More on Feminism

Point 1: There is a war:

Their is a war going on, but it's not the war we're warned about! Men are not a war with women. Repeat: there is no "War on Women". (The war is against God!) The War on Women is a fiction spread by feminists and feminist sympathizers. The war going on is much worse that economic disparity between the genders. Existing as a woman is not shameful. Being a man is no shame. We're different and that's the way we were created. If you doubt creation, men and women "accidentally" became different because nature needed mankind to have two roles. Two assigned roles are necessary for procreation. Without differences life ceases to exist!

Point 2: Sex is essential for propagation of the species:

For instance, consider the "Shakers". How many Shakers do you know? The answer is none because there are none! Consider the Rappites. How many of your friends are Rappites? Again, the answer is zilch! What do these two groups have in common? Both were religious organizations who were celibate! Without genders multiplying  and performing their assigned roles, they cease to exist!

Point 3: Two genders were created by God:

God intended us to be different. We complement each other. If anyone hasn't noticed the tools of the two genders are different. There purposes are different. One is dominant and the other receptive. The man provides, the woman accepts, and with the twain, another copy is made. That's why male and female are God's intention:

Genesis 1:27  "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."

Point 4: Both genders are necessary for propagation:

With the two genders then mankind can replicate:

Genesis 1:28a "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth..."

Point 5: We have a purpose in the divine plan:

Mankind serves two purposes: 1) tend to the garden (worship God and take care of his creation) and 2) replicate (make more of us to worship God)! God's plan for man was to have us love him and have enough of us to love him much!

Point 6: Gender roles assigned by God:

Adam was created to have dominion over everything! That's man's special vocation as one of the species of animals. The lion is not the king of the jungle... man is! Man was assigned the task of tending the garden, not the woman. Eve was assigned the task of birthing and nurturing the children!

1 Corinthians 11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

1 Corinthians 11:8 "For the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man. 9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man. 10 For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels."

As "garden tender" man is the servant of Christ. Woman is the helper and as such the man is the head of the woman. She is subservient to him, but not a slave, but in the manner that Christ is head of the man! It's a relationship of love where the other is as important as self. As Christ would not abuse servants, neither will a Godly man abuse those under his authority! Man is to be the bread-winner (tending the garden) and the family priest. He is responsible for the spiritual condition of the woman being her teacher and mentor.

Point 6: Something went wrong:

We know what God intended. Men and women, although different were to become one in marriage. The roles of men and women made the whole. Each contributed their part to make it all work. That was God's plan for marriage and the family!

If one examines the sequence of events in Genesis it can be seen that God commanded Adam never to eat of "The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil". That command was made before Eve was ever created. It was Adam's responsibility to teach Eve to obey God. Either he failed to teach her adequately or hetaught her, but she disobeyed. I believe it was the latter because she was punished! Eve assumed the "job assignment of Adam". He was to be the priest of the family, but Eve assumed priestly duties in listening to the serpent. She usurped her role!

"Well, that's not so bad!" you say. But remember Saul when God removed his anointing and punished him? It was because Saul assumed the role of priest to the Hebrews, a role reserved for the Levite Samuel. God cares about the roles he assigns! He cared about Eve usurping her authority. She never had the directive to discuss things with the deceiver. It was Adam's role to make sure both he and his wife obeyed God!

Eve was the first feminist! That's why she was punished. She assumed the roles delegated to Adam by God and as such, rebelled against God!  Ever since, women have been feminists! They continually endeavor to take the roles assigned to men. Now, they don't even need men! Lesbianism IS A FEMINIST initiative. Children can be obtained through hosts and adoption. Men are obsolete in the world of feminism!

The family unit is collateral damage in the "War On God" by feminists!

Point 7: Feminism is still rebellion against God:

"Breaking the glass ceiling" is achieving, not equality in opportunity with men, but becoming superior to men and independent as females! Even the word "female" is anathema to the feminist because it shows a dependency on men even for existence, and they spit in the face of God who made the woman of the male!

The most objectionable of all "isms" is communism and its prerequisite, socialism. Both explicitly reject religion, meaning Christianity, and as such, they are proponents of feminism. For a time, in order  to gain favor with women, they cater to the rebellious nature of ungodly women to rule over men. When the revolution is complete, women will resume their subservient role, but it won't be one of unity, but one of servitude and abuse of the government for the good of the masses. In effect the serpent will have again deceived Eve (women)!

