Choosing to Deliberately Walk in Darkness

Choosing to Deliberately Walk in Darkness

11/7/12

Humans like to understand where they are going and how, when and at exact time that they will arrive at their destination.  All of us have this directional goal within our beings since it gives us a sense of security of knowing where we will be resting at day’s end.  But to what extent do we comprehend our destination and how we formulate where our destination actually terminates.  Most importantly who will be the one guiding us to this destination and how will we know if that person can be trusted?  Many people believe they have the answer for this but in truth they are basing their foundational destination to one who is faulty.

In a brief opening statement God intends to ruffle some feathers with the subject of this topic.  The article is going to be deal strictly with religion and how religion is the foundational boundary that sets limits on a relationship with God.  There will be many examples that God has shown me that will support these words and they must be spoken so that those who really desire to have a relationship with God will understand what is about to come within our world.  This article is by no means a slap against religion in any way and the true essence of religion is a pure and holy sepulcher which has stood throughout the test of time, but God does not desire your religion or your theology, He only desires a relationship with you.  And for you to completely understand what is going to occur in our world, you must understand this difference between religion and relationship.

In the origins of this country and for many other countries throughout the world God was one of the foundational beliefs that was present.  As we read history it has become very clear that these foundational situations have created many problems with humanity and rightly so.  The concepts of these “Godly” settings have all been based upon religion and the establishment of the true religion for man.  And as we have noticed each one of these situations has turned out in a tragic fashion and should therefore be an example of what not to do.  Yet we humans still flock to our own religion as a means of satisfying our “need” for peace and acceptance, and how further from the truth can we be when we allow this belief to infiltrate our spirits.

From the early dynasties of Egypt it has been clear that man has tried to create an avenue to God by means of worship.  The ancient Egyptians found many animals, symbols, buildings and models to set above all other items in their physical world and eventually they set one man in this same position as a living and earthly representative of their godly world.  We are still finding new evidence of these examples from that time period and all of them tie to the afterworld or to a process that will lead the person to immortal status.  Most of us have looked at pictures of their tombs and marveled at all of the items that were included inside the walls; all of these items representing things that would help these people in the afterlife.  These people were spiritually dead to the one true God and alive to all of the so-called lesser gods.  What did they gain but a walk into a darkness in which the same concept still grips society today.  This is an example of one trying to elevate himself to a higher status other than being human.

Another example of religion taking center stage in the formation of a country is England.  I have mentioned this situation once before in my writings and not much will be different here than what was said back then.  An entire religion was created to make way for a decision that one person wished for his life.  The established denomination at the time refused to grant his desire so out of anger he established a new religion in which he was the ultimate authority and could do and say as he wished.  Many homes and churches were ultimately destroyed in the name of the new religion and consequently many good people died as a result.  In an ironic twist when the former established denomination came back into play in that same country, the rule of punishment did not change but followed suit as the new religion had established.

In another part of Europe another man decided he did not like the way that the established denomination was doing things.  Yes, there were dire conditions that the denomination was creating for the people and some of these conditions were preposterous to their constituents and should have never been made a standard of the church.  Another split or crack in the church occurred due to the errors that man had committed were now present and had to be dealt with by the public.  The revelation or revolution that this person created was actually in truth a rebellion of a rebellion which is now known to us as Protestantism.  I understand that there were many points to the creation of this denomination but most of them dealt directly with one person in whom others had distrust.

A Biblical example comes next and it deals with Israel and their desire to have a king.  For hundreds of years God had been the one ruler over this nation and He spoke through a few people during this time.  Now, the people in the Bible were humans just like you and I.  They had every type of body part that we do, they had minds, hearts, arms, and legs nothing differed about them.  They even knew how to complain about their living conditions and they too also had the freedom to chose when it came to their lives. 

At one point in time they had no problems with having God ruling over their lives.  They must have accepted His ways in such a manner of complete devotion and reaping the benefits of a desired pattern of life even though they knew that their lives did not and could not set any type of honor and holiness to their God.  The humility that they kept within their hearts was enough to suffice a God that they knew could destroy them at any point of time for being a representative of their inadequate and unpleasant flesh.

But at some point, doubts began to come forth in their minds and they began to speak against their conditions and they eventually forgot that they were blessed even though they had become unhappy with their surroundings.  Their grips and complaints became increasingly burdensome to their leaders and when these chosen men directed these concerns to God, He obliged their requests and then allowed some changes to occur so that peace could reign within the nation.  But being of the human race, the new ideas and conditions did not satisfy these people and in a short matter of time their complaints rose up again and this time they were more direct in their accusations.  See, it has always been a human trait to do something and then some time down the road do something greater.

Even though God was displeased with their cries against their living conditions He once again provided them an alternative and supplied them with a grace of gifts which should have sustained them.  However, being human they could not be satisfied with these alternatives and began their complaints again, but this time God decided to draw a line in the sand so to speak and He gave the people a gentle nudge of an example and as Keith Green sang “the ground opened up and had some of them for lunch”.  Now, whether you believe this example of not is up to you but even if you don’t it should get you to think about some things, mainly that you should never complain about your living conditions or the supplies you have for one day you might not have any.

Time went along and the people remembered the ground incident but continued their grumblings against God and His representatives.  Now, we all know that God’s representatives were human and probably did not do things right the first time, this we must contend.  But at the same time the people had shifted their grumblings towards God and what He was allowing to occur in their lives, yet at the same time, God allowed them to voice their opinions and to chose their own lives.

Shortly, the time came when the people realized that the representatives that God had chosen were just not working out with the people so they began to talk about having their own representative, a person who they could agree with and follow but still keep their ties to God for the time being.  Think about this for a moment, even though the Bible does not directly state this thought pattern it had to be a part of their thinking and is a logical process.  But what they failed to see is that their eyes were now focused upon a man and not God, even though they truly believed the opposite.  In short the people asked the Godly representatives for one person amongst them to represent them and be their leader.  The people now chose a king to be in charge of their daily lives, activities and decisions.  Once again God was displeased but allowed them to make this choice.

