Our Lives

Our Lives

2/11/14

All of us at one point in our lives wonder if the things that we do while we are walking upon this earth actually matter.  Are the tasks that we complete and the direction in which we go and are these actions of ours accountable to anyone besides us?  We are bombarded everyday with troubles and strife that easily gives foundation for this questioning.  On the other hand each one of our lives is defined by a set period of time which means that we do have a reason and purpose because if we did not then our time on earth would not be measured.  That is why it is important that we understand that we do have a Creator and He has a specific plan for each one of us.

A few weeks back I wrote an article stating how we need to understand how our lives operated when referring to stories within the Bible. How many times have we directly or indirectly run across people who are questioning God’s ability and legitimacy to inflict what might seem as harsh punishment on humans.  I also asked the reader to think about how God had to come to that point and to define why it had to come to this method.  Part of having a purpose in our daily existence is to have a flow of direction and when that direction progresses enough in the manner that our Father has deemed for our lives, He must act accordingly.  There is nothing wrong with the human heart progressing, but it is in the direction that it progresses that is of the utmost importance.

Another topic that I have been writing about recently is the completeness of God and how this characteristic of God relates to our lives. God cannot change His laws or His ways; this is a fact because if God did in any way He would be classified as a liar.  So if He does something in one manner He must follow suit when another situation arises that He deems necessary to intervene.  See there is an enemy that we all have and that enemy is out to prove that God is wrong and that His ways are limiting, when in fact it is our enemy’s ways that are bad for our lives and will only bring death and destruction.  God and our enemy have defined kingdoms and while God is the Creator of all living matter it is because of His eternal existence which proves that all of us were created for a purpose.  And it is this truth that our enemy wishes for us to ignore and to veer away from at any cost.

Therefore, since God is a holy being and cannot create anything unholy, then that means that it was our choice to go our own way and disobey God’s only command to us.  So does this mean that our enemy has won a significant battle?  In some instances that is a correct statement but knowing that Satan cannot create a spirit that is where God has seen fit to set us as an example of His redeeming authority. It would then seem logical that God would send His son to the earth to represent God and to provide a legal, spiritual and physical means by which redemption and restoration could be achieved between God and man.  God did this when He sent Jesus to the earth in the form of a human being.  Yet instead of having a human / human bloodline and God being the omnipotent being that He is, created Jesus’ body inside Mary from His bloodline, which totally bypasses any illegal spiritual lineages that Satan could argue against.  More about this topic at a later date.

So when do our lives and the life of Christ compare in this scope?  The topic of this article is called “Our Lives” but it really should be titled “In Between” since our existence was already known about even before we were created by our parents.  After our physical life is over we will have an eternal existence somewhere that we can only imagine about at the present time.  So if you wish to take into this context we are actually living in between two time periods.  God, in keeping with His completeness, had the same plan for His son and it is a historical fact that Jesus did walk this planet and due to man’s recording skills no one can deny that Jesus existed.  So, in summation our lives are created, born, live and then die just as Jesus’ life did.  The only difference is that our lives are created by human / human origins and Jesus’ life was created by His Father which would be considered holy / human in origin.  With this evidence it would be safe to say that since Jesus’ life had a direct purpose in this life just as our life does. 

A few months ago a song was released by an artist named Francesca Battistelli entitled “In Between”.  It has not been out too long but I understand its popularity has been continually growing ever since it hit the airwaves.  The message of this song confirms what we all have known but it also establishes the fact that Jesus was here for a specific time.  While my written words were placed into the public before I heard this song both areas confirm that all of our lives have a reason for living and how important each life is and why we should pursue the idea concerning life.  We can easily grasp this concept about human history but for most of us we have struggled about inserting our lives into the stories of the Bible.  We cannot forget that it was humans and the societies that they lived in when Jesus came to the earth. Humanity continued as if nothing special occurred even though God’s own son was present on this earth fulfilling His mission that God gave Him to complete.

A common theme that I am hearing today about Jesus’ life claims that Jesus was a social person and how these religious and non religious people alike use this logic based upon the situations that the Bible records where Jesus was with many people and in the public eye a good portion of His time on earth.  But many people like to stop there and end their conversation at this point and forget to address the real reason why Jesus came to this earth.  Restoration and the re-establishment of a relationship between God and man was the main reason that Jesus walked on this earth; however, for this to occur Jesus had to play a social role with the people just as God did with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  And while these beliefs of the mentioned people play into the progressive ideas of socialistic convenience between the religious communities and the world it only provides a half truth concerning Jesus’ mission on the earth.  Frankly, while this information is technically correct it is taken totally out of context and used only in a partial stance which makes the entire concept a lie.  It is this type of worldly thought and ideology that we must protect ourselves from believing and it also serves as a foundational block for what the modern day church is trying to build upon. 

This type of philosophy and belief system allows for the human mind to not focus on what is not being said in scripture but to gain human access to their own creation of what Jesus was supposed to be doing while He was on earth.  In other words these beliefs transform Jesus from a “He” to a “he” in status.  These believers like to inform those who argue against their social beliefs that we are “picking and choosing” how we think and take the Bible’s verses outside of its meaning, they are once again transforming Jesus’ life from deity status to a human status which is another example of a partial truth.  And when all is said and done, it is they who are picking and choosing how they wish to see and acknowledge Jesus instead of recognizing and proclaiming Him to be the true Son of God.

I am going to play with this for a bit.  In order to be fair the Church has used this type of ideology in the past to condemn many people for having different concepts from Church authoritative beliefs.  What makes this situation more tragic is that the Church is now trying to make amends to the world by not preaching the entire gospel.  We cannot limit ourselves to just what is typed out on the pages of the Bible and take into consideration of how the attitudes of the people were at that time and then we can understand why these things were written in this manner.  In order for us to use the Word of God as a defense we must first understand everything that it says and what it means in our lives.  We cannot use this text as a ground source if we only use what we wish it for.

A point I like to make about why Jesus went out to the public.  Have you ever asked yourself why He did this?  How many times have you read about the High Priest and his other clergy members going out to the streets?  And when they did what were they doing and how did they present themselves?  For the majority of their time was spent inside the tabernacle arguing who was right about which law and then dictating their own interpretations on the people.  They had no relationship with the people nor did they have any cares for the people. They sat and judged the people’s problems as true sin and demanded total enslavement to the scriptures as a penance for their troubles. They were politicians and aristocrats who believed that because of their bloodline they deserved to be in the positions that they had, which was a partial truth.  Yes their bloodline deemed them to be priests but their attitudes towards humanity disqualified them from their hearts outward.  While King Henry VIII of England was talking about the leaders of the Church in England when using this phrase, he accurately described the high priests of Jesus’ time as “aristocratic bastards”.  Which Jesus understood perfectly when His anger presented itself when He turned over the tables that had lined the corridors of the Synagogue.

Scriptures tell us that Jesus went out into the public often, or at least one can gather this because of the many references that project this image.  When Jesus went into the public setting He did so in such a fashion that He would not stand out from the crowd but to be a part of the crowd.  Nor did He try and put on a false image show while He was talking to the local townspeople.  Can you imagine how the leaders of the synagogue must have scoffed at His appearance, especially since they were so formally dressed and looked totally different that He.  I guess that is why the high priests and the other synagogue leaders followed Jesus Him around a lot trying to figure out how come He was so popular while dressing the part of a commoner.  The synagogue leaders had become so focused with the religious settings within their own world that they had forgotten as to why they were there in the first place; they totally ignored the people and hid themselves within the confines of their temple walls.  Kind of like what we are doing while we are sitting on our favorite pew each Sunday. 

This is the reason Jesus was social with others not to make a spectacle of Him in public but to establish a relationship with the people, just as God did in the Garden.  This was part of His mission that His Father gave Him to do while He was on the earth, not to found a social club with the people.  So if one chooses to only believe that Jesus was just social that is fine but that person should also remember they believe a lie, and that person must also understand that while Jesus was being social He was completing His mission. 

If people who believe that Jesus was just social only, then a “social” Jesus has no legitimate reason to enforce the laws of God either upon Himself or our lives.  If we were put on this earth to be social then there would be no reason why Lucifer had to fall and there would be no defining line between God’s Kingdom and Satan’s kingdom.  This is what a social Jesus and a social Church tries to implicate that there are no Kingdom boundaries that have to be recognized.  Everything is acceptable and should be placed upon an equal plane with no consequences of anyone’s actions or beliefs thereof. 

