Leaving Empty

Leaving Empty

8/30/19

Every human being has experienced the loss of something or someone that they have desired or loved and when this experience arrives there is no greater feeling than the emptiness of such desertion.  It does not matter which circumstance one wishes to include in this setting, for when anyone leaves a place without the desired thing sadness accompanies these people.  God never meant for us to feel such pain and personal agony over things that are no longer viable yet we are continually inundated with such activities.  However, we do not have to live under this permanent separation pattern, if we only keep God first in our lives and proclaim His mercies every day, we are guaranteed the assurance that He shall never leave us no matter what our physical outcome may be.

Lamentations 3:22-23

It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed,

because his compassions fail not.

They are new every morning: great is thy

Faithfulness.

Being in the medical field for quite some time and even being mainly involved in rural hospital settings, my eyes have witnessed the world in action numerous times enough to know that there is nothing good that the world and its lifestyle offers.  While not every bad setting that I have been involved or have heard is a result of a violent act, the toll that occurs on the human and their surroundings does makeup such an ugly picture.  I wish the people leaving the hospital setting could leave with the best of circumstances and with the good results they had hoped for, but I cannot sit here and write to say these outcomes are true.  We cannot forget that there is a reason people visit the hospital or be checked into its confines and it is in this contextual truth that often forces us to reflect on our own lives as our loved ones and friends attend these ventures.  But it is always at these crossroads that we arrive at that shape our hearts to what lies ahead for every person who enters the doors of a hospital at some point no matter what the outcome will be shall leave that building.  It is always a nervous placement when anyone goes into a non-secure place and when that person places their lives into the hands of unknown people, the tension and stress can be thick as a London fog.

Some of you know that it has been almost a year that I left my hospital setting with a helicopter ride, unlike my two previous serious travels from a hospital setting by leaving in an ambulance.  My heart condition warranted such a move and for the most part, I was not nervous at all about being cramped up in a flying oil drum with two other people next to me.  Oh yes, God did His miracle work in that helicopter and showed me a few onions that described the condition of many of our hearts and a sure connection as to why the world is falling apart each second of the day.  But that day was not all sadness with doom and gloom for while I did leave the hospital in a transportation vehicle, that the vehicle did not leave the hospital empty and it this aspect of our lives that God wants us to understand His mercies and His faithfulness.  Not that these qualities of God are necessary to have such results but for those who know God no matter if that transportation vehicle leaves empty God has His child in His hands even through difficult times.

When a circumstance of humanity provides such a setting that requires deeper medical attention everyone knows that an unconventional route taken to another facility cannot be good news.  It is always worrisome for those left behind and great fear and wondering to follow a natural course of action.  However, as I stated above, when a person leaves in such a vehicle, there is always hope that still remains but when our eyes watch the stretcher be loaded without an occupant, the feeling of despair goes deeper for it is then publicly known that the transportation vehicle has no one on it to transport.  Death on any level presents a sorrowful experience and it hits close to our lives but the question remains and the one all of us ask is: will we have joy and sorrow or just sorrow fill the next few moments of our world.  This week our laboratory family was rocked with the news of the death of one of our previous lab member’s husband.  While the younger and newer lab personnel do not know this gentleman, he touched so many lives with his presence and graced our lives just knowing him.  Yes, it is a sorrowful time for some but not too terrible for others and it is concerning to me to see the difference between the two physical institutions.

The first words in this passage give us the reason why all of us are still walking on this earth and why we have the opportunity to experience life as we know it.  “It is of the Lord’s mercies” is a powerful statement and it defines the single reason that we are allowed to take countless numbers of breaths each day and according to this first part of this passage, it is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed and ever since that dreadful moment way back in the Garden of Eden when sin was chosen over obedience, God had every bit of authority to wipe humanity off the earth.  So we are going to take a closer look at a couple of words in this passage in order to give us a better idea of what God does for us each day of our lives.  When we look at the word “mercies” used here it comes from the Hebrew word “hasde” is originally translated from the words “loving devotion.” “Hasde” literally means goodness, kindness, faithfulness, and supports and reinforces the truth when it comes to our continued existence through the mercies and loving devotion from God.  It is not because of what we have done that gives us life but it is God who provides such gifts.  It is this word alone that provides us with the plan of God for our lives for He operates through holy and pure love at all times.  Yes, sometimes love is harsh and cruel to the outward eye, but when a parent loves their child they will do their best to protect the child from falling away from the guidelines that they need to adhere.

A parent that demonstrates a loving devotion to their child will never leave that child.  They may disagree with the child and advise against certain paths that are taken but their love for that child shall never cease.  Also, a parent with a loving devotion sees that their child is on the wrong path they shall always seek a way to convince their child that the path that they are on is not right for them and that danger shall soon follow if they do not change course.  God cannot just idly sit back and watch His children envelop themselves in disobedience He must correct them as it becomes necessary, and this necessity comes when the child blatantly fills their heart with disobedient heart songs that go against every aspect of their Created lives.  We have previously discussed the word “love” and how the views of the world distort and twist the Truth about love, for God is love and cannot represent anything but eternal and holy love.  Here lies the key to this word and phrase, for if one who says they love yet does not correct when the truth is varied from, they do not love they only lie.  A lie, in short, is sin and sin, in short, is disobedience from Love.

The second word that we need to discuss is the word “consumed”. The first part of verse 22 gives us the reason why we are not consumed; I absolutely love it when God gives us the answer to our questions of “why” even before He addresses the question.  What do we think about when we hear this word being used?  Right, food but just as it means for a system of eating it also was used back in earlier days for a physical condition that meant sure death, today that old word consumption means primary tuberculosis and while modern drugs can relieve people of this nasty process it still provides countless deaths around the world.  The word consumed here comes from the Hebrew word “tamenu” and has the meaning of to be complete, completely, wholly, to be finished, and come to an end.  In short, the word means that death will follow and all evidence of our presence wiped out from this thing we call life.  Now, there is no mention of specific nations, groups, or tribes here and since there are no specific mentioning of people it can be guaranteed that this consumed portion is an eternal one and comes to everyone without exception.  Remember, God is very specific when He calls upon His authority to strike and if no specifications are mentions present it can only mean humanity itself.

Interestingly, there is a word in the New Testament that corresponds with this word “tamenu” and it is the Greek word “katakrima” which means the punishment after a wrongdoing and this punishment is death.  This Greek word means punishment following condemnation which is defined to us in Romans 5:18 where it says that all of mankind is doomed to condemnation.  This is not a coincidence folks; it is a guaranteed pattern of our existence that we cannot escape.  This also means that until we accept Christ as our Savior and walk under His blood Covenant it does not matter what we do, where we go, how we speak, how we sing, or where we live for when we leave those instances we do so empty.  In an existence that is consumed with death on its physical and natural plane, it is a normal item for thinking with the same mentality.  You want to know why this culture of our world today is so obsessed with death.  It is because we have voluntarily chosen to follow the god of this world and since the ONLY thing he can represent or give is death, it is that result that we will desire the most.  This is a scary position to believe in, Church, and we need to recognize RIGHT NOW that we have fallen into the world’s trap by embracing such lies.

