Truths We Miss

Truths We Miss

9/16/18

How many truths do we miss because of our stubborn beliefs and do we realize that this stubborn activity of ours actually cost us many blessings from God?  It would seem that we would learn from our forefathers or from history that we should seek the deeper meaning of our journeys because God wants to teach us something and to shed light on others for their sake.  It is this stubbornness that we would rather hold on to than let it God and allow our paths become straighter and less bumpy.  Church, the only way for others to see this truth is for us to stop being physically stubborn to God and His Ways and to show others the true meaning about life and that there is a way for happiness and the eternal promises God talks about in His Word.

Have you ever looked back at your time here on earth and wondered if things could have been different if only you had known what would occur in the future but because of your stubbornness missed out on the truth of what things should have been?  This type of nostalgia many people reflect upon and some even use it as a springboard to start over after their lives have come to a devastatingly screeching halt.  As the old saying goes concerning hindsight we cannot forget that our minds and decisions sometimes bring us further pain instead of peace that we believed we were achieving.  I know that many of the choices and mistakes that I made when I was younger could have been handled so much better than how I did back then, and it does not mean that those choices were from decades ago some were just a few years ago yet continue to serve their purpose in my life today.  Of course, I would love to go back and change things with the knowledge and wisdom I have now but all I can do is try my best to teach my girls how to make good choices through God and His Word and to leave the world alone and far from their hearts.

I came here to western Colorado back in November 1992 and have remained here ever since.  My entire life had been spent moving around with my family which was no big deal to me for I saw it as an opportunity to meet new people and make new friends.  Yes, it was difficult at times but I learned to adjust and to adapt to the settings and move along with what was before me.  Even though I have spent almost twenty-five years here in Colorado I continue to struggle with calling it my home for my heart belongs to the South and to be more specific, Texas.  I guess this is because I had my graduations there and it is where I chose to stick my heart but what about Colorado and my long-term place of residence, what has my divided heart led me to believe or to miss out on?  It is an important detail that many of us do not grasp and with all of the moving about these days it is hard to even find a place to call home and to settle your heart.  It is also a must that we allow God to change our address at times when necessary as I found out when I was younger and in order to understand the full benefits of what God wants us to see and understand our hearts must not be divided on any level for if they are then there is a great chance that we will miss out on many truths that God wants us to find out about and then share with others.

I have to ask myself: how many things have I not been able to see or have missed because my heart was divided about where my heart’s home was located?  I know that I have not been around this gorgeous state that I live in much and have not visited many of the sites that should bring joy to my eyes and heart and the only reason I can think of that hinders me in this area is my divided heart and where it believes its heart is.  I have no excuses for not traveling to these beautiful places and to fulfill what God has given as an option for my eyes yet I continue to miss out on these spectacular opportunities and up until now did not know just how special these places could mean.  Yes, I shall always have memories of the South and of Texas but I must allow God to mend my divided heart and bring it as a single unit to Colorado.  I understand that this subject so far has represented a physical aspect of life but it is the easiest way to introduce the spiritual aspect of our hearts that have the same loss of truths if we do not let go of the desert and seek out the Promised Land that God had said He would provide.

As of late, we have been talking about the children of Israel and their journey in the wilderness that lasted for forty years.  We have also mentioned as to why this trip lasted for so long in a short amount of space and how if one does not understand the entire concept of God’s freedom, they cannot understand exactly what their slavery issues are all about.  So much so, that they cannot fulfill what God has promised them which brings heartache, pain, agony, and acts of questioning God that can lead to idolatry and pure evil being produced.  It is this concept and truth that also can lead to understanding why many cannot shed the addictions that we allow into our lives, a process that each and every one of us has to deal with at some point in our existence.  The perfect example lies within this wonderful book of the Bible, Exodus and it will once again serve as our reference for this topic.  Exodus 14:6-14 is the passage that we will use.

For many people, it is easy to understand how God has His Kingdom and that Satan has his kingdom but do we really comprehend the meaning of what it means to completely leave such a setting?  It is difficult to talk about but many people who have been raised in church or have parents or family members who attend church regularly and love God leave the Kingdom of God to live and to serve the kingdom of the world.  The world will consider this an act of freedom and one that should be celebrated as such but just how free is one when the heart is tied to another?  When the children of Israel were set free from their captors, they were excited to be going to the land that God had promised them.  This promise had been taught and then shared with others and since these beautiful people were being subjected to horrific challenges on a daily basis their prayers seemed like were finally being answered.  As stated above it is easy to accept the physical aspect of being free when one walks out of the actual bondage setting into a different atmosphere, and the changes must have seemed overwhelming to anyone as they leave that confined space, no doubt the Israelites had this same feeling too.  This can only mean that there is a considerable difference between what lives in the heart and what the physical considers life and it is through this difference that we tend to ignore, forget, or more devastatingly refuse to acknowledge.

Was it really necessary for the children of Israel to wander around the wilderness for forty years?  I mean, doesn’t it seem a bit absurd to you that after being kept captive for generations, set free, then have to walk around a desert with seemingly no direction present fair or just?  To those who do not understand the ways of God, you know the ones that we are supposed to witness to, it would seem that God was being cruel in that He was continuing their punishment by having them not being able to reach the land that they were promised, like someone holding a carrot on a stick in front of an animal.  Furthermore, those who have a grasp on history will remember that many of the cruelest dictators would exile those who were set free from their captors during troublesome times some even were executed for such captivity statuses.  I can hear some people saying this about God and how He dealt with the Israelites but we must understand that God is a complete God on all days, on all sides, and at all times.

Exodus 14:6 opens our biblical reference passage with Pharaoh preparing his chariot for the pursuit of the children of Israel to bring them back to captivity or to destroy each one of them if they do not willfully return.  It is clear by this verse that Pharaoh had at some point had a change of heart concerning the Israelites’ release even after all that he and his nation faced with the loss of every firstborn child through the last plague that God sanctioned on Egypt.  In verse 7 we see just how many chariots Pharaoh is bringing along with him in order to make sure that the job is completed correctly and to make a statement to the region who is the most powerful empire known to mankind at that time.  It is easy to believe that Pharaoh was so angry and livid with the loss of his son that it is a common thread to hear about such rage after a tragedy occurred, especially when the source that you relied upon for guidance said or did nothing in the immediate aftermath of the last plague.

Verses 8-9 gives us the detail about how Pharaoh left Egypt with all military pomp in order to pursue and then capture the Israelites and to bring them back for further servitude.  I cannot help but think about a corresponding passage in the New Testament and how it would relate to what Jesus was saying about demons returning to a clean house and how when allowed to return that it would be seven of its buddies with it.  It is hard to imagine how Pharaoh and the Egyptians would have treated the Israelites if they had been taken captive again for we know how cruelly they were treated before they left it might have been the first Holocaust type setting recorded.  One of the most important details we must take into consideration is that once we push aside the kingdom of the world and for whatever reason allow it back into our lives it will always, always follow the law that Jesus warned us about in Matthew 12:43-45 and how once we clean our house we must immediately and continually fill it back up with the Kingdom of God and His Ways.

When Exodus 14:10 rolls around, we find that the children of Israel are camped out at the banks of the Red Sea and have taken up their place until they hear from God.  But in the meantime they hear the rumblings of chariots approaching from positions that they had already passed which could only mean one thing, Pharaoh had changed his mind and he was in pursuit of their lives.  So, in accordance to human reactionary positions they did exactly what many people would do when trouble comes their way, pray to God for help and then blast the leadership that God had put into place for leading them into the “vulnerable” position that they were currently located in.  Now, stop and think about this for a moment how many times have we personally done this?  Are we now as a country and as a society doing this with our leadership?  Have we not done this with past leaders of the nation, states, counties, and cities?  This verse brings up a mess load of settings and thoughts that all of us continue with and in today and to be honest with everything that the Israelites witnessed occurring to the Egyptians from the recent past how could they not believe that some sort of retaliation would not be coming?

Anyway, the children of Israel prayed to God for protection and then played right into the hands of Satan by condemning Moses and the action that he took to free their lives from captivity, by the way, which was what God told Moses to fight for and to complete through His Word alone.  Their anger spills over in verse 11 when they tell Moses how disgusted they are with the path that they had been on after they were freed from Egypt.  They were so upset that they actually stated that they would have been better off working and then dying at the hands of the Egyptians than to be out in the wilderness just to be killed anyway.  Once again, I cannot help but reflect on Matthew 12:43-45 again because no one likes an empty house and will accept just about anything in order to have something occupy the voided space, that is why it is very important to understand what is of the world and what is of God because it is evident in this passage that the children of Israel still had not figured out why they were wandering around for such an extended amount of time.

The entire point that God was trying to get these wonderful people to understand what needed to be taken from them, they had no idea about, their physical house was clean but their interior house was still occupied by their captors and it was this truth that God wanted them to realize and to allow Him to get rid of, but they instead toyed with the idea of allowing the kingdom of the world back into their lives instead.  Why would anyone who has been freed from a slavery status wish to return to such horrific and vile conditions again?  This seems like a maddened statement or a wish from someone who is not thinking correctly but in truth how many times do we say and then do this very act for we love to return to the so-called habits of ours instead of allowing God to annihilate them from our lives.  But it a fact that this was the consensus of the people as Pharaoh and his army reached them at the banks of the Red Sea.  It is this internal and interior cleansing truth that the Israelites were missing and they continued to miss this healing process for none of the elders who left their captivity never had the opportunity to see the Promised Land personally.

