The Eyes Have It

The Eyes Have It

6/30/18

All of us know that our vision is one of the most important senses that humans are blessed with and that if our eyesight is not adequately accurate enough then we need it to be corrected.  How many walls or stop signs do we have to run into before we go to the doctor to get the issue fixed?  What will our eyes be focused upon when an accident occurs and someone may become injured due to our tardiness?  We have the perfect system in place to direct us to the right physician for us to get corrective lenses but how long must we wait in order for us to complete this process?  A simple nursery rhyme gives us the prime example of doing things on our own instead of looking to the correct person to fix the issues and until we look towards the eternal King for our direction these wrecks of the world shall sadly, continue.

It has always been told that the human eye is the window to our souls and that a person who looks into another’s eye can tell a lot about what is going on inside that person.  It is amazing but this statement is true and no matter if the person denies their true inner state an attentive person will know the truth concerning such person.  It is difficult to explain how such mechanism works but when one realizes what the eyes portray it is a unique phenomenon that cannot be denied.  Even police officers shine a flashlight in a person’s eyes in order to see how their pupils react or if they react at all, all of which are accountable to what substances have been placed into their systems.

However, we cannot ignore or forget the other side of the eyes and that is how humans use them in order to accomplish their daily routines.  We would like to believe that each step of our day will turn up nothing but roses with the sweet smell of the accompanying smells that those roses produce.  Too often our day starts our great but by the time we finish our morning routines the day has already taken a turn and we find ourselves struggling to correct an error that has crossed our path.  The question lies within our hearts as to how to handle this new bump in the road of ours and whether or not we know who to call upon to get the problem corrected in a timely manner.  How often do we try and work things out on our own instead of spending a little bit more on someone who is properly trained in that field, for you see if we spend time trying to correct things on our own when we do not know exactly what to do then it could cost us much more in the long run.  I have been guilty of this for such a long time and it took years and thousands of dollars later for me to not play with problems I do not know how to adequately fix and just call the professionals first.

1 Samuel Chapter 8 has been one of the more common passages that God has used in these articles of His while communicating His wisdom and choice over our lives and to spread the His Word into our hearts.  Once again He directs us to this passage in order for us to understand how our eyes must stay fixed on Him in order for us not only to live during the times of pleasure and blessings but also how to thrive when times become hard and troubled.  This passage also gives us the perfect example of how humans act when their eyes are not on God and what occurs to these same people in these same aforementioned conditions.  It is so frustrating to me when I study human actions and realize that they have no concerns for God just because of how they react to the conditions that they are faced with, but as soon as I do, I am quickly reminded that many times I act the same way as these people in 1 Samuel 8 did.

It must have been excruciatingly painful for Samuel to hear the cries from his people that they wanted to have an earthly king and to abandon the covering and protection of God.  Adam and Eve and the conditions that they were forced to leave from must have at some point crossed Samuel’s mind while the people were stating their demands.  God did not punish them for their choices and even though He understood that their hearts had strayed from His Ways instead God allowed this action of the people to take place.  It is this aspect of our hearts that can be reflected in our eyes and it will also serve as the basis for where our eyes will turn towards when things are going bad as well.  God made it very clear to Samuel that the people were not turning away from Samuel’s leadership but from God Himself.  When our eyes are not focused on the King our ways automatically wayward and therefore shuffled against the path that was initially created and established for our lives.

The pains and trials that Israel faced after this dreadful decision of theirs are almost incomprehensible to think about yet through all of this, many of them failed to return to God and to reestablish their connective and eternal Covenant with Him.  The ultimate consequence eventually occurred in their existence when their lives were uprooted by a foreign power and then subsequently driven from their land into another life of slavery and captivity.  As they walked from their destroyed land they gazed upon their holy temple which was completely annihilated by the victorious army while at the same time noticing that many of their elite and popular leaders and their families were outright missing from the people’s train to their new “home”.  Even with all of this devastation and destruction around them, and their new living quarters in a captive and unfamiliar land, they refused to return to God and chose to lock their eyes on the new world that was before them, one that offered a cosmopolitan setting with new freedoms that never had before been thought about. 

The dreadful defeat was quickly forgotten and the people established a new life for themselves including a new marriage vow between another race; this project too became an ugly issue in the future of the Jews, one that Jesus bridged when He walked the earth.  The disciples had their eyes on the physical implications of such racial tensions instead of the eternal King and what He provided for all mankind, a focus that we are seeing unfold each day in this nation and in each society around the world today.  Not much has changed from the ancient times until now, which means that if we continue to follow in step with our past then God shall have to comply and follow in His steps as well.  If one wishes to see what occurs to our lives when we voluntarily disobey God and His Ways then all one has to do is read God’s Word because it is filled with those who believed they knew better than God and saw their lives through their own eyes instead of looking in the direction of God.

We have here the perfect example of how a nation’s people have totally switched their thinking and ideology away from their Creator.  There are absolutely no bones about the fact the children of Israel have made up their minds that God’s Way is not for them and that they no longer wish to be subjected to His eternal authority, neither in their hearts or covering them.  Samuel cannot help but take things personally, seeing himself as a failure to continue the track record of the people of Israel, but at the same time, God reminds Samuel that it is He who the people have rejected, not Samuel.  This is a detail that we must remember for it is one that we are facing today as well, a rejection of God on the highest level and one that shall have grave consequences if we do not turn our hearts back to Him.

When God said to Samuel that the people had rejected Him, the level of importance was raised to the highest level possible for they had already ignored the prophet’s words that had come from God in the first place.  The judges of the land were in the same boat for they were taking bribes, tormenting and sleeping with the young girls of the Temple, and performing countless other trades that were abominations before God all to which they had no concerns about their actions in any manner.  The level of belief had totally switched in that the taste of worldly acceptance and equality with other nations around them had blossomed into a national pride.  Their eyes of the Israelites had been shifted from God and His Ways to the ways of the world and the immediate effects of such a move eventually were presented to Samuel as a total withdrawal from God, His presence, and His Covenant over them.  This was a choice that God warned them about yet loved them so much that He allowed them to follow what was in the sights of their eyes.

As we have discussed previously, it did not take too long before Israel began to witness behaviors that proved to be detrimental to their security and everyday lifestyles, yet instead of figuring out that their issues were because of their separation from God they attributed them to being new to the scene and ventured on the path that they had chosen.  Their issues continued to grow and eventually, their status began to decline with impending doom lurking around the next corner of their path.  God understands this pattern of choice and when He sees what is coming He warns people so that they will have plenty of time to change their hearts, but in the case of the Israelites and in today’s world the choice of path that the people’s eyes take are according to the world and not of God.  Clearly, the eyes of the Israelites in 1 Samuel Chapter 8 were on the world and not God so they could not have chosen any other path than the one that unfolded in front of their hearts.

When I was a child, my mother read to me a bunch and when she did she read to me different kinds of stories that she believed would fancy my ears.  One of those stories that she read to me was the old nursery rhyme “Humpty Dumpty” and I am sure that many of you reading this article was exposed to this great short rhyme.  While many of us when we were hearing this nursery rhyme probably had no idea of the meaning behind such a story, but it is one that we as Christians need to understand and HEED to at all times for if we do not follow the true example of this great story we will fall into the same trap the king’s men did.

The words to this simple and short rhyme are as follows:

“Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Could not put Humpty Dumpty back together again”

There are other short verses to such a great saying but it is this main verse that we need to understand and reflect on its content for it is the one that relates to our lives both personally and as a nation.  Come on, really?  A nursery rhyme has that much to say about how our lives are today AND how it also describes the condition of the eyes and heart of Israel as well?  Read the words to that rhyme again as we take a closer look together for it seems that Humpty is sitting on a wall which means that no matter how high that wall is Humpty has the potential to fall from it and thus harm himself.  We all know what occurs when we place ourselves on pedestals and just sit there and revel in the glory as such pedestal brings.  Now, did the nation of Israel have such a concept about themselves when 1 Samuel 8 rolls around, and dose this society and every other society in today’s world look at themselves in the same manner?  A resounding “YES” is the only answer to both of those questions.  Humpty was in control of his situation and he sat himself there on the wall and since there is no indication that Humpty was upset in any way, he was not forced up on the wall and thus did so voluntarily.