So, the second verse comes into play now with another one of those beautiful words and this word here is faithfulness.  It comes from the Hebrew word “emunateka” which literally means is Your faithfulness and is translated to mean firmness, fidelity, steadfastness, and steadiness.  Why is it so important that this word follows the other two words in this trilogy of laws from God?  It is because they all follow each other in an unbreakable cycle that if adhered to by us shall never be broken or tampered with for as long as we take a breath.  It also means that no matter what, where, when, do, say, think, or go we shall never leave empty no matter if we physically walk out of a hospital without a loved one alive.  If God did not place this word faithfulness here, the first two words would be subject to corroboration with failure because mercies and consumed are not words that go hand-in-hand and mean that mercy and consumption are always at war with each other.  Therefore, God puts in this third word, faithfulness into the picture and adds to it the eternal aspect with a descriptive word “thy” which directly refers to God Himself.  These three words alone form an eternal cycle of compassion – another word in this passage – that we cannot truly understand for we are of limited abilities with a very limited mind and understanding which proves once and for all that we do not need to rely on a failed system but one that is always correct, honest, true, holy and eternal.

Sadly enough it is commonplace to see people’s lives end without knowing the faithfulness and the mercies of God before they stand in judgment; it is too late to understand them at that point.  Yes, as their life is being presented in front of them they shall be asked, according to their choices, if they accepted the blood of Christ to cover them, most shall not have a clue to the answer.  The word that we have not covered here that appears in verse 22 is compassion, and God uses this word here because His mercies are due to His compassions for His people.  God knows we do not have the ability to secure our eternity alone and He understands that if He did not have compassion in the first place the Bible would have ended in and around Genesis 3:24.  But even as Adam and Eve were being thrown out from their house, God provided for them the eternal symbol of covering when He made for them coverings from a sacrifice.  HE made for them, remember the fig leaves they made were not sufficient, they were not sufficient during that time nor are they sufficient for us today.  Only the words that are spoken and given to us in Lamentations 3:22-23 form the eternal foundation that God has made for us so that we may have eternal life.

When I first came to Colorado back in the early 1990s, one of the families of the church here faced a heavy tragedy, and then shortly afterward faced a more difficult tragedy.  It was a trying time for that group for these two losses touched many lives and had long-lasting effects that still haunt them today.  I was on duty at work the next day when I ran into the paramedics that arrived on the scene of that horrible accident and I heard them talk about what their eyes had seen.  There was no way possible that this person could have physically survived they stated yet it was the next words that came from their mouths that defined the opposite of the title of this article for they said that as they were looking for personal information on the individual, they said that amongst all the papers lying inside the car “Bible stuff” dominated the wreckage.  These two Christian paramedics did not know I knew who this person was and when I spoke to them and gave them a few general details about him, tears swelled up in their eyes and a huge sigh of relief came over them.  One of them even stated that she knew that the family would not leave empty.

The ambulance may have not transported a patient to the hospital that day and I know that there have been many occasions where medical helicopters have flown away empty as well but it is whether or not the person and the family who are involved walk out of that facility empty or not that matters.  Tragedies are not the time for people to silence themselves about the conditions of the hearts; it is a time of reckoning that shows others who lived for Jesus and who did not.  There is no greater tragedy than a person who had no clue about or any relationship with Jesus for truly they left this world empty.  But for those who do know Jesus and have a walk and relationship with Him, may still suffer sorrow but at the same time have the confidence to know that Lamentations 3:22-23 just went into eternal mode which is the completion of God at its fullest.

Okay Church, what is your response to this Word from God?  He has given this article to us for a reason.  It is because we have not completed our mission properly to those around us who do not know God nor do they have a relationship with Him or His Son.  We are the ones who are supposed to be telling people that Jesus loves them BEFORE their bodies lay inside a casket.  It is our responsibility to shed light into the darkness, not dim the lights to make them more comfortable and relaxed.  We are to preach the Gospel to the dying world, not speak softly or whisper so that they cannot hear.  I do not care what you think about how I presented this message to you, it came from God and His Words are eternally true, not mine.  While God understands that billions of lives are lost every year who do not know Him, He also knows that there are countless others who DO know Him yet do nothing to share this eternal Truth to those that are lost.  We are so caught up in who is correct, which denomination is superior to all the others, who have the least offensive sermons, or who has the best worship service.  Can’t you see these physical and superficial titles are such sin?!?  Our hearts are blackened and dark with worldly evil and God wants us to project and to tell the world of HIS TRUTH NOT OUR TRUTH!  Repent, Church!  It is time we change our hearts and begin a new life account of Christ in this nation before God has to set into motion another devastating supernatural event so that revival can return again.  Knowing the mercies and faithfulness of God does not give us the authority to live as we please in the world and then claim “grace” when it comes time to stand before God.  That is what Satan and his kingdom want you to believe but since he is the father of all lies, that belief is a lie and represents a body walking out of doors and leaving empty.

DLB

The Three R's

The Three R’s

8/26/19

Sometimes the simple rules of life or education can prove service to our lives in other obscure ways than the intended purposes.  Our once despised concepts still run through our hearts and show themselves at some point in our futures even though we tried to forget them later down the road.  Many times we have unintentionally released God’s message in our lives as we continue to slog through the muck that the world doles out, an ironic catastrophe that can be overcome by the exact path that we tend to ignore the greatest.  We have so many questions to why things occur in our world and in our hearts, and until we figure out that the answers are already available to us in the Bible our hopes and dreams of a peaceful and tranquil life shall be continually dashed.  God’s Word has everything we need including the three R’s that many of us learned when we are young, and for those of you, who do not know what this phrase means then read carefully, take notes and add up the eternal equation of salvation.

The title of this article was actually a constant voiced statement that many of my teachers drilled into our heads when I was a young lad.  As my educational years advanced, this phrase was not used as much for it was determined that I had already mastered such a phrase in order to be in the concurrent grade as my age category.  Now, like most of us, when we stopped hearing that phrase being told to us it did not take too much longer for us to drop it from our minds and internally receive its content even though our ears did not hear its words.  This is called a learned memory and one that we follow without even thinking about it, along the same lines as human breathing for most of the time we complete this repetitive act but do not mind its participation at all.  Just like the respiration processes the three R’s is a commonly used theme in everyday life and one that provides many canvasses for numerous people.  I am referring to the three R’s as in Reading, Riting, and Rithmatic.  Yes, those are not complete terms or words but they were taught in this manner as to help students remember the important rules and guidelines of studying.

So far, I have been speaking for myself and have not asked if there are those reading these words who understand what the title of the article is referring to.  I also know that there are many of you out there that did not like to hear these types of phrases used by your teachers because when you did it was usually in the same context as when I heard them, something was not correct in your completed assignments that you handed in.  We can only assume that we believed that we had more engaging appointments during the week and weekend that overrode our study assignments, an act that usually cost you a letter grade or two.  Not to mention any names or anything but some of us continued this angered position to this and other similar types of phrases in the first portions of their collegiate years as well.  Whatever the cause might have been to delay our understanding of the three R’s, our hearts should have been a tad more in tune with this specific titled phrase for if we would have maybe it would have rubbed off on our spiritual hearts as well because the same three R’s and its Truth are present in the Bible and while we may not have the best of educational scripting when we did not receive this phrase in physical settings the greater loss comes in the spiritual three R’s aspect for when we do not get this aspect our eternity has dropped off and can never be changed.  The three R’s are in the Bible?  Are you serious?  Yes, I am and they have been right in front of our eyes all this time and missed by many including myself.

For Christians, it has been taught to us ever since I can remember that it is a relationship that God wants with His children and not some repetitive and phony religious ceremony that is cold and hard which produces nothing but blocks of iced hearts.  On the other hand, we have an enemy who would love nothing more but for us to have such an iced religious setting that we continuously attend and adhere to for when we participate in such a feat he knows that we shall never understand the True oracles of God which tell us to be active and alive to those that are in the same positions; as in those needing Jesus as their eternal Covering and Savior.  Oh, how the procrastination and distraction effects run rampant and wild in our church auditoriums today, probably just as bad as they did in the Early Church, the Medieval Church, and the Early Modern Church as well, whatever the date and time we have fallen into the I already know what is being taught scenario and belief and thus ignore what the True Word of God is being beckoned from God’s heart to ours.  You know what, when you are a Christian you should expect to be in troubled times with a troubled heart that is continually being comforted by God and the Holy Spirit.  For this experience as a separated being from the controlled world is not fun and games but a surgical process that is so defined that unless we figure out the tactics of this devastating worldly surgeon we shall be cut into pieces for eternity.