Interestingly enough, it is verse 13 that gives us the clue about how the Israelites prayed and what actually lies within their heart because it is Moses who directs their words against them and according to God’s own provisions, like the ones He had already provided for them during this time, produced the answer right before their eyes.  The words of their prayers said that the physical was ever present in their minds and hearts and that they still were not ready to completely depend on God for their protection even though as it was stated above that it was God who initiated and then provided this path of freedom for them in the first place.  Moses says to them again that they will be witness to a great miracle from their Liberator and by the exact means of what would be the outcome of such supernatural deed.  I would like to believe that with this event that was about to occur before their eyes along with all of the other provisions God had done for them since they left Egypt would be proof enough for them to change their hearts concerning God, but as we continue to read in Exodus and through the rest of the Old Testament that change does not occur.  Again, it is this truth concerning God’s provisions AND the reasons He provided such things is the truth that they missed.  Ever wonder why God does not like a lukewarm Church (your heart)?  Here you go this is the prime reason as to why He doesn’t.  Warning!!  Tough statement ahead!!  A lukewarm Church cannot be under Covenant terms, period!!

God understands the human heart and the frailties that it holds, and it is His concerns that we see Him for His Glory at all times and not just in circumstantial manners.  Moses exclaims this truth about God in verse 14 when he states: “The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.”  Now, even though this is an incomplete statement which continues into verse 15 about the current situation it provides the people with an opportunity to place their trust and hopes in God on all levels of their existence.  We have to remember that when God speaks it is a complete action which includes the past, the present, and the future for that is the definition of God and which He cannot violate on any level.  Therefore, when God makes this statement through Moses He is not only telling them that He will take care of them right at that moment, but He also took care of them during their past and shall continue to do the same in their future.  The remarkable thing here is that God also speaks in such a manner that should trigger their minds enough to realize their shortcomings in their past and to change course in their future.  Yet, we see that the words of God fall on deaf ears and blind eyes for they continue to wander the wilderness for a long while to come; another truth that they missed.

There really should be no long conditional explanation of why this passage of Scripture is important for and to us today.  We have made a mockery of the spiritual conditions of our hearts in the eyes of God and we have deliberately shut the doors of our hearts to God and thus allowed Satan to bring in any and every buddy of his t reside in our hearts that he wishes.  Way back in the 1600s when this nation was formed and even before then when Columbus sailed to seek out the new world, God set apart this nation for a specific purpose and it was our responsibility to cultivate this holy purpose in full, not partially.  If one wishes they can use the exodus of the children of Israel as an example of our potential freedom yet continue to reside in bondage years after the cause was created and established.  The Church has followed suit and has reestablished her position in the world as an ally of the world instead as the representative of the separation Covenant that God has provided for His people.

Our enemy has successfully transformed our beliefs into the physical realm alone and has brainwashed us into believing that the spirit realm is of no great importance.  When God talks about the spirit realm He means the direct communication line that we have with Him, in other words, the worldly church now believes that it is not important to communicate with God on a direct, personal and continual basis.  In this manner, Satan has the authority of leading us into believing that we do not need God for our spiritual lives in that the physical “freedom” that we live under today is the epitome of what our lives should represent.  Physical equality is the utmost desire of the world and the Church has fallen for this lie according to the worldly food that she has partaken in over centuries now.  This lie has now become a belief and inner law that she now follows and over time it has eroded the spiritual truth about God’s freedom and the necessities that are needed in order to live in such holy status.  It is this protruding lie that caused the Israelites to wander in the desert for forty years and it is having the same effect on the Church today.

Satan did an excellent job in shading the truth to the children of Israel concerning repentance and living completely under the definition of Covenant.  Yes, God continued to provide and to protect them while they wandered in their lost state of living, but at no time did He ever stop trying to grab their attention over this spiritual matter.  Today, we find ourselves (the Church) wandering around aimlessly in the same manner as the Israelites and grumbling not only amongst ourselves but to God as well for the lack of cohesiveness that should come with our “piety”.  It is sad that we are so blinded by the lies of physical freedom that we cannot see and hear what God requires of us for our peace and true freedom from the world.  Even worse, at the same time, we are invoking our aimless directional pursuit, we are allowing our enemy to take control over our lives through our ignorance concerning the spiritual aspects that God placed into our lives when He Created us.  How many truths are we missing because of this type of lying belief we have incorporated into our hearts?  The physical will always tell you that its properties are enough and it is this aspect of our lives that we should pursue first.  Boy, have we fallen for this lie.

Even with all of the missed opportunities that the children of Israel went through it still can be said that God was faithful to them and kept His promises to them.  The journey they took in the wilderness was long, hard, and rough on all people involved in that freedom procession and while many blessings were bestowed on them as they walked day after day their stubbornness to allow God access to their hearts kept them from receiving the promises later rather than sooner than expected.  There are many times while we wait for the promises of God to be fulfilled that we sit and do nothing and then wonder why things did not occur in the time frame that we expected for God to act.  The question remains is if while we are waiting what are we doing in preparation for these blessings?  Most of us just wait and look to the spiritual sky and wonder when the time will arrive but what we should really be doing is asking God to search our hearts for any impurities that may be present that would hinder Him from pouring out those promises sooner.

Oh, how the Church has fallen into the first portion of that previous paragraph and oh how we have become so anxious for more blessings that we have begun to accept the ways of the world into our hearts instead of waiting the correct way for God to act.  As each day passes I see the actions of the children of Israel when they were waiting on Moses to come down from the mountain more and more from the ones who call themselves Christians or followers of Christ.  It is disheartening to think that we have turned so far from God in our lack of understanding about repentance and restoration that we have resorted to this type of action.  Everyone who has attended church has heard about the children of Israel in the desert and we know what occurred in their lives while they were waiting on God to perform as He said He would do, so why are we doing the exact same procedures as they did?  We know better to act in such a manner.  We continually need to remind ourselves that if God allowed such issues to develop and then proceed within the lives of His chosen people that He shall allow the same to occur in our world as well.

With the type of behavior that we are constantly demonstrating why would we believe God would continue to shed His blessings upon our lives?  How can we truly and honestly justify His continued blessings to be poured out over us?  The selfish act of entitlement has encompassed our hearts concerning this matter that it has turned the face of God away from our existence and we through our actions alone we have become as dark as the world.  Almost every day we find that someone from the Church has become involved in some grotesque scandal concerning their personal decisions.  I do not care what so-called denominations these instances present themselves we are all supposed to be dwelling in the will and presence of God for direction and I can absolutely guarantee you that God has NEVER said to molest any child or another human being.  We have fallen so far away from the Truth that some pastors are turning to a glorious suicide as the answer to their issues.  God has NEVER condoned death especially when it comes from your own hand, God cannot reward selfishness on any level and it is through this abomination that the Church lives in and wallows in today.

In no way, am I calling for the abolition of the Church for she is still the ONLY life sustainable on this planet that has the mission to witness to every person who does not know God.  But we need to stop holding on to our past lives in Egypt and allow God to invade our hearts with His eternal life so that we may understand why the issues that we are facing today are not going away.  We do not have to continually live in a world’s existence but we have been promised life everlasting and peace in times of trouble, so isn’t it logical to believe that there is something that we are not doing correctly due to our current position?  Stop for a while and take a good look around you and do you notice the same tendencies around you that you harbor within your own heart?  If so, then you need to allow God access to your heart once again, and even if you fail to recognize any faults let Him have your heart anyway.  Do what the Word of God says and allow Him to search your heart and God Himself guarantees that His promises and truths shall not be missed.

It is time we stand up and rid ourselves of the cesspool that we are lying in and walk away from such filthy conditions, and when we do this God will take His holy blood and wash us with it and cleanse us as no other entity can.  But we must first take the step to stand up and to make the move towards the outside of this muck of the world.  We do not have to wait around for forty years in our desert (muck) we can begin to receive the true blessings of God today if we just turn our hearts and eyes back to Him.  We do not have to continue to miss out on the truths that God wants us to understand for it is those truths that other people need to hear and to know.  God loves them and if we distort this truth then those who are looking for real life may receive false information and thus miss out from God and further damage their chances of a wonderful eternal life with God.  The world does its best to push God out of its presence which is what the ruler of this world wants, but it is our job to make sure that the truth, the eternal Truth is shared with them so they will not miss out on any truth that God passes to His children.

DLB

Laps Taken

Laps Taken

9/15/18

Do you ever wonder if you really had to go through all that you did while taking care of a situation in your life?  All of us have asked God this question but most of us have learned a great deal about our setting after all was said and done.  God has a plan for each one of our lives and it is this plan that He must prepare us in order to execute.  However, this process can take time to produce for it is all up to us to either resist God or to totally submit to Him and allow Him to complete the work in our lives.  Either way, it is important to allow Him access to our lives and then accept the changes that He makes, for if we do not then we will find our journey a tad bit longer than originally thought.