The second portion of the quatrain reads that Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.  Wow! What a difference in settings that a line makes, eh.  Now, we have Humpty Dumpty falling off the wall that he was on and is in bad shape.  Something occurred and HD fell off the wall and when he did so he had to hit the ground sooner or later.  Tragic as it must seem it is always not a good outcome when anything that falls from an elevated position finally hits the end of the fall and in this case, it is the ground.  How many times have we heard of people, groups, and nations fall after some kind of conflict occurs?  This type of aftermath has happened countless times throughout human history and unless we change our ways it shall occur many more times, which will include this nation at some point in our near future.

The third line of this rhyme gives us a picture of how societies have reacted to disasters both in the past and in our current historical line.  All the king’s horses and all the kings men states that everyone had heard about what happened to HD and they all rushed over to aid in his condition.  While all of these mechanisms and wishes were of a noble gesture it is recognized that the number of people and equipment were ready and able to proceed with the recovery effort but what do we really see here and what is really occurring?  The supplies and demand were available and had arrived for what seems like in an adequate time, but even if the necessary supplies are present there is still something amiss as the fourth line of this nursery rhyme arrives. 

The tragedy here lies in the fact that all of the men were present and ready to help but had no real person present that understood what needed to be done.  It looks like that while all involved were frantically working to put HD back together that they couldn’t for whatever reason.  The important aspect here concerns the men and how they responded to what happened with HD, yes they acted nobly and willingly to try and help HD but they could not, they tried in vain to save HD which gives us the picture of many people trying to fix another person by doing their own way and in their own manner.  Their manner was through their own eyes and how they perceived things and treatment should be done, not once did they look towards their king to find out the real answers in how to fix HD.  It is this point that God wants us to understand and how we should be seeking His advice and guidance in order to fix our issues both now and when they arrive in the future.

Of course, as a kid, I would have never figured out this truth concerning this excellent example and to be honest it was not until I heard an old 1980s Christian song that God spoke to me about this article after showing me the message contained inside the lines.  If our eyes are not fixed upon the King of everything to help us we will not have any chance of saving our existence.  There is no question that many people have great motives and wonderful drives to fix the issues that humans have but unless we turn our eyes back to God and once again begin to hear His voice for our instructions we will be sunk.  Human answers are at best a temporary fix for they cannot go deep enough in order to root out the problems that plague us all.  God is the One being that created us and He is the ONLY One that can fix the issues that we face today.

Sadly, the children of Israel missed this truth and in the end, it cost them everything that they had even their nation as it existed in ancient times.  Israel was meant to stay pure and isolated from all other nations, setting the tone and example for every other nation that was in form, but instead their eyes became focused on the world and it was at that moment that they became subject to the breaches of Covenant.  Just as in our creation, God was the Creator of Covenant between Him and Israel, God has never violated that Covenant but Israel was in constant violation which cost them their nation.  Today, we are facing the same set of circumstances that Israel faced so long ago.  This nation was Created and then set apart to be an example to the world and to hold up the name of her Creator, yet we too have placed our focal points of our eyes onto the world and are now in the same dire straits that Israel faced.  While Israel cannot fix what occurred to them in their past they have the choice to turn their eyes back to God and God gives us the exact same opportunity in this nation to do the same.

God has no desire to allow any hedge to be breached over our lives but we have chosen to create such a breach and thus live with the consequences of such flow.  All of our issues that we believe we can solve alone shall only become overwhelming in magnitude to our eyes no matter if they look small today.  We can never forget that if we do not have God first in our lives at all times then we are recreating the Humpty Dumpty story all over again and at some point, we shall fall off of the wall we are sitting on.  Our self pride also will cause us to have a great deal of equipment, personnel, and supplies present but none of it shall do any good if our eyes are on human standards and fixers.  It shall not matter how hard those people with great intentions try, they shall fail and Humpty Dumpty (USA) shall die as a nation and therefore lose such status as God’s chosen nation to help all those who desire to be separated with God.

The nation of Israel was repeatedly warned against such devastation if they did not repent and turn their eyes and heart back to God.  Specifics were given to the people from God’s prophets concerning such devastation, even down to how long they would be in captivity was made known to their ears and hearts.  The people of Israel accepted such messages but toned them down and watered the statements down to fit their own reckonings, a devastatingly and deadly game that they played with and lost at terribly.  We too seek to hear the warnings but do nothing to heed the messages and blow off their meanings as some hypothetical scenario that has no sign of occurring.  While this is a foolish notion to believe, it is present because it defines exactly where our eyes and heart look towards.  Western societies have no issue concerning God nor do they want any issue with Him for we have become comfortable in our own muck and mire.  We still have time to change this course of ours before we become a desolate watered down landscape.  God changed the shape and landscape of Israel due to their foolish sins and He shall do the exact same thing to us if we do not change our eye directions and focus now.

As each week passes, we read or hear about some other tragedy that has occurred in this nation then for the next several weeks afterward we hear arguments between people and what they believe the problem is and what originates from the latest failure.  There can be no more perfect example of Humpty Dumpty that we can witness unfolding when these settings occur, for if you change the channels and watch another news organization talk about what happened you will get another take on the event.  You can do this for as many newsrooms as there are channels and none of them shall address the true issue about our eyes not being on the King and looking for His direction and guidance, it is all about which human belief and thought process is correct.  We are so lost and so blinded by our own selfish lies that we cannot see where we are headed and we allow so much noise into our heads that we could not hear God if we were listening.  We have got to change this pattern and we need to change it now.

Church, we have fallen into the same trap as the judges that were mentioned in 1 Samuel 8, and if we do not change our lives and ways now the same results shall occur to this nation as it did to Israel.  The cries of secularism and all of the other isms that can be imagined have begun to ring out and we cannot afford to be the bell ringers of such message.  If we do not adhere to the Word of God and show the world how to live underneath Covenant this nation and the status of the world shall fall like never before.  What is coming to this nation will make every dire situation that this nation has ever faced – combined – look like a drop in a 1.2 million gallon bucket.  We still have an opportunity to change our ways before God must grab our attention but we must lay down our connections with the world and focus our eyes back on God’s face.  God is calling for us to repent and the time to repent is now.  Repenting means that we get off the wall we are on and once again begin to walk and talk in the manner in which we were Created to be.

DLB

Origin of Fear

Origin of Fear

6/25/18

Fear is one of the most devastating conditions that anyone can experience or live within for it dominates and controls our simplest movements if allowed to roam free.  Fear is a weapon that many people use in order to gain access to our thoughts and to our hearts, enough that we change our patterns and habits in order to avoid the present crisis around us.  Do we understand that fear is an ugly sign and a “gift” from Satan and his kingdom?  Do we understand that God did not create a spirit of fear in our lives?  Most of us do not know that fear is of this magnitude and I suggest that many more do not understand the origin of fear and why it is so effective against us.  More importantly, when we do understand this fact that the verses in God’s Word that direct us to not be afraid or to have fear will make so much more sense in our battle with our enemy, but in order for us to realize such freedom we must first turn our hearts to God so that we may be taught by Him accordingly.

Most of us had at least one run in with fear and the process that it brings to our lives at some point in our past or maybe a current situation plagues us at this moment, whatever the case may be it is never a pleasant experience to deal with.  I learned this a long time ago when I was just starting my career in school, more specifically it was my kindergarten year to be exact.  I would usually walk home during the warmer times of the year and since my house was just up the road, it would not take me long to get home either.  Many kids who lived on our street or in the general vicinity would do the same so it was not like we were walking alone at any time.  With all of us being kids we would become easily distracted on our way home, stop to grab one or two honeysuckle flowers or to play with one of the dogs that were in someone’s yard things that kids just do when they are not concerned with any obstacles around them.

