen and in turn follow God not only will they learn so much about true life but also their lives too shall be changed forever during the restoration process that they proclaim to others.

When a person rejects the call of God or questions their ability to complete such a task, God does not slap them to the ground in an angry fashion nor does He ban them from any other blessings that come from His heart.  If that was the case then many people who have heard the call of God would not be in the state that they are in today, because we must remember that when God sets forth His hand against something that “something” usually falls hard but God is not quick to anger but wants His child to understand and to choose freely instead.  When I was a baby, I was dedicated to the Lord and the evangelist who dedicated me said over me that I was going to do a great work for the Kingdom of God.  It took almost 44 years for that to occur, but I finally listened to what God was saying to me and asking me to do.  Did I have trials and troubles during those years that I resisted?  Oh yeah, I had my share and some others’ share as well but all through that timeframe God did not give up on me nor did He kill me off either, but continued to gently call me and train my heart at the same time.

When I moved to Colorado after my career in the USAF was over, my mother wrote a letter to many of our family friends saying that I was returning home and that I was like the prophet Jonah coming out of a tumultuous journey and ready to be a part of God’s Kingdom.  She was correct, my life had ventured far enough away from God and I was ready to correct my path and change my heart back to God.  This process did not occur overnight and I still followed my selfishness for quite some time but each day I continued to fight for my spiritual freedom, but many times I found myself continuing the selfish end of things and not God’s change which made the transition harder and longer a process in which I learned a lot of things but wish I had skipped.  I must admit it was rocky at times but God never let me go or gave up on my call that He placed on my heart when I was a baby.  God protected me so many times while I was growing up, and not always from stupid teenager stuff either.  I would have never guessed the path that God saw fit for me to take and as I have stated so many times in the articles that God has given us I utterly hated to write when I was a kid and in my younger years but today I find that if I do not listen and obey God’s voice what to say my life just feels sick.  It is easy for me to relate to Jonah, for I understand what he went through while running from God and all I can say is that when we stop playing around with God and run back to Him He is faithful and just to heal our land and allows us to complete our purpose in life.

In the first part of this series, we learned that God was concise and pinpoint with the direction and purpose of the mission He gave to Jonah.  There could be no question about where, when, and how Jonah was to speak to the people of Nineveh, for God had a specific reason why He wanted the message to be given to them and He had a specific person in mind to complete this message and warning.  However, as we continue this series we find that the person that God wanted to complete this task was not initially willing to do what was asked of him, a process not unheard of coming from the human standpoint of things.  God takes two short verses to explain His mission to Jonah and immediately Jonah gives his initial response in the next verse, Jonah 1:3: “But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.”

I have always looked at settings like this and shook my head upon learning from them, for there is usually a great story that precedes the current picture being played out.  One can easily ascertain that Jonah had already made up his mind that he was not going to follow God’s instructions by the time the last letter of verse 2 was spoken.  While the choice of Jonah was made pretty quickly, there had to be a process of thought that went into action before Jonah made the decision that God had made a mistake to ask him to complete such a mission and to make sure that he was not going to be around, so Jonah sought the first boat out to anywhere.  I also find it quite funny that when people run from God they have a tendency to move or to go away from the area believing that if they leave then God will not know where they are at, or at least take some time to locate where you are at and then by the time He finds you will have changed His mind about sending you someplace.  We also have a tendency to forget that God cannot forget what His plans are for your life, even though we try desperately to force His hand in this area.

So, Jonah makes this quick decision to leave the area and go to Tarshish and he goes down and buys a ticket to Tarshish via the port of Joppa.  From the introduction of this verse, it sounds like Jonah’s mind is already made up of what he is going to do concerning what God has told him to do, I can almost hear him say, not me Lord, you did not tell me to go there, God.  Now, it does not matter where Jonah would have wanted to go, God would have known where he was at and it was just a matter of time before God made His presence felt.  Jonah had a temporary lapse in remembering that it would not have mattered where he fled to because God would have found him at that place if he had reached that specific destination.  But God understood that (human) time was of the essence and that something had to be done soon in order for Nineveh to be saved, so God decided to follow Jonah to the sea and shake his world up a bit.

Do you notice something about Jonah here in this verse and how his attitude is towards God?  I have a perfect example to give in this article that gives the demonstration of how Jonah acted when God told him to go to Nineveh and this example, of course, deals with me.  While this example does not directly designate God as who is directing the conversation with me but it does represent the authority I was under with my parents and thus the same.  When I came out of the USAF, I was divorced and reeling from such destruction in my personal life and I really did not take too kindly to the female persuasion at first either.  But after a period of time, my ill feelings towards dating changed and I began to “look” around again.  It was not too long until I began talking with a person and she and I decided to go out.  She came over and met mom and dad and almost from the moment she walked in the door they had serious concerns with this lady.  At that moment they did not say one word to me about her but when the date was over and I returned home later that night their words were pointed and sure.

The lady and I continued to see each other and most days my parents did not say much but through their silent communication, it was clear that they were still very uncomfortable with the situation.  It came to a head one evening and the dreaded conversation began with their confession that they really did not like the situation that I was in and how it had changed my attitude towards many things in my life.  My responses to them were not of a yelling manner but one of a calm encounter but while calm in stature they were very demeaning and defiant.  They made their point very clear to me and in turn I made my position clear to them as well, and at that point, it was a stalemate and no one was going to budge from the lines both sides had drawn.  I had made up my mind to date this lady no matter how much my parents did not like the fact that she and I were seeing each other.  It came to the point where I would not even listen to their pleas any longer and would immediately tune them out when they began speaking about the conversation.  What is so striking to me today is that there were sometimes that I up and left the area when they began to talk and ask the question about this particular situation, an arrow to the heart of this article and the attitude of Jonah concerning the command of God.

Jonah had no intentions of listening and then obeying God’s command, it is obvious that this was the case for the timing of what we can gather is just too concise.  Jonah was so against doing what God wanted him to do that he left the area, he actually bought a ticket for a boat journey and left the area.  You cannot get a more perfect example of a person running from something or someone.  Jonah did not fear God nor did he believe in the message that God had given him to tell the people of Nineveh and it was through this blatant disregard for God and His command that Jonah responded and in response to Jonah’s actions God made the holy and pure warnings to Jonah, then after a short amount of time the preparation of his judgment commenced.

It cannot be denied that God had a plan and a purpose for Jonah to complete.  It is also true that at some point in Jonah’s life he had known God quite well and was a servant of God for God knew Jonah’s heart and he had the ability to complete what God needed for the people of Nineveh.  But like most humans, Jonah ran from God and what his responsibility was, thus placing Jonah in a very recognizable position by most of us today.  We do not have too much information about Jonah before his entire story is told but we do know that he was a man of record and that his story is one of familiarity for many of us.  We also can relate to Jonah through the decision he made to ignore God and to go on his own without having any time to think things through, an impulse decision and convinced one that we all make each day.

