To the Leaders

To The Leaders

6/30/19

Leadership is everyone’s responsibility no matter what level of work is required.  Blame comes from all levels when things are not completed properly in one’s eyes but who actually allows these leaders to be placed in positions of authority and is there ever a time when God takes over time when leaders are chosen?  The viability of all human life is substantiated through such leadership presentation, skill, determination, and follow through, in other words, it is our responsibility to select quality leadership so that God does not have to remind us of which path we are on.  In a land where division represents its own definitive wall there will never be an opportunity for unity no matter how high and clear the call may resound for division comes from the world and not from the One who has the authority to heal such wounds.  Will we continue to be worldly and lustfully sinful while we knish at each other on our path of destruction or will we actually learn from our selfish ways and turn to God for the correct life-giving answers all of us need?

It is hard to imagine that it has almost been twenty years since the series “Band of Brothers” was released publicly.  Many of you have watched this series and have expressed opinions for and against its making.  The series brought out a huge chunk of information about the boys and men who stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day and then followed them through until the end of World War II.  If you have not watched the series I strongly recommend that you do for it details a bit of our combat history which gives us a picture of how to adequately fight for what is right for humanity.  A shortage of time should not dictate such precedence for a large campaign with all levels of command pointing in one direction, but as the old adage goes it only takes one bad apple and when it comes to the war for freedom this slip up could mean a reversal of the projected fight and thus create a harder environment after the battle is lost.  Bad leaders may have some initial luck but in order to sustain and win the battles that are still to come one needs a leader who understands exactly what the overall plan of the war is about, knows what the strategy of the enemy is and knows how to plan for attacks for and against, and plans for all encounters thereof through the building up of their troops.  Looking good in a battle and performing well in a battle are two totally different conditions and usually means life or death in the end.

As each episode began and before the actual footage commenced, they had a few of the soldiers talk about their personal experiences that related to the upcoming episode topic.  One of the episodes dealt with how the selected leaders held their command, operated during combat initiatives and executed the battle plan from divisional command centers to their troops.  A person that was chosen who looked the part of a leader not always panned out to be a good leader and it became quite clear to the men under this person that if they followed their lead and orders their lives would be further engulfed in danger, more than  “normal” battlefield hazards would present.  While most of the leaders of this horrific time were of good quality and men would follow their leadership anywhere, it was made clear that some leaders had not the trust of their men which at some point in their near futures, this failure was demonstrated.  Through the deaths of these poor and scripted leaders came about, or sadly needless deaths of soldiers occurred, it did not matter excessive loss of life entailed and set back the course of freedom’s advancement a few more days.

For quite some time now, we have had plenty of examples of churches and church representatives (Christians) demonstrating how not to be witnesses to those who need God and salvation through His Son Jesus Christ.  When you ask these individuals, groups, or organizations if they believe that their actions warrant those of Jesus, I can almost guarantee that all representatives will respond with a “yes”.  This is a puzzling yet frightening response and belief because it goes totally contrary to the actions and words used by our Savior.  Somehow we have brought into our custody that this type of behavior is acceptable to use as a means of testimonial witnessing to people that now have no intentions of accepting Jesus as their Savior because of these antics.  It is this type of false leadership qualities that cannot be ignored as the ones bad military commanders have in the story above, while some may see the Truth through this type of embellishment most will only provide ugliness and further deepening wounds when the day is said and done.

What and where is the proof of this failure you ask?  First off, the people that we are supposed to be witnessing to and telling them about the Truth of their eternity will go back to their homes, businesses, families, etc. and report their encounters with “Christians” as one with hostilities and hatred for the way they believe.  This is a justifiable comment and takeaway since all that resulted in such instance was yelling and screaming at each other.  Secondly, Christians will go back and report to their congregations, pastors, etc. that no one was willing to listen to what they had to say and that their voices were drowned out with arguments and persecution, basically creating for them a verbal martyrdom scenario in which further blindness to how to defend God and the faith that they have in Him correctly and adequately.  So, when all things are said and done, the only winner in this setting and presentation is Satan and his kingdom for God did not show up and work miracles in peoples’ lives nor did any good come from the yelling matches between people who should do their best to work together on issues that divide our lifestyles.  Witnessing to others is a delicate matter but one that is necessary in order for people to understand that God loves them and that there is a different choice other than the world; resulting in an all-inclusive lie to those who need God.

One can argue the fact that the issues that the modern Church is facing today strictly comes from the leaders of the Church and not the congregational members of such body.  But there is ample Scripture that supports the Truth that we are all responsible for these atrocities and it is time we stand up and take the necessary steps to rid not only ourselves of such sin but also the leadership roles who have committed these identical acts of shame and abomination.  Shouting at others who differ from the Truth of God does not constitute the justification of such actions and words, if fact, the only time Jesus was really upset and allowed His feelings of hurt be portrayed was towards the leaders of the religious sect NOT the people who He came to die for.  It is a great defeat of God when we as leaders of the Church act in such a manner for it only further strengthens the ties to the world that others are freely volunteering.  It is here that we reach the passage of Scripture God wants us to study for this article and it comes from Matthew 21:18-20 and is as follows: “Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered.  And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.  And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!”

Now, some people say that this example is pointed directly at Israel and her refusal to accept that Jesus is their Messiah, and while this may be part of the Truth it does not represent all of the Truth when it comes to the hearts of the people and the leaders of the Church.  Yes, it was a very long time before Israel became a fitted nation again for they had personally misled themselves away from God.  But we know that God’s Definition and Word is for everyone and when we place this Truth into that context we cannot ignore the fact that Jesus’ words here represent all leaders who produce a good picture but have a blackened heart that cannot produce any spiritual fruit for others.  One could also argue the fact that when Jesus saw the fig tree that others had already picked the fruit from those leaves but that is also not a fact for if Jesus would have saw that someone else had eaten from it He would have done such a feat.  For if He did, then He would have vanquished a fruitful tree for no reason and thus nullified His presence and reason for His presence on the earth; in other words, making Himself out to be a hypocrite in which was what the leaders of the religious were acting and producing of the time.

From afar off, Jesus saw the fig tree giving off the physical appearance, according to its life cycle, that it should have had figs on its vines.  But when Jesus came close He noticed that no figs were present, no figs had been taken from the tree, thus rendered it useless as a vital and life-giving plant thus spewed it from His mouth.  When Jesus examined its vitality and reason for life, the fig tree had none and from what His eyes saw it was not in the making process of new fruit either, this tree was hanging out for looks lonely and was anemic to what it was created to do.  Now, we are getting to a touchy spot here because it is this point where we need to keep in mind that our lives were Created to complete one task and from what our world looks like today we are simply just hanging around like that barren fig tree.  God is not in the habit of praising anything, including us, that do not produce fruit (life).  God is Life and represents Life on all levels and through this eternal Truth of His Definition He cannot waiver or differ from such action.  Jesus was just providing an example to the disciples of how important it is to always be in the completeness of God and for our hearts to be willing to produce good fruit to those who need eternal nourishment.

