Obedience Then Fallen

Obedience Then Fallen

9/20/18

This title kind of seems weird in its wording but in reality, it represents an accurate picture of how many people live their lives on a daily basis, especially the ones who classify themselves as Christians yet consider disobedience as their companion.  Many questions arise about how we live our lives and as each day passes through the methods of technology we come to witness someone’s call to obedience drawn into the ashes because of fallen principles.  God wants us to know that we do not have to live in such follies even though the world promotes them continuously.  It is Jesus’ blood that provides the elements of Covenant and through this blood, He promises us to change our lives and restore what the enemy has taken or destroyed, but we first must make the choice to live under this protection completely.  God loves us and wants all His children to experience the joys of His presence and all we need to do for this to occur is to accept His Ways once again without compromise towards the world

For the most part of my life and for most of the people in this nation we can easily admit that our lives have been fairly decent on almost every level of living standards.  Even in times where the economy or surrounding settings may have been viewed as a bit shaky, the overall stability of knowing that life would always be normal the next day was and is always been present.  For an extended amount of time now our eyes and ears are being subjected to those who are in opposition to the standards that our nation was founded upon, and while it is anyone’s “right” to bear witness for or against such living conditions is allowed, we really need to take a step back first and look at our spiritual hearts before we demand any major changes in our lives.  Because things are not going according to the way each one of us believes it should go does not mean that all has been lost and that our current inquiries should be totally wiped away and new ones replaced.  But how many of us understand that if we disobey and blatantly disregard the truth that we place ourselves in direct lineage for Satan to adhere to his wishes of death over our life?

Some will refer back to the American Revolution or other revolution types in history as the reasoning why they are wishing for such changes to occur.  But we must keep one important aspect in mind when we reference these past events to justify today’s actions and that is the condition of the spiritual aspects of our hearts because while physical intentions may seem ripe for change they will fall to pieces either on the physical level, spiritual level or on both levels if our hearts are not right when taking these drastic measures.  What makes this action and setting so dangerous is the fact that God may want change in your life, my life and in the life of this nation but if we are not completely in tune and in touch with Him on a spiritual level we can follow Satan and accept his plan instead which at some point will collapse around us by God’s provisional hand.  Sadly, when this occurs and due to the state of spiritual affairs of our heart, we will not have a clue why the supernatural occurred and will turn to further dismay as a solution to that future condition.  What will our inquiries be then and how will we be able to pick ourselves up out of that choice matter?  We have plenty of examples of those who believed that what they were doing was correct but because of the kingdom they served were totally wrong.

When I was growing up and living at home I was like any other kid who believed that they could live on the edge of the rules and every once in a while step over that line to see just how far I could go without getting caught.  When my teenage and high school years came about I continued this practice on occasion and tested those waters a bit more thoroughly.  Our family jokes about this belief of mine and when you read the story you will understand why it is funny now but bad for me back then, or at least I thought it was at the time.  While these testing’s of mine were not terrible in nature their presence in my heart could have served as a launching pad for further and more serious events in my immediate or near future, so, God had His way with the fact that my parents knew that something wrong had occurred and would ask me about things as soon as I walked through the door.  Yep, it made me a tad upset because I believed that I could not do anything without my parents knowing my every movement but what God was displaying actually saved my life from possible catastrophe and an altered future if said jocularity allowed to stand.  The rules of my house were not all that strict for my parents expected me to use my head when making decisions but at the same time, they did expect me to adhere to what was expected from the house.

Now, after I had done these ridiculous things, on the way home I really did not give it any more thought about what had transpired for I had no intentions in telling my parents what was done.  The “deeds” that had been accomplished were ornery in nature and not anything on the line of being destructive or violent so no authorities or other families would be contacted at a later date to ask my parents or myself any incriminating questions.  But God had other ideas about obedience than I did and while I continued to try and bend the obedience rule a bit God continued to remind me of how important obedience is even down to teenage playing around.  As my life continued this learning process I have extensively received many examples of such patterns of obedience and what occurs either when you obey or not obey.  When I look at my life now, I find that if I was allowed to continue my stupid pattern when I was a teenager I do not know if I would be alive today or not for when a pattern is begun and is not tamed correctly, the aggressive results of such worldly growth can be deadly.  What I did not understand is that when I deliberately broke the rules over me, I opened the door to a punishment that goes well beyond incomprehensible even though it did not seem like anything big at the time.

A short time ago we learned about how many laps we would have to take around a setting if we did not have our hearts right with God versus how many laps we would have to take if our hearts were right with God.  We learned that this number is self contained in that it is all up to us and whether or not we choose God over the world or not that lies in this lap count of ours.  More and more I am seeing these pedometers on people’s legs or waists counting the number of steps they take each day.  In no way am I against these monitors and while I do not have one nor do I desire to have one on my body, I see and understand their purpose.  But when our minds become focused on how many steps we take each day and that number grounds us into doing more the next day, the process becomes a hindrance even though what seems like a good thing turns into an idol of objectivity instead of one that is healthy.  It is not the number of steps that we take each day that count but how many steps we take in God that matters for when we walk in God’s Ways our hearts shall always wish to accomplish the advancement of His Kingdom and not ours.

Joshua Chapter 7 is going to be the reference for this article and this passage will focus on one man’s actions through the act of obedience that led to a fall due to the sin that he believed could be hidden not only from the people of Israel but from God as well.  In Joshua Chapter 6 we read that the nation of Israel had just defeated the city of Jericho through the miraculous hand of God through their complete obedience in the Ways of God.  Every aspect of the plan that God gave to Joshua had been completed with the utmost perfection through the ways of obedience.  Through the warrants of God, it was well known that the inhabitants of Jericho had a sizeable amount of treasures within the city but God gave specific instructions for this portion of the victory as well.  God had specifically told them how to perform the attack and included detailed information that needed to be followed exactly in order for victory to be displayed.  We also saw that through this complete obedience that it did not take a very long time for them to win the city for God and to destroy the enemy of God.  The excitement of a quick victory was felt throughout the nation of Israel and everyone who was alive during that time understood the might and power of God through the human act of obedience.

As Joshua Chapter 7 opens we immediately find out that after the conclusion of the battle of Jericho, a single person decided to disobey God’s command concerning the riches of the city and take for himself some of what was supposed to go elsewhere.  The issue here becomes one of rebellion against a direct order given by God to all the people of the victorious party.  Both God and Joshua had made it very clear that no one was to take any possessions from the city after the victory was completed but Achan believed himself to be different and his personal greed overcame the obedience of God’s Word and he took a portion for himself.  It is this simple act from one person that caused the next event to come crashing down around the Israelites and them having no idea of why defeat greeted them so quickly after a sound victory previously.

There is an important detail about God here that needs to be addressed and that is what is stated in Joshua 7:1.  The opening verse gives a clear understanding that God was not a happy camper because of what He saw take place after the victory of Jericho during the cleanup procession by the people of Israel.  In fact, all of the people of Israel obeyed with the exception of one person and it was through this single act of disobedience that God became so displeased.  However, God did not immediately rest judgment on Achan nor did He tell Joshua, who was part of the ones who did not sin against God about what had occurred or gave any warning as such to anyone else.  God allowed the plan of the next city to go ahead as planned and it is this detail about God that we need to remember when we disobey because even though we may believe we have gotten away with the disobedient act He still sees and will allow our lives to play out as the next step arrives.

Joshua 7:2-3 gives us the pattern in which Joshua basically followed when he was scouting Jericho for battle for this mission was a continuing plan that had been ordained previously.  Nothing looked out of the ordinary before the scouts had brought forth their messages to Joshua about the condition of the new target the only issue that was unknown was the fact that one person had disobeyed the command of God and that this single act would cost the team and army dearly.  The return of the scouts came with great news for the entire army of Israel would not have to be sent up with only a smaller contingent needed to complete the victory.  Joshua had no intentions of disagreeing with his scouts’ report and had no worries about receiving incorrect information either, so he prepared the army for battle according to the recommendation of size by the scouts and did not expect anything else but another quick and easy victory.

Then, Joshua 7:4 arrives and the story takes a dramatic turn right off the start for the army of Israel was chased away from the battle field even before the battle began in an embarrassing turn of events that must have had Joshua and the leaders of the army confused beyond belief.  Joshua had no indication that anything was going to be amiss as the battle took place because God did not say anything against the battle or mention that any person had done wrong in the previous battle.  Out of the approximately three thousand men that were counted for battle thirty-six of them were killed by the men of Ai and through this action, as stated above the army of Israel was chased away from the city before they reached the gate, according to verse 5.  Now, seeing thirty-six men laying dead on the battlefield by today’s standards of population and while a devastating blow would not be considered too extreme of a loss; however, in this setting we must remember that the world’s population was not even close to the number of what it is today and seeing this amount of men lay dead on any side of a battle is catastrophic, especially when God has given you the command to go into battle in the first place.

The joys of the people of Israel are now silenced and no further happiness is witnessed by anyone due to the unexpected results of the battle.  This result from the battle was not expected at all for the mood of the people at the time immediately before the battle the Bible says was joyous for they were sending up far less amounts of men than what they were expecting to go.  Anytime a smaller army is needed to win a battle it is a victory already and the families of the soldiers not being sent and to those being sent would be in agreement that this smaller amount would be a sign of a quick and glorious victory.  Plus, they were still standing on the defeated ruins of Jericho and with this evidence in front of them how could anything go wrong?  Does this setting remind you of anything other type of setting that we recently experienced?  There is a reason things occur whether recognized and known or not because God is always in control of an overall situation and while His Will may not go according to our plans, it is HIS results that shall play out as the truth not ours.  I have a feeling that we shall be learning more about this type of setting very shortly.

