The True Nature of Things

There are wars and rumors of wars in this world. Do you think this is a sign? I mean, that isn’t the only sign, mind you. I certainly see. So many people out there are turning against each other, speaking hate and division. Christians are judging and condemning others, against those very ones that God created, right, wrong or indifferent. We speak not out of love, but out of our own sense of arrogance and righteousness, which by the way, we have no right to. ******************************************* Matthew 24: 6-13: “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” ********************************************* Just look at all of the judgment and condemnation on social media. There are Christians and those who claim to be Christians on both sides of the political fence and still we defame, slander and spread half-truths out of ignorance and mob mentality. We, including our leaders, act and speak like hateful children fighting over a toy. Each wants to play king of the hill, to be on top. Neither caring about the masses of people who blindly follow with little to no true knowledge of the issues. The true issues are buried, while the true agenda is not even really hidden in rhetoric. Hate speech. Division. Defiance of our laws. Discord. Lies. Condemnation. Slander. Racism. Greed. Immorality. All of it swirling around for the discerning person to see, and yet, it is ignored because someone claims to wear the name tag ‘Christian’. ***************************************** Do you know what a Christian, a real Christian looks like… and is supposed to act like? Sure, we all stumble into the muck and mire of the world from time to time but we don’t LIVE there like pigs. We don’t wallow there being arrogant in our sense of superiority…. ********************************** Listen with a discerning heart. A true Christian heart. ******************************** James 2:9-10: “But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.” ********************************* James 2:12-13: “So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” ********************************* James 3:2: “For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.” **************************** James 3:6-9: “How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire. And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. …. but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.” **************************** James 3:16-18: “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” ****************************** Don’t spread it. Dread it. It is a sign of the times. The worldly poison that we swallow causes us to become like them. Go back to the bible. Remember what we do, what we put out there in the world is either with love or with hate. We cannot have both in our hearts and belong to God. ****************************** James 4:11-12: “Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?” ************************** Love. Gentle correction in love. Hate is not the answer.

