Eve's First Example

Eve’s First Example

3/24/18

From the time our lives begin to learn about our surroundings we are being taught.  If allowed we would figure things out on our own without any other help from those older but when we have teachers who provide examples to us first, it seems like our steps are less awkward and troublesome in many ways.  Our biblical examples fared in the same way and upon reading the stories of their lives we have a further example of such notoriety.  God does not leave us hanging nor does He set us on a path and not show us or provide us with valuable information to help us on our way.  The lessons we learn should teach us how to tell others about this journey and the dangers that are around us through God’s Word that we should have known about before our journey gets into full swing.  Telling others and leaving good examples for others in the future should be the goal of every human being but as well all know sometimes we fall down, but God is always right there to pick us up and set us back in motion.

How many examples have our eyes, heart, and spirit known over the course of our lives?  If truth be known it would be hard to give an accurate count to each one but we find it easy to remember some that come to mind quickly.  I remember when I was a young kid my parents would tell me about things and how I should or should not have anything to do with those activities or situations.  But at the same time, I must also admit that many of those times that they were trying to explain things to me my mind was not there and I just wanted them to end their speech so I could go and do my own thing.  Boy, how I long to sit on the porch again and shell purple hull peas and snap beans as I was told to do many times in the past.  I realize those times are long gone for me but as I have aged I look back now and I cannot help but feel ridiculous for if I had really heeded my parents’ advice back then I wonder how my life would be different today.  Nevertheless, I find myself now a parent and giving the same information to my grown children just to watch them do their own thing and then ask “why”.

I wish that I could say that all examples that we are exposed to when growing up and learning was good and at the same time I wish I could state that every example that our eyes and ears come into contact with today came from good sources but in both accounts, I cannot.  There is always some part of the world around us that wishes to see us suffer in the name of having fun or doing your own thing yet at some point in the future this type of activity ends up hurting and brings an entirely different type of personal pain that kills a part of our lives as it continues to infect.  It is now to the point where our hearts and minds compete to see how much damage to each other and how much further escalation we can achieve while harming others, a sinister progression that only the world and its spiritual leader can provide and a process that ONLY God can end and a return to Him can stop.  I hope we can take the scales off of our eyes before God has to complete this process, for while we glorify the event of Saul on the road to Damascus it must have been a terrifying personal experience for him while God was grabbing his attention.  Hint, hint!  When our eyes and ears see such tragedies cross our screens all of us have to ask and have asked the question of why would God allow such a situation to occur.  Or, we have asked the question of where was God in all of these instances?  Unfortunately, it is a common misfortune for us to go through these misgivings and in some cases, people go through more of their share than others, a mind-boggling question, and process that we all fear.

Many of us give Eve the bad rap for being the one that Satan deceived and then gave Adam the fruit to eat and while that is a true statement we need to find out just what occurred before this tragic event took place and answer the question of why did Satan have access to Eve in the first place.  It is a common topic and well-known passage of Scripture of how God talked with Adam and then gave him the command about the Garden of Eden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil but what about Eve and her beginnings?  I know I have read this passage many times and even read it many times since God began showing me things and telling me things to write about in Genesis, but this detail passed me until a short time ago and it is this detail that describes a completion of a process that we all fall into because of the initiation of Adam and Eve.

As we have been told, Satan is on a chain and cannot do anything without God’s permission.  Every detail and every action that Satan does is authorized by God and while that seems to be a bad thing it should reemphasize in our hearts just how important we are to God and how much confidence God has in us to complete the Divine purpose that He has created us to do.  The legality of Satan’s authority comes from the initiation by God just ask Job or better yet, study the beginning of Job’s ordeal and you will find that it was God who initiated the situation of Job and Satan could only do what God allowed.  Anyway, we know about the conversation and contact between God and Adam where did the contact between Eve and God originate, for we know that Satan cannot do anything without God initiating items first.

Genesis 2:21-22 gives us the answer to this question and as stated above I have read this passage many times over my lifetime but never have really seen what it said, sometimes the human mind just skips over important information and does not process it accurately and is the perfect reason why God should be totally in control of our lives at all times for His Word brings life and protection to all those who live under His Covenant Word.  This passage states as follows: “And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof: And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.”  Now, how many times have you read this passage?  Probably numerous times and even more than I have but until a few weeks ago, a certain phrase bypassed my heart and it serves as the answer to how Satan had access to Eve and why Satan addressed Eve as well at the tree.

When we focus on these verses it has for the most part been centered on the creation of the woman and how God put Adam to sleep in order to complete this miraculous technique.  However, when you read the remaining portions of Genesis Chapter 2 and the first six verse of Genesis Chapter 3 you find no other mention of God talking to either Adam or Eve only a few further details about how the man is supposed to leave his family and cleave to the wife and right as Chapter 2 closes we find that they are naked and not ashamed.  So how did Satan gain access to Eve if there is no mention of Eve any further until the fateful conversation in Genesis Chapter 3 and more importantly if God and Adam already had a conversation and Adam had exposure to what he was supposed to do and the reason why, then there must be a key in order that Eve would fall into the same level as Adam.  For if she did not then this would point out an inaccuracy in God’s Word and pose serious questions about the legitimacy of the Bible.  But we have that clue and it comes in a small phrase at the end of verse 22 of chapter 2.  More pointed, it comes in a specific word in this last portion of that verse.

Now, for most of my life, I have had the belief that while Adam was asleep God stood in the area around Adam and made the woman.  When Adam woke up there was his helpmate and they knew that they were to be together and life as they knew it followed; you know, like the fairy tale and they lived happily ever after.  But as God showed me that belief of mine is wrong because His Word does not say that at all.  Yes, God takes the rib from Adam and makes the woman from the single rib but the key phrase and more specifically the keyword comes from the small phrase “and brought her to the man.”  Okay, this phrase changes the entire scope of how this occurred and it is this phrase and word “brought” that changes the plan.

The Hebrew word “brought” that is used here is “waybieha” which comes from the verb portion “bo” which literally means to bring to, or to come to, to go, or to come in.  This definition means that whatever the subject or object is it is being brought to another person or place.  Some of you may know that the Hebrew language can be vague at times and when this ancient text was written they did not have many additional words to complicate matters any, which for us with basically unlimited resources of communication complicates matters tremendously.  But in this phrase, it is very specific and precise enough to understand that God took Eve somewhere for an unspecified amount of time from Adam for verse 22 states that God brought the woman to the man.  So, if God made the woman in front of the man then He would not have had to bring her to him, right?

The most important truth about God is that He is all about relationship and to establish and then maintain a holy and healthy relationship with His children.  Therefore, why would God allow a magnificent creation be completed and then “let loose” without any instruction or guidance as to proceed with their life?  It would be impossible for God to act in such a manner to which this verse or the last portion of verse 22 gives us.  We have no idea about how long this time period away from Adam was but it had to be enough time in order for God to adequately explain to the woman about what she is going to face and how to act, handle things, and any other advice that a father would give his daughter and in this case a holy and eternal Father.  I am leery of guys who come into my daughter’s life and I do not know anything about them, and I refuse to allow them any “real” status of a relationship with them until I meet them, it is the proper way to begin a relationship that any part of a long-term goal involved, I cannot see or believe that God would act any differently

It is through this process that allows God to teach the woman some things about the man and what to expect from all of his whimsical attitudes and activities also for Him to explain the dangers that will present themselves to her at some point in time.  It is not an easy process to get to know, the other sex, and for most of us it is an interesting time of learning and understanding on a purely intimate level, one that binds so tight that if ever broken a world of options can occur and if this process occurs we need to be understanding enough not to continue the hurt but allow healing to occur then top things off with a detailed and organized description of an enemy that has not been witnessed as of yet.  God never intended for mankind to be alone and most definitely never to be hurt by another human being.  So why is it that one of the “best” things humans can do to each other is to hurt each other in ways so spectacular and on an intimate level?  This verse is the one that sets the stage for this confrontation in our futures and gives us the clue as to why Satan chose Eve to fulfill his sinful plan.

Question for you: who would you think would be more prone to break a rule, the original person giving the rule or a person who was created from them?  I ask this question because it poses a setting that we face today from our children.  I am 50 years old now and knowing that specific generational timeline I can proceed with this example.  Back when my parents were in high school the most common problem that the teachers faced coming from the kids in class was talking and chewing gum, what seems like an innocent and minor issue to us today was a huge problem for that era.  When I was in class the issues became a tad worse for my generation decided to begin smoking more openly and losing our filters on our language skills, a continuation of issues but one would agree that it was a slight step forward in the provocation status.  Today, there is an entirely different animal that attends the schools for they do not respect the teachers or any school authority for that matter.  There are no language filters present on any level, sex dominates the hallways and no one has the knowledge of how to stand up to a bully inside or outside of the school.  Not to mention that we have now a rash of violence that has infiltrated our school systems that are constantly rearing its ugly head and will only escalate unless a solution is found. 