A church or the Church who sits around and teaches an incomplete gospel, one that tickles the ears and sways the heartstrings for peace and happiness can only produce a drug-induced people that cannot ascertain what information being taught is real and what is fake due to the lies that they have bought.  When people despise the Word of God enough that all they consider doing for God is saying that they are a Christian and then walk around in the world instead, what is the difference from a drugged up person than what this type of person lives?  Stop and take a hard look at what was just stated for it hits hard and brings into light the Truth about where we are at and exactly what we have heard and what we have dismissed over our Christian walk.  An incomplete or the unfulfilled gospel is a worldly gospel and is deemed as a heresy in the heart of God, for God is a complete God on all levels and His Word deems this completeness and we should teach nothing less than this eternal Standard.  How many of us can honestly answer that we have always lived according to the full gospel of Christ or have been complete witnesses for Him every day of our lives?  None of us can, but have we repented of this or have we ignored the three R’s that God’s Word stands for in giving us life eternal?

Currently, this nation and many other western societal entities are experiencing an unstable atmosphere that is difficult to pinpoint.  It does not matter which area of each society one wishes to address, all face upheavals that are bringing wider results as solutions instead of mainstreaming issues and shedding them as their presentations are solved.  It is this type of “crisis” entertainment governments that fail when implemented due to the selfish weight they bring upon themselves.  With all of the technology and the so-called “smart” people that we have running the shows, we should not be involved in such disastrous undertakings.  Yet, we see new stories and predicaments appearing almost every day, which means we have gained our “advances” on the physical instead of the spiritual.  Please, do not get me wrong, true crisis situations do arise and are dangerous in their content but if one has the correct measures in place and knows that the plans in place are adequate enough to hold, there should be no reason to panic.

The first “R” in this phrase, of course, is Reading.  Now there are some young people that develop a love for reading at this age but most of them will just skim over the top of a book in order to complete the assignment on time without going deep into the required material.  What do you read and desire to read on a continual basis?  What type of genre do you look for and associate with?  Do you even read or have time to read?  These are all important aspects in a reading lifestyle and the first “R” in this phrase that God wants to remind us about for if we do not open His Word and study the material that is in it we have already shot ourselves in the foot and in the spiritual foot thus creating a wounded atmosphere that our enemy will pick up on and stop by and attack us more.  If you do not read the “how-to “ book in order to protect your life then there is no way possible that anyone can properly defend themselves when the enemy attacks.  The Bible is not only the eternal and present definition of God but ours as well and each set that we read has to do with us and how we choose to live our lives.  If we do not read this vital and eternal Book the equation of our lives shall remain a mystery and is broken even before it really gets started.

I have tried to scan read the Bible and while I have a feeling of self-confidence afterward I did not feel any stronger or bolder in God after doing so.  I had no meaning in what I read and did not really understand the implications of what I read enough to hold into account that what those words actually said was directed at my life totally.  Satan has no problem with you reading the Bible in scan mode or only a few verses at a time and then believing that you have done your reading and devotion time for the day or week.  This type of reading is superficial and your life will quickly reflect this type of reading in the public eye and provide a weak response or none at all when opportunities to witness arise.  There is no foundation or answers to the hard questions of those who are struggling and really want to understand why their lives are in ruins, and all we have in response to them is some type of return that we will pray for them and they be in our thoughts.  We all know where that statement brings most of us to we have no further thought of them at all.  We have no true answer for these folks who are hurting and thus allow them to fall into a deeper category of devastation because we do not know how to care for their hearts.

The first reference verse for this article is 1 Chronicles 16:11 and it is fitting and perfect for it places the entire three “R” concept into motion and to life and when one understands that the first portion of this equation is reading and that we can only start understanding our lives when we read this Holy Book.  In fact, I have been using the word reading here but in truth, we should be studying this Book and through this method of understanding it brings into light everything that God wants us to know about our existence and His plan for our lives.  We cannot truly seek God if we do not read and study His Word, because if we do not a superficial covering cannot work as a proper defense against our enemy thus writing a horrific eternal script about our existence.

The second “R” that we are talking about today is “Riting”.  Not really caring to thoroughly understand the true meaning of this equation when I was young, this position of mine automatically placed me into a category that I would not be fully able to figure out all that this equation could have for my life.  At that time, my heart was not in the finer details of lessons and all I wanted to do was to complete each assignment as fast as I could and move on to the next, which meant one day closer to the end of the school year.  I had no idea that if I applied the first “R” enough and deep enough at the beginning of this process that the second “R” would become easier to follow and to compete.  How little did I know in my youth that writing would become a major part of my adult life and when I think back to those times of self-absorbance I can only imagine how my life might have been different if I had buckled down and studied more properly.  Yes, I must give myself a break for I was a kid at the time and while everything worked out over time I still cannot help but think about some changed things that could have occurred.

At the same time, I must consider the fact that God was instilling in me a few more details that would come into play with my writing, for it is not every day that a young man sits in his bedroom and takes little pieces of paper and organizes them in such a manner that would provide him a detailed map of any given piece of land, city, state or nation.  It is this type of organization that I continue to use when God gives me the titles and content of these articles, a system that keeps all of His words and my notes in order until they become formal.  It is this process by which God works in our lives but we shall never know these intricate details unless we know how to write them down and keep them in order until the day comes for us t put them into use.  God’s Word is the exact same thing in that every situation that those holy words talk about can happen to us or to someone we either know or love.  But if we never read the Bible and study its content thorough enough in the first place we shall completely miss what God has for our lives, for each one of our lives is represented in the Bible because it is the definition of your life and the writing of your story.

The final “R” in this title is of course “Rithmetic”, one of my favorite categories of learning NOT!  There was never a day that my heart turned toward math so that it could be calmed.  I accomplished math as best I could and did fairly okay with this brutal subject but never fully understood its concepts and functions.  It was not because I could not learn math it was because I did not like math and this notion of me not wanting to learn such a subject was influenced by my unwillingness to understand the first two “R’s” in the title of this article.  To figure out an equation and especially to obtain the correct answer, one must understand and know how to read and write things out and plug in the adequate information in the blanks to place us on the right track of solving the question at hand.  If one part of the equation is missing or incorrect, there will be no way possible to come to the correct answer to the problem.  This inadequate problem-solving process can only lead to one conclusion, a loss of confidence in your capabilities to solve math problems and if not corrected will eventually lead to having to start over with the same subject at a later date.  Can anyone intimately relate to such a wrong answer in their lives due to a miscalculation of choices made in their past, or bring into play the old adage of hindsight is 20/20?  All of us have encountered such a missed equation but the key here is to find the correct presentation and plug it into our lives and correct the mistakes.  However, there is no way possible that we can do this process alone, for we cannot find the correction needed only God can provide such an altering.

How long are we going to persecute ourselves for not purposefully understanding, following, and then using these three “R’s” to guide our paths?  Seeking the Lord as this verse commands us does not stop with just a superficial knowing what the words say, but it digs deeper than any other goal humanity has ever had for the episodes of God run eternally deep and if we seek Him with the three “R’s” present in our heart God guarantees that we shall know Him and also understand our meaning and purpose in life.  The world shall always promote us having one or two of these “R’s” in our lives or even say it is okay to have all of them present in our lives but reverse or change the order in such a manner that confuses instead of enlightens.