The House is swept clean

Anyone who knows me will tell you how much I love a clean house. Organized, dust free, no dirty dishes or laundry piling up, clean floors, homey but prettily designed. Perhaps I clean too much... ***************************************** I have swept the house clean. I wandered far and found myself in darkness, again. I have not kept my light with me. Perhaps due to some worldly sense of rebellion and angst I suppose…. I really don’t know why, and, for that alone, I have become full of darkness. I am surrounded by the phantoms of the past, the whispers of the present and the doubts of the future. Cast into the old sea of forlorn wondering and twisted turmoils of life itself. I am bound to my own self doubts, my humanness and mistrust of others; such things that I thought were cast off forever. It whirls around my head and heart like a tempest and fills my stomach with such bile. I know, too, that I am not alone in this for no one who knows the Truth and walks away from it’s sanctuary can be in the light for long. Colorful words for such a dark colorless place to reside. ******************************************* Oh, I talk to Him plenty, but it becomes far and few between. I love Him always and am His, such as I am… but I feel that I have dwindled like a raisin in the sun becoming a dried up shell of who I should be. ********************************************** So, after much torment, I reach for my bible for comfort. Pleading for the closeness and sanctity that I used to feel. I come to James. ******************************************* James 1:1-7: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. ****************************************** If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double minded man, unstable in all his ways.” ***************************************** Therein lies my problem. How ‘bout you? When I ask for guidance, I ask in doubt. I see no earthly reason why I, a sinner, a slacker, a sloth, a grumbler, a hypocrite, a wandering soul, should be deemed worthy of any assistance at all in this life. Oh, I don’t mean that I have doubts in His ability, no indeed. I have doubts in my own position in this world, my deserve-ed-ness (my own word), so to speak, to receive and accept help of any Heavenly kind. I am two-spirited, as it were. I believe with my whole heart in my God, my King and Christ Jesus but also, I harbor my old spirit of brokenness and doubt. Again, not in Him, but in this world, in my position in it, my worthiness, my plight, my… usefulness. *************************************** I wandered away quite willing to move on with my new life, exploring other Countries, holding close those I love dearly, restoring our empty, worn home and preparing for a future of idleness. In fact, I swept my house too clean. For that, I was visited by many ghosts that I had long since rid myself of. They come ten fold now because there is an empty shell that I failed to keep stocked with faith and light. They like, no- they LOVE the vast darkness that we prepared for them. ************************************* James 1: 13-15: “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil and He Himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” ************************************* You see, too much of a good thing can be sinful. We develop a higher desire for that thing and place it before all else, including our time with God. We fill ourselves with other things slowly and totally unaware-or we kid ourselves and say we were unaware when, in fact, we knew full well what we were choosing. Good things really, can be a distraction and become an idol, too you know. It is a gradual decent. Our family takes precedence, our home remodels, our vacations, yes, even our Christian duties and or status… can all become more important than God. ************************************* Experiences can become a division point, too. Negative experiences in the church, with specific ‘Christian people’, even pastors or priests can affect our walk. But here is the thing… are we NOT smart enough by now to realize that the evil one uses such distractions for his purposes, to distance us from God… the God that has a higher calling on our lives and you would think that we would get that by now?? *********************************** Okay, so we are all human and NONE, in fact, are worthy. That isn’t a reflection on God, or Faith or Christ. It is a reflection of our sinful nature. Duh! ********************************* We only notice when we hit bottom and our insides feel empty, our lives feel hollow, our worries override our sleep and we fall fully prey to the turmoil that is this world. This is truly how it happens, folks. We left our peace and chose to be bobbing out there, alone, in the sea without our life vest. (Our life vest being our Light vest; being God). Such is my life. Is it yours too? ******************************* You may recall, if you have read anything from before, I always warned my students that life in the world is harder than in Adult and Teen Challenge, or any such long term, live-in program. Inside, there are daily devotions, prayers, Christian education, Christian mentors and everything revolves around His word and desires. But once you graduate and leave, you are out in the real world. The world isn’t centered on God. It has its own set of rules and, frankly, none are very Christian. ***************************** In order to survive in this dark world, the student must remain connected to the Word, daily devotions, regular church and Christian connections. If you have trouble getting out to a church, then online it or TV, but, by all means, continue to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord and fill your heart and home with His word. But let it go empty; let it go void of His love, His guidance, His word…. Well then, there now is your empty house for seven more demons to take hold of… or at least 7 times the number that resided there before and more evil than before. You get the idea. *********************************** Matthew 12:43-45: "When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation." *************************************** So, if you find yourself, where I am now, simply crack His book, pray and work on getting back in the fold before the evil one notices you've gone and comes after you again… and he will.He always will.