It is not hard to see the increasing pattern here and it is this pattern that we shall study as the root issue of why the Word of God says that Satan chose the woman to talk to at the tree.  In NO WAY, am I saying that the woman was inferior at this time at all, for both the man and the woman at this point knew no sin but even in this condition they did have the ability to make choices and then to act upon those choices after determining them.  When Genesis Chapter 3’s timeline comes along, we find that Satan freely talks with both the man and woman and from the tone of the conversation between them he is not agitated or nervous at all but comfortable around them and does not feel out of place. It looks like the stage is set but at this point, the woman’s first example has already been defined and thus open to our enemy.

Referring back to above statements concerning the legality issues that Satan has to follow along with previous article topics we find that since God gave Eve her first example of Kingdom, Satan was now allowed to take his turn when he felt the time was right.  We have no idea how long Satan took before the proceedings of Genesis Chapter 3 occurred, nor do we have an accurate amount of time that God had with the woman first, but what we do know is that by the time Genesis chapter 3 occurred, Satan was comfortable enough with the humans that his presence was not exaggerated in any way.  When God made Himself known to the woman there was no pomp and circumstance around and this normal appearance of God’s physical presence was the same with Adam as well.  Not with Satan however, he placed himself in an exotic capacity by disguising himself as a serpent, an act that did not seem to bother Adam and Eve which concludes the fact that Satan was trying to change the course of the Garden of Eden’s status with the excitement of something new, a status of illusion and imitation that many of us still fall into today as well.

By Kingdom definition, God must give Satan permission to do things before he can do them, given this truth that means Satan cannot do anything that God does by God’s definition, for Satan cannot stand God or anything that God promotes, including YOU and YOUR EXISTENCE!  Here is the point that we need to continually keep in mind for if we forget this detail about our enemy then we shall not be able to defend against our enemy.  Satan cannot tempt you in any way without a cause or foundation to come against, which means that we must have already had our meeting with God first.  In the case of Adam and Eve, God was there personally with them first, both of them, which this presence established their foundation in God thus providing the doors for Satan to legally acquire access to humanity.  God would have never allowed His children to be subject to our enemy without being prepared, any good father would not allow this type of action occur to his child.

Now, placing all of this information together we have the perfect stage for either a total rejection of God or a total rejection from Satan.  We do not have to rehash the story again because we all know who won that day and as a result, we are in the state of affairs that we hold onto today.  The main issue of today’s problems has not changed one bit from the time in the Garden of Eden for we are continually and willingly choosing to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil instead of listening, remembering, and most importantly obeying God’s Ways.  Adam and Eve had God personally present as their source of information and instruction and we have the Word of God as our source of personal information and instruction and just like Adam and Eve on that fateful day, we are following directly in their footsteps.  In other words, just like Eve, we are not following her first example concerning our lives.

God gave humanity an equal shot at knowing only one way of the Creator but we chose to take our own route instead.  That single act of disobedience was a mistake that all of us now have to endure but in this choice of ours, God did not leave us empty handed or alone.  The relegations of such sinful tragedies we had no knowledge about directly but when we fell for the lie of the one that God warned us about when He told us about the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil our lives changed in such a way that we no longer can comprehend the value of purity.  It is this value of purity that God has continued to provide us through His Word and it is imperative that we get to know His Word as much as possible so that we can share it with others.  God is our Holy and Eternal Father and only His Word can provide us with the truth about everything we need to know to survive both physically and spiritually and the fruit of the world will only gift us death even though its beauty is beyond comprehension sometimes.

One of the major hang-ups that many Christians have is the fact that we may carry around the Bible and say that we know God but have no clue about what His Word actually states and says about our own lives then wonder why deem us hypocrites and not “qualified: to witness to them.  How can we effectively fulfill the mission that Jesus gave us when we do not even know what we are supposed to be sharing?  Eve spoke these fumbling words to Satan when they were having the discussion about the fruit on the tree, she remembered what God had spoken about it and what Adam probably had told her but when it came time, when the rubber met the road she did, was not able to repeat that most important command correctly.  She understood what had been told to her but she had been duped enough by the flamboyant sales pitch that she opened the door further for our enemy to deceive her over time.  God made it possible for us to have free will, and while carrying this unique gift of ours we have the responsibility to understand exactly what we are up against and if we only place our eggs in a one-sided basket we will not be able to defend ourselves.  Yes, it is important to understand the other side of the aisle for if we do not then we will not know what he is capable of doing in order to advance his kingdom.

God would never allow us to enter into a battle not prepared with the correct spiritual equipment, and it is this type of equipment He gave to Adam and Eve when He walked this earth.  His Word serves as this spiritual battle equipment today and it contains the exact information that God gave to Adam and Eve for the same Kingdom principles are in play today as they were back then.  Church, we have fallen down and I know that almost every single article that God has given me to write ends with some type of repentance message and a return and restoration setting immediately afterward.  There is a reason for this and it is another example that God shows us that our hearts are not right with Him.  God has given us the ability to understand what we need to do in order to survive the world and He has also given us the outlined version of the spiritual tools necessary in order to fight our enemy.  Turn our hearts and let us once again look back to Eve’s first example and to Adam’s first example and get our eyes off the fruit on the tree and obey God’s Ways with a pure and holy heart.

DLB

The Imitation Game

The Imitation Game

3/19/18

Sometimes being imitated can be a good thing, with a scene or setting being played over coming from another person’s historical interpretations.  When it comes to the lives of God’s children all seriousness is present in a vivid picture with foundations serving as the hold to which we build upon.  How many times do we become focused on non-essential items that define our lives instead of keeping our eyes on the one true source of our existence?  Far too often do we hear about eternal tragedies yet do nothing to return to our true roots thus leaving out the one Being that can help us turn our lives and nation around.  We cannot afford to follow such imitated words from finite competitors or from our eternal enemy, it is time we shed off the world, take eternal responsibility for our actions and return to God as He meant for us to live.

As I have increased in age, my desires to travel the world have remained within my heart but the capability and the time allowed for such adventures have passed me by for the most part.  With all of the cultural upheavals presently occurring, the thoughts of travelling again to some of the areas that my feet have planted on has been shaken quite a bit but it still has not tamed the desires of my heart especially if I have the opportunity to share the Gospel of Christ to those who wish to listen.  My father and mother have made numerous trips to El Salvador and have had quite the glorious experiences while they were in this beautiful country, I have only been once and while I was there I fell in love with the people of that torn nation.  It was just my father and me on this trip and it was going to be a fabulous week or so I thought.  We were on a fact-finding mission on this trip and we were supposed to be with a missionary and his wife while we were there but for some circumstantial evidence later revealed our goals were not met due to interference beyond our control.

One morning the missionary was going to be late picking us up because he had another “meeting” to attend so that meant that dad and I were on our own for breakfast.  Now, being a young adult I saw no problem with eating at major fast food chains but being a more experienced adult my father did not care for that type of food but when you are in a country that you do not speak the language and are not familiar with the surroundings, the old saying about doing things the Roman way becomes real.  Just so happens that we find a McDonalds a few blocks away from our hotel and we decided that we would eat a late breakfast/early lunch type meal and take our chances with other choices of food later if needed.  As soon as we walked in the door it was obvious that the food was the same as in the States and it eased our minds a tad.  When it came time to order our drinks the fresh squeezed orange juice sign caught both of our attention so we ordered according to what our eyes “liked”.  Now, I must say that God has blessed this heart of mine for my entire life and there have been only a few times in my entire existence that I have actually been hungry, never starving but hungry; this was not one of them.

When the signs in this country say “fresh squeezed” they usually mean fresh squeezed but from another town and processing plant from another week or so previous and that was what I was expecting to taste when I took my first sip of orange juice.  Well, sir, what was put into my mouth was pure heaven and to this day I have never tasted orange juice so sweet and delicious as what I had at McDonald's in San Salvador, El Salvador.  When they meant fresh squeezed they were not lying one bit and as I was staring at dad’s cup I wanted to ask for his but I already knew what that answer would be so I did not even ask.  I would have never imagined finding such quality from another country but it opened my eyes a bit further concerning other people and their cultures and how they live.  This experience also defined what an imitation product is and how it is sold in this nation as common and normal.  I still do not frequent fast food restaurants much and I probably will not start either, but that day’s drink shall forever stand out.  Something that s fresh and true cannot be preserved in any way for it takes the truth out of its quality if preserved.  Think about that statement for a moment and when we understand it the ways of the devil will become more known and easier to defend against.