While equality is a great philosophy and it is a true and valued concept of the laws of God its concepts should be done in a godly manner and with selfish intentions.  God’s laws do not mention anything about accepting these choices without there being any consequences if they are not based upon His laws but there is plenty that He makes reference to if they are not.  I can guarantee that Satan’s kingdom will not officially recognize these boundaries so it would be a natural course for him to try and blend the two kingdoms together.  This blending totally strips the Church’s mission and renders her ineffective and in a sinful state.

When the Church lives in a camouflaged state she is shouting to the world that she no longer believes in her mission.  Jesus’ life on earth defined the Church through the means of life and restoration through death to the world, not be being socially acceptable to the world. Jesus understood that you had to be social with the people of the world in order to bring them into the Church, but if that is all you do with them and not build a relationship with them, the Church will act accordingly since you are the Church.  You will just bring them into the church then accept their lifestyles and beliefs and masks their repentance and restoration through a lie.  If Jesus was as social as many say He was then there should have been NO reason for Him to be crucified.  The world would have accepted Him for His social beliefs and then would have lived a long life.  Jesus crossed the spiritual lines many times while He was on earth and He understood that this line needed to be crossed.  He used Himself as an example for His Church to do the exact same thing so that the darkness should be pushed back and to reinforce that just being social does not cross this line and is not acceptable in God’s Kingdom.

A socially acceptable church does not have the vision and the means that Jesus proclaimed while He was on earth.  A worldly accepted church shows signs of a humanistic progression which conforms to the standards of her property and not her spiritual standards.  From the initiation of Jesus’ existence here on earth He set the example of His mission for spiritual restoration and what God had intended for us to understand about the newly reinstated relationship between God and man through the physical life of His son.  This restoration must take place in order for this process to take place. 

Our lives are of only a short period of time and it is necessary that we do not cower to the ways of the world, either by accepting them into our lives or by keeping our blinders on our eyes and ignore what the world is proclaiming.  If the righteous do not stand up with the authority of God’s Kingdom and push back the darkness of our enemy, I can guarantee that the completeness of God will come down upon this earth just as humanity has witnessed with what God has done in the past.  It does not take a rocket scientist to understand that if we do not obey what God has established there will be consequences for these actions.  The reason that Jesus came to the earth, the mission of the Church and our own personal meaning of our lives have the exact same meaning.  It does not matter if a person wishes to use examples from the Old Testament or the New Testament, the goal between God and humanity is the same and that is restoration between these two parties. 

I thank God every day that He sent His son to this earth for a period of time.  I am thankful for what Jesus did while He was on this earth and that through His actions we may once again have direct access to God.  But I am totally ashamed that the Church has forgotten about this direct access to God and has focused our attention on the world in a social standard instead of a spiritual mission.  I am also ashamed of what our lack of conviction of our actions means to our standing with God and that we seem not to care what is about to transpire either.  I also thank God that He sent His son to establish the Church and for the mission that He gave her.  I pray continually that the Church will take off the blinders that she has on her spiritual eyes and to allow God to refocus her eyes to see the truth once again.  It has been so long since she has proclaimed the real truth about God and it is time for her to shun the world and to proclaim the gospel of Christ to the dying world once again.

If it was not for Jesus’ mission on earth our lives would be totally different but our human progressions would be the exact same.  It is the spiritual Church that is the difference now and we must understand that the Church has only but a limited time on this earth and if she does not wake up and stop prostituting herself with the world God will usher in a corrective manner that will shake this world and the Church to its core.  Do not believe me?  Read history and look at every democracy that has ever existed and tell me what happened to them.  Read the Bible and see what happened to those who did not agree with God’s ways and took their own as their standards and see how they turned out.  Read Church history and one will understand how far we have fallen from the mission that Jesus commanded us to complete and the reason He commanded us to complete this mission has also been totally scrubbed from Church foundations.

I urge to find the song that I mentioned above and listen to it with the mission of the Church’s heart and see just how far we have gone astray from what we are supposed to be living.  What is the Church thankful for today?  They cannot be thankful for what Jesus really did while He was on earth, or our condition would be in a total different light.  God is allowing everything to occur for a reason and that reason is because He has instilled in us the capability to learn from our past and to understand the importance of making a choice.  He also has allowed us the freedom to choose and the freedom to accept the consequences of our choices.  Through these human abilities God has enabled within our lives to be capable of knowing and making the right choice to further His Kingdom and for us to have true dominion over the world while we are in between time periods.

It is imperative that we take the time while we are still within the “in between” period of our lives and to evaluate which direction we are heading.  As it stands now, the Church and its hosts are heading into a direction where we will be sure to receive an earthquake, financial collapse, spiritual tie cutting or whatever means that God may choose impose to wake us up before the really hard times set in.  Will we continue a course of slapping God’s face and thumbing our noses into His realm with our selfish and lustful ways?  Or will be choose to turn our lives around and to proclaim God’s laws within our lives and end our covenant violations and return to the confines of God’s blessings?  Whichever way we choose to continue, it is strictly our choice.  Jesus had a time in between and so do we, will you live your life as He did or will you adhere to your own personal Jesus?  God is calling for us to repent and to be restored and if we heed His calling our land will be restored but if we do not the devastation will continue and will increase both physically and spiritually.

DLB

All My Tears

All My Tears

2/6/14

Painful moments in our lives are the ones that we cling to since as humans learn the most from these experiences.  Tears fall like rain is a common theme that we hear and as we shed these tears more likely that the people around us are shedding just as many as we are.  Tears are a symbol of an emotion that we have been graciously given and no one should ever be ashamed of showing this emotion.  Everyone on this planet will at some point play example to this emotion and let it be known that there is nothing wrong with displaying these tears.  It is important that we continue to keep this concept in our hearts and to also remember that even God cried while He was walking this earth.

Crying is a systematic emotion that actually represents a release and cleansing of our inner beings.  Crying has famously been labeled as a sissy emotion, one that girls only do.  How far from the truth this belief is for everyone has the ability to cry and in fact should cry on certain times of their life or for absolutely no reason at all.  Crying is good for the body and even though it may show sign of weakness to some it is the beginning of some type of healing process within.  Yes men, you need to cry as well for this emotion enables us to connect with everyone else in the world who has overcome this fear of letting out our emotions.  However, on the other side of the street there are those that use this emotion as a “gift” and will cry for no good reason or in order to get their way, which demeans the true emotion and the reason that we were instilled with this ability.

My wife and I love to watch old movies.  As I have said in the past that when I was young my parents begged me to watch these types of movies with them but I believed at that time I had more important things to do than watch movies with them.  I would give anything to reverse time and to heed their requests but I realize that there is no way that could be possible.  Both Bonnie and I ask our girls to watch movies with us and they have no problems with providing the same answer as I did to my parents when I was their age.  But sometimes we are lucky enough to convince them that the movie is a family type movie and they will sacrifice the time to watch it with us.

I love my wife for she is an extraordinary woman.  As many of our lives would attest her life was not the best when she was younger and she endured many pains.  And, many would say she still has a huge pain to deal with everyday by being married to me and for the most part I would have to agree with this assessment.  However, with all of the tough qualities Wyoming placed into her heart there are still some tender areas that emerge, not on the physical side of things but on the inner side of things; sad or tender moment movies being one of these settings when this side of her presents itself.

According to my daughter my wife is famous for busting out tears when certain moments of movies come into play.  My girls believe this is hilarious and will almost laugh at Bonnie when this occurs.  Up until a few weeks ago my daughters were so proud that they did not fall into this category, but then along came the movie “Where the Red Fern Grows” and one of my daughters had to take herself off of this platform.  I also have to admit that while I did not shed any tears my heart was broken to watch what happened to the two puppy dogs in that movie along with the emotional roller coaster that the entire family had to endure.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with this emotion coming forth through a movie and one should not be ashamed of it for it is a part of your definition which forms your complete makeup. 

One would expect a person to cry when a sad moment of their life comes about such as a death in the family or some other tragedy that may affect a community or town.  But on the other side of the emotional playground tears of joy can be shed in the same fashion.  While the physical evidence of water running down our faces inflicts immediate responses of other to ask why that person is crying and why are they so sad.  But after the truth is told the happier side of those tears can be shared with others as well.  How confusing this might be to some who do not display this side of tears and some may even wish to demand that they stop that display of emotions in public.  Name calling or labels may even be placed upon these people but I am here to tell you that it is 100% ok to cry and everyone not only has the ability to cry but needs to cry every so often in order to maintain an inner stability.