Joshua is so distraught about the events surrounding him that he tears his garments off and lays with his face against the earth at the foot of the Ark of the Covenant until the evening.  This is a sign of a person in pure frustration and one that is in total disbelief.  The elders of Israel were in total agreement with the reaction of Joshua and followed suit as well.  But does Joshua scream to the people for hope against the news and results or does he go on a violent tirade against his surroundings?  No, he immediately begins to seek God for the answer to why things turned out in the manner that they did.  Joshua understands that when things go wrong, it is because there is a reason which he learned from all the years wandering in the desert with the fellow children of Israel way back when.  Joshua turns to God for the answer and God does not hesitate on giving Joshua the answer to his questions, Joshua may not have liked the answer but it was the truth and the answer had to be dealt with accordingly.

The questions that Joshua asks of God are legitimate ones and ones that any battle commander would ask of his understudies after a loss.  What went wrong is always the first question to be asked so that if this type of situation occurs again the same results will not be faced after the battle is over.  I find it very interesting that Joshua asks the exact same questions as the people of Israel did when the Egyptians were approaching them at the Red Sea and I also find it intriguing that it was the exact same sin that Achan held within his heart that allowed doubt to procure in the hearts of the Israelites during their wandering years.  But the manner in which Joshua asks God is totally different than how the Israelites formed questions to God in the desert, it is clear that Joshua had a complete heart and wanted to know why things went wrong.  One of the aspects in play here is that Joshua should have understood something was wrong on a higher level because of the outcome of the battle but he did not realize this until God asked him why he was lying on the floor face down and then told him to get up.  God expects us to use our minds that He gave us even though we may be at a decreased capacity He still wants us to think about things and make adjustments accordingly.  Yet, we cannot blame Joshua too much for we miss so many things that we encounter due to unforeseen or unknown circumstances but quickly God gives the answer to the question Joshua asks and a tough result will head the Israelites way soon.

God tells Joshua that Israel had sinned against His command concerning the wealth of Jericho and how it was supposed to be divided.  This small detail may seem petty but God uses the word Covenant here which places His command for such orders on a higher level and thus subject to any and all devastative procedures from God when not obeyed fully.  Joshua must have felt many emotions run through his veins as God was showing him the reasons for their failure especially when God said that because of this act the army of Israel could not even stand face to face with the enemy that they had to turn and run from them.  This is an embarrassing setting not only for Joshua but for God as well for it was in His name that the Israelite army charged and then was sorely defeated in a quickened fashion.  It also gives us a great detail of information about what occurs when we do things in the name of God but have willing sin growing within our hearts.  How could God allow such a victory to occur when He knew that a deliberate sin had been committed in the orders that He had given prior to the previous stand and victory?  It is here that God proves Himself to be steadfast in ALL areas of His Word and that He CANNOT change His Ways for any reason.

God gave strict orders for all Israelite people when the battle was over of what to do and what not to do.  It was the strictest instruction given to them and it was for a reason but as we have read here the tragedy was with the Israelites on a promised victory, so what was the issue?  It seems like all had followed the orders as they were given but just as Adam and Eve found out in the Garden of Eden when one single act of disobedience occurs it changes the entire setting of the future and until it is changed and eradicated that change shall remain intact within the body.  Jericho had means by which the house of God was to be used as a storage place, not the personal sites of individuals, families, or tribes.  The Bible does not mention that anyone saw Achan take the things of Jericho and then hide them, it can be presumed that everyone else was doing the job that they had been assigned accordingly.  From what this passage states it is clear that Achan thought about the possibility of finding and then taking loot from the destroyed city, a sin unto itself because it is the thought that brings into being the act.

A dangerous thing occurred here that we need to really think about and should be taken into consideration before we act upon it.  Achan was part of the army that marched around Jericho that final day and the days before leading up to the glorious battle day.  He was a participant in this victory and promise of God.  But he had greed in his heart at a level so high that when he saw the opportunity to take what God said not to he ignored the truth and Ways of God in order to satisfy his own lust and greed.  He used the completed plan of God in order to satisfy his human ways and thus placed him into a dangerous condition of disobedience.  So, when one wishes to argue about the severity of Achan’s punishment think about this truth about his actions and then reconsider your argument for his disobedience was based on a victory of the most High God and Creator of perfection which places his act in a total separate category of wrong.

At some point in time, Achan decided to take what God had commanded the people not to take, a process that was thought about and then opportunity taken and it was this thievery from God that cost Achan and his family tremendously.  Achan was not a stupid man for he had or what he thought he had was the perfect hiding place for what he was going to take already picked out and it was going to be easy to accomplish for he knew the patterns of those around him and just how much attention would not be on him when accomplishing this task.  This command of God’s was not a complicated matter or one that would have been hard to decipher, but it was concise and to the point just as the command He gave to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and just like those two Achan’s world was about to be rocked.  Speaking of Adam and Eve it is interesting how both of these acts run parallel with each other in that the command to obey was clear and simple yet both parties decided to disobey.  Both parties hid something in response to their actions which meant that they knew exactly what they had done and that both parties knew that their actions were wrong.  As we find out later about Achan, he was found out and his life was over and we all know what occurred in the Garden of Eden after they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 

What God is showing us today is that it is still vital that we obey Him and His Ways at all times.  It is “at all times” portion of His Covenant that is so important because it is His Covenant that defines our total separation from the world and the sin that it perceives as the truth.  We are born into this mess and it is our choice to either live for God or to live in the world and it really does matter if one little sin is committed voluntarily for it is this condition that places us outside of the covering that obedience (Covenant) gives us.  The consequences of disobedience can get no higher for it represents the true definition of sin and thus returns us to the natural “born in” state of our existence.  We cannot afford to be without covering and the only true covering that we can be safely sheltered under is that of God.  The world cannot provide any covering even though it will try to sell you some through promises instead of provisions.  God has His Covering already in place and does not even have to present it to you for it is His definition and it is already in place and present.

Church, our lives have become an Achan and we cannot deny this condition of ours any longer.  Christ established His Church when He was walking this earth by showing us how to advance the Kingdom of God.  Jesus NEVER took anything from people or the House of God but He always stuck to His mission by speaking to others about restoration and their sins with the inclusion of enemies if they were willing to listen, follow, and obey.  It is this example that we must adhere to if we want anything to do with God’s protection and we cannot afford at any time to sway from this Truth.  Obedience is alive and it knows that once it is violated that issues shall be contained within that violation.  Once we allow this breech to occur it will not only affect us individually but it shall have an immediate affect on our family as well.  Obedience is a covenant word and it operates in such capacity as well, and every example that the Bible gives us has dire consequences with it and ones that see no prettiness in sight.

From the moment Achan decided to take what was not his and to disobey God and His command, the covering for his family ended.  It was bad enough if this single act would have been confined just to one family but it immediately placed the entire nation of Israel in jeopardy so much so that the army could not even stand up and face the enemy they had to turn from them and run away like cowards.  Losing a battle by being outmaneuvered or outmanned is one thing but to be completely defeated before the main battle begins is such flat embarrassing.  This single act cost men their lives as they turned away affecting those families as well.  When a large city falls with not a single loss of life and then a smaller yet just as important battle is lost before it begins, something cannot be right.  I wonder what went through Achan’s mind at this point.

Why do we play around with this type of destruction?  Why do we continually thumb our noses (hearts) towards God and kick Him to the curb?  Our disobedience is so blatantly obvious that we no longer try to cover it up and the sins we do try to cover up are easily noticed when one walks by the burial places.  The exact same settings are in place now as they were back when Achan walked the earth nothing has changed folks.  Obedience is still and shall always be the highest priority that humans can keep for even though we like to project God as a eternal Father who represents Love in all areas of existence, He is a jealous Father who has rules in place and just as good parents wish wants His children to keep in place.  This passage reminds us that God sees everything that we do no matter if it is a large military operation or an individual act, when He expects obedience He demands it on all levels of existence.  How can we sit back and incorporate sin into our lives and expect God not to act sooner or later?  The Bible does not say but I can imagine that Achan even was cheering along with the others when the soldiers left for battle knowing that he had deliberately disobeyed God.

One of the huge issues about us Church is that we have acted like Achan for a long time now and have hidden the Truth from our lives.  W have downgraded God’s Word enough that we believe we see Him on our level and thus invoke the rules of the world that we have also incorporated in to our lives in that we can do what we want and do not have to obey His Ways.  It is this disobedient act that places us in Achan’s shoes and subjects us to being called out for our sins.  Today, we have a few that see such activity and speak the Truth against it but are immediately labeled, set aside and ridiculed as being haters.  God does love sinners but we need to understand that it is our responsibility to call out sin and to teach those who are living in sin about that sin and how harmful it is.  Not only are they directly at risk, but their family now has a target placed on their lives as well.  Look at what God is trying to get across us today in terms of not only your immediate family but the Church family as well, for God is a complete God in all aspects and cannot be swayed to disobey Himself; how much earthly loot have we hid within our tents?  Have we forgotten that our tents are part of our dominion?

More than ever we must recognize that the worldly sin that we are harboring represents the stealing that Achan did in Jericho and we need to give back to the world what we accepted from it.  Repent Church, and allow God to restore our lives back to His Ways and Covenant before He must call us up and give account for our actions.  The horrid thing about this passage is that in verse 13 it says that Israel cannot stand against its enemies until the sin is taken away and confessed.  The key word there is enemies, which means more than one enemy.  We cannot stand up to the attacks that our eternal enemy is throwing at us and it is for this reason alone that he is so successful and we are turning and running from the battle.  This passage says that the men of Israel turned and ran away, this does not even account as a coordinated retreat but a non-sanctioned cowardly defeat.  Hear the laughing?  You should because it is our enemy’s voice as we approach fro a battle, he knows we have sin in our hearts and most importantly he understands that as long as we harbor this sin we are sitting ducks to his tactics.  Remember the armor of God is holy and pure and cannot function properly unless complete obedience is used in its placement around our spiritual bodies and if our physical bodies are in a dead sprint away from the battlefield, then there is no way possible that God’s armor will do any of any good.

