Freedom

Freedom

9/23/19

There is no question that the single most desired platform a person desires is that of freedom.  While there are different concepts of freedom that one can seek, the overall goal of being free is to have no chains on our lives.  The only problem with this search of ours is that we rely heavily on our senses in order to pursue this blessed state of being.  Many times throughout God’s Word we see such an ordeal unfold and in the end, all of our hopes dashed because we have fallen short of our quest.  Even from the beginning of His Word, God has shown us the proper way to achieve perfect freedom and each time He has given us this opportunity it does not include the world.  True and eternal freedom is freedom from the world and we cannot obtain such preciousness unless we surrender our lives back to God and allow Him to set us free.  Time is running out Church, and it is time we start preaching the Truth once again about freedom and how to obtain it correctly; leave out the world and all of its glamorous lies for only God and His Ways can provide such a gift.

As far as I can tell, the folks who read these articles have past their youth or teenage years, that is mighty fine but it is the age of youth that mainly professes their desires to be free from everything they feel governs them.  I know that that scene is changing and as each week passes older adults begin to scream such sought after confessions; however, the measures that many of us take to achieve this condition is by worldly methods and not the one that actually has the correct path of achievement.  Many seek money as their ticket to freedom, others seek sexual promiscuity as their freedom to express themselves adequately toward this goal, and still, others proclaim their lives to be free when all governing institutions are no longer recognized and thus no rules apply to their existence and they can do anything they wish.  It does not matter where one places themselves into the personal freedom categories because as long as our wants, desires, and demands for freedom center on our senses the physical conditions may change a little, but in truth, all that changes is that another worldly chain is placed around your life.  We can talk about being free all we want and we can even give examples of sensual freedom, but when it comes down to the truth, we are not free but on another path of lies.

We have a perfect example of how God created freedom and how sinful eyes perceive freedom and both conditions are written about in the first few chapters of the Book of Genesis.  We will begin with God’s version of freedom and how it comes from a pure source and not one of deceit and lies.  We are given this picture in Genesis 2:16-17 where God commands Adam that he can freely eat from every tree in the Garden of Eden with the exception from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  The conditions of freedom were set from the only pure and holy source and thus set into motion the obedience lineage that will be present as long as Adam listens to the command from God.  There were no selfish conditions placed upon Adam only to live under the eternal and pure freedom that his Creator gave him.  Freedom was established through the goodness of God and through the gift of choice that God gave humanity; it was also established from a perfect point of view with a standard that can never be diminished on any level imaginable and unimaginable.  It is this type of freedom that all of us want to strive for but in order for us to strive correctly for this perfect freedom we must have our hearts focused on God for He is the only being that can give us this perfection; He is the Being that Created it in the first place.

God’s freedom is based upon obedience to His Word and His Ways and nothing less will do.  Some of you may remember a year ago I had some major problems with my heart that set me back for a while.  Anytime a person has to undergo a procedure where your heart is purposefully stopped for any amount of time it is a tedious and tense time.  On my way to the hospital that day, by helicopter, God showed me two onions one was complete and the other was sliced down the middle.  The complete onion looked perfect and was ready to be used for anything that it would be required.  On the outside, the other onion looked just the same perfect in color, size and one could almost smell it being used by the culinary artists, but when the sliced portion was turned around it had a huge black heart deep within that onion and it was this sliced onion that God wanted me to share with all of you concerning our outward appearance versus what actually beats inside our lives.  Once again, the outside of that onion looked perfect and one can place this concept of freedom as a label to this onion with no boundaries of its usage or any flaws to be cut and thrown away.  But the heart of that onion was blackened and not good to eat or to be used for anything and if someone would have used that onion it would have tasted bad because of the bad heart that was inside, just like Adam and Eve’s hearts had become where it came to what they classified as freedom against what God knows to be pure and perfect freedom.

In Genesis 3:6-7 we see the practices of selfish and personal goals of freedom come to life and it is not a pretty sight to behold.  Adam and Eve lived in a world without any chains or bondage with no opportunities before them to fail unless they chose to do so.  When God gave Adam the command concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil He did not place any conditions, or what-ifs to His command.  There was no wiggle room for interpretation it was all made very clear to Adam but it was the process of the wavering of the heart that allowed Adam and Eve to add to the command of God according to what their senses felt and how they wanted to become more like God.  Adam and Eve both did not understand what it meant to be limited or live in a condition where you had to have permission to do or say things but as soon as both took the fruit of that tree their eyes were opened and they instantly knew that their lives had changed.  Not for the good but for the worse for their senses overruled their hearts due to the blinded and beguiled tactics of Satan.  It is the job of Satan to ensure that we suffer as much as possible when it comes to our strivings for freedom, he will throw so many lies your way in order to confuse you enough that you surrender to one of them.  When you do and then allow it to stay within your heart it will eventually begin to turn your heart black and produce an odor that only the world can produce.  At this point we will not even realize or recognize that we have voluntarily placed ourselves into more chains of bondage and since freedom is a process of restoration it cannot be said that we are restored from anything as long as chains bound our lives.

We must come to the realization that sin is a part of our makeup and that we cannot change this aspect of our existence.  But we can choose not to allow the world and its disobedient life infect our lives to the point where we can no longer deem what is truth and what is a lie.  Adam and Eve may not have been physically put into chains that dreadful day but in the hearts of both of them, at that moment were placed into bondage, leaving behind a perfect condition that they could see fading away fast.  God would have never allowed such an ordeal to occur if He had not first adequately prepared them for what would happen if they disobeyed, but at the time He would have never stopped them in their choices either.  If this state of sin is eternally engrained within our lives it would be easy for one to claim that there is no hope for humanity so why not go out of this life pleased and satisfied with what life and the world presents.  But as we see in the last portion of Scripture, even though we have messed things up physically it is still our choice to accept the eternal covering that God provides; referring back to the original state of existence under His protection.