But do we realize what actually transpires when we make such a decision about God and the things He wants us to do?  God’s main purpose for us is to tell others about Him and how much He loves us and that we need to be changed from the world and return to His Ways and if God directs us to complete this mission in a specific manner, we best not argue with Him for He will find a way to make us understand that His Ways are higher than ours.  What many of us do not understand is that when God gives us a mission to complete it will teach us so much more about God at the same time and what we learn about God will be relevant to how we are to portray Him to those who He has sent us to tell about Him.  The only way we can know this truth is to have the desire to study His Word and to hear His voice when He directs.  It is this process of recognition of God and His importance of eternal love that all of us fail to recognize on many levels, yet we have the way to understand this perfection and restoration plan of God right at our fingertips.  After I allowed God to return to my heart I began to understand more about Him through studying His Word.  This wisdom of Him did not come overnight but little at a time and I must be honest that I continue to learn about Him as He shows me what to write.

Hillsong group has a new song out called “So Will I” and if you have not heard it yet I highly recommend you do.  I know that their style will not meet everyone’s expectations but this song defines what God wants us to believe about Him and then, in turn, reflect this nature of Him onto others.  It beats the true mission of what God wants from His children through the obedience of His truth through His Word.  God wants us to understand His magnificent characteristics through His Word instead of personal devastation; He loves us with all of His heart, a measure that we finite creatures cannot fully comprehend.  “And as You speak A hundred billions failures disappear” is exactly what Jonah was to tell the people of Nineveh and that is what we are supposed to teach the lost today.

Later in this series, we will see that Jonah eventually comes to his senses and completes what God had told him to do, and we will look at the turmoil that he had to face while running from God.  It is this process of deliberately running from God that has direct implications on our lives and our nation today.  We have lost the focus concerning the mission that God gave this country so many centuries ago, even though we constantly use the benefits and resources that God gave us to accomplish this specific mission of His.  We have run so far away from God that we no longer recognize the benefactor of such wonders and to whom we are to distribute these blessings too.  How vain we have become in our own measures that we believe we are beyond the confines of God and His Ways.  Our decisions against God’s mission for this nation come at rampant speed with a harsh tone of defiance as we demand the laws to be followed.  How much harder and faster can we turn our backs on God and how much longer will God allow us to believe we can hide from Him through His blessings?

We do not have to follow the patterns of Jonah and we do not have to snub our noses at the provided authority as I did for a long time either.  God is here to direct us through His Word and if we adhere to His Ways He will shower us with His blessing that will be hard to comprehend.  God wants no one, not one of His children to die and be eternally separated from Him and this nation was established to achieve this wish from God.  We have squandered many things that God has given us to give to others but there is still time to turn things around and to make things right again with Him.  It is God’s desire that when He gives us instructions to complete a need for His children that our decisions are quick and sure in complete obedience, not defiance of His Word.  Let us turn around and once again allow God to be glorified in our decisions so that He will be pleased with the salvation and restoration of His people.  God does not want to prepare a judgment for any living human being but if He must do such an act it can be directed through our disobedience alone, but the good news is that none of us have to witness such a devastation.

DLB

The Mission of Jonah

The Mission of Jonah

4/23/18

The story of Jonah details one of the more common aspects of humanity that each one of us can relate for we have all been told what to do and then for some reason failed to complete the task.  But do we realize just how significant Jonah’s life is to ours and how we can learn so much not only about ourselves but our nation as well when it comes to the call of God?  God gives us every opportunity to heed His call before He must act in supernatural ways to grab our attention, and even after grabbing it sometimes we fall back into sin.  God hopes that we listen to His call and understand the task at hand so that He will not have to prepare a judgment against His people for lack of completion.  Let us take to heart the call, repentance, mission, and sin of Jonah and learn from his mistakes before it is too late for our own nation’s call.

Many of us tend to take our time when God tells us to do something or shows us things that we should tell others.  It is a common theme amongst humans to drag our feet with these notes and messages from God even though we have been told many times before about what our mission is to the world.  I have fallen into this category of lackadaisical beliefs and God has impressed me to write about such misgivings and failures of mine in the past, and I must confess I did it once again just the other day.  Many of you know that I have written over 500 messages from God to those who wish to know and understand restoration and the process of which God wants to work in our lives but I cannot use this as a measure of my life when God continues to give me items about His Word for me to give to you.  It is the daily mission that I receive that God instructs me to complete on a constant basis and not through my means of when I am ready to complete.

I finally had a couple of days off in a row the other week and was enjoying my time in the peace and quiet that was at that time in my house.  I was reading the Bible, studying a bit and just relaxing when I had the thought of writing cross my heart.  As the human being that I am, I said to myself that I would get to it after while and continue in the relaxation process that I had believed I deserved.  It was not too much longer that my body began to react as if I had run out of steam and continued this path until I was totally exhausted.  I tried to elevate my blood sugar to give me energy again but all my attempts did nothing to help my condition (as my grandmother used to say).  So, I went to bed and lied down and took a nap fully expecting to be recovered when I woke up, I was not and my state continued as it was before I lied down.  I could not understand what was transpiring and my mind was even becoming strained to think clearly.  I did sleep quite well that evening and nothing else transpired that night for I was hoping I would feel better when the morning arrived.

The next morning arrived quite nicely and when I got out of bed I had absolutely no energy to speak of but I did not panic at all and kept quiet as much as I could about how I was feeling to others.  I took so many naps that day that I could not believe it, I was so tired and for the life of me I could not figure out why.  We went over to my daughter’s house for dinner and had a great meal but I was still wiped out, even after several naps and not doing one thing all day I was at a loss.  Then, a thought burst into my head, I took a small scan of my body and energy level and believed I had figured a pattern out.  I told my wife that it had come to me that I was feeling just like I did when I had Mono a long time ago and that my residual EBV antibodies must be activated for some reason.  I thought that I had come up with the solution but God had other plans in mind.

As the following day arrived, I was feeling better but still drained like my energy was trying to return but for some reason could not.  I stayed in this dried up condition for a while trying my best to figure out what the issues were in my body with many tossed around but no conclusions made.  Then, after a few hours of contemplation, I remembered that I had an article that I needed to publish on my blog.  It was completed and all I needed to do was to date it and sign it, a simple thing to do and it did not take too much time to complete but a necessary step in my obedience to God.  I am not exaggerating here at all, for as soon as I went to my blog and began to complete my task my body began to feel better.  At first, I did not recognize this was occurring but as soon as I finished what I was supposed to do and published God’s message I was on the road to recovery.  I was sitting at my desk listening to music when I noticed that I was feeling better and it was then that I realized what was going on and what had plagued me for about 36 hours.  I was not doing what God had shared with me to complete and my health was not up to par because it was His way of grabbing my attention.