We witness some sort of daily tragedy when we turn on our televisions or radios.  Our ears and eyes are continually filled with bad news or devastating conditions that humans have to endure.  Even watching infomercials has become a presentation of children and people crying in order to provide a better foundation for those to give to that specific organization.  While these types of displays of emotion on our eyes and ears are a constant it should not become a place for those to say harsh things about people who cry.  There is a reason why those people are crying and it should be known that for the most part those settings are justified for the emotions that have been portrayed.

I refer you back to an article I wrote a while ago that dealt with the life cycle of a leaf and how the weather seasons change the leaves on a tree and how these patterns allow the leaf to follow a natural pattern of change.  Eventually the leaf has lost all of its life and will fall to the ground as the wind tears it from its grasp from the limb.  Complete death of that leaf will soon follow as it lies on the ground.  While this cycle may be hard to grasp by some we need to understand that this diagram is present within our own lives and can be followed through the emotional release of tears.  Like the leaf a tear is a release from the confines within and will allow our inner bodies to start over in the emotional cycle of expectancy.  This emotion helps us cope with daily life that continues to incessantly and grotesquely beat upon us. Crying also allows our lives to present closure to an adverse experience especially when the time is ripe for healing.

In my early teenage years we lived in a town called Cleveland, Texas.  I have many fond memories of that place and go through there when I have the opportunity.  While we lived there I had a dog named Candy.  She was a pretty Cocker Spaniel but she had the idea in her head that she did not have to listen to my voice or any other human voice for that matter.  All of us knew that someday that rebellious nature of hers would get her into trouble and it was not too much later that this knowledge came true.  Candy and I were outside playing in the front yard and something caught her eye across the street.  She immediately began to head towards the front of the driveway as I called out her name for her to stop.  She ignored me and began her trek across the street just as a truck was going by the front of the house.

Sure enough Candy was hit and did not move again.  I ran out in the middle of the street and looked at her.  She recognized me and began to wag her tail.  I stood up and screamed at the truck as it continued its course away from the house; not stopping of course.  I then knelt back down and talked to her for a few seconds more until she was gone.  The light in her eyes just simply vanished and she lay there motionless, her life was over.  I began to ball my eyes out both in anger and in sorrow yet there was nothing I could do to change the situation. 

My father has used this story in a couple of his sermons because it has a powerful message about not heeding the voice of true authority and how it can lead to certain death.  I understand why Jesus cried for the city of Jerusalem and I also understand why He cried when the news of the death of John the Baptist reached Him.  In both instances the emotional loss from the truth comes into light and begins to display itself through tears.  The climax of this inner cycle must take place so that we may begin again and start afresh because without this emotional event we cannot get past what has occurred in our lives.

I have to admit that there are times that I just begin to ball when I am listening to certain songs.  I can feel the passionate truth well up inside me that it has nowhere else to go but out.  The songs are of true love and passion that Christ has for His Church and for every person in the world.  Yes I cry for my country when I read about the direction that she has chosen to go.  It breaks my heart to hear all of the decisions that she has made to exclude God from her inner life and at the same time gloriously embrace the ways of the world, all in the name of equality.  We have taken this extreme word and placed in front our laps and use it as a play word for our own selfishness.  Such a dangerous word that should be used and respected with the utmost regard yet we throw it around and flaunt our own personal and taunting meaning towards others.  We have ceased to cry for our country because we do not want to be labeled by others as sensitive.  What a true picture of inner destruction that this belief portrays.

Most of you know that I love the sport of soccer.  I have played the game since I was a young boy and I consider it to be my heart sport. There is a tournament every four years called the World Cup and it is the pinnacle of the sport.  It is every country’s dream to reach this tournament.  The expectations are extremely high and people have actually given their lives for this passion.  A few WCs back Spain had qualified for the tournament and was placed into a fairly decent group.  However, Spain goofed off and was in serious trouble and very close to not making it out of the group stages. 

The final game of the group stage was at hand and Spain had to win their match and get some further help from the other game in their group that was being simultaneously played.  Of course everyone in the stands were rooting for one or the other of the teams that were playing in the other game for the results of that game had implications for every team within the group.  Spain was winning its game in dramatic fashion.  They were making sure that their country knew that they were doing their part to reach the next round.  However, the other game in the group was not going Spain’s way in the manner that the one team that if they won Spain could not advance.  Sure enough that one team won their match and all of Spain’s hopes were dashed, even though Spain itself had crushed their own opponent.

After Spain’s match was completed the television went to commercials for a bit.  Shortly the channel returned to the stadium setting and the camera had instantly focused on one young man who was sitting in the crowd.  The young man was sitting in his seat with the flag of Spain wrapped around him.  He was balling in eyes out while simultaneously rocking back and forth in his seat.  Reality had hit and the truth that Spain was not advancing to the next round was setting in.  The pride that this young man had in his country was amazing and he had no problems what-so-ever in publicly displaying his love and disappointment for his country.  The young man had huge tears running down his face and while it might have seemed silly to some viewing him, the knowledge of a person loving his country enough to shed tears for is always a sign of love for country.

I also cry for the Church and all that she has done to incorporate herself into the world.  She has an identity crisis ongoing in which she is trying her best to correct her past mistakes and be more accessible to the world.  How cruel and false this belief is for while she tries to establish a door with the world she has not first repented for the sins of her past.  She cannot redeem herself in the manner that she needs until this occurs for it will only open old wounds and create new ones that will further divide her from her groom.  I cry for the sanctity of her life and what it means to her groom and how she is more attracted to placating her stance with the world instead of her groom.

These two conditions break my heart for both our country and the Church’s actions are directly related to each other and we refuse to open our eyes to see it.  We would rather spend the majority of our time trying to harbor our own selfish qualms and to justify them after the methods have been established.  We have purposefully thrown away the true morals of humanity in order to replace them with selfish intentions.  Do not believe me?  Take a look around and while leaving out your own selfishness watch and define how others conduct their lives.  Every act that we make has a worldly foundation now, not biblical.  If we choose to issue our demands in this manner, so be it but know that one day the truth will be made known.

It should not be difficult to understand why there is an attack and a standard being developed upon this specific emotion.  There are many examples in God’s Word where He cries over certain events and conditions that He has written about.  It is an emotion that brings us our identity and represents what is in our hearts.  So of course this is going to be an area in which our enemy attacks us.  If we cannot cry for our country, the Church and for own individual conditions then who can we cry for?  We need to cry for our country so that we may break the bonds that demand us not to even fly our own flag in public.  We need to cry for the Church since she has incorporated herself with the world because she has lost her mission statement and looking to redefine herself.  We need to cry for our own personal lives since we are the ones solely responsible for these terrible acts of personal degradation and spiritual destruction.

We need to realize that our time in this state is short and unless we change our tactics and return to our knees our lives will soon be riddled with devastation.  Without this emotion active within our lives it becomes impossible to know how to properly grieve for everything that we may encounter.  We become a living state of insensitivity that cannot relate to others or to our surroundings.  Imagine a personal state of individuality wrapped around a communal belief system that is locked up by insensitivity to our own inner being.  Do you know that the Bible addresses this same position and gives account of what transpires when this state is created? 

Pick an instance where God is trying to get the attention of Israel and think about why God is acting in this manner.  It is a rate of personal and national progression that humans have introduced and then adopted within their lives that is the root cause for this action being displayed by God.  It must be agreed that God is not a whimsical God and does things by “the seat of His pants” method.  There is nothing wrong with progression and in fact God requires it from His people but when it is accomplished through worldly means and selfish methods only disaster results.  Want proof?  Ask any human democracy, communist state, Marxist state, fascist state in human history and their results will tell you.

It is God’s desire that we cry and it is God’s ears that will hear a true cry that comes from our hearts.  The question that remains is one of personal desire and where your desires lie; in God or in man.  If any part of your desires relies upon man, God still hears this cry but know that this cry will build and will be part of our fortune from God.  God also hears the cry of the righteous person and this too will be part of our fortune from God.  This brings into play what the fortune of God will bring to His people.  Since God is a righteous and holy being and cannot change His laws, I believe that the evidence is clear what our fortunes will be brought upon us.  There is still time to change our fortuitous status in the eyes and ears of God and I strongly suggest that we begin to cry out to God in repentance and for restoration of our land before it is too late.

DLB

Towards the End

Towards the End

2/6/14

How do we prepare ourselves for the ultimate game that we call life?  Do we sit back and enjoy the luxuries that are presented to us or are we using our time wisely and getting ready for the end portion of our game?  This question is an important one for most of us breeze through life without even batting an eyelash in preparation.  The same conditions hold true in our concerns with God and we are preparing our spiritual lives when the end comes to our doorstep.  It is imperative that we train hard and be active so that when the end game appears we are 4^th quarter tough and prepared to face this portion of our lives.