It has been, is now, and shall forever be the Will of God that His prized creations live in complete, pure, and holy freedom.  The last specific verse for this article comes from Genesis 3:21 and it is the perfect example and symbol that tells us God loves us and wants us to remember His Ways at all times and that by only His Way can we be saved from the world that we live in.  Genesis 3:21 states as follows: “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”  It is this gesture of restoration that God gave to Adam and Eve that tells us a great deal about God and how He feels about us.  God killed an animal and shed its blood to cover both Adam and Eve.  The Bible does not say which type of animal God killed or how He did it either, but it does say that its skins were given to them for clothing and it was done by a method that God alone chose to do and to complete, not man as they tried a few verses earlier.  God showed Adam and Eve that while He could not restore them back to the perfect conditions that they knew before they ate the fruit but He could still give them the opportunity to use that wonderful gift of choice to choose to live under His covering that only He could provide.  In other words, God knew that they would continue to long for freedom and that they could have it again if they only sought after His Ways and not the world’s that they had so ignorantly chosen.

Whatever animal God chose to sacrifice that day gave its life for Adam and Eve, they gave their all, full commitment to God’s plan for humanity.  Not only does this verse display the correct and only order we can come to God but it also demonstrates just how serious it is for humans to understand that the world is not a pleasant sight to behold and that it only brings death to those who seek its pleasures.  If for any reason our plan of surrender does not line up exactly with God’s plan we will not have any chance of making out of this world for eternity.  Is this a correct statement?  NO!!!  Our plans or any plan of any other human no matter how “perfect” they may be or look cannot stand up to God’s plan for humanity, period.  God does not and cannot change His plan for humanity, for your family or for you either.  His plan for your life is already set into stone but it is strictly up to you to seek it and the only way that can be done is if the heart of your onion is white and not black. 

Worldly freedom is a blackened freedom and shall produce nothing but destruction, it is bound in death and it stinks eternally without any air freshener around.  True restoration comes only from God and it is this message that the Church is supposed to present to those who are on the incorrect path.  Truth from God comes as a freedom movement bigger than the Underground Railroad for God’s freedom is eternal and can never change or be amended because God’s freedom frees us from the world and all of its deadly allies while providing the necessary spiritual strength to walk each day.  What is so scary to me is that we have gone so far away from God that many of us to not want Him to cover us.  What is being said here is that we have surpassed the actions of Adam and Eve in that when God gave them the skins for covering they accepted them and put it over their bodies.  However, we have gone so far astray in our beliefs that we walk right by God’s hands that have the skins of protection in them and bypass Him without even acknowledging the fact that the gift of freedom, the True Freedom is an option.

Okay Church, it is time we look at our hearts and see what color it is because if it is not pure white then we have a problem and we need to allow God to fix it as soon as possible.  If we are not willing to allow God to search our hearts in this deep manner then why do we consider ourselves to be a part of the Church body?  If we cannot teach that God has only one way to salvation, His Son and the blood He shed, then what are we doing out ministering to those who need the Truth told to them?  Why do we continue to believe the words and ways of Satan that say you can live and accept the world and still be saved under the blood of Christ?  All this belief brings is chains that bind us to the world and unless we rid ourselves of them, our days and existence as a Church body are numbered, folks.  True freedom comes from God and God alone and Church if we cannot teach this Truth to the world what hope do we have?  God has given us His Son as the perfect and eternal Sacrifice for every sin we could ever imagine to harbor, why don’t we see that this price was eternally high?  We should be promoting God’s skin offering to those who are lost, not spewing out an alternative plan for eternal bliss.  Let us allow God to change our hearts before our lives and the lives that need Him change in a manner that we may never recover.

DLB

A Woman's Heart

A Woman’s Heart

9/18/19

How many times have men asked the way to a woman’s heart?  It is a path that continues to be a mystery to many and a claim for a few.  This should come as no surprise because most of the time we look for her heart in the incorrect places which plant a dangerous foundation for everyone involved.  A relationship based on false pretenses shall lead to complete division and disaster, but it was never intended to be such a terrible process and task.  Men, we have failed in such seeking for our eyes have been turned to the physical aspects of the female species, the incorrect pretenses which lead to improper oneness.  God gave us the woman as an equal partner, as a helpmate, one to help us with True equality and perfection.  We have blown it from the beginning after the fall of man, even after God told us how we should act.  We still have a small window of opportunity to live in peace and tranquility with our helpmates, but if we do not figure this loss out now I fear all hope is lost for unity that we were Created to live under.

As one may tell from the introduction paragraph this will not be a pleasant message to the men who read these words, but take heed men there is still an opportunity to teach our hearts the truth about a woman’s heart and also a greater opportunity to teach the young men who are coming of age within the next few years.  It is not really any breaking news headlines that the relationships between man and woman have broken down ever since the Garden of Eden dissolution and it is not real hard to understand that this brokenness has only widened and deepened as time has advanced too.  The major issue today is that man has voluntarily given up the authority God gave him to restore the equality that was stolen from Adam and Eve when sin entered into our lives.  We are stuck with the consequences of such loss and have not listened to the Word of God concerning such methods of restoration, we would rather argue about how things are and accept the outcomes and wasted time trying to mend fences instead of building a single family as one.  It cannot be denied that if unity, trust, truth, and honor do not reside within an intimate relationship there cannot be any solid foundation to rely upon when times become difficult.  In fact, these types of relationships cannot even determine or sense when difficult times are present much less when they are approaching.

