Nothing Moves Without God Knowing

Nothing Moves Without God Knowing

12/5/18

One of the most baffling experiences we can imagine is when we accomplish a feat and believe that what has been done is of a good result only to find out later that through the victory the leadership or one of the team members has done something incorrectly and the result ends up costing the participants a great deal.  Many times we play this type of compromising game with God, when God says for us to complete something we do it but not at the pace and the thoroughness that God expects or with the pure heart that He expects.  God is always going to accomplish all of His activities in a holy and complete manner, that is His definition and He cannot waver from such tone; however, He expects the same effort from us and at the end of the day it is our responsibility to have led our lives in such a manner that God is fulfilled in all aspects of our movements and motions for if we have not then God has every authority to take away the existence as He has given in order to ensure His Ways are finished in by His Word.  Our record in such completion has not been very well liked by God but loved by the world, this should tell us something about the authority we have and how we use it and who we use it for as well, a position that we are currently not in good standing with God.

Most of you know that I am a huge soccer fan and I harbor so much love for the game that I call it my heart sport.  I have followed this beautiful game for most of my life and enjoy every local, national, and international match, rivalry and tournament, but during the time that the soccer season is in full swing American football is ongoing as well and this sport is another beloved matchmaking game that I follow regularly also but in this instance I stop at the college level.  My old high school football team was not very good and really did not change its style of play until after I left the area.  The competitiveness between the schools is unprecedented and in my opinion, should be experienced by every American in this country, it demonstrates a young heart doing its best to compete against fellow hearts that want to defend and make new a record that shall stand for quite some time.  However, when rules are broken no matter how slight or great they may be, the issues need to be set straight and corrected so that all wrongs are back in order.

As this high school football season peaked and now comes rapidly to a close a story broke concerning my old high schools rival that if true could have a severe impact on the league standings.  The result had nothing to do with my old school but it involved our rival and another school.  It was alleged that one of the press box coaches from our rival school had used a PDA device while the game was in progress.  It may not seem too much of an issue but if any exterior help of communication from others to this device was used, it could be deemed as information helping one side and not the other, or in layman’s terms, it would be considered cheating.  The coaches of the accused school admitted to the fact that a PDA or similar device was present in front of one of the coaches in the press box but was not turned on at the time the game was being played.  Nevertheless, that through this admission it was deemed as a rules violation and the remaining coaches voted on the issue and the game had to be forfeited by our rival school for such a violation.  Now, it would not have been so bad if our rival school had lost the game but the boys had won the game and had no clue about what had transpired in the press box, no one is even for sure who reported the incident and how the information was leaked in the first place.  No matter what, the result was final and the stats in the standings were changed and the game results turned around.  This goes to show that it does not matter if one side of the issue performs flawlessly and the other does not, the entire program becomes entangled when any part does not fulfill the required goals set by the convening authority.

What looked like a hard fought win turned out to be a total disaster from the top echelon down because someone did not obey the rules, a rule that had been in place for years and should have been known by all staff, without question.  It does not matter on which level one operates, the rules of the processions must be followed and maintained at all times in order for the result to be completed fully.  If a rule is violated it must be called out and dealt with appropriately, which brings us to the passage and topic at hand for this article for when God directs an order He expects that spoken order to be fulfilled in full and in the time that He gives for its completion.  We have just learned about the battle that Saul completed in the previous article and how it was a tremendous victory for the nation of Israel, but we also learned that Saul did not complete the victory as God had directed him.  So now we come to the part where God must address the disobedient portion of the victory and deal with the heart of Saul at the same time for the commitment of Saul’s heart was not on the same expectation level as God’s heart and that caused a huge problem.  The passage that we will use is 1 Samuel 15:10-11 and it contains a vital piece of information about the consistency of God and how He views us according to our ways of living by obedience or disobedience according to the commands He gives us, we also have an interesting comparison to this event as well which should have served as a direct remembrance for Saul.

One of the questions some people may have about this topic, passage, and events is why does God still have a say in what Israel does since they elected a physical king instead of keeping in line with God being the ultimate ruler over them?  When God establishes anything He cannot change the order by which He creates it, He must follow the same pattern of Creation as He did when the subject was created and in this case it is Israel.  Up until 1 Samuel 8, Israel had no physical king to say what, when, how, and where people lived for the placed their entire existence in the hands of their Creator but after this chapter, they became as other nations.  However, according to the Creative status of Israel God was still in charge of whom they chose to become king, this process would eventually become an aristocratic process but for now continued to be under the supervision of God for even though God may have been rejected by the people He did not leave them because of their elections.  Saul was the first king of Israel and was a popular chap because of his physical qualities but it was his heart and commitment to God that deemed his future as king and presence of Israel. 

As we saw in Genesis when mankind is allowed to just overtake all possessions of life disaster can only follow hence the single reason why God had to call upon Noah to save his family and the creatures from being totally wiped off the face of the earth.  So, this brings us to the events that occurred in 1 Samuel 15:1-9 where Saul did what God told him to do on the battlefield but did not do when it came time to finish the job where the enemy’s life and existence were at hand.  God had already determined the heart of Saul by the time this passage of verses 10-11 had occurred and thus conveyed His disappointment and relegation of Saul’s kingship.  When God spoke to Samuel and told him how He had lost all confidence in Saul’s ability to lead according to His anointing, Samuel understood what it meant for the people of Israel and what they were about to encounter.  Not only did we see Saul disobey the command of God but he allowed the people to override the authority that had been divinely given to him as well.  It did not and does not matter if one decides to listen to the people or to our friends if we already have higher orders from God concerning anything about our lives.

When verse 11 opens, it begins with God stating that He repented of having anointed and allowed Saul to be king because he had turned his back on God and His commands.  This is a choice matter and one that Saul should have understood completely without complications because this portion of the verse makes a huge statement that Saul also should have remembered how God does not like disobedience.  God uses the word “repentance” in the opening phrase of this verse and it is the exact word God uses to describe His heart and beliefs about the entire world right before He gave Noah the command to build the ark.  Genesis 6:6 says that God’s heartfelt pain and was totally hurt that He had made man to walk the earth and came to the conclusion that He had no choice but to establish His Covenant with a new generation.  God did the exact same thing here in this passage or was about to complete it after the formalities had been completed on the human level.  The king of Israel had formally been deposed from the highest authority possible and the anointing and protection that God had placed over Saul were now taken away.

Many countries around the world have a procedure that legislative portions of said government take in order to either secure or decline the position of the leader of the overall government.  This process has occurred many times over the past in the British Commonwealth nations along with a good portion of the countries scattered throughout Europe.  Of course, the results vary, present a tense and terse time period with unsecured confidence being thrown in and out of the voting circles.  While there have been plenty of leaders who have survived such voting procedures there has been a good number who have fallen so far out of favor that has not survived these procedures and thus threw their entire political party into chaos.  The resulting defeating vote leads to a new person elected to be the leader of the majority party and sometimes requiring an additional special election that involves a greater range of people included.  While this type of activity cannot be accurately and adequately compared to what God has said here it does provide us with a glimpse of what has transpired in God’s mind and heart concerning Saul and his actions.  It is bad enough to fall out of favor within your group of friends, but to be out of favor with the eternal Almighty God, there is no comparison to this placement.

God had every amount of holy authority to detail to Samuel His actions of disappointment in Saul, for God saw what was inside of Saul’s heart and found that he had no inkling of repentance at all and that he approved and allowed the actions of his people to disobey God’s command.  When such an attitude exists within a person’s heart they cannot honestly and confidently say that it was a genuine mistake, it was a direct violation of such command and thus placing it as a dereliction of duty automatically incorporating the disobedience of rebellion.  All positive and admiration from God towards Saul is stopped and God gives instructions to Samuel to tell Saul about God’s decision and what the results and consequences of his alliances and actions have done.  As stated above, this message from God to Samuel grieved him dearly so much that he was up all night pleading with God to change His mind or at least hand down a reprieve concerning Saul and the kingship.  This should not come as any surprise with what Samuel asked, but it also should not come as any surprise how God responded either.  It is never a good idea to test God on just how far our deliberate disobedience of His Ways takes us.  It is this action of Saul that places him into the dire category of being chased by God and no longer in favor with Him.