I must say that I have wondered many times in my adult life if I would have allowed God to be more in control of my life if the things and settings that I had to endure both when I was younger and present day would have been different.  As I am older and believe to be a bit wiser, I cannot disagree with this question’s answer for when I study God’s Word, which I did not when I was young, I see what people have to endure when they do not fully understand the reasoning behind obedience and full surrender to God.  There were so many worldly idols and issues in my own life that I refused to give up even though I knew that their presence in my life did harm and damage, but I kept them close to me because they had become a part of my world and a part of my life that Satan had convinced me that I needed and could not survive without.  It is this holding onto ridiculous patterns that cost me a bunch of my territorial dominion that I should have been cultivating instead of just sitting around and watching it grow uncontrolled.

When I place these old issues of mine into perspective it becomes easily recognized how I am not alone in this category and that the Bible has plenty of examples of when people obey God and when they do not.  In no way do I consider myself to be a saint and nor do I deserve all of the blessings that God has poured out over my life even in those rebellious years, but for some reason He has seen fit to continue my life so I can be a witness for His grace and love on an eternal level.  It is still hard for me to process this truth about God but I know one thing for sure and that is if I do not tell others about Christ and His eternal Love for us I will be held accountable for each blessing that God gave me to share with others according to His Ways and not mine.  I cannot take back those foolish and selfish years of my previous time on earth, but I can do my best to show and to tell others that they do not have to endure such travesties that I created and then went through that there is an option away from such events and that option is God.

We have two great stories from the Bible that will serve as our examples for this topic one will come from the Book of Exodus and the other from the Book of Joshua.  Both stories have a unique conclusion and yet are tied from the same beginning another unique characteristic that we should be commonly familiar with as well.  From the beginning of God’s Word, He has repeatedly stated that all He wants from us is simple yet complete obedience.  Time and time again we read that we have chosen not to obey God in this manner and through this choice have chosen to accept our own ways and selfishness over the holy and righteous Ways of God.  While this pattern of rebellion must frustrate God to no end, He continues to supply His grace and gifts of life over us hoping that one day we will wake up and “get it”.  If humans would ever figure out that living under obedience to God would make our lives far less complicated than doing it on our own, it would be a total reversal of how our world lives and operates because it would force Satan’s kingdom to fully submit to God’s Kingdom and its Ways.

I can imagine that when Moses told the people of Israel to get ready to leave Egypt that loud cheers and cries to God filled the atmosphere for an unspecified amount of time.  God had miraculously and unusually fulfilled His promise to the Israelites in that they would be freed from their bondage in Egypt, but at the same time, they must have thought about how things transpired during this captive end time period progressed.  We can also predict that the children of Israel believed that once they were physically out of Egypt that their troubles were over and that they could return to their normal state of living without God having to do much more freeing of their lives.  It is this point of order that they miscalculated God and ended up not seeing the Promised Land as they had been hoping and longing to see for God’s freedom does not and cannot stop at the physical level the inner or spiritual aspect must be placed in order as well.

When one looks at the geography of the wilderness that the children of Israel wandered in for forty years it has to be mind-bending because the area in which they were in and where their point of destination was is not that far of a distance.  Yes, it is called a wilderness for a reason for it is a lonely and dry desert but in terms of distance, there should have been no way that it would have taken that long to get from point A to point B.  So, there must have been another area of freedom that God had in mind for their lives and that point of freedom was getting Egypt out of them.  Even though they were captives of that land, they still had developed roots there deep enough that when they left they took physical items from the Egyptians with them.  Why would anyone decide to take items from a captive land unless you wanted to remember such captivity and their captors?  In keeping these items, God knew that even though their feet had been out of Egypt that they still had Egyptian dust on them that needed to come off.

How many times do we read this passage about the children of Israel and wonder how come they did not understand what God was still trying to do in their lives?  I mean, wouldn’t you think after a while that something else was hindering you from being able to complete the journey and then enter into the world that had been promised to you?  Yet, with each step of the way, their hearts continued to forget that it was God who was supposed to dwell in their hearts and this is evident through all of the detailed follies that are recorded in this great book of the Bible.  Miracle after miracle had been presented before their eyes but they continued to serve Egypt within their heart long after they had physically been freed from her grasp.  It boggles my mind of how many unnecessary years they spent fulfilling nothing for God while they waited for their promise wandering around aimlessly in the desert.  This picture really reminds me of those who sit in the pews in church and wait for Jesus to return while doing absolutely nothing for God or the advancement of His Kingdom.

How many laps around the desert perimeter did the Israelites have to take before they finally got it?  That number of laps may not be accurately measured today but I do know that it was enough to cost the original ones that left Egypt the remainder of their lives and did not get to see the Promised Land because of this failure to recognize that God needed to be first in their heart and not the world.  It was the generation of Joshua and beyond that finally was able to inhabit the land that God had promised them so many years earlier, but even with this truth, it was not an easy going process for resistance continued on all sides of the spectrum.  What more of a blended picture can we examine today than from this type of setting Joshua faced when troubles began to take hold?  Having to take that many laps around the desert was not a command issue per say, but a command issue of the hearts of the people that were not willing to surrender their hearts over to God completely and instead of destroying them outright for their disobedience, God allowed them to live out their lives in their physical freedom from Egypt all the while hoping that they would realize their heart’s need for their Creator and Liberator instead.

This period of obedience did not stem with the children of Israel during the preparation time for the battle of Jericho, it was extended to a harlot and her family for her obedience and change of heart in accordance to the plan of God.  God would not and could not allow such detailed information concerning the victory over Jericho to surface without the same type of preparation on the part of Joshua and the children of Israel.  God always waits and sees what His prized people do when it comes time for any changing circumstance and He acts accordingly with the information He has given them previously.  This is evident in the battle plan that God had for Jericho and through the exact details of God’s authority would claim the victory over this city if they would obey His command.  It did not take forty years for this victory to be accomplished but it took only seven days for complete victory.  The difference was that the children of Israel listened AND obeyed what God had commanded them to do and it was through their obedience that made all the difference.

It is the condition of the heart that allows the person to choose to obey or not to obey the laws of the land and the same goes for the Laws of God.  As we see here in the battle of Jericho the people obeyed what God had commanded them to do and while it seemed like a simple command there still had to be obedience and direct completion of said command.  Because God was dealing with humans and with the idea that humans have about being superior to others, especially authority figures the truth must be incurred that the children of Israel could have done things their own way and blown the entire battle in the name of their selfish providence.  We see that this type of selfish display did not come into play at this time but after the victory was secured through the mighty hand of God, the human toll did acquire its possessive accounts.  This is a topic that will be addressed in the future but for now, we are sticking to the vision of laps taken for those who obey and for those who do not.

God understood that His people were still sinners, just as we are today but He also knew that they wanted to follow His command and to claim victory in His name.  Their families had wandered in the wilderness for forty years and while they were free from Egypt physically the entire process of getting Egypt out of their hearts took over forty years and the original departees from the condition of slavery were not allowed to see the Promised Land.  The laps around the wilderness weighed heavy on those people, this cannot be denied but when a people or even an individual becomes so stubborn in their own quest for freedom that they ignore their hearts and what it has acquired from that stay total freedom cannot be achieved because of this spiritual holding on to slavery.  As long as any part of our lives cling to the world then we are in danger of losing our lives and entering into an eternity without God and this loss shall be due to our continued support of spiritual slavery which shall automatically turn into physical slavery.

As long as we live in obedience to God and to His Ways our journeys will be more productive and will contain less fearful obstacles due to the ability to listen to the correct authoritative voice.  Never, as we take a breath on this earth will our journey ever be heartache free, but when we know that our guide is the almighty Creator of everything we will have the confidence to stand up and fight for our existence because we will know what kingdom and what realm to fight against.  It does not matter what kind of environment we may find ourselves in, God shall always guide us and will be there for our everyday needs, but most importantly we must allow Him complete access to our hearts while walking in this wilderness path for it will serve as the guideline for our remembrance pattern of how to trust in God and not our surroundings.  The children of Israel were free but were immediately led into the wilderness not as a punishment but as a time for them to restore their inner hearts back to God and to completely rid themselves of Egypt within.  The same children of Israel won a great victory over a heavily fortified and walled city, the method of the walls falling down was very unconventional but that is how faith, trust, and obedience in God are expressed to the world.

Another huge difference in these settings is the fact of how each looked at the walls surrounding their victory in that the obstacles around them were to be solved.  Of course, both settings offer us examples of understanding God and His Wisdom but due to the hindrance of spiritual slavery and the refusal to allow God to rid them of this condition, the walls of the wilderness proved to be detrimental to the children of Israel.  But on the other side of the issue, we have people that obeyed what God wanted to be done and with a whole heart that obedience shown through as the walls of that city collapsed and allowed for easy access to the enemy.  It is this difference that causes one’s faith to either rise or fall and gives definition as to how our mountains can be moved as well.  Which of these stories bring the most into light to our current state of affairs before the Church and her witness to the world?  The answer is both settings provide us with direct evidence of the condition of the heart in which the people in these biblical settings had and that we have as well.