Max Lucado put it best when he stated:  “A woman’s heart should be so hidden in God that a man has to seek Him just to find her.”  There is no better advice that can be given to a man and a woman if they want to have a loving, fruitful, and long-lasting marriage together.  Bonnie and I have tried our best to instill this principle into our girls and while their paths have drawn rocky roads at time they continue to fall back on the graces of God as their foundation for relationships.  Some of them have been tough to see through and hard lessons have been met and dealt with, but through each one, our girls have inched up the growth chart in God.  But for the majority of the marriages not only in this nation but many other nations as well, the success stories in God are not there, they are missing due to the physical and contractual idiosyncrasies that humans along with the world have portrayed as acceptable and must be encountered as a normal process.  What these types of unions and relationships (humans actually) fail to recognize is that through these failed attempts at unity and oneness we are actually fulfilling a single verse in the Bible, one that has been talked about for as long as I can remember but never heeded to or understood properly.

We have talked about this verse in past articles and have even discussed in detail about a single word that is used in this verse as well, it may not have been directed stated from this verse in those past articles but everyone has implied this verse’s meaning and this verse continues to rear its ugliness today.  The verse in reference for this article is Genesis 3:15 and it goes like this: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”  Now, I am not bashing anyone over this verse at all, for I must say that I fit into the lost category when it comes to this verse as well, but God wants us to know something about what is really going on in our lives and what the source of our inequality with the opposite sex really is.  The important word in this verse comes right at the beginning of the verse and it is the word “enmity”.  The Hebrew word for enmity is “weebah” and it literally means hatred.  The modern definition for this word is a state or feeling of being actively opposed or hostile to someone or something.  How much of this type of scenarios do we hear about every day?  It does not matter if these instances are on a personal level or a national level, they cross our hearts every day.

This word enmity is a word that defines choice and how our lives have an understanding of how to act, whether or not to allow enmity to shine in our lives or not.  We are going to keep this topic of hearts on the personal level and demonstrate just how important it is to have our hearts buried deep within God in order to keep such a devastating word from entering into our relationships.  It is a head-scratching picture that we see here in Genesis 3:15 for it is God who says that He initiates this action but when we understand that this process has to be introduced as a way of living due to the gift of free will, it no longer confuses.  There are a bunch of issues and conditions that occurred from the time mid-Genesis 2 was being lived out from the time Genesis 3 arrived.  The manner in which Adam spoke of the woman in mid-Genesis is not how he referred to her in Genesis 3 and his initial pursuit pattern should have remained solid through God all throughout the time frame of these two chapters.  It was a huge deal when God brought the woman to Adam and by his own words he knew this; no enmity present at all.

How many of us men out there prayed for a wonderful and godly wife?  How many of us men out there prayed for a gorgeous and sexy wife?  Anyone of you had the decency to pray for both of those qualities?  Of course, we do not start out with divisional thoughts and concepts about our new spouse, and when the truth is told we should never have such thoughts that promote disaster when it comes to our spouses but when a marriage is started out with death remarks upon it enmity cannot help but flourish even from day one.  Do we recognize that if we do not start out our intimate relationships in the manner of Genesis 2 our relationship with our spouse is doomed?  What an awesome truth about relationships for it is so easy to obtain when we are so focused on being the perfect husband for the woman we chose to keep forever.  Unless we as men begin to pray and seek God concerning our ladies, enmity shall continue to be birthed and exceedingly grow within our societies.  This responsibility of knowing our wife rests on our hearts men, not anyone else.

One of the more common mistakes we face is the fact that when God is addressing a subject we tend to leave out some of the players involved in the setting.  There are times where God is addressing a single person and then there are times that He is speaking to everyone that is in play.  Genesis chapter 3 we have three major beings that are involved in this chapter and all three of them are present when the chapter begins and when the judgment for sinful behavior is directed.  Adam heard what God said to Satan in verse 15 of this chapter and he should have figured out the entire meaning of the gravity to which God was speaking, but just as he missed God’s words to him in verse 16, we are now faced with a widened gap that only the cross of Christ can connect.  Adam has no excuse for not understanding what the new line of inquiry would be, nor did he have any excuse of knowing the patterns that Satan would try in order to trick the future inhabitants into deeper sin as well.  God is a complete God and when He gives a command to a human that command stays intact until every human is gone from the face of the earth, there are no partial commands from God.

Plus, both Adam and Eve should have realized just how important it is to keep God first in our existence and that ugly things result when we do.  However, once again we see that their selfishness and lazy attitude toward what really was occurring around them cost them the beauty and perfection that God had created.  Ironically, it was through the abundance of living that God provided that was used against them in the Garden of Eden and if we are honest, the gifts of life today that God provides fall into the same lineage and category for our lives today.  Enmity may have been stated for the first time in verse 15 but the beginnings of such spiritual law was already in place by the time Genesis 3:1 rolled around.  To be brutally honest, the law of enmity does not stop on the individual level it affects all levels of life and if not squelched quickly shall grow into a national or worldly divisional state that may not be applicable for repair.

I find it no surprise that the largest message that people have today concerns unity and equality yet at the same time this quest for equality resides with a skewed and flawed recognition of gender.  If two genders cannot agree upon the truth concerning our existence what makes us believe that so-called added genders and other considerations can get the job done.  Stop and think about this for a moment, bringing more baggage on a trip does not reduce the amount of area that one needs when the destination arrives, it only causes more issues and less space to work with.  If male and female do not function as one unit as God intended there is no way possible that any unity can be confirmed or established and if the personal level of equality is not obtained then there sure is not going to be any equality developed on any other level.  It is not the responsibility of the female to seek God in order know the heart of the male, it is the responsibility of the woman to hide her heart in her father and for the male to seek her heart through this channel.  This is why the saying of Max Lucado is so dead-on because while the status of the physical relationships is so up in the air these days we need to have a steady and pure source for our understanding of each other.  If these conditions and seeking methods are not followed properly, then the only thing left is disunity and separation due to enmity that will result.