Again, we see that the condition of the heart comes into play when it comes to making choices (elections) for God or against God.  We also see that one cannot play the fence with God and that our hearts are either for Him or they are against Him.  Samuel could not help but grieve for Saul and for the people of Israel through all of their actions, and since it had not been too far back that they chose to have a worldly king instead of God Samuel understood just how far all of them had fallen even in a short amount of time.  Recently, I saw an article in one of the popular magazines that showed two pastors holding hands along with others, holding a sign that said “Pro-Faith Pro-Family Pro-Choice” and vowed to say continual prayers for Planned Parenthood and their quest for completion of their daily actions.  According to most people who do not attend church or know God this belief is okay but interestingly enough the number of people who consider themselves Christians are adopting this belief as a truth instead of a death sentence.  It is this fall that gives us another example of how hearts can become if they are allowed to be fooled by Satan.

A point of order here to make is as follows: back in 1 Samuel 8, we saw where the people solemnly swore their allegiance to the world to be as other nations, rejecting God and everything that had occurred in their lives before.  Here we have the tables turned where in this passage we see that God has turned His back on the leader that the people had chosen a while back, which brings up a few details about God’s presence that we will deal with at another time, but the important issue we must know here is that when we reach a point in our lives where we believe we no longer need God to be a part of our existence we are automatically giving Him the authority to put the kybosh on any issue of our lives afterward.  Today, it has become an issue about who can say what and how in order to be popular or correct and circular culture demands that these words that are spoken comply with the current trends of the “moral” majority.  It will always be difficult for the human mind and heart to predict what will occur when we go against God’s Ways and commands, but this example should give us a pretty good reason to stop and think about why God says for us to do things, sometimes even unpopular things.

The Church has fallen into this deadly game of taunting God with accepting the world and its standards within her doctrines.  It can no longer be ignored that the Church institutionalized this type of idolatry graciously without any hesitation at hand.  We are ignoring the question that God has given us to examine throughout His Word about disobedience and how much is tolerable before He must do something drastic to grab our attention.  The question still remains today about how much more are we going to push God in our idiotic and selfish worldly beliefs that lie within our hearts and serve as our master?  Have we thumbed our noses at His blessings long enough that He now must begin the removal of such blessings He gave us so that we could counter the world’s message to all corners of the globe?  How long can we believe that our actions and the blackened condition of our hearts are missed by God, or that He passes on them because of the status we hold within His eyes?  God removed Saul from his kingship due to the gross disobedience that had infiltrated his heart and just as the title of this article states, nothing gets passed God and at some point if we do not stop our sinful behavior and change our hearts He will have no choice than to begin to peel away each layer of our lives that surround our decaying hearts.

DLB

And The People

And The People

12/2/18

Does it make a difference when a single person decides to follow through with their own plan versus an entire nation, what about a single entity placed in the same position?  This type of question many do not care to take into account or even consider but it is one that we need to understand for when a nation works together in a specific direction the results can be glorious even though complete disobedience occur during the process.  It seems like this is a common theme that God has been showing us for a while now, I guess we have not listened thoroughly and adequately enough to move on to the next topic that He wishes to show us.  God calls us to repent and to walk in the ways that He has provided according to His Word and for us to leave the world alone and drop the selfish intentions even when it is completed for religious activities.

How much do we rely upon the promises that God gives us?  It is safe to say that once we hear about how God is going to do something in our lives, we wait for its appearance and thus our claims of fulfillment according to what God has spoken, most of the time ignoring the work that it requires for that promise to come to pass.  Many times in my life I have heard testimonies from people who have received such magnificent promised gifts that fall within this setting and yet there are some that continue to wait for His faithfulness to appear.  I can only imagine how my parents must have felt ever since the promises of God not coming to pass as had once been prophesied over my life, but now witnessing their promise in an unusual and unique way that only God can ordain.  I know I would have never guessed that God would use me in such a capacity and in such a way as this but He does have a wonderful sense of humor that shines through all of us and forms a part of our definition through Hid brilliant Creative instincts.

When we read the passage at hand, we see that Israel will be going into battle against a hated foe and one that God has given specific instructions on how they are to be handled.  As in previously written articles, we know that the reason for the complete destruction of the Amalekites including every one of their livestock.  Now, more than ever the people of Israel need to be on guard and totally prepared to do battle with an enemy for they have sought after an earthly king and will thus place their lives on the line under a human authoritative figure in a trying position instead of relying on an eternal and perfect leader.  Numbers to God really do not mean much because He has everything already under His control; however, verse 4 tells us that Israel has 210,000 men ready to do battle against the Amalekites, a number that should be sufficient for the job and task at hand.  God has not left the people of Israel but it is clear in this passage, as we shall see, the people have definitively separated themselves from the obedience of God and thus place their own existence at risk.

In verse 5 we find that Saul makes the journey to the land of the Amalekites and then waited for things to be set in order for the upcoming battle.  Verse 6 of this passage states as follows: “And Saul said to the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among from the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all of the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt.  So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.”  Saul warns tribal friends about the impending devastation that he is about to impose on the Amalekites and how they should leave the area immediately or he will take it as a sign of solidarity with the enemies of Israel and include them in the destruction process.  This verse says that the Kenites took the advice of Saul and immediately left the area not to get caught up in the upcoming conflict.  Saul is playing the authoritarian here, being in command and clearing the way for the battle which has already been decided, a task that is hard for many to understand but an aspect of God’s definition that He wishes to share with every child of His if we are linked to Him in all areas of His Ways.

Verse 7 arrives with the battle in full swing and the outcome not in doubt with God and His Will being orchestrated with perfection.  While not many details concerning the battle are present, the outcome is clear and through the cooperation of Saul and the people the battle is quickly put to rest and the cleanup portion of the encounter comes to an end, but not without some controversy and direct disobedience thrown into the mix.  Saul, who demonstrated such authority when talking with the Kenites before the battle, presents a status change when it comes to the people for in verse eight it gives us a clue about how Saul has now blended in with the people as an equal a status that the people wanted.  See, After everything God had done for the children of Israel, God still kept His authoritative position and not waiver on any details or overlooked any type of missed patterns from the people, but Saul was different a human king and one that they found out could be manipulated in doing what the people wanted even though God had given him a new heart not too long before.

Saul and the people scored a great victory over the Amalekites one that fulfilled the prophecy that God had previously promised to Samuel as a sign of completeness over the enemy of God.  However, we see that in verse 8 it says that Saul captured Agag the king of the Amalekites and kept him alive while destroying the remaining members of that tribe and kingdom.  But in the Prophecy that God showed to Samuel another part was to be followed by Saul, one that was not adhered to which caused the huge rift between God and Saul.  It is clear from verses 7&8, that Saul and the people fought together in this battle and had no issue in killing all of the people within the enemy camp save Agag the king.  It was this minor action that caught the eye and heart of God and it was this detail that would begin the process of changing Saul’s heart back to what it was before God changed it in 1 Samuel 10:9.  On paper, this unity between the people and the king of Israel would seem a great victory to any military historian’s eye but according to the originator of the deal, it was a gross misconduct that could not be overlooked.

So, why would it be so important to keep one person alive after a great victory over the enemy?  This person represented an enemy of God and of Israel and really should serve as a symbol of authority over another, but what Saul failed to recognize is that it is the spiritual aspect of sparing Agag’s life that mattered all the way up until this very day, for today Israel continues to battle the Arabs and their belief in the total destruction of Israel and of every Jew that is alive; this all stemmed from the disobedience of Saul by not eliminating all of the enemy and what seemed like a harmless act of human mercy has grown into a continual death trap for Saul’s people down the road.  What is more devastating to understand is that it was their own doings of allowance through disobedience that proved standard to this current fiasco thousands of years later.  Verse 9 also tells us that both Saul and the people agreed that Agag should live, all of the worthless animals be destroyed and to keep the ones that were good to the eye alive as well, the growth pattern of disobedience was already being physically presented and elevated in the kingdom and a sign of what was to come in the future.  However, this verse does show us the belief that when humans do things together that their actions even if in disobedience will automatically accepted by God if done through the name of God.

Furthermore, Verse 9 gives us a glimpse that the people were proud of their decisions and had no problems dealing with the results and actions of the cohorts and with the blessings of the king as they paraded their spoils in front of him in approval, what could go wrong and from all indications of allowance nothing wrong was done.  This action should not come as a surprise to anyone for it is a “normal” tendency of humans to do things just to see what they can get away with and to what level of approval concerning authority will stand by and allow it to occur.  It is this selfish power grab and looting by the people that forms the foundation of a rebellion against God that not only fuels the hearts of Israel when it comes to them thumbing their noses at God but also forms a reciprocal effect in Agag and his followers down the road through that disobedience door that was opened for them by the people and by the actions of Saul.  From the actions of opportunity that the Amalekites took against the Israelites in the wilderness after their freedom from Egypt proves that their intentions towards their enemies was not completed and now they had been humiliated by the Israelites at least two times so why wouldn’t any enemy seek revenge by any means necessary in the future with a track record such as this?  As we shall see in a few verses down the line, the people had plans on taking these “good” animals and offering them as sacrifices to God as gifts of thanksgiving for their victory.  How wrong is this thought process?  Yet, all of us do the exact same thing when we try and do things for God by our own methods through worldly ideas and lifestyles.