What I had always been accustomed to in this specific category I had learned was not the real product that I had been exposed to all of my previous years.  Not that I was/am complaining about my experiences but until I had experienced the truth about fresh quality of what God has provided, I was satisfied with the “fresh squeezed” imitation game that was being plastered over my taste buds.  As stated above I am not complaining in any manner, for I am so appreciative of what God has allowed me to drink and eat but my eyes were opened in a small country that I was not familiar with at all and through this experience I have to look at things on this level in a different way.  While this may seem a tad petty to some it is a point that we need to understand because when something comes your way and is passed off as the truth we really need to know how to ascertain if what has been presented or not really is the truth or if it is an imitation, and this is the point that God wants us to understand.

Almost every day we see news headlines of some type of tragedy that occurs to humanity and it does not matter what any factor is involved either, for all are included in such activities.  Many times we see that young lives are snuffed out by other human hands and minds but it seems like we have not found the answers to end such atrocities.  The methods that we try and implement do not seem to work and only add to the confusion and the problems.  We shall never come to a good conclusion if we do not resort back to our original status of existence and find out how to live under those conditions again.  With every new law that is passed to “help” our societies cope and end violence against others, there will be 20 ways to break, violate, or to get around those laws, that is how the mind works and until the mind is changed towards a different way, the pattern that is in place shall continue.  The example that we need to heed to occurs in the Bible and while each chapter gives us this truth only a few will be dealt with here; Psalms 34:8, Genesis Chapter 2 and Jeremiah 1:5.

There is no argument that God created mankind from the ground which does not directly refer to Adam and Eve with the wonderful verse of Jeremiah 1:5 but in reality it does because God had already known about Adam and Eve’s existence before He created them from the ground which means that even though our starting point is a bit different from Adam and Eve’s we are all known before we are born.  I sometimes dream and daydream about what it would be like not to have a problem physically and that every time I set out to solve an issue that I would come up with the perfect solution that was never incorrect.  What a feeling it would be not to have to poke my finger for a blood sugar level or to have to make an appointment to see my doctor or even to redraw a patient because of a faulty specimen tube.  Genesis Chapter 2 gives us a picture of such perfect and pure conditions for both personal gain and living conditions; a pure cup of orange juice from El Salvador in other words. 

It is through this fall of mankind that Satan has his foothold in our lives and thus we become subject to false teachings that we deem as truth.  This imitation game that Satan used in the Garden of Eden still has lingering and active consequences in our lives today, even though we have no idea about what it means to live in a perfect state that option can still be pursued if we listen to God and obey His Ways according to what is written in His Word.  If Adam and Eve would have not fallen for the imitation process things would be totally different but since they did it is imperative we understand and then proclaim God’s Truth to ourselves and to others as God and His Son have spoken for us to do.  When our eyes become focused on the surroundings it shall be easy to become lost and fooled by the world’s imitation.  It does not matter what the subject might represent, if our eyes are not on the Word and have it first in our lives then ALL around us is an imitation.

There is no doubt that God told Adam and Eve of their importance to His Kingdom and that their lives could not mean more to anyone else.  They were not mass produced on some assembly line created exactly as another without care and consideration for individuality and specificity.  We are not imitation vanilla which looks good and tastes good but when compared to the original and properly created product cannot compare to such a low-level procedure.  Any product that is specifically created from pure elements cannot be considered mass produced or imitated in any way and the cost of such creation is well listed on the expensive side and takes up a considerable amount of time in order for the right combination to blend together properly.

If something does not come from God then it cannot be a good thing for our lives.  God was the Creator of each and every one of us and it is this beginning that He placed us together from nothing.  It is this aspect alone that deems it so important for us to understand what God meant when He created us and why He created us and the only true source for this understanding comes from His Word and His voice. We have an excellent biblical example of this difference between God and the world in Psalms 34:8 and it goes like this: “O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”  Does this verse tell us that the world is good?  No, it tells us that God is good and if God is good then the world cannot be.

Now, we know that if God is good and His definition completes the word good, then all things that are considered good must be subject and measured on this standard.  If the item in question does not measure up to the standard of God then it cannot be deemed as good but only as a fraud and in this case an imitation.  God’s Word does not say that God is good to play on some ego trip but to serve as the foundation for our lives, it is not a safe bet to count on the world for our strength for the world varies in stature as each second passes; therefore, God is the only constant standard and good representative that one can abide in and turn to when needed.  How many of you understand that this imitation game that our enemy plays is spiritually legal?  From the looks of the state of the Church, not many people know this truth which is a death march to those who do not understand for you have no defense against such attacks from the enemy and eventually you will fall just as Adam and Eve fell in the Garden of Eden.  The dulling of our spiritual sense is one of the major and common ways that Satan gets a foothold in our lives and once he has established this access he has free reign as long as we allow his presence. 

The perfect example of not following the warnings of God and His Word comes in the Garden of Eden for look at what occurred to Adam and Eve when they believed a cunning tongue and the goodness from the fruitful surroundings, their reality of perfection was lost to an imitation that looked better and felt good at the moment because during the act itself no mention of sorrow or doubt was spoken.  There is no doubt whatsoever that our enemy loves to confuse us about the Truth and what is considered to be truth.  Your life is eternally precious to God in such a fashion that it cannot be accurately measured yet we live through a spiritual monetary lie because we give ourselves away without restraint to the world which demands its pence.  God established this purity and priceless creation in the Garden of Eden and our value has not been changed ever since that glorious day, but we continue to listen to and then accept the imitational lies from our enemy that contradict God.  The world’s lies are cheap and are not worthy of our consumption and the sad portion of the acceptance of these lies is that when they come full circle they are not forgiving one bit and we are left devastated.

God wants us to live under the words of Psalms 34:8 for that verse proclaims that we have a longing and a desire to know God and His Ways.  This verse also teaches us that if we do not have a desire to live under this verse that we will know the difference and will seek to change our lives for the better.  We all have fallen for the imitation game in some portion or area of our lives but it is wonderful to know that we have an escape plan from this lie.  God did not create us just to leave us hanging in the wind but He has given us a way to restore our lives back to perfection in His eyes.  Jesus was a pure and holy sacrificial lamb that provides us with this eternal purpose.  In no way did Jesus succumb to the temptations of this life and this world for He understood what He was supposed to complete for His Father for our lives.

It is for this purpose that we hear every word that God gives us and to heed that word every single day.  The Bible is this Word, our eternal Word that will show us the true path of peace, humility, and perfection if we only obey its contents.  Church, we have done a lousy job at listening to the voice of God, studying His Word and most importantly telling others about His True Love for us.  The world is not included in such teachings it cannot be for it is vile and represents everything that goes against God.  The world and all of its physical excitement will lead to only trouble if it is allowed to infiltrate your heart, and don’t be fooled for just a little bit of the world’s belief in your life will fulfill itself just read about Adam and Eve.  Repent, Church and come back to God so that we may once again be pure in His eyes and be able to teach the dying world that there is a way to solve our issues and heal each and every one of our hurts.  In short, the world plays an imitation game because that is what its ruler is an imitator, God is the only way to eternal rest and perfection.

DLB

The Answer Lies in the Origin

The Answer Lies in the Origin

3/18/18

The root of a problem always comes at the beginning of the story but many times is lost during the situations that succeed the origin.  It is then time to begin digging for the truth again and sometimes this process can be a painful journey for at some point along the way hurtful scenarios have to be encountered.  It is possible to figure out many of our issues if we are willing to give up our selfish behavior and seek for the deep truth about our lives.  God has provided this type of truth findings through the Bible for it gives us so much information about our lives that if we apply its Word of Life to our lives God assures us that He will help us return to His favor for all of eternity.  If we do not ask for God’s guidance then our problems shall only compound and as we clip off the superficial conditions but continue to flourish in the sinful ways of the world and no healing will be possible.

When I was receiving this topic and its contents God spoke and said to me to list a tragedy as an example to use to explain how such incidents were not present in the beginning.  I received this topic a few weeks ago and since time has elapsed there have been numerous tragedies that have crossed our television screens in this country alone.  Countless others have occurred with no coverage what-so-ever and still, are not even known outside of personal accounts.  What does this have to do with the origin of the answer to our problems?  The answer is simple but we have made it a complex issue based upon selfish reasoning and worldly limited truth and while these personal tragedies may not have affected us on an individual level as of now, we must understand that at some point they could and there is an answer as to why such things occur.  God knows that humans shall face tragedy after tragedy but He also wants us to understand that if we place our lives in His hands and live under His Covenant alone He is faithful to protect us from such tragedies through His Laws and Love.