For many today, this teaching is difficult to accept for many believe that God accepts them where they are at life and then leaves them there.  Our hearts have become darkened enough to believe that we can be friends with the world and till consider ourselves to under Covenant and in God’s Will.  Satan ABSOLUTELY LOVES this lie we believe because since he is the father of all lies it does not matter that we are living under his rule and authority instead.  The Church has never been larger or stronger in her history than what she is today.  She ignores the infrastructure of her heart in order to promote her outward appearance and presentation to those who ears can be tickled.  No longer are there fire and brimstone sermons being preached and no one has the guts enough to stand up and say that the popular worldly trends and beliefs are wrong and that they will send one to hell.  What is so devastating is that through this passage we can see that Jesus told it straight and demands even the plants to live according to their creative motions, so what makes us believe that He shall not know us when the day of our judgment arrives for He cares less about what our appearance looks like He is only interested in the conditions of our heart and if we have obeyed Hs commands of eternal separation.  If Jesus did not mind the fig tree not bearing fruit as it should He would have followed in the footsteps of His Father in doing so, but God did not allow non-productive people live under these false pretenses in the Old Testament so why would we believe that God would not mind people saying they are Christians or followers of Christ yet living in continual sinful lives?  Who are the ones praising these types of worldly actions?  It is the ones who are the leaders of the church denominations who want to be friendly with the world and not of God.  Even before God destroyed individuals, groups, armies, and nations He could not warrant accepting sin on any level but through His mercy, He gave humans every opportunity to change their hearts before He had to act.

How many fig trees (leaders and churches) would Jesus curse publicly in your communities or towns if He walked by today?  A frightening question that many of us would be shocked to hear the answer to but it is a question that we need to ask ourselves every moment of each day.  There would be no question that the glamour that Jesus would see from a distance could not deny but what He would see when He examined our leadership skills would call for the eternal death sentence and a table-turning that would make the verse in the New Testament covering this pattern seem like a playground.  Through this type of leadership examples it would be easy to just place blame them for such atrocities against God and to those who hunger for eternal Truth, but we are just as guilty as they for we have not studied the Bible well enough to realize and understand what lies have been taught.  Jesus saw the issues from the religious leaders and saw the infiltrations that their form of leadership and teaching presented, this is the fruit that He was referring to when He scolded the priests for making the Temple a house of thieves and vipers.  We cannot help but ascertain the truth about what is being produced by the messages and teachings from the leaders of the Church, and as stated a few times in this article this includes everyone who considers themselves to be a Christian.

The fig tree was supposed to go into all the world and preach the gospel which is what Jesus saw when He looked closely at that tree, but what He saw was a beautiful plant with no meat and no fruit.  It is this type of category that Jesus cursed the fig tree and it quickly withered.  The disciples were amazed at how quickly the tree withered for they saw the effects of Jesus’ words towards the Truth versus what the fig tree produced, or not produced.  What is striking about this passage is that there are only a few people that recognize this withering process of the fig tree (Church) while so many others see its death sentence as a progressive deployment into the world and its acceptance within her walls.  It is this truth that will end our nation and it shall end the Church as we know it for unless we quickly realize our state of affairs we shall not have any hope in producing fruit according to the Great Commission that Jesus commanded us to complete.  The governmentally controlled church is heresy at best for it places subject on fallible people instead of the one True Infallible Creator.  It was just a few decades later that the Temple was completely destroyed and since that time has not been rebuilt and if we do not heed this important story in Matthew the life that we know today shall also be taken away and crumbled.

A detail here to keep in mind, Jesus saw the fig tree from a distance and He saw what looked like a tree that was ripe for harvest.  This presentation of the fig tree and its appearance to His eyes did not occur overnight it was a process that took place over time.  It grew its leaves and appearance but did not have any fruit to bear its name for its life cycle.  The fig tree had plenty of time for it to grow fruit and complete what it was created to do, but it did not and was then subject to scrutiny and judgment from its Creator.  This should open our eyes to see how we have responded to what we have been commanded to do and serve as the foundational question about our fruitful productions.  Have we produced fruit so that others may know God and the True Love He has for our lives or are we just showboating and putting on an act that looks good to the distant eye but hides the real motives of our hearts?  Another detail here is that I find it very intriguing that this passage of Scripture references the same items that Adam and Eve used to cover up their bodies in Genesis 3:7, and look how that turned out.

This nation and the current state of the Church believes that it has the best to offer the world and at one point in our history both were correct.  But not any longer for we have filled our own hearts with the belief that we are the best and that everything we produce is of solid gold and cannot be touched by any other hand.  Folks, we shall fall and we shall fall harder than any other nation has fallen simply because we fail to recognize that God was the Founder of this nation and that He did so for a very specific reason.  The Light that He gave us we have placed a rainbow light bulb in and replaced God with the pride of the world; furthermore, Church you have done the exact same thing by allowing Satan to dwell inside our walls and take up residence as the proprietor of services.  We cannot deny this Church, for every move we make, is disorganized, selfish, and sinful due to the belief we can mix the two kingdoms that are vying for our lives.  Hear God when He says that life cannot cohabitate with death, period!  If you represent death in ANY manner then you cannot be with God for God’s own definition is eternal Life alone.  If you are presenting yourself as a beautiful and healthy fig tree without fruit in season then you are the opposite of life.

DLB

Fulfilling The Old Tetament

Fulfilling The Old Testament

6/23/19

How many of us like to finish a book?  The ending of such a story usually has a definitive conclusion where all answers have been completed with all characters finalized.  Many of us have the tendency to believe that the Old Testament has such a conclusion and another chapter of God opens up with the New Testament, but that belief is a lie and needs to be squelched within our hearts for if we let it grow it shall become a foundation that will destroy our hearts instead of building the Kingdom of God.  Jesus came to fulfill the Old Testament and to end all doubts about what the plan of God has for your life, including the absolute and complete restoration of our hearts and lives back into His Holiness.  It is this reason alone that we cannot say that the Old Testament is obsolete or not relevant for today’s lives and hearts.  The opposite is true because when we understand that Jesus is the completion of the Old Testament His Life will become more alive than ever, adding fuel to our mission that He commanded us to complete.

For a while to come, God has given me some titles and subjects that will not settle well with some people due to the beliefs of the divisional denominational commodities that mankind has developed in order to justify their own personal accusations.  God wants nothing more than to see His people worship and live under His eternal Authority in One name only, Jesus.  It is for this purpose alone that God has chosen us to live out His Word by going and teaching to those who need His Salvation, but in order for us to complete this mission, we must be in one accord and know how to defend His Word when attacked by the world.  One of our most desperate issues today and ever since Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden are that we struggle how to defend the definition of God and His presence all around us.  Until we dig deep enough into His Word and understand exactly what it means to be separate from the world so that we can show the relationship we have with God, our mission is not being fulfilled adequately enough to even witness to an ant.  God loves everyone and it is our responsibility to stand up and defend the Word of God by proclaiming it loud and clear to anyone who shall listen.  The Truth needs to be shared with all and it is time we step up and do what Jesus commanded us to do.