When an enemy is allowed to continually surface then resurface in the face of another, tension and turmoil can only result and even if the enemy does not physically present themselves to you their presence is always in the back of your mind usurping your time by forcing you to wonder if and when they will appear again.  Logically, it would seem like an easy decision to once and for all take out the enemy that has plagued you for countless amounts of time and to be able to accomplish such a defeat with the authority and blessing of God.  How many times have we watched the news and heard reports about all the fighting and other violence that occurs in the Middle East on a daily basis and ask ourselves why do they continue to do this?  Well, it is because it stemmed from this story in the Bible and it will now continue as is for things were not dealt with in the appropriate manner deemed by God because of disobedience and succumbing to the people around him.  How more of a specific example of how a status is taken away from a leader because of failure to set aside peer pressure can one receive, and if God takes away an individual’s leadership capacity He sure can and will do it on a national level as well.

Church, we have lost our leadership position and have succumbed to the people of the world and now we are stuck in a way that we have lost favor with our Creator and Establisher of our mission.  I speak to you directly as one who has been a part of the people for a well-defined portion of my life and I first handedly admit that it is not a state that we need to function within.  I put on a game face for so long and it was hard to maintain but I did so in order to hold up my reputation according to who I wanted to be and not who God wanted me to become.  Even as I strolled through this time in my life believing that I had everyone fooled God knew exactly what the condition of my heart was like and if need be told it was obvious to some people that I was living a lie during that time.  God has shown us some difficult opportunities throughout our past and no doubt shall show us even more both on a local level and on a national one as well.  It is time that we stop forcing God’s hand in order for us to see what we need to be doing in the first place, it is appalling that we walk around with our pious attitudes and noses in the air yet snub them at the One who we are supposed to be following and acting as.  It is time we stop playing our worldly games and turn back to God before we see a nasty and devastating proclamation from God.  It is our responsibility to tell and to show the people of the world that they need God not for us to be a part of the people of the world.  The question that we all must ask ourselves is as follows: if the children of Israel were not allowed to get away with disobedience when God was their sovereign leader, what would make them believe that they could get away with disobedience after they were no longer under the direct covering of God?  It is that question that we need to ask ourselves Church!

If we take this passage of Scripture and this article that God has given us today to heart, we shall understand that when we become a part of the world we cannot help but act as the world does which is one thing and that is to go against anything God tells us to do or not to do.  The people in this passage are humans just as we are, and given this fact, we shall act as they did when we place our faith and trust on worldly things for it is a natural process for us to do such a thing especially when we are born into the same position as they were.  God never meant for us to have to make decisions like the ones that demand our choosing between good or evil, but His only desire was for us to live in perfect harmony under His guidance.  How many gross pains do we have to go through in our lives because we did not take care of business at an earlier date?  No deed that is left undone shall be the same later when encountered it shall always be greater and stronger with far greater potential of destruction in its path.  We have been given the authority to stop this evil that runs our lives today but instead, we lick its wounds and set it back on its feet again only to have it attack us at some point in time once again.  Christ wants this cycle broken not only in our lives but in those precious individuals who do not know God and it is our responsibility to ignore all the issues that do not matter to God and to focus on the eternal aspect of all our lives.

DLB

Just Do It!

Just Do It!

11/22/18

When we read the Bible and an act is played out that seems harsh in its direction, we have a tendency to ask why such events had to occur in a certain manner or wonder why God wanted to wipe out an entire ethnic population.  Many times when we read such a passage it is easy for us to point fingers or to shake our fist at God because of such action, but do we know all of the history behind such a group and what it means to the existence of Israel both in that moment and in the future?  We can also place this type of setting into our own lives as well, not so much on the killing aspect but taking care of the issues around us in a godly manner in order to ease our potential agony in the future.  God always does things for a specific person in a specific manner and while we may not fully understand why at that moment God is at the same time protecting us from our future and while leading us through the course of holy obedience.  Presently, we have taken God’s plan for our lives and have twisted its content so that it fits our worldly agenda, a sin that will cost us dearly one day just as it did for Israel as this article unfolds.

A while back, God shared with us a passage concerning procrastination and how we should take God seriously at what He tells us to do and not to hesitate when doing it.  God also says that He expects complete obedience in all things that we do and this includes what He tells us to do, many of us including myself sometimes have issues with the word “complete” by not doing such techniques when told.  Another issue that we have that brings forth the procrastination point of view is that we may do things that God tells us to do completely but we do it when we are ready and not in the timely manner in which God tells us to complete it.  It does not matter which setting suits your practice because all of them fall within the category of disobedience and the consequences of our actions may not immediately be known but recognized years or even centuries down the road.

We must ask ourselves if our selfish conditions are worth not listening and obeying what God commands us to do.  Many times over I have not done what my parents asked me to do when I was growing up, or I waited until I was “ready” to do what they asked and did so with a grudgingly weighted heart.  This is a human trait and one that all of us deal with at some point in our lives and to this day I continue to procrastinate at times about what God has given me to do and it is through this portion of my heart that God is now exposing to a great extent He wants us to understand that when He speaks in a certain way or in a specific manner it is for a reason that He wants dealt with now and not later, for if we wait and do not deal with things at the moment they could grow into a much larger problem that will affect more people than just our personal lives or family.  Unfortunately, I see some of these procrastination qualities in my daughters and even though I try and teach them not to harbor such tendencies it pains me to see that their attitudes and actions towards this malady bring back memories of my words and thoughts, sometimes precision responses sends chills through my spirit.  Through these responses of theirs, I know that if not checked and gotten rid of they shall grow further and deeper and could prove painful or present as a devastation in their future; a condition I do not wish to occur.

The passage that God wants to share with us today comes from the first three verses of 1 Samuel 15, and we see that Israel has fulfilled its desire to have a worldly king as other nations had.  God has chosen a king for Israel and while the physical king is present God still has His say over the duties of the land for this is one of the times that God confirms to us that He never leaves us even though we kick Him out of our lives.  Saul has become king and is now receiving instructions from Samuel concerning what God has said to do about Amalek, but the first order of business was that Samuel was to anoint Saul as King of Israel.  This was the official recognition of Saul from God to the people of Israel that He was in allowance of their decision; God still knew what was about to occur in their ways and what this election meant for His people down the road as well.  However, the anointing from God gives Saul an opportunity to understand that his leadership is still or should still be under God and for him to obey God’s commands at all times.  We are about to see what happens when disobedience reigns instead of God within a person’s heart.

1 Samuel 15:2 states that God remembers what Amalek did to the people of Israel while they were proceeding in the wilderness after they had left Egypt.  It is this verse that sets the stage of why God wanted Saul to destroy Amalek and every one of his followers and people and when we understand what occurred in the desert a while back with these parties we will know why God is so vehemently aware that Saul must obey His command.  Even though we as a people, as individuals, or as nations may not agree with what God does or accepts we must contend that whatever God says and needs to be completed is for a reason and that reason is always in the interests of His people and their well-being.  God does not do things haphazardly in any way shape or form, His Ways and methods are clear and give us the opportunity to express His Will through the words that He gives us to do.

Exodus 17:8-14 gives us the history lesson as to why God has specifically targeted Amalek for destruction.  We see that the Israelites are in the process of making their way through the desert towards the Promised Land, but they are at a point of intrusion that is in wait for them and it is in the form of Amalek and his warriors.  The Israelites are in Rephidim for a time of rest and recovery from the journey and Amalek meets them there and is ready to do battle.  Moses gives the instructions to Joshua to mobilize the army for the next day and after speaking the instructions went up to the top of the hill with the rod of God.  Amalek begins his attack and according to Deuteronomy 25, Amalek assaults the stragglers, the feeble and weak that are in the last portion of the Israelites first, a dirty trick by any measure of warfare, but not an unusual move when one does not first respect God and His Ways.  Okay, we now know that Amalek did not play by the rules during this attack on the Israelites but is this is the single reason why God has said to Saul that he needs to destroy Amalek and every person associated with him along with all of their possessions?  No, there is another reason and one that is the reason that Israel has so many issues today.