Broken Vessels

Death, or the threat thereof, has a tendency of bringing up memories and coloring the wherefore and how comes in a different light. Most of you have been to funerals where the picture painted is not the one that you think best suited the person. If only we could paint with that brush during life. Some do, but most don’t. ****************************************** I have seen beneath the brokenness of so many others, not to mention myself. I can look at generations and understand how the sins/damage of the father, so to speak, carry on into the generations and lives and relationships and the stories of everyone who comes after. I have heard some of their stories, and I know my own, as does God. There is ALWAYS something that leads to brokenness, even if we never know the truth that lies behind someone else’s pain. We all have a story and sometimes, in the telling of it, we paint over it too, so that others won’t know our shame and pain. That is the bottom line, isn’t it? We can’t handle the rejection and we can’t afford to trust others with our real stories. We have been betrayed by the least likely in our lives. ***************************************** Psalm 31:12: “I have been forgotten like one who is dead; I have become like a broken vessel.” ********************************* Some people build up the pain into a prickly anger that boils over at anyone near them. Sometimes they tell stories to paint a far better picture. Some wallow in the brokenness and seem to enjoy the attention; starved for it. Some manipulate and lie because they don’t trust that people will accept them for who they really are or were. Sometimes they bury themselves in substance abuse to drown out the pain. Sometimes they turn to other bad choices out of deep seated needs never fulfilled. Sometimes they hide and become a shy introvert with no close relationships or trust. Sometimes, actually many times, they mold their lives into a combination of coping mechanisms like these and, sadly, the possibilities are endless. **************************************** Because there are more of us (broken vessels) in the world, most times broken vessels tend to gravitate to other broken vessels. When one lashes out in a storm of insecurity and rage, the other perpetuates the situation out of ignorance and brokenness too. Neither understanding how to defuse it; how to communicate pain and fear. It is a natural progression into dysfunction, to be sure. So naturally children and others who live in the environment can be damaged from the fall out of such storms. Thus, we have the world we live in and the product of this chaotic, violent age.*************************************** Like my favorite saying goes: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: “If we could read the secret history of our enemies we should find in each man’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.” ******************************** It is so very true. The secrets of our lives can be damaging, not just to us, but to everyone in our lives, especially our family, our children. If we could reveal the brokenness without fear of rejection and judgment, bringing the truth to light, we could heal and change and others can understand and be a part of the process. ********************************** 2 Cor 12:9-10: “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” ******************************** I see what people COULD be or could have been if only…. Fill in the blank. Perhaps in my old age it is easier to feel more sympathy, to paint with the possibilities instead of the dark hues of judgment. Perhaps you too can benefit from this option. ****************************** James 5:16: “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” **************************************** We must arm ourselves with the love of God, the lessons in the bible, the promises of God, to learn and understand our purpose here despite the obstacles and damage. We must find and be a part of a good Christian community that supports us and does as good Christians should do. We can do it with God, but not alone. It is the people in our lives that choose the light over darkness that can draw us out and guide us to a better place. Ideally, not in death; ideally at a time in our lives when we haven’t been hardened by life choices and damage and deteriorated by brokenness and pain.

The Deaths of Sin

Finding Victory Over satan's Tricks & Traps by Tony Evans https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIqzGP5CudY