Just as our school textbooks followed such a pattern and gave us vital information so that we could know how to solve problems, so too does the Bible.  It is amazing to know that there is a single book that contains situation about your life that if studied and learned properly will help you face or avert issues if you only apply its Truth to your life.  How many of us would rather believe in a false or faulty idea from an institution that can only produce lies and death than from one who cannot tell a lie and produce nothing but Life itself?  How many rounds must our hearts take before we begin to understand that there is a source that has the answers to all of our issues, one that was written for each one of us in mind?  The Bible has these three R’s that make up these answers and each story that is contained within this magnificent Book not only tells the problem at hand but provides all the answers that we need in order to solve these issues of ours.  When we follow the content of the Bible, we cannot go wrong and we shall never receive an incorrect answer either.  It is a proven fact that the only time we experience the wrong answers is when we do not follow the content of the Bible; or in other words, disobey and do things on our own.

When we seek the world for our identity (answers) all we receive in return is a skewed version, one of self-indulgence with emphasis on superficial pampering items instead of the true needs we must have.  Physical amenities has never been sufficient to last us through troubled times nor have they brought any deep fulfillment when times are good either; if they did then there would be no need for bigger and greater things in our future.  The Bible gives us the True picture about what we eternally need to survive when times become scarce and also provides us with the correct and pinpoint targeted ugliness that we need to remember about ourselves.  Its content dives into our inner cores to expose this ugliness and it drives these detrimental issues out through the Grace of God.  See, when we know the eternal Truth about our existence we are able to show others how we found out this formula.  The biblical three R’s form the equation that God has given us to live abundant lives while we walk this earth, and while we walk we can effectively complete the mission that Jesus gave us to complete as well.  Many people receive answers that they believe are the correct ones for them at the moment but if we “understand” these formulas for our lives yet not know the inner content that needs to be included those answers shall not stand up when the fire arrives.

Each day that my body rises out of the bed, my ears hear the sounds of nature and my eyes see the day that God has made, I cannot help but apply His mercies to my personal equation of the three R’s.  Each day that people do not know the true reason why your equation only runs superficially, you cannot say that you know your purpose for existence.  It is in this lost pattern that the world wants you in because when you are locked into this manner you are a prisoner, a slave to the world and ignorant of your Eternal and Created purpose that God established you for.  The ONLY place that our personal and deep-seated questions are going to get answered is if we take up the biblical three R’s and apply them to our lives because as long as we do not we have no choice but to see failure in front of us.  Reading (studying) the Bible, allowing God to show us the “Riting” of those words that make our existence known, then actively apply the “Rithmetic” equation along with the other two “R’s” we shall see that God has our lives planned out for a Holy purpose, one that will glorify God in all ways.

The three R’s formula and the equation are all written down for us to know but as long as our eyes and hearts are placed on the world, we shall never know or experience the fullness of our existence and purpose.  To seek the eternal Truth one must seek God and in order find God we must study His Word.  Church, can we honestly state with accuracy and Truth that we study the Truth every day?  How about every other day or once a week?  How far within dates do we need to go in order, to tell the truth about how much time and heart effort we use in this process?  How nation along with the other “supposedly” Christian nations are crumbling on all levels right before our eyes.  I am sorry but a truly Christian nation that places God first in ALL areas shall not crumble.  So our own society should show us something about the spiritual status of our hearts.  Church, we are lost, and we are growing in death as each day passes, this is not God it is the world.  Repent!! Before God has to wake us up in another manner that will cost us many statutes and levels.  Never doubt the supernatural potential of God, Israel did and look what it cost them, let us not be like Israel in this instance.

DLB

Proof of a Sinful Beginning

Proof of a Sinful Beginning

8/13/19

One of the more touchy subjects humans have to deal with is the fact that we are subject to a nature that is not very friendly.  Many would like to conceal this truth and do their best to ignore its presence or even deny that it exists.  However, we have definitive proof that we come from a line of death that rules our bodies without breakage and at the same time gives us a True Creator who wants nothing but the best for us.  What is amazing about our Creator is that HE is ready and willing to forgive us of our sins and allow us to make things right with Him, according to His perfect and holy ways.  We do not have to live in such a devastating manner but one of love, peace, and happiness and all we have to do is turn from our wickedness and follow God’s Ways through obedience and our while we may harbor the physical proof and punishment of sin our eternal hope will be spent under the blood of His Son.

We have all made some pretty hideous mistakes in our lives and even though time heals some of these painful wrongs there is an inner element that still nags at our insides.  Even though many of us do not present with an outward look of pain or inner torture, all of us have such feelings and scars hanging about our lives and these pains continue to shine through our lives in such a manner that soreness and with aches often occur.  These run deep and bring with it torturous sessions of self worthlessness, depression, and even oppression at times resulting in us not believing that we are worthy enough or deserve to take another breath.  We spend countless amounts of money talking to others about what is going on inside our hearts and minds and after years of therapy, we have nothing to show for it because the pain still resides within our countenances.  This is because as soon as we walk out of these sessions and take a look at the scenery around us we are immediately encompassed with the realities of the world’s promotions and everything that we just tried to discuss legally overwhelms us again. 

The concept of help from others is a great setting but many times is not effective because we do not address the problems that invade us effectively.  If we do not know where to begin with our issues it is impossible for us to not only address these issues but to eradicate them from our lives permanently.  Here lies the situation that many of us either ignores or refuse to address which is our sinful beginnings and our need for a Savior.  The world does a bang-up job in convincing us that there is no God or that He is not worthy of His status and glorification that so many of our forefathers proclaimed.  It is the job of the world to isolate us from God as much as possible and to go against and reject His Standards at all times and at all costs.  And since our eternal enemy has control over this world, its provisions, and a home-field advantage it is easy for us to drop God from our lives and marches after what looks good to our eyes at that moment.  Through this blinded and ignorant path that we follow from our enemy we begin to rely upon the world and depend on its sustenance for you see the world shall never give itself up to make you feel better or free you from its death grip, it just does not work in this way.

At the beginning of last year, God shared with us an article concerning exactly how our lives are born into sin and that through this inherited process that each one of us cannot escape such a pattern.  Not many people received this article with open arms and great praise, as one who understands Kingdom and the forces that vie for your eternal presence know but it is this Truth and Kingdom principle that gives us the source of all our issues and at the same time gives us the path to the answers we all seek and need.  But as stated above, the world shall never tell you this truth because if it did then it would defeat its purpose and at the same time provide its ruler a personal, verbal and eternal exclamation point as to why he was kicked out of his perfect position in heaven.  So, in lieu of this, I should expect that this article shall follow suit as with the one last year because it tells us of exactly what the issues are and who initiated them.  God loves you and He wants us to live in Truth and harmony on His level not the world’s level and we shall never know peace until we submit our hearts back to God.

No, it does not come easy for us to come into contact with an origin of ours nor is it delightful to confront this issue and to resolve it permanently.  However, if we did approach our issues in the Kingdom manner and address them this way our world would not experience such devastation that it is currently witnessing and experiencing.  My parents taught me or tied their best to teach me that it is not a good idea to allow issues and problems fester for a long time inside your heart that it is best for them to be dealt with as soon as possible so that they can be done and over with.  This is excellent advice and is actually a biblical principle that we see repeatedly throughout each book of this wonderful Word of God.  A short nugget here for thought before we proceed with the details of this article.  Do you see what our ways and lives produce today?  I mean everything from locking the doors of our houses to solving the immigration issues have come under scrutiny and continue to form angry reactions from so many people.  Ever wonder why these proceedings of “fixing” things always become wider and heavier but never truly move in a corrective direction?  The explanation that God is about to give us about ourselves has the answer to this question and the “how to” to correct them.  So, if you wish to continue to live in pain and suffering as your eyes greet a new day that God has made stop reading now and continue in your path but if you really desire to seek the Truth about what is going on in the world and in your life keep reading and allow God to enter into your heart and to change you in every way possible.