As the school year progressed, I noticed that some of the kids that usually walked home at the end of every school day were no longer around but at the moment of noticing I really did not think too much about it.  Until one day a kid who I had never known before approached me and began to lightly punch me on the shoulder.  I asked him and then told him to stop and when he didn’t I took off running and got home without any further incident that day.  He followed me home a few days later, not doing anything but just hanging back at a distance and while keeping his distance still pursued me until he knew where I lived.  This pattern continued for a while but with no real dangerous encounters, I guess he was busy with the others and was more interested in them, or so I thought.  His appearance again was made known and when it did he had escalated the bullying by pushing me harder with my rear end hitting the ground a couple of times in the process.  I was tired of this process and began to look for a way around the issue, you know, running away from the issue instead of facing it and dealing with it correctly.

One of my friends and I were walking home together one day and almost as soon as we started up the hill towards home our little buddy showed up again but this time he was on a bike.  I do not know where he got it and I never did ask him either but this was a new tactic that gave him more of an advantage because there was no way that we could outrun a bike.  So, the friend said to me: follow me we will take another route, so we took a right at one of the houses and went behind the yards and onto a small alley which continued towards our houses but behind the street where we lived.  We could still easily reach our houses on this path and as soon as I figured out where we were it was no longer a threat, or so I thought.  As it turns out, I recognized some of the physical features of this path since my brother had participated in a boxing club which conducted their fights and training sessions in an old building that I would pass each day.  It was not too long until my bully friend had somehow found out this passage and showed up along the way, coming from the opposite direction and facing us as we came closer and closer to each other.  My alternate route had been found out and I was no longer able to hide from the problem and from where things stood it looked like there would be no getting around him this time.  I could no longer run from the issue and I knew that it was going to be the time to deal with it correctly. 

As he approached he was mouthing and laughing at us and was proud of himself that he had found out where our hidden route was, a point that he made sure we all knew because he was so much smarter than we were.  I asked him what he wanted from us and his “brightness” and “smarter than us” attitude came through when he wanted all of our lunch money.  We gave him nothing because it was after school and for those of us who brought their lunches did not have any along with those who had already used it for their lunch.  This “bully” ended up being the one laughed at and from that point onwards he never bothered us again.  So much so that we no longer had to take the alternate route and the main road to our houses was back open once again. 

The entire setting taught me a small lesson in that when one tries to avoid their fears nothing really changes, only a delayed tactic that only prolongs terror and potentially frightening conditions.  When one has a bully in their lives or if anything or any other setting brings you to a place where fear drives you to change your own life the only effective approach is to fight it accordingly.  I understand that not all settings of fear can be described in a few words such as these nor will all of the settings be as simple as this, but when one decides to stand up to fear and confront it head on, that is the only way that people are ever going to defeat such an enemy.

The actions that I and my friends took that day were not glorious and by all means not complex by any measure, it was a simple strategy that we had and when we figured out what was going on the troubles went away at the same time our fear did.  It is this type of reflection of mine that we need to have all the time when it comes to our enemy.  Our enemy loves to use fear against us and for the most part, we succumb to this tactic of his without a fight.  Not only do we not know how to fight him and his tactics we do not know where the origins of this tactic begin and it is this bit of truth that God wants us to understand for there is an origin to fear and when we understand where fear originates and why it does work it shall be easy for us to stand up and take control of the situation, no matter what the fearful setting may be.  In order for us to understand the origin of fear, we must return to Genesis Chapter 1 and reread the creation of mankind.

In Genesis Chapter 1 we find that the earth is void and filled with darkness, a state and condition that is easily thought about when nothing is there yet were allowed to be positioned in such a manner as for someone to try and prove themselves for another.  We also know that it was the desire of Lucifer to be like God in all ways, in fact, to be higher than God so that he could control the Heavens instead of God.  So, it would be natural for God to allow Lucifer to “prove” his creative “skills” to God.  Yet, nothing occurred and since we know that Spirit does not know time, that waiting period that God allowed Lucifer to try and create something could have been an immeasurable amount of time.  Therefore, God has to show His loser challenger a thing or two so we open up our existence in Genesis Chapter 1 when God decides to create everything that we know to be alive and present today.

Eventually, Genesis Chapter 2 arrives and we find that God tops off His perfect creation status so far with the creation of humans, His most prized creation and proof that only He can create life in all stages and forms.  What other explanation could there be for an enemy to target than jealous rage at being proven wrong once again?  We must never forget that our enemy is a spirit and when God created Lucifer He did so in such a manner that he will never die, just as God placed His Spirit into our lives as well when He created us.  Therefore, our enemy will have the same goals of destruction as he had with God that he has with us and since he did not trick God in any manner his next step would be to do his best in our lives.  Which brings us to the origin of fear because God placed in us the exact same abilities of creation that He has and if we understand this position and ability we will be able to continually show our enemy that we are children of God and that we will advance God’s Kingdom and not what Satan wants from us.

Fear originated on the day that God began creating life in the world and Satan’s fear accumulated and peaked when God smiled upon our lives and finished our existence by placing the breath of His Spirit within us.  See, Satan hates any movement of God’s Kingdom and he utterly despises the fact that God placed us on this earth as an example of advancement to His Kingdom.  Satan fears us and what we can do and prove that God exists, that He is perfect in every way, and that if we choose Him that we shall live with Him for eternity.  God created in each one of us a specific purpose that glorifies His Kingdom which means that every single person that has walked this earth, that is walking this earth now and every person that will walk this life has a specific purpose for God’s Kingdom and it is this purpose that God has given us that Satan fears and in turn uses such fear against us.

Fear is allowed into our lives when our dominion is not dressed and kept up to the standards that God intended for it to be.  This is proven in Genesis Chapter 2 where God gives Adam directions of what he can and cannot do and how to accomplish these directions on a continual basic level.  As long as Adam and Eve did what they were told (obedience) and kept their dominion intact there would be no issues.  When disobedience (sin) was allowed into their thoughts and then into their lives it was this process that allowed Satan to use fear as the dominant force in their lives.  How do we know this?  Because when they knew about their nakedness they did what they could to cover themselves for they knew at some appointed time that God would want to speak with them.  They were afraid at this point and up until this time they had no shame or reason to be afraid.  Fear was now a figure in their lives, one that God had no intentions of us ever finding out about.

Fear is a nasty condition and process for when it attacks or is allowed to rule a person’s life their effectiveness is delayed or halted entirely.  God cannot sit still and His Kingdom cannot stall or stop in any way and when we do not fulfill our purpose that means that God’s Kingdom has stopped or is being delayed in some manner and a good portion of the time that when this condition occurs it is because God’s children have been fooled enough by fear that they have stopped in what their purpose is for or that they do not fully understand that the drive that they have within them comes from God and for His glory.  It is the perfect setting for Satan to have successful people not knowing why they desire to have or to live in purposeful conditions and to then go around completely lost in total confusion about why they were even born.  One of the more common approaches to fear is to run away from it and have the concept that if we ignore it long enough that it will not return but as we read about my example above it will always return bigger than ever and looking for a fight.

Can you believe it?  Our fear originates from someone that actually and truly fears us!  It all boils down to the fact that Satan fears us so much that it brings into being hate and that hate is, in turn, generating fear from him and then conveys his feelings outwardly enough that we sense it and then react in the same manner towards our personal situations.  This is NOT the order in which God created us, He did not mean for us to have any reason to back down or to run away from any issues or problems we might face, when the truth is told God did not even want us to encounter such stoppage time which is why He did not place us in such an environment when He created us, we chose this condition for our lives.  Adam and Eve believed the fear (lie) from Satan on that day and all of us have suffered for that choice of theirs.  Remember Satan is the father of lies and since this is his master description we must be careful not to fall for his traps and snares and fear is one of the biggest lies that he has for us.  Satan is not smarter than us unless we allow him to be as such, we have the perfect defense against his evilness but we will fall for these lies every time unless we know how to recognize them and know how to defeat them.