How important is it to keep intact your lineage and heritage along with a righteous and pure heart?  We find that the command that God gives to Saul is for him and his army to completely destroy Amalek and his army, this is a clear order and one that should not have had any problems in not understanding the direction that was given.  God also said to Saul that he was to not wait but to go immediately and do what He had commanded completing His mission with fervor and with purity.  There was no need in taking their time with the plan that God had laid out for them, it was a simple command after the battle was over, which also meant that God was going to deliver them from an enemy.  We have heard countless sermons and sand wonderful songs about how God delivers us from our enemies and how He defeats them completely, so why is it when we read a battle plan in the Word of God like this one we become hesitant about how God completes this action.  Amalek seemed like a “normal” enemy but once again we have to go back to the heritage and lineage aspect of things in order to understand why God wanted everyone and everything destroyed.  Another detail that we need to remember is how important it is to read and study the entire Word of God so that we have more information at hand when we run across such activities we might not understand.

Genesis 25:27-34 gives us the origin of why this battle was to be completed in a specific manner along with all of the possessions of those with Amalek.  This is the story of Jacob and Esau and most of all know what occurred here with the selling of Esau’s birthright to Jacob.  Esau leaves the meeting with nothing and realized that in his weakened state that his brother has taken everything from him to the point that his foolishness has caused him to even hate his own family origins.  Amalek was the grandson of Esau and the progenitor of the Arab people which is the reason God said to complete the battle and the destruction of these people, not only was it for the present tense of the Israelites but if Saul would have completed the mission commanded by him the issues of Israel today would have been totally different in many aspects of life.  For those of you who do not know what the definition of progenitor is, it is as follows: a person or thing from which a person, animal or plant is descended or originates; an ancestor or parent.  It is for this reason that God gave Saul the command to destroy everything and everyone when it came to the cause of Amalek.  We cannot forget that Amalek was not only a physical enemy of Israel but a spiritual one as well and a spiritual enemy represents a far greater threat than a physical one due to the sin of death in all of us. 

In a few verses later in the 1 Samuel passage, we find that Samuel does not complete the mission as God had instructed him to do, for he spared Amalek his life.  God’s command to Saul was to utterly destroy the Amalekites and Amalek himself with nothing left alive.  God uses the word “wehaharamtem” here which is the Hebrew word for utterly and has the meaning of completely destroying and to be devoted to this task of extermination, to be forfeited.  This is a specific and powerful word and the usage of such word is very clear in its meaning.  Saul had no reason to misunderstand what God was saying and while he followed through with most of the command it was not completed accurately as it had been told to do.  This word that God used served as the direct command that He wanted to be completed and it was this word that was not obeyed, and we all know what happens when we do not obey.  Here is what is so ironic about this setting and story, that while Saul chose not to follow and obey the command of God, Amalek did follow the command of Satan so in this grotesque comparison who actually obeyed to a greater extent?

And then we must ask who actually won the victory that day?

Humans have a tendency to have a problem with God taking care of things around them that they do not fully understand and then complain about things when issues that could have been prevented some time ago present them on a personal condition today.  It is difficult for us to imagine how it would be if the Arabs were not in any place to torment Israel or any other ethnic nation, but in many instances the world does not see it in this fashion and would provide a worldly view of why they should have been allowed to exist and justify Saul’s actions.  The Arab’s had already placed their beliefs and attitudes into motion after Esau walked out of that tent so long ago and had begun to cultivate that anger toward Israel in Exodus.  God provided an opportunity to end the presence of a hated and vile enemy with Saul and he failed to do so only establishing a further and deeper anger to encourage over the millennia.  We also must take into consideration that it is the Arabs who created and now embrace Islam, the hated enemy of Zionism and Christianity.

It can be said that Saul dealt with Amalek and his people superficially since he did not fully complete and obey what God had commanded him to do.  How many times have we dealt with issues and problems in the same manner?  Then when we ask ourselves this question we must also ask how many problems could have been avoided if we had just done what God had asked us to do.  When God speaks His mission to us there can be no misguidance or interpretations for He is always clear in His words and statements.  When Saul chose to disobey what was commanded of him the future consequences, consequences he had no idea about, would cause great pain, agony, and sorrow onto his people in the future.  God knew that these types of clashes and tragedies would occur in the future and it would have been so much easier for Israel to pursue God without such a distraction facing them.

Can one now say that obedience is not better than sacrifice?  God has a reason for what He says and tells us to do and if we choose not to fully obey His words our inaction can have a devastating effect on our lives today and for our children and grandchildren in the future.  God always gives us a path to walk and to follow but it always our choice to walk this path or to choose our own to follow.  God’s commands to us demonstrate His commitment to our existence and to the holy and eternal protection He wants to provide.  His Ways do not always seem the easiest or most humane path at the time but as we say many times over the course of the year God works in mysterious ways but we need to not only understand this truth but walk in its obedience as well.  Once God makes a command known to mankind He will find a way to complete such a mission whether we obey it or not, a part of His completeness that we forget about and when observed do not always like to witness.

There are countless ways that the world has that contradict with God and the people who follow and believe in such ways will staunchly defend their presence.  One of the issues that the Church has today is that we are fully and completely destroying the works of the devil but allowing his kingdom to live and dwell within our lives.  This is exactly what Saul did when he did not obey the command of God and it cost him the authority of the kingship of Israel and it causes so many deaths of his people as time passed along.  We continually cry to everyone and point fingers at so many others when it comes to the problems that we face today but what we do not understand or what we ignore is the fact that there is an answer to our issues, an answer that will not only take away such pain today but prevent any further pain on that or any other related issue in the future.  But in order for us to achieve such life, we must turn our hearts back over to God and put His Ways first at all times.  Putting God first means trusting and obeying completely His Ways and Word, not 95% but 100%.  What is this disobedience of ours costing us Church?  It is costing us thousands of lives lost to Satan every day, that is the cost and unless we change our hearts and once again teach the true gospel that Jesus commanded us to do, this cost shall continue to increase.  In this light, we cannot ignore the fact that if we do not witness to these people so they follow God they or their children or grandchildren may become enemies of the Church in such a way where more lives are needlessly ended; an end that could have been avoided if we would have obeyed Jesus’ command to His Church in the first place.

The actions of the true and complete obedient Church shall never coincide with the ways of the world.  God and the world cannot ever coexist on any level nor can they mix together either.  It is this basic and foundational truth that will always make them eternal enemies that will never cease to end their struggles for your eternity.  The world may never understand why it is necessary for us to withdraw from its kingdom type thinking and living, the world may even scoff or mock you for separating yourself from its ways but it is this command following process that is vital to our eternal status and the key component that we must convey and manifest to those who are really seeking help.  If we teach anything else but the complete and total Word of God and Kingdom message, then we are once again roleplaying Saul in his worldly conquests instead of obtaining the future security of Israel.  When God tells us to do something, do not do anything that is on your own but through His Words alone.  Just do it!

DLB

No More Prayers

No More Prayers

11/18/18

Sadly, it has become evident that as time passes, this nation is turning away from her Creator and no longer desire to even speak with Him.  It should be clear to us that the reason why these hideous atrocities that occur are due to our lack of true and serious communication with God, but we fail to recognize this connection and wander wayward instead.  God has never closed the line of communication between Him and our lives and until we realize that it is the issues that we obtain and then harbor from the world that breaks this link, our attention will continue to be jolted.  All God wants is for us to return to Him and for His Church to teach those around us that need Him that He loves us and that there is a way for true peace and happiness.  The first step in our restoration process comes in the form of prayer for it is the direct line we have to God and the only way He can communicate with us on a routine level.

A short while back, California was rocked by another mass shooting at one of the many local establishments in that community.  It does not matter any longer that these types of activities occur on a weekend, for now, the perpetrators are now taking their tasks to weekdays and evenings as well.  School shootings occur during the day and the countless numbers of armed robberies do not have a time frame for definition any longer.  While this latest atrocity occurred on the west coast it does not matter where one looks at the news, for these types of events occur all over this nation and if one wants too can find such dealings all throughout the world.  Motives and the people behind these crimes vary in number, strength, and motive but all of these events have one thing in common and that is people die or injured when these people act.  It seems like these activities have dramatically increased over the last two or three decades, first overseas and now this nation which should tell us something, being like other nations is not a path that one should take but to be separate and under God is the only solution for stability in this crazy and dying world.