A few days ago we all were witness to an event that was incorporated all throughout our nation when students from schools around the nation led a protest against gun control.  For the most part, this activity was done peacefully but not in all areas was this peaceful atmosphere a true statement for in some areas it quickly became a political statement and in other areas schools did not allow students to participate.  I took advantage of this time to make a quick comment about a picture that I saw with kids kneeling with their heads bowed in a school hallway.  I made a quick comment about prayer and boy the results and comments from others began to pour in my inbox, and none of them were positive.  I knew I would not be a popular person for that statement but even in time of protest the words and actions form those people were divisive on many levels.  As the day progressed no one was coming up with the origin of the problem only superficial regulatory ambitions that will surely fall short of expectations.  A clear example that our hearts are not focused on the vine and where the origins of these issues stem from.

For the last few articles, we have been given a picture of how things were before sin entered into our lives.  The Garden of Eden and the continued presence of God is a wonderful picture to think about and to dream about but we also know that the presence of that scene is gone and our lives are governed by another force that is not so caring.  But in hope, faith, and trust we know that God has provided another way for us to have redemption and restoration and more importantly He has not left us for one moment.  God wants us to remember the origins of our lives because without this knowledge we could not understand where or what our beginnings were meant to be.  Yes, the Garden of Eden existed and the perfect settings that Adam and Eve lived within were real.  Also, God was our Creator and He is still perfect and holy in every way which means that our origins are still intact and can be reborn in the eyes and heart of the only One that matters.  Peace and tranquility were the holy foundations of our existence in the beginning and the light that we have inside our lives is living proof of this truth.  We were not meant to be subject to sadness and tragic events and God wants to make it clear that He is our origin and that everything that we know to be real come from Him and Him alone.

I can just imagine Adam and Eve lounging around in the Garden of Eden when Satan comes along and begins to have relations with them.  I can also imagine how many questions Satan planted into Eve’s mind and heart over the period of time they had together, not to mention the ones he had with Adam as well.  But through these question and answer sessions, he had to have planted his divisive ways and thoughts into their lives because as we all know Satan’s main goal is to destroy God’s perfect prize, them and now us.  I can just hear Satan justifying his presence with a twisted monologue of how he has things better and how he did not have to live according to such rules and that his interpretation of what God commanded proved to be a better report, for he was still around and was not dead.  All of this to woo two people from the perfect inhabitation that they had only known and when eaten tragedy is brought into their lives as they had never known before.  See, God did not provide any tragedy in Adam and Eve’s lives, they believed the lie that was told to them and they allowed the consequences of sin (disobedience) to this rule.

When Eve answered Satan concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he must have laughed within himself because he understood that all of his work was paying off and that it was ripe for executing.  How many times have you fumbled an answer when called upon, exaggerated it a bit, changed the story to embellish or flaunt a result?  We all have done such a thing but when it comes to our origins we cannot afford to mix up or to get wrong for if we do then our entire existence becomes in question itself which defies our origins itself.  Where are our origins and where does it come from?  We have many examples in God’s Word that explain it to us but for this topic, we are going to be in John 15:4-5.  “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” 

Here we have a wonderful and reassuring passage of how we are supposed to view ourselves and while some of us do live in these ways many of us do not believe in such truth.  It brings back the laughing and snickering of those who we tell that we are believers, for in their eyes and minds our stock is placed in a fake entity that has no meaning or contact of any kind.  It is this belief of those who believe in the world alone that stand alone with their origins being served through the branches alone.  Look at all of the responses that we have offered up to the shootings at schools and now the graduation to bombings in this nation, not to mention all of the other tense situations that are present.  They are response issues that serve only the superficial and do not even admit to any root cause or issue which means they do not understand where their origins are thus doomed to not serve a purposeful and true solution.  God’s Word says, right here in these two verses, that nothing will live when belief comes from this branch-like belief.  I ask you, how many of the answers that we are seeking from such problems today are we asking God to provide?  NONE OF THEM!!!  Making new worldly laws will only result in one answer, laughter from the ruler of this world and tears from the Creator of our origins.

These verses are meant to bring fruit to our lives so that we may understand what truth is, for life is truth and holiness is truth.  The answers for which we desperately seek each day serves as the fruit in these verses.  We must take to heart and in truth about what God says here when His Son claims to be the vine and says that we are the branches, this is true statement for it is the vine that the branches receive the necessary nutrients that are needed in order for the branches to produce its life.  A branch alone cannot produce one single item, in fact, when the branch tries to thrive it can only die barren and useless.  It is impossible to achieve any life-giving results to others or to ourselves for that matter if we do not use the source from the vine.  It is the vine that goes into the ground to receive and then provide the nutrients to the branches but if the branches revolt against the vine, rejection can only result.  Remember, God was the one who created the ground in the beginning and it is His Son who says He is the vine which goes right into the ground thus providing the true answers for our productivity, answers, and ultimately fruit.

Yes, this is a kingdom passage for it foretells the results of what will occur when one or the other kingdom is chosen.  Satan cannot produce any life whatsoever for he is a defeated ruler and is on a spiritual legal chain and can only do what God says is permissible.  Why live, supply, take advice from, and cheer on a loser and defeated ruler?  John 15:5 clearly states that the only way a person who can bear fruit has to be living within the vine and receiving the proper life-giving nutrients in order to bear such answers.  God wants people to know the truth but the truth shall not come to our nation or into our lives until we return back to His Ways and turn our hearts back over to Him.  There is a great deal of activity when the branches are pruned and there is a reason why only the branches are pruned as well, a subject to explain at a later date, for the vine itself does not get pulled unless it is completely dead and in this case the vine is eternal and the branches the one that does not produce.

Church, we cannot afford to remain silent while our nation sinks further and further down the eternal drain.  We must get our hearts out from the sand and take a stand for God.  How?  By spreading the news that God is the only answer to our problems and if we return to His Ways He has promised to heal our lands which means not only our physical land will be healed but our spiritual land as well.  As of this moment, it is obvious that this nation has no intentions of returning to God much less asking for His advice in our current issues and to be honest, it looks like we (the Church) have no interest in doing such steps either.  How can we even step foot out into the world and cry salvation when we do not live in Covenant in the first place? 

Our nation and many people are begging to find answers to these issues that all of us face, but we are ignoring the vine that has the answers for us to bear good fruit again.  There shall be no peace and no permanent answers to these problems and to the problems that we will soon face unless we turn back to God and seek His face for our lives.  If we choose not to return to God be prepared for our branches to really stink up the place for the life-giving nutrients from the vine shall not flow because we have voluntarily cut that source off.  Jesus is the only way and the only answer to the issues that we face on every level, God is pleading with us to return to Him and I hope that we shall adhere to this beckoning before it is too late and our branches die.  Jesus clearly states that if we are not in Him then we shall bear no fruit and we all know what Jesus did to the fig tree when He saw that it was not doing its job properly.  God is our origin and only He can provide the correct answers to our healing and eternal life.

DLB

Good and Evil

Good and Evil

3/17/18

Most people are aware of this phrase and what it represents to our lives for it is a choice that we face then complete every day.  It is amazing just how many times we argue these points with others and do not even take the time to consider whether our points are valid according to God or not, but that is what our world teaches.  It is this phrase that defines our lives and how we live it and what we consider to be valued and from the looks of things our values have fallen tremendously without care or consideration.  God set a perfect standard before we were created and it is this standard that we have allowed to be dulled and until we revisit and then plant His Standard back into our routines our lives shall not become better but worse on all levels.

One of my author friends just shared a couple of pictures from the house that she had lived in for a few decades.  When she lived there the place both inside and outside was immaculate and it is obvious that she took great care in what was hers.  She decided to move to another location and ventured into the renter’s market as a means to justify supplement her income.  Real estate has always been a good investment venture for those who wish to pursue those grounds but as many also will attest some of the hazards can be horrifying and a further drain on the personal economy present, not to mention the personal anguish if something goes wrong with the house.  When we rented a long time ago we loved that little house and tried our best to keep it as neat, clean, and “healthy” as possible for we knew we would see the owners of the house around town and knew them on a very personal level as well.  We did not wish to harm that relationship in any way and to our knowledge, we did not and are still great friends today.