Have you ever wondered why divorce is now a generational source?  This single verse and its lack of understanding is the direct reason why the term generational divorce is used.  If we apply the truth and the understanding of Genesis 3:15 to our lives, men, our relationships shall transform right before our eyes.  Even if you have entered into an intimate relationship without these covenants principles at first God is willing to change your entire lives together when you seek His Ways for your marriage.  We cannot help but see the parallel results of our spiritual condition with God and our physical relationships with others for they are almost one and the same, an immaculate parallel status.  While this topic is set on the male and the female’s relationship with each other it serves as a foundation of how we should seek the answers to our other issues in life as well.  Have we done this at all?  I cannot believe that it is because when one looks at the hourly news feeds from the civilizations we have established God is never mentioned as the source of healing a relationship, on any level.

Once this prophetic verse had been played out there was no stopping it from becoming a household venture unless God was continued as the chosen leader of our lives for whoever or whatever we place first in our hearts will be the determining factor in the lives we lead.  There is always the choice of living for the world and if we choose this path then we shall live out the realities of Genesis 3:15 on all levels of life.  The basic foundation of our relationship with God is marriage and it is vital for everyone to know how to live together as one unit all the time and as each gavel of the divorce court slams down we cannot ignore the fact that we have not followed God in this effort.  If we do not apply this verse in its complete manner to our lives then we shall never fully understand the meaning of the next verse of Genesis 3:16, and from what is so evident today we have no clue about its content either. 

The meaning of this verse does not just end with the men’s side of the words, it has a basis for the women as well.  In order to seek God for answers concerning the life and wife we want to have she must also be hidden within God’s heart as well.  She must be totally dependent upon God and His Trust in order to find that special someone to take care of her properly, according to God and His Standards.  It is becoming more difficult to find such a lady that actually desires to be and committed to purity, both in the physical state and in the spiritual state as well.  If one is present then God shall connect the two in His appropriate time, not yours.  There is no reason why anyone should be subjected intimately to a Jezebel spirit but today it seems like it is the “thing to do and to have.”  Once again, this inflammation of scenery strictly comes from the lack of responsibility from the male for he has his heart in other settings, goals, and temperaments when it comes to the female.  Look at all of the sexual deviances that are present around the world today, there is an origin to such issues and it comes from the male not understanding Genesis 3:15 and subsequent verse of human responsibility.  All of these examples and countless others that can be described all come from the lack of the man seeking God first not only in the area of his personal and intimate life but also for Holy discipline and direction from God.

When one looks at the state of the Church today while understanding the concepts of Genesis 3:15, it poses a scary picture of any type of correction to the pattern that is set before us.  For the last few decades or so, it seems like the attention of the Church’s heart has been turned and sharpened to pleasing the world instead of being the representative of the Light that Jesus commanded us to be.  Any deviation from the Truth of the Word of God is an ignorant belief on our part, plain and simple and when this deviance comes from the pulpits it cannot help but present an eternal death scale that will escalate proportionately to the reflection of what lies within our hearts.  Men, it is vital that we understand our responsibilities when it comes to being leaders. By NO means are we supposed to subject women to idiotic and violent settings, but we are supposed to seek God to learn how to live with those who we love and desire, according to His Divine Created Order.  Church, we are no longer providing such fine leaders any longer, we are world friendly and loving the congressional representations that the world offers.  No longer are we the opposite standard which opposes the world and all of the filth it brings; instead, we heretically bring the people who are damaged and love the world into our church buildings and then allow them to spread the filth of the world around to others instead of teaching them that Jesus CHANGES them.  It is a reciprocal pattern when the men do not step up and fulfill their responsibility within their personal actions concerning the women, thus the Church cannot take up her rightful position within the confines of the world either.

It will become obvious when men once again begin to seek God for the answers concerning our own hearts.  The attitudes of men will change and they will represent a different kind of man that wants to love and not lust.  In response to this change, many angered individuals shall rise up and proclaim their entitlement to what we (men) have voluntarily given up.  This process shall not be an easy process but one that explains just how engrained sin is within our lives, societies, and total existences.  But it is a necessary process in order for true and ordained healing to occur not only to our land but to our spiritual land as well.  Are we teaching this basic warfare tactic Church?  Do we even know what this warfare is all about and one must ask, do we even know that there is a war ongoing for our lives?  This attitude states that we have no clue as to what is going on around us; neither do we care to either for burying our hearts in the sand seems like the easier path to take.  Men, we have got to stand up correctly and according to the Word of God for the women of the world.  All of the “isms” that one can think of shall not bring us any closer together but divide us until our eyes and hearts cannot even communicate any longer.  Let us change men, return to God and I can guarantee that those who are hurting and willing to listen to unbiased Truth will once again be closely intimate to us again.

DLB

Following My Father

Following My Father

9/7/19

Not everyone has a good role model in their father for the way society accepts people these days the selfish personification of individuality rules instead of what is best for their family.  While this is not a new concept concerning life it seems like it is running more rampant than ever.  However, while we are voluntarily stuck in the muck of our actions there is a way out through the perfect example of God the Father.  His Ways are so magnificent that they have the greatest answers to not only our personal problems and questions but for every question or problem that the world can dream up and throw at us.  For those who have either had a great father to look up to while drawing breath and to those who have not had the greatest father to look up to, God is the perfect Father to have and to follow.  As long as you draw breath God is there for you and He is waiting for you to run to Him for Truth, for protection, and for eternal life.  The world shall never promote this Way nor shall it provide such a guarantee, But God is so willing to give it to us if we turn to Him and live under His Ways.