When these acts occur it is important that we understand the reasons why the people believed that they were justified in committing such heinous motions. But instead of remembering that God is in control of all things good and bad we make sure that we revert back to our human and physical resources in order to correct the situation at hand.  While these events are tragic another and more important tragedy occurs in that we fail to even recognize the true issue of what occurred, the reason why it occurred, and the real path for future events such as these to be stopped.  Humans love their laws when it suits them for their own devices and purposes but despise them when they actually are enforced, a key component that we throw into the faces of those opposing such legalities but nevertheless a true statement.  A utopian society would be the perfect answer for this type of legal action to work but as we shall see here over the next few moments humans have a great tendency not to follow even the simplest laws much less the ones that could have a drastic effect on the lives of others.  Making laws on a technical condition such as emotions after a tragedy may look good superficially but deep down represent the wavering and wandering worldly belief that more laws will cure humanity, a sad but laughable condition when entertained.  In no way am I advocating that no laws be made or enforced, but what God wants us to understand to remind us that unless we turn our hearts to Him and live under His Covenant with a pure heart all the laws that the human can dream up and enact will not protect one person.  For it is the human that makes the choice to do good or evil and if we already accept the world as our standard then that choice will always be selfishly adhered to; thus, spiritual paths are made and chosen as well and are paralleled.

I understand that this issue has been shared a couple of times before but as time passes we see that a new trend is becoming more prevalent in that we hear more people wanting more laws and stronger control over the weapons that are used in such scenes.  In no way is this call for stricter gun laws, not a noble gesture but we cannot ignore the truth about the matter that it is the human mind and heart that make the decision to commit such crimes against humanity.  Until the mind and heart are changed these acts shall continue and the further away from God this nation becomes the more that these types of instances and others similar to them will occur.  We are all humans and we face the exact same circumstances as the other fellow across the street or in another country.  Yes, some of the circumstances around the world are different but it is still the human that plays the direct role in accomplishing any type of act.  Any act of legislation on any level becomes a superficial clanging symbol when it is not taken to heart and willingly obeyed which once again points back to the human and not the items used in these crimes.  We must contend that if humans want a way around any law they will find it given time and they also shall find a way to obtain or to make such efforts come to pass.

In the recent shooting in California, a mother of one of the victims was interviewed the following morning.  Visibly and understandably she was shaken to the core about what occurred the previous night.  When asked by the person giving the interview if she had a personal message, the mother immediately began to plead for gun control and to pass it immediately.  Up until that point, her voice was shaky as one would expect but as she continued she turned her attention to the words that bring light into this subject of the article.  She then stated in an angry voice that she did not want any prayers or thoughts from people that all she wanted was new gun laws in place.  I am not knocking this lady by any means and I pray that no one else has to ever go through such tragedy and loss again, but the reality and truth behind this event along with all the other similar tragedies, Satan does not give a hoot about your life and he will continue to influence those who wish to do harm to others.

The words of this heartbroken mother do reflect an internal condition of her heart in that she makes it clear that she does not believe in prayer nor does she believe in the Being on the other end of those prayers.  Sadly, what she is demonstrating is the condition of our hearts and how countless people believe or in this case not believe in God and His Ways.  They rely completely on humans and the world to solve the issues at hand, such unknowingly place their future into the existence of the loser ruler of a dying world.  When we recite such words or actually believe that prayers, true prayers do not work we are replaying and reliving Genesis 2:15-Genesis 3:6 all over again and if we get to the point where Genesis 3:7 comes back onto the scene we will increase our horrific setting by including sin to make the decision of prayer instead of prayer itself.  If we could not obey one single law of life what makes us believe that warranting new laws to prevent death would be followed today?  We also must observe that this mother has a point because from all that we can see from the past shootings and bombings is that nothing has changed only continued devastation to unknowing people at the scene, which means that either our prayers are completely empty or we are not praying at all.  This noticeable lack of change indicates that we have no desire to change our hearts in any way but to continue the road of worldly goods and physical attractions just as our society demands.  While we accept this truth about the condition of our lives we must never forget that as long as we harbor such beliefs we shall have no hope for real survival but only invite pain and suffering into our lives with each breath we take.

Genesis 2:15 provides us with the sobering fact that humans do not like to keep or maintain laws that have been given to them.  It would be a wonderful setting, a life of utopian conditions if all of us would have the desire to obey such commands but as this verse tells us along with the following verses behind it show us, that if we cannot obey a single law what makes us believe that we can follow thousands?  We have forgotten who controls and rules this earth and world, and as long as we continue to throw out the only source of true peace and happiness the ruler of this world will continue to have a field day with these types of events.  In addition, when such tragedy occurs and we say we are in no longer need of prayers we must contend and horrifically accept that we are giving Satan 100% access to our lives for further similar or increased acts, we may not like to hear such a prediction but it is an accurate one that we need to really think about before we act upon our worldly whims for answers.

When Adam and Eve arrived at the point that they believed that they no longer had to pray to God in order for them to exist and to survive as their environment provided, their actions became mediocre in a direct response to how their hearts had become.  Yes, God continued to walk with them every day and showed His face to them every day but within their hearts, they had drawn the conclusion that no matter what they had reached the pinnacle of their journey and through the lies of Satan had no deep need to have a relationship with God any longer.  They believed that they could pacify God with their walks and talks and as soon as He left would return back to the Serpent’s guise and work accordingly.  See, what we would consider their prayers to be is actually a direct communication with God on a daily basis, not a periodically and opinionated one.  Yet, Adam and Eve had already fallen into the trap of Satan by believing in his word instead of who Created them and who had provided them with their living arrangements and who had given them their responsibilities.  Ever wonder why so many people do not like to work or are so unhappy with how and where they work?  Here is your answer for there is something going on inside your heart that is not in line with God for it is He who Created us which means He has access to every aspect of our lives and unless we are in complete alignment with Him things are not going to be happy.

Adam and Eve had plenty of opportunities to figure things out before they made the critical election to allow sin into their lives and to the rest of the world.  By design, the human’s ability to choose to obey or to disobey the law supersedes the law; therefore, when it becomes easier for one to disobey the established protocols the nature of the heart has changed and the heart becomes blackened and it is no longer in a comfortable and at peace state; it must exercise itself and prove itself to the outside world of its individuality and presence to its surroundings.  It is this state of affairs that our hearts choose to blatantly disobey laws that are in place and if we are willing to disregard the human laws there is absolutely no way that we shall obey God’s laws either, remember the vertical and horizontal relationship graph?  It is this relational status of humans that represents a true reflection of what power we have in God to do what is correct or if we have no power in God the ability to do what is incorrect.  This too is a direct relationship proclamation for if our hearts are true to God and our belief and faith in Him is accurate and at 100% our words and actions shall be totally contrary to the world and our message clear when it comes to the concessions to the truth when spoken to the world.

This lady, who undoubtedly had suffered a great tragedy in her life had every “right” to be angry at what had occurred the previous night, but when she stated that she wanted to communication avenues to God it placed her situation in a higher state of turmoil.  I do not know if she had any knowledge of God or had any background with God but I do know that when made such a statement it placed her heart into a more hardened category thus allowing our enemy deeper access to her heart.  God never intended for us not to have communication with Him but it was of our own doing that placed us into this idled condition so long ago and it is still working its destructive characteristics in our lives today.  If we are truly wanting to see such horrendous activities stopped then we need to once again have the desire to talk with God again with a pure and true heart.  When we stand up and make such statements against God and thus choose to solve our issues and problems on our own then we automatically defy our Creation and definition and blindly accept and proclaim judgment on our lives.

Choosing God and His Ways was never going to be easy, even back in the Garden of Eden even as Adam and Eve believed as such.  Our enemy shall do his best on every level to snare us and trip us up where truth is concerned.  Church, we have fallen for this liar simply because we have been tricked into seeing what is around us instead of keeping our eyes on Christ.  We have taken the exact same steps as Adam and Eve did that led them to fail and to thus allow our lives to mark death as our representative instead of God and Life eternal.  We have learned from the actions of Adam and Eve and it is evident that we are reviewing daily the consequences of not only their actions but ours as well.  In many eyes and hearts, we have “graduated” from God and have furthered our progress according to the world enough that we honestly believe that we can do things without God or His Word or Ways.  Through our own Creation process it is clear that God never intended for us to be idle either in spirituality or in the physical, and if one of these becomes self-centered the entire equation is thrown off and disaster is allowed to be projected.

As stated above, I have no doubt that the lady that has been referred to throughout this article experienced such devastating tragedy, but it is at this time when she needs prayers the most, not only from others around her but from her heart as well.  Church, through this example alone it is unmistakable that we have not done what Jesus commanded us to do for this lady wants nothing from us or God and if we had been doing what has been commanded of us that attitude and spirit would not be allowed to operate.  We should be ashamed of this statement and grieved by this statement from this precious lady but instead, we have been silent on the issue for I have not heard one peep from that day about how the Church is responding to this cry for help.  Granted, the media plays an important role in the suppression of God and any other mention of His name or works but even with that said I have not heard any side statements coming from the heart of the Church on this issue; which speaks volumes both to us and to God.