Trust is a keyword that homeowners place with renters and that they will take care of the property and have pride in where they are living even though their surroundings technically do not belong to them.  To be honest, it is this aspect of renting that my wife and I have not ventured into such a market and is content to have just one house that we call our own.  While sometimes our house looks like a hurricane went through it we keep it as neat as possible, especially when you have grandkids coming in and out almost every day.  My friend’s tenants decided to move out suddenly and it was this action that posed some questions in her head that made her a bit unnerved.  As soon as she had the opportunity to travel back down to her house her worst fears were confirmed for the people had just up and left that part was true but when they said to her over the phone that the house was in great shape, that blind statement was a complete lie.

The pictures of the house that she posted after the renters moved out were heartbreaking, for the people had totally demolished the house including the outside yard which had been in pristine condition upon their arrival.  It took my friend a couple of days to find out some facts but she was told that the people actually had pigs pinned up inside the house and from the looks of the pictures she posted that was a true statement.  We have heard the phrase living in a pig pen, well this was a real condition that she has found appalling but somehow needs to regroup and fix.  Once again, when asked the people said there was nothing wrong with the house and that everything was in good shape when they left, a deviant and varied truth about what they considered to be good and worthy of others living in the house in the near future.  Sadly, it is this deception of good and truth that gives us the perfect example of how good is overruled by evil through the connective word “and” which demonstrates how evil came to be a part of our lives.  It was the renters’ choice to demolish the condition of the house and while they may not have exactly believed that they did any harm the end result was that the house is uninhabitable until great amounts of repairs are completed, a complex project that we should all personally recognize when it comes to our lives as well.

All who live in the western societies and who have attended church at one point in their lives around this globe probably are familiar with the story of God’s Creation in the first two chapters of Genesis.  For as many who believe in this Book, there are just as many and with today’s standards of beliefs probably more that do not believe that what is written in the Book of Genesis is true.  There is only one entity to blame for that disbelief and he is the one who we now embrace as our leader which further deepens our need for God, another truth that we kick out with every breath we take.  It is amazing how we quickly dismiss what is written in Genesis as a myth or fake because while we take the time to read those words it is our creative minds that God gave us that initiates and then falls for the lies that our enemy plants.  But in these first two chapters of the Bible, we have the key elements of how our lives were made and what conditions we were created to live within and it is through these two chapters that we have our defining moments along with the direction that God lives, breathes, acts, and creates.

Genesis Chapter 1 is filled with what we consider to be the creation of our world and how He made everything in their perfect order.  The entire first chapter of Genesis gives us a beautiful view of how God operates and creates then makes mention of His Word with the completion of the respected day.  From many of the articles that God has shared with us over the past few years, we have found out that when God completes something it is always in a perfect and in order fashion which means that it is “good”.  God states this word after many of the creation days for when He looked at the work completed He knew that it was a good thing which meant that as He completed such deeds He was advancing His Kingdom.  If we take a closer look at this setting we will notice one detail that is present and one detail that is not there.  The detail that is present includes the word “good” and the detail that is not there is any imperfection, only one side of the creative process is around at this time.

To be honest and fair, God could have stopped at this point, brought His perfect tenure into play and just stuck with the opportunity of good being the only way possible for His new creations to exist.  God is God and He has never done anything that would slow or even stop His Kingdom from advancing so this is an absolute right that He would and could accomplish.  But we all should recognize that God is not of this one-sided venture and that He is always for and has always been for free will for He is not a slave master demanding His service or else.  It is the patterns of this type of creation that God intended for His children to live in at all times of their existence but while He established these perfect conditions He knew that when free will followed its creative pattern it had the possibility to change positions, a heartbreaking thought but one that had to be in place or God could not claim to be all-knowing.

Through this demonstration of God’s Divine way of creating the world, it should not have been too difficult for Adam and Eve to want to continue living in such arrangements.  They did not have to want anything for in Genesis Chapter 2 God gives us a small glimpse about how all of Adam and Eve’s needs were met all the way down to the food issue of their existence.  We can also conclude that the food that was provided to Adam and Eve was good for their lives and that it gave them the needed nutrients in order for their functioning for the day another baffling truth of God’s goodness that is hard for us to imagine being true.  But how many times have we had a good thing come into our lives just to have us throw it away at some point then regret our actions at another time?  Hence the phrase that God uses in Genesis 2:9 when He introduces Adam to the one off-limits tree for food, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

This phrase is the key to the point in which God wants us to understand in this article for it is the single word “and” that sets the stage and order for what became of God’s Kingdom and the defeated kingdom of His enemy and our enemy.  Every detailed word that is written in the Bible is of great importance and the order in which these words are placed has a significant definition of themselves.  This phrase “good and evil” states a great deal of information about who came first and the status of each kingdom at the same time.  The word “good” is mentioned first and it is here that God authorizes His presence as being first in every aspect of life and of everything that represents as good.  This fact also sets the tone for what type of conditions were and still are present in the realm of God for God Himself gives us nothing but good to refer to Him and His Ways, it is our selfish and limited ideologies that prohibit us from understanding this eternal goodness that God can only provide.

The next word in line is the word “and” and it is this word that engages our brains to know that there is another aspect that is present and should be understood.  Through the word “and” we know that God is good for if He wanted to control our every move He could have done so by defeating His enemy and placing him into his rightful separation way before God created mankind.  But through this word “and” alone God reiterates that He is not a controlling God at all and that He created us out of love and for a specific and holy purpose for it is through this word that He makes clear that there is another side that we will face.  It is this other side that God did not hide us from but warned us right from our beginning when He was handing out His single rule.  It is this word that ignites our minds to figure out that with all of the good that God showed Adam that His blessings and goodness should be noticed today as well.

How important is this word “and” being used in this phrase by God?  It is this word that tells us that these two words, one before and one after, are in constant motion against each other and if one is moved in one direction the other is moved in the opposite.  Since God spoke this phrase it means that both of the words plus the word “and” represent an eternal movement and as we know the object being fought over is us.  It is also this word that God sets into motion the ability for humans to choose which side of the word “and” we will believe in and move, a brilliant mechanism to advance His Kingdom through His own eternal Creations.

However, for many reasons, we would rather incorporate the third and last word of this phrase “evil” into our lives instead.  The word evil cannot have anything to do with good and by definition of both words they are the complete opposite of each other.  Through this phrase, both warring kingdoms are defined and by each individual definition of the words it cannot be denied that a battle is raging and since God spoke to Adam concerning these words that battle was for him and every future human creation that was to come.  It is impossible to think that Adam missed this point of grace by God or did he just take matters into his own hands and play around with God when it came to this inspective item of eternity?  There cannot be any question that God made Himself clear when He told Adam what he could do and what he could not do and to top measures off God even told Adam in clear language what would occur if he did break this single command.  God makes it clear that when He discusses and uses the term “evil” He means that there is an opponent out there that wants to see His Kingdom stopped and pushed backward.  The issue at hand here is our eternal setting and since God is the Creator of everything good that means that Satan is the representative of this word “evil” and should be taken seriously at all times.  It is this specific issue that God tried His best to get across to Adam when He was telling him how important it was not to eat from the tree.  It was not the tree itself but the act of obedience to God’s Word that was the issue and we see in a few verses down the line that God’s Word was already being used for selfish gain instead of God’s gain.

One last point to make is that when God speaks to Adam in this verse He wants Adam to understand that both the good kingdom and the evil kingdom already exist and are present in the world of Adam.  See, God gave Lucifer a choice and he made such choice some point in time long before God created Adam which confirms that this separation in Heaven had occurred before God created the Garden of Eden and mankind.  According to the order of the words, God used the good Kingdom came first and serves as the standard for which all others must follow to serve as measure.  Evil equals disobedience which is defined as sin and according to its order of wordage from God in this verse came after the perfect state in Heaven., thus implicating Adam to be aware of this condition if allowed into his existence.  It is through this verse that God gives humans the adequate supply of defending their existence from eternal death and through these keywords used by God provides them with the ability to know what is good (God’s Word) and what is not (words contrary to God’s Word).  Seems simple enough, right?

Before we proceed, I want to just to clarify a minor yet important detail about the word “good” that is used in these passages and to show how specific God’s Word is let’s take a look at the word “good” used here.  The word “good” that God uses to describe His work on each day of creation is the Hebrew word “towb” which means it comes from a perfect origin since God directly gives this word as a descriptive term about what He has completed.  Now, the exciting part about such word usage is that when we next see this word being used by God for a description is when He is directing Adam about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  For the word “good” that God uses here is the exact same word “towb” that is used when God is looking over His Creative days.  This is a confirmation that this tree is referring to kingdom principles and since God is saying them it also means that He is referring to eternal standards.