God wants His people to know that He loves them so very much and that it is His desire not to see one more person lose their life and remain separated from Him for eternity.  This article has provided us with a great number of examples that we can use for our individual lives so that we may be better witnesses for those who are lost and do not know God.  There is no question that God heard the prayers and the cries of the children of Israel while they were in captivity in Egypt for their impossible situation was thwarted by God and they were freed from their captors.  However, they refused to allow their captors leave their lives completely and thus had to wait for a considerable amount of time to receive the promise that God had given them.  In the other example, we have here obedience was of the utmost and the accomplishment of God was fulfilled within a short amount of time and the children of Israel were victorious through the name of God.  Today, we see a floundering Church who cannot make up their mind and hearts about what to speak to a dying world.  Sadly, many of the people do not even consider the world to be bad are thus indifferent about teaching the Word of God.

It is unfortunate at best that we fail to recognize our own position in Christ so much that we cannot have any burden what-so-ever in allowing God to rule our entire lives.  We beg to have answers to some of the issues that surround us on a daily basis and react violently and with contempt to those who offer solutions that seem contrary to how we see things should be fixed.  Our apathy towards one another is downright repulsive and through this vitriol, we define our stance against our enemies.  Remember a while ago when we had the blessing of reading about “Your Age In God” article and we learned how God sees our maturity or lack of it?  How can we advance the Kingdom of God when we do not even consider the Word of God to be the authoritative and Holy Word of God?  There is nothing more than obedience that God wants from us and if we only would live under such authority then our problems will decrease and become minuscule so that we can again be the true witness that God wants for those who do not know Him.  The question that remains is this: are you going to continue to refuse God the complete access He desires in our hearts and then have us wander aimlessly and without cause and purpose for an undetermined amount of time or are we going to surrender our lives COMPLETELY?  It is not a hard question to answer but know that what we answer shall determine the direction of not only you personally but of this nation as well for it is the Church that directs the people and the direction that it shall walk or in other words how many laps we shall take.

DLB

The Clarity of the Trumpet

The Clarity of the Trumpet

9/11/18

It is well known that the trumpet is one of the largest sounding instruments that one can play, but do we take it into consideration that if the player of that instrument is not confident in its performance, the resulting sound can be just as telling.  Trumpets represent a vast number of areas concerning the human and at the same time give direction to those waiting for instructions.  God uses our lives as a trumpet to the dying world and from the looks of our world we have not blown God’s directional instrument very often.  It is God’s desire that everyone know which direction they are headed and if they would only believe in Him and obey the commands of the trumpet our lives would be filled with everlasting victory unlike what this world can offer.

For a good portion of my younger life, I played the trumpet and followed in my mother’s footsteps for she played the cornet.  I remember when I first began playing this instrument way back in the late 1970s in Salinas, California.  After I “graduated” from the old tonette portion of my band setting, I chose the trumpet because there was not many of them in the school band.  By the time all of the kids had chosen their instruments there were four of us who had picked the trumpet.  The horn that was given to me was really beat up and was in terrible shape and since I had no idea about what care the trumpet needed the horn did not work very well.  Add to the fact that I could not even play the instrument at all played into the fact that the instrument would not operate correctly until I mastered some of the basics of playing this instrument.

Mom and dad eventually bought me a trumpet and I fell in love with its looks and its sound after I had formed my lips to its mouthpiece.  After a while, my grasp of the instrument grew and I was on my way to becoming a fine musician where it came to this specific instrument.  I realized something about the trumpet early on and that is if you have a shaky confidence in yourself or the instrument the notes that the instrument gives is heard by everyone listening or that is in the immediate vicinity.  This error in musical notes cannot be missed for one of the key features of the trumpet is that does not allow for gross mistakes due to its piercing and tenacious sound.  I admit that when I was practicing for all those years my parents must have covered their ears a few times for when my frustrations arose I just let out a loud pitched blast that had no meaning or rhyme at all, but I do have to admit that it was kind of fun doing it.  Of course, there were times where I thought that I would just lay down that beautiful horn and never pick it back up again but overall I could not do that because for some reason it became a part of my life, enough that it warranted my playing for a very long time to come.  Over time I learned that this loud noise the trumpet made could actually be heard and would stand out during any band performance which kind of made me a tad timid but on the other hand I wanted to advance so I played as loudly and proudly as I could. 

Back in the early 1980s, there was a Christian music group called The Imperials and they had a series of musical hits that propelled them to the center stage of Christian music.  One of the songs that was popular at that time was called “The Trumpet of Jesus” and it was very contemporary, upbeat and frankly loud songs that could be played.  One part of the lyrics to this song states that “I listen to the trumpet of Jesus while the world hears a different sound”.  It is this clarity and sound that the lyrics present gives us the knowledge that this topic is going to be presented for we must understand that no matter what we may believe about taking sides or that we can straddle the fence where God is concerned we shall always present a sound to which Kingdom or kingdom we represent.  Also, whether we know it or not when our trumpets are played that we are actively participating in the kingdom that we represent; therefore, it is imperative that we fully understand and acknowledge the realities of each kingdom a process that not many people can accurately describe when asked.  It is this type of note that is recognizable to other ears when played and it should be no discourse about which sounds are protruding.

One can compare the trumpet to the human voice for if it does its job correctly it should give off the exact same penetrating sound as the other.  When we refer to the bible for such examples it does not take very long for us to find an example that fits perfectly.  However, if the sound of the voice is not sure and precise then it becomes a clanging sound which has no rhyme or reason and thus cannot project its true meaning to those who wish to hear it.  It does not matter what type of trumpet one decides to play, its sound will always resonate through the area and will grab the attention of all who can hear.  This is why the voice can be compared with the trumpet for it too can resonate through the dark hallways of the human being and what it portrays will send a direct signal to those who can hear.  So, one can see that it is important to have a clear voice like a trumpet blast and that clear voice should be directional at all times.  It also can be stated that what the voice protrudes comes from the heart and since this is a fact its projection shall be as clear as a trumpet in what it promotes.  If our voices protrude a divided kingdom how can our words stand when it comes time to tell others about God?  God is never shaky nor does He come with a forked tongue or divided heart, all of His Ways are sure and true and our proclamation of the gospel should line up 100% with the word of God and 0% with the world.

In the Old Testament, we find that the trumpet was the instrument used to sound many different callings to the people of Israel.  Everything from all is quiet and normal to the act of attention when danger approached were played and those notes had to be made with precision because if they were not then calamity could strike on any level within the earshot of those trumpets.  Now, we all know that the Old Testament times did not have the fancy trumpets of today but had mainly the horns of animals that played these notes.  If you have never heard the ram’s horn being played, look for it on one of the social media channels for it will be well worth your time.  A family in our neighborhood plays this horn on certain holidays and occasions and when I am around the area and hear it I always stop what I am doing so I do not miss the next note.  It is a penetrating sound but one that calms my spirit at the same time and to be honest, I long to hear that shofar playing for I know immediately that God is whispering eternal words to my spirit.

A popular term that is being thrown around these days is the word “triggered” and it is used in concordance with the old word offended in order to make a point or defense against something that is spoken without cause before them.  One can use this term when a blast from a trumpet is sounded for it breaks the silence of anonymity and forces one to pay attention to what is being played.  When this sound occurs and breaks the silence no one can deny that some type of activity is being portrayed to those in the area, just as a voice does when it is pleading with others in a familiar manner.  When God told Joshua to march around the walls of Jericho He also instructed to play the trumpets at a certain time thus by listening to the voice of God through obedience sounded God’s voice to those walls when they played those horns.  And when the appointed time came for God to act upon those walls, He did so through the sounds of the trumpets which shattered the ears of those who did not believe.  There was no doubt in the playing of the trumpeters for they had been efficiently trained in completing their job for Joshua knew that it was through their lungs that God would show His mighty power and provide a miraculous victory for the children of Israel.

What do you think would have occurred if those trumpeters did not have a confident voice behind their horns?  What type of message would that have set into motion for the other warriors who were present in the area that day?  Can you imagine just how frightening it would have been to follow the lead of a quivering attack message?  See, even though it was God who brought down those walls of Jericho He does nothing quivering or shaky He does everything in a bold and pure manner so this method of announcing the obedience of His people had to be completed with His authority and stamina.  The same is required as we speak of the gospel of Christ to those that are lost, we cannot be divided or shaky on any level for if we are and we present the gospel on such ground we give our enemy the footing he needs to end such witnessing process before it even gets started.  If we speak with the voice of the world on any level when we present the gospel to others, we will be inflicting a spiritual tie and false belief to those who want to hear.  This off note tune may not be heard by everyone and to be honest may even sound normal and good to the ear but it is one that shall be ingrained into another’s heart possibly for eternity.  I am not saying not to share the gospel with others but we need to make sure that what we share with others is actually the truth.

1 Corinthians 14:6-8 gives us a beautiful example of how our voices are to protrude as non-quivering trumpets with a clear, loud, and precise message about the gospel of Christ.  A trumpet that waivers in its protraction cannot deliver an effective message, no matter what the cause for the sound warrants.  In the case of this passage the overall plan is to sound to arms the people for battle; however, the issue with this passage is that many misinterpret it as a call to the verbal battle or even to the physical battle against those who do not know the Bible or the gospel of Christ.  It is this time that our trumpets sound a call that had shaky terms behind it and one that will not yield praised reports of converts for Christ in the manner in which Christ meant for them to be reached.  If we do not understand exactly what our warfare is then we cannot sound our trumpets clearly this has been proven many times over throughout Church History; they did not get it then and not many of us get it today either.