The serpent yet lives. He's deceiving women into another curse. God was gentle with the first Eve. She was plagued by pain in childbirth, but the Eve's of the feminist movement will be damned for their deception unless they repent of their independence from God and man!

Point 8: Even Churches have fallen for feminism:

The role of men is to be head of the household, the priest of the home and the bishop of the church. Women are to take a secondary role in the Church and remain silent in matters of doctrine! (1 Cor. 14:34; 1 Tim. 2:12). Modern churches allow women to oversee men and even are allowed to be bishops (preachers) of the church. Again, even in what should be God's house, women rebel against their assigned divine roles! Churches which have women leadership, thus ignoring God's will, most often turn to other sins as well; specifically homosexuality, same-sex marriage, abortion and Nicolatainism!

Point 9: Don't listen to the serpent:

Christians should never compromise with the world. The world professes feminism. Even Christian women fall for the lies of feminists! They promise prosperity and fairness, but God designed the sexes equitably. His ways are just! Who are we to say that God is wrong? That too is rebellion! The serpent yet lives and fights, but Jesus wins the war!

Educational Bias

Meghan Kelly of FOX News had a "special" last evening on "Educational Bias". It was well done and all the abuses by the left which they brought forward were well-documented.  They did a good job of exposing it, but the "why" of it all, was a little blurred. Let me elaborate on the reason for educational bias and a few cases I remember of it myself.

During my freshman year at General Motors Institute, one of the most conservative institutions in America, one of my non-engineering electives was a class called "American Political Institutions" taught by Professor Scharchburg. (It's been a long time so the spelling of the name may be wrong). On the very first day he said (and I do remember this as a quote) "Man is no more than a tree or a frog"!

First off, that statement had nothing to do with the course material. It may have been meant to shock young Christians into shame, so that remolding would be made easier.  At 18 years-old I was discerning. I knew he was forcing an irreligious viewpoint on naive young minds and his actions made me even more rigid in my belief! Why?

The more the world attacks Christianity the more confirmed I am in my faith for the heretics spend little time attacking atheism, agnosticism and paganism! The good professor actually built up a wall which shielded me from his further attempts to remold!

Let me stop here for a second and jump to graduate school at Western Kentucky University. Dr. Fong of the Family Counseling Department, a nice lady, but liberal, was certainly friendly and honest. She was fair with all viewpoints and I respect that! We had many fine discussions. She remarked one day "Our job isn't only to teach, it's to remold"!  I asked "Isn't remolding the same as brainwashing?" She just smiled. Although I considered Dr. Fong a good teacher, by her own admission, she was trying to change the students. Change into what? What she wanted us to be! I bet that was a change into a liberal non-Christian to be sure since most of psychological ideology is non-Christian and liberal.

I hate lies in teaching. Perhaps many lies are just a failure for a teacher to just say "I don't know!" In another social science class (I've forgotten which one over the years), a student asked a question. (The time frame was 1967 right after the Detroit and Flint race riots.) "Do black people sweat more than white?" Admittedly, the very question is racist in today's eyes, but he was actually trying to debunk a common claim. Rather than saying "I don't know." the professor said "There is no truth to that!"  I believe that he was making an attempt to minimize racial differences, albeit there are differences, but these are inconsequential in our humanity.

Google this question and you will find that people today are offended by it. People today do the same thing the professor did. They give opinions based on perception. Perceptions are not truth, and we must always seek truth. Why be educated to learn a lie unless teaching lies is some one's agenda? Black skin absorbs more heat because of it's darkness and since blacks and whites must maintain the same body temperature, it's logical that anyone who absorbs more heat dispenses more heat to stay normal. The way the body maintains 98.6 degrees is by evaporative cooling. We sweat! That's just a fact and is not meant to be derogatory. As Sgt. Friday used to say on the show Dragnet "Just the truth, ma'am, just the truth."! Teachers should not teach false perceptions unless it is given as an opinion, but they do it all the time!

Dr. William Floyd, at Western Kentucky University, was a raving liberal and a feminist. It was clear from what he taught. One day be was telling of the unfairness because women in the military did not receive medals of honor for combat in Panama. All the gullible young people were awed by the injustice of it all!  I told Dr. Floyd to "tell the rest of the story" (Paul Harvey's catchphrase). He was at a loss for words when I informed him that neither did any of the men in the same outfit because they were not a combat squadron! You see truth can be twisted by giving selective and biased facts. More on Dr. Floyd shortly.