Humans are designed to be superior to fear in all cases which is why there are so many verses and group passages concerning fear in the Bible.  Fear is one of the most commonly used tactics against us and many times we ourselves use such actions to gain an advantage over others, which is totally wrong on all levels for when we do such an act we are using learned tactics from our enemy to create another enemy.  This is not what we are supposed to be doing, we are supposed to be bringing people to God and to show the dying world that there are a true Hope and Savior with all the answers to every question that is imaginable.  If and when a person is afraid of you, then there can be no equal agreement between the involved parties, not to mention that the trust factor of such setting will never be secure.  Is this what we want to protract towards others, have we digressed so much that we use fear tactics against others to obtain a higher status?  It sure seems like it especially in today’s societies for we all know that money and status buys the best toys and gives us the best lawyers.  How wrong is this picture?  God says it is eternally wrong and that we need to change our ways in order to bring people to Him instead of pushing them away from Him.

Currently, there is a song that is going around entitled “Fear Is A Liar” by Zach Williams.  It is an absolutely fantastic truth song that presents fear on its original level, Satan.  This song addresses the fact that Satan is a liar and through this lie, fear comes to you.  A part of the words go as follows: “Fear, he is a liar” and that is all of the words that we need to know.  The remaining portions of the song are just as important and pertinent but the truth in the song lies in these 5 simple words.  Fear is a he and that he is Satan for it is he who fears you and uses his fear against you in order to establish his fear in our lives.  Fear was not meant for our lives in any way, shape, or manner yet we allow this lie to rule our lives on a minute by minute experience.  As long as we do not care to know about why fear rules our lives we shall never understand true freedom, freedom that God created us to live within and until we get it through to our hearts that fear originates from Satan we will never have a chance to truly live in this condition either.

We were created to be kings and queens not servants to a defeated enemy, and as long as we allow our enemy to run roughshod over our hearts without any substantial resistance and holy fight this pattern shall continue without any easement.  Church, it is our responsibility to teach this truth about our enemy and to explain to those who are living in such conditions that there is an answer for them.  But why are we not teaching this?  Why have we allowed our enemy to run without any hesitation over God’s precious, precious creations?  It is because we ourselves refuse to dig into the true and eternal meaning of God’s Word and take this truth to the people who need it.  We have become afraid of ourselves and are holed up in our buildings and doing nothing, while countless amounts of people die in their sins and are eternally separated from God.  We have within our eyes the resource to defeat all fear, we know who causes fear and we now understand why he uses such tactics.  It is time we stand up and take our rightful places in the eternal Kingdom, we should never be defeated on any level and we definitely should never be led by fear and if we do not take this stand for God and to spread the true gospel of Christ to the world then we have automatically been defeated by fear and thus subject to being thrown out of the Garden of Eden once again.

DLB

Altered Status

Altered Status

6/23/18

Living in such a manner represents an abnormal state of order.  One can say that they identify with the world in a specific way but when they succumb to this lie they automatically place themselves into a setting which cannot produce anything but death.  God has a specific order for a reason and it is His desire that everyone lives in complete truth and happiness according to His Order.  Any alteration of such status may be accepted by the world and seem to have no immediate consequences but in the long run it will encroach itself upon our lives in such a horrific manner that if we do not understand how to correct this turn could mean the end of not only our physical lives but our eternal ones as well.  God is in the restoration business and it is His desire to restore everything to us that has been stolen, we just have to accept His Ways and return to this Holy Order.

Having worked in the medical field for over thirty-three years now I have witnessed many different types of scenarios that have humans ending up on the wrong side of an accident due to their volunteered impaired abilities.  Everything from gunshot wounds to sexual misconduct, my eyes and hears have been exposed to friends and non-acquaintances alike all presenting with some type of malady.  While there may be an innocent party involved in such delays, the focus is usually on the ones that cause the ruckus and thus end up grabbing the most attention.  I have chosen not to participate in such deviant activities for I have always had the concept of knowing exactly what I did the night before and if I did something could have a good recollection if needed.  That does not mean that my mind did not think about participating in such activities but I promised myself to have the decency to my family and to adhere to the respect of myself in not following through with such thoughts.

While I can honestly say that I have never been in such a tragic setting personally, we can turn on the television or read an article in the local or national news sources and see what others have fallen for this terrible chosen behavior.  It does not matter what period of human history one looks over this type of loose behavior occurs and at some point in the near future certain consequences arise from such activities, I guess the entire world does not have to explode for humans to personally repeat history and not learn from it.  The Bible gives us plenty of examples in this regard as well and while there are many social issues on the table today God wants to stick with only one issue but this issue serves as a perfect example of what occurs when people voluntarily alter their statuses enough that worldly order is allowed into their lives.  We also must remember that there are two sides to this type of activity, one who the altering occurs and those around who are in waiting to take advantage of the situation.  The human mind is a powerful instrument in our lives and we must never forget that once it has been invaded by the world its objectives will be obtained by any means necessary.

When we go out to eat in a restaurant one of the first things the waiter or waitress asks us if we would like something to drink.  The alcohol suggestions always flow freely right from the beginning and sometimes the asking employees become disappointed when only tea and water is ordered from our table.  I understand that many people who live in the western societies socially drink at most meals and as long as they do not drink too much their activities are not monitored closely and are of no concern, but when the alcohol flows readily and they lose the cognitive ability to reason safely and drive with caution their actions can harm others, including their selves.  And who has ever wanted a drink after a certain period of stressful time or who have come home from a very hectic day at work?  All of these types of settings occur each day around the world and all of us are susceptible to its effects if we are not careful.  However, in many parts of the world regular drinking water is not readily available still, so drinks such as wine and beer make up the local cuisine, so are all of these people wrong in drinking such ways?  God says there is a logical course for such activities and as long as it does not alter your state or status it is okay to have such drinks, but when it alters your activity in ANY way, enough is enough and you need to stop.

The Bible presents us with many examples of such conditions concerning diet and drink.  We must contend that the fermentation process back in the ancient days is basically the same as it is today, no matter what others try to persuade otherwise.  Purity in content was of the utmost priority for in many cases, as mentioned above, drinking water was nowhere to be found.  This means that a person who consumed too much alcohol would become drunk and since that person was human all of the “qualities” of being drunk would be same back then as they are today.  One of the most famous passages concerning this topic in the Bible occurs in Genesis where we are given the picture of Lot and his daughters and it is this truth that God wants us to understand the importance of being in control of our minds and actions at all times, for when we allow substances to overtake our lives it is a guarantee that an overthrow will occur.  In this example of Lot there are many other aspects of the story that will be addressed at a later date, but for now, we are going to deal with the ability of a substance to alter one’s status enough to produce grave consequences, both physically and spiritually. 

If one has studied this passage before it is clear that there are many different aspects of human activity that occur when we take into consideration what Lot and his daughters did after the fall of Sodom and Gomorrah.  As stated before, it is this one single aspect of losing control over one’s actions that will be focused on here, for when one loses control and the ability to sustain regular maintenance of your entire being, others shall recognize this setting and could take advantage of such hideous accounts for their own delight.  It is this mental and physical impairment that sets the stage of a catastrophic result that continues to play out in our societies today and what is scarier is that the world promotes this condition and has now turned to laws and constitutional amendments in accomplishing such feats, following a pied piper does not make one wise or enlightened, only a rat.

Lot and his family were supernaturally instructed to flee their city pending the city’s utter devastation by God.  The wages had been set and it was to be noted that Sodom, Gomorrah, and other cities in the valley were to be completely destroyed due to their living and thriving off of their homosexual lives and laws.  We know this fact about Sodom and Gomorrah because when the angels came into the city they were propositioned by the men of the city, a small taste of what was yet to come occurred to those men but still, they choose not to change their ways or hearts.  Lot and his family fled the city and were on the way up to the designated place of safety when the destructive process began and we also know what occurred to the wife of Lot when she disobeyed the supernatural instructions that were given to her.  Lot and his daughters reached the cave and protection was available even though the mental torment of what occurred to their lives was still fresh in their minds.