It is this point that God wants to make to us today and He wants us to understand a bit more about His servant Jonah while explaining things.  We will be in Jonah for a while for after I published the article that I was supposed to do days earlier, God dropped a few topics concerning Jonah into my heart which I promptly wrote down.  I did not want to go through that sickening feeling process again, but it served as a stage for what occurred to Jonah, how he responded to God, God’s response to Jonah, Jonah’s obedience, and then failure.  A great series of truth about ourselves and our nation did God reveal to me so that He may once again tend to His children in a manner of loving kindness of choice before He must prepare a judgment for those who reject His mission.

This definition of Jonah’s mission is clearly defined in the first few sentences of the Book of Jonah as stated in Jonah 1:1-2: “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.”  Now, these few verses give us a clear picture of who is who and what is to be said and where it is supposed to be said.  So, how can one deny such a mission statement and direction given to them?  The only answer is that Jonah did not want to go and do what God wanted him to do so a challenge of power commenced as we see in Jonah 1:3.  However, Jonah 1:3 will be for the next installment of this series but keep it in mind as you proceed with the information God has for us on this topic.

I love it when God calls out a specific person by using the name of that person’s father.  One cannot get any more specific when the family lineage is used in order to ensure that no mistake in identity can be brought into the picture.  Immediately this portion of identification is taken care of in the first verse and then God continues with His command to Jonah by initiating the timeline of when this mission should be completed.  The word “arise” is meant to be done now without delay and is derived from the word “qum” which means to get up and is used in an exclamatory fashion.  No delays are possible for this usage of the word “arise”.  It is a fascinating detail about God and how He knows exactly when to tell His children to begin and then complete their mission.  Our minds have no way of comprehending the future and the timing of the future but God does and He uses this holy feature in order to grab the attention of those who are perfect for the job (purpose) so that true devastation can be avoided.

Next, God informs Jonah of exactly where he was supposed to go.  God did not hesitate nor did He suggest Jonah stop off somewhere in between before his arrival in Nineveh.  God told Jonah to get up immediately and to head to Nineveh by the necessary means of travel of that day.  It is this type of initiation process that explains God and how He operates, for He knows He has no human time to lose and that His timing is perfect in every way in order to protect His prized Creations.  It is this example that ends all doubts and beliefs that God is not a specific and direct Father.  Then, God describes the state of the city of Nineveh when He says that it is a great city.  God recognizes the size of the city and how important it is for the world at that moment.  However, God sees a far greater potential for the city if they will follow His Ways for we all know that when God speaks a name it is for a reason and since God cannot do anything in a reverse direction, all must be for the good.

Now we come to the point where God gives His orders to Jonah, which follow the first few words that God has already spoken to him they being clear and concise in all manner.  God makes no mistake about what Jonah is supposed to preach to the people of that city.  It is fascinating that God refers to the people of Nineveh as the “city of Nineveh” claiming that the people are the representatives of that place instead of the buildings, area, etc.  This proves that while God knows and sees the physical land crafted area of this city His concerns are of the people.  God does not tell Jonah to cry against the city of Nineveh itself but to those who inhabit within the city because while God gave us the ability to build cities He is not interested in the physical growth of cities but the spiritual growth of His prized Creations and their eternal positioning.  But God did not stop in His instructions at this point but further defined Jonah’s mission by calling out why God was sending Jonah to Nineveh for it was the wickedness of the people that had been recognized by God.  God did not want to be forced to punish Nineveh for their sin and choose the perfect man to complete this rescue (repentance) mission.

We must take heed here concerning what God means by “their wickedness is come up before me.”  God has made an interesting statement here and implies that at some point their sins of the people of Nineveh grew enough that it grabbed the attention of God’s heart.  This does not mean that God ignores sin until a certain “level” is obtained but since He understands what a majority is and what a majority of sin would establish He cannot allow such activities to thrive for if He did He would be considered a liar.  The words that God uses here is a signal, a signal that should say to us that the conditions of the hearts of the people have taken His notice which means He sees the growth of the world in them and the world inhabits their lives more than He does.  It also means that God must send out warnings to the people before He must take matters into His hands and grab their attention in a supernatural manner.  This proves that God is not up in Heaven waiting to strike down those who choose to live in the world, but that God gives us every opportunity to repent and change our ways before He must act.

So, when people say they have a message for those who will listen and their message comes straight from God’s Word then there can be no hesitation that it comes from God.  I can guarantee that there were many who laughed at Jonah when he entered into the city because anyone who would show up with bleached out hair, seaweed in their teeth and torn smelly clothes that screamed REPENT! Probably would get some odd looks.  But when Jonah decided to stop running and do what God had told him to do, the Bible states that there was a great revival and that many people changed their ways and began turning their hearts to God.  So many people changed their hearts that God spared the city and allowed no judgment to come to the city.  And it is here again that we have the simple truth that if people turn from the world and live according to God’s Ways God promises life abundantly and a healed land.

Most of us know that there are a “few” details that are being left out here concerning Jonah and how he came to go to the city of Nineveh.  That is okay because those details will be covered quite soon and will contain vital information about why this series is important to you and to our nation.  God wants us to know that He has placed people in this land who dearly love God and seek His Word every day.  God has chosen some of these people to send messages of warning to those they know and to this entire nation.  God has done this for a reason and that reason is the exact same as what God told Jonah to say to the people of Nineveh.  God is sending messengers out to speak the warnings of God that if we do not change our hearts quickly that there will be a devastation occur to this land that will not only change our nation but the world as well.  We have no record at all of the devastations of Nineveh during Jonah’s time and the reason for that is because the people believed in what Jonah was telling them.  If we do not listen to these messages from God today, our world shall drastically be changed in a manner in which no one shall ever recognize again.

Can you take a guess at whose responsibility it is to spread the news and the messages that God wants His people of this nation to hear?  Yep, not only is the Church supposed to be telling those who are lost about God and His Ways but God has selected some who go the extra mile in their ministering and foretelling of the ugliness that God sees before Him.  Jonah’s mission was clear and precise and so is ours and we cannot afford to hold back the truth one more day.  If we believe the Bible to be the authoritative Word of God then we must believe that the story of Jonah and the entire Book of Jonah is true; therefore, we must also believe that those who are proclaiming the Word of God today that their words come from the same source as Jonah’s.  God is giving us warning after warning and it is time we stop and listen to what God is saying for if we do not then we are all in for a rough and life life-changing experience, and through our disobedience will prove that God and His Word was correct all the time.  Repent, Church!  Repent, USA!  Changes are coming that will devastate our land if we do not repent and turn back to God 100%!