When my children were in middle school at Bowling Green Junior High, a new sex-education curriculum was introduced at a parent-teachers meeting. I was wary, being certain that course material likely didn't focus on abstention because I've found that parents and teachers have just given up on the morality of young people. Their false perception is that "they're going to do it anyhow whether we teach against it our not, so we must give them protection". Rather than teaching wrong and the consequences, liberals teach how to do wrong without the consequences!

The course material (for middle and high school children) not only included the mechanisms for sexual intercourse and masturbation, but also homosexuality and bestiality!  I stood and objected "Why are we teaching young kids how to masturbate, have same-sex and to have sex with animals?" A friend from church who was a teacher (there to support the curriculum) stood and said "Mr. ______ (the principal) would never allow that to be taught in our school!" Needless to say that with time, Mr. ______ had no control over that. It became required teaching. The school was teaching against what our families and churches teach! The reason being is that they do have an agenda!

Lastly, let's return to Dr. Bill Floyd. He was the department head in the Department of Family Counseling at Western Kentucky University. He was a minister as well getting his education in a seminary. He taught Sunday School at the local Methodist Church. He said one day "The Bible needs to be replaced!" I was the 42 year-old in a class of mostly 23 year-old students. I asked "With what?" He replied, "With the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer." I'm a fan of Herr Bonhoeffer, but face it, he's not God and to replace scripture with commentary is heresy! Dr. Floyd made numerous and continuous attacks against Christianity and conservative preachers such as Dr. Falwell.  I took notes and wrote down his quotes!

One of my favorites of Dr. Floyd was when he said "It's unethical not to tell a woman that abortion is an option." My response to that in class was "To be ethical then, should we not tell a depressed woman that suicide is an option?" He was speechless and made no reply!

After I had a binder full of his attacks on Christianity and preachers, I sent a copy of them to the Kentucky Department of Education asking for some type of censure on these biased attacks presented as "education". They in turn sent it to Dr. Meredith, the president of WKU. After a long review, their answer was that Dr. Floyd was teaching this in the context of course material. That was the answer! What does ridiculing Christianity and preachers have to do with psychology? Nothing! It was malarkey and Dr. Meredith's answer was to protect the university form criticism. To their credit, Dr. Floyd retired after that semester. Coincidence? I think not!

Later at a ball game,I talked to Dr. Meredith. I thanked him for retiring  Dr. Floyd. He never answered, but he never denied it either! Furthermore, after the investigation I still sat in Dr. Floyd's class. He totally quit his "remolding" and all instances of his attacks ceased. I'm certain Dr. Floyd was "corrected" and was encouraged to retire. I credit WKU with that, but there are many more professors there who teach with an agenda!

Let's revisit Dr. Fong. I like her! At one time I said "I believe psychology is a religion!" Her response was "Are you just now figuring that out?" with a smile. That was an honest answer. Dr. Fong taught truth, although she taught the liberal agenda. At least she didn't lie about it or deceive. All over the nation, even Christian colleges, the "religion of psychology" is taught as science! Fortunately for me, I read my Bible while getting my graduate degree and told Dr. Floyd, when the others ask me to attend group counseling with him, "If it aint broke don't fix it!" To Dr. Floyd;s credit, he was instrumental in transferring me out of his department at my request before he retired!

Why did I transfer to the Department of Education? I no longer had any confidence in psychology and the requirements for my internship was against my values. Dr. Floyd said that I would "have" to consul homosexuals. I had no problem with that until he said "to help them continue in their lifestyle"! That I could not do! In order to graduate and keep my moral and religious principals, I had to leave! There was no opt-out for Christians.

These are just a few instances of left-wing bias even at "conservative" WKU in conservative Bowling Green, Kentucky. Many in the community would hiss if they knew that WKU taught what the students called "Porno Class", actually a class on human sexuality. It was in that class where I sat in mixed company with young people and saw movies of men and women masturbating and having sexual intercourse! I saw little need for live action when animation would suffice. It would be similar to having druggies come in and show how to shoot up heroin. There are other ways to present the message which is less offensive! There was neither a provision for opting out!