I am so lucky to still have both of my parents in my physical life today.  While we have not always seen eye-to-eye on every detail about my life, their lives, and life in-general I have learned so much about life and how to successfully deal with through their presence and actions.  There are numerous stories I could tell you about the things that my parents tried to teach me so that I would not have to experience them if I thought about things before making rash or crazy choices; however, being the typical young person that I was I decided that they did not know any better and were outdated from the current world so I chose my own path in many ways and chose to address things in my own manner.  Most of the time I fell flat on my face and ran back to them when times became too difficult to handle on my own.  They never condemned me nor were they ever condescending to me either but they did their best to try and explain things to me that would make me think twice before doing such activities again.  Now that I am a parent and have raised my girls and have watched them go through their high times with joy and also cried with them when their hearts were ripped from their chests as well just as my parents did with me.

Because of the nature God in which sends me article titles and their content, I normally would not be writing this article immediately after completing the previous article.  God usually gives me subjects three or four at a time and it takes me a bit to complete those thoughts before I begin another topic.  But this time things are a bit different for I am beginning this article with no notes written and only the thought that God placed into my heart as I was completing the process of the previous article called “We Are Wicked?”.  After I have put an article where it needs to go and sent it to the ones who want to read it by email and my blog, I get excited for it is then time that I get to highlight the Scriptures that God used for that article and underline them with a pen.  As Nahum 1:1-3 was given to me I immediately recognized that pop had read these verses and had partially underlined them probably for thought that God had given him some time ago.  I absolutely love to sit and flip through the leaves of his old Bible that he gave to me some years ago and I have sat many an hour just looking at all the pages marked by his hand and at the same time tried to imagine what God was showing him as he marked those beautiful words.  The majority of the Bible that he gave me is either highlighted already or marked with an underline a precious remembrance of how fervently pop wanted to know and then show the Word of God to others.

But this time was different as I stated above for as I was about to do my completion highlighting God spoke to my heart and gave me the topic of the article I was supposed to write next.  As for many of us out in the world, we have a tendency of wanting to make it on our own and learn the things concerning life in the manner in which it presents itself to us.  We know that not every day that we are present on this earth will be filled with joy, happiness, and roses but we do hope that the majority of our days come along in some type of favorable manner.  While it is natural for us to attack the situations that come our way before they get out of hand, some of us do not wish to resort to confrontation and wait and see if it passes without any harm done.  Well, we all know that if a situation that is not conducive to our lives arises and we do not deal with it appropriately it will inevitably come back to bite us sometime down the road.  At that moment, I always told myself that I wished I had listened to mom and dad earlier for things may have turned out a tad different if I had.  How many of us have to raise our hands on that one?

As my highlighter was finished lining the words of Nahum 1:1-3, with its fluorescent yellow color I let it dry for a minute or two before I picked up my red ink pen to underline the highlighted verses.  I stopped for a second before I did and I noticed that pop’s red pen that he used some time ago on portions of this passage bled a bit when the highlighter covered it.  Even though the red pen had been there for quite some time it still bled over a bit when I applied the yellow color over it.  There is nothing wrong with this scene and it did not do any damage to the page or did it inhibit the words where they could not be read again, but it was here that God showed me and then gave me the title and content of this article.  As I sat in my chair at the desk, I suddenly was reminded that my father had previously been looking at this page and God was giving him another sermon or nugget to give to someone in his congregation, it could have been decades ago that this occurred I do not know.

What struck me hard was the fact that pop was listening to God about a certain topic of a sermon that he was preparing, or a bit of provision of God’s wisdom he was going to give to someone, or some other word from God for His people.  Pop was obeying what Jesus was showing him to write down and he underlined the passage that God gave to him to focus on when he did preach or speak to whomever it was that God wanted to hear it.  Now, I have no idea what pop said to those who heard it nor do I know exactly what God told pop to say either but what I do know is that God gave me the exact same passage, or at least a portion of it that pop used some time ago, and that means that I am following my father in the same path as pop did when he followed his Father.

I would give anything to turn back the clock of my life and relive some of those times where my selfish heart was silent to the advice and words that my father and mother said to me.  Instead of dreading to hear their voices “lecture” me I should have been sitting at their feet listening to the sound advice they wanted me to learn.  I know that those days are long gone and that they can never be brought back but as I have stated before and probably will state it many times more before they leave this world I continue to learn something from them every day that I walk this earth.  There are days that I am not able to see their faces or to hear the physical voices but even then there are things and situations that present themselves to me and I think about their words or ways and I cannot help but place those actions into motion.  With this passage of Scripture that God used in the previous article, combined with the message of this article it makes me realize one important aspect about God that should be in the hearts of every person who considers themselves a Christian and that is it is very important to understand that God has already been where you are at now and He knows exactly how to deal with any circumstance or setting you are going through or about to go through.

I am amazed at how many topics I still have to write about that deal with Genesis chapters 1-3, I have a stack literally three inches high just on those three chapters alone and I bet that God can give me a mile in length with the first three words of Genesis 1:1 if He wanted to; I guess I will have plenty of time to write about those auricles from and about Him in Heaven someday.  Continuing on, I know that what God showed my father about these verses some time ago probably differ a tad but at the same time I know that if I ever find where that sermon or those sermons are at I guarantee that they will complement each other because I know my father heard the voice of God and obeyed what He gave him to write.  It is exciting to me to know that what I am doing with these articles is in complete obedience to God and what He has given me to do, I do such things strictly by His help and cannot give any recognition or glory to anyone else but Him, for I am a worthless worm that deserves death and cannot do such things without His guidance and grace.