DLB

Truths We Miss

Truths We Miss

9/16/18

How many truths do we miss because of our stubborn beliefs and do we realize that this stubborn activity of ours actually cost us many blessings from God?  It would seem that we would learn from our forefathers or from history that we should seek the deeper meaning of our journeys because God wants to teach us something and to shed light on others for their sake.  It is this stubbornness that we would rather hold on to than let it God and allow our paths become straighter and less bumpy.  Church, the only way for others to see this truth is for us to stop being physically stubborn to God and His Ways and to show others the true meaning about life and that there is a way for happiness and the eternal promises God talks about in His Word.

Have you ever looked back at your time here on earth and wondered if things could have been different if only you had known what would occur in the future but because of your stubbornness missed out on the truth of what things should have been?  This type of nostalgia many people reflect upon and some even use it as a springboard to start over after their lives have come to a devastatingly screeching halt.  As the old saying goes concerning hindsight we cannot forget that our minds and decisions sometimes bring us further pain instead of peace that we believed we were achieving.  I know that many of the choices and mistakes that I made when I was younger could have been handled so much better than how I did back then, and it does not mean that those choices were from decades ago some were just a few years ago yet continue to serve their purpose in my life today.  Of course, I would love to go back and change things with the knowledge and wisdom I have now but all I can do is try my best to teach my girls how to make good choices through God and His Word and to leave the world alone and far from their hearts.

I came here to western Colorado back in November 1992 and have remained here ever since.  My entire life had been spent moving around with my family which was no big deal to me for I saw it as an opportunity to meet new people and make new friends.  Yes, it was difficult at times but I learned to adjust and to adapt to the settings and move along with what was before me.  Even though I have spent almost twenty-five years here in Colorado I continue to struggle with calling it my home for my heart belongs to the South and to be more specific, Texas.  I guess this is because I had my graduations there and it is where I chose to stick my heart but what about Colorado and my long-term place of residence, what has my divided heart led me to believe or to miss out on?  It is an important detail that many of us do not grasp and with all of the moving about these days it is hard to even find a place to call home and to settle your heart.  It is also a must that we allow God to change our address at times when necessary as I found out when I was younger and in order to understand the full benefits of what God wants us to see and understand our hearts must not be divided on any level for if they are then there is a great chance that we will miss out on many truths that God wants us to find out about and then share with others.

I have to ask myself: how many things have I not been able to see or have missed because my heart was divided about where my heart’s home was located?  I know that I have not been around this gorgeous state that I live in much and have not visited many of the sites that should bring joy to my eyes and heart and the only reason I can think of that hinders me in this area is my divided heart and where it believes its heart is.  I have no excuses for not traveling to these beautiful places and to fulfill what God has given as an option for my eyes yet I continue to miss out on these spectacular opportunities and up until now did not know just how special these places could mean.  Yes, I shall always have memories of the South and of Texas but I must allow God to mend my divided heart and bring it as a single unit to Colorado.  I understand that this subject so far has represented a physical aspect of life but it is the easiest way to introduce the spiritual aspect of our hearts that have the same loss of truths if we do not let go of the desert and seek out the Promised Land that God had said He would provide.

As of late, we have been talking about the children of Israel and their journey in the wilderness that lasted for forty years.  We have also mentioned as to why this trip lasted for so long in a short amount of space and how if one does not understand the entire concept of God’s freedom, they cannot understand exactly what their slavery issues are all about.  So much so, that they cannot fulfill what God has promised them which brings heartache, pain, agony, and acts of questioning God that can lead to idolatry and pure evil being produced.  It is this concept and truth that also can lead to understanding why many cannot shed the addictions that we allow into our lives, a process that each and every one of us has to deal with at some point in our existence.  The perfect example lies within this wonderful book of the Bible, Exodus and it will once again serve as our reference for this topic.  Exodus 14:6-14 is the passage that we will use.

For many people, it is easy to understand how God has His Kingdom and that Satan has his kingdom but do we really comprehend the meaning of what it means to completely leave such a setting?  It is difficult to talk about but many people who have been raised in church or have parents or family members who attend church regularly and love God leave the Kingdom of God to live and to serve the kingdom of the world.  The world will consider this an act of freedom and one that should be celebrated as such but just how free is one when the heart is tied to another?  When the children of Israel were set free from their captors, they were excited to be going to the land that God had promised them.  This promise had been taught and then shared with others and since these beautiful people were being subjected to horrific challenges on a daily basis their prayers seemed like were finally being answered.  As stated above it is easy to accept the physical aspect of being free when one walks out of the actual bondage setting into a different atmosphere, and the changes must have seemed overwhelming to anyone as they leave that confined space, no doubt the Israelites had this same feeling too.  This can only mean that there is a considerable difference between what lives in the heart and what the physical considers life and it is through this difference that we tend to ignore, forget, or more devastatingly refuse to acknowledge.

Was it really necessary for the children of Israel to wander around the wilderness for forty years?  I mean, doesn’t it seem a bit absurd to you that after being kept captive for generations, set free, then have to walk around a desert with seemingly no direction present fair or just?  To those who do not understand the ways of God, you know the ones that we are supposed to witness to, it would seem that God was being cruel in that He was continuing their punishment by having them not being able to reach the land that they were promised, like someone holding a carrot on a stick in front of an animal.  Furthermore, those who have a grasp on history will remember that many of the cruelest dictators would exile those who were set free from their captors during troublesome times some even were executed for such captivity statuses.  I can hear some people saying this about God and how He dealt with the Israelites but we must understand that God is a complete God on all days, on all sides, and at all times.

Exodus 14:6 opens our biblical reference passage with Pharaoh preparing his chariot for the pursuit of the children of Israel to bring them back to captivity or to destroy each one of them if they do not willfully return.  It is clear by this verse that Pharaoh had at some point had a change of heart concerning the Israelites’ release even after all that he and his nation faced with the loss of every firstborn child through the last plague that God sanctioned on Egypt.  In verse 7 we see just how many chariots Pharaoh is bringing along with him in order to make sure that the job is completed correctly and to make a statement to the region who is the most powerful empire known to mankind at that time.  It is easy to believe that Pharaoh was so angry and livid with the loss of his son that it is a common thread to hear about such rage after a tragedy occurred, especially when the source that you relied upon for guidance said or did nothing in the immediate aftermath of the last plague.

Verses 8-9 gives us the detail about how Pharaoh left Egypt with all military pomp in order to pursue and then capture the Israelites and to bring them back for further servitude.  I cannot help but think about a corresponding passage in the New Testament and how it would relate to what Jesus was saying about demons returning to a clean house and how when allowed to return that it would be seven of its buddies with it.  It is hard to imagine how Pharaoh and the Egyptians would have treated the Israelites if they had been taken captive again for we know how cruelly they were treated before they left it might have been the first Holocaust type setting recorded.  One of the most important details we must take into consideration is that once we push aside the kingdom of the world and for whatever reason allow it back into our lives it will always, always follow the law that Jesus warned us about in Matthew 12:43-45 and how once we clean our house we must immediately and continually fill it back up with the Kingdom of God and His Ways.

When Exodus 14:10 rolls around, we find that the children of Israel are camped out at the banks of the Red Sea and have taken up their place until they hear from God.  But in the meantime they hear the rumblings of chariots approaching from positions that they had already passed which could only mean one thing, Pharaoh had changed his mind and he was in pursuit of their lives.  So, in accordance to human reactionary positions they did exactly what many people would do when trouble comes their way, pray to God for help and then blast the leadership that God had put into place for leading them into the “vulnerable” position that they were currently located in.  Now, stop and think about this for a moment how many times have we personally done this?  Are we now as a country and as a society doing this with our leadership?  Have we not done this with past leaders of the nation, states, counties, and cities?  This verse brings up a mess load of settings and thoughts that all of us continue with and in today and to be honest with everything that the Israelites witnessed occurring to the Egyptians from the recent past how could they not believe that some sort of retaliation would not be coming?

Anyway, the children of Israel prayed to God for protection and then played right into the hands of Satan by condemning Moses and the action that he took to free their lives from captivity, by the way, which was what God told Moses to fight for and to complete through His Word alone.  Their anger spills over in verse 11 when they tell Moses how disgusted they are with the path that they had been on after they were freed from Egypt.  They were so upset that they actually stated that they would have been better off working and then dying at the hands of the Egyptians than to be out in the wilderness just to be killed anyway.  Once again, I cannot help but reflect on Matthew 12:43-45 again because no one likes an empty house and will accept just about anything in order to have something occupy the voided space, that is why it is very important to understand what is of the world and what is of God because it is evident in this passage that the children of Israel still had not figured out why they were wandering around for such an extended amount of time.

The entire point that God was trying to get these wonderful people to understand what needed to be taken from them, they had no idea about, their physical house was clean but their interior house was still occupied by their captors and it was this truth that God wanted them to realize and to allow Him to get rid of, but they instead toyed with the idea of allowing the kingdom of the world back into their lives instead.  Why would anyone who has been freed from a slavery status wish to return to such horrific and vile conditions again?  This seems like a maddened statement or a wish from someone who is not thinking correctly but in truth how many times do we say and then do this very act for we love to return to the so-called habits of ours instead of allowing God to annihilate them from our lives.  But it a fact that this was the consensus of the people as Pharaoh and his army reached them at the banks of the Red Sea.  It is this internal and interior cleansing truth that the Israelites were missing and they continued to miss this healing process for none of the elders who left their captivity never had the opportunity to see the Promised Land personally.