Our country was founded upon some Biblical principles and some secular principles this is a known fact.  It is also a known fact that once the new people of this country gained ground in this country they began to set up Christian institutions that would allow them to worship as they saw fit, which was one of the main reasons that they left England.  However, it was not too further down the road that these people began to establish rules and regulations similar to those of England where the church was concerned.  In fact it came to the conclusion that if you were not part of a certain belief that you were not even a Christian at all.

Over time and as the country grew more denominations sprang up throughout the land and basically adopted the same hard line concepts as the previous denomination did after their arrival.  All of these religious people became obsessed with recruiting non believers to their flock and then when they did not see things in their manner, they persecuted them one by one until they either submitted or as history shows us these “heretics” were killed in the name of God.  I could go on and on about these types of examples but I am going to stop here and move on to the next point.

For well over two hundred years our country has tried to shape its rules and regulations in our own image and that is a choice that God allows.  In our fledgling years the leaders of this country sought to find a leader who would stand up for the principles of their forefathers but did not wish to name this person as “king”.  They also wanted a person in charge that would defend the country against all invaders of its infrastructure not just the ones that are convenient.  Yet, from that initial starting point of our country we have ignored this principle and have looked for a king all the while keeping God at bay.  Through the many examples of churches’ attitudes and policies along with the personal actions of its members, many people shy away or even ridicule the church because of this style of behavior and in many cases who can blame them.

This attitude has grown over the centuries and it has woven itself into our society from its roots in other parts of the world.  The entire world has become obsessed with finding the one person who has all of the answers to the problems of today.  Each country believes it has found that person to do the job but each and every time that person has proven to be false and has provided nothing but disappointment to their constituents.  We have failed to recognize the one true being that has all of the correct answers for our lives and the one true person who can provide the only stability that man desires.  Our eyes are focused upon our own species for the answers and all we can do is make more people angry.

All of these examples have one thing in common, man being the center of attention.  There is no question that in the past countries that have declared themselves to be Christian have been blessed by God even during times of disease, poverty and war.  Yet all of them have lost their vision and have turned their eyes upon themselves.  In every one of these examples when man chooses to make his decisions with human ideologies, it is man who eventually pays the price.  In each of these examples good leaders came and went and in the same manner bad leaders came and went, but just as all others it was the fellow citizens who paid the price.  And in each of these examples, each time they ignored the fact that all God wanted was for man to choose to have a relationship with Him and for them to toss their religion and theology out the window.

Choose your king and chose him to your best ability and greatest intent but know this that until you seek the eternal God and His ways you will bring nothing but disappointment and pain unto yourselves.  It is time for us to understand the difference between religion and relationship.  Remember that a religion can dream up anything that a human wants which will allow for us to walk in darkness, but a relationship is alive and active and cannot be dreamt about in any way.  God will wait for a time, so choose your King.

DLB

The Season of the Leaf

The Season of the Leaf

11/7/12

Each season a new leaf is turned and if we stood and watched this process unfold it would bring the life cycle of the leaf into an entire new perspective.  Instead we continue our individual lives and basically ignore what occurs within the new leaf.  Maybe we should pay more attention to the leaf since it really follows a similar pattern throughout its life as we do.  Many of us are interested in what transpires in our lives but are not concerned with the surroundings of our environment, maybe we should stop and look at these changes that are occurring around us and be aware of the hidden dangers or potential good happenings that are in our path.  Whichever path comes into play, the leaf is turning and it is time for us to be prepared for a new leaf.

Many of us have heard of the old adage about turning over a new leaf and how it means that we humans take another route, start over, move away or just totally change the way we live.  This saying has been adopted into our way of thinking since the majority of us have had to complete this phrase at least once in our lives.  There is not many out there who have had to not make some type of major alteration in their lives.  With modern society it is almost a must that we go through this process at least every couple of years and sometimes this change takes its time to settle within our households.

The above process can be referred to as the beginning of the leaf cycle where the tree is actually producing the bud.  The bud wants to make its own mark in its life as soon as it can and open itself up to the environment and let it know just how important it will be to its surroundings.  Yet, the tree keeps it closed up into its shell and will not release it until the time is right and when this time comes it is a slow process which is controlled by the tree.  The leaf learns that there is a relationship that it has with the tree and that the tree controls what the leaf does and it can open up and flourish as it is supposed to do.

As time advances the leaf continues to grow and becomes a strong and viable part of the tree.  The tree provides all of the leaf’s needs which includes nutrients and everything that a healthy leaf needs to continue.  The season has become warm with long, bright and sunny days to give the leaf its energy to intake food.  The leaf seems not to have a care in the world and that it is at the top of its game.  The leaf looks around and notices many other leaves on the tree in the same condition which further strengthens its confidence of invincibility.  The leaf has been through some storms which caused some pause in this thinking but each time it has come out unscathed and stronger than before.

As time marches on the leaf begins to feel a twinge of environmental change.  It is a feeling that it has not known before but feels like it will go away since the leaf still is young enough to handle what comes its way.  It dares not to ask the tree about the changes but the leaf now sits and waits to see what happens next all the while putting on a happy face to its fellow leaves.

The leaf now quietly notices that the days are getting shorter and the sun does not shine as warm as it has been for most of its life.  The leaf understands this process and begins to think about what scene the environment will play in the coming days.  Even though it has no idea of what the environment will provide in the future it trusts that the tree will continue to provide the nourishment that the leaf needs to survive these changing times.  The leaf knows that not all of its life has been easy and that there have been moments when it did not know if it would actually survive the troubled times that it was facing, but each time it came through with flying colors and stood strong for the world to see.

One morning the leaf woke up to find that the weather had changed drastically and that the air felt colder than normal.  The leaf panicked and immediately turned to look at the tree which was still there and providing the necessary nourishment.  The leaf relaxed but still had a nervous condition about it that would not go away.  It did not understand why the change but it knew that it was still alive and witnessing a scene that it had never experienced before.  Soon a small tweak occurred in the leaf and it looked to see what was happening.