Today’s definition of the word fulfill is as follows: “bring to completion or reality, achieve or realize (something desired, promised, or predicted).”  Not too bad of a definition when it comes to what Jesus’ life meant to the world and why God allowed Him to be present in such a manner.  Often we simply misrepresent this definition to the point that we forget to use its meaning in the full capacity that it is defined.  To complete something through this term means that what is defined cannot be altered, added to, or subtracted from and through such definition it means that whatever has been said is alive and well no matter what or who tries to condemn its words.  The Greek word that is used in one of our passages is the word “plerosai” which means to furnish, satisfy, execute, finish, verify or level up.  The second passage comes from Romans 10:4 and the Greek word for fulfill used here is “telos” which means: the principal end, aim, purpose, an end.  So, it really does not matter which word you wish to use in this article for the word “fulfill” they all have the identical meaning, one that represents completion thus giving us another eternal confirmation that God is a complete God on all levels that our hearts and minds can fathom.

One of the easiest things to forget about the Bible is that when Jesus was alive the New Testament was not written, it was not part of the “law” that is mentioned so many times in the Gospels and later works that we know to be included with the New Testament.  When we recognize this fact about the Bible it places us into a setting in which refers us back to the lives of Israel and how important it is that Christians stand by Israel and support her.  Some of us know that the Jews do not need us for anything concerning their origins or identity but it is necessary for us to understand and know about Israel (the Jews) where it comes to our identity as Christians.  We cannot be called Christians without first understanding Israel and what she means to our lives. 

Therefore, the same goes with the fact concerning the Old Testament and the New Testament because if we do not understand, obey, and follow the Old Testament there is NO WAY possible for us to understand, obey, and follow what the New Testament has to say.  When you study the New Testament you get the Old Testament in a condensed version for the New Testament says exactly what the Old Testament says even what occurs when God is not obeyed.  “Living in the post-New Testament world” per se cannot be understood unless we first understand what the Old Testament authorizes and un-authorized, simply stating that if you do not know the origins and the reasons why in the beginning, not much else will be on any directed and secure path.  It is this reason that Jesus came into the picture, the ONLY reason that can be claimed as a fulfillment of the Old Testament, and provide an eternal covering as the single living price for which our existence presents.  Through these two passages of Scripture, Matthew 5:17-18 and Romans 10:4 it is repeatedly proclaimed and defined as Truth that Jesus fulfilled what the Old Testament proclaimed and therefore nothing can be detracted from what the Definition of God states concerning Jesus and what He came to do – or anything else for that matter.

In a day and age where truth and relativity are condemned as variables at best, this article seems like a farce and a bold-faced opposition.  The previous statement is a truth in that the world shall never see God as a complete, holy, truthful, or guiding figure for our lives on any level.  The same come forth through the conception, birth, life, death and most importantly the resurrection of Jesus.  Because of this completed cycle of Jesus’ life, it is for this Truth that Jesus was, is, and is to come to the fulfillment of the Old Testament.  It is imperative that we have this truth within our hearts at all times and not waiver from such Divine understanding for it is the job of the world to destroy this Truth so that we cannot effectively witness and share to those who need Life in their hearts.  The intentions of this proclamation concur that there is no other Way to the Father except through the Son.  The importance of life is being diminished daily in our world and with this lie comes the reaping of death for death is the anomaly of life, especially when it comes to the eternal aspect of our existence.

I heard all my life that Jesus fulfills at least 53 prophecies in the Old Testament through His life here on earth.  This type f fulfillment does not mean that Jesus just represents the end of a great work or setting and it also means that when we see the Bible as an entire Word, we cannot technically (in our hearts) separate the Bible into two Testaments either but one complete setting in which our entire existence is defined, lived out, and our future processed included in One complete book.  So, how can it be that some of us refuse to believe that the Old Testament is now irrelevant or from an ancient time that has no meaning in or for our lives today?  By believing such a lie, one cannot truly and righteously proclaim that Jesus is the Savior and Lord because when one believes such a thing concerning the Old Testament their origin is automatically cut away from them.  Jesus’ life does not close the Old Testament either but opens it up so that we may understand the reasons why God tells us to obey Him and not the ways of the world.  God could not have opened with a “completed” message in Genesis and not have the same message in Revelation for if He did write an incomplete content He would not and could not be considered God.  Every aspect of Jesus’ life completes the fulfillment of God, His Word, and His Definition and through this completed aspect we have the eternal assurance that God does what He says and completes His word just the same.

It is this Truth that God adamantly states many times that we do not add or subtract to His Definition for when we do we become subject to the lies of the world and its ruler.  Deuteronomy 4:2 reinforces this fact and deems it an important law that God wants our hearts to keep true and deep.  To those who wish to read over or skip portions of the Bible for whatever selfish reason you have, beware that you are placing your life in eternal danger and it proves that no matter what you say about God or Jesus you have no intention of following His Truth or Law thus exposing your heart as one that knows not God.  Malachi 4:6 may be the last verse in the “Old Testament” but it is not the end of what God has in store for our lives and what we need to know in order for us to live in this world.  This verse is, however, the point where Jesus enters into the world and seals the Old Testament as Truth.  All of the Old Testament contains volumes of information about the one way of separation and salvation, it contains ways to obey God and live a holy and abundant life before Him no matter what our physical presence brings to the table.  The Old Testament provides ways for us to guide our immediate and business families and to bring them together under one blood-covered house.  Instead, God initiates the eternal Salvation plan and gives us the ultimate sacrifice so that all may enter into His presence with thanksgiving and praise.

Yes, there are so many more portions of these Scriptures that we can talk about and probably will at some later time but it is the word “fulfillment” that God wants us to think about, ponder on, and desire to have in our hearts.  See, since Jesus told us to go into all the world and preach the gospel to everyone we become the focal point of the Truth about the fulfillment of Jesus and the Old Testament.  The people that lived in Old Testament times did the exact same things that we do today and in order for us to say that we believe Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament, we must obey His command to witness to those who need Him and are willing to give up the world.  God is alive, Jesus is alive, Holy Spirit is alive, and so should we which means we need to be dead to ourselves and the world in order for ourselves to fulfill what we say we believe.  Church, how do we stand on this issue?  Are we living out the fulfillment of Jesus or are we pretending to do such in superficial meaning only?

So, where do this article’s topic and truth leave us Church?  Even though God has never let anyone off the hook we somehow believe that He will change course and allow us to believe whatever we wish because He has called us out to be the leaders of the world.  I am not talking about this nation here, I am talking about you, the Church for when you stop and think about it we are leaders for it is our responsibility to lead the world back to God.  It has become quite obvious that our attention and devotion to the Word of God has waned which in turn has allowed our enemy’s kingdom to flourish throughout the land, with devastating effects on endless amounts of lives.  We have lost our way so much from the Truth that we no longer look to God as the only source of light and salvation but first consider the options of the world instead.  Our hearts have turned away from the complete Testament of the Bible thus elevating ourselves as saviors and leaving Jesus’ body hanging on the cross.