Interestingly enough, it is verse 13 that gives us the clue about how the Israelites prayed and what actually lies within their heart because it is Moses who directs their words against them and according to God’s own provisions, like the ones He had already provided for them during this time, produced the answer right before their eyes.  The words of their prayers said that the physical was ever present in their minds and hearts and that they still were not ready to completely depend on God for their protection even though as it was stated above that it was God who initiated and then provided this path of freedom for them in the first place.  Moses says to them again that they will be witness to a great miracle from their Liberator and by the exact means of what would be the outcome of such supernatural deed.  I would like to believe that with this event that was about to occur before their eyes along with all of the other provisions God had done for them since they left Egypt would be proof enough for them to change their hearts concerning God, but as we continue to read in Exodus and through the rest of the Old Testament that change does not occur.  Again, it is this truth concerning God’s provisions AND the reasons He provided such things is the truth that they missed.  Ever wonder why God does not like a lukewarm Church (your heart)?  Here you go this is the prime reason as to why He doesn’t.  Warning!!  Tough statement ahead!!  A lukewarm Church cannot be under Covenant terms, period!!

God understands the human heart and the frailties that it holds, and it is His concerns that we see Him for His Glory at all times and not just in circumstantial manners.  Moses exclaims this truth about God in verse 14 when he states: “The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.”  Now, even though this is an incomplete statement which continues into verse 15 about the current situation it provides the people with an opportunity to place their trust and hopes in God on all levels of their existence.  We have to remember that when God speaks it is a complete action which includes the past, the present, and the future for that is the definition of God and which He cannot violate on any level.  Therefore, when God makes this statement through Moses He is not only telling them that He will take care of them right at that moment, but He also took care of them during their past and shall continue to do the same in their future.  The remarkable thing here is that God also speaks in such a manner that should trigger their minds enough to realize their shortcomings in their past and to change course in their future.  Yet, we see that the words of God fall on deaf ears and blind eyes for they continue to wander the wilderness for a long while to come; another truth that they missed.

There really should be no long conditional explanation of why this passage of Scripture is important for and to us today.  We have made a mockery of the spiritual conditions of our hearts in the eyes of God and we have deliberately shut the doors of our hearts to God and thus allowed Satan to bring in any and every buddy of his t reside in our hearts that he wishes.  Way back in the 1600s when this nation was formed and even before then when Columbus sailed to seek out the new world, God set apart this nation for a specific purpose and it was our responsibility to cultivate this holy purpose in full, not partially.  If one wishes they can use the exodus of the children of Israel as an example of our potential freedom yet continue to reside in bondage years after the cause was created and established.  The Church has followed suit and has reestablished her position in the world as an ally of the world instead as the representative of the separation Covenant that God has provided for His people.

Our enemy has successfully transformed our beliefs into the physical realm alone and has brainwashed us into believing that the spirit realm is of no great importance.  When God talks about the spirit realm He means the direct communication line that we have with Him, in other words, the worldly church now believes that it is not important to communicate with God on a direct, personal and continual basis.  In this manner, Satan has the authority of leading us into believing that we do not need God for our spiritual lives in that the physical “freedom” that we live under today is the epitome of what our lives should represent.  Physical equality is the utmost desire of the world and the Church has fallen for this lie according to the worldly food that she has partaken in over centuries now.  This lie has now become a belief and inner law that she now follows and over time it has eroded the spiritual truth about God’s freedom and the necessities that are needed in order to live in such holy status.  It is this protruding lie that caused the Israelites to wander in the desert for forty years and it is having the same effect on the Church today.

Satan did an excellent job in shading the truth to the children of Israel concerning repentance and living completely under the definition of Covenant.  Yes, God continued to provide and to protect them while they wandered in their lost state of living, but at no time did He ever stop trying to grab their attention over this spiritual matter.  Today, we find ourselves (the Church) wandering around aimlessly in the same manner as the Israelites and grumbling not only amongst ourselves but to God as well for the lack of cohesiveness that should come with our “piety”.  It is sad that we are so blinded by the lies of physical freedom that we cannot see and hear what God requires of us for our peace and true freedom from the world.  Even worse, at the same time, we are invoking our aimless directional pursuit, we are allowing our enemy to take control over our lives through our ignorance concerning the spiritual aspects that God placed into our lives when He Created us.  How many truths are we missing because of this type of lying belief we have incorporated into our hearts?  The physical will always tell you that its properties are enough and it is this aspect of our lives that we should pursue first.  Boy, have we fallen for this lie.

Even with all of the missed opportunities that the children of Israel went through it still can be said that God was faithful to them and kept His promises to them.  The journey they took in the wilderness was long, hard, and rough on all people involved in that freedom procession and while many blessings were bestowed on them as they walked day after day their stubbornness to allow God access to their hearts kept them from receiving the promises later rather than sooner than expected.  There are many times while we wait for the promises of God to be fulfilled that we sit and do nothing and then wonder why things did not occur in the time frame that we expected for God to act.  The question remains is if while we are waiting what are we doing in preparation for these blessings?  Most of us just wait and look to the spiritual sky and wonder when the time will arrive but what we should really be doing is asking God to search our hearts for any impurities that may be present that would hinder Him from pouring out those promises sooner.

Oh, how the Church has fallen into the first portion of that previous paragraph and oh how we have become so anxious for more blessings that we have begun to accept the ways of the world into our hearts instead of waiting the correct way for God to act.  As each day passes I see the actions of the children of Israel when they were waiting on Moses to come down from the mountain more and more from the ones who call themselves Christians or followers of Christ.  It is disheartening to think that we have turned so far from God in our lack of understanding about repentance and restoration that we have resorted to this type of action.  Everyone who has attended church has heard about the children of Israel in the desert and we know what occurred in their lives while they were waiting on God to perform as He said He would do, so why are we doing the exact same procedures as they did?  We know better to act in such a manner.  We continually need to remind ourselves that if God allowed such issues to develop and then proceed within the lives of His chosen people that He shall allow the same to occur in our world as well.

With the type of behavior that we are constantly demonstrating why would we believe God would continue to shed His blessings upon our lives?  How can we truly and honestly justify His continued blessings to be poured out over us?  The selfish act of entitlement has encompassed our hearts concerning this matter that it has turned the face of God away from our existence and we through our actions alone we have become as dark as the world.  Almost every day we find that someone from the Church has become involved in some grotesque scandal concerning their personal decisions.  I do not care what so-called denominations these instances present themselves we are all supposed to be dwelling in the will and presence of God for direction and I can absolutely guarantee you that God has NEVER said to molest any child or another human being.  We have fallen so far away from the Truth that some pastors are turning to a glorious suicide as the answer to their issues.  God has NEVER condoned death especially when it comes from your own hand, God cannot reward selfishness on any level and it is through this abomination that the Church lives in and wallows in today.

In no way, am I calling for the abolition of the Church for she is still the ONLY life sustainable on this planet that has the mission to witness to every person who does not know God.  But we need to stop holding on to our past lives in Egypt and allow God to invade our hearts with His eternal life so that we may understand why the issues that we are facing today are not going away.  We do not have to continually live in a world’s existence but we have been promised life everlasting and peace in times of trouble, so isn’t it logical to believe that there is something that we are not doing correctly due to our current position?  Stop for a while and take a good look around you and do you notice the same tendencies around you that you harbor within your own heart?  If so, then you need to allow God access to your heart once again, and even if you fail to recognize any faults let Him have your heart anyway.  Do what the Word of God says and allow Him to search your heart and God Himself guarantees that His promises and truths shall not be missed.

It is time we stand up and rid ourselves of the cesspool that we are lying in and walk away from such filthy conditions, and when we do this God will take His holy blood and wash us with it and cleanse us as no other entity can.  But we must first take the step to stand up and to make the move towards the outside of this muck of the world.  We do not have to wait around for forty years in our desert (muck) we can begin to receive the true blessings of God today if we just turn our hearts and eyes back to Him.  We do not have to continue to miss out on the truths that God wants us to understand for it is those truths that other people need to hear and to know.  God loves them and if we distort this truth then those who are looking for real life may receive false information and thus miss out from God and further damage their chances of a wonderful eternal life with God.  The world does its best to push God out of its presence which is what the ruler of this world wants, but it is our job to make sure that the truth, the eternal Truth is shared with them so they will not miss out on any truth that God passes to His children.

DLB

Laps Taken

Laps Taken

9/15/18

Do you ever wonder if you really had to go through all that you did while taking care of a situation in your life?  All of us have asked God this question but most of us have learned a great deal about our setting after all was said and done.  God has a plan for each one of our lives and it is this plan that He must prepare us in order to execute.  However, this process can take time to produce for it is all up to us to either resist God or to totally submit to Him and allow Him to complete the work in our lives.  Either way, it is important to allow Him access to our lives and then accept the changes that He makes, for if we do not then we will find our journey a tad bit longer than originally thought.

I must say that I have wondered many times in my adult life if I would have allowed God to be more in control of my life if the things and settings that I had to endure both when I was younger and present day would have been different.  As I am older and believe to be a bit wiser, I cannot disagree with this question’s answer for when I study God’s Word, which I did not when I was young, I see what people have to endure when they do not fully understand the reasoning behind obedience and full surrender to God.  There were so many worldly idols and issues in my own life that I refused to give up even though I knew that their presence in my life did harm and damage, but I kept them close to me because they had become a part of my world and a part of my life that Satan had convinced me that I needed and could not survive without.  It is this holding onto ridiculous patterns that cost me a bunch of my territorial dominion that I should have been cultivating instead of just sitting around and watching it grow uncontrolled.