On the tip of its body, the leaf realized that its color had begun to change.  The color change scared the leaf and in a huff ran to the tree, which in turn said that everything is ok and not to worry about things.  But as the leaf continued its cry to the tree about the changes the tree gently said to the leaf, turn and look at the other leaves.  As the leaf did as the tree said the leaf noticed that many other leaves in the area, including on the same tree, had begun the same process.  The tree then said that it was a normal process and that the environment actually controls what the trees and leaves do throughout their entire life.

The tree also explained that it was time that the tree and the leaves prepare themselves for a major change and that the process could not be stopped as long as there was life in the environment.  The leaf became angry and did not want the change that the environment was providing and then demanded that the environment stop its cycle and allow the leaf and its fellow occupants to live the way that they wanted without any “outside” interference.  The tree acknowledged this action from the leaf and said that it had seen this type of attitude many times before and that there was nothing that could be done, even if the environment were to slow its cycle.  The leaf thought about what the tree said and then asked how many times have you witnessed these events?  The tree replied, many more than you can ever imagine and the one thing that I know about the environment is that it will never change its patterns.

Days drug past and the leaf sat in wonder about how its color was continually changing and that no matter how much energy that it placed into its body, the colors still crept higher and higher to its stem.  One day the leaf realized that the energy that it needed actually was the source of its color change.  This was the point in time that the leaf understood that its life was about to change in a way that would be like never before.  The reality that its days were now numbered hit the leaf in full force and it had to accept the fact that one day soon its life would be over.

As the leaf came to this realization, it asked the tree what would happen to it once its color had fully changed.  The tree calmly said that eventually the leaf would be separated from the tree by the environment and that it would fall onto the ground somewhere else.  The leaf put two and two together and realized that this would mean that it would not have any more life and that its usefulness to the tree and its fellow leaves would be over.  The leaf then quietly took its place and watched the environment intently as its color change continued to advance.

Another cold morning greeted the leaf as it opened its eyes to the world and noticed that its energy level had almost come to a complete halt.  It did not have the strength to contend with the other issues of the day and the leaf actually realized how much those issues had become very unimportant and meaningless.  Survival was the only need that the leaf cared about and it would do as much as possible to continue this pattern.  The wind suddenly appeared and the leaf knew that something big was coming soon.

The leaf now completely brown and dry, its condition just as brittle the leaf knew that its days or even hours were numbered.  It then felt a sharp pain at the base of its body and it noticed that a piece of its stem had broken off from the tree.  The leaf looked at the tree and the tree whispered that it was ok and that this needed to happen.  The leaf had known that this time was approaching but never really believed it would come to pass.  The leaf felt another twinge tugging at its stem and suddenly all communication with the tree ceased.  The leaf had felt that it was now alone in the world as it looked to the sky for its guidance.

A few moments later a small but forceful gust of wind came along and completed the separation of the leaf from the tree and the leaf turned to look at the tree as it spun away with the wind.  As it floated in the air the leaf saw its life flash before its eyes and it immediately wished that it could return to its youthful state once again.  As the leaf reached the ground it lay there pondering its next moment.  But not another moment arrived for the leaf drew its last breath and it realized that it was time for the environment to turn over a new leaf.

As we in the world approach the end of 2012, we humans need to realize that our spiritual environment that we have chosen is leading us into a new direction.  In other words, we are about to embark on a new level of life that we have not experienced before.  The way God presented this article to me is by a leaf.  Even though the turning over of a new leaf is an exact example it does represent the overall concept that we must understand.

God, no matter whether you believe in Him or not, does allow us to have free will when it involves accepting His ways.  This free will always be flawed since all of us make mistakes and none of us are perfect.  Even though humans may believe that they are in control of everything that occurs in our world, they are gravely mistaken, which God accepts and allows to continue.  See, God has set into motion the environment and He is the one that controls everything that occurs.  There is nothing that we can do to change this environmental process and in fact we humans are just like the leaf in which we have a certain amount of time on this rock.

It is also our responsibility to understand that the times are changing and that many people do not see things according to the past.  A change is coming to this land and it may not settle well with everyone, lest it is a change that God has ordained and it needs to be recognized as such.  We need to make the necessary adjustments for our participation in this change and we need to understand this change in its fullness.

As with the leaf we are experiencing a phenomenon that we cannot control, no matter how hard we fight it.  It is a process that has been foretold and cannot be altered.  The process will affect all of us and it will set in hard for some, but we all must look to the vine for guidance and stability during these approaching times.  Turn from the humanly ways of thinking and allow yourself to be restored during this process.  It will be a hard and trying time but if we trust in the vine, all sorrowful matters will turn into triumphs.

DLB

Heart Condition Part XXIV

Heart Condition Part XXIV

11/01/12

It has been a while since I have completed an article about my heart condition.  I apologize that there has been a gap in space with this story but I have been completing other projects that God has been showing me and needless to say I am still far behind in my writings.  So, without any further delay, here is the next installment of Darin’s Heart Condition.

As the door closed behind the aide and I found the nasal cannula, I began to think about things that I had missed that might have prevented this current event from happening.  But as I laid there in the bed I stopped and realized that everything that I had done up to this point was my choice and if I had the opportunity to do all of the things leading up to this point over again I probably would have done them the exact same way.  But what was done was done and I now had to look forward to a few more procedures in the coming days, my only concerns now was which procedure or procedures I would have to complete.

I rolled over to my side and tried to clear my mind of the near future and focus on getting some rest for the next day.  I did not take too long to fall asleep but my mind continued its thinking course and I really did not rest very well.  The nursing staff came in a few more times during the next few hours to do their routine checks and no real deviances were noted during those checks.  I was now beginning to wake up a bit more and once again reality hit me in the face when I saw the cardiopulmonary tech come into my room with the EKG instrument.