Our lack of action concerning such events says that our hearts are not aligned with what God wants us to be doing and saying to the dying world.  It is time that we change our hearts and return back to God so that He can restore our hearts and place them under the Covenant of eternal life and then have the correct heart in place so that we can teach the TRUE message of God and follow through in the command of Christ.  It breaks God’s heart to see such turmoil exist within His children but if we do not step up to the plate and do what Christ commanded us to do God shall continue the hardening process of this nation’s heart until it brings about the death of our presence as we know it.  The time is now to change our heart Church before God has to demonstrate His supernatural presence on this nation and our land.  As we watch our world crumble before our eyes we can ill afford not to pray and communicate with God, having no more prayers with God is following through with an abortive procedure and the existence of what God intended for us to be is effectively wiped out.

DLB

Who Do You Borrow From?

Who Do You Borrow From?

11/16/18

Credit is always a good thing as long as we do not get into debt over our heads so that we no longer have the ability to repay what we have borrowed.  It is the responsibility of those seeking credit to research the lender and understands what they and their company stand for before the deal is settled.  It is evident that many of us do not display this practice and take what is offered without any questions.  It is this principle that costs us our place from economic freedom and on the spiritual aspect, it deprives us of spiritual freedom and eternal placement as well.  For it has become common practice to grab whatever looks good and is the easiest to achieve and most of the time it is the natural presence of the world that is dangling.  God warns us about such participles that cross our eyesight and He wants us to know that it is time we ignore the bad loans and accept His gift of life instead or our debts shall catch up to us one day and we shall not have any protection over our hearts.

I remember when I was approved for my first credit card and how my father sat me down and told me about how great it was to have this opportunity and at the same time told of the grave dangers of getting over my head with debt.  Economic freedom is one of the greatest financial gifts the free world has to offer and it is given out so in good faith that requires your participation in repaying such gifts when used.  But it is an area that is widely tempting in the fact that it is so easy for us to acquire things that have no lasting value with this credit and then end up with nothing to show for it except a large bill to pay at the end of the month.  I wish I had listened to Pop when he sat me down all those years ago for if I would have really heeded his advice I would have been saved from many problems in the few years to come; however, being the “smart” person I was did my own thing and ended up owing way more than what I used the card for and as the old saying goes had nothing to show for it at the end of the day.  My dad was doing the correct thing for he was following the previous verse in Proverbs when he was doing his best to train me to do and stay on the right path, but if I failed then I would have a stable way to return.

As stated in the opening paragraph this type of borrowing does not necessarily have to be on the monetary side of things, it also represents the spiritual aspect of our lives as well ad while monetary debt is a pain to grasp a hold of and to control the spiritual has a much longer period of living if we fall into the same trap. Ironically, both sides of this topic have the exact same compounding debt truths and when I hear people ending their lives over a physical quality of life I cannot imagine what their spiritual lives are like as well because in almost every situation the gravity of such weight is present on both aisles.  I have to include myself in this issue because I have to admit that when I was heavily in debt because of stupid spending and taking from lenders my heart was not with God and had no intentions of living a life with Him either.  I was safe and secure in my own ways and as long as I kept that Prodigal Son aspect intact, I was a happy person or so I thought.  After a while, my life came crashing down and my world changed completely but after the dust was settled I still had the debt present and it weighed heavy, heavier than it ever had before.  I am proud to say that I never did anything ridiculous like going to a loan shark or any other shady place that would bail me out, for that would have been a complete disaster and cost me more debt.  Never ever deal with any type of loan shark or business loaners for they require much in return and their payment plans can get physical.

Proverbs 22:7 gives us a great detailed message about this subject and not to fall into hands that will harm you or provide bad information to you.  “The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.”  The main focus of this message is going to be placed on the second half of this verse and we will deal with the first portion at a later date, but there is a huge lesson that we need to understand here and it lies within the origins of where we are asking for help.  All of us need help from time to time in a number of ways, but we need to be very aware of who we ask for help because many times those who we ask demand something in return later if we are not able to pay what they deem is necessary.  Also, there are on occasions that the lenders change the rules of the agreement and want even further amounts of repayment and it is this time where many things go wrong and further indebtedness occurs.  Once again God is showing us that this small verse is a huge Kingdom verse and one that we need to put into practice every day of our lives.

The settings cannot become clearer here but just as humans do on routine instances we miss or ignore what God is trying to tell us.  Remember when Jesus told those around Him that no one can serve two masters?  Well, this verse is a precursor to that truth because it deals with two kingdoms, the two kingdoms that are vying for our lives, our eternal lives.  God uses this portion of a verse to ask ourselves about which kingdom are we asking to borrow from for there is a great deal of difference when it comes to what is handed out depending upon the kingdom requested.  God has shown us many things about His Kingdom and the kingdom of Satan and how different they are when it comes to what both can provide and through this verse God demonstrates how important it is for us to choose the correct kingdom when asking for things.  First off, we must remember that we cannot ask both kingdoms for things for God shall not work with anyone who wishes to live by worldly standards.  It is this concept that we like to bypass and just take what is right in front of us instead of making sure that the product that we are presented with is what we actually need.

When we borrow money or acquire any item on credit, at any price, and on any level, we automatically become subject to that lender, or we can say that we are now their servant until the debt is repaid.  There is a word that this portion of Scripture uses here and it is the word “servant”.  The Hebrew word used here is “weebed” and comes this Hebrew word comes from the root word “ebed” or “abad” which means to serve or to be a slave to someone or something.  When used in this context there is not much controversy because it eases our minds about the picture we have drawn about someone being a slave to something but we cannot ignore the other side of the kingdom issue in that it also refers to God and His Kingdom as well.  This word alone places the importance of knowing which kingdom you are asking for help from and when it is dealing with the spiritual aspect of your life, it becomes immediately relevant on an eternal platform.

Every day the world places things or bling in front of our lives and screams to us that we need this item and that it really does not cost too much.  Most of the time we know that what is being offered we do not need but look at the product and take it to heart and purchase it without remorse and then go to our place of residence and put it in a drawer or cabinet until we use it in about five years or so.  But while we do not use this product on a regular basis the repayment structure is not based on usage but the purchasing detail.  The lender expects payment in full as soon as possible and while they want their money or restitution they will continue to offer you other items of interest in order to increase your debt with them.  This process while being promoted as a great opportunity serves as a trap and will consume us if not figured out quickly or understood beforehand.  It is never a good thing to have creditors calling your phones in order to receive payment but it is a process that occurs when lenders want their money. 

It is this physical aspect of this verse that I could stop and say that God’s message is complete but He wants us to understand the more important aspect of this verse and how it deals with the spiritual aspect of our lives.  See, Satan is an eternal and spiritual loan shark and when we accept the rules and ways of the world there is a debt we must pay to the one who lent those things to us.  Satan will dangle items of the world in front of you and offer you to take them and while we may know that they are not good for our lives he will continue his pursuit of the sale just as a street vendor would do in a foreign country to a passing tourist.  It is this process that God refers to as kingdom banking and one that needs to be known before anything is purchased on the spiritual level.  It does not matter which worldly item Satan dangles in front of you whether it be lust, fornication, lying, stealing, idols, and any other sinful activity or thought that he can convince us is normal and okay to perform.  It is these items that we take into our lives that represent debt to the world and its ruler and when we accept such items we are then servants to the lender.  This means that we are now subject to what the lender wants us to go through according to his kingdom rules, which by the way are directly opened to us by this acceptance policy.  The most famous and popular way to obtain these worldly things is to use the wonderful phrase “it is my right to have _______.”  The ruler of the world will give you what you ask for but it shall come with a price and a slave’s wage with a master’s will over your head.  We cannot forget that when we do such an act that we are increasing our debt to this ruler for we are already paying a high price when it comes to our existence, so why add to this sentence?

It is this additional item list that Satan gains his foothold on our lives and when we haphazardly accept things without knowing what we are obtaining this hold on our lives becomes deeper and stronger.  As this subtle itemized buying process continues Satan is able to weave his way into our hearts and begins to show us that what he has to offer is much better than the items that his enemy has to offer.  It will pull your heart away from the things that God stands for and what He wants out of your life, this is a truth that Satan’s kingdom shall do in your life, you can even still attend church and be spiritually dead it is all fine and dandy in Satan’s eyes.  It makes sense that those who have accepted the world as their source for living go to church for the more your mind believes that you “require” to survive and it is your spirit that calls out to hear from its Creator but is masked by all of the world’s goods that you have obtained.