Just this last week, I asked my parents if they still had some of dad’s tapes of the sermons that he recorded, they said yes.  I have not had the opportunity to listen to any of them yet, in fact, I have not even received any of them but I cannot help but believe that God put this passage in my heart to encourage me to remind me that I am following in my father’s footsteps through the studying and understanding of his eternal Father.  I just hope and pray that I can be half the man that my father and mother wanted me to be in their eyes and hearts, for they did so much good during their ministry years.  I hope that my heart stays tender and pure to those who are dying in their sins and to gently teach the Truth to them as my parents did for so many decades.  I have begun this journey in my adulthood and feel sometimes that I have wasted so many opportunities to share the gospel due to my stubbornness and closed hearing but I cannot look back and shall not look back on these things for my heart is turned to God and looking for His guidance to give to those who are lost.

So, while there is no official passage used in this article, I guess the process of underlining and highlighting Nahum 1:1-3 can do service today.  I thank God that He continues to give me the opportunity to tell others about His Ways and Love through the words that He gives me, and I pray that He allows me to have the time to complete each one that He gives me as well.  I also pray that the words I type are clear and precise then strikes a chord into the hearts that need to hear them.  It is my desire to be a good example of Christ even though my physical body and character do not reflect Him at times; Church, I hope this is your heart’s desire and cry as well for it is the mission of our lives and the only thing we were Created to do, follow in our Father’s footsteps.  God knows that we know that not everyone on this earth has a good earthly father to follow, yet at the same time, it is our responsibility to tell them that they do have a perfect and eternal Father that has provided the wonderful path of Truth for each one of them.  If we do not provide this information and Truth to them we are acting just like those parents that care nothing for the children they brought into the world.  God loves each one of us according to how He loves His son and it is eternally vital that we share this Truth with them.  Thank you, Pop, for showing me and teaching me about God.

DLB

We Are Wicked?

We Are Wicked?

9/7/19

It is difficult for anyone to recognize their heart status when they have reached the climax of their presence and place in the world.  Most of the time when people or nations reach this place, they forget who gave them the opportunity to be in such a position in the first place, this is not something new either for history has dealt us with numerous examples of this, including the Church.  What is so appalling to some is the blatant disregard for those who seek our leadership in order to make their lives better all the while blasting our Creator and establisher with our thumbed-up nose as we unknowingly yet voluntarily take sledgehammers to our pedestal.  God does have a slow anger potential but if pushed away long enough He cannot ignore the eternal damage that will occur without Him grabbing our attention; but for some reason, He holds out as long as He can to show us that we are wicked- a statement not a question.

In the last article that God shared with us He did so out of the book of Lamentations, a book that many do not know exists much less read or study its content.  So with that said, God and His sense of humor is going to turn our attention to the Book of Nahum, another lesser known books of the Bible but instead coming from a major prophet as Lamentations did this is one of the “minor” prophet books.  I really do not like the terms major prophets and minor prophets because all of the books of the prophets contain a vast amount of information concerning the heart of Israel and just how sorrowful they had become in the eyes of God.  Israel had lost the eternal Covenant status when they chose to go it alone without God and while they finalized their beliefs in 1 Samuel the process took time to come full circle as they say.  Israel’s pedestal was cracking and they could not see the truth below them, so God allowed their pedestal to fall and to scatter for a very long time.

Pride comes before a fall the old adage says.  To be truthful, since pride is a characteristic of sin we can truly say that our pride begins at the 5^th cell of our development after conception because this is when death enters into our lives.  This nation has demonstrated such ugliness when it comes to personal and national elevated pride that we cannot see exactly how far up we are on this pedestal of ours.  This pride replicates the Tower of Babel in height, irreverence, and selfish reputation with a heap load of anger added into the mix.  In such acts, it was believed that if people put their heads and hearts together and work together that great and mighty things would be accomplished, all it proved worthy of is sinful disobedience that cost the people their homes, way of life and language.  They believed their good works overruled their wickedness, so much so that over time with this belief the people truly believed they were not wicked at all but those who opposed them were the ones who were wicked.  It is amazing how humanity continues to believe in the lie that their own personal ideas can bring them long-lasting peace, prosperity, and security and that a Savior or eternal Father and Judge is not necessary.

But, with the last sentence of the previous paragraph I must admit that I have tried to do things on my own and build my world up and around me so that my glory and reputation shines brighter than any other one around.  Yes, I was still nice and friendly to those around me but what lied within my heart was a being that would have no hesitation to rush ahead of the crowd in order to be recognized.  I failed to recognize and understand, even though I had taken a class in Embryology that taught me about my failings before I was even born, that I was nothing until I found God and His Son in my life.  I was proud in many areas of my life because I was good at what I did for a living and I completely missed and bypassed my wickedness in the eyes of God.  Eventually, my physical life began to change and over the next few years or so God began to chip away at my pedestal (wickedness) in a manner that only He could perform.  Many times I would fight these changes that God was implementing and I found that as my fight persisted so did my miserable manner; still not understanding what was going on inside my heart.  My pride was so intense, that I stopped seeking the help of God and began believing that I could do things just fine without Him, yet keeping Him in my mind most of the time because of my upbringing.  This action of mine proved that God was patient with me and that He would not write me off because my selfish desires ruled my life at that time.