Please understand that I am not referring to death in this article.  The topic states “Towards the End” but it does not refer to death only to the changing of the guard when it comes to the situations of the world.  Am I saying that the end of the world is near?  Not at all, for all I can tell there is still time remaining but why wait to begin our training for that day.  Today is a great day to begin to prepare our hearts, spirits and minds for these times that will begin to unfold in a short time.  Am I trying to scare you into believing that a catastrophic event is about to occur?  Not at all, but one could happen soon.  There are many “what if” questions and thoughts that are floating around and some of these may occur.  So why not be prepared just in case?

I began my football career in Hope, Arkansas.  Some career, it never really took off but I enjoyed the experience very much.  I continued my football playing all the way through my high school years and because of my height or lack of it my football days ended there.  To this day I remember my football practices and games and what they taught me along the way.  One portion of the practices really stands out to me and if you ask any person who has played a sport a similar remembrance will be spoken.

I remember each day when practice began we would always begin the session with a mile run.  I completely understood this since for the most part our day was filled with sitting around in class and really not having too much physical activity during the morning and early afternoon times.  For most of us we did not enjoy the run but we only complained slightly for we all felt better afterwards.  We were now prepared for the practice and were ready to learn something about ourselves and about the upcoming week’s opponent. 

Our practices were intense and complete and gave us a thorough workout both on and off the field.  Our preparation was not strictly on the field either, for our coaches would pull us aside and give us instructions on how to play the game and how to block number 56 when he is lined up on the left side of the defensive line.  Both aspects of the game were being taught to us, the physical and mental portions.  Our coaches drilled into our heads the importance of preparation on both levels and it was very clear to us that they were correct.  However, getting us to perform correctly, adequately and continuously on both levels was a different story.  But we were taught correctly and eventually grew into the game on all levels. 

It is these types of practice situations that all players accept and most enjoy because we expect them to occur in this order.  Yes there were times that we made huge mistakes and had to run extra miles in order for us to understand what we did or did not do correctly; this too was a part of the practice.  After a hard practice day the coaches would gather all of us around and would conduct a final team meeting before we were let go for the day.  The meeting would last for about ten minutes or so and plans were made for the next practice. The team would then form a huddle sing the fight song or some other motivational chant and then have one final combined yell.  All of us were tired and ready to get out of out uniforms and go to the house for our evening activities, some of us had parents, friends or other family members there ready to pick us up.  Then the most dreaded words came from our head coach.

Let’s run a mile before you leave the field or some other similar phrase would be heard and our hearts sunk and the complaints arose.  So off we went around the track four times before we were allowed to leave the field.  A mile after all of this work was really a bummer and I know that many times I grumbled each step that I took but I did exactly what I was told and completed the laps before I was able to leave.  How many times I asked myself, in anger of course, of why it was so important that we run after practice; we were already tired. J

A short side note before I go on and it concerns the teammates that I had played with during my football tenure.  Many of the players on the teams that I played on had been playing together for most of their young lives.  Not many of them had moved in from out of town or had just started playing just a short time before.  Most of them had been born in that local area and knew each other from times even before school.  While I was accepted with no problems I did understand just how hard it is to confluence yourself into an already established steady flow.  This made things a little bit tougher for me and my performance had to show it.  My training sessions did not end when practice was completed; my mental and physical conditioning still had some work to be done.  I knew that I had to be totally prepared on both levels and this preparation required a little bit of extra effort.  My only problem was that while I understood this concept I really was not motivated to do it.

At the time my feet were moving along the four laps around the track I was not really in the frame of mind to think about why our coach was making us finish the practice with a another mile run.  This mindset of mine actually proved to everyone that my coach was correct and that we still had many hours of learning to come before we were ready to be considered fit for a game.  Has anyone ever watched a professional player or any other sports player simply run out of gas?  This is such a painful moment to watch because that player or team cannot do one thing right and their opponents run right over them and do not stop for anything.  Then there are those matches or games that the physical conditioning is not in question but one can tell that the players or team is not focused and it seems like their minds are somewhere else.  Both of these examples are part of conditioning and it is important that when time for us to show up and do our jobs that we are prepared on all levels just not one or two of them.

My family and I were going to a town a short distance away from our home a few weeks ago when my wife began to talk about one of her friends that she knew in high school.  Her friend ran cross country and as long as she knew him he was constantly in training.  He prepared for his races on a continual basis and was seen running almost every day.  She remembered talking with him about going to the state championship cross country race and how he was preparing for it. 

For those of you that do not know my wife she grew up in a small town in south central Wyoming, you know, where the deer and antelope play.  The area around where she grew up was wide open yet there were places where trees were present, right beside a small river or creek.  Her friend would train in these areas since he knew that when the state championship cross country race would commence its path would take them to these places by the creeks and rivers just to make the race a bit more challenging for the runners.  Now this is where his story becomes interesting in that he was far ahead of us football players because of the way he was thinking at the time.

His mentality contained a plan to make his training harder now instead of waiting until the end of the season.  First off he understood his position in his sport and he knew his abilities and conditioning status.  Secondly he knew what type of courses that had been chosen for the championship runs because he had participated in them in the past.  Thirdly, he made his training more difficult early so that when the end of the season came, his level of conditioning would be adequate enough to effectively complete the chosen course.  But it was how he prepared for this course that was a stroke of genius and one that we really should heed in our lives, both physical and spiritual.

My wife stated that her friend would run down by the rivers and creeks while he was completing his training sessions.  Now this was not the interesting part about what he did but it sets the stage for how he trained and the conditions that he voluntarily placed himself into. While running official races all high school participants were required to wear the appropriate attire when competing in races.  This would include proper clothing with the appropriate school logos and shoes.  All runners understand that having the correct fitting shoes is a must because if one does not then their feet will not perform adequately. 

While the rules for running and participating in a school sponsored event were clearly stated there were no restrictions on how a person could train for an event.  This means that an individual could train all year round for their sport if he / she wished.  It also provided no boundaries of what that person could wear during their personal training sessions.  My wife’s friend would run down by the rivers and creeks but would do so with boots on his feet and not the normal running shoes.  What an idea!!  Yes it placed him in a little bit more of a risk category but he understood the risks and took them into account yet decided to run in them anyway.

Not only did this help him prepare for his scheduled events but it also helped out his conditioning early enough that when the state championship race was run he would have an added advantage due to the fact that his feet would be in a more comfortable position than in his training sessions.  How more can a person be prepared for a specific event than he was?  This took planning and knowing about what to expect from the challenge that is set before you or might be set before you in the future.  It also sets for a great example about knowing our enemy and how we need to be prepared for these types of events in our lives as well.

On most mornings when I come to work I take the same path to get to my workplace.  I first have to go to the main lab to pick up my controls and any other paperwork or notes for the day.  To get to the lab I have to pass through the emergency room waiting area.  On most mornings as I pass this waiting area I hear a quiet voice singing.  The sounds are coming from one of our housekeepers who I have known for over 20 years.  Her voice is a constant and is present in the same area every day that she works.  Most mornings while I am waltzing through I cannot understand the words of the songs that she is singing but on those few occasions when I can understand the words, they are words from songs that many of us have heard in church.

Those words that come from her lips are another example that a person has prepared herself for what may occur for her daily journey. The words are of hope and acknowledgement that there are dangers all around us and that she understands their purpose along with the truth that God knows about our lives at all times.  The words have special meaning to her children whether they know it or not for they are a prayer of protection and life all wrapped up into a gentle song about hope and truth.  This means that she has prepared her children in the best way possible and that no matter what occurs in their day, God is always with them.  It also sounds an alarm for everyone around her immediate work area that she has a pure heart and is listening to what God is saying to her life.  Such preparedness should be on every set of lips of those who attend church but both God and I know that this is not the case.

I have written a few times that our enemy knows us very well and is right now planning further attacks on our lives.  I have also mentioned that it is very important that we understand this concept and to make sure that we are prepared for each of his attacks.  Some of us understand that Satan is on a leash and that he cannot do anything without God’s permission; an entirely different article subject to come. But it brings into light many things concerning our lives that we know about or should know about in order to defend ourselves against these attacks.  Our enemy knows us enough to unleash devastating personal attacks so why should we sit back and take them without any knowledge of his plans?  We must be prepared both physically and spiritually for these attacks for if we believe that they are not going to come we rend ourselves way out of touch with the truth.