He quickly started in by saying that he heard a rumor that I was not behaving myself and that I needed another checkup to see what my heart was doing.  I laughed and I had no idea what he was talking about but since I was in the bed and that he was bigger than me that I would cooperate quietly.  The procedure did not take long at all and as the results printed out I caught a quick glimpse of the reading, which really did not show too much abnormal activity but there were a few changes that could have some significant meaning.  I said thank you as he pulled off the patches from my skin and promised him I would not forget the way he pulled off those patches in a “friendly” manner.  He too asked if there was anything that he could do and of course I said “no”.  He then wished me luck and to keep him informed of what was going on and he then walked out the door.

By this time the halls were bustling with activity and many noises rang up and down the hall.  I then heard another familiar voice somewhere close to my door, it was my doctor.  He was asking questions about my night from those who took care of me through the evening.  There really was not much to report since he had already heard of my late night lab results so he then asked to see the EKG report.  Within a few minutes I heard his voice on the phone talking with another physician which meant that I was taking a ride soon, but I now wondered if it would be by helicopter or by bus.  I had always wanted to ride in a helicopter but not a medical one so I had mixed emotions about that thought.  But being in the medical field for a while I realized that if I was in bad shape I would have been out of there already so most likely my ride would be in the back of an ambulance.

I few minutes later my doctor walked in the room and immediately said that he had heard that I had caused a stir during the night and that I was being kicked out of the hospital.  He knew that I would understand what he was telling me and that I would not take any offense to his way of telling me that I needed further procedures done that we could not provided for at our hospital.  He then began to show me the EKG report and how some of the waves did not really look normal and that it could be a sign that some significant cardiac activity had taken place.  At that time he could not say how much damage was done but he did indicate that it was affecting the left side of my heart and we did not want to play around with it too much longer.

Both sides of the heart are very important to the human body and both really need to be functioning at their best in order for us to keep up with our daily activities.  If there is a more important side of the heart it would be the left side of the heart since it is mainly responsible for the movement of blood to and from the lungs.  It is vital for the left side to be at the ready for this constant flow of blood and if anything goes wrong with this function, the entire body will be affected and cannot function in its full capacity.  It is funny that even though many people who have heart attacks on the left side of the heart function at less than 100% and really do not feel their decline after their problem is fixed, as I would find out in a few days time.

After a few more questions and a quick listen to my heart and breathing sounds he sat on the side of the bed and began to tell me about the changes that I needed to make in order for me to have a bright future with my family.  Most of the time my doctor was serious about things but in this instance his tone and demeanor were completely different in the fact that he wanted me to understand that the ballgame had changed and that I stepped up into another category and that my life was now dependent upon how I responded and changed things in my life.  He made his point very clear and I told him that I understood what he was trying to get across to me and that I would do my best to change my activities and make my life healthier.

With that being said he officially told me that I was being transferred to the hospital in Grand Junction and to begin with performing a heart catheter procedure to see what was going on inside the vessels of my heart.  He also stated again that he did not know to what extent of damage had occurred to my heart but at the same time he made it very clear to the cardiologist that I needed a heart catheter done immediately and really would not accept any answer than “ok” from him.  So even though he did not come out and say I was about to have a major blowout, I could sense in his tone that I was a time bomb waiting to explode and he did not me to have to wait around a  couple of days to get this completed.  He then asked if I had any questions before he signed my discharge paperwork and at that time I had no real questions since my mind had not been able to completely process all of the information just yet.

A few minutes after the doctor left the nurse parade began with my night nurse telling me goodbye and that she would be looking forward in seeing my face roaming the halls again soon.  She gave me a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek and once again asked if I needed anything.  I thanked her for everything that she had done throughout the night and not to worry about me that I would be doing what she told me to do in the halls.  I also told her that I did not need anything right at that moment and with that she turned and walked out of the room for the last time of the early morning.  Soon afterwards my day time nurse showed up in my room with another checklist for me to fill out so that I could legally be transferred to Grand Junction; gotta luv paperwork huh.

Bonnie soon came into the room and a few seconds later the girls showed up as well.  They had to stop and see everyone at the nurse’s desk before coming into the room, everyone loved those two.  Tatem came in as well but really was more concerned about me than others in the area so the two girls were in good hands at the desk for a few moments.  I quickly told Bonnie what was going on and what the plan of attack was going to be.  She then decided to call mom and dad and let them know of the goings on and then called my brother shortly afterwards to inform him as well.  She had taken care of the information to the family within a few short minutes and had everything lined out before I knew what was happening.

After a few minutes of filling out the paperwork and having Bonnie check it over to see that I did it correctly, she decided to take the girls to their respective schools and then grab a few things from the house to take up to Grand Junction.  According to my doctor if everything went smoothly and only a heart catheter procedure was in order I would be home in a few days at the most and that my road to recovery could then begin at home.  So with this knowledge Bonnie would only have to bring a few things up with her for both of us, since I would still be dressed in a lovely hospital gown for the majority of my stay in Junction.

My nurse came in to inform me that the transfer ambulance had been dispatched out to my room and that it would be few minutes before they arrived but some things had to be unhooked before I could leave.  My paperwork was completed and I then handed it over to the nurse who then took it to the nurse’s desk.  She immediately came back in with the aide and they began to go through their own discharge checklist, which was kind of cumbersome to me but when I look back at that process now every point taken was necessary for my departure.  Bonnie said that she was leaving and I gave her and all my girls a hug and a kiss and told them that I loved them and that everything would be fine.  One of the girls asked if they would be able to see me that night and I told all of them that we will see how things go but I don’t think that would be a problem.

All the girls scattered into the hall and I told Bonnie that I was fine and that she needed to get going if she was going to get them all where they needed to be without them being late.  As she was leaving the room I told her that she made sure to tell Pastor Lee what was going on as well.  As she left the room the nurses returned to their checklist and continued their poking and prodding to make sure I was fit enough for travel.  I just laid there in my bed and did what I was told when asked.  Another nurse came in and handed me a small paper cup with a couple of pills in them and said that I needed to take them before I left.  No better time than the present I thought so down they went without any problems.  My IV was unplugged from the wall and my nurse asked if I needed to go to the bathroom before things became interesting to which I obliged.