God has once again given us a piece of information about His Definition that we need to study further and dedicate our time and hearts to understanding.  God has never controlled our decisions before and He shall not start now either, but I can guarantee if you and I do not start to seek Him for answers we shall never know the fullness of His Son’s place in our lives and coverer over our hearts.  There is no way that we can ever say that we are followers of Christ unless we first surrender our hearts to the ONE who completed the eternal definition of God the Father.  There is no question that God gives His children a multitude of chances to come back to Him before He must grab our attention.  This important detail about Jesus is huge when it comes to the authority that God gives us as we witness to those who are lost.  In fact, to proclaim that Jesus is the completion and fulfillment of the Old Testament is a testament of obedience to God’s Law and a public message sent to Satan and his cronies about that we know who we are in Christ and what our authority and mission is.  We no longer can ignore God and place our whimsical feelings ahead of the mission that Jesus gave His Church to complete.  It is not our place to sit idly by and do nothing for God and His message of Salvation to others. 

Jesus is not the end of God but the beginning of eternity and the plan of Salvation that God wants for everyone but we have turned this eternal Truth into a mockery because we want to divide up the message of Salvation according to how we feel.  How do we do this, you ask?  By bypassing the subject of Christ is the completion and fulfillment of the Old Testament, by ignoring the only source of our definition in God under Christ’s blood, and by picking and choosing certain passages of Scripture to either promote or to ignore because of how we feel at that particular moment.  God is a stable God on all levels and He has given us the perfect guideline to bring stability into our lives.  The world cannot provide such stability no matter what it tries to tell you, the roses are fake and cannot turn into live ones.  Our only Truth and source of stability and fulfillment is the entire Word of God and every single word that it contains should be harbored within our hearts and lived out accordingly.  We cannot even pray for fulfillment in our own lives much less the lives of others, but there is a Way that we can turn to so that we can once again Light up the sky in the midst of the darkness.

Because certain and specific issues were not addressed in the physical times of Jesus does not mean that He ignored them or did not deem them important.  Jesus stated and other New Testament authors stated that Jesus came to fulfill the Law which means that He came to fulfill what the Old Testament said.  Not just parts of it but ALL of its content.  It is this manner in which we need to study God’s Word and it is also in like manner that we need to live as well.  It is not our place to yell and scream at those who do not share the entire Bible’s Ways and Truths, but it is our responsibility to show these beautiful people that God loves them and that the only way possible for them to know and live for eternity is by obeying the entire Word of God at all times.  This is what Jesus taught and it is what He lived, died, and rose again for and if we say we follow Jesus we must acknowledge that He completed the entire Old Testament as a living testimony to all who will listen.  This is what we need to be teaching and preaching Church, the complete unabridged, holy and pure Word of God for if we do not we are not teaching Jesus thus cannot understand through the completion of God and that the end shall continue eternally.

DLB

Drinking The Cup

Drinking The Cup

6/9/19

The Bible and its Truth has always been a source of controversy among those who have concerns about the authority of what it says and what it means to our lives.  If we take a true look with our hearts when we study the Bible we would leave our personal gains out of the equation and listen to what it says concerning our lives.  There are many Scripture passages that explain the authority of the Bible and just how beneficial for us to live by such Truths.  One of the more highly contested subjects is our own justification of what Jesus would do and how we should act when it comes to the acceptance of worldly lifestyles.  One specific story stands out in the Bible that sums up how we should look at and then accept the words of the entire Bible and that is the story of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, more specifically when He asks His Father if this cup shall pass or not.  It is this holy question and God’s response that defines the Truth of both Testaments and how we should regard the subjects of such Word.

All of us have had our doubts concerning God, His existence in our lives, the authority of the Bible, etc. But for the most part those doubts are quickly erased because it is at this point that Holy Spirit brings us a comforting word that pokes our faith into action and then wakes up our hearts to dismiss this doubt.  Even though God is around all of our lives it is not always the case that Holy Spirit is able to convince many of this Truth, for they have allowed Satan enough room in their lives that it is almost impossible for God to reach them.  It is these beautiful people who if not reached will become hardened enough that skepticism will become their ruling factor and thus argue against the Word of God as being the only eternal source of salvation; therefore, deeming the life of Christ and His blood as being the only way possible of having and receiving eternal Salvation and peace with our Creator.

I too have had my days of doubt concerning God, His plan for my life, and general thoughts about the trueness and authority of the Bible.  It is a huge struggle for me when these days arrive for I know there is a spiritual battle going on with what God has put into my heart versus what Satan and his kingdom warriors are trying to override.  For a person who has known the Word of God to be true in their life, this battle while tough usually ends with a victory over death and the followers of such but to those who have legitimate questions concerning their eternal lives the outcomes can be totally different with an outcome of further separation from the Truth and acceptance of lies.  It is the job of Satan and his kingdom imps to attack people in ways to ensure that they have no clue about their possible proclamation of the Truth about God to others.  You and I are the most dangerous examples of God and His Truth in the lies that others have believed and accepted over their lives and it is for this purpose of spreading the Truth to others that Satan works overtime to end life as we know it.

As each day passes, it is evident that more and more people are choosing to throw away God and His Ways in order to place their trust, faith, and hope in human beings and the flaws that come with those choices.  It is frightening to believe that we choose to place ourselves in the trust of others who would gladly end the life of a child or elderly person in the name of choice than to have someone who gives perfect options for those who have become a “burden” to others.  To be honest, what real options do people have when the foundation of governmental ire is steeped in the roots of death first and then life?  It is this example that screams to those around that they do not wish to have any other influence that would contradict their philosophy, meaning that they do not want to believe that the Bible is a viable and truthful option when it comes to solving issues that directly and indirectly affect them.  It also makes it clear that these folks do not want to believe that everything that the Bible says and stands for is true at all and that every word that is in the Bible represents our faults and how God has provided the Way for us to be redeemed.  God gives us a perfect example of how True His Word is through the passage of this article.  It has been spoken about, preached and taught many times over and it needs to be repeated once again so that we all know how to defend our faiths and beliefs as Christians when the important question of doubt confronts us.

The main passage for this article comes from Matthew 26:36-46 with a few verses being the ones that we will spend most of our time learning about its message.  This passage is where Jesus and a few of His disciples are in the Garden of Gethsemane and Jesus leaves the three to pray while He goes off alone and prays as well.  It is a well-known fact that Jesus comes back a few times and sees that the disciples are asleep instead of praying; how many of us can personally relate to this picture?  While the prayers of the three disciples are never given in wordage, the prayer of Jesus is and it is very significant to what is about to occur in His life and for the lives of all people, both before Jesus and after Him as well.  The first time the word “cup” is used in this passage is in verse 39 and then it is used again in verse 42 and for the last time in verse 44.  All three times Jesus asks His Father that if it is possible for Him to not have to go through this final mission of His life at this time for it to pass by and come at another time.  But the timing of God is impeccable and even though we as humans may never completely understand this detail about God we must contend and then accept that it is True on all levels of existence.  It also provides us with the perfect example of how obedience should be recognized in our lives and how if we obey on all levels of God’s expectancy we shall shine as an eternal light to the dark and blackened hearts of the world.