During the time in the cave that God had provided for them, one would have believed that they would offer up praises and thanksgiving for the salvation of their lives, for it is human process to sit back and to think about what has just occurred and wonder what might have happened to you if things were different.  We see this pattern of thought process developing due to the conversations that the daughters had concerning their livelihood and survival of their father’s lineage.  While this is a noble suggestion on some levels of concern, the manner in which they chose to extend Lot’s lineage goes TOTALLY against the plan and will of God.  It is also of grave concern about how they planned to accomplish this process as well.

It is a known fact that when a human being’s mind is in full control of their personal surroundings and décor not much can be attributed to their actions that they are not or will not be aware of.  One of the most hotly debated topics of our present time deals with the legalization of a previously illegal drug, marijuana.  While the drug is relatively safe and can be processed to enhance its true value for medical concerns, its grown form gives off a state of altered status in which the people using such drug method lose some capabilities to function at the normal pace that many positions demand.  I am not here to argue for or against such drug legalization but when a society votes to accept such altered status’ as being the norm, the directional setting of said society cannot prove to be favorable.  It is alcohol and the products thereof that is in question here during this example and how alcohol was used in excess by the daughters to alter the status and mind of their father.

The daughters understood what an excess amount of alcohol did to the human body and how the consequences of the previous night’s binge had the following day.  The daughters also knew how their father’s mental state would be while in this excessive state thus used such setting and conditions to execute their plan.  It is this issue that concerns God because if an excess of a drug is powerful that it can impair the senses enough to compress moral and stable issues into a manipulative and/or impulsive request, it can also do the same on the spiritual aspect of our lives as well.  Remember God gave us His Spirit inside our bodies and if our physical is led into a direction so shall the doors of our spiritual be opened as well.  Genesis 19 states that the plan that the daughters had was to get their father drunk, then sleep with him and hopefully become pregnant, which both of them did on successive nights.  From all accounts of this story, Lot was in such a state that he did not even fight back or try to deter the daughters from their intentions, he complied and fulfilled their desires and provided them with results from their wicked plan.

Through the deviousness of their plan together it is known that Lot would have never agreed to such a plan if he was of sound mind those two nights.  If Lot was willing to do such a deed, then through the daughters’ own personal knowledge about their father would have suggested such acts while sober and would have not had to rely upon consorted alterations.  Lot was in no state to fight back or to prevent the acts that were unfolding those nights and even though those plans coming from the girls were wicked they were allowed to continue and to be completed.  It is this altered state of being that Lot allowed he to be placed in and it was through this known state that the plan was executed perfectly.  Now, if the people involved here knew what would occur to the human state when too much alcohol had been consumed, it is safe to say that Lot, through all of his eyewitness accounts in Sodom and Gomorrah would know what the excessive amount of alcohol would do in his body as well; Lot was not a dumb or stupid man.

Even with this information onboard, Lot could not escape the effects of the alcohol and what it did to him and thus what it was designed to do as well, which was to alter his frame of mind so that someone else’s plan could be completed; it is this state that many people utterly refuse to remember when it comes to human reality and the consequences of our actions.  In the instance of Lot’s daughters, both girls conceived and produced ethnic races that caused many heartaches not only to God but to Israel as well and these actions are still burned on the hearts of people today that live in Israel or identify with the Israeli people even in this current generation.  The human body has not changed one bit since this occurrence in the cave where Lot and his daughters were staying, in fact, technology now allows us to actually see all the way down to the genetic level of exactly how one’s body will react to any drug that is introduced into the body, voluntarily or involuntarily injected or submitted.  This means that the same conditions can occur when altering substances are put into our bodies and since purification methods are far more advanced today than back in previous times, the potency for such alterations is greatly enhanced.

It is well known that this topic could include any subject matter and be considered relevant, but what God wants us to understand here is that this issue is a human issue and one that revolves around the human alone.  It does not matter what type of substance the human intakes for if it alters the status of the body it is going to alter the status of the spirit as well.  As stated before God put into us His Spirit which means that whatever we intake and place into our physical lives also will have an effect on our spirit as well.  In the case of Job, it was not the alcohol’s fault for Job understood what alcohol could do to his system and he still allowed his status to be changed.  The consequences of such actions may have been considered to be physically adequate but the results of such acts proved to have long-lasting curses on many people in the future.  It was the direct result of Job being tricked by his daughters that allowed for such future devastation and all of this could have been prevented if he had only kept his state intact and alert.  The modern Church has forgotten how important it is to keep Satan out of our lives for we have invited him into the doors of the church (temple) while standing there smiling and actually holding the door open for him during this invitation.

It is this altered state that of course grabs many of our attention because it quickly reminds us of certain past details at some point in time.  When these memories flood our minds we cannot help but wonder what really occurred during those times and while certain bits of information may trickle out from time to time, the full truth may never be known.  God asks us the question that concerns most parents and that is how do we know what we are doing if we allow ourselves to be altered by some substance that is not normally in our general or even organic systems?  The implications of having a good time are automatically skewed by this activity and serve as a perfect example as to why it is important to always remain sober while walking this journey.  I am not advocating for complete abstinence for the Bible does not mention such activities, but God does want us to understand how important it is for His prized creations to stay alert at all times for once our enemy has a hold of a part of our lives it is difficult to completely close those doors.  God created us in a specific manner in mind which follows an even more specific order and that order included being of a sound mind at all times.

Humanity many times writes off such warnings as a scare tactic, or a holy roller trying to keep people from having a good time or relaxing after a stressful week; that is not what God is saying to us.  God wants us to continually remember how important it is for us to know what is going on around us at all times because our eternal lives are at stake as long as we take air into our lungs.  This topic should come as no surprise to anyone since there are many states in this nation pushing to legalize certain drugs that are currently considered illegal.  We must consider the fact that if the world is trying to make light of a substance that clearly alters the state of our bodies and to legalize its mechanisms something must be amiss somewhere.  The world and its leadership shall never promote anything that is of good and sound quality for it knows nothing of the sort.  That is why God wants us to think about the measures that we place into our paths and into our lives because when the world’s hype and lies are over our eternity can also be forever altered in a way that we will not be able to see and know God’s truth again.

The pressures of the world are great enough that we do not need to voluntarily give our enemy easier access to our physical and eternal lives.  Church, it is time we step up and show the world that we understand the implications of such personal disasters and that we provide a viable example and alternative message to what the world deems as acceptable and harmless.  Altering the status of any machine, motor, or more importantly, the human body is a dangerous game and can prove to be harmful if played with on any level.  God created us in such a manner that we have the ability to reason and see what is actually going on around us due to our clear and cognitive mind and physical state, your purpose that God has given to us is the target by our enemy and if he can gain access to your life he will distort this divine purpose and create a state of havoc that some may never recover.  God is calling for us to come back to Him so that He can restore our lives to a guided and perfect state of eternal protection all we have to do is turn our hearts back to Him and place His Ways first in our hearts.

DLB

Staying Sharp

Staying Sharp

6/12/18

Everyone knows that if a knife becomes dull it really cannot function as it needs to, thus become a potential hazard to you and to everyone else to may use it.  Many of us attribute this and then applied exampled truth to only the physical aspects and tools that affect our lives.  However, God wants us to understand that it is the condition of our spiritual lives and existence that relates to our physical lives that is the most important recognition that we can understand.  We have become so dull and lazy when it comes to our purpose and mission fulfillment that our effectiveness to the dying world can be classified as garbage and deservingly subject to the trash.  God has a different message, one that we have been taught and one that we should be teaching others who are searching for truth.

I had the privilege of attending a Christian private school that was at our church in Cleveland, Texas.  It was a great school with a wonderful academic standard that was enjoyed by most of the students that were there; however, it could be a tad cumbersome especially if your attitude and drive were not always sharp and attentive that the curriculum demanded.  If we only did our work, followed the assignments, asked for the teacher’s help when needed and most importantly studied and passed the tests in the required amount of time everything would be roses and no sidetracks would have to be addressed.  Well, as one can imagine, things did not follow such patterns all the time and some students became lazy and thus had the extra privileges withheld until the grades came back up to standard level.  This was a process to lose and a process to gain back both of which could easily be avoided if we only would obey the rules and focus our attention on what we were supposed to attain.