There really was not much that I could do in the bathroom since all of my belongings had been taken by Bonnie.  So, I just washed my face, arms and hands with warm water and then dried myself with the towel.  I then walked out of the bathroom and placed myself back on the bed and remained on the side of my bed until the aide came in to take my final set of vital signs before the ambulance arrived.  Before she could finish her tasks a knock on the door occurred and it slowly opened with another familiar face coming through the portal.  It was the captain of my ambulance ride and he came in to ask if I was ready to bust this place.  I laughed and said I guess so and then told him I was not too thrilled about the place that we were going to however.

I had now come to the realization that my life had taken a dramatic turn and that I was going to have to make some major decisions of how I was going to live my life.  I also knew that I had no idea of what damage had been done to my heart and did not know just what I could ever do again on a physical basis.  My future choices could be very limited or no limitations what-so-ever, or even somewhere in-between.  I did know that it would not be too much longer before I would find out my fate.

I was not mad at the world or even myself.  I knew that I had lived a good life and that if major changes were called for that I would eventually make them and carry on with what was left of my life.  I knew I had a responsibility to my family and that I would do whatever necessary for them to be taken care of as long as I could.  But for this moment I had to wait and see what the answers to those questions would prove to be which I was vastly becoming anxious to find out about.

DLB

The Red Stick

The Red Stick

 10/22/12

The construction of a building must begin with the laying out of the boundaries so that the dimensions of the building can be conformed to its foundation.  This step usually includes some type of measurements of the ground that are initially taken and then symbolic markers are placed into the specific locations to give a visual drawing of the future placement of the building.  This symbolic placement can also be applied to our lives as well in the fact that some type of marker had to be placed into the ground in order to begin the process of our restoration to God and this connection began with a red stick which was placed into the ground.

I was looking at a couple of websites the other day that had to deal with United States history.  I knew that there was a project on a website that had some of the history of the counties of the states.  I was looking up the list of counties in Iowa and was just browsing through the list and since all of the information caught my eye, I printed the list out.  As my printer was graciously providing me with more information that the normal person would find boring I began to think of some other states that I could examine.  I then thought of a couple more states and quickly glimpsed through the pages and then turned my thoughts towards Louisiana.  Yes, Louisiana

As the specific webpage was loading I sat there for a few seconds and wondered what kind of weirdo I was to actually want to spend time looking at the list of counties that are located in the states that are a part of the union.  I grinned to myself and then thought “me, that is who would be doing this”.  After the page loaded I began to scroll up and down the page looking at whatever information that caught my eye.  A couple of counties grabbed my attention for a bit and then I had the idea of finding what county Baton rouge was located.  Now everyone who is familiar with Louisiana knows that it has Spanish and more popular French origins and from living close to the area I knew that many of the names of the parishes, cities and towns had French names.  The French culture has overgrown itself down in that area and even though Native Americans dominated the area at one time in history the French have gained most of the notoriety of the state.  So, naturally the names of the areas would be in French or have French roots.

As I focused my attention on Baton Rouge I obviously knew that the name “Baton Rouge” was French in origin.  I did not know however what the literal meaning of the phrase meant until I saw the translation which when I read it I had one of my “duh” moments.  Baton Rouge means red stick.  I knew what the word rouge meant but it was the baton portion that gave me the “duh” moment.  I ran track, very slowly I might add, while I was in high school and was on one of the relay teams for my school.  When you are on a relay team you run a certain distance and then you hand off the baton to the next person on your team and they continue the race.  Well, I never made the connection with baton being a type of stick even though we sometimes used sticks instead of batons during practice.  So, my “duh” moment came to an end after a few moments of thinking about a baton being a stick.

A baton connects all of the participants of that specific race together and everyone involved in that race must at one time hold onto the stick before passing it to the next person.  The manner before we receive the stick another portion of our team must be carrying it and then give it to us to carry for our allotted amount of distance.  The stick actually defines our team and it serves as the one item that must be in our possession when we cross the finish line.  So the symbol of the stick can mean many things and in the case of Baton Rouge it has a very unique and symbolic meaning.

As I was scanning the section that contained Baton Rouge I noticed that Baton Rouge or only a part of the city was in one county which was called East Baton Rouge Parish.  So thinking that there would be another part of the city some other place I then scrolled down the page and found out that the remaining portion of the city was located in another parish called West Baton Rouge Parish.  Then this is when God decided to take over and show me some things, not about the city itself but the name of the city.  My search continued in that section and I came across the meaning of the phrase Baton Rouge which as I stated above means Red Stick.

What struck me unusual and what God pointed out to me was the next part of the meaning that someone had placed into the history notes.  The additional notes in this section described that the French ordained this phrase for the area due to the idea that the local Native Americans used a red stick to mark the boundaries of tribal territories.  Each tribe knew of its boundaries and knew what would happen when and if these boundaries were crossed by other tribal members.  This is the part of the additional notes that God decided to show me a specific meaning.

In short God showed me that there was a connection to this phrase and an event that He sanctioned for all mankind.  I have to be honest at this point and say that I immediately had the thought of “yeah right” because my mind was locked into the Native American symbol of the red stick.  It was then that my second “duh” thought came from my mind and rushed out of my mouth when God said “the cross”.  I actually jumped up from my chair and stood there in front of the computer with my hands on my face in total shock.  Once again my carnal mind had jumped the gun and doubted what God was trying to show me and once I had rid my mind of my humanly thoughts, God….