The Greek word for cup that is used here in these verses is “poterion” and means a drinking cup, the contents of the cup, and the portion which God allots.  It is a given that a cup is being used here but it is the other two portions of this definition that stands out and what God wants us to know about this process and why Jesus asked to have it pass by Him if possible.  The “contents of the cup” portion of this definition is significant because when one uses a cup it means nothing to the user if it is empty.  I mean, an empty cup is useless and only tempts the person needing something to drink and if continued having empty contents then torture until filled adequately.  But if we understand the reason why, God allowed Jesus to come to the earth we know that the contents of the cup that was now in front of Jesus was filled with every sin imaginable that inhabits the earth and has the potential of causing our eternal separation from our Creator.  It is for this reason that the word “poterion” is an adequate part of the word “cup” used here for it described exactly what Jesus had to do in order for us to have eternal acceptance in the eyes of God.  The second portion of importance for this definition “portion of what God allots” is also significant because with everything that this world has to offer seems endless, and since we know that the world cannot produce anything greater than death God must include every sin imaginable in order for His Word to be proven correct and the eternal purpose of His Son’s life and mission here on earth.  So, what did God allot in this setting?  God allotted the eternal and forever Sacrifice that covered ALL sin not just the sin for a specific period of time.

When you put these two portions of the word “cup” together it makes sense as to why God turns His back on Jesus while He was hanging on the cross.  It is not a pretty sight on the physical side of things in the first place but when you place the entire realm of God’s enemy upon the Holiest Creation the Creator of such perfection cannot stand and look at the situation.  I have been in the medical field for many years and have had the opportunity to assist with several spinal tap procedures.  With this experience, I have become a bit numb to the procedural settings and have proven that while I understand the techniques used and the uncomfortable feelings of the procedure administered that the entire timeframe does not bother me anymore.  However, when my daughter had to have this procedure done to her when she was a newborn, I found out that I could not be in the same room much less the same area while they completed the spinal tap procedure.  When the condition of your child is not in its normal capacity a parent goes through tough times and reacts accordingly.  This is exactly what God did when Jesus took on the entire spectrum of all sin ever created while He was on the cross, God could not see such destruction on His perfect Son.

This example of Christ to us covers the wide aspect of sin and every instance that it pops up into our lives.  If you remember in the Old Testament, that many instances are given in that Israel had specific times that it was required to have sacrifices and it was during these times when the sacrificial lamb was chosen and then sacrificed.  The process of shedding blood was still the ONLY way possible to cleanse the stain of sin from our lives, this was first demonstrated when God provided a covering for Adam and Eve after sin had been allowed to enter into our lives.  In this event with Adam and Eve, God did not turn His head or back on Adam and Eve at any time nor did He have any close or identical movements throughout the Old Testament when it came time for sacrifices either.  This does not mean that what Israel did was not as important to what Jesus did in the New Testament, for the process of eternal Covenant through the shedding of blood was still intact for both time periods.  However, when Jesus came to the earth and completed His mission that God had sent Him to do, it was the eternal portion of God’s perfect Creation (human) that changed the setting and conditions.  It is also this aspect of Old Testament Truth that applies to Jesus dying on the cross and why God had no choice to turn His back on Him.

We know that even though the Old Testament sacrificial lambs were raised to be perfect without blemishes present, they were still flawed in many ways for at some point the lamb would have grown into an adult and then later died of old age.  Jesus was completely different in that He was not Created of a human male but an eternal and perfect Being.  His purpose was higher and purer than that of a physical lamb and it is this detail that separated a lamb for His status as the eternal Lamb of God.  If the sacrifice was on the scale of Old Testament terms then God would not have had to turn away as He did, but since His Son of perfection was the Sacrifice the stakes were far greater than before and thus covering an eternal amount of sin instead of just a specific time period.  Now, why is this important to the topic and questions presented at the beginning of this article?  It is because of what the Old Testament tells us about human activity plus what the New Testament tells us about human activity and how all sinful appearances need to be acknowledged and then covered.  This does not in no way demeans or lessen the sins of the people in the Old Testament but serves as the overall and final Sacrifice for all sin.  Jesus’ crucifixion actually should have heightened our awareness of what sin does in and to our lives and furthered our understanding of how important it is of our need of a Savior.

We cannot argue the fact that Jesus was born of a Holy nature and if His job was to cover only a portion of sin, it would have not made any sense for God to Crete His life in the manner to which He did.  A “periodic” sacrifice would not have required an eternal Being for usage, that would represent an unequal and incomplete process and we know God cannot operate in such a manner.  This rules out lie that we do not need to understand, accept or believe in the Old Testament because it is through this act of Christ that covers all aspects of sin; therefore, understanding and accepting the Old Testament as a part of our definition as Christians is a must and without it, we have no foundation for a separate life from the world.  See, we humans are all bound together by sin and since this is a fact Jesus had to be of Holy stature in order to cover all sin, simple as that.  It is for this reason that it is not of God that we “believe” we can pick and choose only portions of Old Testament and New Testament Scripture as a free pass to disagree or bastardize the Commands of God so that we can promote our own lustful sins.  In truth, it is this revelation of Jesus’ drinking of the cup that should be the foundation of provocation for witnessing and processional acknowledgment of complete separation from the world for that is exactly what the actions of Jesus in this passage was establishing.

Church, we cannot have it both ways either we need to promote the complete separation from the world or we need to leave the Church and go on our divided ways.  God cares less about being politically correct and you know why?  Because at any moment God can wipe out the entire so-called functioning institution that is called our government and by the way, God does not need ANY government to exist nor does He need anyone trying to tell Him how good and deserving they are to have such powerful status either; remember, someone already tried that and lost big time.  And if you don’t think for one second that God will complete this wiping away of our land and establishment I once again ask you to read what occurred to Israel and Judah in the Old Testament because of the same beliefs that both nations (them and us) shared.  Church, We are a part of this nation and that means we shall be caught up in the fall of this nation too, a setting that some have already predicted because God has shown them a portion of what is coming. 

It is strictly up to us to slow down this process of utter devastation so big that the entire world and its condition shall never be the same again.  There is a reason Jesus gave His Great Commission to His people for if His people do not adhere to His Father’s eternal definition and then proclaim its Truth to the world then the world is doomed to fall again into judgment.  It is expectant that the world accepts devastation and the death that soon follows because it is all it knows.  Oppositely, all we know is life and it is our responsibility Church to spread the good news of life through the eternal separation from the world.  But from the looks of it, our heart has been fooled into believing that the world is our friend and that it really is not important to speak the Truth about life and what it eternally means.  When the news covers church members being yelled at and screamed with over issues that the world deems positive something is definitely wrong with the authority of the Church.  It is okay that the world acts in this manner, as stated above it is expected but when the Church stands back and does nothing to stand up for their beliefs and direct the DEFEATED kingdom and put it in its place, the authority issue has switched.  Only a change in our hearts and a return to the Word of God can flip this setting and slow down our eventual destruction.  The time is now, Church, repent and allow God to advance His Kingdom once again not only in our hearts but into the blackened core of others.  Jesus did not drink the cup of judgment for just a few people but His actions covered the entire world and it is our responsibility, to tell the Truth of His presence to those who need Him.