We all understand that if we are not mentally prepared for a job interview we will surely perform terribly.  We also understand that if we do not thoroughly prepare for a final exam that we will not do very well either.  While we choose not to study for tests and prepare for physical jobs we should know that our inner beings and spiritual lives have well more at stake and should be well aware of what is coming and going.  I recently wrote about the omnipotence of God and in that article I stated that we humans like to place God in a box.  What I did not mention is that we have the same concept about our enemy and that we place his authority levels in a contained box.  We also tend to forget that our enemy is a spirit being and has full access to our lives if we choose to keep those doors open; in your defined contained box if you wish.

While our enemy is on a chain his potential destructive powers upon our lives can be devastating if we refuse to understand his capabilities. As in everyday sporting events we cannot successfully and honestly believe we can win it all if we are not totally prepared for the event. Our spiritual conditioning is just as important as our physical conditioning and should be taken just as serious, even more in my opinion. Most of us have encountered this spiritual conditioning as mundane or boring and we tend to lax our conditioning habits when we approach things in this manner.  This state of heart is very dangerous and we need to understand that the longer we take this stance and have this mindset our enemy is preparing a massive strike upon our beings.

The only way proven to be effective enough to defend our spiritual lives is too well aware of the contents that the Bible has.  The Bible is a well defined book and instructions guide that when understood, its meaning we can prepare ourselves for any attack.  We will also be able to let many others know and understand how to defend their lives as well all while completing the mission that Jesus set forth for His church.  For those of you who believe that you know everything about God’s Word, guess what you don’t!!  For those of you who read God’s Word everyday and feel like you are above everyone else? You are not!!  It is these types of people whose minds and hearts are actually closed to the message of God and will be the first ones to fall when times get tough.  There is a huge difference between education and wisdom and it is of dire importance that we understand this concept.  When we come to the belief that God will do or will not do something because we do not believe in it, then congratulations you have reached the top of the enemies list to be whacked, lied to and made a fool of.  Not to mention being the epitome of a self centered human being.

My father has been in the ministry for over 50 years of his life and to this day he still admits with a fearful smile on his face that he does not know anything about God.  Not that he has not been studying or wanting to know more about God but because God continues to show him things about Himself that blows my dad’s mind.  Now, if God continues to show my dad things after more than 50 years of studying God, what makes a person believe that he / she knows what God is totally about.  The Bible is about human life and everything that they encounter, it also serves as a history book in order for us to get things right the first time instead of having to repeat history.  It is also a book about the future if we do not heed to the laws that God has divinely established.  The Bible explains all of our problems and the true reasons why things occur, yet in every country present on this earth billions of people totally reject this book of life and throw its contents to the wayside.

God continues to call us for a reason.  He has provided us with a book that explains how to defend ourselves and advance His truth at the same time.  Once you study the Word of God with a heart that is open to God and His ways, everything about this world will fade away. By studying God’s Word we are like my wife’s friend who is training in extra-ordinary conditions so that he will be prepared for when the real trials begin.  Repent and allow God to restore your heart and spirit in such a manner that you can begin to defend yourself properly once again.

DLB

An Omnipotent God

An Omnipotent God

2/4/14

We use this term often when we are referring to God and it is common to hear coming from a source that is trying to describe God.  But do we really understand what it means to be omnipotent?  It is obvious that our finite minds cannot fully comprehend all of the word’s definition but of the limited portions that we can fathom the concept of this word still blows the human mind of all of its thinking potential.  So what is the difference from what God can actually do versus what we can actually comprehend Him doing?  There are some examples that we can use to try and understand His capacity, but I know that even with some of these human explanations, my listings will fall terribly short of what God can do, for His completeness is a forever and eternal action range.

The definition of omnipotent is that a deity has the ability to obtain unlimited power or in other words has the ability to do anything.  This definition, in truth, is a limited one since our minds cannot really comprehend the word unlimited, and to be honest it is hard for us to even understand the phrase “at the moment” for if we did, when a basketball team or football team that should have no chance of winning against a stronger team beats them, we would not be required to portray the result as an upset.  So how can we honestly say that we understand the definition of omnipotent and everything that goes along within the confines of its meaning and can we even grasp just how complete the word omnipotent really is?

How many of us have used this knowledge when we are talking about one of our enemies or to express how God is going to use this authority to wipe out His enemies?  I know I have had those types of thoughts and have presented this type of belief in some of my writings.  We have no problem with making sure our enemies know how big our God is, and there is nothing wrong with that by the way.  But God’s omnipotence is not always demonstrated in this manner for His authority stretches beyond the forceful side of this word and portrays a grace that we as humans cannot fully understand either.  God is a complete God and for us to try and comprehend this meaning we have to include all sides of God’s existence.

I find it kind of funny that Christians love to say that God is omnipotent and then almost immediately confine Him to their own little box.  What buffoons we make of ourselves when we say or believe this.  If we believe that God is omnipotent then there is no way that we can even begin to think that we have the authority to limit what He can do or what He cannot do.  Who are we who might live to be 100 years old overrule a living and breathing being that has been around since the beginning of existence to believe that we can tell Him what His defining existence will be?  I have been around religious people all my life and it is interesting how they convey this containment belief of theirs without uttering one letter from their mouths.  If people who call themselves Christians actually believe this concept then they are liars and really need to reevaluate their beliefs.  And for those of us who do not believe in God at all, please understand that there that God is real and that He loves you so very much for you are His created beloved.  But here is the ironic thing about this idea that we humans harbor about God’s omnipotence, a good portion of this omnipotence is the fact that He allows us to make a choice whether or not to have Him in our lives or not.

One question that baffles me is why would anyone want to place God in a box to begin with?  The answer to that question is easy and it is called pride.  See if we contend that we have the ability to control God, then what we do in our lives and how we live out our lives can be placed in accordance to human standards.  If we do freely admit that God has no limits to what He can do this means that we give Him free reign in every aspect of our lives, in other words He can do whatever He wishes with our lives and we have no “control” over our lives.  When we dig deeper into this area we come to the conclusion that God allows us to make choices and will even allow us to choose not to accept His ways, which this too is a demonstration of the completeness of His omnipotent power.  There is a reason that God states hat His ways are not our ways and this is a prime example of why He wants us to understand this principle.

I have said many times in my life that God has a sense of humor since He allows some real funny things to play out in my life.  This sense of humor that God portrays is actually a portion of His omnipotent power in that when I ask for something or desire an answer to something His response is usually in such a manner that catches me off guard.  And while it catches me off guard it completely relates to my life and is relevant in my situation at the same time.  I cannot argue with this because when I look back at the choice that I would have made there would have been holes in that decision and could have proven to be more harmful than helpful.  It is this portion of His love and power that amazes me each and every day that I wake up for I know that His omnipotent abilities has once again rang forth to prove to my enemy that His Kingdom reigns supreme.  Oh yes!!!  The word omnipotent is a Kingdom word!!

Have you ever read a manuscript, book, or any other letter or note from a Jewish source?  Have you ever wondered why many of the religious Jewish people do not spell out the name “God”?  There is a reason for this and it is because in the Hebrew language there is no accurate definition for the word God.  To the Jewish people they understand that the human is not even comparable to God and that because of our limited capabilities of existence that if they even said the word “God” or wrote the word “God” that they would be in a complete sinful state for desecrating the name of God.  This is not a demonstration of a controlling God but one who has so much power that we mortals cannot accurately define His name.  As a Christian I do not believe in this strictness over writing out His name but I sure do understand the reasons why the Jewish culture does not, and I totally have the utmost respect for the reason why they believe in this manner.  So, when you see the word “God” written in this manner: G-d, understand that it is not a typo and that most likely a Jewish person is referring to the exact same person that we know as God. 

All of us who have children understand that there are those days that we just want to string them up by their toenails in order to make them understand that some of the things that they are doing is just plain ridiculous.  I know my parents had days that they wanted to kill me and tell God that I died.  These types of situations demonstrate God’s omnipotent authority that He has planted into our lives as well for we all understand that we as humans would go against every living concept if we actually killed a child.  But how can it be fully understood that a creating being actually loves us enough to allow us to make our own choices about our life no matter what the outcome may warrant.  This concept is difficult for us to understand but this demonstration of God’s love is another example of true omnipotence.