DLB

The Feeling Of Sin

The Feeling of Sin

4/22/18

This is a topic that most of us do not routinely think about since it is a common part of our lives, one that we live in motion.  But this state while cannot be taken from our existence can be lightened in such a manner that our spirits can sing even when the world is rocked by grave tragedies, a result of the feeling of sin.  God gave us a perfect protective cover to live under and mankind chose to try and subdue their own way instead, but when we truly understand that the Ways of God is the best of our eternal placement our lives can be in constant peace.  God has given us the perfect roadmap to follow and to live under, why don’t we heed His advice and come stay under His confines?  Humanity followed the world at one time and we continually pay for that choice even today, but God is still faithful to rid our lives of the feeling of sin if we only will choose Him.

Have you ever stumbled upon people who are always happy and go luck even when things seem to be falling apart all around?  I know that I have had some pretty bad days in my life where nothing seems to be going right and then all of a sudden I run into some happy person that immediately clashes with my mood and my frustration level increases significantly more.  By the time they leave or walk on by my attitude is even more furious about the encounter and I end up having to stop for a second and compose myself before something really ugly occurs in a future encounter.  I am not usually like this but all of us have these types of days where we want no contact with anyone else and being alone seems to be the “best” medicine.  However, how many of us recognize what really is going on around us and combat the issue with the appropriate weapons?  It is obvious we recognize the happiness from others but do we understand what we are really supposed to be fighting, I mean it is what is bothering us that needs to be fought not the happiness of others; the feeling of sin.

It is easy for us to take this example and run with our selfish emotions and motives and continue to flourish in the absurdity of worldly feelings instead of realizing the opportunity to really change and make a difference in someone else’s life.  Looking back at these types of moments in my life I must honestly admit that until my attitude changes and I once again bring a smile to my face and change my heart’s attitude I feel terrible, run down and not really wanting to do the daily tasks at hand, a condition that sees not only myself suffering but potentially others around me falling into the unknown category that I have voluntarily opened for all around.  Why should this type of scenario come as a surprise to anyone?  It is a setting in which all of us face every day and we should know how to issue true resistance to this type of mood yet, many of us have grown accustomed to this type of feeling and instead of ridding ourselves of such a feeling we have embraced it and carry its burden with us.  It is this turmoil that we need to know that is not how we are supposed to live in and that as long as we live in such condition our lives will be riddled enough with sickness that eventually our inner spirits will be eaten alive and drug into a bottomless pit.

On the tragic day that occurred in Genesis 3:6-7 we have the best example of what occurs when sin becomes the overall and abundant feeling that our lives embrace.  Before this passage arrives it is well known that Adam and Eve had no knowledge of sin or the effects and consequences of such conditions but on that grave day when they chose to allow sin into humanity’s existence things changed for everyone and the future for humanity.  The knowledge of living with no sin is a mystery to us and will not be solved until we face God for the judgment of our presence and even then there shall be numerous that will be subject to eternal grace and then those that will be subject to eternal displacement from perfection.  But God instituted this perfect in the beginning and ever since Adam and Eve chose otherwise we have been left to wander around searching for the truth once again.  This huge change in our status provides us with a glimpse of how we once were and what it means to be alive today for it is fitting that God allowed Adam and Eve to live out their days according to the world they chose even with an eternal grace provided for them after the fall.  If God had not provided such grace after the fall, then our existence would be completely lost and void, an existence that God cannot allow to continue for this emptiness is not in His plan.

The question remains about how one feels about sin hanging over their lives and not doing anything about changing such status.  God never intended for us to live in such muck and mire yet we continually find ways to make the muck and mire deeper, thus making it more difficult to grasp a hold of the safety line so that we can be pulled out.  We want to stay in this condition for our actions tell us so which means we have accepted this state of death as our goal instead of fighting for life in its original form.  When we look at Adam and Eve’s life before sin why don’t we focus on that time instead of placing all of our energy on the condition afterward?  God did not just hand out their judgment to all involved that day but gave His Providence of restoration to them as demonstrated in Genesis 3:21.  While the covering that God provided Adam and Eve conceived a foundation of restoration the separation from God both spiritually and physically still remained and did remain for a long time.  This is the way out from under these issues and agonies that infect our lives, so, why wouldn’t someone not take this opportunity?

As we watch any news station they portray not much good news and it is this pattern that we are continually reminded that we are a defeated lot if our hearts are centered on the world.  It is the world’s job to inflict as much trouble as it can onto our lives no matter how slight or penetrating that pain may be.  A few days ago we received news that the weather here in our area was going to drastically cool off, threatening the fruit trees and with this news came the ensuing pain in my joints that accompany such changes but one that I endure with a smile on my face for these aches I have now are strictly due to the efforts of my youth.  Can you imagine the first morning Adam and Eve woke up with an ache or a pain?  So many new items for them to figure out and name, an intriguing process with constant reminders yet we can only imagine how many prayers were sent to God after these effects took hold of their lives probably just as many as we have today.  It is easy for us to condemn Adam and Eve for the choices they made but to be honest we would have fallen for the same lies as well because look at our hearts today and we are in the exact same lax condition as theirs was back in the Garden of Eden.  They accepted the burden of the feeling of sin for they had no choice in the matter and so do we do not get an option of this physical death sentence.

It is at this point to where the content of Genesis 3:21 overrides the consequences of Genesis 3:7, for even though mankind blew it by choosing the selfishness of sin God continues to provide the eternal protection of His Covenant for everyone who chooses to accept His Ways.  The laws of sin and death may be a permanent fixture for our physical lives it is the spiritual origins from God that cannot be altered by anyone, it is strictly up to you to provide the method of life.  It is the actions of God in this verse that establishes the truth concerning grace and faith because with the physical now tainted the only entity left that was of a choice nature is the spiritual.  In other words, Adam and Eve were shown the way to God through His eternal act of Covenant which initiated grace and faith all wrapped up in His Creation of our lives and in the order that He so magnificently completed.  It is through grace and faith that we worship and live in God and it is through the act of covering that God demonstrated in this verse that began the process of the eternal sacrifice of His Son thousands of years later.

Faith is initiated in the spirit realm and in turn influences, the physical realm and the direct communication between God and mankind are demonstrated through such channel AND in such direction.  Choosing God is a choice by faith and one that is directed by the spirit, for faith by definition is things not seen.  Adam and Eve were the first ones to witness the issue of faith because they were no longer able to directly see God in the physical, so their communication level had to be in the spirit only which means their faith had to be initiated, grown and developed just as ours needs to be today.  If we do not live in complete faith in God we cannot consider ourselves to be on fire for God nor can we count ourselves as being all in for God.  God desires nothing more than to have a relationship with us and in order to do this, we must have faith in God in order to hear His voice.  It is through faith that we lose the feeling of sin because it is through faith that God covers us with Jesus’ blood that He shed for each one of us so long ago.