DLB

Quick To Deteriorate

Quick To Deteriorate

6/2/19

Many times we have no idea how fast a product or condition deteriorates, some of these instances almost right in front of our eyes.  But one setting we tend to not recognize is deteriorating is our lives or the areas of our world that should be respected, developed or saved in order to keep intact our past, present, and future.  We have many examples of this type of letting objects go in our history books but more importantly, we have far greater examples of our original Creative status and how we have allowed this pattern of life eternally deteriorate.  God is in the business of establishing and developing Life in a process that we shall never fully know or understand with our finite minds and hearts.  God has, however, given us the ability to learn as much as possible about this thing we call life and if we continuously turn to Him and His Word for guidance we shall not only live life abundantly but be able to show many people this Truth as well, but only if we remember God alone because if we do not place God first in all aspects of our existence we shall fall into this category of deterioration that shall not result in a fortunate status.

Many times in the writings that God gives me, it is this the paragraph that I begin to tell you a little something about myself to help personalize the message that God has given to us, but this time I am going to give a couple of historical examples with one coming from secular history related to our nation and the other from the Bible both of which tell stories about what occurs when people leave God and worship or idealize other objects.  It is important that we remember history and keep it close to our hearts for as the saying goes if we forget history, then we are doomed to repeat it sometime down the road.  I will also add that if we ignore history, then we cannot understand that its principles are actually alive and represent a part of our “today” at the same time and if we do not apply history and all of its wisdom, we cannot function properly and successfully either.  How can we know how to change things in our personal lives if we do not know our heritage and bloodlines, we should be defining how we live longer rather than shortening our presence on the earth by lack of wisdom concerning our family’s background.

When one mentions the American Revolutionary War, it is easy to state the famous battles, reliable men and women who fought and died for our freedom from Great Britain, the leaders of the numerous businesses, communities, cities, and government representatives who played a part in defeating our enemy.  However, I encourage you to find off topic subjects concerning any point in our nation’s history or any other type of historical setting and focus your attention on those instances because they highlight certain detailed informational settings that may not have been featured in our history books but played a huge role in establishing the state and condition of our land and lives today.  Many of you know what our troops went through at Valley Forge and how many suffered inconceivably during this period of time during the war.  Some may know that it was not just the horrible winter that these brave men stayed at this camp for they were there for approximately six months.  It was a miracle in itself that not all of these soldiers either died or deserted during this time but God had a plan for this nation and He put into these men a will of determination so great that they sacrificed they're all to serve and to save this nation without compromise.

This part of the Valley Forge story you probably have heard about but did you know that George Washington returned to Valley Forge a decade later to look back at his time there?  It was the summer of 1787 and the Continental Congress had taken a long break from session.  Many of the participants of this fabulous undertaking went home to their families or to another part of the country to rest and relax for the upcoming and tense sessions that needed to be completed in order to form the foundational laws for the congruence and future of this nation.  George Washington took the trip to Valley Forge during this time and while he was traveling to the site he must have remembered that back in 1777 during the Valley Forge stay that Philadelphia had been captured by the British, that many of his troops were starving, malnourished to the point of death, desertions were occurring every day and no money available to entice these men to stick around and continue to fight.  These solemn six months represented the backbone of the American Revolutionary War and a reference point in Washington’s heart as he stated the words concerning depending and relying on God in his farewell address some years later.

But as Washington approached this beautiful site, the heart that was full of excitement to see the place where the Revolution was won came to his eyes as a place that had been left un-kept with tall weeds growing throughout the entire camp.  Yes, the identification markers were still present and he was in the right place but no one had returned to tidy up the place that should have been regarded as one of the most devoted places of our nation’s heartbeat.  One cannot help that this site brought Washington down from his horse, dropped him to his knees and cried due to the lack of effort of remembrance of everything that was lost during those years.  How quickly do ten years pass by?  Here is your answer for it seems like just yesterday I was sitting around the fireplace with my two youngest daughters watching a silly television program with them.  But now, my two oldest are married and my two youngest are making history with their own lives and footsteps as grown adults.  It may seem a long period of time if we say the word “decade” but when you refer to life those ten years pass in a blink of an eye.  It is appalling to think that such a valuable landmark and remembrance point in the young survival period of our nation that we would be quick to allow such a foundational mark deteriorate enough that weeds, the symbol of total neglect invade the very place that should stand bright for everyone to see.  But our example placements do not stop here for if the physical foundations of our lives can be deliberately overrun with the weeds of life so can our spiritual lives as well.

The first mention of a drought house in the Bible comes from 2 Kings 9, and while this passage does not directly relate to what God is wanting us to hear and to understand here, it does symbolize the stench of how our hearts become to the nostrils of God when we allow our abilities to be overrun with spiritual weeds.  It is this standard that we need to keep in mind for it is what occurs when we allow Satan to infiltrate enough to change our mission statement, thus forgetting the eternal Truth of why we were Created and why Jesus came to this earth.  We find this example in Job 26:11-15 and as we study this passage we will find out that there are conditions that we shall fall into if we do not live according to the standards of God.  Our passage states as follows: “If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.  But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge.  But the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath: they cry not when he bindeth them.  They die in youth, and their life is among the unclean.  He delivereth the poor in his affliction, and openeth their ears in oppression.”  Wow, what a statement from God about His children and how important it is to obey God and His Ways at all times and it sounds like one will go from glory to the drought house steadily if they do not wake up and repent, huh.

In this passage, we have a few scenarios that should seem commonplace in our lives today for we cannot argue the fact that God has deeply and widely blessed this nation and His Church ever since our establishment as a nation.  In verse 11 we have the appearance of the word obey which comes from the Hebrew word “shama” and it has some very intriguing definitions that are associated with it as well.  Of course, this word means what it says and that is to obey or to be in obedience but it also means to hear intelligently with special consideration for attention and obedience to what is being commanded.  God uses a command word here and that is the word “shall” for when this word is used it is a command and not an option whether or not it is to be obeyed or not.  Also, part of obedience is not only to follow what is said but is expected to be told to others as well.  For just singularly following a command without fortitude is a dead belief and stance and will quickly deteriorate through such disobedience.  To accomplish this obedience, one must thoroughly understand what is being taught or spoken to you for if you do not then once again you are in disobedience; in addition, part of the definition of the word “shama” used here includes the terms tell and understand which states what our responsibilities need to be in order to fully comply with the word obey.  It is this part of the verse that brings into play “weyaabodu” which comes from the root “abad” which means to serve by any sense; another topic to be written about at a future time.