Genesis 2:7 has been one of the verses that God has shared with us concerning various topics and it is one that reveals that God creates mankind from the dust of the ground and through this specific process forms a perfect being with His spirit within Adam.  Also, in Genesis 2:21-22 it states that God places Adam into a deep sleep and takes from him a rib and forms the woman from the center of Adam.  Of course, God did not leave open the side of Adam He closed it perfectly so that all would still be intact when Adam woke up.  Adam still being without sin provided the perfect helpmate through the Creative status of God which means that both people were considered perfect and did not have or represent any sin within them.  God performs both of these creations, not mankind and it is important that we remember this because as we shall soon see things change and since perfection was the original standard, nothing higher will result.

In both passages in Genesis 2, God was demonstrating His eternal and Holy Ordination, reflected by our establishment both in living spaces and life itself.  Through these two acts alone, they represented a course that God’s arch-enemy and ours as well could not match, not even close and gives a foundation of eternal and spiritual revenge that will quickly come into play.  When it does it totally changes the complexion of life in both the living spaces of humanity and in life itself because the acts of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:7 brings sin into our lives and introduces rebellion to perfection at the same time.  No longer are humans perfect in like manner as our Creator, but through our own choice this sudden shift in the mechanisms of life is altered, not by God’s hand but by our own thus serving up the reasoning behind why our choices prove to be either a beginning or an ending to what we have experienced previously.  Since we were Created in Divine fashion and in a Divine Order it is that standard that defines us originally and as one bumps their heads on a trunk door, or breaks a bone playing a sport or any other injury that we encounter us fine that our lives are not perfect and are subject to insults.  It is also evident that our focuses have changed and our goals have changed, so much that now they represent a physical deviation from the Holy Order of our Creation and a selfish progression that influences destruction and death.

Genesis 3:20 states the following:” And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.”  We notice one huge change in this verse from the previous two verses used in this article and that is the being directing the action and establishing ground as it were.  Up until this point, God was the only one making such creative statements and not wavering on its origins or ordination but now we have Adam making statements about who Eve is and will be.  Why is this so a difference and of importance?  It is because Adam is no longer perfect and pure, sin has entered into not only his life but Eve’s as well which means that we no longer have a Divine, Pure, and Holy Creator instructing the guidelines of such present and future conditions.  It is this statement and proclamation by Adam which opens the door for sin to run away with our lives and to completely corrupt humanity within a short period of time and through this human statement about Eve defines mankind’s understanding about being divided from God for up until sin entered into our lives God was the Creator of all living; and still is through the ordinances that He established in the Garden of Eden, not Adam.

So, since we now have imperfect beings creating imperfect beings there is no way possible that this lineage can change.  Because of our disobedience and then proclamation of it in this verse we are unhinged from perfection and thus require a need of a way to make things right in the eyes of God’s heart.  Immediately, God once again demonstrates what is necessary for us to be pure in His eyes again, for in the very next verse God sacrifices an animal and gives Adam and Eve a visual example of what kind of covering is now needed in order for restoration to occur.  When God Created life He did so in such a manner that if we chose His Ways our lives would be perfect without any problems what-so-ever, but at the same time did so in such a manner that if we did choose to disobey that our lives and existence would not automatically be wiped out and ended.  God chose perfection and holiness for our standards, it was OUR decision to choose sin and disobedience; therefore, it is our responsibility that we are in the mess that we are in today and thus proving without a doubt that we are born into sin and our beginnings are of a sinful nature.

Adam tries his best to correct the situation by taking the authority over the new conditions, but in truth, he blows it big time by the words he utters.  This comes to light in Genesis 4:3-8 when his firstborn son has risen to the occasion enough to kill his brother, hide his body, and then lie to God about the entire setting.  The words uttered by Cain simply reflect Adam’s words in Genesis 3:20 because it was in Genesis 3 where a sinful man was speaking about future living conditions and it was Cain, his son who was engaging, acting out, and completing the future of the words of a sinful man.  How important are our words and how we view ourselves?  I believe we now can come to grasps just how vital (eternal) our motions can be on ourselves and on others.  Through the words of Adam, we must all accept responsibility for what occurs in our lives from the moment we are born and we must accept these results of such disobedience and sin.

But just as God provided a covering for Adam and Eve before they left the Garden of Eden, He continues to give us this covering today.  It is our responsibility to share the news of the eternal Covering with those who are willing to accept its heed.  God was and still is correct about the punishment of eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but just as He was faithful in demonstrating His Grace to Adam and Eve with His Way of covering He continues to provide for us today.  He sent His Son to die for our sins and to shed His blood to serve as this Covering.  There is no way possible that we deserve this but God allowed it voluntarily because He cannot stand to see and to hear His prized Creations suffer in their own markings.

Church, it is our responsibility to tell the world of this good and eternal Covering and what God did for our lives and wants to continue to show us each day.  But if we are stuck in our own selfish mannerisms and hang-ups concerning denominations this mission that we are supposed to complete will come to a complete halt, and from what can be visualized we are only going about 0.5 mph right at the moment.  You know something?  If we do not obey the command of dressing and keeping the mission that Jesus gave us to do then we have eaten from the same tree as Adam and Eve did and we deserve no less than the punishment they received.  We should be filled with joy and happiness when we walk out of our doors in the morning for each day we have the opportunity to show someone that we come in contact with about Jesus.  Have you told anyone about Him today?  How about last week, or last month?  I believe when we put aside our selfish mirrors we will have no choice but to say we have done a poor job at this command.  But we still have a few minutes remaining to not only change our own hearts and return to God but we can show these beautiful and hurting people that God has provided a way around our sinful beginning and what a wonderful testimony this shall be when lives are reached for the Kingdom of God.

DLB

Keep

Keep

8/10/19

What seems like a small verb that has a simple message actually forms an eternal law from God that stretches from the Garden of Eden until this very day.  Not many people would argue the fact that this verb holds an item in the care of a person or group but at another time or position can be given away when something else arrives to distract or divide.  It is vital that we understand that this small word is a command that when held is one of the greatest promises that a human can imagine but when given up results in a devastating loss that becomes an eternal mess.  God does not wish and has never wished that His prized Creations suffer on any level and that our lives be perfect in every way.  But over time, through our own choices we have given up this vital word and Law of God and until we place God back in our lives as number one we shall continue to see this loss grow and further divide our existence.  God beckons us to return to Him and His Ways and we need to once again realize that His Word is the source of everlasting peace and life.

I remember when I was a young tyke that I had a few specific toys that I held onto closely.  It did not matter when we moved to another house in town or across the country those toys of mine were coming along with me.  I held onto those things for years and after a while, I began to lose interest in them for I had grown a bit more and the toys that I desired to “be around” grew proportionally.  My parents saw the need for some of my toys to be thrown away because they had become raggedy as well as a safety hazard, but my intentions were to keep them as long as possible and in my small child-like mind keep them until the day I die.  Even though I had no idea what death meant that was how long I was going to keep those precious filthy items.  Of course, as time passed and I became older I completely changed my attitude concerning those toys and another issue appeared in front of my eyes, girls.  I was quickly taught that girls were not an item to toy with and to nurture them as much as possible, placing on the equal pedestal that Genesis 3:16 states that men should do; I had an excellent role model for this for my eyes and heart heard how my father treated and still treats my mother. 