Where are we Church in this faith in God?  Have we lost our spiritual covering and replaced it with the world’s covering?  Why have we begun to endorse the ruler of the world instead of the Creator of everything?  We have accepted the feeling of sin by making our own coverings just as Adam and Eve did after they ate from the tree, but we do not have to do this we can have God rightly cover us by obeying His Ways.  Our physicality is over and is temporary but our eternal aspect and creation is just that, it knows no time because it shall never cease.  The feeling of sin should be the focus of what we want others to shed so that they can be free from the problems that plague our lives.  We should be excited to share with these hurting people that there is someone that loves them like no other and through this love can provide us an eternal covering that washes everything as new.

It is the fact that we have a Redeemer who loves us enough to provide an eternal covering for these feelings of sin that grip our lives and through this redeemer He can take away the sorrow and the pain from this life.  Not by taking our lives or controlling them but by setting us free from the feeling of sin by obeying His Ways just as it was in the beginning in the Garden of Eden.  Church, it is our mission to share with those who are hurting and who are feeling the sin that they do not have to live in such condition, how hard is it to tell such an important eternal truth to others?  Instead, we would rather portray the ruler of the world’s projections for some reason; this is not our mission at all.  God loves each and every one of us and He sees the burdens of our sins that we continually feel, we can drop these feelings and live under the eternal Covenant that God has provided for us.  While we cannot escape the issues of physical death we can resist those physical entities that bring the pains and agonies to our lives by strengthening our spiritual covering.

It is our choice to forgo the feeling of sin by accepting the eternal truth and covering that God provides, but in order for us to do this we must leave the fruit of the world alone and seek God’s treasures instead.  The fruit may seem good to the eyes but as Eve took from the tree it will bring nothing good to our lives.  Church, it is our responsibility to understand this separation from the world and to teach it very lovingly to the ones who do not know God.  We need to start within our own church buildings and denominations first for this feeling of sin is running rampant inside God’s temples.  Then we can open our hearts to those who are searching for relief and truth for the harvest is ready and they are waiting to be taken into the Kingdom.  The spiritual groaning and pain can be eased and taken away through having the assurance that God’s covering is over us and this begins with the understanding that faith and grace come together to serve as the foundation of Covenant, and it is through this eternal Covenant that we find the answer to the feeling of sin.

DLB

Resume The Rule Of Me

Resume The Rule Of Me

4/21/18

I know that the people of God should have this phrase as their battle cry, but sadly, I can almost guarantee that many do not understand the necessity of such a statement being at the forefront of our lives.  This phrase is the exact words that God uses in every sentence in the Bible and yet this phrase is the one most played around with by humans and even worse, it is done so by the ones that call themselves Christians.  It is this phrase that defines restoration, Covenant, and eternal salvation and it is stated right from the beginning of God’s Word.  If we continue to ignore this covering truth then our lives and the world shall keep on the current path of destruction all the while watching the true narrow path passing by through our peripheral vision and our ears ignore the gentle calling of our Creator at the same time to return to His path.  But what a glorious presence our lives would have on others if we only heed this phrase and what eternal happiness will we know when our lives have finished the course.

First off we must understand a principle here concerning the word “resume” and what it means.  The definition of resume is as follows: to begin to do or pursue (something) again after a pause or interruption.  It is this word that God wants to paint His eternal picture to us again through what occurred in the Garden of Eden.  We cannot forget, but so often do, that God is an eternal and holy being which operates in one direction only and that operation is in the exact manner in which He lives.  Even though He is of this pure and holy nature He has never once forced Himself onto another being, for it is the creation of free will that He placed into our lives that gives us to follow God and His Ways.  This word “resume” comes into play in our lives as well for it is our choice to allow God the capability to reign in our lives completely, just as His eternal life commands and it is through this article that God will show us just what occurred in the Garden of Eden and how His Ways are totally present in our lives in order for us to resume His rule over us again.  It this truth that we must refer back to the Garden of Eden when we try to understand why utopian conditions for until we understand our position in God, we shall never see this life again. 

We have discussed many times over the past few years about how beautiful and peaceful the Garden of Eden was before sin entered into humanity’s picture.  There was absolutely nothing wrong with the separated lives of Adam and Eve nor were there any issues with the animals, plants, trees, and any other living thing God created in the first portion of Genesis.  There was no mention of any type of uninformed articles present nor was there any pain what-so-ever in this perfect setting.  Regular meetings were present between Adam, Eve, and God and much information were given to Adam and Eve during these meetings, not trivial useless bits of information but a wealth of information and truth about what surrounded them and who was to soon be calling upon them for their time.  The perfect utopian setting handed to us already in place with no work required to obtain it, only to maintain it.  It is this place of our origin, by God alone, that dwells within our hearts as the burning and yearning commitment to peace and a return to perfect living, but at the same time, we shall never return to such perfection until we give our hearts over to God 100%.  While God understands this truth completely, amazingly He still allows us to continue to blindly through our countless flaws try to obtain this life without Him being first, always calling towards us for the return by His hands instead.

The title of this article comes from an old 1980s Christian song called “Holiness” which was written by Wayne Watson.  It was a song that I listened to many times over when I was in Hobbs, New Mexico and in Nederland, Texas when it was a popular item on the Christian music scene.  It is difficult for me to think back at those times in my life where I was so self-centered and egocentric that I totally missed what these words were saying, very much like the world continues to present today, and the heartfelt cry of Mr. Watson when he wrote this song concerning the Church and her status within the truth concerning God.  This song includes all of us even though it should strike arrows directly into the center of Christians’ hearts because of the lack of understanding of what God’s Word says.  Even the people who have sat in pews all of their lives fail to understand that when we cry for perfect conditions or for Jesus to return we are calling for our return to the Garden of Eden like conditions but in order for that to occur (the return of Jesus) we must be adequately preparing His Garden as God the Father instructed so long ago and as well as Jesus did when He was here on earth.

In a paragraph above, God has mentioned how important it is to remember that He is eternal and that He is Creator over everything and most importantly that when He is challenged by the free will of other beings that He has not only never been defeated but not slowed down one bit before, during or after said challenge.  God does not say this in order to rub our noses it His perfection or authority but to remind us that it is this type of holy and pure Creative love that He wants to provide covering over us and protection for us all under His Covenant.  He also mentions this truth about Him because it seems that humanity has forgotten this truth about Him and has grown apart from His protective ways yet cry out for help when times become tough, this seems silly for the answer is right in front of us yet we trip over it due to our stubborn pride and selfishness that we have inherited.  God reminds us that He cannot operate in this up and down belief system and that He operates on a consistent and steady level at all times on all occasion and for all conditions.  This means that God is still in the advance mode of His Kingdom and all we have to do is proclaim Him King of our hearts and return to His Ways to understand this desired protection.