When I place these old issues of mine into perspective it becomes easily recognized how I am not alone in this category and that the Bible has plenty of examples of when people obey God and when they do not.  In no way do I consider myself to be a saint and nor do I deserve all of the blessings that God has poured out over my life even in those rebellious years, but for some reason He has seen fit to continue my life so I can be a witness for His grace and love on an eternal level.  It is still hard for me to process this truth about God but I know one thing for sure and that is if I do not tell others about Christ and His eternal Love for us I will be held accountable for each blessing that God gave me to share with others according to His Ways and not mine.  I cannot take back those foolish and selfish years of my previous time on earth, but I can do my best to show and to tell others that they do not have to endure such travesties that I created and then went through that there is an option away from such events and that option is God.

We have two great stories from the Bible that will serve as our examples for this topic one will come from the Book of Exodus and the other from the Book of Joshua.  Both stories have a unique conclusion and yet are tied from the same beginning another unique characteristic that we should be commonly familiar with as well.  From the beginning of God’s Word, He has repeatedly stated that all He wants from us is simple yet complete obedience.  Time and time again we read that we have chosen not to obey God in this manner and through this choice have chosen to accept our own ways and selfishness over the holy and righteous Ways of God.  While this pattern of rebellion must frustrate God to no end, He continues to supply His grace and gifts of life over us hoping that one day we will wake up and “get it”.  If humans would ever figure out that living under obedience to God would make our lives far less complicated than doing it on our own, it would be a total reversal of how our world lives and operates because it would force Satan’s kingdom to fully submit to God’s Kingdom and its Ways.

I can imagine that when Moses told the people of Israel to get ready to leave Egypt that loud cheers and cries to God filled the atmosphere for an unspecified amount of time.  God had miraculously and unusually fulfilled His promise to the Israelites in that they would be freed from their bondage in Egypt, but at the same time, they must have thought about how things transpired during this captive end time period progressed.  We can also predict that the children of Israel believed that once they were physically out of Egypt that their troubles were over and that they could return to their normal state of living without God having to do much more freeing of their lives.  It is this point of order that they miscalculated God and ended up not seeing the Promised Land as they had been hoping and longing to see for God’s freedom does not and cannot stop at the physical level the inner or spiritual aspect must be placed in order as well.

When one looks at the geography of the wilderness that the children of Israel wandered in for forty years it has to be mind-bending because the area in which they were in and where their point of destination was is not that far of a distance.  Yes, it is called a wilderness for a reason for it is a lonely and dry desert but in terms of distance, there should have been no way that it would have taken that long to get from point A to point B.  So, there must have been another area of freedom that God had in mind for their lives and that point of freedom was getting Egypt out of them.  Even though they were captives of that land, they still had developed roots there deep enough that when they left they took physical items from the Egyptians with them.  Why would anyone decide to take items from a captive land unless you wanted to remember such captivity and their captors?  In keeping these items, God knew that even though their feet had been out of Egypt that they still had Egyptian dust on them that needed to come off.

How many times do we read this passage about the children of Israel and wonder how come they did not understand what God was still trying to do in their lives?  I mean, wouldn’t you think after a while that something else was hindering you from being able to complete the journey and then enter into the world that had been promised to you?  Yet, with each step of the way, their hearts continued to forget that it was God who was supposed to dwell in their hearts and this is evident through all of the detailed follies that are recorded in this great book of the Bible.  Miracle after miracle had been presented before their eyes but they continued to serve Egypt within their heart long after they had physically been freed from her grasp.  It boggles my mind of how many unnecessary years they spent fulfilling nothing for God while they waited for their promise wandering around aimlessly in the desert.  This picture really reminds me of those who sit in the pews in church and wait for Jesus to return while doing absolutely nothing for God or the advancement of His Kingdom.

How many laps around the desert perimeter did the Israelites have to take before they finally got it?  That number of laps may not be accurately measured today but I do know that it was enough to cost the original ones that left Egypt the remainder of their lives and did not get to see the Promised Land because of this failure to recognize that God needed to be first in their heart and not the world.  It was the generation of Joshua and beyond that finally was able to inhabit the land that God had promised them so many years earlier, but even with this truth, it was not an easy going process for resistance continued on all sides of the spectrum.  What more of a blended picture can we examine today than from this type of setting Joshua faced when troubles began to take hold?  Having to take that many laps around the desert was not a command issue per say, but a command issue of the hearts of the people that were not willing to surrender their hearts over to God completely and instead of destroying them outright for their disobedience, God allowed them to live out their lives in their physical freedom from Egypt all the while hoping that they would realize their heart’s need for their Creator and Liberator instead.

This period of obedience did not stem with the children of Israel during the preparation time for the battle of Jericho, it was extended to a harlot and her family for her obedience and change of heart in accordance to the plan of God.  God would not and could not allow such detailed information concerning the victory over Jericho to surface without the same type of preparation on the part of Joshua and the children of Israel.  God always waits and sees what His prized people do when it comes time for any changing circumstance and He acts accordingly with the information He has given them previously.  This is evident in the battle plan that God had for Jericho and through the exact details of God’s authority would claim the victory over this city if they would obey His command.  It did not take forty years for this victory to be accomplished but it took only seven days for complete victory.  The difference was that the children of Israel listened AND obeyed what God had commanded them to do and it was through their obedience that made all the difference.

It is the condition of the heart that allows the person to choose to obey or not to obey the laws of the land and the same goes for the Laws of God.  As we see here in the battle of Jericho the people obeyed what God had commanded them to do and while it seemed like a simple command there still had to be obedience and direct completion of said command.  Because God was dealing with humans and with the idea that humans have about being superior to others, especially authority figures the truth must be incurred that the children of Israel could have done things their own way and blown the entire battle in the name of their selfish providence.  We see that this type of selfish display did not come into play at this time but after the victory was secured through the mighty hand of God, the human toll did acquire its possessive accounts.  This is a topic that will be addressed in the future but for now, we are sticking to the vision of laps taken for those who obey and for those who do not.

God understood that His people were still sinners, just as we are today but He also knew that they wanted to follow His command and to claim victory in His name.  Their families had wandered in the wilderness for forty years and while they were free from Egypt physically the entire process of getting Egypt out of their hearts took over forty years and the original departees from the condition of slavery were not allowed to see the Promised Land.  The laps around the wilderness weighed heavy on those people, this cannot be denied but when a people or even an individual becomes so stubborn in their own quest for freedom that they ignore their hearts and what it has acquired from that stay total freedom cannot be achieved because of this spiritual holding on to slavery.  As long as any part of our lives cling to the world then we are in danger of losing our lives and entering into an eternity without God and this loss shall be due to our continued support of spiritual slavery which shall automatically turn into physical slavery.

As long as we live in obedience to God and to His Ways our journeys will be more productive and will contain less fearful obstacles due to the ability to listen to the correct authoritative voice.  Never, as we take a breath on this earth will our journey ever be heartache free, but when we know that our guide is the almighty Creator of everything we will have the confidence to stand up and fight for our existence because we will know what kingdom and what realm to fight against.  It does not matter what kind of environment we may find ourselves in, God shall always guide us and will be there for our everyday needs, but most importantly we must allow Him complete access to our hearts while walking in this wilderness path for it will serve as the guideline for our remembrance pattern of how to trust in God and not our surroundings.  The children of Israel were free but were immediately led into the wilderness not as a punishment but as a time for them to restore their inner hearts back to God and to completely rid themselves of Egypt within.  The same children of Israel won a great victory over a heavily fortified and walled city, the method of the walls falling down was very unconventional but that is how faith, trust, and obedience in God are expressed to the world.

Another huge difference in these settings is the fact of how each looked at the walls surrounding their victory in that the obstacles around them were to be solved.  Of course, both settings offer us examples of understanding God and His Wisdom but due to the hindrance of spiritual slavery and the refusal to allow God to rid them of this condition, the walls of the wilderness proved to be detrimental to the children of Israel.  But on the other side of the issue, we have people that obeyed what God wanted to be done and with a whole heart that obedience shown through as the walls of that city collapsed and allowed for easy access to the enemy.  It is this difference that causes one’s faith to either rise or fall and gives definition as to how our mountains can be moved as well.  Which of these stories bring the most into light to our current state of affairs before the Church and her witness to the world?  The answer is both settings provide us with direct evidence of the condition of the heart in which the people in these biblical settings had and that we have as well.

God wants His people to know that He loves them so very much and that it is His desire not to see one more person lose their life and remain separated from Him for eternity.  This article has provided us with a great number of examples that we can use for our individual lives so that we may be better witnesses for those who are lost and do not know God.  There is no question that God heard the prayers and the cries of the children of Israel while they were in captivity in Egypt for their impossible situation was thwarted by God and they were freed from their captors.  However, they refused to allow their captors leave their lives completely and thus had to wait for a considerable amount of time to receive the promise that God had given them.  In the other example, we have here obedience was of the utmost and the accomplishment of God was fulfilled within a short amount of time and the children of Israel were victorious through the name of God.  Today, we see a floundering Church who cannot make up their mind and hearts about what to speak to a dying world.  Sadly, many of the people do not even consider the world to be bad are thus indifferent about teaching the Word of God.

It is unfortunate at best that we fail to recognize our own position in Christ so much that we cannot have any burden what-so-ever in allowing God to rule our entire lives.  We beg to have answers to some of the issues that surround us on a daily basis and react violently and with contempt to those who offer solutions that seem contrary to how we see things should be fixed.  Our apathy towards one another is downright repulsive and through this vitriol, we define our stance against our enemies.  Remember a while ago when we had the blessing of reading about “Your Age In God” article and we learned how God sees our maturity or lack of it?  How can we advance the Kingdom of God when we do not even consider the Word of God to be the authoritative and Holy Word of God?  There is nothing more than obedience that God wants from us and if we only would live under such authority then our problems will decrease and become minuscule so that we can again be the true witness that God wants for those who do not know Him.  The question that remains is this: are you going to continue to refuse God the complete access He desires in our hearts and then have us wander aimlessly and without cause and purpose for an undetermined amount of time or are we going to surrender our lives COMPLETELY?  It is not a hard question to answer but know that what we answer shall determine the direction of not only you personally but of this nation as well for it is the Church that directs the people and the direction that it shall walk or in other words how many laps we shall take.