Now comes the fun part of your payment plan, the time when Satan wants what is owed him due to your purchases through his kingdom.  Satan shall never give you something without an agreement, known or unknown to you the buyer.  He does not care about your spiritual financial situation all he knows is that he has the legal avenues to reclaim what he has given to you and in his case since he is the father of all lies he does not care how much he takes back in return for his payment.  When we open our hearts to the world this is what we are allowing Satan to do in our future.  This setting can come tomorrow or it could present itself ten years down the road.  What matters is that at some point in time Satan and his cronies will want back what they have given to you and while they are taking back these items they will attack and take whatever else they wish because of the access you voluntarily gave them. 

This brings into light the Kingdom of God and what He has to offer us and how His gifts are completely different than what the world offers.  Satan wants you to have nothing to do with God and what His Word states because when known shall provide you with the capability to combat and to reject those binding issues that the world offers.  God hands out gifts and resources that we NEED not want.  It is easy to become caught up in the spectrum of the so-called “necessities” that the world has to offer and to be honest many of them are exciting to seek and to obtain, but anything from the world has a large and eternal price tag on it and shall eventually cost you everything.  The gifts from God cost you nothing in the spiritual sense but it costs you everything in the worldly sense because just as God goes against the world so does the gifts that He has and then gives to His children.  Both kingdoms desire your heart but the only one can offer you eternal life and eternal peace and rest and that is the Kingdom of God.

God and the gifts that He provides are eternal in nature and directly and sharply speak directly to the spirit that dwells within our lives.  It is the heart that represents the ultimate goal for the heart is the organ that controls how we think, eat, sleep, pray, desire, and everything else that we consider as life and living.  Both God and Satan understand that where the heart lies so does the rest of your existence, both also understand what is good for you but only one ruler wants us to live in such spiritual and eternal freedom the other wants you to experience eternal death and agony away from any presence of God.  We were created in such a manner that our spirit within our lives urns to communicate with its Creator just as any child would for its mother or father.  It is this presence together that the world seeks to separate and to destroy but God’s gifts for our lives serves the opposite by strengthening and solidifying these ties with Him.  His Word provides us with the knowledge and wisdom to combat the turmoil that the world offers and dim the bling that Satan places in front of our eyes.  It is these eternal gifts that allow our hearts to shine brightly to the darkened and dead world and is the objects of the subject that defeat the word servant or slave to the kingdom that seeks our destruction.  God’s gifts as stated above are free all we have to do is ask Him for them and this means that we are not bound to His subjectivity or demands but are allowed to use them as freely as we wish.

Whichever kingdom we seek our gifts from shall become an enemy of the other.  I ask you, for those who attend church and consider yourselves to be Christians but take hold to worldly principles do you become agitated at those who question your position on such items?  SO you ignore their reasonable pleas when it comes to these subjects?  Do you proceed to have arguments or shouting games at each other because of such differences?  Who is correct in these mannerisms and events?  God says to you on both dies, neither of you is correct for the delivery method of those who know the truth represents a worldly gift of division and those who harbor willingly the ways of the world are blinded by the bling of opportunity that Satan has within your life.  This is why it is so important that we understand the Kingdom concept of God and how everlasting Kingdom differences and truth is.  If we do not know how to interject the Gospel to those who are lost in a proper manner and way, we are just as bad they are and it actually places us in a category of elitism that is talked about in the book of James.  It has been, it is now, and it always shall be our responsibility to understand Kingdom principles AND know how to deliver them to those who are drowning and dying in worldly spiritual debt.

Church, do I have to ask which spiritual gifts you are presenting to your congregation and to the world?  It is obvious that what you are teaching comes from the world and not from God.  We need to grasp this verse and place it into our hearts so that we live by its rules every single day.  For when we ask this world to borrow its gifts there shall be an ugly price to pay in our future and how can we stand when we then turn around and offer such death gifts to those who are hurting or do not know God?  God is asking us, along with the rest of the world, which kingdom (bank) are seeking help and items to borrow from?  The answer that we give comes in the form of what we present to the world and when we present such items demonstrating to God exactly what lies within our hearts and which kingdom we follow.  God suggests that we turn our hearts around and allow Him to get rid of the worldly gifts that we have in our lives and to replace them with eternal ones that shall give us the necessary strength to defeat the world instead of joining its death rows.

DLB

For or Against

For or Against

11/14/18

This concept of reality has come into question over the past decade or so and has grown exponentially over the last few years.  The basic and fundamental base for this truth is easily projected in the worldly sense but ignored and reviled as an enemy of the popular State when it comes to the Holy Writ and Sacredness of God and life.  The one-sided presence of this basic law of life has now become a “right” and one that shows off the intent of the spirit that is in control of not only this nation but in all of the powers to be around the world.  God is beckoning us to not fall into the same category that His people did in the Bible but it looks like we might just have to find out the real Truth from experience instead of wisdom and knowledge of our history.  We need to understand that our hearts believe we live in frivolous times, but in truth, we are on the verge of complete destruction, we have time to change our hearts before God has to remind His people once again exactly who is in control.

How many times in our lives have we believed that the things that we are doing at the present are the right thing to do even when others are telling us that we are making mistakes?  There comes a time in all of our lives that we as individuals reach the point that we believe we no longer need to take or to heed any other types of advice besides our own.  That our minds have been made up and the choices that we make are deemed popular enough that comfortability and the pride of being “right” vastly outweighs what is actually in the best interest of our existence.  There have been many times that I have thought this case to be true and as I now look back at those times, I can once again hear my mother pass out that sound advice of hers that hindsight is 20/20.  How many things would we do in a different way if we had the opportunity and how many people would we not have to apologize to if we had such an opportunity to reverse the course before it occurs?  One of the key factors of Satan and his tactics against us is to lie to us enough that we believe that not everything God says is bad really isn’t and Satan manipulates the setting in our hearts enough that eventually, our eyes agree with him, a very dangerous pattern that many of us fall for and then find ourselves in a state of conglomeration down the road.

How many of us have placed this selfish ideology of ours up against the level of holiness and God?  Not as a level of punishment but an eternal standard that we can measure our choices based upon a sound foundation, a solid enough baseline that will ever be present in the good times and when things fall apart.  We easily forget or readily demean the position of a choice, water it down enough that we justify making such decisions like a whimsical decision or placing these important decisions on convenient circumstances instead of integrated patterns that continue our internal stability.  Do we converse with God on a personal and intimate level before blurting out these choices or do we ignore His presence and turning towards Him as we defy our true foundational Creator?  Just as we have watered down the word “right” so that it fits our own personal feelings, we have completed the same process with the word choice.  Not realizing that what both of these words actually say to others is that an election has taken place inside our hearts and we are standing by this election results.  Meanwhile, other people who have taken another position automatically become enemies of the elected state and are considered to be targeted until they are wiped out or go away far enough that one does not have to deal with them.  All reasonable conversational attributes of human nature with others that differ are erased all the while we are crying out for provisional and sectarian unity.

For the last few months, God has been returning us to the same Scripture passages from His Word.  Each time He does He adds a bit more detailed information about what He wants us to understand.  This process of His amazes me in that He does not give us the entire picture of what His Word says all at once, but as this new wisdom He shares comes into light, it brings our hearts closer to Him and it allows us to further know that we need Him more than ever today.  But the world is continually gaining strength and is making our relationship status with God more and more evident, in either direction of this line.  The world makes no bones about the fact that it wants nothing to do with God and everything that He represents, this means that the history and past course of our society no longer are welcome.  We have graduated from asking God for direction to demanding that our laws reflect upon how we feel at the moment, claiming evolution in practice as the source of this directional change.  When the same leaders totally contradict a position that they viewed a few years back from how they feel today, can only mean that a directional change has been warranted.  If one changes their beliefs and turns to God this type of change is noticed as well, ridiculed but noticed by those who have ventured off in the opposite direction.  This paints an ugly conglomeration of events that can only be solved with the confrontation of two kingdoms vying for the same point of reference. 