After I quit thinking normal thoughts and shut my mouth I sat back down and began to read the remaining notes on the origin of the name of the county.  The notes stated that the Native Americans would of course drive a portion of the stick into the ground to serve as the marker to tribal boundaries.  This marker would stand up out of the ground high enough for everyone that was close by to know that the stick was there and that there was a reason for is placement, in other words there was no question about it that a man or group of Native Americans put the stick in that spot.  When hunting parties, scouts, or even kids playing in the immediate vicinity would come close to the area they would automatically understand that they had reached their limits and should turn back.  You know that when the kids were playing in that area they had to at least one time step a toe or foot across that imaginary line, just to see what would happen, I know I would have J

Similar pegs represent modern day private land boundaries which sometime can prove to be interesting to locate.  “State lines” mark the boundaries of each state.  Have anyone of us actually seen a State Line?  We have seen the sign of the state that we are entering or a sign saying goodbye to us as we leave its territory.  There even is a spot in the United States where four states come together at one point on the earth and a person can actually place all four limbs in a state.  But as you stand back up and look around the area there is no definitive line that a person can see to follow each state line.  But the boundary line for each state is there, runs its course and each one serves as a recognition point to the local and state authorities of the sovereignty of each boundary, just as the Native American red stick represented many decades ago.

Native American tribes still argue over territorial boundaries to this day and sometimes they even boil over into physical confrontation.  At this moment there is a portion of the Lakota Nation that is beginning the process of succession procedures to reclaim their land that the United States Government took from them.  Boundaries serve as a reminder that a piece of land was ironed out with blood, sweat and tears at some point in human history.  The same goes for the symbolism and the reality of the cross, and it is the cross that has a great meaning to the spirit world and its boundaries.  Sadly, the majority of modern day church groups has completely forgotten the spiritual warfare concepts and has allowed themselves to become spiritually neutered in correlation with these spiritual issues.  In other words, we have ignored the spiritual boundaries that Christ established with His death and we are beginning to see the realities of this disastrous choice that we have made.

As the red stick of Native American boundary markers were planted into the ground so was symbolism of the cross that Christ died upon.  Yes, the red stick that the Native American used was totally symbolic and could have been easily moved at any time and placed into any other position within the area.  The majority of the people involved would have never noticed or would have ignored the change yet the act would have been committed and not much could be said afterwards.  The red stick separated people and the territories that they claimed to be their own.  The cross did the exact same thing even to the point of the human act of placing the cross into the ground.

The red stick that represents the cross actually begins the process of building the bridge that allows humanity to reach God face to face or in other words have direct access to God through the blood of His son.  The cross is the foundation that was forged into the ground and stands upright for everyone to see.  It is highly ironic that man had to complete this action but on the other hand it makes sense since Jesus was a human and knew the ways of man.  However, the Romans loved to make issue of the fact that whatever they completed they did it to the utmost and set the act on high for all to see.  This process I will deal with in depth when I get to the next portion of this set when I talk about the bridge that connects us to God but know now that the foundation has been set by the works of man but sealed with the Holy blood of God that ran into the cursed ground.  This event and its timing was perfect.  No wonder the earth shook when this event occurred.

Many tribal wars and arguments have occurred throughout the centuries over boundaries so it is natural for the same to occur in the spiritual world.  Most of us do not know or do not believe that this “tribal” war is occurring as you read this message.  It is occurring to everyone that is present on this earth and it will affect each one of us if we do not recognize the reality of what we are allowing to flow through our lives.  Look through history and read it from a spiritual concept and notice how humanity has shaped itself at the expense of others, and when you recognize this fact, place it into the concept of two spiritual kingdoms fighting over the eternal soul of our lives.  There is a reason that the red stick was used in Christ’s death and it was to mark you as a territory of love and for it to also to remind our enemy that each one of us is set apart from all other creations which proves to all creatures that God loves us so much more than we can ever know.

DLB

God's Take on Things

God’s Take on Things

10/15/12

One area that humans have no problem in agreeing with God is that man has dominion over what humanity decides.  This is a given in the eyes of man but still does not rule out the concept that God is in control of what happens to humanity overall.  Man decides what man will do or not do, who will rule over the physical man and even where man can live, yet man still has not the capability of changing the will of man.  It has baffled so many people over the years when things just do not go the way that humans believed that they should go.  There is only one answer for this and that is God.

Every human on the face of the earth has the desire to be right and to believe that everyone should agree with our respective opinions at all times.  This belief has been demonstrated throughout the course of human history and no doubt will continue until time ends.  Humans have the knack of knowing that they are right and that everyone should listen to them.  I know I have had those tendencies in my thoughts and to be honest I have said those words before, just as all of us have at some point in our lives.  But even though we might be right on some occasions everyone still does not listen to us and chooses to make their opinions about circumstances. 

We have witnessed many people demonstrate this concept while talking with others who might not agree with their opinions and then get upset when they do not “convert” to their side.  It is built into our nature to be right or to believe that we are right no matter what the evidence may show.  We argue that our beliefs or the beliefs of the party or organization that we believe in is accurate and the truth.  It is common now-a-days to have a group argument concerning who won a debate, which is laughable in my opinion.  When we do this exercise in correctness it further isolates us into confined blocks of slavery in which we then cannot interact with others when in time of need.

Certain groups of people that have won a victory of some sort have a tendency to rub the others’ noses into the ground over their defeat.  Now, do not get me wrong when the time comes for some sporting events to celebrate a victory I am all for that but in this instance I am talking about a victory when everyday life choices are being made and the overall emotional stakes are the greatest.  And from the beginning of this message I must say that Christians have proved themselves to be the worst offenders of this cause and it has now come full circle but this time it is towards Christians during this present time.

Christians have been led to believe, from and by them, that when they have enough faith in a process that God will allow this process to be completed in the manner for which they see it.  In many cases this is a true statement but we must look at the fact that non believers have the same concepts and ideas that have the exact same results.  So, does God take precedence over another or does He favor one over another?  It is true that God loves a pure and honest heart if we believe this then we must conceive that both sides of the aisle have done a pure and honest deed.  In other words, neither group is in control of the overall plan but only God has that authority to make those decisions which affect our lives in the long run.  Whether we like it or not he above is a perfect example of God’s timing and His Will and not the human’s.