There is a new movie coming out in a few weeks and it is based upon the life of Noah.  For many years it was difficult for me to understand how humanity could become so evil that God would regret creating mankind.  Yet at the same time within His heart make the choice to keep His prized creations well established on the earth.  The progression of ideas within the human heart did not just appear overnight but must have taken time to advance to that point, yet even with all of this evil God choose to spare the human race once again. This redemption process through Noah is another act of God’s omnipotent authority that He has within His inner being.  God does not just destroy people, places or things because He is frustrated with them.  He does not look upon our physical lives as the sole projecting point to make His decisions concerning our lives, it is our hearts that He looks upon and then congruently chooses to act.  His love is just as omnipotent as His judgments and every angle and aspect of our hearts are infinitely measured before any blessings or corrections are witnessed.  It is at the point of no return according to our progressive hearts that God has to make the decision to grab our attention.  It does not have to be an entire city that loses its connection with God nor does it have to be an entire nation seeking revenge upon another holy nation, only God understands the purity of our heart according to His design and not ours, that He sees no other option in making us aware of our sins.

Anyone remember the movie “Schindler’s List”?  There was a great scene in this movie where the commandant of the work camp found out that a Jewish boy had been stealing from his own personal living area.  Goethe was famously notorious for randomly opening his window and began to pick off the workers one by one with a rifle from a distance.  He considered it to be a sport to see just how far he could hit a prisoner, to which he bragged about often.  When the boy admitted to his guilt Goethe allowed the boy to leave and go back to his siblings and caretakers. 

As the boy left the building he had to cross a wide area that was in front of the window that Goethe had been accustomed to shooting people after he let them go.  At this particular time Oscar Schindler was in the room when the scene played out with the boy and knew exactly what was going to happen as soon as Goethe retrieved his rifle.  Mr. Schindler began to plead with the commandant to spare the boy’ life and when things looked most grim for the boy the ultimate plea of power began to flow from Schindler’s lips.  While it fed the wolf on two accords if saved the boy’s life for the moment since Schindler informed Goethe that always taking a life when the opportunity arose did not mean that he was demonstrating power only greed and anger.

As Goethe contemplated these words the boy continued his run towards his place of residence without any shots being fired in his direction.  For the moment, the words of a brilliant human soothed a savage beast and life was allowed to continue.  But one day when Schindler was not present the same boy was dispatched to the commandant’s office and after the encounter was completed the boy once again left and began his run across the open area.  This time Goethe had no mediators confiding with him in his ear and the shots began to ring out and soon the boy’s body lay still upon the dirt.  The control issues once again overcame the power to accrue life and a young boy’s life was taken for no good reason.  It is evident that this act was driven by pure hatred of a race and it deems not worthy of true power or authority.  Yet God allows humans to make their own choices and to support the most conservative or the most liberal of ways.  It does not matter who the individual may be God still gives us ample opportunity before He must step in and remind humanity of who is actually omnipotent.

I must admit that there are many people in the world who have basically the same concept about God through the actions of His Church. While God did not personally complete all the actions of greed, lust and hate that the Church demonstrated throughout its history, the people within these walls are supposed to be entrusted with spreading the good news of life but are the ones who acted in this evil manner.  People who see what the Church has done have every right, on a human level, to blame God for all of these deeds and they are also right in questioning the legality and right of existence of God because of what man has done to man.  I argue this point, that if God is omnipotent and that those who believe in His name to be as such, why would anyone sucker punch another human being because their beliefs differ from someone else’s in any other way?  It is the people who have placed God in a box that claim to do things “in the name of God” by destroying other human beings in order to validate His omnipotent authority.  It is a grotesque lie to even consider this type of destructive action as a good deed and then have others declare yourself as a martyr for God after your life is over.

If God is omnipotent then He can take care of business in His own timing based upon Holy guidance and searching of our hearts and not because of our failing differences that manifest between ourselves.  What a great example that this forthcoming movie gives us and to understand how God is NOT like us and how wonderful He is not to even consider this type of punishment and control over our lives.  His willingness to forgive us for our lies, thievery, lusts, bribery and thousands of other types of grave wrong doings is once again a supreme measure of His omnipotent authority.  We must remember that God is a complete God and that even though we may associate His omnipotent power as one that provides strength in certain times that His completeness also reverts back to the other side of omnipotence in that His mercy and kindness is just as warranted many times in our lives.

This basic understanding of the omnipotence of God does not present a signal to our selfishness to believe that we can continue to live our lives in such a manner that we have no need for God.  It also does not provide an excuse for humanity to live like ravaged dogs and feed upon every human piece of meat that crosses our paths.  It should warrant our hearts to contemplate our daily lives and to search our inner beings in order to find those things that would cause God to act with His omnipotent power instead of His omnipotent grace.  The concept of God’s omnipotent power should strike a holy fear within our lives that at any given moment God could wipe us out in such detail that our physical beings could never ever be identified again for eternity, yet at the same time we have the assuredness that God’s omnipotent grace can reach to even the one individual that is considered useless and helpless to our societies.  Nor does this knowledge give us the authority to include or exclude the words of God for popularity, human correctness or acceptance in such a manner as to condone living in communion with the world.

God’s omnipotence places a greater responsibility on our lives to ensure that a dying world understand this completeness about God.  The social aspects of God are just but when we place the social aspects of God above the true mission that God has for our lives, we prostitute God’s omnipotence and place our entire beings into a slave condition.  It is important that we understand this concept and to make sure that we do not fall into this trap of our enemy.  The word omnipotence is a Kingdom word as I stated before simply because it is through the advancement of God’s Kingdom that pushes back the darkness and the kingdom of this world.  If God’s omnipotence was just that, His Kingdom would be powerless to complete this task as we direct our paths towards the true light.  God’s omnipotence is also a true demonstration and definition that there are only two kingdoms present and that we can only serve one of these; there is no serving two masters.

I have said over the course of a few articles that God is a complete God and that statement is a very accurate one.  There is a reason that God is complete and it is because He is holy in every way possible, He is honest and just in every way possible and He will carry out His ways according to His perfect plan.  God’s omnipotence is displayed by allowing us to choose Him or not to choose Him.  God’s omnipotence is displayed by him giving us the opportunity to choose Him for He did not have to do allow this process to even be in place. God is a loving God and He wants to have a close relationship with each one of us.  Allow Him to restore His loving ways to your life and I guarantee that your life will never be the same again.

DLB

You Take What?

You Take What?

1/31/14

Modern medicine is a wondrous cause and even though there are some areas that lack desire the overall capacity of the modern world can handle the challenges that its medical customers present.  I am no longer taken back at our demand for pain comfort nor am I surprised at our so called “need” for pain control but I am concerned of how we have progressed in our beliefs that we need higher doses and stronger medications on a regular basis to cope with the everyday pains of life.  This setting paints a grave picture in our abilities to function with a clear conscious and it slows our reaction times when we need those actions the most and above all it lulls us to sleep and allows our enemies to overrun our borders without a fight.

Back in the early 2000s I carried with me an umbilical hernia.  For the most part it did not give me any problems and since it did not hurt I had no reason to take any medication.  I eventually gave my hernia a funny name and continued to harbor it, for my philosophy was that if it did not hurt and since I was not limited in my abilities or movements, why would I need to get the thing fixed?  Yes, being in the medical field can sometimes dull your perception of things and yes many of us who work in the medical field can become stubborn when it comes to seeing a physician.  I do not recommend any person waiting until something bad happens to them to see a doctor, but in all honesty that is how some of us in the medical field operate.

Even though my umbilical hernia was not hurting it was becoming kind of funny to look at since it was slowly growing.  So, I eventually went to the surgeon and she agreed with my family that it should be taken care of now rather than later.  Reluctantly, I informed my boss about everyone else’s wishes and then made all of the necessary arrangements for the insurance, time off, recovery time, etc and then waited for that day to arrive.  I was not worried so much about the procedure itself as I was of how I was going to react with the heavy doses of medication that they were going to give me, see I do not do well with heavy drugs.

All was going according to plan that morning and it looked like everything was right on schedule.  The IV was started and flushed with no problems and all of my vitals were taken and well within normal limits.  Every adult of my family that lived in Delta was in my room waiting for the final go ahead for the surgery; with my brother in Tennessee on the phone as well.  The anesthetist came in and talked for a few minutes and asked if I had any questions.  As we were speaking my pre op nurse came in and gave me some medication to begin the process for my surgery, I knew this was coming and took it like a man as they would say.  The question and answer session with the anesthetist ended and her final words as she was leaving the room startled me.  It was nothing scary but when preparing for the surgery I was told that I would not have to stay overnight and that I would be allowed to go home shortly after the surgery was complete.  She contradicted this message just as my sleepy time medicine kicked in and at the same time my adrenaline kicked in.  The combination did not set well with me but I kept quiet for a bit but I knew that my insides were not feeling right.