Of course, I fell into this category and at times found myself daydreaming instead of finishing my English workbook, it was this subject that cost me almost every time and one that instead of me asking for the needed help I hid in my cubby and goofed off instead.  At Heritage, we used the PACE program of learning and instruction.  It was a great curriculum and explained what needed to be done quite nicely.  The level of instruction was to the point and on one’s level of understanding, the program even encouraged those who were behind on any level to hurry up and get caught up with the others, not in a condescending manner but one that made the student feel accomplished and successful.  Still, some of us did not care to complete all of the activities required and since this was the case it meant that all extracurricular activities were off limits until the grades came back up.  The process did not care if you stood on the sidelines or sat on the bench through each game or even the entire season your grades had to be present in order for one to participate.  This process taught me a lot about myself too, but for some time it frustrated me but I pointed my frustration in the wrong direction thus giving up on that program for another.  It was my own incorporated dullness that led me to not wanting to study enough to get back with my team, it became such an issue that practicing was not even an option either, a hole I had dug for myself yet corrected the setting by filling in the hole with me still in it.

How could such a luring prospect of returning to the pitch or the court continue to deter me from my dilemma?  I understand that most young people go through a process where school and its true necessities are not the most pleasant setting to be in but it is only for a short period of time and that it is the starting point for your future.  What you dictate to yourself in school shall follow you as a guide for when you graduate and set forth to achieve other opportunities, a concept that hardly any young person grasps today.  I have to admit that the spirit I portrayed concerning school when I was younger is nothing to what it has grown into today.  This intense and immensely undisciplined and angered attitude rules the halls today and is constantly fueled with the lie of entitlement that only Satan can provide.  I despise what the kids are being taught and what they are allowed to get away with, for the world has taught that the system is okay and that everyone has their own ways of finding out the truth, an eternal variable that will cost most of these beautiful kids their lives.  The sharpness of these kids begins with their learning of worldly ways and then protracts them onto others as a controlling measure in order to get their own way.  This is a deadly process and one that does not represent order by any magnitude, which as each month passes we witness other violent acts that truly define what lies within our hearts.

As my time on the sidelines became draw out, I really had no concept about how I was harming my team for not being a portion of the squad that they had been accustomed to having with them.  I am not saying that I was that important but for me not playing the position that they were accustomed to that was the issue, for while a good person replaced me, their trust had been compromised because of my selfish inhibitions and willingness to complete my school work so I could return to the playing field.  It is this part of the topic that really gets me because as I look back at the entire setting I realize that I was hurting my own personal being it is obvious that I was hurting a well-oiled machine that did not deserve to take the brunt of my selfishness and laziness.  I wonder if we have the guts enough to take a look back our past actions and see just how much our selfishness played a part in the past issues of others, then I wonder if we would even recognize that we should have done better.  It is this point that God wants us to understand just how important it is to stay sharp at all times in order for us not to fall dull and eventually become useless due to our own laziness tendencies that the world loves to encourage.

In Revelation 3:14-22 we have the perfect example of what God is trying to tell us through one of the churches and the spirit she harbors during a specific time.  I am no biblical scholar and will not ever proclaim to be, but when God gives a specific example He is always dead on and so much so that there cannot be any logical rebuttal to such truth.  The church of Laodicea in this passage gives us an example that cannot be denied for we could honestly place any church today into this passage and we would not be wrong in its description.  All of us have fallen into at least one of these categorical descriptions and have loved the setting so much that we have remained in such status.  Our hearts have become hard dry soil because of the ways that we have accepted the world without remorse and until we allow God to take His plow and till our hearts again, we are sunk and will never be able to produce a wonderful harvest again.  It is for this reason that the Church no longer has the edge to complete her mission to the world, for when one lives in such accordance with something it feels like one does not need to minister to it as it should but rather accept it and justify it for who it is instead.  The Church should know better but when her priorities have been rearranged for so long she cannot help but give in to the truth for a lie thus voiding out the eternal life message for one of destruction and death.

As long as the Church lives in this capacity there will be no way that she will be able to complete the mission that she was created to do.  It will rise to a point where she will no longer be able to define the Book of Genesis and its meaning or even care to for that matter, oh wait, we are almost there now, aren’t we?  When an organization loses its meaning from where it began, that organization ceases to be the company that it was when it was founded.  The same is true for you as well and since you are the Church that means the Church is in the same boat when it comes to its foundational roots.  Dullness does not take too long to overcome the best-conditioned sword or opening object and if not made sharp again soon can even become a hazard to itself or the user of such tool.  It is this condition that Satan desires your life to be and as stated above the Church as well.  Satan does not want you to become productive in any manner for if and when we do it can always trigger the truth about our existence within our heads and hearts. 

One of the more specific ways dullness is introduced into our lives is through compliance and false equality for these entities and conditions cannot be truly obtained unless God is at the center of their presence.  When a leader of a company decides to conform themselves into such a dull position they voluntarily place the entire organization at risk for a takeover, that takeover may be from within and on a low level or it may stem from the top down.  Conformity may be a popular stance to show but it is one of weakness and indifference and I can guarantee that when a competitor recognizes this they will act upon it as soon as possible just to gain the edge over your presentation.  We cannot deny the fact that this picture that this paragraph has painted is exactly what has occurred in our nation and it is right now eating away in our churches thus acting like the satanic cankerworm that he is.  We, the Church, have failed to look into the eyes of Satan and recognize his true intentions but instead have glanced at his beauty and have fallen for this lie of his and since we have been in this mode we have also accepted the lies that the world has planted within it and accept it as a natural state.

When Jesus told His followers to go into the world and to teach the gospel He did so for a reason and that reason was that He understood that the world was already corrupt and needed a Savior.  It came as no surprise to Jesus that the world was in trouble way back when He walked the earth so why would the world just all of a sudden “repent” and turn from its ways now?  It cannot for its ruler and leader cannot so that pattern is ours to break and to show whoever wants to know the eternal truth those words.  But there is no way possible that we can do this if we do not separate ourselves from the world and complete what Jesus wants us to do.  It is this dullness that now defines our failure and the condition that the Church is living; it has become a liability and an object of laughter and hindrance to our presence.  We are no longer taken as a serious entity or viable example and this shall continue to occur until we stand up and allow ourselves to teach the truth about God again.  It is for this reason that the New Testament was written for even though it was just a few decades since the death and resurrection of Christ occurred the Church had fallen into a blanket of dangers that had quickly enveloped it and was threatening to end its life before it truly lived up to her potential.  If this team had been easily persuaded to write an entire Testament, what could be written about today’s Church?

Our nation has purposefully taken off the mantle that God established for her and she is now at risk to become a wasteland.  The Church has done the same and continues to expound filth from her mouth and heart towards God and the His Laws, and even though there are some that still hold on to the true faith and teach the correct gospel we are far and few between but it is imperative that we continue living in accordance to God’s Ways so that the light of truth shall be given to those who wish to hear the truth.  The Church in Laodicea defines what we have become through the allowance of the world into our lives.  The mentioning of the Church of Laodicea in Revelation Chapter 3 is one of the last mentioning’s of the “Church: in God’s Word, this cannot be a coincidence at all for nothing about the Word of God is a coincidence.  It is this detail that we need to understand is one that could cost us our very existence and should be noted as such.  Repent, Church for the time is short and it is time we need to work for God’s team once again and stop standing on the sidelines and harming the eternal truth that needs to be shared.