If one wants to place it into modern terms and thinking then the serpent was using the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as a progressive stance to a conservative notion of Adam and Eve’s existence.  Some people may not like such a comparison and others may accuse of bias through this statement but when you break down the meaning of those two words it is clearly correct.  Now, having stated that fact, we must consider that the opening for Satan to present himself to Adam and Eve was already present and thus had free grounds to do what he specifically did in Genesis 3:6.  While there is nothing wrong with human progression, it needs to be done in a manner in which the process follows God’s Ways so that its completion can be on a sure and solid foundation because if it isn’t then we are a guaranteed a huge fall.  Just think of it as this way, Lucifer fell because of his lust for greater power and status and if we seek after his ways and not obey God’s Ways then we are guaranteed to fall just as Lucifer did.

From what we are seeing unfolding in today’s societies it cannot be missed that we are headed for some certain disaster.  The Church should be licking her chops with anticipation of so many people wanting to flock to their services, yet this type of action is not occurring.  Instead, the Church is participating in such worldly activities and condoning the eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Yes, I said it because God told me to say it, the Church is playing the role of the serpent through her actions concerning the world and the acceptance thereof.  The Church has forgotten that these two kingdoms are on opposite ends of truth and within this truth lies the choice of our eternal position.  She has become complacent with the world and antagonistic to God’s Word which states her eyes are on the tree and lusting after its great qualities.  God established His prized creations to be first in everything not second as the choice of the world is, we need to change this pattern quickly or we shall partake of that forbidden fruit and regret those bites immediately.

It is time that we once again are a light unto the darkness by allowing God to enter into our lives and provide the eternal light that the dying world needs.  It is time that we leave the tree of the knowledge of good and evil alone and begin to obey the work command that God gave Adam to dress and keep the Garden of Eden.  I find it very conclusive that the command that God gave to Adam in the Garden of Eden is the exact same command that Jesus gave when He was on the earth to His disciples and to those who listened and understood His Words and that is to go and to teach the gospel of Christ, salvation, restoration, and eternal life.  In other words, which tree are your eyes fixated upon, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or on the cross?

DLB

God's Creative Creativity Imitated

God’s Creative Creativity Imitated

3/10/18

How important is the Bible in your life?  I know that we have heard this question posed to us many times over our lives, but have you really asked yourself this question before?  It is common knowledge and practice that if someone likes and believes in a subject that they will do everything in their power to understand and then exemplify that subject.  How much purer can one get when they have this goal in their hearts?  So, God asks you again, how important is His Word in your life and to what lengths will you go to obtain its entire content, do you even believe that the Bible is His eternal Word?  The beauty of the Bible is that whether you wish to or not many of us keep a portion of His Word’s truth in our lives, the authority to choose to believe in Him or not, the basics of our lives free will.  It is the authenticity of God’s Word that brings forth the creativity that God intends for us to use, but the question remains of which kingdom do we use our creativity for?

As each day passes it seems like the social standing of the world’s societies vies to see who can come up with the next bombshell news story.  It does not matter who might be involved or hurt by such a story but getting the “beef” on someone and then being the first to publish its content seems like the right thing to do.  I saw a cartoon the other day that stated that we should place all hope in humanity by ensuring that all guns be taken out of the hands of people and not allow any to resurface within private hands and homes.  The second frame asked if God was even going to be considered in this decision, the shirt of the person making this statement about guns also stated proudly that we had already taken God out of our society and lives.  It is this statement that proves to everyone that God is no longer an option in our lives and should not even be considered in topic.  It is this cartoon that sums up the reason why our lives are under constant threat from every direction for after God was taken out all hell was allowed to filter into our lives for that is what the only option left can produce.  I understand that this type of example is one that reflects modern humanity at its best but it also defines the resourcefulness of our creativity that many of us continually use yet at the same time fail to understand its origin in our lives.

When I was in high school and living in southeast Texas, one of my close friends there was a talented artist.  It was amazing to see how his mind could portray a setting, a scene, or a thought that was running through his mind all being etched down on a piece of paper or drawing paper.  While he had this talent within him and through word of mouth many people knew of this talent of his, the creativity of his gift remained hidden and silent because the enemy had convinced him that his ability to follow through with his gift was unworthy of being mentioned.  My friend was a bright and brilliant young man that had scholarship offers from schools that wanted to further develop the skills that had been given to him.  He turned down every offer and did not follow through with many others a short time later to remain in obscurity and hide the light that had been purely given to him.  It is this sadness that God sees each day from His people and it breaks His heart because He understands that through our complacency not only are we going to miss out on eternal life with Him but countless other people will miss His eternal resting place as well because we gave up on our creativity for the authenticity of God’s Word.

This brings up a huge issue that we are currently witnessing on a routine basis and that is the denial of the creative mind and how our enemy has stolen this gift of ours and is now using its skewed focus against us.  For as long as I can remember my eyes have watched many horrific events occur all across the world and when I was younger those events were given to us on a time-delayed status but even in that condition they had a profound effect on my life.  Today, we are provided with immediate results when these types of events occur and it does not really matter where around the globe they present.  Our reasoning is so focused on catchphrases or hot blame that we fail to recognize the exact origin of such disasters, thus creating an artificial pruning effect that that only allows for further ugliness to return. 

The creativity of the mind which was given to us when we were created by God served as the calming purpose for Adam and Eve while they went along and completed their work.  But somehow as time rolled along, Satan began a campaign against this holy creativity of life and turned its meaning around for a selfish gain instead of a holy advancement of God’s Kingdom.  The sad part about this truth is that he has continued this dulling of our hearts so much that he is once again being able to play on the superficial and outlying issues instead of us understanding where the origin of our problems lie.  When our minds and creativity aspects are worldly driven and focused we cannot help but serve our own selfish destinations and wants which can only result in one outcome, destruction.  This pattern began in the Garden of Eden and has continued and shall continue to flourish until we voluntarily turn our hearts back to God.

We will be returning to the Garden of Eden for our biblical reference for this topic and we will specifically be going to Genesis 2:15-17.  We have the picture that God has created man and is now giving him instructions on what to be done with the area that God has now placed him into, God gives Adam instructions in verse 15 when His Word states: “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and keep it.  The area and job that God gave to Adam is pretty clear and simple here, a detail that we have been taught for some time now but what does this location and job say about Adam and God Himself? 

The answer lies in verse 16 & 17 when God gives specific guidelines of what Adam is allowed to eat and what will occur if he does not obey the simple one command from God.  But verse 16 contains a single word that describes how God wants Adam and eventually Eve to act, the verse states as follow: “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:”.  It is the word “freely” that defines what God represents when it comes to freedom and creativity.  God placed no restraints on the creative abilities that He placed inside Adam when He commanded Adam to dress the garden, only that he needed to do what God said to do.  God uses the word freely here in order to put into motion the command that He gave to Adam, yes, God used this word to initiate the single law that God placed at that time.  In other words, freedom to fulfill God’s law was the law itself and to do it according to what God had placed inside of mankind.  See, creativity is a part of your specific and divine purpose for your life and when both are in full motion you cannot help but be an example of God’s Kingdom advancement agenda.  Isn’t that neat?

For those who have a narrow view of God or the belief that He had to create such a place or existence, which many of us do if we are completely honest, I understand how you would believe how boring a life of work in a garden could become, but it is not of that sort of nature that we must know and comprehend for God has put into our lives a pattern of creativity in order to continue the cycle of life and fun in everything we do.  As long as we are keeping what God has instructed us to do intact and complete and following the ways of His Word that means we are in tune with His Word and therefore believe in the authenticity of God’s Word.  What we see as life can become mundane if not injected with a certain type of enthusiasm on a regular basis, it is this creative processes that God intended for us to input into our lives on a daily basis, yet we figure out some way to destroy these creative mannerisms by enabling negativity to infiltrate our hearts.  God did not create robots to just follow idling positions but He made in such a way that we have the ability to complete His instructions not only according to His Ways but in an individual manner while we obey His instructions.  We have been told by our enemy for long enough that our lives are not worthy of life and with this status in hand neither is anything that we can do so why pursue anything that would promote redemption.

Would you consider such an act of instability to originate from God?  Why would He do such a thing and wouldn’t it be a dividing factor for His Kingdom if He did so?  How can he be or represent an authoritative and eternal Father if His Ways are flawed?  Is it an impossible task for us to strive for such a position and why do we have such a separation from Him in the first place?  This condition of ours must have originated from some other being that had a falling out with God and then provided an alternative method of living that caught the heart’s eyes well enough to pull them from looking on the eternal and perfect Father.  This must have been a creative illusion strong enough to override such pure teachings and one that was sleek enough to be covered over by a deep lie in order to pass as the truth.  Think about something for a moment, if a being cannot perform any task with imperfections establishes a fact and it can be demonstrated through you specifically why would you want to know any other way or position?  Yet, we accept these flawed creations as normal and strive for something far less than what our lives were created to complete.