Whatever occurs within the world is according to the appropriate and divine will of God and nothing else.  When we humans believe that we won something in this world we must consider the bigger objective and that God actually had a plan for that moment and we just fell into that plan accordingly.  Our existence is according to His plan for things and humanity revolves around that plan and there really nothing that we can do to change that plan.  So we all must realize that the plans and beliefs that we all make have a purpose, a greater purpose in a huge plan that we cannot or do not have any control over; pretty big concept huh, but that is why God is in control and not us since we humans cannot even tell the truth about our governmental budgets.

I have no idea who all reads my messages nor do I know your beliefs towards God and His divine plan for our lives and the world, but I am now going to address the Christian readers of this message.  You might not like what I am about to say and you might not agree with what I am going to say but you do owe it to yourself to understand that this message comes from God and He wants you to know what He is saying.  These words might be coming to you from my computer but they are words from God and they need to be understood and known by you so that you may know how to correctly and righteously respond when the time is needed.  Also, the non believers feel free to read the remaining portion of this message as well, it will allow you to understand some things that will be occurring down the road.

When you read the Bible and really read it you will know that there are times that God allows things to happen to His people.  Most of read these words and stop for a second and say something like “wow, they really must have made God mad” or “how can God allow that to happen to those people?”  These statements and questions are legitimate ones but we are seriously overlooking a major issue here and that is how long did God give the people to change their ways and how many warnings did the people ignore before God had to pass judgment upon them.  There is a process that occurs before God performs this act upon His people, remember He is not up there with a big eraser.  How many decisions did the people make to provoke this type of decision by God and why didn’t God listen to the people that prayed to Him for passing judgment?  But there comes a time when God’s people cannot find one righteous soul amongst the inhabitants of the land and we will not talk about the leadership of the people.

Our prayers are heard by God and every tear that we shed will be remembered by God.  God does not ignore the people that call out to Him for help and guidance during times of need.  God also hears the prayers from those who cry out to Him in good and decent times as well.  But we still have to remember that God’s plan is not our plan and that sometimes His ways do not seem right in our eyes.  It is not that He has abandoned us or has ignored our words and concerns but it is because that His will and plan cannot change and certain things must play out in order for His will to be completed.  So, Christians be prepared to witness things that you might totally agree with and that go along with your beliefs, but on the other hand you must also be prepared to witness events that seem like God has totally disregarded your prayers and has allowed the enemy to win during the important times in history.  Many believe that the Church will be spared hard and difficult times, why don’t you ask the people who attended the churches during Emperor Nero’s tenure or during the Emperor Diocletian reign, since you cannot ask these people questions why don’t you read about them and then you will understand that things do not always go according to your beliefs and the way that you think they should go.

We know that the election of 2000 did not go in favor of some people, but it served a purpose in God’s perfect plan.  We also understand that World War II was a horrific experience that the world had to endure for decades but it too served a purpose in God’s perfect plan.  And to bring it home a little bit, your weeding also served a purpose in God’s perfect plan.  Our actions have a great significance to others and the majority of the time we have no clue what it is achieving, but God does and He understands humanity perfectly and He must complete His plan for us, no matter what we believe, do or say about it.  This also states that God is in control of everything that occurs on this earth, yes we have freedom of thought and we can make our own choice to accept or deny God but in the end and we stand to account for our actions we will then see God’s plan for us and for humanity.

Do not be disheartened by the rhetoric that the world tries to display to your eyes, but be aware of the real issues that are at hand in which serves as a danger to the world’s current existence.  Listen to those who bring up the real concerns that are facing the people of the world and not the platform slogans which tickle the ear instead of addressing the real conditions of the people.  Rest assured that God will show you the truth of these false things if you honestly and openly trust Him in the answers that He provides.  Discard the emotional status of the day and use your heart to weed through the irrelevant trash that has the majority confused.  God wants and desires you to see what has become of this world and He also will guide those who dare to heed His advice.

So remember over the next few months or years that God has listened to His people and know that God is always in control no matter what humans try and do to each other.  The world can be cruel and unusual in its dealings but even the world is still subject to God and shall be for eternity.  It is imperative that we understand and remember what is right and what is wrong and never compromise that sharp line, for when we do cross that line the consequences can be devastating.  Trust God always and keep His guidance close to your heart at all times and never forget that He loves you and that He is in control.

DLB

Seeing Is Believing

Seeing Is Believing

10/10/12

All of us would agree that eyes are one of the important organs that our body has been blessed with.  The ability to see allows us to become mobile, it allows us to protect ourselves, it allows us to enjoy entertainment and we can list hundreds or thousands more reasons of why eyes are important to our existence.  However, many of us forget that our spirits have eyes as well which allow for the eternal portion of our life to see the existence of another world that continually surrounds us with danger.  It is our spiritual eyes that function as recognition instruments, along with our spiritual ears, to protect us from the attacks that our enemy hurls at us on a constant basis. 

Humans depend upon all of our senses for us to function properly in this world.  Most of us can get by with the majority of our senses and of course there are some of us that do not have the privilege of being able to use all of our physical senses.  When this process occurs it may hinder our steps a bit but for the most part the human’s physical capabilities still remain without many limits.  Modern technology has made huge advancements in helping those with disabilities and it is exciting to see these strides take shape for future usage.

We all know that our eyes play a major role in our abilities to complete daily tasks and as I mentioned in the paragraph above there are many in this world that do not have the privilege of eyesight.  The eyes are an amazing organ which allows us to actually see other objects that are around us, coming towards us, going away from us, things and objects displayed on a television screen and thousands of more objects in various conditions.  Most of us wake up in the morning and open our eyes and look out our windows and begin our day following a normal routine, and if we did not have the capability of sight our everyday drills would drastically be altered.

When we lived in California, I spent my 3^rd through 5^th grades in Salinas.  It was a great little city but at the same time it had its dangerous side to it as well.  I remember that I was in the 4^th grade and my teacher was Mrs. Gump, yes that is her real name.  I liked her a lot and I actually learned a lot that year.  I remember that I was placed at the back of the room when school began which I had no problems with this seating arrangement.  As school progressed my grades began to slip a bit and I noticed that I could not really see the board very well.  Mom and dad did not believe me when I told them that I could not see.  Now, in their defense….this is me we are talking about I had already acquired my sense of humor and my mind was very active so I do not blame them for not readily believing my stories.