DLB

Sometimes You Have To Be Thrown

Sometimes You Have To Be Thrown

6/11/18

Jonah, Judas, and Jesus, a trio and combination that many may have never thought about before, and one in which I have to be included.  But these three men share a combined purpose and direction that serve our lives today both a shape our eternal futures all while establishing the importance of how separating ourselves from the world should be represented.  God has never once said that living for Him would be easy and that sometimes having to make difficult decisions would never occur, but these instances all depend on how committed we are to either the world or to God and the results of such beliefs shall determine our eternal status.  We in the West cannot deny that our lives have been made easy through the blessings of God but at some point, those close associations with God will cost us deeply and then the question remains how far will we need to go in order to separate us from the world or from God.

Have you ever made a drastic change in your life?  Being a pastor’s kid it is common for our families to move around and while the kids were usually the last to know about the upcoming move, the process was not totally kept from us.  However, there was one time where dad did not really confer with mom or the church board about his resignation.  I was not very old at the time and really did not find out about those drastic details until I was older, but evidently dad just up and resigned one Sunday without letting mom or anyone else know what was going on.  The church we were at was a fairly large one and had many opportunities in front of her, but dad heard from God and did what God said to do.  Yes, it was a huge shock and one that took many by surprise but it was in obedience and trust in God that led my father and mother in their ministry even when it meant up and leaving suddenly.

While my father’s resignation could in no way be compared to the act that Jonah did when he told the mariners of the boat to throw him overboard, it does resemble the sudden and drastic action that we all need to be willing to complete if God says to obey.  Sometimes we fail to recognize God’s voice when He speaks to us and it is these times of inaction that cost us many blessings for the Kingdom of God.  It must be asked of ourselves if we purposefully become spiritually deaf in order to keep our stable environment intact and our bubble safely circled around us, or are we willing to allow God to speak to our lives at all times?  I know all of have regretted some of the decisions in our past and have looked back and only then realized that the voice we heard was God’s but believed in a lie instead.  Would this setting be ignored because we did not have our hearts in total compliance with God and continually willing to do what He says for us to do?  It is this example that God brings to us in this message today, for we can no longer ignore the fact that He wants His Church to drop the world and completely take a hold of His voice so that we can advance His Kingdom again.  This continuum of Jonah will be taking an unusual turn as we include Judas into the mix, an unlikely character here but we must remember that the times of repentance is short and we must make decisions now.

One of the sticking points that many have with the Bible is the numerous accounts of people choosing to make seemingly harsh or almost irrational choices in their decisions that they claim to come from God.  God, Himself does not ever back down from the truth and sometimes, due to the cruelty and death march that the world offers can only be separated by drastic measures.  It is through these types of examples that God uses in order to grab our attention of just how important it is to live for His Ways and to abandon the ways of the world.  It takes real courage to leave your worldly lifestyle and place all of your faith, hope, and trust into a Being that you have never put your eyes upon, but it is this trust and represents God and who He is to our existence.  If we do not have enough faith and trust in God to completely live for Him and to circumcise our hearts from the world, then why were we even created and why would we even want to change any of our ways?

In the previous article in this series about Jonah, we learned that Jonah had offered himself up as the reason why the storm was raging around the boat and that things would not settle down and return to normal until the issue at hand, him, was thrown overboard.  This act of Jonah seems like an impossible one to make and can be easily ignored or rendered as a fabrication or an embellishment in order to make a point.  However, when we take into consideration how much the world and the spirit it incorporates controls our lives and the daily decisions we make, it cannot be dismissed as an act of fiction.  The common denominator in the Book of Jonah and in today’s society is the human being and as long as the human mind is operable not many items can be disregarded when it comes to human acts.  So when the Bible says that Jonah knew what to do I believe that he did hear from God and completely understood that he needed to change his ways in order to make things right with God.

In most cases, one does not easily or readily jump off of a ship or asked to be thrown overboard even when a storm is lurking about.  The tendency for humans in such situations is to try their best to keep steady and to stay within the confines of the safety zone and while this type of human activity would be believable, God has never asked us to be normal and to just accept our current conditions and do nothing.  Jonah had no doubts that the issues facing him and the other occupants in the boat were ongoing because of what he did not do after God gave him the orders for Nineveh.  Jonah chose the spirit of the world over the advancement of God’s Kingdom even though Jonah understood both sides of the issue at hand.  We must ask ourselves how many times have we not completed what God wanted us to do for whatever reason?

At some point in the story of Jonah, while he was splashing about, he had the “brilliant” idea that he needed to really repent and to change his heart about the truth of the mission that God had given him to complete.  Jonah knew that his actions were wrong and that what he did was disobedience to God on the highest level, but for a certain amount of time, he chose to ignore such command and to continue to live and do things in his own manner.  It is this lack of obedience that placed Jonah and those around him in jeopardy.  The only thing God cares about is spending eternity with each and every child of His and if it means that He must create a storm and rock your boat in order for us to get the job done, He shall do it.  But the important issue here is that Jonah had a change of heart and even though he already knew the importance of his mission, it became real to him through the example that God was providing around him that changed his heart.  It was at this point that Jonah realized the severity of the mission that God had chosen for him to complete and he also understood that a drastic move needed to occur in order for his repentance to be defined.

The act of repentance is a severe and final act, not one that has any type of room for maybe.  It is a complete act and one that takes a stand and defines a new line of inquiry and path for that individual.  In no way, will a person define this act about themselves if they do not firmly and completely believe in changing because if any other action besides complete stoppage of infractions, true repentance cannot be stated.  In the case of Jonah, when he accepted the sin that he committed against God he became willing to correct and to change whatever necessary in order for the conditions surrounding them in the boat to subside; to make things right.  Even though the men tossed him overboard and the storm and waves ceased, Jonah’s story is not over for as we shall see shortly the consequences of such actions by Jonah still had to be carried out; remember, God is a complete God and His Truth must be and will be projected at all times.

Jonah chose the correct thing to do and to accept God as his Savior by correcting his wrongs through repentance.  This took a bold move and one that cannot be argued as logical, but it served its message even for the people in the boat that stayed out of the water.  The consequences of disobedience are death and we learned this fact back in the beginning chapters of Genesis, we also learned that this pattern cannot be physically changed and that at some point in our lives we shall all face the consequences of humanity’s disobedience to our infinite Creator.  But Jonah placed himself at the mercies of God with this bold step of his and demonstrated to those in the boat and to us today that it takes a hard decision to separate oneself from the world once we have tightly woven our lives into its grasp.  It is not an easy decision and it is one that may even cost us our physical life, but it serves as the foundation of why God gave humanity a reason to choose Him over the world and that is because of His offering of eternal life.  So, I can hear you asking, where do Judas and Jesus fit into this setting?

Now we come to Judas and how his life and choices come into play in this unusual trio of well-known people in this topic.  Judas, as we all know, is one of the disciples of Jesus and had spent much time with Him while He was on the earth.  Judas saw the glory of God being advanced through the numerous miracles while Jesus walked the earth and he was able to witness the other side of the aisle when demons were manifested and then cast out as well.  One cannot say that Judas did not understand what was going on when Jesus did the things He did, nor could anyone say that Judas was in his correct mind and heart when he betrayed Jesus either, so why would one voluntarily choose the world and its master over the eternal blessings of complete freedom.  In truth, this is not an uncommon theme for it is played out each and every day not only by those who have attended church all their lives but leaders of the Church as well.

Judas lived more than three years with Jesus during His ministry.  Judas was present at many of the locations where great things and wonderful sermons occurred and were presented.  Yet, Judas presented himself to the Jewish leaders as one who was not fully committed or at least was willing to entertain the idea that what Jesus was presenting to the people was not the absolute truth.  In other words, doubt had creped into Judas’ heart and it was so noticeable that the Jewish leaders harked upon this evidence.  The question can be raised about how did Judas not truly know and understand that what Jesus was doing was pushing back the darkness that mankind had allowed to enter so long ago and most importantly was fulfilling prophecy of the Scriptures concerning every Law God gave to humanity.  But, on the other hand, it is just as easy to see where he would not understand this truth because just like you and me Judas was human and thus subject to being tricked, and it was this tricking process that he gave into through a third party that cost him his eternal life.