Train up a Child

I was watching Tony Evans today. His sermon on “Life’s Disappointments can turn into God’s divine appointments.” There are some powerful statements when Mr Evans sermonizes. And it strikes me enough to share it with you. One such statement is: ************************** “It is unfortunate that we will do, in the career realm, in the financial realm and in the education realm, what we are unwilling to do in the spiritual realm. And that is, GO For It!************************************** “We will make great sacrifices, time and attention to make more money, get a title by our names, get popularity and notoriety, get elevation for what this world values and what it legitimately needs in order to function, but often at the cost of dreaming big spiritually.” ***************** My mind goes to our children, because while I can’t reach the adults in this world, despite my love and fear for them, it is the children who will suffer from the ignorance and lack of faith of the parents. Yes, as an adult, you have the right to choose what you believe and to go to hell in a handbasket if that is what you choose. I am so sorry to hear it and it does indeed break my heart…. But by your decision to NOT educate yourself spiritually, you are likely also NOT teaching your children about God and the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for them either. ********************** I get that you see they are just as happy and oblivious to the ramifications of your decision on this side of the world because it IS the world of darkness and the evil one is in charge here so all manner of distractions and side shows exist to make you feel justified. Here. Some parents even disparage God and biblical teachings to their children or worse still, warp and mold it into something that it is not, like those who teach hate and twist scripture to suit them. Oh, there is a world full of false prophets and fake Christians proclaiming the Truth when the truth is not in them. Just look at our politicians, our government and our business practices. ***************************** But hear me out here. Do you research and read up on all of the things that you need to know in this world to become better educated and knowledgeable about them? Or... do you just believe what other people tell you? Do you get an ‘inclination’ or a ‘feeling’ that something doesn’t ring true and look it up? Do you just believe what facebook posts say, or Q or conspiracy theorists? What do you do when you want to understand something? Do you research or do you just repeat nonsense other people say about it without a true study of it? Are you wise? Are you a Lemming? Are you discerning? Do you have blind faith and believe what you hear, failing to see what is there? People do that, you know. TOO many people.***************** Believe it or not, someone very close to me used to quote what he heard from websites and others over his many years as if it were straight from the bible. I would lovingly tell him, “Until you read it for yourself, I don’t want to discuss it. Read it for yourself. You are a brilliant man. You look up EVERYTHING that you don’t understand and learn about it first hand. Either read the bible for yourself, New Testament first, or we can’t talk about it because what you were told, or what you believe, is not in the bible.” ********************** Over the years, he began to witness what God can do, will do and has done, in other’s lives… especially the broken. He was watching people’s living testimony play out in real life. People’s addictions removed, lives saved, children’s lives saved, families restored, miracles occurring. He listened and watched… and then, he began to read for himself. He couldn’t deny it any longer. *************************** But think of this… while you are in darkness and not seeing, you are raising up a family of unbelievers who also are in darkness and cannot see. They don’t know about God’s promises. They don’t understand what hope does and how it changes you. They don’t understand how to truly combat the evil that presents itself in their world. They have no inclination to believe or follow God and have eternal life rather than hell and damnation… THAT alone should be inspiration enough to save them from the darkness they could experience in a lifetime without God as their guide. **************** You fail to equip them for the inevitable and possibly hinder them from being open to faith in the One who can comfort and guide them through life. People will ALWAYS fail you. People die. People move. People aren’t mentally or spiritually equipped to support, defend or enable children through life but GOD and His word is ALWAYS there. ******************************* It’s my pain. It is my heart’s burden. KNOWING that Trinity pleaded to go to church as a child and loved hearing the bible stories. She would call me up and tell me to come get her. As a teenager, when we had her, she found God and cried like a baby at the fact that He forgave and loved her wholly. Knowing that she LOVES God so much and yet, through her life, was not equipped to turn to Him when trials came. She was not strong enough to understand that she was loved unconditionally by Him. That she only needed to call out to Him for strength. That there was another path. The world became so ingrained in her soul that it blinded her from the True power of His love. Her own choices have blurred reality to the point of death… and she can’t see it. But I can. There is only one of two ways this ends. And we already saw how it ended for our son-in-law at age 34. ****************** Do YOU not see it? Do YOU not want to give them every opportunity to live in the Light in this dark world instead of by its lowly ways? To share with them the Power, the Hope, the Love that the bible has for them? Why be okay with them to live in darkness expecting nothing and leaning solely on you? They need to be equipped to make that decision for themselves and yet, you are not equipping them. If you wait too long, the WORLD will be ingrained in them and they will not trust much else except by the mercy and grace of God. ********************* We will suffer at the hands of this world and its ways. But Paul did too, for his faith. ********************* 2 Cor 11:24-27: 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked." ********************* 2 Cor 12: 6-10: “6 Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, 7 or because of these surpassing great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” ********************** His faith, despite ALL of his hardships kept him strong and focused in this world of false prophets and dark deeds. It gives us principles, morals, guidelines, to follow which the world does not adhere to. It gives us hope where there should be no hope. It gives us wisdom down through the ages. It gives us truth so that we will not be misguided. it gives us discernment so that no one can deceive us. It protects, defends, comforts, loves and surrounds us with others who have the same values. ************************** In Europe, we saw so many histories of the young, younger than 18, who gave their lives for their faith. They had a choice from day 1 because they were raised to know the truth when they saw it and were willing to die for it. And die, they did. In this country we wouldn’t be willing to live for it, let alone die for it. We won’t even crack a book to see what it says. We follow any whim and believe every author of nonsense when it comes to raising children and yet, we cannot… we do not fully equip them to decide what really matters for themselves. ****************** And you? What do YOU want for your kids, if not for you? That is my heartbreak… for you, yes, but more for the young lives that must endure darkness without truth and hope. You set them on the dark path and expect them to see the light? Fully equip them and let them decide for themselves. ***************** Prov 22:6: “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” ***************** Give that some thought. *********************