It is hard to imagine how much loss Adam and eve had that fateful day in the Garden of Eden.  The choice they made to eat and then disobey cost them everything they had and thus had to be evicted not only from their home but from the direct presence of God as well.  While their lives themselves were still there their eternal presence and makeup were gone, changed forever into a new condition that they had never witnessed before.  All of these changes were addressed when God showed up and then began His holy purge of sin once again from His eternal and pure habitat.  The creativity that God gave to Adam, Eve and the rest of humanity is still present in our lives today and while this holy act is continuously alive it is still the goal of our enemy to destroy that creativity and selfishly confine it to a worldly standard.

I have often heard people state that they are bored with this life and wish not to remain in an active role, this can mean a vast array of things and all should be taken seriously.  It is at this point where the Church needs to loudly proclaim the truth about each person’s life and how important it is to God and that He has instilled a purpose for them.  This purpose is demonstrated by the curiosity and the creative aspects that are embedded within us and it is through those initiatives that give us the authority we need to understand the authenticity of God and His Word so that we may apply that Truth not only in our own lives but speak the Truth into other people’s lives as well.  Losing a person’s creativity means that an original idea or imaginative processes are gone and for the most part once that is lost it is very difficult to gain access to again, why do you think our enemy has used the technology of today to keep the eyes of the younger generation glued to a screen instead of what is going on around them?

God had never intended for us to live in such disarray or unholy conditions but He Divinely anticipated our downfall through the choice mechanism that He placed within our existence.  The choices we make demonstrate our creative skills that each one of us has and when we use such skills for others to see we are actually completing the will of God which furiously charges our enemy with other ways to squelch this gift of ours.  Each day we see these patterns of creativity being destroyed even though we proclaim that our ideas and “new beginnings” are of a pure and writ origin.  This belief is true; however, the origins from which these worldly behaviors are accepted do not come from God but from the ruler of the world instead.  We have pushed aside and then forgotten that if we do not apply our creative status according to God’s creative hand, it is a lie and will be used against us at some point in time in the future.

Sometimes the Church needs to teach on hard subjects and topics and leave the soft and cushy sermons at the door.  It is obvious that many church services teach these soft and feel good sermons on a routine basis for the congregants have become accustomed to sitting in the pews with their feet up eating cookies, doughnuts and sipping coffee instead of listening and taking notes from the pastor; however, it is really difficult to understand these sermons or any sermon for that matter when the pastor’s mouth is full of the same items as the congregants as they speak.  This type of ministering speaks volumes to both God and to Satan for it says that we have lost the edge of our creativity and ability to teach others how to rid ourselves to a sinful world through separation from that world and not to adapt to its fingers of lies.  Part of the creativity aspect of our lives includes the reasoning of how to tell people that God is alive and that He cares for each one of them and that He wants them to have a better life.  A person CANNOT and SHALL NOT have a better life while they are holding onto the world’s ideas and philosophies.  That is a short and sweet truth that we need to figure out and then execute from our hearts but we have no desire or intention to do such a truth towards others.

Church, this is another example of how we have become complacent with the truth and have decided to incorporate the world into our lives instead.  It is this same pattern that Adam and Eve followed when they had spent a good amount of time in the Garden of Eden and it was one of the principle open doors that Satan walked through in order to create their downfall.  We cannot afford to keep walking in Adam and Eve’s shoes we must shed those shoes and start taking the footsteps of Christ and He will lead us back into the path that we were created to do.  God is not a stagnate being and it is a definitive truth that He does not want any of His children to consider themselves stagnate either and when we allow the enemy to steal our creativity or to use it for his world instead of God’s Kingdom he has done just that.

A large portion of restoration is to grant our creativity back to us and to bring it alive again so that we may find and then develop ways to bring people to Christ.  This aspect of our existence is one that is heavily contested over for it is the key to how we will be effective in winning the lost and keeping our hearts on track towards a return to a holy life.  We cannot have life or restoration if our eyes are glued to physical settlements and we cannot guide our walk by our ears alone, we must put down all distractions before they become the death of us.  Open God’s Word and follow the healing and restorative words that it gives us, the Bible alone will guide us in all of our needs and decisions if we only seek God and His Word first.  We all know that Adam and Eve had a repentant heart after sin entered into their lives but it was at that point where only restoration was possible.

God loves restoration and He loves fulfilling His promise to His people who choose to walk in His Ways instead of living for the world’s moment.  God is heeding us to repent and to return to His ways Church and it is time that we hear such words and allow our hearts to be cleaned by the Word of God again.  We do not want what is coming to us nor do we wish to see the mighty hand of God strike in ways that will bring us to our knees.  Right now, right at this moment, we have the opportunity to change this course we are on but the path shall not change unless we (the Church) wake up and begin the awakening before a restorative revival needs to occur.  God loves you and so do I, He does not wish for any to perish in their sins and be eternally separated from Him and that is the exact reason He wants us to believe in the authenticity of His Word and in the gift of creativity.

It cannot be left out that our minds and hearts do the exact same imitation game and worldly creativity when we try and justify God’s Word and His Holy Authenticity for our own purposes.  The Bible is not here and was not given to us to justify doing or not doing something when it does or does not feel right.  God gave us His Word as an instruction plate so that we may follow His restoration plan for our lives and as long as we place God’s words of this eternal plan in our own mouths for our own pacification standards we fall into the worldly creativity status that many currently do not realize they are within.  Furthermore, we must include the Church in this category for she has turned to the world for general acceptance purposes and has left God’s Eternal Truth plan out of her examples thus creating a relatively “safe” or “sanctuary” zone for those who understand and apply God’s True Word in their lives.

This imitation game of creativity shall only create a false safe zone or sanctuary that will one day prove to be a lie.  An important detail we must remember about this creative imitation game that we play is that as long as we live in such a condition, we will our enemy to lie enough for us to believe that we are still free in God, but we are FAR from that.  Those senses of security will all be washed away and leave nothing but confusion and anger as our feet stand on the washed out shorelines of our land.  God and His Ways are the only way possible to see our lives turn around and cease its needless death sentences that are currently overwhelming our hearts.  Church, this turnaround, and repentance must be projected through our actions and by our witness but it seems like we have fallen into the same trap as countless generations before us.  Church we need to repent first and then allow God to change our hearts before He must demonstrate His own holy obedience.  God loves each and every one of us and it is His desire to heal our land but the only way for that to occur is to stop believing in and living through the imitation creativity that Satan is providing and return to the original creative minds and hearts that God placed into us when our existence began.

DLB

Christianity's Holiest Site

Christianity’s Holiest Site

3/4/18

I wonder what comes to a person’s mind when they see a statement that is identical or very similar to the title of this article.  I know what my mind thinks about but this question must be asked for I know many will have varying degrees of answers.  I understand all of the potential answers but I know that God probably has a different answer than most of us do.  It presents a process of which we need to examine ourselves and see exactly where our motivation and focus is located, for if we truly do not understand or recognize Christianity’s greatest and holiest site our eternal engraving might need to be changed.  God wants His children to know and especially those that do not know Him at all, that Christianity’s holiest site is not a relic from some old church but a perfectly designed temple that each one of us carries within ourselves.

I have to admit that for a long period of time in my life I would have probably found no reason to differ with many of the answers that you are thinking or speaking right at this moment, but about two decades ago God got a hold of my life while I was in Africa at a conference and He changed my life when He revealed to me about His Kingdom and how it was to operate in my life; since I was His Kingdom.  From that moment onwards, the road I chose was a rocky one for I really did not understand the meaning of what God’s revelation to me meant and for quite a while I struggled with such knowledge and I must admit for a short period of time I did not want anything to do with what God was showing me.  I ran pretty hard and tried my best to keep the truth from infiltrating my life and every second that I did this action my life was miserable.  Eventually, I stopped fighting and doing my own thing, and sat down and finally listened to God and He immediately revealed what the highest, holiest and most desired site was to Him. 

It is easy to try and place the word “site” into the context of a noun which legitimizes the word as a physical place or thing that the eyes and mind can recognize without difficulty.  But when it is applied to an active verb or abstract noun it can become a tinge more difficult to define especially when one is so used to placing it on the outward physical appearances.  I do not argue the fact that physical places represent a major indication that Christ was alive and probably at least walked in the path of some relics and places that we deem as holy sites today, but I do not agree with the fact that many places these relics and sites on pedestals and claim them to be the holiest sites in Christianity.  While I understand their importance I cannot condone this type of statute because they can become idols in the eyes of mankind and for some they already have.