Why do teachers teach these things? There has to be a motive. Perhaps some don't understand real truth and have themselves been taught this way. However, I believe that destroying existing institutions is part of the plan for a progressive agenda. Meghan Kelly did touch on that, but if one examines the Communist Manifesto, several institutions are staked out for attack: the ownership of private property, individualism, capitalism (business and industry), automation (initiative), families, gender roles, the Christian faith, the established Church, the educational system and the control of children by the government from birth to adulthood.

What I have just discussed is the socialist concept that for future adults to buy into socialism, they must be educated to accept socialism. All these pre-school and early education programs are a socialist initiative  to "remold" young people into budding comrades, such that adults accept socialism without question. This is a technique to make violence and force unnecessary in achieving Utopia. Complacent people are less likely to rebel and if their gray matter is reprogrammed at an early age, children become obedient to government controlled institutions. That's "creeping socialism" and the voting patterns of young people show that it works! Young people have been remolded (brainwashed) into accepting lies as truth. Most young people vote "progressive" (Democrat) and that's no accident. It's because they believed the lies they were taught and vote their "newly washed brain"!

There is little future for America when progressives are allowed to brainwash. In fact this initiative fits in with the end-of-time religion/government/leader we know is coming. People will blindly accept this anti-Christ as a benevolent leader, he will claim to be God, and all but the elect, will welcome this New World Order.. For those Christians who failed to be remolded because they think for themselves, they will be beheaded!

Is that you? Is that your children? Be an individual and stay our of the herd. That will get you slaughtered!

"Use"

This is just a simple three letter word. It's simply "receiving benefit" from something. A modern concept is "value-added" which implies receiving benefit without waste. It would appear that a person who "uses" receives a benefit which adds value to themselves.  When a person says "I used his ink pen", that person received a benefit. Words were written and an opinion expressed. However, for the user to gain value the "used" must lose! In this case ink was lost, the roller ball wore and possibly the barrel of the pen became worn as well. What's more, the owner of the pen lost the possession of the pen for a period of time while the user was writing. It's obvious that when one person uses another loses!

Of course psychologists are not satisfied with three letter words to describe relationships, which is where I'm heading. It seems  that "manipulate" flows from scarlet tongues much better than "use". However, they're not exactly the same, but complement one another! Manipulating is controlling another utilizing unfair techniques to gain ones way. In short, users manipulate the used to gain control or advantage!

Let's take a look at some historical users:

The serpent used Eve to diminish the authority of God. Eve was naive and the devil, who is "chief of liars", used her naivete to cause her to disobey. The devil gained satisfaction for contaminating God's creation and Adam and Eve lost, among many things, their immortality. The serpent even manipulated Eve to get to Adam!

Aaron was manipulated while Moses was on the mountain in the presence of God. Satan took the opportunity to use the herd mentality of the Jews, who already longed for their sinful lives in Egypt, to use Aaron to create a false god, the Golden Calf.

Exodus 32:1 "And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt."

Aaron was weak and he was confronted by a mob! Even after witnessing the many miracles and plagues of God, he "caved" in the face of unrest. The mob manipulated Aaron to obtain their own pleasure! Aaron was "used" by the mob. The system must be balanced! The Jews got their false gods; Aaron lost respect and God was angry with him! There are consequences to being used. Users gain (for a time), but the used lose!

Now let's jump ahead to modern times. Let's look at the "unrest" in Ferguson, Missouri. Just as always, when there is rebellion, the devil is in charge. It's of no consequence that many preachers came to Ferguson to gain personal notoriety, but they were "users".

Those good people who were in Ferguson "used" the situation for personal gain! Michael Brown's death was not to be wasted. As Rohm Emanuel said, "You never let a serious crisis go to waste... it's an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before"!  Rohm was saying in effect "use people to get advantage... power!" I believe that the people were standing by to hear the verdict from the Darren Wilson Grand Jury, not to get justice, but to be unjust! The mob was standing by to pillage and steal. They were users and the fair-minded people of Ferguson were the losers!

Let's take a look at what the users gained. They got a few bottles of liquor each and the thrill of watching a police car burn. They saw their own greed on television. That's all that was "gained" from the herd mentality in Ferguson.

The folks being "used" lost much. Black rioters ruined the credibility of peaceful protest. When the nation thinks of Ferguson foremost in their minds are "The Reverend Al Sharpton" there to glorify himself at the expense of civility and honesty. The preacher is a liar and a user! The good people of Ferguson who stayed home and were civil are now represented by the ugly face of Sharpton always there before the camera for personal notoriety. Sharpton is the scum in the ring of the toilet bowl. God has a special place for preachers who are evil!