Paul Harvey: If I were the Devil

Paul Harvey did an amazing radio story, a very disturbing story, but very very accurate, decades ago.... 1965 in fact. I am amazed that his message was completely accurate in exactly what has taken place in our country thus far. When you listen, you will wonder if he wasn't some sort of prophet, sent by God to warn us of what is to come. And it came. We are all in a daily battle against for good versus evil. Just like the image of the devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other. It is the true battle of God and evil on earth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnPE8u5ONls

Another Cry for the Lost/Broken

I am reading 1 Corinthians this morning, and over the last few days. I have got a million thoughts running through my brain and hopefully I can structure them together to make sense. I consider Paul’s feelings. He says, ********* 1 Cor 15:9-10: “For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain.” ************ That struck a cord with me, as it always does. We ache for our granddaughter who is lost in the streets, in addiction, and has been for a few years. I can imagine what goes through her brain when she struggles to get out of that life but feels unworthy for any other type of life because of what she has chosen and the resulting damage done to her spirit, mind and body. I think about how I feel in comparison to how she must feel, about my own salvation. I remember when God called me to become a minister I was ready. Of course, I thought I couldn’t possibly pass the tests, but I was obedient. And I received an anonymous text from someone, clearly who knew me from my past, that simply said, “YOU, to pastor?” I knew that there were many who would never see beyond my past mistakes, and I made so very many. But God. ******************* Listen to this: ************************ 1 Cor 1:26-29: “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothings things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” ***************************** I have always felt unworthy of, and yet have full faith in, my salvation. The difference is severe of course. Paul was instrumental at leading the world to Christ, while I am blessed just to have had a minuscule chance to minister to those who needed it for a time. ***************** I plead on my granddaughter’s behalf, who is lost in addiction, and on the behalf of those who have not yet broke free from darkness, literally every day. All the while my own soul will never feel adequate or deserving for what Christ gave up for me. It will always be this way because for as much as He has changed me, I know that I am still human and it seeps into my daily thought life and corrodes who I should be. I am my own worst critic. ******************************** So if I, who live a structured wholesome life feel unworthy, and Paul who sacrificed his life for others felt that way, can you IMAGINE how those lost in darkness and sin feel about coming to the Lord?? People tend to justify, hide their faces, self-sabotage. I have seen it a hundred times in my own family members, in my past and in the broken that we served. The hardest thing to overcome is the guilt and shame residue that covers the heart and hardens it to keep others from tormenting us, and the Lord from reaching out to us. We just don’t BELIEVE that He could possibly forgive US. ************************** But people, don’t believe me. Believe the Word! I didn’t write it. I just benefited by the grace of it. Listen:**************** 1 Cor 6:9-11: “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, not idolaters, no adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” ************************ You see? Nothing is beyond the love and grace of our God. Or rather, NO one is beyond His grace and mercy. THAT is the whole point behind sacrificing Jesus’ life for our sins. He understood our humanness. *********************** 1 Cor: 10:13: “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” ****************** He didn’t promise life would be easy. He knew there would be temptations in life. But He promised that we could endure it if we have faith in HIM, not our own ability, but HIS. And for those of you who doubt your chosen, for those who feel unworthy, He knew that you would. So He says: ************* 1 Cor 12:3: “Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.” *********************** You see? You ARE chosen if you know that Jesus is Lord. Shame or no shame, you CANNOT say it unless you are chosen and in the Holy Spirit. Sure, you may be in a dark place and not see how that can even be possible, but He knows what your life can become in the future if you should just learn to trust in His promises. ************************* As I sit here, I know that I have written these words for Trinity and then for all of those poor souls who just don’t feel worthy or those who are allowing their own self-importance to trick them into not coming to Christ. This is actually why I started this blog so many years ago. I shant give up. AMy heart hurts for you. Open your eyes. LISTEN. ********************************