DLB

The Clarity of the Trumpet

The Clarity of the Trumpet

9/11/18

It is well known that the trumpet is one of the largest sounding instruments that one can play, but do we take it into consideration that if the player of that instrument is not confident in its performance, the resulting sound can be just as telling.  Trumpets represent a vast number of areas concerning the human and at the same time give direction to those waiting for instructions.  God uses our lives as a trumpet to the dying world and from the looks of our world we have not blown God’s directional instrument very often.  It is God’s desire that everyone know which direction they are headed and if they would only believe in Him and obey the commands of the trumpet our lives would be filled with everlasting victory unlike what this world can offer.

For a good portion of my younger life, I played the trumpet and followed in my mother’s footsteps for she played the cornet.  I remember when I first began playing this instrument way back in the late 1970s in Salinas, California.  After I “graduated” from the old tonette portion of my band setting, I chose the trumpet because there was not many of them in the school band.  By the time all of the kids had chosen their instruments there were four of us who had picked the trumpet.  The horn that was given to me was really beat up and was in terrible shape and since I had no idea about what care the trumpet needed the horn did not work very well.  Add to the fact that I could not even play the instrument at all played into the fact that the instrument would not operate correctly until I mastered some of the basics of playing this instrument.

Mom and dad eventually bought me a trumpet and I fell in love with its looks and its sound after I had formed my lips to its mouthpiece.  After a while, my grasp of the instrument grew and I was on my way to becoming a fine musician where it came to this specific instrument.  I realized something about the trumpet early on and that is if you have a shaky confidence in yourself or the instrument the notes that the instrument gives is heard by everyone listening or that is in the immediate vicinity.  This error in musical notes cannot be missed for one of the key features of the trumpet is that does not allow for gross mistakes due to its piercing and tenacious sound.  I admit that when I was practicing for all those years my parents must have covered their ears a few times for when my frustrations arose I just let out a loud pitched blast that had no meaning or rhyme at all, but I do have to admit that it was kind of fun doing it.  Of course, there were times where I thought that I would just lay down that beautiful horn and never pick it back up again but overall I could not do that because for some reason it became a part of my life, enough that it warranted my playing for a very long time to come.  Over time I learned that this loud noise the trumpet made could actually be heard and would stand out during any band performance which kind of made me a tad timid but on the other hand I wanted to advance so I played as loudly and proudly as I could. 

Back in the early 1980s, there was a Christian music group called The Imperials and they had a series of musical hits that propelled them to the center stage of Christian music.  One of the songs that was popular at that time was called “The Trumpet of Jesus” and it was very contemporary, upbeat and frankly loud songs that could be played.  One part of the lyrics to this song states that “I listen to the trumpet of Jesus while the world hears a different sound”.  It is this clarity and sound that the lyrics present gives us the knowledge that this topic is going to be presented for we must understand that no matter what we may believe about taking sides or that we can straddle the fence where God is concerned we shall always present a sound to which Kingdom or kingdom we represent.  Also, whether we know it or not when our trumpets are played that we are actively participating in the kingdom that we represent; therefore, it is imperative that we fully understand and acknowledge the realities of each kingdom a process that not many people can accurately describe when asked.  It is this type of note that is recognizable to other ears when played and it should be no discourse about which sounds are protruding.

One can compare the trumpet to the human voice for if it does its job correctly it should give off the exact same penetrating sound as the other.  When we refer to the bible for such examples it does not take very long for us to find an example that fits perfectly.  However, if the sound of the voice is not sure and precise then it becomes a clanging sound which has no rhyme or reason and thus cannot project its true meaning to those who wish to hear it.  It does not matter what type of trumpet one decides to play, its sound will always resonate through the area and will grab the attention of all who can hear.  This is why the voice can be compared with the trumpet for it too can resonate through the dark hallways of the human being and what it portrays will send a direct signal to those who can hear.  So, one can see that it is important to have a clear voice like a trumpet blast and that clear voice should be directional at all times.  It also can be stated that what the voice protrudes comes from the heart and since this is a fact its projection shall be as clear as a trumpet in what it promotes.  If our voices protrude a divided kingdom how can our words stand when it comes time to tell others about God?  God is never shaky nor does He come with a forked tongue or divided heart, all of His Ways are sure and true and our proclamation of the gospel should line up 100% with the word of God and 0% with the world.

In the Old Testament, we find that the trumpet was the instrument used to sound many different callings to the people of Israel.  Everything from all is quiet and normal to the act of attention when danger approached were played and those notes had to be made with precision because if they were not then calamity could strike on any level within the earshot of those trumpets.  Now, we all know that the Old Testament times did not have the fancy trumpets of today but had mainly the horns of animals that played these notes.  If you have never heard the ram’s horn being played, look for it on one of the social media channels for it will be well worth your time.  A family in our neighborhood plays this horn on certain holidays and occasions and when I am around the area and hear it I always stop what I am doing so I do not miss the next note.  It is a penetrating sound but one that calms my spirit at the same time and to be honest, I long to hear that shofar playing for I know immediately that God is whispering eternal words to my spirit.

A popular term that is being thrown around these days is the word “triggered” and it is used in concordance with the old word offended in order to make a point or defense against something that is spoken without cause before them.  One can use this term when a blast from a trumpet is sounded for it breaks the silence of anonymity and forces one to pay attention to what is being played.  When this sound occurs and breaks the silence no one can deny that some type of activity is being portrayed to those in the area, just as a voice does when it is pleading with others in a familiar manner.  When God told Joshua to march around the walls of Jericho He also instructed to play the trumpets at a certain time thus by listening to the voice of God through obedience sounded God’s voice to those walls when they played those horns.  And when the appointed time came for God to act upon those walls, He did so through the sounds of the trumpets which shattered the ears of those who did not believe.  There was no doubt in the playing of the trumpeters for they had been efficiently trained in completing their job for Joshua knew that it was through their lungs that God would show His mighty power and provide a miraculous victory for the children of Israel.

What do you think would have occurred if those trumpeters did not have a confident voice behind their horns?  What type of message would that have set into motion for the other warriors who were present in the area that day?  Can you imagine just how frightening it would have been to follow the lead of a quivering attack message?  See, even though it was God who brought down those walls of Jericho He does nothing quivering or shaky He does everything in a bold and pure manner so this method of announcing the obedience of His people had to be completed with His authority and stamina.  The same is required as we speak of the gospel of Christ to those that are lost, we cannot be divided or shaky on any level for if we are and we present the gospel on such ground we give our enemy the footing he needs to end such witnessing process before it even gets started.  If we speak with the voice of the world on any level when we present the gospel to others, we will be inflicting a spiritual tie and false belief to those who want to hear.  This off note tune may not be heard by everyone and to be honest may even sound normal and good to the ear but it is one that shall be ingrained into another’s heart possibly for eternity.  I am not saying not to share the gospel with others but we need to make sure that what we share with others is actually the truth.

1 Corinthians 14:6-8 gives us a beautiful example of how our voices are to protrude as non-quivering trumpets with a clear, loud, and precise message about the gospel of Christ.  A trumpet that waivers in its protraction cannot deliver an effective message, no matter what the cause for the sound warrants.  In the case of this passage the overall plan is to sound to arms the people for battle; however, the issue with this passage is that many misinterpret it as a call to the verbal battle or even to the physical battle against those who do not know the Bible or the gospel of Christ.  It is this time that our trumpets sound a call that had shaky terms behind it and one that will not yield praised reports of converts for Christ in the manner in which Christ meant for them to be reached.  If we do not understand exactly what our warfare is then we cannot sound our trumpets clearly this has been proven many times over throughout Church History; they did not get it then and not many of us get it today either.

The children of Israel who marched around the walls of Jericho knew exactly what was going on and they also understood their mission and what do to in order to complete it.  It may have looked silly or plain ridiculous to the ones inside the walls of that city, but God knew exactly what He was doing and through the obedience of His army those walls came down just as they will to those who are lost today if we follow the sound of God’s trumpet and do as He says for us to do.  Obedience is the key in which knowledge resides and then resounds for if this equation is mixed in any way then the results shall be disastrous.  The passage in 1 Corinthians tells us that if we do not have our facts correct before we begin to witness it will serve others no good for they will not be able to understand the true meaning of salvation and restoration even though we may have a clear sound resonating from our lungs.  It is vitally important that we know what Kingdom we are representing before we begin to speak about eternity for if we do not then 1 Corinthians 14:6-7 will be presented in such a manner that will prove destructive instead of one of salvation.

It is also in this passage of 1 Corinthians that we should be made aware that our message to the Church should be of the correct Kingdom as well.  It would make sense that if the words that we present to those who know God do not line up with His Word then how can it be expected that they go out and proclaim the true gospel.  When you have one side of the issue not participating in correct alignment with the other side – pulpit and pew being the sides – how can one expect to blow a loud and clear message to the dying world?  This last statement also gives rise to the truth that if this state occurs then it cannot be represented as anything other than a divided kingdom.  How can we fulfill the command of Jesus to go into the entire world if we do not have the correct Kingdom inside our hearts?  If our reputation is not intact when we go out into the world we cannot expect anything less than to be laughed at when we sound God’s trumpet to them.  What message will we be sending to them if it is mixed with both kingdoms inside the trumpet sound?  How can we stand tall and true if we are first divided, wanting to converse to another divided being about becoming whole again?