2 Corinthians 11:13 "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. 15 Their end will correspond to their deeds.

Justice will be served as the people of Ferguson demand! Al Sharpton will suffer eternal punishment which will correspond to his evil deeds! That's what true justice is!  Sharpton "used" and gained (for a time), but in the end the "user" too "loses". Hence, "using" leads to two sets of losers in the grand scheme of things. Divine justice sees to that!

On a personal level, there are users and losers too! Men and women "use" each other in relationships. It's no different than in Eve's time nor in the herds of "the used" elaborated on before. Let's take marriage. It's waning. People, especially men, shirk their responsibility:

1 Corinthians 7:9 "But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn."

This passage has a particularly interesting  consequence. it is a case of personal justice and divine justice. "Containing" is an antiquated way to say "do without sex". If they lust after a woman (or vice-versa) God says "let them marry"! Millions of men are burning in lust and actually fornicate. They burn in their passion and sin. Divine justice means that they will pay for their passion and their disobedience to shirk marriage! What's more personal justice is that for those men (or women) who claim Christ will "burn with guilt". The "burning" is the emotion of the flesh, but also the eternal burning in hell!

The "user" gains. Sexual lusts are fulfilled. Their "horniness" is taken care of! The relationship is changed from something ordained by God to a mechanical act which can be with our without love.

Who loses? Both again, but more prominently the naive female, in this age, who allows themselves to become merely tools of pleasure for men who know that they never have to make a commitment! The man controls the "used" woman by manipulation (the promise or dream of marriage) in exchange of free milk from the cow, so to speak. The man's lust is diluted by the milk of the cow (in his thoughts).

The woman loses much more. It's not only the loss of virginity, but innocence and self-respect. Their hope is that there is love there, but they can never be sure, because the relationship is confounded. Manipulation skews truth. The woman never knows for sure whether she is loved or are merely a prosthetic for sexual satisfaction. It may lie deeply within, but women always wonder about that even as they allow themselves to be used!

On top of that both parties face divine justice:

1 Corinthinans 6:9 "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,  10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God."

The destination of non-repentant fornicators is the anti-kingdom of God. It's hell! Justice shall be served, just as with Al Sharpton and any other thief, drunkard, rebel, partier, and the like.  The "used" shall see justice as well as the "user". In effect sexual gratification for the man has been achieved by extortion. The woman has her body extorted from her by manipulation. She is being "used" by the man for his advantage, even power!

Men need to get a back bone and marry as God tells them to! Men are cowards and liars. If they love a woman as much as they say they do, then they couldn't go one more day without wanting marriage. Their love is to themselves. Their commitment is to their penis's! Men are afraid of marriage because they shirk their obligation to be men! Real men make commitments. Cowards seek reward without responsibility!

When Rohm said "You never let a serious crisis go to waste... it's an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before"! that pertains to relationships as well! The crisis is the woman's desire to be loved and beget children, a biological need! The "opportunity" is for the man to obtain sexual favors without commitment. Women are the "used"!

Feminism is the stated desire for women to become "users" just as men are. They want advantage and control as well! The situation in relationships works both ways as a result, but is still more biased against the female. Feminism is women's desires to use men as they have been used by men. They want to "get in on the action" as the men have always. They want to manipulate and use men, just as they have allowed themselves to be used. In order to gain advantage and power, feminists lower themselves to slaves of their own basic instincts. They debase themselves for advantage and power!

Women, especially, get some self-respect. The self-respect flows out of the used woman as the proverbial milk flows freely. Put a stop now to manipulation. Quit letting suave men extort so called "love" when love is something to flow freely, but in a righteous relationship!

More on Irrational Thinking

Rational thought is what mankind has that the rest of the animal kingdom doesn't have. It's our ability to collect data from our surroundings, process it with our minds, and make decisions which provides the impetus for acting. So far that's pretty much the same as the rest of the animals. However, our conscience is the true difference which separates us from the rest! Man has a moral compass. We know right from wrong and although we act on instincts, our conscience protects us from being our own worst enemies!