We have in Genesis Chapter 2 a picture taken of a place that humanity, nature, and the entire environment around them have come into a perfect harmony with each other and most importantly we see that mankind and God have the same type of communication and unity.  It is this picture that our enemy did not want to see for if successful would further prove that God was correct about everything and that Satan was in the eternal wrong as he still is today.  But the old gift of free will that was given to Lucifer was also given to humans for God is an equal God on all levels and it was going to be the same tactic of lies that Lucifer had in heaven that he would use on Adam and Eve as well, hoping for the same outcome of course.  It is Satan’s goal to steal from us what God has given us and there can be no higher example than this topic and subject of article.  The naturalistic policies of nature fall into line with the human having complete dominion over the animals and plants serving out the true order of how perfect life was created to exist and Satan knows that if he can disrupt the truth about God in our hearts that all other sections of our Created dominion will fall right along with.

It is this perfect setting that God created the Garden of Eden and appropriately placed mankind into this setting, not under His thumb for control purposes but under His protection such as any father should provide for his child.  It is also under these provisions that God laid down the single and only command to mankind and at the same time God made it clear to mankind that as long as their hearts remained pure and followed these instructions nothing would ever come to harm them, but these conditions while God made them were strictly up to mankind to obey.  It is this perfect state or utopian conditions that mankind continually strives to achieve but it seems like that when we try to obtain this status again that the wheels continue to turn but no true progress is made towards this goal.  In fact, it seems like the more we try to make this goal happen the further back we end up after those efforts fade.  Just as the remaining portions of God’s Word shares with us this single command from God was for our protection and willingness to live under this protection, yes, it was work but a work of perfection in order to receive the exact same reward.

Then along comes Genesis chapter 3 and the entire setting of the Garden of Eden and the lives of Adam and Eve change due to a simple disobedience principle God had warned them about so point in their past.  The plan of the Serpent went according to his wishes and the insight of lies entered into humanity thus providing us with the first picture of God’s Kingdom being altered.  Mind you His Kingdom did not quit or die but it was halted in humanity’s abilities due to the entrance of sin into their existence.  God’s uninhibited and direct access to humanity was forever altered because of what humanity did and NOT what God did.  It was the choice of Adam and Eve to believe that Satan’s word was more acute and powerful than the One who created them, a pattern that we as parents see many times over in our children today, thus pushing our existence into a supernatural war that many of us do not know how to fight either.  If our struggles, heartaches and all other pains in life begin at this point then there can be no question at all that since God represented a perfect setting our enemy cannot provide such conditions.  It is this truth that defines our battle cry that God resume His rule over us.

So, now we see another picture that is being painted as Adam and Eve have been driven from the perfection state and no longer allowed to return to that precious setting again.  But God did something so amazing BEFORE He told them to leave and that was once again He showed them the ONLY way to have this protection again in His eyes and that is, by the way, He covered their bodies.  This shoots down every argument that mankind can have that we have the answers necessary to get to God and to understand God and reach His perfection again.  It also exposes the one who placed this belief into our lives and exposes his lies that he uses in order for us to fail.  HOWEVER, it does NOT stop God’s Kingdom of life in any way only deters it from our lives for as long as we allow it to thrive inside but all of this pain and worldly influence can be driven out with a return to God’s Ways which means that we allow God to resume His rule in our lives again. 

The rule that the world portrays as the answer can only provide heartache, confusion, lies, pain, and death, not a utopian order that is presented by Satan, it is this rule that we must shed and give back to God so that He can re-establish his truth in our lives again.  We have lived for so long in this life of slavery and bondage that we believe that we can make new ways of happiness while in this condition.  I suggest you read or study the era of slavery that gripped our world for centuries and find out if any of those people who lived in such dire conditions were ever happy.  Utopia does exist and we shall never understand that condition or life unless we allow God to resume His rule over us.  As He has stated many times, His rule is not a life of slavery for if it was it would promote the world and all of its ways but instead, God promotes His eternal freedom from the world.  God’s rule over me was halted in the Garden of Eden but it is strictly my choice whether or not to allow God to resume such rule over me, not the government of any society, not the Church and the “rules” she made, and especially not by the world but by God alone.

While we do not forget that God created all of the things we know about today and we forget that God did such creations in a manner in which they are alive just as we are and more importantly just as God is alive.  The vastness of God we have no clue just how big His Life is and we have no clue about how much His Life continues to grow either, we do know that there is no way that in our current finite lives comprehend such ever increasing and continual infinity but it is sure exciting to grasp a taste of it when God explains it to us.  We were created with no interruption of life yet we chose sin instead which provides a pause yet God still provides a way to resume this original process of life for us.  Does this grasping of His Life bring back a command that God gave to Adam?   Establishing and then living in a state of avid ugliness and filth is not an establishment of God but one that the ruler of the world can only produce.  Look at what is being exposed in our leadership today, not much good is being handed down by anyone even the purpose of such organizations are downright horrid and corrupt.  Sadly, this exposure also gives us a true picture of what lies within our hearts and it continues to show the complete vulnerabilities that our enemy is taking potshots at, yet we do nothing but blame others.

God is a continual God and His Kingdom and eternity never cease to exist or to grow, which means it is our place, as His child to find out as much as we can about God for if a child does not understand his parents then they cannot understand the ways in which they are to follow or to reject.  God wants us to understand that the ruler of the world is continual as well and that if you want peace you must turn your heart totally and 100% back to God without any twinges of returning to the world.  The spiritual fight for your life is an eternal one and it is one that represents nothing higher.  A return to God must be complete just as He is because if there is any foothold in the world in our lives our enemy will use it to manipulate once again.  A complete return to God is the prime and only example that we have that enforces God’s rule over us and a resumption of this eternal Way.

I can guarantee you that once Adam and Eve found out what had occurred in their lives with the inclusion of sin, they began to pray for this type of return to God and God was faithful to show them once again about how things needed to be in their hearts.  It is this 100% commitment that people who choose to follow Christ must strive towards to if they are truly wanting Him in their lives.  I have witnessed many times people quoting Christ’s words or using Him as an example to prove their point yet their actions go totally against what Jesus stood for, they forget that everything Jesus said, did and taught represented the fulfillment of Old Testament Scripture and He approached the leaders of the world and the Synagogues with these holy words from Scripture.  It is this understanding of the truth that we should be doing our best to put into place in our lives and not filling our hearts with the ways of the world.  It is time we stop the life of the world from growing in our hearts and allow God to resume the rule over us.  The only way we can achieve this success is to have constant and direct communication with God on a daily basis.  When God gives me the articles to write they do not represent all of the conversations I have with God, for I talk with Him many other times for I could not live and function with just a minute portion of communication with Him.  I want to have Him resume His rule over me and the question remains is this: do you want His rule to resume in your life?