The children of Israel who marched around the walls of Jericho knew exactly what was going on and they also understood their mission and what do to in order to complete it.  It may have looked silly or plain ridiculous to the ones inside the walls of that city, but God knew exactly what He was doing and through the obedience of His army those walls came down just as they will to those who are lost today if we follow the sound of God’s trumpet and do as He says for us to do.  Obedience is the key in which knowledge resides and then resounds for if this equation is mixed in any way then the results shall be disastrous.  The passage in 1 Corinthians tells us that if we do not have our facts correct before we begin to witness it will serve others no good for they will not be able to understand the true meaning of salvation and restoration even though we may have a clear sound resonating from our lungs.  It is vitally important that we know what Kingdom we are representing before we begin to speak about eternity for if we do not then 1 Corinthians 14:6-7 will be presented in such a manner that will prove destructive instead of one of salvation.

It is also in this passage of 1 Corinthians that we should be made aware that our message to the Church should be of the correct Kingdom as well.  It would make sense that if the words that we present to those who know God do not line up with His Word then how can it be expected that they go out and proclaim the true gospel.  When you have one side of the issue not participating in correct alignment with the other side – pulpit and pew being the sides – how can one expect to blow a loud and clear message to the dying world?  This last statement also gives rise to the truth that if this state occurs then it cannot be represented as anything other than a divided kingdom.  How can we fulfill the command of Jesus to go into the entire world if we do not have the correct Kingdom inside our hearts?  If our reputation is not intact when we go out into the world we cannot expect anything less than to be laughed at when we sound God’s trumpet to them.  What message will we be sending to them if it is mixed with both kingdoms inside the trumpet sound?  How can we stand tall and true if we are first divided, wanting to converse to another divided being about becoming whole again?

It is visibly clear that many people who make up the Church of today live within a divided kingdom and thus cannot adequately and purely dress and keep their own dominion in order to effectively speak the eternal truth about God and what He has for our lives.  It is plain and simple that if we do not have a clear trumpet sounding when we speak to others about Christ we will not have very much success in accomplishing what Jesus commanded us to do.  Jesus knew this and spent almost four years teaching His disciples to live in this undivided Kingdom status so that after He was gone they could provide an excellent pattern for the future Church to extend the eternal vine from God.  A vine produces one type of fruit and the fruit is either good or it is bad and if we do not fully understand what God is saying in His Word then we have a problem when it comes to telling others about His Word.  It is this lack of knowledge about God and His Word that should drive us into the Bible more so that we can tell others about what God has done in our lives and what He can do for their lives as well.

We are not doing this at all and God wants us to understand and to recognize that He sees this pattern of ours and is not satisfied with our progress.  Taken in remembrance that the world can only produce confusion and anxiety, how can we teach peace and eternal happiness if we are not solely promoting the Kingdom of God?  We are not doing what we need to do Church and we are not living in the manner of a righteous Bride either.  It is time we turn around and direct our hearts back to God so that He may teach us what to really say to the dying world, not what we think is right.  We have the ability to blow the trumpet of God to everyone and now more than ever we need to do such a thing with the utmost of clarity.  The modern Church is not producing very good examples of Christ these days and it is our responsibility to ensure that the true message of Christ is being given to the world, Church let’s change our hearts before we have to witness God’s hand on our lives.  Let us be clear in the message that our voices (trumpets) make so that all around us will understand the good news (notes) that Jesus Christ came to save everyone from their sins.  It is this message that my trumpet shall continue to play what will be yours?

DLB

Your Age In God

Your Age in God

9/8/18

How many of us know that we have an age in God?  I know that up until a short time ago I knew about growth in God but had never placed it on this age level.  All of us have an age of growth and it is this growth level that defines just how we have grown in God and in the physical as well.  God never made us to be stagnant in any type of growth yet for various reasons we choose to remain at a young age when it comes to our growth spiritually.  Do we not know that when we do not grow we cannot be a part of the Kingdom of God and that we are hindering His work in our lives?  It is time that we bow before God again and ask for forgiveness in this dereliction of ours, for if we do not then God shall be forced to reveal His supernatural power over this country in such a way that will not be conducive to life.  God loves His children but wants them to live in complete obedience to His Ways.

Now, some of you may know that I am not a very tall man and for the majority of my life have been below the national average for height in men.  While I have climbed to that national average now my body has reached its potential physically and is not beginning to shrink a bit.  When I was young and trying to keep up with the big boys, the doctors told me that I would one day regret trying to be like them and that I should take my height as it comes and go with what I could do naturally.  My heart remained stubborn and my will just as hard-headed and I plugged along with my personal plan, but today I feel the words that those wise men once shared with me for they were correct about how my body would react at a later date.  I grew from those words but not until years down the road and I can only imagine what shape my body would be in today if I had just taken it easy and allowed myself to grow naturally and pushed so hard.  I was caught up in someone else’s dream of a life and when I tried to apply it to my own it sufficed for a while but later on took its toll.

As my physical age continued to advance my body kept up with my mind and heart in their growth as well, but there was another part of my life that was stymied and that part I am referring to is the spiritual.  Many of us can be placed into this category for it is common that we as individuals subject ourselves to what is going on inside of us in order to appease our inner being.  Most of the time, this appeasement includes ignoring the spiritual simply because it is easier to delay our convictions than to go with the flow of the moment.  If we continue in this stymied pattern, our spirituality and communication with God becomes a secondhand thought thus hardly giving it another thought becomes our echo.  I understand this for this was my admonition for quite some time in my life even though I was a minister’s son.  My spiritual growth was basically at the newborn stage and had no signs of life or growth at all.  It is this position that Satan wants all Christians to be in for when we are he can easily manipulate our minds enough to overwhelm us with false information concerning the world that we no longer have time to think about the Word of God much less live in the Word.  It is this specific type of growth that God is concerned with for it determines all eternal aspects of our life and the lives of others.

When Jesus was walking this earth, there was at no time that He places Himself over the Father’s will nor did He ever delay such messages to His people.  We read that even at a young age Jesus was in the Temple teaching as His parents were looking for Him.  His growth was superior to everyone else yet He was confident enough in His mission that He showed many people how the truth could be grown through their lives, the ultimate teaching about the advancement of God’s Kingdom.  While we as individuals have no control over how tall, short, deep or wide we may be our spiritual growth is strictly determined by the choices we make to grow or not.  It is this spiritual growth and development that needs to be present in order to be able to defend the Faith of Christ, to spread the true gospel of Christ to the dying world, and to defend against the attacks of the enemy both on a personal level and around us.  Jesus did such things so why have we not been doing the same?

There can be no question that the physical age of the Church is well up in its years, for it was started shortly after Christ left this earth with informal roots with formal roots coming later.  But is there a way to determine the spiritual age of the Church ever since her establishment on the earth?  This spiritual growth that the Church believes in is measurable and does have a record that can be tracked quite easily but it is also a record that does not and will not bode well with many for when the facts are told; her spiritual growth is still in or around the 2-3 year age category.  This may be harsh but it serves as a true embodiment of how the Church of Christ has made due over the centuries.  What is more embarrassing is the fact that all throughout Church History, the clergy responsible for teaching the biblical knowledge to those who are supposed to be going out and spreading the entire gospel of Christ only teaches so one side of the biblical issue.  Even today, with the so-called enlightenment status of the modern world we as Church leaders fail to recognize that there are two sides of our existence God’s side and our enemy who is continually trying his best to destroy us.  So, why is it that all we want to teach about is God’s love?  It is this aspect that it is easily stated that we have not grown much over the millennia.

We must first consider the condition of the disciples when talking about Jesus’ mission and testament while He was here with us on the earth.  Some of the time we read that the disciples seem like they have got what Jesus was saying to them and to those around Him who would listen, but most of the time we read the actions and words of the disciples and shake our heads with disbelief wondering why they would act in such a way.  But is it that uncommon for us to act in the same crazy manner as the disciples did for we have the presence of God all around us and we have His Word as well so is it fair to assume such ridiculousness coming from us as well?  When we look at the actions of the disciples we have various amounts of things to consider yet when you put them all together Jesus oversaw their differences and showed them how to work together for the advancement of His Father’s Kingdom.  While this setting is not considered to be a “Church” per say it does define the foundation of the Church and the manner in which she should direct herself, for Jesus never had the time to argue anything against the people but had all the time to show them the Way of His Father and what it meant to be completely separated from the world’s spirit.  By the way, look at what their separation from the world cost them; do you see this pattern occurring today in our modern societies?

How do you view the epistles of the New Testament, I mean do you look at them as letters to churches and to the Church about what is going on within their existence?  You should, for every epistle that is contained in the New Testament deals with certain issues and problems that that specific church or group is facing.  The New Testament books are not easy to follow if one does not understand the history of what each church or church group was enduring at that time.  Even though there was no internet, email or telephone systems present during that time the word of mouth transportation was present and presented an excellent line of communication for people to correspond through writing.  Now, the delivery system may have been greatly slowed but the information passed is just as effective today as it was back then, so when one wrote about an issue it was received as such from the abiding authority.  Once again, the Church was faced with the fact of either receiving such information or rejecting it but what the Early Church failed to recognize was that it was these personal interjections of feelings that were causing such grief for countless of newly converted Christians.