How important to you are the things you keep within or extremely close to your heart?  We all realize that whatever we decide to keep to ourselves in this manner we deem important enough to defend.  But what substance do we keep hidden within our hearts and how deep is that substance affecting our lives?  It does not matter what the circumstantial evidence may be and the content thereof, but whichever kingdom these keepsakes are do run deep within and are continually translated into the public eye.  The two passages that we will be using in this article bring out such treasures of the heart and when you place these examples side by side one will notice the grave differences between the two.  I wonder sometimes if we recognize just how the things we hold within our hearts come to pass in our lives through contemporary measures we believe to be worthy of vocally demonstrating.  Let us now take a detailed look at the word keep that is used in both passages and hopefully understand that this word holds the key to what lies within our hearts and how we deal with situations either eternally or selfishly.  In other words, are God and His Ways more important to you than a cheering heart for a score by the sports team you support?

How many problems in this nation and around the world could be avoided or not even considered if we (men) would have followed this single verse in the Bible correctly but instead we continued to treat women as idols and markers, ones to be conquered and manipulated, a toy.  We see this pattern change in Adam and Eve from the time of our creation until Genesis 3:1 rolls around and it is this aspect that harms us still today.  One of the great mysteries of our lives can be answered in a few passages of Scripture that deals with the word “keep” and the importance that we understand and follow such a command from God.  It all starts in Genesis 2:15-17 focusing on verse 15 where it states: “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.”  This verse is the command that God gave to Adam how he should work and live each day of his life, in all areas of his life and in all ways of his life.  It was God who gave this command and since God is a Spirit and an eternal Being with no beginning His command is just as He is, eternal.  From the day that God spoke those words to Adam until this day it is a Law that humans need to understand and follow for when we obey this command we have a beautiful and glorious future ahead of us. 

What type of leadership profile comes to mind when we read this usage of the word “keep”?  Adam and Eve knew that God was perfect in every way for they saw this Truth through His Garden and through His words to them as they continually conversed between each other.  There was nothing to inhibit such dynamic productivity in the tasks and mannerisms that God gave them to complete, the Law was simple, direct, and to the point and it was easy to obey if they only kept their hearts in tune with God’s voice.  We also find out that as long as Adam and Eve kept the single law willfully intact, there would not be any consequences or troubles, in fact, the Law that God placed over them actually was alive and would demonstrate this life growing process IF they obeyed it.  Life is a direct message from God and one that is still present over our lives today as well but just like in the days of Adam and Eve the choice is also still present to obey God or not.  The entire intention of God in giving us this Law is to protect us and to show us that we must be increasingly aware that even though things are going in the direction we wish that there is still an enemy out there waiting for us to slip up and give him a door to enter through which is exactly what played out and then changed our lives forever.

There have been many guesses as to how much time passed from when Adam and Eve were forced out of the Garden of Eden until Cain and Abel was born but since the new lifestyle regulations had been put onto humanity there had to be some time gone by.  Whatever this time frame maybe it is obvious that the desires of the human heart had changed enough that we see the pattern of “self” being presented through the offspring of Adam and Eve.  Hard laboring studies of methodical work are presented as reality in the second passage along with the division of labors between the two sons.  While both work ethics had direct relationships with the ground the incorporations of both jobs differed greatly with resentment rising because of certain patterns of obedience or in this case disobedience.  The second passage of Scripture being used in this article comes from Genesis 4:8-10 with the focus on verse 9 which states as follows: “And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?”  A huge statement coming from a mere mortal addressing the eternal Creator of everything but one that reflected what was within the heart of Cain and according to Cain what he truly cared about, himself and his immediate setting.

Over my lifespan, I have heard a few sermons about this phrase that Cain used when answering God and they have made me think a bit about how he responded.  But when you understand that the manner in which Cain answered God one cannot ignore the content of Cain’s heart when he responded.  There was no love in his answer and through the words he used it is clear that he had no respect for God nor his brother which is exactly what we read happened when Cain’s sacrifice was completed in disobedience and not through humble contemplation of the eternal meaning of the act.  With the completion of this second setting we come to the frame between the connection of these two passages and more specifically the single word “keep”.  It is a fascinating one and one that when put into the forefront of our hearts will give us a huge clue when we hear others developing such institutions toward our beliefs.  God’s Word shall always give you the complete picture when it comes to the pure and the non-pure and while God shows us this He does not force us to take His side for He knows that through our choices, we have the opportunity to make an unconditional keeping of surrender to Him and to His Ways.

The word “keep” that is used in Genesis 2:15 comes from the Hebrew word “ulesamerah” which means to keep, guard, observe, give heed, to have charge of, keep watch and ward, retain, treasure up, to be on one’s guard.  This is really not too unexpected for it goes with the content that God was making to Adam when He was telling him what to do from that point forward.  Adam knew his responsibilities and had no excuse to delay or diminish them because the rules were simple and as long as his job was done correctly everything would remain perfect, this is not only just a condition of existence but it is a command from God which places this word into an original state from God.  Remember, God is a spirit and He is eternal in all things so when He uses a word for any reason that word that He speaks cannot be used for any other purpose than for eternal references.  God wanted nothing but happiness and purity for humanity but He did not force this condition or life upon them for if He did we would have a more direct representation of what our “demands” are today written in the Bible.  However, God knew that these types of “demands and regrets” would eventually appear due to the choice of disobedience that Adam and Eve chose just a few short verses later and accumulating in their sons’ lives.

Genesis 4:9 tells us of another view of the word keep and this time it comes from the heart of Cain who has just killed his brother.  The word “keep” that is used here is the Hebrew word “hasomer” which is translated as to keep, guard, observe, give heed, to have charge of, keep watch and ward, retain, treasure up, to be on one’s guard.  We see that this word is the exact same defined word as the word “keep” that God used when describing to Adam his responsibilities in the Garden of Eden.  However, at this juncture, we see that Cain has perverted the meaning of this word to suit himself and to deny the truth about where his brother was located.  It is clear that God is just as precise in the direction that He is pursuing the line of questioning to Cain that He was in the Garden of Eden when directing Adam but we have another form of usage in that it comes from the human and not from God, and when a sinful human who does not care about what comes from their heart the perversion of such a holy word is therefore instituted and if not repented from shall grow into a horrific category that will be shed on countless generations to come.

It is clear that God was inquiring about the exact same conditions concerning life in both of these passages, yet while God proved to the consistent Creator His Creations proved otherwise.  In neither case did the human live up to or fulfill their eternal obligations concerning their charges and in both cases proved that their selfish desires from the influences surrounding them won the day.  In both instances the falling down of such a single word had grave consequences that all of us continue to experience today and it seems that we have taken the side of the world because we now desire brokenness and division to rule our lives rather than healing our differences and telling the truth for repentance’s sake.  Oh, how I wish I understood these two usages of this word a long time ago, but as you can probably guess, up until a few months ago I really did not take into consideration how words used in separate passages would come together and explain in detail what is actually transpiring in each of the passage.  Amazingly, if one studies these passages (words) they are more than just coincidences they are fact and when placed together bring the Word of God alive, not only for the people which are described but for us as well today.