As my 4^th grade year progressed, my grades continued with the same downward progression instead of a steady upward climb.  I had now been moved to the front of the class but I knew I was still having a hard time seeing.  Parent / teacher conferences were approaching and I knew that my parents were not going to be happy with my grades since they were still on their slow downward slide.  My nervousness increased all the way up to the evening of the big event.

Now parent teacher conferences were a lot different back when I was in school to the tune that we had to go to school all day of the meeting and then we went to our “come to Jesus” meeting after school hours all together.  The teachers were all there and all of us had plenty of time to talk things through with everyone involved.  So, you can understand how things could be a mighty bit tense.  When it was our time to be with my teacher, my parents began to ask why my grades were dropping and my teacher defended my behavior in class, my willingness to participate but she had a problem with my eyes and she mentioned this to my parents.  We all agreed that I should have my eyes checked out to eliminate this option.

A little while later it was time for the eye doctor and all of the torture that he would put my eyes through.  I was nervous because I had never really been to an eye doctor before so my memory kicked in with my past experiences in medical clinics.  I had an agreement with doctors and nurses and that was I did not like them and that I did not care who heard me say that during my examinations.  So, what profession did I end up working in?  Anyway my eye exam went on as planned and the results were astonishing to me and my parents.  It was conclusive I could not see my hand in front of my face clearly and I needed glasses.

Now I am not telling you this aspect of my life to make my parents look bad or to have anyone feel ill to them in any way.  The point of my words is that at some point in time during a person’s life it may become necessary to get some help in seeing things clearly.  My parents were wonderful during my raising and in my opinion did a fabulous job in keeping me from getting into too much trouble along my journey.  My eyes were the problem and they had to be corrected enough in order that I might see my way clearly once again.

My glasses came in and I remember my parents receiving the phone call stating that my glasses had arrived at the store.  They set a time and date for all of us to come down and get them.  Once again I had no idea of what was going to occur, even though my dad did his best to tell me what was going to transpire.  We arrived to the office and I sat in the waiting area chair while mom and dad filled out some more paperwork.  A few minutes after they had completed the paperwork a lady came and asked for me and my nervousness returned.  Mom and dad both went with me into the little room and the doctor and his assistant then joined us shortly.  The doctor asked if I was ready and I agreed that I was.

After I had put on my glasses and looked around the room a bit something clicked in my head that told me that I could see once again.  The doctor asked me how they fit and if I could see clearly.  He then told me to look at the eye chart across the room and to read off the letters as far down as I could focus.  My eyesight was almost back to perfect once again after the reading of the chart letters.  The doctor and my parents began talking a bit and I continued my tour of the exam room marveling at the things that I could see.  And as the minutes passed by I realized more and more that it had been a while since I saw this well.  It also came to my attention that now I had no excuses for making bad grades.

Even though the glasses made it to where I could see perfectly again, I still had some adjustments to make with some things like making sure that I did not bump into a wall or step off a stair without making sure that I was at the proper place when I approached these objects.  Even though I could see again there was still a period of adjustment that I had to get used to before I could actually feel comfortable in every situation.

That period of my life occurred when I was in the fourth grade and to this day I continue to wear glasses.  I do have contacts and I wear them as well but I would not trust myself to cross the street if I did not have my glasses on or my contacts in my eyes.  Throughout the years my eyes have continued their course of worsening but with the modern technology and new eye ware options, I still am not even close to having major problems with my eyes, and I thank God everyday for this.  But I do realize that I must have my glasses on at all times when I am awake and for me to function properly and that if I did not have my glasses on my face I would be totally lost.

How often do we forget that our spiritual eyes need to be corrected and sharpened on a continual basis as well?  We can read many books and stories with our physical eyes but it is our spiritual eyes need to be corrected by the one book that retains our sharpness against our enemy.  We may understand many things about the spiritual world and how it operates and functions but that does not exclude us from continually studying God’s Word and fine tuning our eyes to every possible attack from our enemy.

See our eyes are very important in our defense against the everyday tricks that the world brings upon us, so why wouldn’t we keep our spiritual eyes just as sharp?  When our spiritual eyes are not sharp we miss many blindsided attacks that come our way or we cannot see the attacks approaching others to warn them of impending danger.  As a parent would we not warn our children of danger if we saw it coming towards them?  So why would we ignore the one opportunity to sharpen our eyes to combat these tactics?  When we see things with this clarity then we can believe everything that is thrown at us to be a true attack and when we know our enemy’s tricks his schemes are easily defensible.

The Word of God is the only way for our spiritual eyes to be sharpened and spiritually corrected in such a manner that all of the information that crosses their path will provide a defense against present and future attacks.  These attacks can come from any direction and at any time and really has no limits to which they can occur.  The Bible is the one sacred word that contains all of the pertinent lessons so that we may live abundantly through God in perfect peace.

The only way that we can maintain this corrected vision is to put on the Word of God on a continual basis, a basis that forms a foundation within our spirits that shines a spiritual light in front of us which allows us to see what is headed our way.  Put on your spiritual glasses by opening the Bible and earnestly reading its words and allowing these words to penetrate your spirit so that God may provide the necessary adjustments that He desires for you.  Do not play with the “teenager syndrome” where popularity and good looks take precedence, but wear your spiritual glasses constantly for even when you are trying to impress someone, your eyesight still needs to be 20/20. 

God is like a parent and it is His desire that every child of His sees clearly the path that we are on.  He provides us with the ability to have a conference with Him each time we open His word.  God provides a way of assuredness through His words that steady’s our hearts and our lives through the spiritual guidance of what we see.  And if His word is constantly before us there will be nothing that shall be able to hinder us in our spiritual life nor will be ever be blindsided by a surprise attack from our enemy.  Return to His word and place His words in front of our eyes again and the spiritual lights will be turned on so that we may truly see again.

DLB