The drugs along with my adrenaline made me want to change my mind so I sat back up and began to take off my oxygen.  I got that off and started for my IV before my wife noticed what I was doing and asked me “where are you going?”  I promptly told her that I was getting out of here and that the surgery could wait for another day.  My dad opened up the curtain and called for the nurse to bring more drugs because I was trying to leave.  It was kind of comical but as soon as the nurse entered and softly pushed me back down on the bed I began to settle down a bit.  According to my dad it only a few seconds later that another nurse entered with more sleepy time meds and it was not too much longer that I really did not care too much about things any longer.

What had occurred was not a reaction to the medication but a combination of a drug that my body was not used to being entered into my body and then my adrenaline kicking in and taking over like it was supposed to after some sort of excitement occurred.  One portion of the equation I could handle but the other portion of the equation that I was not expecting set me off into another plan of action, and this is the point that I wish to make about some of the new laws that this country and other western societal countries have introduced and endorsed.

There have been plenty of times in my life that I have required the usage of certain pain medication when my body was in need of some relief.  From a broken arm when I was in elementary school to my shredded ligaments in my ankle when I was in high school and many other opportunities in between.  I understand and agree with the concept that in many cases that controlled drugs needs to be given to patients in order that they are spared severe agony after procedures are completed and in my case for this minor operation I guess it was established that those medications were necessary in order to prepare me for the procedure.  With the exception of one other time in my life, due to another surgical procedure, I have not taken any major drugs that would take me away from having complete control of what I am doing or saying.

When I was growing up I heard many of my friends tell me that they were so wasted that they had no idea what they had done the night before.  I have also heard them say that even though they did know what they were doing when loaded on a drug that they did things that they probably would not have done if they were sober or thinking straight.  In my medical career I have heard this type of words protrude out of many mouths as their parents, siblings, or significant others sit and stare at them with a concerned yet bum fuzzled look on their faces.  I have also heard the wail of a mother’s cry after she has learned that her child is no longer alive on this earth because of an accident where certain drugs have been identified.  None of these settings are pretty yet all of them are by choice.  Whether the choices were made to attend the party and accept the beverages at hat party or to voluntarily participate in the partaking of such items; it all boils down to choice.

As I stated above there are certain medical conditions that I understand that needs a bit more of a controlled substance in order to take the pain away.  I work in a cancer center and I have been witness to some of the patients in so much pain that it seems like they would rather end their fight instead of living in this capacity.  As we all know medical marijuana has been a highly debated subject over the past few years and there are plenty of people on both sides of the issue.  I am not here to offend anyone with my views or opinions but I must say that medical marijuana is as effective as any other opiate or narcotic drug on the market; and furthermore, the drug works in relieving the pain that these tumors produce.  I am still skeptical about its usage in this manner but I do not condemn anyone for using it either.  But I must say, if I have a limit about this drug then the medical side of things, by strictly prescription only, is my limit.

I have drawn and helped hundreds of patients throughout my medical career who have been high on this drug and when I go back to draw them at a later date or time many of them act like they have never seen me before, even if they had carried on a complete conversation with me hours before.  This is the part of marijuana that bothers me and scares me the most.  It has been proven that many people who use this drug have some kind of memory loss whether it is long term or short term.  Marijuana is not the only drug that produces this side effect but it is the drug that is readily accessible now and one that will surely become infamous after a while.

I am so not against anyone having fun in life for we all know that times can be tough and we all need to relax at some point.  But why do we have to intake drugs that alter out mental capacities and when ingested enough will allow ourselves to participate in acts that we would otherwise not complete?  What about the spiritual aspect of things and if the human side of the issue can be altered then what goes on when we voluntarily give up control to our spirits?  We know what can happen in the physical realms of our lives, what are we allowing to be planted in our spiritual realms as well?

For the last few weeks, the topic of my articles have been addressing the issues of choice and how that word is so easily thrown around and how many arguments that it has ignited.  This word choice is a huge and powerful word and every time we use this word, no matter in what capacity, its results engulf our lives completely.  It is a word that has a defined meaning and a final meaning all wrapped up together.  The word is so powerful that God even addresses it in the Bible both in the spiritual side of our lives and in the physical side.  If God uses something that means it can only be used in a complete and final way for what God created is just that, complete and final.  Keep this concept in mind as you choose to ingest copious amounts of a mind altering drug that may or may not result in serious consequences.  One thing to remember is this, even though a human response does not mean that god will forget or hide it under His “rug.”  Every act that we do and every choice that we accept into our lives shall never be forgotten no matter how hard we humans try and bury the results of our choices.

In no way am I advocating that a person refuses to have a medical condition treated because of a drug that will be administered to them during the procedure.  This topic is strictly about how we voluntarily give up our minds and spirits to unknown situations and people when we take mind altering drugs on a social plane.  I may balk at having surgery because I am a little bit “phobic” when it comes to heavy sedating drugs but I am still going to have that procedure because if I do not then my body may not function as it properly should.

God loves us so very much and it is His desire that we continually have a sound mind and a clean heart.  Life is tough enough without us adding to our woes.  While we may not believe that taking mind altering drugs will harm our lives, the choice has already been made and the consequences and results of that choice will at some point be reflected in your life. If you want a super high and rush in life, turn to God and open your eyes to the battles that are being fought for your life.  No one can speak life while their mind is being voluntarily altered for their words cannot contain the truth.  God is all about truth and completeness and that is His wish and desire or you as well.

DLB

Keeping God at a Distance

Keeping God at a Distance

1/29/14

There is no question that humans love to try and accomplish things on their own.  There is nothing wrong with this concept because without our ingenuity that has been graciously given to us our lives would be nothing but a blob that takes up space.  The problem with this concept is that humans tend to get caught in the fact that we have accomplished a certain feat and then almost immediately afterwards forget who actually instilled our drive to progress in the first place. If left unchecked this concept of self worth and social belief can lead to a damaging result in our existence and if we continue in this egotistic harboring, our Creator will have to remind us of who really is the creative source.

A major question that we must ask ourselves is who do we have a relationship?  Is our relationship with ourselves or is it with God.  The answer to this question poses a significant standard within our lives and in turn portrays to others exactly what course we have chosen for our lives.  It is the evidence through this choice that makes all the difference in which we have relationships with and in whom we choose to believe.  I know I have hit on the choice issue for quite some time now but choosing is an important area of our existence that we need to consider and render it impossible to survive without.  When we think about the matter of choice in this way, it should throw out all of the selfish mannerisms of choice and bring into light the major decisions and consequences of the choices we are making and will make over the next few years.  It is very important for us to realize just how important our choices are and how final these choices can be as well.  No choice should be easily made without proper understanding of the complete circumstance.

When we choose to exalt ourselves over the truth and proclaim our futile deeds to the world as a triumph over others, we are falling into the trap that has been laid before us by the king of this world.  Let us think for a moment of how our enemy came to the position that he is in today.  It is easy for some of us to understand that Satan is our enemy but do we really understand how he became our enemy and how it relates to our lives, on an individual level?  Yes, you read that correctly, on an individual level; that means you and your decisions will affect your relationship with God and could lead to your eternal downfall.  I can guarantee that most of us whimsically make choices to do something or not to do something without even thinking twice about our decision, but maybe we should consider other possibilities before we fly off with a directional choice that may lead to an outcome that is less desirable than originally thought.

As we all know there were two major sides fighting each other during World War II.  There were many countries that participated on each side and due to the choices of a few people many millions of people suffered and / or died because of their choices.  What many people might not know is that some of the nations that fought on one of the sides did so reluctantly and were really not eager to step up and commit their men and private citizens to the fight.  If a person is involved in a fight for her / his homeland then the fight becomes personal and for the most part those people are willing to die for the defense of their country, state, or private property.  But when a soldier fights for his country and represents his country in a far off land the meaning of the fight has an entire different set of tone the soldier’s commitment.  It has been well documented that the respect level of a soldier that is fighting in the name of their country on foreign soil their actions towards the foreign lands and its inhabitants are far different if they are taking aim from their own home.