I ran across this video the other day that projects Christian priests and bishops protesting the State of Israel and other local agencies concerning a few tax-related issues.  The protests included shutting down the doors and closing off the areas to these cherished sites that many deem to be the holiest to Christians and Christianity.  The news bleep contained a few visitors from around the world that were upset because they were not allowed to go inside and see for themselves these places deemed important.  As a person who has traveled to many other religious spots of interest, I understand that disappointment in not being able to see what was intended can be concerning but it should not be or represent a devastating loss.  It is not this place or any other place that God deems as the holiest site and while “good” money might be spent on arriving for such a site, our eyes and sight should not be focused on the places but on the true holy site that God wants and desires from our lives.  I do not doubt these priests’ sincerity on the issue but it comes across that their focus is on the building and the status of that building comes first before the importance of salvation and the mission of the Church to preach the Gospel of Christ.

As I stated above, I could have looked at these places and deemed them of great importance but once again I must take myself and you the reader back to a sermon that my father preached in the early 1980s.  He had just returned from a trip to the Holy Land that included Israel, Jordan, and Egypt along with a few other stops on the way.  I remember vividly one of the pictures that he took was of the tomb where Jesus was supposed to have been buried.  My dad said that the group was instructed that while many people believe that this tomb was the exact site where Jesus was buried others did not and that His burial occurred at another place.  What my dad stated next confirms my belief and what the Word of God states concerning the holiest site in Christianity.  He said that it did not matter which site people believed that Jesus was buried in, for both sites were empty.  Jesus did not come to die and be buried but He came to rise from the dead so that He and His blood can be represented as the covering for all men’s hearts.

Probably the most recited and well-recognized verse in the Bible is John 3:16 and it is this verse that contains the answer to what is the most treasured and holiest site in Christianity.  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  It is this verse that confirms that the holiest site to Christians, Christianity, and more importantly to God is the human heart for it is the only thing possible that can make the choice to choose God or not.  God does not care for the physical items that this world has to offer, He only cares about having each and every one of His children next to Him and in His presence close to Him for eternity.  The heart is one noun that controls a person’s eternal destiny and it is this item of importance that God desires most for us to give Him.  It is okay that we visit these sites and marvel at what occurred in them, at them, or near them but it is the heart that we voluntarily give to God that counts the most.  I find where people give homage to sites that are decorated for God, I understand this but God does not want your heart to be focused on such earthly wonders, but the wonder of His Life that He gave for you.

Another portion of God’s Word that gives us details about how important it is to recognize that the heart is the most prized offering to God occurs in the book of Exodus when the children of Israel are in the desert.  When you look at the geography of the desert in which the Israelites walked through it is not that large in area.  Yes, it is a wide array of land that poses many challenges, but it really should not have taken forty years for the people to cross, so it means that there was another reason for this long-lasting journey.  The reason was that their hearts had become focused on the physical things that they had in life and how they needed to drop those things and give their hearts back to God, you know, the art of sacrifice in motion.

The children of Israel refused to do this and really did not understand that they needed to either.  It is obvious that this was the case for after a while they decided to build a golden calf and dance to its presence instead of waiting for God to reveal His laws to them.  The children of Israel had placed their focus on something manmade and that they could physically see instead of trusting what God was trying to show them through the spiritual communication lines of the heart.  It is the same dangers we face today when we place more emphasis on the physical world and its artifacts as it was when the children of Israel thought about and then made the golden calf.  It is the heart that is at stake and God really does not care about anything else on an eternal level.  God has never closed off the access to His heart yet we have done a fabulous job in completing such an act, ironically many times in the name of God.

When we place our focuses on things other than our hearts, our concept of life automatically dulls.  When the emphasis of life is placed on other objects around us we cannot help but feel left out or separated from relationships.  It is at this stage where we need to understand that it is the human heart that is the most important object not only in Christianity but life itself and that we cannot understand or know life without God being first in everything breath we take.  When life is doled off as second sister it becomes unstable and unreliable due to the confines that have been voluntarily chosen.  The world has perfected such atrocities for humanity and daily acquires new territory for its demeaning outposts.  I believe it is time we go back and reread the last sentence of the previous paragraph and then reread it again until we figure out what exactly is the most important site to God.

When the focus of what is true versus what is an outside source becomes an issue there is a problem within one’s system.  When that choice of outside influences becomes greater than the true heart a masking has occurred and the truth is no longer relevant, which means that one can no longer adjust to keep the truth intact but is forced to accept what the outside realm warrants.  If one takes a hard look at the children of Israel and their story while walking around in the desert you will find that this condition within their lives rang true.  Also, it is easy to find such an acknowledgment in today’s societies and behavior as well, a striking degradation of the truth and life itself and when publicly displayed sets the course of devastation just right around the corner.  This type of belief destroyed the very demeanor and hopes of the children of Israel and it is in its final stages of devastation in the present world today.  How far has this belief come?  Let us take a look at the spiritual conditions of both examples and see if they fall in line with what God deems as the holiest site in Christianity.

The children of Israel were waiting for Moses to return from the mountaintop where he had gone up some time ago.  Given human nature, the initial waiting game must have been an easy process for the hopes of a quick return had to be a constant theme but as time passed and no word from God or from Moses the ears became itchy and the hearts became restless.  By the time Moses returned the people had already succumbed to the physical aspects of their surroundings and threw God from their trusting position into second place.  The same has occurred in today’s societies as well, for the initial waiting period on God to show up and to keep in touch with His people was present but as time has passed the same type of presence has been felt by the general population.  In both groups, it has been forgotten as to why God revealed Himself in the manner that He did, and even though both groups are children of God He must have the hearts of the people understand their spiritual condition instead of just relying on the physical excitement.

In both examples, the people got their eyes on the physical and ignored the warnings that God was trying to give them before He had to step in and take matters into His own hands.  The deepening and hardening of the Israelites’ hearts was bad enough to allow them to wander in the desert for forty years so how bad will it have to be for our lives when God says it is time for us to have our hearts cleaned?  The Church has fallen into the same act as well, accepting the ways of the world and telling the people that it is okay to accept the practices of the world, that God will look past at the sins of the people because He loves them, and that His Word is interpretable and not authoritative in nature.  You know that these thoughts were present at the time of the Israelites, look at their activities and it is evident, so why are we any different?  We are not and if we do not turn our lives and hearts back to God and once again understand that this world cannot hold a light, any light, to the light that God has for our hearts.

That golden calf meant nothing but an idol to the people for temporary “relief” during hard times, and the ways of the modern societies serve up the exact same lie to countless of people today as well.  The topic and title of this article may seem like a gross representation of what is being taught here but God wants us to understand that times are about to change and it is extremely vital that we know, understand, and function with the truth about what is the holiest site of Christianity.  By the actions of the children of Israel during the Book of Exodus, through the actions of the majority of the people in the Early Church, and through the actions of many in the Modern Church, we have not understood what the holiest site is and just how important it is to God.  God wants our hearts more than anything else and until we figure out that our hearts are the most important thing to God our commitment to God will always be in question and subject to the tricks of Satan. 

One final example we have concerning this topic comes from all four of the Gospels when they talk about how Mary went to the tomb to be near Jesus but found that the stone had been rolled away.  An angel that was sitting on the top of the tomb was astonished that Mary was there and even asked her why she was looking for Jesus when it was a place for the dead.  Mary had her eyes fixed on the tomb and for whatever reason did not focus her heart on the real reason Jesus came to this earth, just as many of us do today when we place objects or places as the higher priority constituents.  God and Jesus did not fulfill the eternal Father’s Word for us to remember a rock or a building for those items will pass away but they wanted us to understand that the one most important item that they want is for our hearts to choose Life which means to choose God.

Church, God is calling us to wake up and to listen to His voice on this matter before it is too late.  For when the known institution is taken away how will we be able to function as we are created to do?  The exodus out of Egypt was not an easy process as the children of Israel thought it would be, nor will any correction method that God will perform in today’s societies and especially ours either.  If we cannot understand this truth while the getting is good, how will things be when the modernity standards of societies are not available?  We can avoid this if we only allow God to infiltrate our lives and hearts again and it starts you us Church, it starts with us.  No more golden calves in our lives and no more long endless journeys with darkness in our hearts.  Let us forget neon lies of the world and choose the consistency of Jesus and when we do choose Truth there will be no question about what we consider to be the holiest site in Christianity.  Lastly, through this choice and full commitment, our lives and land shall drastically improve as God has promised.

DLB