The relay of the gospel is the foundational message that God wants us to complete for through this command it is made known that the world cannot accept God or His Ways for if it did then God would not have given this command so long ago nor would Jesus have either.  Our enemy does a great job in sugar coating this fact so that we have inner sympathy for the world, enough that we drop our entire separation truth from the world and accept its boundaries within our hearts.  This is another example of us electing the world and voting its categories internally and externally and through this action, it is clear that we not listening to God and thus admitting publicly that we believe God is a fraud.  1 Samuel 8 deals with this aspect of electing the world and it is where God wants us to focus our attention again, for it is vital that we understand what the Israelites did in accomplishing this condition and how their actions demonstrated what was going on within their hearts to complement such beliefs.

In this passage, Samuel cannot believe that the people would go against such sound authority even though it was his sons that were one of the issues that the people had.  But the hearts of the people had reached a conglomerate verdict and had elected the concept that we should take into consideration when it comes time for local, state, and national elections occur.  God, however, makes it clear that the people have voted Him out of their lives in order to live according to the ways of other nations.  Israel had been so wrapped up in their own devices that they had become subject to the world instead of God and reached the point where their origins no longer mattered and were “ready” to pursue their destinies on their own terms.  There is no question that Israel had made up her heart to advance her presence within the world and no longer be separated from the world.  This elected choice of theirs had already been established and made known for God never argued against their position but only placed into context truths about how things would be when they finalized this election.  God did not hide anything or any aspect about their decision including the fact that they would be making these decisions and not God, directly placing the responsibility on themselves with no divine intervention first.

I know that not all of the people had such condemning beliefs and desires to go it alone that there had to be some that held out according to their origins and faith in God.  But it is very clear that the people wanted something worldly and thus acted upon their hearts and chose to live in the world and with the nations instead of their birthright.  This brings up the fact that many now believed that God was a fraud and that the ways of the world were better suited for their lives than what He had to offer, a setting that is being screamed in many of today’s societies.  Israel had come to the conclusion that they would boot God out of their ways, no longer trying to understand the reasoning behind God’s Ways but to incorporate their own ways so that they could become more appealing to other nations around them.  Israel had no excuses about what they were doing for they understood about the choice that they were making and once this choice had been made they set into motion their means of following that path.

I have no doubt that Israel understood what they were wanting to do but from how quickly they responded to what God showed them would occur in their lives it cannot be helped but to know that they were looking at things with superficial eyes and not spiritual ones.  It was easy to fantasize about how their lives would be while gazing upon the actions of others who came from different cultures and refusing to acknowledge and accept the realities of WHY God separated them upon their Creation.  The glamorization of the world’s gratuities are bling to anyone’s eyes and can be a process of consumption enough to forge an appetite for such opportunities and when talked about with others who have witnessed similar events the spoken wants of the same will eventually come forth from our mouths which is exactly how this movement in Israel’s heart began, grew, and then flourished until it became their own law within their desires.  God states in this passage of all the things that He had done for them up until this point in their lives and how they had forgotten them in their hearts, and even though Adam and Eve were not a part of the nation of Israel, God could have warned them about their actions resembling of what those two did way back in the Garden of Eden which led to disaster after disaster for everyone.

It is a known fact that many couples that have been together for many decades begin to take on physical characteristics of their spouse.  It is difficult to explain at times but I have witnessed this phenomenon over my life and this unity takes on a special meaning for the spiritual aspect of our choices as well.  If we elect a position to stand upon in our lives that ruler or leader of that kingdom shall be present within our lives and if we are witness to such kingdom on an intimate and continual basis then we cannot help but take on the characteristics of the kingdom we serve.  It is this detail that many slightly of see but for the most part miss when addressing those that are around them; however, as the alliances continue to strengthen with the world the followers of that kingdom gain access to those lives who call themselves Christians because they understand that because of the infiltration of the Church by the world we have become hapless due to our ineptitude where spiritual warfare is concerned.  When we have a personal election and side with the world, ANY part of the world, then we are allowing the mission that Jesus gave us to complete to be sabotaged.

Over and over I hear many people state that they cannot stand how this nation has become over the past few decades.  Why?  The reason that we have found ourselves in these situations is that we have elected such materials by our own accord.  Our problems are real and they are growing and as long as we continue to elect leaders that are self-serving cowards with no biblical morals to speak of you can expect only for issues to become greater in size and in number.  God laid out what would occur to Israel if they were to finalize the deal about wanting a physical king to rule their lives and nation.  God was dead on when He gave them specific details about what their nation would face if they sealed and signed that declaration and each one of those statements by God occurred and are still in motion today.  Frighteningly, there are vast numbers of Israelites that have still missed out on what God was saying to them today as back in 1 Samuel 8, yet God is so wonderful in the fact that He still allows us to choose our own destiny.  When an election is finished the results are final and cannot be changed, let us think about this truth when we are making our choices of today for they shall affect our lives and many others’ lives some time down the road; for an election result is a Covenant result and this process shall play a significant role in what the Bible has to say concerning our world.

In verse 7 of 1 Samuel 8, God makes it clear that there is a dividing line between Him and the world.  God also makes it clear that when people make this decision to leave the protection of God that they are taking their lives into their own hands because God cannot protect those who He does not recognize as on His side.  He cannot move from one side of the battle to the other in order to gain people for His Kingdom, the elective choice for God must strictly come from our hearts without any compromise present.  Verse 5 of 1 Samuel 8, states that the people knew that the judges over them were not walking in the light of God, so they decided to follow in the judges' footsteps instead of doing the correct thing by ousting the judges and letting God deal with them according to His Covenant.  As stated from the events in the Garden of Eden to the last punctuation mark in Revelation God’s definition is of one side or the other and no one can straddle the fence and serve two masters.  Yes, our enemy shall tell you that it is possible and okay for you to allow both kingdoms to reside in your life, but this is a grave and eternal lie that shall cost you your eternal position with God.

Do we recognize that the current situation that this nation faces actually is playing out each day within the spirit realm?  It is fascinating to me that with all of the so-called wise people around the globe that they cannot figure out that the answer to all of our problems is located in the Bible.  We have so many charts and graphs of how decimated our population has become with drugs, guns, sickness, debt, and every other issue known to mankind yet cannot find a single solution that is worthy of permanent relaxation within the population, but we sure do support those programs that promote the exact same problems that have landed us in this mess, to begin with.  I know that there are numerous people in this nation who do not approve of how this nation is directing itself and they foresee major catastrophes ahead if we do not turn our lives around.  I also understand that not all of the people that were a part of Israel in 1 Samuel 8 were in complete agreement with the decision that was made either but it was the heart of the nation that God saw and came to the holy and honest conclusion about which direction they wished to walk.  The same is true today and as each day passes it seems like this nation turns more towards the world and are proud of the decision to do so but what we cannot forget is that even though the world approves of our elections and wants further directional results it does not make our actions correct in the eyes of God.

If we continue to follow in this direction we must keep one thing in mind and that is when we pledge our lives completely to the ruler of this world we will have many issues that we might only dream about today become fully engaged in our land a short time down the road.  God made that statement in 1 Samuel 8 for a reason, not to try and put us under His thumb but because He created us He knows humanity like no one else ever could and He understands that when we do not abide by His authority we shall “righteously” approve of things and beliefs that shall only harm our lives and make us more miserable.  With every decision and choice we make in our personal lives and in our national lives we have an election and what our approval of demonstrates what is within our hearts, no exceptions present this is a 100% voter turnout which is exactly why we are seeing the violent divisions flashed across our screens today for we have reached a point in our hearts that we do not care what other authority figures say what we think is always correct and your other opinion is wrong and deserves to be permanently squashed.

So, once again we come back to the actions of the Church and to see what she has to say about the issues of the world and how they are being protracted into our atmospheric heart conditions.  The message that the Church has for its people is that everything is okay and that God accepts you as you are and you do not have to change one bit in your worldly beliefs in order to be saved and live an eternal life in heaven with God.  The Church has placed her total faith and outlook in the political world and is following and demanding that her congregations submit to such protocols.  How can this be a true message from Christ when it goes totally contrary to what God showed in the Old Testament and what Christ and the writers of the New Testament provided?  It is impossible to please God and the world at the same time; I have heard that saying somewhere before, have you? 

We have taken hold of the concept that our choices are flippant and what we have stated as our opinion as being our truth; our truth is absolutely wrong!  God’s Word is the definition of God and through His Word, we are defined and this means that everything that His Word contains is directly related to our lives and it is eternally important that we do our best to ignore and separate ourselves from the world and live under Covenant conditions at all times.  For if we don’t we will get what occurred in 1 Samuel 8 and what is going on in our nation today.  Wake up, Church!  For if we do not then God shall wake us up according to His supernatural Ways and we will never recover and be sustainable again.  It is our election and which side shall you choose?

DLB