It is visibly clear that many people who make up the Church of today live within a divided kingdom and thus cannot adequately and purely dress and keep their own dominion in order to effectively speak the eternal truth about God and what He has for our lives.  It is plain and simple that if we do not have a clear trumpet sounding when we speak to others about Christ we will not have very much success in accomplishing what Jesus commanded us to do.  Jesus knew this and spent almost four years teaching His disciples to live in this undivided Kingdom status so that after He was gone they could provide an excellent pattern for the future Church to extend the eternal vine from God.  A vine produces one type of fruit and the fruit is either good or it is bad and if we do not fully understand what God is saying in His Word then we have a problem when it comes to telling others about His Word.  It is this lack of knowledge about God and His Word that should drive us into the Bible more so that we can tell others about what God has done in our lives and what He can do for their lives as well.

We are not doing this at all and God wants us to understand and to recognize that He sees this pattern of ours and is not satisfied with our progress.  Taken in remembrance that the world can only produce confusion and anxiety, how can we teach peace and eternal happiness if we are not solely promoting the Kingdom of God?  We are not doing what we need to do Church and we are not living in the manner of a righteous Bride either.  It is time we turn around and direct our hearts back to God so that He may teach us what to really say to the dying world, not what we think is right.  We have the ability to blow the trumpet of God to everyone and now more than ever we need to do such a thing with the utmost of clarity.  The modern Church is not producing very good examples of Christ these days and it is our responsibility to ensure that the true message of Christ is being given to the world, Church let’s change our hearts before we have to witness God’s hand on our lives.  Let us be clear in the message that our voices (trumpets) make so that all around us will understand the good news (notes) that Jesus Christ came to save everyone from their sins.  It is this message that my trumpet shall continue to play what will be yours?

DLB

Your Age In God

Your Age in God

9/8/18

How many of us know that we have an age in God?  I know that up until a short time ago I knew about growth in God but had never placed it on this age level.  All of us have an age of growth and it is this growth level that defines just how we have grown in God and in the physical as well.  God never made us to be stagnant in any type of growth yet for various reasons we choose to remain at a young age when it comes to our growth spiritually.  Do we not know that when we do not grow we cannot be a part of the Kingdom of God and that we are hindering His work in our lives?  It is time that we bow before God again and ask for forgiveness in this dereliction of ours, for if we do not then God shall be forced to reveal His supernatural power over this country in such a way that will not be conducive to life.  God loves His children but wants them to live in complete obedience to His Ways.

Now, some of you may know that I am not a very tall man and for the majority of my life have been below the national average for height in men.  While I have climbed to that national average now my body has reached its potential physically and is not beginning to shrink a bit.  When I was young and trying to keep up with the big boys, the doctors told me that I would one day regret trying to be like them and that I should take my height as it comes and go with what I could do naturally.  My heart remained stubborn and my will just as hard-headed and I plugged along with my personal plan, but today I feel the words that those wise men once shared with me for they were correct about how my body would react at a later date.  I grew from those words but not until years down the road and I can only imagine what shape my body would be in today if I had just taken it easy and allowed myself to grow naturally and pushed so hard.  I was caught up in someone else’s dream of a life and when I tried to apply it to my own it sufficed for a while but later on took its toll.

As my physical age continued to advance my body kept up with my mind and heart in their growth as well, but there was another part of my life that was stymied and that part I am referring to is the spiritual.  Many of us can be placed into this category for it is common that we as individuals subject ourselves to what is going on inside of us in order to appease our inner being.  Most of the time, this appeasement includes ignoring the spiritual simply because it is easier to delay our convictions than to go with the flow of the moment.  If we continue in this stymied pattern, our spirituality and communication with God becomes a secondhand thought thus hardly giving it another thought becomes our echo.  I understand this for this was my admonition for quite some time in my life even though I was a minister’s son.  My spiritual growth was basically at the newborn stage and had no signs of life or growth at all.  It is this position that Satan wants all Christians to be in for when we are he can easily manipulate our minds enough to overwhelm us with false information concerning the world that we no longer have time to think about the Word of God much less live in the Word.  It is this specific type of growth that God is concerned with for it determines all eternal aspects of our life and the lives of others.

When Jesus was walking this earth, there was at no time that He places Himself over the Father’s will nor did He ever delay such messages to His people.  We read that even at a young age Jesus was in the Temple teaching as His parents were looking for Him.  His growth was superior to everyone else yet He was confident enough in His mission that He showed many people how the truth could be grown through their lives, the ultimate teaching about the advancement of God’s Kingdom.  While we as individuals have no control over how tall, short, deep or wide we may be our spiritual growth is strictly determined by the choices we make to grow or not.  It is this spiritual growth and development that needs to be present in order to be able to defend the Faith of Christ, to spread the true gospel of Christ to the dying world, and to defend against the attacks of the enemy both on a personal level and around us.  Jesus did such things so why have we not been doing the same?

There can be no question that the physical age of the Church is well up in its years, for it was started shortly after Christ left this earth with informal roots with formal roots coming later.  But is there a way to determine the spiritual age of the Church ever since her establishment on the earth?  This spiritual growth that the Church believes in is measurable and does have a record that can be tracked quite easily but it is also a record that does not and will not bode well with many for when the facts are told; her spiritual growth is still in or around the 2-3 year age category.  This may be harsh but it serves as a true embodiment of how the Church of Christ has made due over the centuries.  What is more embarrassing is the fact that all throughout Church History, the clergy responsible for teaching the biblical knowledge to those who are supposed to be going out and spreading the entire gospel of Christ only teaches so one side of the biblical issue.  Even today, with the so-called enlightenment status of the modern world we as Church leaders fail to recognize that there are two sides of our existence God’s side and our enemy who is continually trying his best to destroy us.  So, why is it that all we want to teach about is God’s love?  It is this aspect that it is easily stated that we have not grown much over the millennia.

We must first consider the condition of the disciples when talking about Jesus’ mission and testament while He was here with us on the earth.  Some of the time we read that the disciples seem like they have got what Jesus was saying to them and to those around Him who would listen, but most of the time we read the actions and words of the disciples and shake our heads with disbelief wondering why they would act in such a way.  But is it that uncommon for us to act in the same crazy manner as the disciples did for we have the presence of God all around us and we have His Word as well so is it fair to assume such ridiculousness coming from us as well?  When we look at the actions of the disciples we have various amounts of things to consider yet when you put them all together Jesus oversaw their differences and showed them how to work together for the advancement of His Father’s Kingdom.  While this setting is not considered to be a “Church” per say it does define the foundation of the Church and the manner in which she should direct herself, for Jesus never had the time to argue anything against the people but had all the time to show them the Way of His Father and what it meant to be completely separated from the world’s spirit.  By the way, look at what their separation from the world cost them; do you see this pattern occurring today in our modern societies?

How do you view the epistles of the New Testament, I mean do you look at them as letters to churches and to the Church about what is going on within their existence?  You should, for every epistle that is contained in the New Testament deals with certain issues and problems that that specific church or group is facing.  The New Testament books are not easy to follow if one does not understand the history of what each church or church group was enduring at that time.  Even though there was no internet, email or telephone systems present during that time the word of mouth transportation was present and presented an excellent line of communication for people to correspond through writing.  Now, the delivery system may have been greatly slowed but the information passed is just as effective today as it was back then, so when one wrote about an issue it was received as such from the abiding authority.  Once again, the Church was faced with the fact of either receiving such information or rejecting it but what the Early Church failed to recognize was that it was these personal interjections of feelings that were causing such grief for countless of newly converted Christians.

For the majority of time that the Early Church was in existence they faced a multitude of tragedies and torturous events.  There are accounts of horrific atrocities that they faced from both the general public to the supreme leaders of the empires of the times.  Yet, with all of these controversies occurring around them they still found time to bring in their own diversities when it came to how they were interpreting the life, death, and resurrection of Christ not to mention all of the other ideas concerning how people believed about specific instances with the Old Testament and newer writings of the leaders of the time.  When you combine all of the varying degrees of perceived information into one organization it is easy to see that problems will arise and if not squelched can lead to further and more permanent divisions.  It is here that our enemy took the teachings of Jesus and twisted them enough and long enough in the hearts of the Early Church that their growth became wider yet not forward.  Can you tell me where Jesus allowed His own personal ideas come into His ministry while He walked the earth? 

Let us move forward a few centuries and refer to the Middle-Aged Church.  Can we see the growth that she had gained from the time she moved out of the Early Church era?  By all means, her physical growth expounded without count for kingdoms now were indebted to the Church for their recognition and some their existence.  Societies were even defined by the presence of the Church within the territory but one slight flaw in this structure became an enormous pattern that problematic for that time and for centuries to come.  The power of the Church grew tremendously over this time period and the once-persecuted Church became the persecuting Church that levied a heavy hand over countless lives during this time period.  The pure brutality of the physicality of the Church was present in all homes and hearts and if one dared to cross this power they would find themselves being tortured by measures beyond belief.  Can you tell me where one can find Jesus torturing the people that were around Him when He walked this earth?  To be honest, I can see Peter’s beliefs and actions coming into play during this era of the Church; I shall drop this here and leave it to think about for a while.

Throughout this period of time, one cannot argue that the Church grew but through its own admission its growth came in physical size rather than in spiritual size.  The ways and means that the Church demonstrated their power and demanded from their people was downright Satanic and had no biblical foundation or truth to her measures.  This is not the picture that Christ painted and portrayed for His Church to act and it is easily noticeable that the spiritual growth of the Church was still in its infancy or might be on the 2-3 year age in God.  By far their physical age had grown consistently but when one places it on a personal level a 50-year-old man may be advanced in age but what is his real age in God is it close to the same physical age or is it much lesser?  It is this pattern that we can find in children who refuse to grow up and take responsibility for their actions even though their training and upbringing has been one of a good standard.  It is difficult to understand this type of behavior unless one knows what the bottom line of the truth by which life exists and should function.