In the 2^nd half of verse 11 gives us the rewards of what our lives will find when we obey God and His Ways.  I love the fact that God shares with us the two words that are important here and that is obey and serve.  They go hand in hand and one cannot be used or survive without the other – in this order -, for if one does not have the other then disobedience rules the day because of their direct relationship with each other.  Which is the reason, at this point, God gives us a rundown of what happens to those who obey and serve.  “they will spend their days in prosperity” is a phrase that should bring joy and happiness to our hearts for it means that every ounce of energy that we have for each day will be of obedience and service to what God has deemed appropriate for our lives, thus creating an atmosphere around us that should set us apart from what the world has to offer.  “Kalah” is the Hebrew word used here that means till the end, accomplish, to consume away.  When it is used in a prosperous manner it means that everything that one has to give has been done so but on the other hand if it is used in a derogatory manner it means that whatever that subject may have been utterly destroyed.  All matter of energy used ends at the day with nothing left, whether it is used for God or Satan it is strictly up to us.  Think of it in this way, if a piece of wood is used completely in a fireplace it is for a good reason but if a house made of wood burns to the ground it is not a good result, both of which consume the energy necessary to fuel results at the end of the day.

The portion of this verse covers the word prosperity and this word comes from the Hebrew word “battowb” which means good, pleasant, and valuable in estimation and gives us a picture of how good it is when a good days work is accomplished, then how the person feels after this type of day is spent.  See, we believe that at the end of our work day we should be monetarily rewarded for the things we have done for our workplace, but in this verse, we can see that prosperity comes in many more valuable ways than just rewards of gold.  To leave the Truth of this verse, it gives us a placement of a long term prosperous road though our correct frame of heart for God shows us that if our hearts are in order His provisions become our pleasures as well.  The Hebrew word used here for this translated word is “banneimim” which actually means happiness, pleasant, delightful, sweet, and agreeable.  I have been at my current job location for almost 27 years now and I still love the people, the atmosphere and the work that I accomplish every day and most of all I am still happy to perform such services to the people of my community.  I may not receive a huge monthly sum of monetary gain but the satisfaction I get to see the people walk out of our clinic makes my heart sing and that is a reward from God alone.

I see so many of my coworkers and other employees around my community not having or considering their rewards as I do and then I get a glimpse of their attitudes and what lies within their hearts and I cannot help but understand why they shall be as happy as I am with my daily output.  They do not have Christ in their hearts and they have no idea of what their presence means to others that correspond with their work environments and it is a sad experience when this occurs for it only inhabits the consequences of the next verse that is in our passage, because when one does not obey and serve God first, there is absolutely no way that we can share the Good News of God’s Kingdom as we have been commissioned.  Servitude is exhausting and it takes the highest level of obedience in order for it to be fully effective for the kingdom you inhabit.  Our pleasures should be pleasing to God for it is these types of pleasures that He greatly receives praise from and the ones that He gives out freely.  The beauty of this verse is that when we live under these gifts from God we shall never lose an ounce of holy luster which means that even though our physical lives may stall after a while our eternal existence shall never deteriorate one iota. 

Now, we come to the part of the passage that many of my coworkers live within every day and not just at work but in their homes as well.  Verse 12 of this passage brings out the other hand and it gives us what occurs when we do not obey and serve God first and instead place selfish and worldly status’ first.  God sets in motion and in plain sight what occurs when people do not obey.  The word "obey" that is used here is the exact same word that God uses in verse 11 which means it is on the same level with identical “rewards” as those receive who obey.  Stop and think about this word for a moment and what it’s meaning states.  We must remember that when we think about God, His existence is only on one plane or level, period.  He cannot adjust or lower Himself at all, His plane is set and cannot be changed; therefore, when He uses a word for any reason that word is set onto a plane or level and cannot be changed as well for even the words of God cannot be shaken or broken by any created being.  So, anyone who wishes to challenge the Word of God against their measly and selfish definitions go right on ahead for when you do you actually fulfill verse 12 of this passage of Scripture.

Moving on, we come to the next portion of this verse and it declares what occurs when one does not obey and serve God and His Ways as stated in verse 11.  “they shall perish by the sword” should set off countless bells in our hearts because it is this epidemic that the western nations are facing as each daily news wire becomes active.  We once again see the command word “shall” being used as a focal point that it is not a matter of “if” this the setting is going to take place but a fact of the matter that this setting is going to take place.  The usage of the word “shall” here means that it is a reward of our disobedience of God’s Ways and this process will be a continual detail that our eyes and hearts will personally encounter as long as our desires are to disobey.  Next, we have the connective word “and” which when used it means in addition to or along with, and in this verse, it is a consequence of our disobedient attitudes concerning the Ways that God has for us to live peacefully, and in prosperity with long-lasting pleasures.  When a person takes the sword as a line of attention only bad things can result, and when the violence of the heart is directed outwardly by other forces of the sword, then only one final result can occur and that is death.

The last portion of verse 12 ends with these words: “they shall die without knowledge.”  Once again we have the command word “shall” that God uses here to make His case of just how important it is that we understand the level of consequence not obeying His Ways will be.  No one likes to die nor do they wish to study its inhabitance either, even though the world seems to glorify its existence and to promote its placement in our lives as no big deal.  Remember, God represents Life and everything that it stands for and since this is True, then we can place death on the same level of existence as when God speaks Life; just as the example above of obeying and not obeying.  No one has ever claimed to want the status of being the village idiot, or a dummy but God clearly states here in this portion of His Word that if we do not obey His Word and His Ways that we are destined to fall by our own swords and die not knowing how we could have avoided such devastation.

God does not beat around the bush in this last statement of verse 12 when He states that the opposite of obedience is death.  He makes it clear here that if one does not obey their Creator then there is only one other option, death.  God uses the Hebrew word “weyigweu” which means to expire, die, perish, to give up the ghost, and to be ready to die.  While the word itself needs no introduction or further commentary at first glance it is one of the definitions that should make us ponder some things and at the same time answer a few questions as to why people do the things they do.  “Be ready to die” stands out as a unique feature about this definition because to the average person they want to live and not leave this world for an unknown principality.  Life is the only thing I know and while my genetic pool has provided such struggles I want to make sure that my life exceeds what the world may offer and glorify God at all times.  I do not want to die and I do not want any presence of death or any will of death to inhabit my body or my spirit, the body I cannot control but the spirit I can and I choose to have my spirit rest in God and in order for me to do this I must tell others about the Truth about life and how they can have life abundantly; I do this speaking and sharing with a glad heart and a willing heart.

Yet, on the other hand, we as an overall human society has become enthralled with the idea and culture of death, to the point where many of us do not want to follow the only path that we know and end it according to selfish terms.  Recently, I have undergone a few procedures that could have ended or at least predicted the end of my life or placed me into a category of a very shortened life, and at no time did I ever want my life to end even though I knew exactly what would occur if my life did end.  But, here in this verse, God gives us a pointed spiritual clue as to what people that follow the world will resort to, for it is the only thing that the world can offer so it would be “natural” for its devotees to want the same.  It makes sense when my eyes see the anger and hostility that people demonstrate openly and proudly, they display no animosity for what they believe is true yet throw vile insults at those who proclaim another or different message than theirs.  How can one display a more desired culture of separation and death than what we see almost every day now?  More disheartening is the fact that the people who show such rituals seem not to care about what they say and what they promote which further deepens their commitment to the world and its ruler, unwittingly that is; God adds here in this verse

God also brings into our study another detail about what occurs when we choose such a path of death, He says that not only do we die but we die without knowledge.  One would imagine that dying would be bad enough but when God adds this phrase to the equation it must mean that death without knowledge is a more desperate theme than one dying with the knowledge of God and His Ways.  For those of us who have known and do know God on a relationship basis understand this terminology for while death is bad enough things would be a whole lot worse if we die without the comfort of Jesus’ blood over us.  God also makes it clear here that dying without knowledge means that one did not understand the True concept of obedience and how important it is to live in such peace and harmony with our Creator.  I find it quite intriguing that God drops these words of Life into our hearts when we study His Word and when He shows us these nuggets He just adds to our knowledge of not only our lives and what they mean but His Life and what it means to us as well.  “data” is the Hebrew word that God uses here in this verse and it means knowledge, discernment, understanding, and wisdom.  This word says that knowledge is discernment which tells us that we have a choice to either obey and gain knowledge or die without it due to our lack of discernment concerning True obedience.