DLB

Not Mundane At All

Not Mundane At All

4/13/18

Almost every day we hear testimony one way or another that God is mundane and does not deserve our time.  This is a common trait that the world portrays the Creator of the said world yet it is the influenced that make these ridiculous claims against God, finds this ironically funny.  But if one looks around they cannot honestly say that God is not creative for each person is different, there are countless species of animals and the atmospheric conditions alone continue to baffle our eyes each passing season.  Humanity tends to place the Creator in a box thus limiting His ability to what we can understand but God is an enormous being that has never made a mistake in His existence but we call Him mundane.  Maybe it is time that we see the truth in what He has done for our lives instead of labeling an eternal Being that we cannot truly define.  It is called repentance and it is a process that we need to incorporate into our lives soon before this “mundane” Creator shows us His effectiveness as a Creator.

I have mentioned the mountains that surround this valley many times before and how beautiful they are as the time passes on them each day.  Today there are some clouds in the area which blocked most of the sunrise; however, at one point there was a small break in the clouds and the sun was allowed to shine through and it projected on the base of the Grand Mesa.  It was a sight that comes every so often but it still stopped me in my tracks as my eyes focused on the light in the valley and the contrast of how the light penetrated the valley flood yet after the base of the mountain it was gray and a tad dull.  But the combination of the two sources made for a beautiful picture that my eyes enjoyed and I could not help but thank God for the beautiful sight that He allowed my eyes to see and my mind to comprehend.  This setting goes along with what the topic of the article represents for this was not a mundane picture I witnessed and it graced my heart so much that I anticipate another wonderful picture tomorrow morning.

It is springtime here in Colorado and that means varying temperatures, flowers are popping up and the grass is beginning to turn green.  Many people in the area are starting to till their garden beds and getting ready for the last frost of the year to occur.  I have to include myself in this exciting period of time for my garden keeps me occupied during this time of the year and I love to watch the progress that each plant makes.  I would love to say that my eyes can detect the slightest growth of the plants but this would not be a truth, however, the growth results can be noticed on a weekly basis.  I know from this growth pattern that soon the individual plant will start producing its fruit and that my family will be able to enjoy the works that have been done.  I also know from this time that weeds will appear, the plants will need water and overall tender care but when I look over the plants at the end of the season I am so thankful for the variety of food that will be put on the table due to the creativeness of God.  There is no need for me to mention the differences that are present in each person and how these differences keep us balanced and true to creation itself.

I know that my little spot in the world, western Colorado, does not classify much but it does give us a perfect example of how different my area is said from my brother who lives in Tucson, Arizona or my other brother who lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  All three areas of this country represent a huge difference in climate and environment and when one realizes this fact they cannot say that God is mundane or simple in conduct.  We have so many varieties of life at our fingertips and to know that there are countless species of bacteria in the ground alone that we have not yet identified is hard to fathom.  God has not left us in the dark when it comes to this original status of His creativity either, He has given us the ability to study such organisms so that we can appreciate life more abundantly and while doing so understand this eternal Father of ours and the love He has for His Creations.  The abundance of opportunity to study the fauna of these three environments alone would give a person a lifetime of knowledge, so since this is the case in three isolated areas of this nation alone it is impossible for us to say that God is mundane on any level; and this knowledge is just of one area within an area and areas that we can only comprehend.

I hope you have not lost all hope, faith, or even become bored in these articles because of our constant turning or returning to Genesis but God has shown us so much about these first few chapters of this wonderful masterpiece I am beginning to realize another level of excitement concerning this book.  At the same time, I am not going to seek any other direction from God because for someone’s benefit – including my own – these articles about Genesis have opened my eyes to the specificity and generosity of God, so enjoy them and learn.  God originally gave me the passage of Genesis 2:16 for the reference point but the other day He added a couple of other verses for those of you who might not want to focus on just one item.  The human mind likes to have more than one example and since God created our minds He understands that more than one example might need apply.  So, we will be looking at Genesis 2:16 first and it states as follows: “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:”

“Of every tree of the garden” is a nice wide range of trees wouldn’t you think?  The immediate thought one would have is a bunch of identical looking trees scattered in some type of organized pattern all throughout the Garden of Eden.  Lush, vibrant and healthy trees also come to our mind with the perfect type growing grounds present as well.  All of the items necessary for perfect growth and production run through our minds.  But when we stop and think about things concerning this perfect picture of the trees we must contend that there were all sorts of varieties of trees located within the confines of the Garden of Eden.  God would not make just one type of tree and leave it alone to cultivate only one type of fruit or herb.  In fact, with the variety of tree forms in the Garden of Eden, this truth proclaims that God is the provider of not only the substance of our nourishment but also the creator of the desire of free choice and will.  God states this when He commands Adam that he can eat from every tree in the Garden of Eden without cause to be alarmed.  This means that Adam could choose on a daily basis, hourly basis, or whatever schedule he desired freely and correctly.  This example does not represent a mundane God or Creator at all but one who loves His creations on all levels.

God could have stopped here with this example and all would be wonderful but He wants us to go to another level here and add other options that fit into the choices category about God.  If we back up and read Genesis Chapter 1 we will find that God made all of the animals both in the sea and on dry land.  While these creatures were present God gave Adam the authority to name each one of them according to what he wished which means not only did God create so many species of living animals but He, in turn, allowed humanity to name each one of them.  This means that God understood the individuality of mankind’s thought process and how it worked when it came time to be an example of God’s creative process inside mankind and through the other creations He accomplished. 

Look at all of the differences between each animal and even the specifics between species themselves; it is amazing to see the different characteristics and demeanors that are attributed to these beauties.  The same goes for the plants and trees, look at the numerous varietals among these organisms their beauty and majesty soar beyond our imaginations.  Even the different times of the day give us an opportunity to witness another sight of creativity and the four beautiful seasons that God has given us change with each moment, and our eyes and ears cannot comprehend all of the magnificent sounds the atmosphere and its contents present.  All of these issues of nature we cannot tame completely, and this truth in no way can represent a mundane Creator or presentation around us.

If God had made only one type of bird, plant, cow, and fish it would be easy for us to claim an issue with Him on this level.  But because of the way God made each creature and plant it gives them a chance to thrive and to reproduce according to how God made them individually.  That is not mundane at all and when we look at the human body and all of its manufactured entities living within our skin we cannot deny that God is a creative Creator who has given us the ability not only to scratch the surface of knowing His heart but we can learn about Him while we study the natural realm that surrounds us every day.  Our minds and hearts give rise to numerous accounts of knowledge about how things work yet scientists still confirm that we actually know little about the things we have studied so far; again, not mundane at all.  The glorious part about this type of creativity from God is that all of us can have a part in the understanding and then sharing of the knowledge that we learn.  God did not hide things from us, sin limited our abilities to readily understand what is around us but just as we are still standing God has given us the ability to continue to search Him through what He has already created.