If we could only get it through our thick skulls that every time we disobey God and live without His Ways in our lives that this act of Cain will be displayed over and over again.  Disobedience is sin, plain and simple and as long as we continue to disobey there will be no good result that our lives shall encounter.  The world will disagree with that statement but one should expect that response from a defeated ruler and one that can only provide death as an end result.  Think about this for a moment, if someone can only produce bad results then, of course, they are going to make that result seem worth wild for if they did not no one would keep it within their lives as a basis of belief.  There is a pattern here that most either do not recognize or do not understand and that is what lies within your heart, you automatically reflect, thins includes all aspects of your heart.  If one truly lives for God their actions will continually produce the fruits of the spirit and they will do so in such a manner that it becomes a natural state to the point where they do not even know that they are living in such a manner.  The same holds true for those who project the world as their kingdom stance its lifestyle will embed itself so deeply and firmly that its behavior will become just as natural; in fact, it will become “more” natural since we are all born into sin, to begin with thus making its acceptance path easier to believe and to convince others.  To be fair, it is these two passages that define why Jesus says that even the thought of looking at another woman with lust that the person has already committed adultery.

The purpose of obedience is to keep what God has put into place so that our lives may understand, know, and live in perfect peace and harmony with our eternal Father.  The only way possible for this to occur is if we obey the word “keep” that God used in the Garden of Eden, nothing has changed from that issuance and it is still a simple command that when we embrace shall change our entire presence on this earth.  However, if we continue to use the word “keep” in the tone, shape, and manner that Cain used it our lives shall be filled with disappointment, destruction, and death.  Just as peace and eternal life are promised from God when we obey His Word so will the wretchedness of sin that riddles our spirits when we do not.  So, the question that remains is how are we doing in the obedience department when it comes to us keeping the command of God and His Son, Church?  We know the answer to how the world sees and believes in god so are we following God or are we following the god of this world?

Oh, boy, how far have we fallen away from God Church?  That is the single and most eternal question that God calls us to answer.  It does not take too much thinking to realize that Cain had fallen away from his upbringing and received words from God and his parents, but what these two passages do tell us is that somewhere down the road Cain’s heart turned from God far enough not to care about his brother nor the consequences that were about to be set upon his life.  His faith and trust in God had diminished far enough that he actually became snippy with God and gave Him a flippant answer of self-service.  The question posed by God was in direct line with the word “keep” He spoke to Cain’s father in the Garden of Eden which prompted Cain to sarcastically respond by using the same word but in another tone.  Do we realize that we are responding to God in this same manner as Cain did when God asks us how we are following His commands? 

Do we not care enough to at least be honest with the one Being that knows the Truth about all things and everyone anyway?  How foolish we have become in believing that we can get away with such selfish verbiage and cocky attitudes toward the One who holds the key to eternity.  A verse to close this article out and it is one that Jesus spoke to the ones around Him on one of those special days that the earth was granted the presence of His feet and that is John 14:15 where Jesus says that if you love me you will keep my commandments.  Now, the word keep here is obviously not Hebrew in origin but is Greek in nature and when you look up this word you will find that it has the exact same meaning as the word “keep” in both of the Genesis passages.  We also see that God’s message still rang true in His Son’s life and it should continue to do so in our lives today.  Church, repent and let’s start fulfilling the commands of God once again and bring in the harvest that God so desperately deems as being ready.  Obedience is the best condition to live under for it has all of the blessings of the first command of God after humanity was Created.

DLB

The Selfishness of a Lie

The Selfishness of a Lie

8/4/19

There is no question about how a lie is directed and what its purpose is as soon as it is allowed to come forth.  The results of such products can have devastating effects on many people, a conditional setting that its father absolutely loves to see unfold.  There is no more selfish act than to make such a false accusation on any level towards any single individual or plural group and then begs the question as to why someone would blatantly set into motion a divisive institution.  God specifically directs His Word in this area and how important it is to understand truth and the value of its status.  God represents nothing but Truth and His enemy cannot get past being the father of lies and when we tell a lie no matter what the circumstances maybe it promotes the kingdom of this world and has significant consequences down the road.  God wants the Truth told in every instance and if we obey this command we shall see beautiful Truth being displayed which means eternal justice has won the day.

For almost a decade now, God has given me words of wisdom, repentance, and restoration to write to those who wish to listen and learn His Ways.  I have so many other topics to write about that it is scary but sometimes when God drops something into my heart He does so in a manner in which it is not complete or He places it in my heart to wait until another time to detail the words that God had delivered.  But when God says things to your heart and will not allow you to go to sleep until you write them down I know that things needed to be delivered as soon as possible.  I have also stated many times that God has a sense of humor and that when He delivers such words He wants to be delivered in a quick manner He has his ways of keeping a person stirred up until we give in and complete such a task.  So goes the message of this article for it is a topic that e need to really think about and curb before things grow deeper and provide further damage to our future.

Once again this nation has witnessed a few tragedies that really should not have occurred, but because our hearts are so focused on the physical god of this world and thus kicked out the Creator of all things, the pattern of death gruesomely continues.  When God gave me this message to write there had been only one shooting that had played out in E Paso, Texas.  Later, another shooting scene occurred and this time it was in Dayton, Ohio.  Both situations people lost their lives and both formed an ugly reality of people taking their own beliefs into account, through deadly measures.  While both of these settings are horrific in nature and some of the details are still sketchy, this article will focus on the earlier of the two shootings for it displays a telling action by others in addition to the vile act itself and it is through this additional act that puts into perspective exactly where our hearts are located and how much they are focused on the physical wants instead of spiritual needs.  When our lives are formulated in this order we can only expect further death scenes to take hold and cross our eyes, a pattern that can easily be overcome if we turn our hearts back to God and live under His Ways and not ours.

With these tragic events, comes another environmental setting that quickly follows such news and that is prominent or famous people putting their spin on such events.  Most of the time it is one of true nature but politically deviated for personal gain or recognition of an individual or group that supports similar ideologies.  It is this aspect in which these tragedies are subjected to further escalations and reasoning that heighten future mind and heart actions against the people of some selected community.  The people who act upon their selfish whims produce a deadly combination of technology and heartfelt sorrow behind, with so-called shocking results that serve to gratify their agendas.  There is no need for any upgrading of the situations to satisfy a political desire or want yet these people commit identical atrocities as each word protrudes from their mouths.  These violent acts divide a community enough and there we go adding to the divisions by not properly and correctly addressing the origin of the source of devastation only superficial lies that do not address healing and forgiveness.  We like to believe that the people of this nation and its leaders have the solution to each one of these tragic events and in all honesty, we do, but not in the manner in which we try to publish and to live by.  See, this nation’s founders beliefs versus what we live through today are two totally different placements and until we figure out the real direction they directed this country in we shall not see any relief in such tragic manners.  Promoting self-righteous mannerisms during a crisis situation do not bode well for anyone but one’s fulfillment of greed during informational conditions.  It is this action taken by either an individual or group of individuals that sets the new standard for this pattern of afterward tragedies that is so concerning.  If this type of coveted recognition is what we truly desire then our nation does not have too much time left for our hearts are so darkened and blackened that its vile production of sin has totally overtaken our hearts.

Along with this pattern of vile statement patterns, I boldly stand on the Word of God and state that you, United States of America do not market the corner of such wisdom of who is responsible for such horrific acts and thus responses for you have become as foolish and dumb as Cain.  As this tragedy unfolds we have come upon an exclamation point on our actions and proof of how low our lives have become through our selfish means of expression and trying to influence other people’s thinking.  When the shooter’s name of this even was made public of course many people raced to see what kind of information they could find out before the federal government shut down or suspended all of his accounts and social media sites.  It was at this time when our selfish ways took charge over the situation and through our evil conceptions about superficial ideas and ways took that extra step in the divisive process.  What we may not understand is that when we alter such manifestos or affiliations we actually adhere to that person’s creed and align ourselves with their tactics of lying to your lives and to my life.  Do we really want that to occur?  Oh, and by the way, adopting worldly ways to combat such activities will not work either, for only Holy and Eternal Ways are high enough to get the job done correctly.