Once again, God has given us both sides of the obedience issue here in these two compact verses.  God always gives us both sides of what He is trying to get across to us for He is a complete God on all levels and thus cannot leave out parts unknown and still stay within His Holy definition.  If God was not a complete God He could not write such words of wisdom as He has shown us in these two verses, for God would never say things and leave out any aspect of such Word because if He did then it would justify Satan’s claim that Gog is not God and that He is a liar.  This action of God throws all burden on our lives and it reinforces the eternal principle of choice.  Who are we going to believe is revealing the truth to our hearts is the question that has been presented to us.  So, which kingdom will you choose today?  Plus, it places us into the category of whether or not we want our eternity to face deterioration or not as well.

I understand that the original passage for this article stated that it would go through verse 15 of this wonderful chapter of Job, but we are going to stop here at verse 12 and save the remaining verses for another topic to arrive shortly.  I have had many interruptions on this piece of wisdom from God and I know why this is, it is a message that Satan does not want us to understand about obedience and how important it is to live a life of obedience and servitude for God.  Sadly, I can see such disobedience oozing from our veins both on the secular side of our nation and the spiritual aspect of our lives form the Church.  As stated many times before we should expect such shortcomings from the world but to the Church, our standards should lie within verse 11 and not verse 12.

The first President of this nation understood the importance of having and keeping God first in our hearts as we grew into a formidable force among the world.  Through this standard this nation did rise up and become a sound beacon for other nations to admire and to seek after, for the blessings of God that He has shed over this nation continues to amaze even the staunchest atheist.  However, as quickly as ten years down the road from our forging the physical remembrance had vanished and we had unwittingly plotted a course of forgetfulness that could only incorporate the spiritual as the next step in our national development.  Dejectedly, this nation has abused our stance and status for personal gain instead of eternal spiritual giving to the dying world.  Yes, it is important that our blessings should be given out freely to those who need it but more importantly our wisdom of God and His Providence should be the first thing we refer to those who do not know Him, and on this level, we have failed miserably and our mounting misfortunes attribute to this mark.

President Washington’s sight for the need of God in not only this nation’s life but our own individual lives as well or the lack of Him in our lives has now turned into a truth nightmare in which we are continually pursuing the world instead of heeding this great man’s Truth perception so long ago.  The Bible is not a superficial coloring book, it is a detailed notebook and sourcebook about our hearts and how to turn from our worldly ways and to receive the promises that God intended us to have when He Created us.  If we do not heed to this eternal conditioning of our hearts according to God and His Ways it is inevitable that we as a society and as individuals shall begin our deterioration process until we are nothing but a heap of decay that cannot be used for anything.

Verse 12 of our passage gives us a clear picture of how many people live their lives according to selfish disobedience and while they scream out with the pain that disobedience offers they continue to reject the Truth about God and His Salvation through His Son’s blood and Covenant.  True obedience lies in a secondary or even a tertiary position with no reason to advance higher than those positions.  We have focused every aspect of our lives into the selfish patterns, so much so that we would rather rely on actors and actresses for our national information and for them to be our guidance counselors in times of need.  This is evident through our daily concentrations of self-obedience applications, which when placed into this role automatically defeats ourselves because if/when we only believe and thus obey self we can only promote death.  Human standards no matter how good they may seem to be cannot sustain any type of long term viability especially when it comes to the spiritual aspects of our presence on earth and as each day passes and our physical bodies begin to show signs of slowing down through the aging process of life we inherited, we fail to see the decline or deterioration of our spiritual aspects as well.

How is the status of this nation faring up with these two verses?  Yes, as stated many times the condition of this nation is not very well agreed upon but in all cases, we have failed our societies and lives by not entrusting God and placing Him first in all of our ways thus establishing a fertile ground for the Satanic breeding that we have in our spiritual atmosphere today.  Also, as stated many times before, that the spiritual condition of this nation has followed the spiritual condition of the Church and it has become clear over a couple of centuries now that our willingness to live under the eternal Covenant of Jesus Christ has become overrun with selfish ways and means.  Through this type of ideology and belief, it also has become clear that our society has deteriorated dramatically consistently over a long period of time too.  This can only be traced back to one factor and that factor is that we have gradually shoved God out of our lives, and have replaced Him with the ways and laws of the world.

This is where the Church should be stepping in and taking over with the Light that God has given us.  Jesus has done a wonderful thing for every person who inhabits this planet and it is our responsibility to show each and everyone who does not know Jesus as their Savior this Great News.  But, as these same days pass we see many congregations shouting for physical rights of the world and condemning those who differ from their “enlightened” religious views.  I know I have so much more to know and understand about the Bible and its defined contents but I also, understand that the only time Jesus got upset and provoked Himself to anger was when the people who should have known the Truth about God was in active participation of corrupting the Temple; this corruption of the Truth is a dire act of disobedience and takes the position of the Church as an eternal and decorated symbol of verse 11 and places us into the deteriorated and vitriolic state of uncontrolled combat with the eternal sword of God.  This can only mean one thing and that is the last portion of verse 12 shall come to our lives as well as and along with the lives of those who refuse to see God as their exit and eternal rest from this horrid world.  I know that some of these articles seem pretty difficult to swallow but God is giving us chances to come back to Him before He must change our living status to wake us up again.

It is, for this reason, we must teach those who will listen to the truth about obedience and how important it is to live in such communion with God.  It is time we as the body of Christ stop fighting amongst ourselves for the position of who is best and once again seek Jesus as our Savior and then, in turn, proclaim His Life as what we need to live by and under.  Our world is on it's predicted and projected course and it is our job to save those who are about to go over that cliff of death not push them over it.  Repent, Church!  Turn from our ways before it is too late and God has to grab our attention through His Holy Sword.  Get our hearts back into the Word of God and allow God to throw away our selfish and gainful pride so that we may have the promise of knowledge and the eternal separation of this Knowledge because of our worldly disobedience.  It states right here in the last portion of verse 12 that we will die without knowledge and that death will come at our own hands because of the disobedience.  A beautiful gift we have here from God in that He guarantees us knowledge if we obey and serve Him first, and when we live through obedience and servitude to our Lord, we will not experience any type of eternal deterioration ever and through this realization we will know exactly what to show and tell those who do not know Jesus as their personal Savior.

DLB