For the majority of time that the Early Church was in existence they faced a multitude of tragedies and torturous events.  There are accounts of horrific atrocities that they faced from both the general public to the supreme leaders of the empires of the times.  Yet, with all of these controversies occurring around them they still found time to bring in their own diversities when it came to how they were interpreting the life, death, and resurrection of Christ not to mention all of the other ideas concerning how people believed about specific instances with the Old Testament and newer writings of the leaders of the time.  When you combine all of the varying degrees of perceived information into one organization it is easy to see that problems will arise and if not squelched can lead to further and more permanent divisions.  It is here that our enemy took the teachings of Jesus and twisted them enough and long enough in the hearts of the Early Church that their growth became wider yet not forward.  Can you tell me where Jesus allowed His own personal ideas come into His ministry while He walked the earth? 

Let us move forward a few centuries and refer to the Middle-Aged Church.  Can we see the growth that she had gained from the time she moved out of the Early Church era?  By all means, her physical growth expounded without count for kingdoms now were indebted to the Church for their recognition and some their existence.  Societies were even defined by the presence of the Church within the territory but one slight flaw in this structure became an enormous pattern that problematic for that time and for centuries to come.  The power of the Church grew tremendously over this time period and the once-persecuted Church became the persecuting Church that levied a heavy hand over countless lives during this time period.  The pure brutality of the physicality of the Church was present in all homes and hearts and if one dared to cross this power they would find themselves being tortured by measures beyond belief.  Can you tell me where one can find Jesus torturing the people that were around Him when He walked this earth?  To be honest, I can see Peter’s beliefs and actions coming into play during this era of the Church; I shall drop this here and leave it to think about for a while.

Throughout this period of time, one cannot argue that the Church grew but through its own admission its growth came in physical size rather than in spiritual size.  The ways and means that the Church demonstrated their power and demanded from their people was downright Satanic and had no biblical foundation or truth to her measures.  This is not the picture that Christ painted and portrayed for His Church to act and it is easily noticeable that the spiritual growth of the Church was still in its infancy or might be on the 2-3 year age in God.  By far their physical age had grown consistently but when one places it on a personal level a 50-year-old man may be advanced in age but what is his real age in God is it close to the same physical age or is it much lesser?  It is this pattern that we can find in children who refuse to grow up and take responsibility for their actions even though their training and upbringing has been one of a good standard.  It is difficult to understand this type of behavior unless one knows what the bottom line of the truth by which life exists and should function.

Moving to the present day and age which is considered to be the Modern Day Church we must look at the same types of growth patterns as the previous eras and ask the same questions.  When I was a teenager and in my early 20s or so I fell into a trap that many Christians find themselves in as well and that was I believed that my knowledge of the Bible and what it meant to my life was at its peak and that I could not know any more information; the definition of growth sideways but not forward.  If you read in some of the past articles that God has shared with us I mention some certain instances where my attitude was far-fetched in its understanding which allowed me to continue to grow but in an outward appearance instead of an inner or spiritual manner.  During this time frame the Modern Church experienced exponential growth and it was popular to be a Christian or to be associated with any church organization, and while this growth continued in the numerical sense our growth in spirituality basically stopped and I can provide an example that will upset many people around this local area but it is one of truth that cannot be denied.  Then we shall continue with this specific time period in the age in God.

When I first came to this small community in Colorado, I was part of the era where spirituality was still considered to be the highest calling of a child of God.  The youth group that was at my father’s church was fairly small but well oiled in the Word of God.  Many of the kids that were in that time frame of our youth group graduated high school and had a burden for ministry and thus went on to various accounts of ministry.  I cannot accurately say how many did go into the ministry but what I can say is that the majority of them did.  It was clear that as long as the leadership of our church was strong and conducted themselves with the authority Jesus gave to us over the kingdom of the world, that percentage of kids continued to pursue ministerial goals.  But once dad left and the mission and focus changed, so did that percentage of kids who had a heart for the lost even though the numbers of that youth group skyrocketed!  They were and still are spiritually numb to the truth and do not care about the advancement of God’s Kingdom with many of them not even knowing God has a Kingdom, yet they know exactly who to contact if they want some drugs or alcohol.

Over a period of a few decades or so it was amazing to see how many small churches became super churches or what they are referred to today as mega churches.  The influx of people into these churches is confounding and for a while became the symbol of what many believed the growth of the Church should represent.  But as time progressed cracks began to see noticed and with more time passing leaks began to produce an odor that could only be sourced from within.  The so-called Modern Day Church had reached its peak in the public eye and through her own inner and interior lies the truth came out.  Church attendance is now in a steady decline, the number of denominations – I cannot stand that word – that are having difficulty in finding people first and then ordaining leaders is on the rise and looks like there will be no stopping this increase in the near future either.  The number of physical and sinful allegations amongst the leaders of all denominations is continually coming into question and in combination with the lack of understanding in the spiritual realm is accumulating in the rash of pastoral and church leadership suicides.  We do not even understand that our spiritual age is so young that we cannot fight our enemy on the level that he is attacking us even if we wanted to.

Our spiritual immaturity is so vast and predictable that our enemy just has to look in our direction and we fall into his arms and coo over what he is projecting.  We cannot even identify what is right and what is wrong any longer, which means we have fallen into the “truths” of the foundation of the world and its leader.  Oh, yes, we are numerous in population but that does not mean a lot when our foundation is glued in with the world.  So, with all of this information present how would one grade our age in God?  See, God measures us by our hearts and not our physical for our physical is already doomed and it is our spiritual that represents eternity.  Our spiritual contents are what will either provide our protection from our enemy through the Blood Covenant of God or it will define our eternity as one who chose to side with the loser and doomed failure known as Satan.  Either way, we shall fight and strengthen one side or the other as we breathe every day.  Here is something to ponder for a while, when you are separated from the world one cannot coddle its world and values and still expect the sovereignty of God to be manifested through your words and actions.  It is this type of action that the Church boldly proclaims as being from God and people are flocking to its doors in belief that they can keep their doctor no matter what occurs around them.  THAT saying was proved to be a lie and the belief that one can keep their worldly ways and expect to remain in heaven after their judgment is also a lie!

So let us now take an overall look at your age in God and see if it really has grown as much as we would like to believe.  During the discipleship era when Jesus was on the earth, it is fair to say that if any Church state was present that it would be in its infancy stage at best with the hope that a great spiritual future would have been on the horizon.  It would also be of common belief that the Early Church would have learned from the ways of the disciples and would not have made the mistakes that they did but as we can see the Early Church even through its deadly persecution continued to will their own human beliefs into the Church and was thus the subject of the New Testament writers.  We can see some spiritual growth becoming evident which would allow us to place the spiritual age in God at about 0-2 category.  This growth category is a small inclination but one that still has great potential if the people would lose their human input and focus on God alone.

Then we come to the Middle Age Church with all of its robust numbers and wide array of expansion and corresponding power.  The numerical status of the Church has grown exponentially but with a superficial bias that not even the lowest of peasants can ignore.  While territory after territory fell to the allegiances of the Church the spiritual content of its leaders filtered all the way down to the servant in whom they now believed that their behavior and all of its heinous activities would be blessed by the Church and without question to boot.  It is this stage of our age in God that is troublesome for it depicts a new pattern of solubility with the standards of the world that leaves out Christ’s mission that He gave for us to do.  Conversion at the expense of protracted torture is NOT what Jesus had in mind for His Father’s Kingdom and in NO way ever would Jesus teach the methods of torture to make clear the agenda of the Church.  So, I guess we can place the Middle Age Church’s age in God at about 3-6 years old for the way she acted during this period of time resembles a child of such age.

Okay, now for the ultimate growth test in age we must consider the Modern Day Church and all of her extravagant wealth and splendor.  Just from the first sentence of this paragraph, one can foresee the age of this time frame for she follows directly as the young teenager does and conducts herself in the exact same manner as today’s teenager.  Being a teenager should be a time of learning with knowledge and wisdom combined and a sense of discipline interjected in order to activate a congruity of life experiences into one gigantic act of extraordinary life.  While this type of living is present in most teenagers there is a mole that has been placed into their lives that tends to tell them that they know everything and that they do not have to listen to any other authority figures other than themselves.  Look at how she incorporates individual and selfish ways into her “theology” and then defends this worldly practice with gnashing teeth and violent hearts.  The “Jesus clothes” are now lined with satanic art and graven images that are held close to her heart than the Word of God they are supposed to be living under.  She has gone her own way and has defiled the most sacred of unities in which sex is now an act of ludicrous behavior instead of the holy institution of being one.  And all of these acts come from the mouths of those we hear not necessarily from the hidden courses that flow behind closed doors.

The defense of God’s Word and the foundation on which the Church stands is continually mocked and spat upon by those who sit in the pews of church buildings and by those who never have claimed to set foot into a church before.  Her actions are promulgated simultaneously without them even knowing what the other is doing or promoting.  Their worldly spirituality is thriving and growing by leaps and bounds all the while their physical lusts are being fulfilled as soon as the next protest against obedience is completed.  Do I have to make an admission about what the age in God today’s Church is?  It seems to me that she is stuck in her teenage years and has no imagination or inkling of wanting to advance in spiritual age in God at all.  People, you must understand that I am talking about people who go to church and consider themselves to be Christians, here!  I am no addressing the ones who go against every aspect of the Church, I am referring to the Church, this is the way we act today and we cannot even notice that I am talking about the Church that is how far away from God we are and have become.