Hungary is a prime example of this type of commitment with their contingency during World War II.  It was well documented that their soldiers questioned many orders that the Germans gave them to complete and it became evident to the Hungarian generals that these orders and missions were all in response to a defensive measure to ensure that the “more highly trained and capable” German soldiers could retreat if necessary while the Hungarians staved off the enemy.  It was difficult for the Hungarian soldiers to commit themselves fully to a battle in which they were purposefully going to be slaughtered in order for others on their side to walk away and fight another day unscathed.  This scenario played out accordingly with many other non connected countries and not just Hungary.  One can only imagine how these soldiers would fight when they realized their worth to their friends’ cause.  Even after World War II ended, Hungary suffered greatly due to the side of the war that they chose to fight alongside, and it did not matter if their leaders did try to switch sides and exit the war early. 

Going to make a statement now that might ruffle some feathers but it needs to be said and it needs to sink into our hearts as the truth, because it is the truth.  Most people tend to forget that Lucifer and God had a close relationship with each other at one point in time.  We do not think about the origins of Lucifer and how much he meant to God and His Kingdom.  We need to keep in mind Lucifer was a great being and that if there was anything like a number two person, he would have been it.  We know that there is no way that God will ever pass away from reality or from existence but if that happened, Lucifer would stand in line to take over the helm.  So, if Lucifer had this much status within God’s Kingdom that means that they must have had some type of close relationship long enough for Lucifer to have the desire to want more out of his existence.  I am not going to say anything else about this subject now but I will be addressing it more in detail in the days to come, but keep in mind that Lucifer has a choice and he made that choice based upon his own personal decision.

Lucifer bettered himself to a higher standard than what he was able to bear.  His “eyes” got bigger than his head so to speak which allowed his own personal being to seem bigger than what it actually was.  These feelings steadily grew and it eventually became an all consuming fire within his being.  It was at this time that he gave up his ordained role and presented himself to God and demanded more authority within the Kingdom.  At this point God was his equal or even below his self consumed status, so God acted in accordance and put him in his place to see what he could do.  The rest is history as they say and we understand how things operate within our own inner beings now.  For see God created Lucifer and all of the angels and He also created us so that means we are all subject to God’s ways and not our own.  However, we tend to believe that we are on the same level as God and if we do not change our choices of habit, we too will soon fall.

There are thousands of examples in our history where certain people have believed that the ways of a leader are not working and that the ways of these rebellious people are better.  Leaders are placed into these types of positions for a reason and while a minority of these leaders proves to be inadequate at their responsibilities the majority of leaders will prove they are highly adequate and proficient in their titles.  When I was a young boy my father told me a saying that he said would help me while I was in the working force.  The saying was a simple one but it had so much meaning.  He told me that no matter how high up I went in a position that there would always be someone higher than me and to always understand that the people that are above me could always override my level of authority.

I have the privilege of living in Colorado which provides me with numerous mountains and their respective peaks.  There have been occasions that my family and I have hiked to a couple of these peaks and have looked over the valleys below and have thought that we were on the top of the world.  As I look across the valley and continue my visual quest across that valley it soon gives way to another mountain range.  And when my eyes focus upon that mountain range, they actually play a trick on me.  My eyes tell me that I am now on the same plane as the other mountain range and that I personally am the same size as other mountains.  And as I look over at this other mountain range it does not seem near as big as it did a while ago while I was in the valley.

At this point you believe that you have accomplished your goal of becoming equal with something that you had no control over in the first place.  From where I am standing, my eyes tell me that I am equal in size to the other mountain that is across the valley and I totally forget that in truth I am just a mere small person in comparison to that huge mountain.  This is the context in which people or nations place themselves when they incorporate their own identities first and forget about the truth of what is around them.  Those two mountain peaks are permanent structures and while they look equal in size when I am on top of one of them I am projecting a false truth if I even dare say that I am just as tall as they are.

One recognizes this fact when a person is in the valley between these mountains.  Don’t believe me?  Even when a person is in the valley and looking towards a distant mountain, that mountain does not look all that difficult to climb nor does it seem too high either.  The focus that we have is always on ourselves and we do not realize just how big other objects are until we reach their bases.  As our steps draw closer to the mountain the size of the mountain becomes more in focus and the challenge is soon realized as soon as we reach the mountain’s base.  Now look up and see just how big that mountain is compared to you.  See, the truth now?  The reality is that the mountain that your eyes said that you were equal with is actually thousands of feet higher than your body and this is what we should understand about ourselves, not that we are any higher in stature than what we really are.

This type of belief is what Lucifer was displaying when God said to him, ok let me see what you have, prove to me that you have the ability to create a being just as perfect as I have created you.  If one thinks about this situation, how many of us have a similar response as Lucifer’s?  Is it uncommon for us humans to have these same ideas and ambitions when we want something more than what our current status provides or do we contemplate how much better things would be run if we were in charge?  Even with God’s unlimited ability to create and to love, He allows Lucifer to try and create objects that would exceed what God has already created and set into motion.   And Lucifer has the audacity to try and complete this new mission of his; seems funny but it did happen.  Another awesome example of God’s love was to allow Lucifer to be given plenty of time for him to try and create life better than what God had already established.  In other words while both God and Lucifer “friendship” had been defined upon a structured relationship, Lucifer wanted more and gave into his own wants and chose to defile his own standing within God’s Kingdom.  Which poses another logical question in such that if this choice is a permanent one, then what about the choices we make, do they fall in the same style of category?

Ever wondered what or if Lucifer was able to create his own organisms or living beings?  Ever pose the question to yourself that there is a reason of why God chose to create humans in the manner in which He did?  After an allotted amount of time had passed God said that it was time to demonstrate that Lucifer had not the capability to complete this task but that God still had the power to create another being in His image and to show once and for all that God was all powerful and not His creations.  This is where reality sets in with Lucifer so much so that his name is changed for eternity.  The mountain top that Lucifer believed that he had reached just hit him square in the face as he took his eyes off of the distant mountain that was now directly before him.

When we reach the other side of the valley we must understand that our lives have not changed even though we have gone from one mountain to another.  Since the mountains are a constant it is only the relationship that we have with the One who has created those mountains has changed and it is not until we look ahead and realize that the other mountain is actually a huge object that stands in front of our lives that we have the opportunity to change our perspectives on reality.  We have all forgotten who gave us the ability to reach the top of the mountain and have fine tuned our focus on us being at the top of the mountain, or conquerors if you wish.

In order to realize the height of the other mountain we must first come down from the mountain that we are on and go across to the other mountain.  Then and only then can we begin to understand the details about that mountain and all of the intricacies that it has.  This is where the relationship between you and the mountain begins.  One cannot ascertain details about a mountain by looking at it from a distance, only general features can be observed.  Until we reach the mountain and then begin our ascent up that mountain can we fairly draw conclusions about the mountain, the same concepts are true about God and other humans as well.  We also must keep in our forethoughts that there are two ways that we can come down from the mountain that we are standing on, one is for us to voluntarily walk down its side or the second way is for us to taken down off the mountain.

I find it so amazing that we try to continually elevate ourselves in the face of God in order to prove to others that we are far more superior to the One who created us.  God created us to be special in every way possible and if we do not keep our eyes focused upon the vastness and truly indefinable Creator it will not be too long that we will find ourselves standing upon top of the mountain and being faced with the decision about where our rightful place is supposed to be.  We have to face reality and for us to understand that we are humans and we will make mistakes in judgments, decisions and choices but when we realize these events in our lives have proven to be false let us have the dignity to admit them and to change where it is necessary.  God wants us to be all we can be but for us to accomplish this feat we need to understand that God gave us everything including the freedom to choose and to make decisions based upon those choices.

God is a vast being that would take our life time to understand one small portion of just one of His cells.  He is a huge mountain that we cannot fully understand unless we take the time to climb Him.  We cannot honestly say that we know God until we have begun this process and if all truth be known; there is no way that we can say that statement at all for our finite minds cannot comprehend God.  When you cross the valley and reach the other mountain, look up and see what you are faced with and then the relationship with that mountain can begin.  This is what we need to do in order to understand and then share about God.  Building a relationship with God takes time but it also takes time for us to come down from our own mountain in order that we can understand who God really is and how much He loves us.  God represents nothing but life and yet we love to stand on a mountain of personal selfishness and destruction. 

It is evident that western society has openly adopted the philosophy of the world.  It is also well recognized that we have chosen our true king, the one that we are placing our faith and trust in completely.  While this action is serving its purpose in worldly manners, God will allow this to continue for just as He allowed Lucifer to try and justify his notions, so will God allow us to do the same.  See God is a complete God and He shall never do things half way no matter if it within His Kingdom standards or not. 

DLB