On one of the social media sites that this person had an account through, it had a personal information section which is not uncommon and one of the questions that could be filled in was the person’s political affiliation along with a few other options including a religious affiliation option as well.  Someone who had access to this person’s account had gone in and changed the political affiliation option of the shooter to another political party.  Now, all of us who live in the modern societies know that political charges are at an all-time high and with only a few words said can set off a firestorm that will take weeks to put out even if the truth of the matter is quickly challenged and corrected.  Whoever did this act and then made it a public statement did this nation a grave injustice and it places us on another level of deceit that shall only prove to be devious enough to be considered incitement.  All other personal information was left alone with no other changes being offered.  The only viable informational statement made on the site concerning this change was that at the bottom of the page it said that this person had not verified these changes to his profile.  It was this connection to the “new” political affiliation statement that caught the eyes of many people who jumped on the bandwagon to begin their accusations and assumptions.

Furthermore, political rivals and other political organizations also quickly placed their comments about who this person was politically “affiliated” within the public realm.  This action serves as another selfish qualm that was produced for selfish gain rather than a time to heal and to seek out the truth about what lies within our hearts.  This example of what someone has done sets the record straight as to where our hearts believe and just how blackened we have become with selfish greed.  It saddens me to watch countless people compete to see who has a better statement of Cain when God asks him about the location of his brother in order to make ourselves look better in the eyes of others and to nonverbally project that their ideas were right and to make those who oppose look off target.  No wonder we seek to kill instead of seeking life and no wonder we are blind to the Truth and would make us totally free.  In other words, we might as well get used to such acts of selfish violence because we have no desire to stop its instigations before they are displayed to our eyes.  It breaks God’s heart to see the selfishness of the world play out through the actions of our blinded and lied to hearts.  As in the instance of Cain, Abel’s blood was crying out to God for life and it falls true for the people who died in this tragedy yesterday but more importantly it is the response that God is looking for when He asks us about how we are going to handle things after this event and that question are by doing things our way or by His Way.

As stated above, the religious affiliation of this person was not changed and not tampered with, an additional step was taken that heightens tensions in the public realm for it is the changed political affiliation and this person’s religious affiliation that make all the difference when it comes to the congruency of representation.  The Republican party and Christianity are synonymous with each other and the world knows this and will do everything possible to discredit both.  The world will do its best to convince you that God has no place in this situation and that those who believe that He does are crazy and somehow responsible for such activities.  This tactic should not be surprising to those who attend church for they should know that it is the enemy and ruler of the world that wishes all people knew this “truth” but in reality, it is these lies that bring such devastation into our lives.  The Truth of life is that God cares less about political affiliations or parties He only cares about your heart and its desire to know His Word and to obey its commands.

To the individual or individuals responsible for this selfish charge and change, take note for your actions this day for they define publicly the intent of this nation’s heart.  What may to some seem a foolish act speaks volumes of what is within our hearts and Woe, to this nation for she surely shall taste the waves that surround her.  The passage of Scripture that God has for this article comes from a very recognizable setting and it is when God asks Cain where his brother Abel was and Cain smartly returns the favor with a sarcastic and selfish lie, one that benefits himself and mocks the Word of God concerning life and our place within its confines.  Cain’s actions and words were of such a selfish nature that he actually had come to the conclusion that he could outsmart God and the eternal Truth He represented.  This act that the individual or individuals did here represents the exact same heart stance that Cain had within him and we all know what transpired to Cain afterward.  Nothing good comes from a lie especially a lie that defines what the true intent and content our heart hold as evidence.  This entire scene grieves my heart and it worries me that since we have now taken this step in selfishness what will be the next step we take.  The human heart is wicked at best and its fortunes are selfishly driven and unless we shed this earthly promise we shall be marked just as Cain was up until the point where every man will be looking for some type of revenge to enact.

As God has stated countless times in His Word the only way to find true peace and happiness is through Him.  There is only one way possible to understand this truth and that is for our hearts to dive back into His Word and to start again in Him.  Restoration is a beautiful word and a hard process for the grip of worldly birth runs deep but through the blood covering of God’s Son Jesus our eternal salvation is perfected.  We shall never be perfect but if we obey God’s Ways we will limit our self-destructive forces and provide our surroundings with the knowledge and security of God’s protection, this is what God promises to do in our land if we abandon our wicked ways.  The question that remains is this: are we going to continue in our selfish and destructive ways or are we going to recognize that we cannot do things on our own?  The world will beg you not to give in to the ways of God for you shall be weak, contrary and antagonistic if you do.  The peer pressure will be astounding and will never let up but God says that if you turn to Him and turn your heart over to His care and guidance that this earth shall pass away and you will be standing tall victorious with Him.  True change and progress with the heart of God is an easy act to define but one that is hard to follow when listening to the world’s advice.

It is a common idea that the world and its powers are powerful and put up a fight both in subtly and openly but God represents all things in life which means that if we promote life (God) and not death (the world) we will overcome this wasteland and renew its original purpose.  Cain knew what he had done and he knew that God saw what he had done as well but when he chose to try and make God out to be a fool God called him on it and then required a great deal of acceptance in order to wake Cain up.  Cain’s selfishness came to a head that day and he portrayed it in order to try and gain an advantage of his personal situation in order to justify his actions against his brother.  The people who changed the profile of the shooter in El Paso did exactly the same they tried to change the truth for selfish gains an act so grievous that it set the tone for a future unrecognizable setting of lies that we may never recover from but have to complain about instead.

So, once again Church, what are we going to do about this new charge and new step taken in the direction of national destruction?  Are we going to sit back in our pews and point fingers at certain politicians and in general directions and condemn words?  Or are we actually going to get up from our pews and stand up for what the Word of God says for us to do?  We have dodged this type of settings for way too long and it is high time we stand up and expose our hearts for what really lies within them.  Until we do this nothing shall change except in the direction of further devastation to numerous lives and families.  Yes, it is OUR responsibility to tell the world the Truth about God and what He wants our hearts to be like.  As long as we cultivate death as a message of truth, eventually each one of us shall taste the waters of death in such a manner for we know that the mind and heart are progressive by design and if we do not have the Creator in our hearts then the ruler of this world has free reign to complete whatever he desires.  God’s Truth shall always defeat the institution of a selfish lie and thus rendering the lie’s roots cut off from its sources, it is this atmosphere that we all wish to live within so why don’t we use what is available and right in front of us?  Live out this way of life and God guarantees us that these selfish acts against others will cease, but not if we continue to abide in the ways of the world.

I do not place the responsibility on our shoulders for the corrective actions that the world needs, I am just the messenger that God has chosen to deliver this message and reminder to those who He has given the authority to do such tasks.  I am just an obedient servant willing to take the risk of obedience to my Lord and Savior into a world that hates Him and that hates you.  God loves you and serves as the Giver of the love that the world desires but is so blind to the Truth that they cannot see it even though it is mere centimeters in front of them.  The ONLY way that this world shall change course is if the Church comes together and once again proclaim the True Gospel to those around us.  It is not a time for us to sit back and to be docile but to agitate the world with God’s presence.  No, this process shall not be pretty and you shall not be liked by many but it is a process that we all need to partake in so that our loved ones and those who wish to listen will know the truth about their eternity.  The position posed above concerning what steps will be taken next shall come to pass if we do not take eternal actions now.  Church, do you realize that you are participating in such shooting devastations if you do not proclaim the True Gospel of Christ to those around you?  You should know that you can consider yourself to be a Christian and commit such atrocities with your instability and docile beliefs of salvation.  Repent Church! It is time we advance God’s Kingdom forward and push back the kingdom of the losers.

DLB