The Church is over 2000 years old in the physical realm and that is a large number of years but spiritually we are a teenager.  Something does not add up people!  I understand that there is no way we can be 2000 years old in God but being only a teenager?  I cannot stand here and state I am 50 years old in God for my attitude and lack of God for many years have blanked me with this equality in age, but I know my age is growing because more and more I desire to do what is right in the eyes of God.  My days start with prayer and reading His Word, God interjects messages for me to write to His people, and still, then I feel separated from Him in such a way that it hurts.  Where is this daily prayer and longing to be with God from the Church?  It is obvious that our hearts have turned away from our Creator and the One who created the Church.  We have ignored His Word for so long that we would not even recognize if God Himself were to walk into a church sanctuary, mainly because our heads would be in a downward position looking at our cell phones.

When I was a kid, I would look up to the adults and want to be like them someday and while it took a while for me to figure out that I might not be as tall as they were but I was convinced that my heart was going to be just as big as theirs.  That desire for inner growth is what God wants from us for when we want to grow in Him it means that we are fully committed to the cause He has for our lives.  I know that there are numerous people within the congregations of our churches today that honestly love God and are fulfilling the mission that Jesus commanded, but the majority of people who classify themselves as Christians are not yet believing a lie from our enemy that they are.  It is obvious that many Christians do not know their Bible, that statement from President Obama – which was made in mocking terms – is actually a fact and should penetrate each heart that considers themselves a Christian.  I now know the grave error of my kid like thinking about the Bible in the past, but as each day continues to roll past I learn more and more new life-giving truth from this precious gift of God.

There is only one way possible for your age in God to grow and that is to once again live and believe in God with a whole and pure heart.  You are the Church and you represent God on this planet and this means that it is strictly up to you and me to let the world know that there is a way out of this quagmire that we have made.  I have no idea about how long I shall draw breath on this earth but it is my deepest and most sincere prayer that my age in God continues to grow each day so that I may understand my Creator enough to tell those who are hurting and who are lost that there is an eternal Truth that cares about their life enough to have provided a way for all to live forever.  The Early Church and Middle Age Church eras are gone and nothing can be done to bring them back, but we can still turn the Modern Day church around and head her back to God, it is not too late for we have but a short moment of time remaining but we need to start now.  We can still grow in age with God because God wants to know that He can increase your age in Him and that is why He continually asks you: what is Your Age in God?

DLB

Adam and Eve's Division

Adam and Eve’s Division

9/3/18

It is difficult to imagine that the first couple that was created had any type of division between them, but it is a truth that is rarely talked about yet an important topic for it rears its ugly head today.  God has always meant for our humanly relationships to be equal not only with each other but with Him at the same time but how often do our relationships separate even when we are still connected?  It is this dangerous position that God wants to show us about today and how important it is to keep Him first in all aspects of our intimate relationship with our spouse, for if we do not we are vulnerable to the devastating individual consequences of such divided relationships.  God also wants to remind us that no matter how our personal relationship status may be shaping out that it can be healed if both come together and renew their hearts with God and re-establish the “Definition of We”.

As I have stated a couple of times before, I have been through a divorce many years ago, and while that event occurred more than two decades ago I still carry a burden for the brokenness that came my way because of it.  Not only for my own self but for my past wife and daughter that was created during that marriage as well for both of them have suffered as well.  Living together yet separate is never a easy matter simply because it is a state in which God did not intend for any relationship to be subject to; however, it was a setting that I was well aware of and lived for quite some time and if I am to be completely honest was experiencing even before the marriage began.  I took matters into my own hands and ignored others’ opinions and advice concerning the entire situation and it was through this selfish mindset of mine and my past wife’s that caused so much deep anger and hurt that on certain levels still lives today.

It is difficult for me to admit that during this time in my life that I was not living for God and that I really had no intentions of living for Him either.  And while I had countless people praying for me and my family at the time, I knew that I was in control of things and that everything would turn out for the best for everyone involved.  I went into the military single in 1988 I got married and was divorced before my enlistment was up in 1992.  Now, how much control of the setting did I have as I look back on this period of time in my life?  It is clear that I had complete control of my life and did not allow the Creator of my life to have any part of what occurred either.  When I take a closer look at things, I have to admit that while I was married we were not one together in all areas, in fact, we were not one in most areas of our marriage yet we were still trying to function as one unit.  It was this condition that eventually took its toll on us and bit by bit separated us until the day came that things ended in total disaster.  Today, I am still not proud of this fact about my life but I can say that through God’s restoration of my life He has given me another chance to show the world that His Love endures no matter what our circumstances and choices present and that if we turn to Him and follow His Ways He is faithful to guide us into eternity according to His Covenant standards.

During this time in my life, I also lived according to what type of standard the world teaches is okay and acceptable.  It is a morally and spiritually plank that people walk when they fall for such a lie for they have no idea about what they are following and leading themselves into.  Furthermore, many see the end of that plank and instead of stopping before it is too late to continue walking hoping that their faith in themselves will change their situation before the end is reached.  I found out personally that this thought is not a good one because we end up walking right off the end of that plank when the time arrives.  Not only does it reflect about the choices we made but it also reveals the consequences of those choices in the public eye.  The world shall never even contemplate everyone getting along and living in one frame of mind and heart, for if it did then it would be following what God proclaims as the only way to true happiness and peace.  Having people or forcing people to accept certain ways in order for them to be accepted is not true peace or harmony.  The only true example we have of this peace and harmony is to have a perfect relationship with our spouse but if we follow the example of the world and live divided as we try to function as one, it only shall prove to be a lie.

As God shows me more about the vertical and horizontal relationship statuses I am overcome with sorrow because of all the things I did on my own instead of following His Ways and living in accordance with Covenant.  Today, as well back in the Bible times, that selfish initiative of humanity ruins the plan of God in people’s lives, I am lucky that God had enough of a hold of my life that I was able to see what was really transpiring around me and the fight for my eternal status.  No, I was never to the point of taking my life nor was I planning on destroying another life either for I did know that if I did that I would present myself as a complete violation of what life stands for and what God wants to teach all of us.  The world cannot teach life only death for death is the only thing that it knows, so why do we look towards the physical instead of the spiritual.  What do we depend upon or should the question accurately be asked who do we look toward for our help and the answers we so desperately seek?

A while back God shared with us the topic of being “we” in the article titled “The Definition of We”.  If you have not read this article I encourage that you locate it and read it for it explains what occurs when we live completely in a godly relationship before our eternal Creator and then what we are subject to when we choose to live without Him.  This topic serves as a consequence of what occurs when we leave such pure and holy presence to seek out the truth about life without God being first in our lives along with an answer as to why God doled out the consequences to Adam and Eve separately instead of together.  Up until a few days ago, I had never thought about this detail about God, Adam, and Eve before but it is a truth that explains just how important it is to not just live together but to be eternally bound together in ALL things. 

Most of the time when we think about the Garden of Eden and how perfect its creation was we cannot help but include both Adam and Eve in this picture.  It is not wrong to do have such a thought for when God created them He did so in such a manner that made them not only equal with each other but with Him as well, thus defining the eternal “Definition of We” that all of us still try to achieve this status again.  I am not trying to establish that we as created beings are God’s equal, there is no way that this can be possible but we were created in a state of perfection that only God can provide and it was in this status of relationship that was part of the definition of we.  Genesis 2:21-24 gives us the creation of woman from man and with this act of God gives us the first reproduction of human life.  It is done with perfect precision and completed with a perfect product that Adam saw was excellent in his eyes and heart.  In all aspects of life Adam and Eve were created equal even the spot where God chose to create Eve from was on the level, so according to this diagram of their establishment and lives together it is easy for us to place them together in all categories.

They are so much alike and equal that in Genesis 2:23 Adam proclaims that since the woman is from within him that she is bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh and is one together based on this creation type.  God is pleased with this proclamation for it is re-enforced that Adam understands the importance and necessity that they are one together and that nothing can separate them from this intimate condition.  So why would we ever separate them and place them into individual categories instead of keeping them as one at all times?  Have you ever taken into consideration that after Adam and Eve had sinned that God did not judge them as one but as individuals?  This seems like it goes contrary to how God created them, and since God is a consistent God shouldn’t He keep in line with that order?  As we shall see, God does keep in line with His Ways and it explains just how important marriages are and how vital it is that couples stay faithful to each other in all ways.

When God gave Adam the command to dress and keep the Garden of Eden the woman had not been created yet, but since she came from Adam her creation and subject fell under the same command as Adam because Adam and God were one in relationship at the time.  So, since this is the case it would naturally responsible to assume that Adam and Eve should be judged as one when they fell, but there are a few details that need to be examined before we can proceed with this claim.  As we look at how God created Adam and Eve and the eternal Law in which He brilliantly did so, we cannot overlook the fact that He gave us free will to choose whether or not we follow Him and His Ways or not.  When Adam and Eve were created they were so in a perfect environment with no flaws possible to invade their lives, unless of course, they chose to alter that state.  In Genesis Chapter 3 we find that they chose to do so but a detail is presented here that says that a bunch of time and events must have occurred between Genesis 2:25 and Genesis 3:1.