My belief is that man was created without full rational thought! Adam and Eve were born in innocence. They were as the proverbial "little children" of which Jesus spoke. With the sin of them both when they ate of  "The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil", both lost their innocence. What they now had was "knowledge" and with that knowledge came "reason". With each behavior after that, a thought process occurs. Mankind reasons: "Is this bad or good? Is this in God's will? Will this prolong my life or not? Will this provide pleasure and will this create wealth?"

Instinctual brain process would only act on the principle of self-preservation and pleasure. Reason not only evaluates self-preservation, but also takes into account an evaluation of choices. That evaluation we do all the time is reason. We can choose to do things which do not preserve the "self" in favor of things which destroy the "self" When we choose to take the path to destruction, that's called sin!

Romans 5:12 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned..."

Our capacity to process information in regard to self-preservation is called "reason". Reason is the loss of innocence. What does that imply? Reason, although of God, isn't in the best interest of men because we can make bad decisions. Reason is actually part of the curse!

 Think on that! If mankind had stayed innocent, all of us would be preserved. At the creation we were meant to be immortal. Death came because of sin. Now we all have the capacity to ignore that instinct of self-preservation and choose death.  We can choose pleasure, wealth and knowledge over eternal life. That sounds far-fetched, but there is one crucial decision we must always make: Shall we choose eternal life or eternal death? If we choose the latter, we are thinking irrationally because if we were truly wise, the sane choice would always be eternal life:

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Most people who consider this choose death!

 Matthew 7:13 "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."

Jesus knew that mankind is irrational!  It takes an irrational mind to choose eternal death over eternal life, but yet most people will do just that. Most people are irrational and as such most are not sane because sane people are better than the animals: We have the capacity to choose self-preservation, but fail to preserve our selves; and animals actually choose self-preservation! Mankind, in our wisdom, is less wise than the animals! That's insanity!

People think irrationally when they make that one crucial wrong decision. However, irrational thinking doesn't stop there. People live in false worlds. Their world is a fiction. Let's first look at the extreme case.

Psychosis are those (psychotic) who have a mental illness because they believe things which are not true and act strangely. It is a mental illness because irrational thoughts is a disease of the mind. Something misfires in the synapses of the brain which creates the fiction. A common psychotic malfunction is paranoia. It's a false belief that others are trying to harm the person, dislike, laughing at or ridiculing the person. It can even be false suspicion. Many a wife has been murdered because a jealous husband acts on irrational thoughts!

This is the extreme, but "normal" people often show characteristics of "abnormal" behavior. Whereas, the jealous husband has built a fiction where he's excluded from the relationship and the perceived lovers have sex. In his mind there is sex and it's real, but it's only irrational thinking! Normal interaction between persons of the opposite gender creates a fiction in the husbands mind that becomes more fictional as each day passes until the husband is consumed with passions. Although a normal degree of jealousy is normal, even wise, being irrational is paranoia. We all have degrees of paranoia because at times we all are irrational in our thinking!

Our reason and thought processes are a battleground. Satan uses reason to defeat each one of us. Because truth isn't in our minds, the devil places deceptive thoughts in place of truth. The things of God are truth and irrational thoughts are planted by the bad gardener. Satan puts all types of bad thoughts in our minds which we are forced to process with our knowledge.

Romans 12:2 (ESV) "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

We're not alone in our ability to have "rational thought". God helps us if we let him! As can be seen from the previous passage, we are to test everything! Accurate testing is discernment. We correctly consider and apply scriptural truths in our thought processes.

As an example, if we are tempted to steal, we consider the act of stealing: Is it in God's will? Will it provide true pleasure? Do we really need the item? How will the victim feel? Can I steal and still  feel good with myself and will God still commune with me? Each of these thoughts will be processed (if one is rational) and usually the answer for the Christian will be: "I shall not steal. It's wrong!". That's discernment and an example of rational thinking. God transforms us to not conform to the standards of the world. He uses guilt and our conscious as check valves to help us preserve ourselves in the face of pleasure, wealth or knowledge!

Irrational people are much like the short story character, Walter Mitty. We actually live in the fiction created in our minds. However, Mitty's were grandiose whereas ours may be self-destructive! Fictional irrational thinking can create stress and we actually have the power to self-destruct. Animals can't do that, but we can! Worry is part of that self-destruction:

1 Peter 5:7 (ESV) "Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you."

Philippians 4:6-7 (ESV) "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Irrational thinking is a sin because it's a choice. It's a misappropriation of the free will God gave us in order that we are capable of choosing righteousness! Still, most people choose the route to stress; the route to self-destruction. We are to take all our worries and give to God. He will take care of them! God will "guard our hearts". He is our protector!