During this time in my life, my mindset belief was that I was not in jail nor had I been in jail, I did not do drugs or go out partying and raising havoc among the towns we lived in so I really did not paint a bad picture of myself.  In fact, I never asked myself or even considered myself to be evil or wicked, a misconception that I walked with for a considerable amount of time.  Yes, I had problems like so many others but I never thought about how opposite of life I was living through my selfish ways and means.  This concept of wickedness goes along with sin because when you do it long enough it becomes second nature and it is easy to complete without even thinking about what you have done.  When this occurs, and we are approached by someone who sees the evil district inside of our lives then asks us about it we look shocked at their faces and react according to what resides within us.  How can someone who is perceived as a good person and contributes regularly to the community and maybe to church activities or programs even be considered wicked?  How dare they ask such a thing about me?  We forget that anything that provokes God to anger is the definition of wickedness, simple disobedience from a young person who defies their parents when they say to clean their room is considered wickedness.  It may sound a tad harsh but if a crack in the armor is available the enemy shall use it to penetrate the heart.

One of the more deceitful events that many of us deal with today is that it is okay to have any opinion about life that you wish to pursue.  It does not matter what you do or how you believe for as long as you do not break any major laws you can live as you want without any purposeful and physical harm or repercussions.  The world and its ruler is just doing their jobs when such promotions are pronounced because we all know that if everyone is doing it, it means that everything and everyone is okay with it, right?  Anyone who follows the world lives in darkness and thus represents the ways of the world.  In turn, this type of lifestyle and belief goes against God and His eternal Ways of Life that He established so long ago.  I find it so fascinating that people who live with the world have to continually change their stances on all subjects that are presented before them, then angrily reject those folks around them who do not change and stand firm on a solid foundation when ugliness arrives.

Nahum 1:2 states a very important detail about God and how He responds to those who bring wickedness before His eyes.  It states: “God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth; the Lord revengeth and is furious; the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.”  Many would be quick to argue that if God was a loving Being that He proclaims to be, why would He make a statement such as this?  It sounds to like to these folks that God is angry and does not want to be challenged by those who have different opinions from His.  They will even throw in the word “jealous” and use it completely out of context as well.  In all of the projected encounters that run across our eyes each day how many would you say fizzle out or stay on a slow burner and simmer?  Right, none of them, and why would one believe it is that way?  Humans love to exaggerate things and propagate them to enhance their opinions and beliefs, most of the time without understanding the content or context of these happenings.

God is a jealous God, and He has the complete authority to be in such a state, for His prized Creations were lied to enough that they chose to leave His perfected conditions and make their own way instead.  I would be jealous too if I had created something so precious in my eyes and then have it stolen from my possession due to a lie from a third party.  Only an enemy would do such a thing to someone else and what we do not realize is that our enemy is the same as God’s enemy but where God takes a stand against Satan we allow him continual access to our hearts and it is THIS action that upsets God enough to make such statements as He does in Nahum 1:2.  Can you imagine what our lives would be like if God did not care enough to know when to reel us in?  I understand that this is a grave issue in modern society in that many parents will go out and solicit themselves at the same facilities as their children are at today, but that is a destructive path that serves no one any good and provides only contempt for authority.  In no manner is God such a parent, He wants to protect His children not lead them into temptation yet at the same time allows us to remember what He has taught us before He must act; this is where His jealousy originates.

But there is an additional characteristic of God that appears in the next verse and it is this, God is slow to anger and great in power, and will not acquit the wicked.  It may be easy for others to condemn God for allowing such records to be extended until a supernatural event needs to be perfected in order to grab our attention.  But that would not be a complete and just God and especially not one who Created us with the ability to choose our paths by our own accord.  Completeness and just means that all aspects of the situation and presentation at hand are weighed equally before other acts are taken.  This process on the human level is grossly administered on selfish manifestations and is the sole reason that many times true justice is not achieved or on the other hand overachieved.  A selfish system cannot administer completeness if self runs the day, for all of us have been in the arena of making our parents wait on their plans due to our carelessness or selfish indignations on our part after the scene unfolds.  God is never rushed to anger or to judgment He shall always weigh the human circumstances and see if His prized Creations figure things out beforehand.  Then and only then when He sees that our ways have become so far off course that we do not realize our own wickedness does He act to grab our attention.  I thank God every day that He is slow to anger even in my life, for I still am a sinner saved by Grace and if it was not for this Truth I would die in my sins and deservedly go to hell for eternity. 

One last point about verse 3 before the article comes to a close and it is this: the characteristics and description of God in this verse is not a curse by any means but it is a verse of promise, happiness, blessings, and peace.  The world and its leader shall never tell you this about God he would rather you see and experience the hand of God in an angry manner and then tell you further lies just how bad God is.  As stated in the previous paragraph God is not a father of the world who sits and watches for their child to mess up and to punish them every time something does not go according to plan, but God IS a Father who comes from a perfect line of establishment and One who knows exactly when to show His hand in order to keep the perfected patterns of His lineage intact.  Now, whether or not we heed to such perfection depends upon if we study His Word, know His ways, and most importantly obey them.  Obedience drives God and when we live under His Ways willingly, this verse cannot be experienced any other way than a promise, happiness, blessings, and peaceful verse.

Many of us understand how difficult it is to realize a belief or personal condition that for a long period of time we have not recognized present within our lives.  It is this point that proves to be the most painful in any type of recovery or building project, for it, places us in a vulnerable position on all levels of our existence thus subjecting us to an infinite number of attacks from sources around us.  It is also at this point where a good portion of us turn around and progress no further either because of the fear that we recognize that is right in front of us, but if we conquer our fear of the fear around us and take that step of healing our lives will never be the same.  As with any type of issue, addiction, or suffering profile they represent a condition of complete surrender and acceptance that often work to antagonize each other providing an added measure of insecurity that some succumb to before completing the healing process.