When couples decide to get married they forsake all others and live together as one in all aspects of their lives or at least that is what we all hope would occur.  It is evident that after Adam and Eve were united by God all seemed well and it looked like that they would make the perfect couple in a perfect place and setting.  However, at the time that Genesis 3:1 comes into play we see a different light being shone here because the serpent is now in the picture and he is addressing Eve alone and Adam while there says nothing nor does he place his thoughts into the setting.  It is this truth that gives reason to the statement that a great deal of time had passed since Genesis 2:25 was stated for it is clear that Adam and Eve are communicating as one but as individuals now.  If they were, then Eve would have taken her authority as a perfect creation of God along with her husband and stood against the invader.  But this did not occur and it is clear that the serpent had enough knowledge of her that he was comfortable with bringing up the issue of obedience concerning the fruit of the tree.

Now, common sense tells us that if a couple is in close communication with each other and that they are in total agreement with each other on all levels it should be easy for them to speak for each other incongruency.  If so, then Adam and Eve may have been okay with talking to the serpent and drew no violations with the encounters, but it is also evident that all three had previous conversations about the living conditions because it would not seem reasonable to just jump into a major conversation with a stranger about a specific topic that was the single item linked to obedience.  As stated before, it is evident that Adam and Eve might have been in unity here but a division had occurred for they were now not in unity with God which makes a breach between the protectorate and the protected.  Also, where was Adam while the serpent was talking to Eve?  We know that he was there for the Bible says so but at no time in Genesis 3:1-6 did he step up and defend his wife, a huge clue that Adam and Eve were divided on many levels.  This action of Adam’s does not correspond with his statement in Genesis 2:23 and therefore we can conclude that not only were there divisions between God and His prized creations but divisions between Adam and Eve as well.

It is known that the woman knew the command of God about the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil but through the words that she said to the serpent her interpretation of said command had been altered enough to make it her own law and no longer God’s Law.  This is not a dig on women at all nor is it a stance that the man should be considered better than the woman either but it is a statement on the importance that we all know and understand the Laws of God according to HIS standards and not ours.  In order to do this, we must continually study the Bible and ask God to show us everything possible about His Ways for if we do not then we shall be subject to the serpent’s lies and will prove that we are vulnerable to those lies.  It is evident that Adam was comfortable with the answers Eve gave to the serpent, because he did not go contrary to what she proclaimed, plus the fact that when Eve saw that the fruit was good and ate, gave him the fruit and he did not stop or refuse it.  Sin now entered into their lives and their lives changed on every level for the remainder of their time on earth.

God has shared with us before about how important it is that we have a continual and fluent relationship with Him (vertical) so that we can have the same type of relationship with our spouses and with the people around us (horizontal).  We cannot deny that some type of major breach had occurred with the humans and God for the answer Eve gave to the serpent was a blatant lie.  Through the efforts of seduction along with time, Satan used these powers to effectively gain access to Adam and Eve, and in doing so further dividing them into individuals as the acquisition of sin was introduced into their lives.  This process was not an immediate presentation it was slowly introduced to them and then when the division was far enough and deep enough it was time to strike thus establishing a permanent division between God and mankind and allowing the entire set of the human to be changed.  It was this acceptance of disobedience that opened the door for us to be judged as individuals and not as one.  It was evident that something was amiss between Adam and Eve and with God which should tell us of how important it is that we include every bit of information that occurs in our lives with our spouses and to lift them up to our level as much as possible to keep and to dress that dominion command of being eternally equal.

When couples fall apart it is never a simple process for one half of their existence is ripped from their existence and even though another may be replaced that original division is still present and not given back.  That part of our lives still is missing which means ½ of us is not present and off elsewhere so how can we be united as one again?  It is this devastation that God saw between Him and the prized creations when it came time for Him to pass judgment for He could not judge them as one for they had become unequal with their creative origins before they actually committed the disobedient act.  So, when God placed His judgment on them He did so according to His Ways but also followed His gift of free will which dictated that He did such judgment on an individual basis.  The last example here is the most painful because it demonstrates that God must take into consideration the choices of Adam and Eve through the judgment that He hands down to His prized Creations.  Both Adam and Eve chose to divide themselves from the original position that they had been created in, thus through this decision of theirs proved that this painful portion comes to fruition when Adam and Eve are not judged as one but as individuals, the result of their own division plus the division with God.  If anyone ever wants to know why societies fall it is because of their divisions between God and mankind and a direct reflection of this division comes in the form of relationship divisions between man and woman.  What does the world promote?

Genesis 3:9-13 we see that the first blame game occurs when God directs His questioning to Adam, remember God is a consistent God and created Adam first so naturally, He would ask him first; not sexist just following His holy and unadulterated pattern of creation.  Adam decides to the most individual thing a human can do and that is to take the responsibility off of his shoulders and place it on someone else’s.  In verse 12 Adam exposes himself like no other human could ever compare in the future for Adam reiterates to God that it was the woman who God gave to him that was responsible for their setting and nakedness.  If Adam considered Eve to be his equal and the other portion that made them one, then he would have never made this statement to God and would have been “man” enough to take the lead as one body that had been originally created as such; the definition of we.  It is this aspect of division that God cannot ignore and while He understands what occurred He must hand down the eternal punishment that was mentioned to Adam and Eve back in Genesis Chapter 2.

The law that God gave Adam before the woman was created not only represented the obedience of mankind to God but also represented the relationship that man had with God as well.  For both, the command and the condition were in perfect harmony with each other and thus established the definition of we based on holy and purity on all levels.  The only way that this law could be broken is if one party would violate such unity and equality and since we know that God cannot deviate from His status ever, that left only one side of the equation and that was humans.  We have no sign of any hesitancy between Adam and Eve in Genesis Chapter 2 which means Satan started his work at the end of Genesis Chapter 2 and it culminated in the beginning verses of Genesis Chapter 3.  Which now brings us to the ugliness of inequality in a relationship for it is directly and strictly through relationship that God created Adam and Eve and relationship is still today the ONE thing that God desires from His prized Creations.

In Genesis 3:15-19 we have the individual judgments handed down by God to Adam and Eve.  Yes, I know God also judged the serpent as well but he is of no consequence here because his eternal placement is already spoken and it is ours that now hangs in the choices that we make.  We will learn more about each judgment at a later date but for now, it must have been a devastating nightmare for Adam and Eve to stand there and listen to the words of God be uttered against them each.  They had never heard such words from God before for all other meetings together were of a pleasant tone even when God spoke of the dangers around them.  They were now aware of what the importance of God’s words meant by their obedience and as to why it was dire that they kept His Word in their hearts.  But now, God had no choice but to sentence them as individuals for it was what they chose to become and thus no longer willing and through their own holy creation live as the eternal definition of we.  If God would have at any point judged them according to their original status then He would have proved Himself a liar and everything that defined Him would be a lie.  Ever wonder why each one of us will individually stand before God one day and review our lives?  It is for this reason alone way back in the Garden of Eden that this shall occur one day.

Now, God once again asks us about how important it is to keep and to dress our intimate and personal relationships not just on a superficial or horizontal plane but eternally and more importantly on a vertical plane.  It was this old adage of ours that should ring loud bells in our hearts for it needs to be eternally presented at such a level.  When we have a holy and pure relationship with God then we will be able to have the same type of truthful relationship with those around us.  Every one of us desires to have a relationship with others that we can completely put our trust into but in truth can the world provide such a status?  The track record of the world is deadly and cannot raise itself to any higher standard than such, so why do we continue to accept this lie into our lives for such a time that we believe that lies are all that is available?  God plainly states countless times in His Word that if we turn our hearts back to Him He will protect us with the same protection that He presented to Adam and Eve before they became individuals.  There is nothing better to know that the intimate relationship you have with your beloved is covered from God and that both of you rely on each other as one to function each day.

The deadly game of shifting relationships cannot be emphasized enough for it creates a partnership of devastation even when the best of intentions are intended.  Ripping people apart from a holy union does not come from God but only through an act of Satan just as he successfully did back in the Garden of Eden.  It is vital that when we begin a relationship it must be done as one with God begin at the head of such institution at all times and if this standard is not kept the relationship that has been established will be subject to every shift of directional wind change that is present.  And as the winds continue to migrate in their own direction, someone will eventually eat of the fruit around them and create another breach in the definition of we.  It does not matter which level of relationship one wishes to obtain, this truth stands firm on and for all.  Nothing shall be left untouched including the most intimate of all relationship levels that physically bring man and woman together.

So, Church, what is your response to this truth about relationship status and how are we supposed to protect such institutions?  Can we do this through selfish pogroms of individuals by excluding the truth for the world’s stance?  Can we take sides with the world to prove our denominational point of accountability?  Or can we even just sing hymns of peace, love, and joy and ignore the fact that people are committing both physical and spiritual suicide while we all sit around in our flower circles and have a group hug around the coffee machine?  Eternity is no game people, it is just that ETERNITY!!  And once our life is over we can no longer make choices for they have been permanently made.  We are not supposed to be out to prove Adam and Eve correct or even wrong but to choose God and His Ways so that our eternity is represented by the covering of God that He intended for all of us to have.  We can never hope to obtain such peace and perfection again if we do not first believe and live under the law of God and to despise our enemy enough to boldly stand against his world.  We need to love people enough to share with them the true and unadulterated Life that God promises and that only comes by obeying His Word and Definition.

DLB