There is one more part to this Genesis 2:16 verse that we need to understand and live by at the same time.  Over the past few decades or so the attendance in churches and the commitment of people who claim to be Christians have fallen dramatically.  Not much is said about this falling away unless a priest or minister is mentioning the financial situation of the congregation. Anyway, there is a reason that people that have been following Christ for a long time who now doubt their beliefs not only in Christ but God as well and that is because their eyes have been focused on the wrong tree, or should I say the wrong trees.  Read Genesis 2:15 once again and let us proceed.  This part of the article might be a tad upsetting for some but that is okay, because wants to rattle your chain because times are about to change and you need to be equipped with the truth about His Word so that when times become rough we will know how to witness to those that are hurting and struggling, and believe me there shall be millions of them.  I understand that Genesis 2:16 is the main topic verse here but be patient with me for a bit, there is an important and vital detail here.

Okay, in Genesis 3:1-6 we see the gathering around the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and as we read along we eventually come across the point where Eve and Adam eat the fruit of the tree which God told them not to do.  The conversation leading up to this act of disobedience gives us a stark revelation about what God sees as important and what will fall into line if followed correctly.  We also see that our enemy will use this specific order against us if we are not careful about what God is all about and what He wants to have with us.  From the outset of our creation, the only thing that God has wanted from us is for us to voluntarily obey His simple law and to have a relationship with Him, AND NOT IN THAT ORDER!  God understands that if we have a relationship with Him first, then the obedience to His Ways will come naturally and grudgingly.  We see this turning of God’s Order occurring in Genesis Chapter 3 when everyone is gathered at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  The conversation quickly turns to the law that God gave to Adam and Eve and it is the law that Satan focuses on while he is executing his plan of accomplishment.

You will notice that Satan mentions NOTHING about all of the time God spent with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, nor did he mention anything about what all other time spent with them and how much it meant to God to be able to share His Life and glory with those two, establishing a bond and relationship.  Satan did not mention anything about how important this relationship status was to God and how much life and vibrancy it brought to Adam and Eve.  Not ONE mention at all, only the law was mentioned here.  There is a reason for this and it sets the stage for a religious revolution that still stinks in God’s nostrils because Adam and Eve fell for it when they walked the earth and many millions more today continue to fall into this deadly trap.

Let’s go back to Genesis 2:15 again and see what the important detail is that should be placed first in our lives.  This verse defines our mission and the job we have to do in order for people to understand that God loves them and that Jesus is the only way to the Father.  When God gave Adam the command to dress and keep the Garden of Eden it served as his job and when we place this command to our lives today it means that we need to dress and keep our own dominions intact so that we can provide the information to those who need God.  The trees of the Garden of Eden and everything else that Adam had to keep represents those who need God and it is our duty and mission that Christ gave us to do, it is dressing and keeping His Garden.  If we are in relationship with God we will easily and without complaint complete this job fully.  This verse also represents what is most important to God and it us obeying His command to be witnesses to others, NOT placing the law first.  Remember, God is an orderly eternal being and the words that He uses have a specific order, one that suits His characteristics.  Therefore, God recognizes our relationship status with Him through our obedience to what He has commanded us to do and if we do what He commands us to do then we automatically follow the law without even knowing that we are doing so.

Yet, Satan does not address this fact and only refers to the law that God gave to Adam.  This picture of Genesis Chapter 3 allows us to see that even though Satan mentioned nothing about the relationship status of Adam, Eve, and God he understood fully what that status was and knew that there was a weakness present, enough that he could twist the law of God enough to establish doubt in Adam and Eve.  Satan knew that they were more focused on the law instead of their relationship with God which was the incorrect order in which God established in the beginning.  This setting is not a “which came first the chicken or the egg?” contest, the order of importance was set and Adam and Eve should have known this vital detail.  A tales tell sign of a person who believes that God is mundane is a person who has placed the law of God before their relationship status with God.  I know this because it is given to us in Genesis and it is still in use by our enemy today.  Furthermore, it is sad to say this but many people who have been in the pews of the church buildings for decades still do not grasp this truth and it is driving them away faster than anything else because they do not understand what they are witnessing in the church leadership for they are missing how to combat the enemy.

God loves individuality for it promotes His Kingdom into a dark and dying world.  Our enemy has the job of stealing this Light and keeping those who are born into sin, in sin.  Now, I am not saying to completely go against God’s Laws, in fact, God has taught us a bunch about His Laws through the messages that He has shared with us over these past five years or so, but He wants us to understand that if we do not have a relationship with Him first we will not be able to keep His Laws at all.  God knows that laws can become mundane and tiresome and it is for this reason that if Adam and Eve had kept their relationship with God the top priority our lives today could have been totally different from what they are now.

What does this truth say to us today?  Well, it says the same truth as it did back when God established it in Genesis Chapter 2.  When we are in relationship with God we cannot help not recognize that God and His presence is stimulating and exciting.  For everything that God created He has made in such a specific and unique manner that we have the ability to spend time knowing and understanding what we desire to know.  If we refuse to study God (His Word) we will not be able to understand the creations around us because the best part about looking at two different trees that are different in size should be an exciting experience to find out why they are formed in such a manner just as it is when we come into contact with another person that looks different than we personally do.  It should be fascinating to us to be able to witness to those around us and to share the Gospel with them and that is not an example of being mundane but an individualistic dressing and keeping through the relationship of God.

So, what is your response Church?  Are you bored with God and throwing Him out of your life?  Where is your focus centered?  Is it on the law (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) or on the dressing of the Garden of Eden (the lost)?  As of this moment in human history, our nation is still intact and the Church still has the capability of completing her mission.  However, we must come to the realization that if we do not turn back to God soon and once again come back into relationship with God and then dressing the Garden of Eden our lives will not be as such for very much longer.  It is in our hands Church, in our hands alone.  God is not a mundane Creator or a mundane eternal Father but one that wants to show us exactly how exciting life is but as long as we put ourselves first (laws) we will miss out on this benefit from God and consequently not informing others about them having an eternal life with God.

It is no secret that if one wants to be in a relationship with another person, on any level, then that person shall take the opportunity to get to know the other person as much as possible, and vice versa.  All God wants is for us to ask Him questions about His Ways and about who He is and He says that He will give us those answers.  However, if we ask Him things and then do not receive the answers according to His answers we have defeated the relationship status.  It is in this questioned status that allows our enemy to go through the open door of relationship and therefore begin to taint the truth.  It is not hard to recognize this fact in our lives today and it has worked its way through to the heart of the Church.  The Church and what she says is now questioned on every level and renders no authority as a separate entity of God.  We can change this status if we only return to God and bring into connecting the relationship with Him once again.  Now, does this process of turning around and returning to a relationship status with the Creator of everything sound mundane to you?

DLB