Moving to the present day and age which is considered to be the Modern Day Church we must look at the same types of growth patterns as the previous eras and ask the same questions.  When I was a teenager and in my early 20s or so I fell into a trap that many Christians find themselves in as well and that was I believed that my knowledge of the Bible and what it meant to my life was at its peak and that I could not know any more information; the definition of growth sideways but not forward.  If you read in some of the past articles that God has shared with us I mention some certain instances where my attitude was far-fetched in its understanding which allowed me to continue to grow but in an outward appearance instead of an inner or spiritual manner.  During this time frame the Modern Church experienced exponential growth and it was popular to be a Christian or to be associated with any church organization, and while this growth continued in the numerical sense our growth in spirituality basically stopped and I can provide an example that will upset many people around this local area but it is one of truth that cannot be denied.  Then we shall continue with this specific time period in the age in God.

When I first came to this small community in Colorado, I was part of the era where spirituality was still considered to be the highest calling of a child of God.  The youth group that was at my father’s church was fairly small but well oiled in the Word of God.  Many of the kids that were in that time frame of our youth group graduated high school and had a burden for ministry and thus went on to various accounts of ministry.  I cannot accurately say how many did go into the ministry but what I can say is that the majority of them did.  It was clear that as long as the leadership of our church was strong and conducted themselves with the authority Jesus gave to us over the kingdom of the world, that percentage of kids continued to pursue ministerial goals.  But once dad left and the mission and focus changed, so did that percentage of kids who had a heart for the lost even though the numbers of that youth group skyrocketed!  They were and still are spiritually numb to the truth and do not care about the advancement of God’s Kingdom with many of them not even knowing God has a Kingdom, yet they know exactly who to contact if they want some drugs or alcohol.

Over a period of a few decades or so it was amazing to see how many small churches became super churches or what they are referred to today as mega churches.  The influx of people into these churches is confounding and for a while became the symbol of what many believed the growth of the Church should represent.  But as time progressed cracks began to see noticed and with more time passing leaks began to produce an odor that could only be sourced from within.  The so-called Modern Day Church had reached its peak in the public eye and through her own inner and interior lies the truth came out.  Church attendance is now in a steady decline, the number of denominations – I cannot stand that word – that are having difficulty in finding people first and then ordaining leaders is on the rise and looks like there will be no stopping this increase in the near future either.  The number of physical and sinful allegations amongst the leaders of all denominations is continually coming into question and in combination with the lack of understanding in the spiritual realm is accumulating in the rash of pastoral and church leadership suicides.  We do not even understand that our spiritual age is so young that we cannot fight our enemy on the level that he is attacking us even if we wanted to.

Our spiritual immaturity is so vast and predictable that our enemy just has to look in our direction and we fall into his arms and coo over what he is projecting.  We cannot even identify what is right and what is wrong any longer, which means we have fallen into the “truths” of the foundation of the world and its leader.  Oh, yes, we are numerous in population but that does not mean a lot when our foundation is glued in with the world.  So, with all of this information present how would one grade our age in God?  See, God measures us by our hearts and not our physical for our physical is already doomed and it is our spiritual that represents eternity.  Our spiritual contents are what will either provide our protection from our enemy through the Blood Covenant of God or it will define our eternity as one who chose to side with the loser and doomed failure known as Satan.  Either way, we shall fight and strengthen one side or the other as we breathe every day.  Here is something to ponder for a while, when you are separated from the world one cannot coddle its world and values and still expect the sovereignty of God to be manifested through your words and actions.  It is this type of action that the Church boldly proclaims as being from God and people are flocking to its doors in belief that they can keep their doctor no matter what occurs around them.  THAT saying was proved to be a lie and the belief that one can keep their worldly ways and expect to remain in heaven after their judgment is also a lie!

So let us now take an overall look at your age in God and see if it really has grown as much as we would like to believe.  During the discipleship era when Jesus was on the earth, it is fair to say that if any Church state was present that it would be in its infancy stage at best with the hope that a great spiritual future would have been on the horizon.  It would also be of common belief that the Early Church would have learned from the ways of the disciples and would not have made the mistakes that they did but as we can see the Early Church even through its deadly persecution continued to will their own human beliefs into the Church and was thus the subject of the New Testament writers.  We can see some spiritual growth becoming evident which would allow us to place the spiritual age in God at about 0-2 category.  This growth category is a small inclination but one that still has great potential if the people would lose their human input and focus on God alone.

Then we come to the Middle Age Church with all of its robust numbers and wide array of expansion and corresponding power.  The numerical status of the Church has grown exponentially but with a superficial bias that not even the lowest of peasants can ignore.  While territory after territory fell to the allegiances of the Church the spiritual content of its leaders filtered all the way down to the servant in whom they now believed that their behavior and all of its heinous activities would be blessed by the Church and without question to boot.  It is this stage of our age in God that is troublesome for it depicts a new pattern of solubility with the standards of the world that leaves out Christ’s mission that He gave for us to do.  Conversion at the expense of protracted torture is NOT what Jesus had in mind for His Father’s Kingdom and in NO way ever would Jesus teach the methods of torture to make clear the agenda of the Church.  So, I guess we can place the Middle Age Church’s age in God at about 3-6 years old for the way she acted during this period of time resembles a child of such age.

Okay, now for the ultimate growth test in age we must consider the Modern Day Church and all of her extravagant wealth and splendor.  Just from the first sentence of this paragraph, one can foresee the age of this time frame for she follows directly as the young teenager does and conducts herself in the exact same manner as today’s teenager.  Being a teenager should be a time of learning with knowledge and wisdom combined and a sense of discipline interjected in order to activate a congruity of life experiences into one gigantic act of extraordinary life.  While this type of living is present in most teenagers there is a mole that has been placed into their lives that tends to tell them that they know everything and that they do not have to listen to any other authority figures other than themselves.  Look at how she incorporates individual and selfish ways into her “theology” and then defends this worldly practice with gnashing teeth and violent hearts.  The “Jesus clothes” are now lined with satanic art and graven images that are held close to her heart than the Word of God they are supposed to be living under.  She has gone her own way and has defiled the most sacred of unities in which sex is now an act of ludicrous behavior instead of the holy institution of being one.  And all of these acts come from the mouths of those we hear not necessarily from the hidden courses that flow behind closed doors.

The defense of God’s Word and the foundation on which the Church stands is continually mocked and spat upon by those who sit in the pews of church buildings and by those who never have claimed to set foot into a church before.  Her actions are promulgated simultaneously without them even knowing what the other is doing or promoting.  Their worldly spirituality is thriving and growing by leaps and bounds all the while their physical lusts are being fulfilled as soon as the next protest against obedience is completed.  Do I have to make an admission about what the age in God today’s Church is?  It seems to me that she is stuck in her teenage years and has no imagination or inkling of wanting to advance in spiritual age in God at all.  People, you must understand that I am talking about people who go to church and consider themselves to be Christians, here!  I am no addressing the ones who go against every aspect of the Church, I am referring to the Church, this is the way we act today and we cannot even notice that I am talking about the Church that is how far away from God we are and have become.

The Church is over 2000 years old in the physical realm and that is a large number of years but spiritually we are a teenager.  Something does not add up people!  I understand that there is no way we can be 2000 years old in God but being only a teenager?  I cannot stand here and state I am 50 years old in God for my attitude and lack of God for many years have blanked me with this equality in age, but I know my age is growing because more and more I desire to do what is right in the eyes of God.  My days start with prayer and reading His Word, God interjects messages for me to write to His people, and still, then I feel separated from Him in such a way that it hurts.  Where is this daily prayer and longing to be with God from the Church?  It is obvious that our hearts have turned away from our Creator and the One who created the Church.  We have ignored His Word for so long that we would not even recognize if God Himself were to walk into a church sanctuary, mainly because our heads would be in a downward position looking at our cell phones.

When I was a kid, I would look up to the adults and want to be like them someday and while it took a while for me to figure out that I might not be as tall as they were but I was convinced that my heart was going to be just as big as theirs.  That desire for inner growth is what God wants from us for when we want to grow in Him it means that we are fully committed to the cause He has for our lives.  I know that there are numerous people within the congregations of our churches today that honestly love God and are fulfilling the mission that Jesus commanded, but the majority of people who classify themselves as Christians are not yet believing a lie from our enemy that they are.  It is obvious that many Christians do not know their Bible, that statement from President Obama – which was made in mocking terms – is actually a fact and should penetrate each heart that considers themselves a Christian.  I now know the grave error of my kid like thinking about the Bible in the past, but as each day continues to roll past I learn more and more new life-giving truth from this precious gift of God.

There is only one way possible for your age in God to grow and that is to once again live and believe in God with a whole and pure heart.  You are the Church and you represent God on this planet and this means that it is strictly up to you and me to let the world know that there is a way out of this quagmire that we have made.  I have no idea about how long I shall draw breath on this earth but it is my deepest and most sincere prayer that my age in God continues to grow each day so that I may understand my Creator enough to tell those who are hurting and who are lost that there is an eternal Truth that cares about their life enough to have provided a way for all to live forever.  The Early Church and Middle Age Church eras are gone and nothing can be done to bring them back, but we can still turn the Modern Day church around and head her back to God, it is not too late for we have but a short moment of time remaining but we need to start now.  We can still grow in age with God because God wants to know that He can increase your age in Him and that is why He continually asks you: what is Your Age in God?

DLB