As one may have already figured out that the previous paragraph can fit into any person’s physical recovery process when dealing with issues that they have allowed to encompass their being, but what many do not understand is that this same addictive process occurs in our spiritual lives as well and these issues and conditions have the exact same consequences as the physical, for at some point they shall bleed over into the physical also.  Wickedness is a growing process that many of us do not even know that we have allowed entering into our lives until we have totally surrendered to its ways.  The one trick Satan has on us is that he loves to sneak concepts into our minds and then lets them fester for a while, then at some point, he will bring up a sympathetic setting that supports this cause and you appropriately react according to what has been planted in your life.  If allowed, this seed will do what it is supposed to, grow and become a planted root in your life and then produce many offspring as it was designed.  When a seed has been planted and then allowed to grow it naturally becomes a part of its soil and the soil, whether it is painful or pushed out of the way, must contend with the presence of the seed’s growth.  So, the soil accepts this new presence and joins in together with the seed, now root to cultivate its presence.  This is how we become wicked, even though we first recognize something is wrong we allow it to reside and grow until it becomes a natural place setting within our lives creating a new environment that soon will take shape enough to admit publicly.

When this process reaches the point of non-recognition, it is then accepted as being normal and unrecognizable as an issue that needs to be dealt with.  Another problem with this embedded root is that since it is no longer recognizable it can freely influence other areas of our lives so that its buddies can join in our fertile soil.  As these new issues and seeds are added, their occupancy and presence are no longer even felt and their origins go unnoticed and consequently unabated in their invitations and growth patterns.  Eventually, our lives begin to be drained with the internal battle that we start to feel but because of our shaded influences we bring in more bad seed to plant simply because we do not know any better.  Therefore, our lives have fulfilled the consequential sin infestation that our enemy wants us to have and what we have accepted as good fruit from the tree.  All placement of good has been forcibly withdrawn from our lives and a worldly environment is what our lives can only crave; an addiction that has deadly results if not corrected as soon as possible.

It is this type of infestation of sin that we become the wickedness that God cannot stand to see and will destroy if things are not corrected.  God understands exactly what sin does to our lives if we do not allow His presence to influence then rid ourselves from.  Satan shall continually say to you that it is okay and that you can handle such eradication and sadly, many people believe this lie and instead of being healed find themselves falling deeper into their selfish (flesh) schemes that sink them further away from God.  Satan shall never tell you that Jesus is the only way for this process to be solved for he will always have an alternative path for you to take to “complete” this “healing” completely.  By the time the wickedness has reached this almost full capacity level, many will not believe in a single pathway, much less one that involves God.  Any blatant manifestation of wickedness that presents itself as the result of an uninhibited growth pattern God likens to an abomination which places our lives in a different category, one marked for destruction, both on the physical aspect and spiritual one as well.  It is this condition that we see and read about in Nahum, where God cannot allow sin to rule the day for if He did that would mean that He allows sin to continue and shall tolerate it without any repercussions, a state of His existence that cannot alter.

We see what many people would consider being an angry and evil ridden Creator with a vengeful lust for destruction but it is actually the condition of sin and level of sinful acceptance that provokes God in making such statements against His people.  Remember God is a consistent God, one that when He does something once He must follow that standard at all times, and most importantly, the state we are in is due to our choices, not God's.  We first see this when Adam and Eve fell from the Garden of Eden, we see it here in this passage with the same type of purposeful rebellion from Israel and we shall see it again if this nation does not turn its heart back to God right now.  No one ever knows how long God has plans for something supernatural to occur and if one stops and thinks about it this plan of God’s is beautiful for it sticks with His unconditional love for His people and the desire for us to choose His Ways instead of being forced to do so.  God eternally despises sin and the one who brought it into our lives yet at the same time even though sin rules our lives we do not have to abide by its laws, we have an escape plan that has been provided.

It is this plan that hate separates us from, hate does not come from God but from the ruler of this world, Satan.  He has done a fabulous job in tricking us to believe that we can live our lives with the blessings of God and still superficially understand the Bible.  Satan has also convinced us that we are sinners and since we are it is okay to accept God but stay living in the ways that make us purposeful sinners and God will accept us in this capacity because He loves us.  The TRUTH is that if we allow God into our hearts there is no way possible that we shall stay in the same manner as we were when we allowed God into our lives.  God changes our hearts because of who He is and what His Son did for us on the cross.  Living in sin and believing that it is okay to do so is provoking God through the growth of our acceptance of voluntary wickedness and when we live in this state we are living superficially and selfishly because we refuse to hear our hearts and spirits cry out for eternal help just as they were Created to act.

What is your response to this Truth from God Church?  Are you condoning such worldly standards and wickedness or are you standing up for Christ and teaching that we need to follow God and His Ways, present Jesus Christ as the Savior of all who shall listen, and walk in a manner of Covenant responsibility all tied in together?  There cannot be any self when it comes to the fact of eternity, everything should point to Jesus and the things He did for us before He walked on this earth, while He walked on this earth and what is He still provides for us today.  Repentance is the first step in the acknowledgment that we are sinners and that we have a problem or problems that need taking care of by someone greater than what we can provide ourselves.  Repent Church!  Times are about to change if we do not break through our own lies and begin to preach the Gospel to the dying world, and YES we shall be included in the supernatural wakeup call God has for this nation.  God is not One who sits on His throne with a big pencil and eraser watching for us to mess up so that He can erase our existence from His records.  God is a loving God who cannot stand to see His children suffer through the voluntary acceptance of sin and disobedience and at some point, He must grab our attention as only He can do.  We can avoid this issue, if we only do what Jesus commanded us to do but first we need to turn our hearts around and dig our hearts back into the Word of God so that we know how to defend our faith but to correctly promote it as well. 

DLB