It is the choice that Judas made that is of the important detail here for this topic.  Judas had every opportunity in the world to stop and repent after he had agreed to betray Jesus.  Just as Jonah had an opportunity to make a final choice before it was too late, so did Judas.  The difference is that unlike Jonah, Judas chose to follow through with the worldly decision that he made instead of stopping and repenting and delaying the inevitable.  Is it fair to be harsh on Judas?  Yes, it is for he was a human being just like you and I and had every, and the same opportunity to change his heart before the act was committed.  Judas decided for himself to set the standard for many church members of the future Church including members of today’s Church, and follow the ways of the world instead of the complete Truth of God and His Word. 

This statement should not come as a surprise to anyone, but it will because of the condition of the hearts of God’s people.  Judas chose, voluntarily chose, to keep the plan of the religious establishment intact instead of choosing the ultimate life plan of God through Jesus.  However, through this choice of Judas God received ALL of the glory because His eternal plan which was set into motion by humans back in the Garden of Eden came to fruition; thus, further frustrating Satan and his loser mentality and life even more.  When it came time for Judas to listen to God’s voice or to the voice of the world, he chose to listen to the world.  He did not follow in the footsteps of Jonah and allow himself to be thrown overboard but chose to stay in the boat and ride out the storm.  We see that this decision haunted him for the short remainder of his life.  While this may not seem like too much of a big deal, the actions of Judas actually define what lies within the heart of the Church today and will result in the exact same scenario as Judas’ demise if we do not change our hearts completely.  It is for this reason that Judas is included into this topic so that we get a clear picture and knowledge of just how drastic our choice for God can be and should be.

This choice of Judas’ is the difference between the one Jonah made from his, for Jonah saw what was going to happen to people if he did not repent and obey what God had told him to complete.  Judas understood what Jesus was supposed to do but failed to comply with the Holy Order of Jesus’ words; instead, when he was presented with the opportunity to see the world through, the established authority, he took it.  Through this action of his he ignored the people the life of Christ for a longer period of time, thus unknowingly both harmed them and helped them at the same time.  For a long period of time, the Catholic Church had it out for the Jews for this process and killed a great number of Jews for this reason alone, but in doing so advanced the wrong kingdom by selfish gains instead of truly understanding what the Word of God says concerning who our enemy is.  It is impossible to know exactly how many lives the Church has destroyed in the name of God for incorrect reasons, just as it was for Judas’ actions as well but we do know that the masses still follow in each of these footsteps and have never truly repented for such eternal crimes.

One could argue the fact that what Judas did result in God’s ultimate plan for all humanity with the eternal sacrifice being completed.  While that is a valid point and is a correct statement, the detailed event of Judas and the choice he made brings up the importance of his life alone and the eternal destination of his eternal setting and position.  Jesus loved Judas just as much as He does you and I and would have come to this earth and completed His mission for just Judas.  The importance of life to God does not and is not measured in groups or levels but as one level of consistency that covers all life which means that Judas was just as important to God and Jesus as you and I are to God and Jesus.  The choice that Judas made and the ultimate demise of his life still was in question right up to the minute he committed the most selfish act, and I have no doubt that if Judas would have asked for forgiveness from Jesus, Jesus would have forgiven him without any hesitation and for this reason it all boils down to whether or not we choose to allow ourselves to be thrown overboard or not.  As stated above, Judas chose to stay in the boat and accept the fate along with the others, squarely placing his faith and trust in the world and not with God.

Lastly, but most importantly, we come to Jesus and his decision about whether or not He should follow through with His physical life or live in complete eternal obedience to His Father.  It is evident that many people do not take into consideration the humanness of Jesus in that there was a reason why He prayed to God in the Garden of Gethsemane concerning His option of not dying.  At no time while Jesus was walking this earth did He ever question His mission or anything that His Father had for Him to complete.  I find a very intriguing detail about His prayer to God that evening and it concerns Jesus asking whether or not it was God’s Will for the cup of death to leave Him at this time. 

The human aspect of this prayer means that Jesus even though He was the Son of God was still subject to His Father in all ways yet even having this status Jesus still did not know the Will of God and the overall plan of God so He still had to ask.  In addition, Jesus wanted to ensure that the events that were about to unfold, even though He understood that at some point they would be completed, were doing so at the appropriate time, which is to say the time of God.  Overall, it can be assured that Jesus was in complete repentance when He prayed that evening and was willing to allow God His Will for mankind.  There can be no other higher example of trust in God than what Jesus allowed Himself to endure for He understood that what was about to occur to Him was totally a voluntary act on His part, but He was willing without hesitation to allow Himself to die for all mankind. 

When you place all three of these men into a single category of obedience, one can easily conclude that they have not much in common but when you place the word of obedience into the picture all of them play a significant part in this topic.  Jonah disobeyed at first then repented and then allowed himself to be in the mercy of God.  Judas was with Jesus on a personal and daily level yet decided to choose and to stand up for the world and thus end his life according to what only the world can provide.  Jesus is the perfect sign of obedience in all areas of our lives and should be deemed as such by those who cannot live up to such standards both physically and spiritually.  The common core question that remains is which Kingdom you will choose to stand out from and be the example of said Kingdom and while this may seem to be an odd continuum of the series about Jonah it is completely relevant to what we face today.

Of course, it is evident that if one chooses the world it may be considered a popular decision for when Judas chose this act the leaders of the Jewish community were well pleased and took all labels off of Judas and his presence.  To have a traitor amongst the most troublesome man of that day to their power and recognition would be a weapon an enemy can have, and it was achieved in such story of Judas.  How many times have we allowed such a Judas into our lives to act as a traitor to our lives?  This traitor does not have to be just a physical presence alone but a spiritual one that will have the same effect on our lives if allowed to continue to grow and complete its mission.  It is this question that must be posed to the Christians of today’s world for it is evident that we are currently living in the rebellion and disobedient aspects of Jonah and Judas’ lives.  It is this question that has the answer that not only the world needs but for the people who consider them to be Christians, and that is we need to be thrown overboard.  It is not going to be easy to accomplish because we first need to acknowledge that we are not living with Christ and under God’s Covenant Laws, a step that is a huge one for it denies the self-aspect of our identity and forces us from the driver’s seat.  When we repent, it is a stoppage of the current status of what we are following and then makes a complete turnaround and change, it does not just mean we are sorry and ask for forgiveness.

Sadly, it is obvious that the Church and many of those who call or consider themselves Christians, have forgotten the truth about what it means to be separated and to stand out from the world.  Believing that a single holy person from history can have the authority to absolve every wrongdoing that every created human being has ever done along with a Father who has no beginning is something that is extraordinary and to many is foolish, but it is this type of belief that caused Jonah to be thrown overboard, it caused Judas to choose the world instead of God, and it reinforced the truth that God loved us so much that He sent His only Son to die for us so that we may have eternal life.  It is this type of drastic motions that we should be studying then portraying what the Bible says to do for those who do not know God.  It does not matter what part one plays in the spreading of the Gospel of Christ but it does matter that we do it as Jesus has commanded us to do.

The common aspects of Jonah and Jesus occur when Jonah told the men to throw him overboard and when Jesus allowed the world to take him with a betrayal kiss.  Both of these men did exactly what each one of us need to do each day and should not do anything less.  This measure is a drastic step but it is one that fulfills the mission that God set forth in the Garden of Eden and it is the mission that Jesus commanded to His Church.  It is not easy and persecutions, ridicules, hatred, and pure evil shall be thrown at you when you accomplish such warfare, and it is of the utmost importance that this warfare is spiritual and NOT physical.  Church, we need to be willing for us to be thrown because if we do not our status within the world will be considered a friend and we are no friend to the world on any level.  The choices are clear and precise, either we will be a Jonah or a Judas in order to choose Jesus or not.  The fate of our lives, country, world, and eternity that is at stake, we have a job to do and it is time that we repent and allow ourselves to be thrown.  If we allow ourselves to be totally trusted in God it will be amazing to watch the waves of the world become calm.

DLB