At one time I lost nearly all my lifetime savings. I was stressed and worried to sickness. Although I still had a job and a good life, I became sick with my loss. I created a fiction where "poor me", "what shall I do now?"  I chose to think rationally because scripture has hope. I cast all my cares on God and now I'm not worried about those thousands of dollars I lost. Those thoughts are past and now I'm sane again!

The devil plays games in our minds using slight of hand, especially in God-ordained institutions. Satan will try to destroy our communion with God, our churches, our vocations, our families, our marriages and eventually our selves! The devil delights in our failures. God delights in our accepting what's real, what's truth. He delights in rational thought. It wasn't his will, but that's what he allowed! Since we have reason, we need to quit thinking irrationally!

Commitment to Self

Commitment. Few have it! Few even know what it is. Well, what is it then? It's simply loyalty! Surprised? It's simple, but hard to do. There are many obstacles to loyalty: selfishness, pride, competitiveness, rebellion, personality and probably many more. I'm not much on causation, nor psychology in general, but some people seem to be anal retentive: over orderliness, stubbornness, a compulsion for control.

There seems to be a problem with many who have these characteristics. Their order may be better described by others as knit-picking, their stubbornness as pride and their attempts to control as tool for preserving their own inadequacy. It is they  who attempt to manager others, although they've never been managers. It's of no concern to them that those they seek to control are superior in most respects to them. Perhaps anal retentive personalities are engaging in a war to preserve their own  fiction!

A trait of the anal retentive person is a negative disposition. In an attempt to minimize those they perceive to be superior, their defense mechanism is a readiness to "put down", make negative comments and insult those with whom they associate. They may not even be aware of how negative they always are. In fact when one is offended at their negating the friendship, the anal retentive person actually blames the other person although their are no rational reason for the blame! In fact irrationality is the world of the anal retentive person.

The irrational person skews reality. Rather than facing the facts head-on, the anal retentive person puts on a superior attitude. It's of no consequence that this person has little portfolio for the superior attitude. It's only important that "I'm me and I know more!" When contradictions are pointed out to this type of personality, they can skew circumstances in their mind as quickly as a blink, protecting their power-seeking identity.

It's of no use to argue with this person because truth changes as the need to protect their position changes. If the person says the light was red when the intersection was entered, for instance, and the light was still yellow, this person will twist reality by saying "Well, in a second it was going to be red!", thus maintaining their own rightness. When told "almost doesn't count" the controlling person may say "Well, you could have caused an accident!" The argument never ends because it's always changing. Reasonable people can't argue because reasonable people do not have to win arguments. Only irrational people must protect their own "little secret". They know they are inadequate!

Relationships are unpleasant when one person is anal retentive, has a negative disposition, is irrational and controlling.  The system is out-of-balance. Nothing, short of God, can change this person! The anal retentive person is committed, but only to him or herself! Therefore, the system, be it marriage, family, church, workplace or whatever is out of balance and loyalty is not there since the person is only loyal to self! It's "my way, or the highway!"

Think on a friend or coworker who lack commitment in a friendship or even a working relationship. Their attitude makes it difficult to love. It's hard to love someone who is always badgering! People often isolate themselves from people who are of this personality type.

This personality can be different things to different people. It depends on whom they feel threatened. They can be ameliorating to even strangers, but war-mongers to friends and family. It's as if they are somewhat bipolar, but not different people at different times; but they are different people with different people so to speak. The casual observer may see a friendly loving person, but those who are closer see an irrational disagreeable person. To get along with this type of personality, not one iota of dissension is allowed. If they feel threatened they immediately go on attack. The loving smiling person wields weapons of mass destruction. The tongue tells their attitude!

Christians are to act in this manner:

Philippians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.
5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

People with negative dispositions are not prone to rejoicing. Rather than being happy in their "have's" they have resentment because of their "have nots". They never seem to be satisfied and something is always happening to ruin their pleasure. These negative people have little peace with God. They see not that what is here is only temporal and inconsequential in the eternal scheme of things. Their wants become what's paramount to happiness.

We're told to think on positive things: what's true, what's honest, what's just, what's pure, what's lovely, what's of good report, what's virtuous, and there is to be praise as we think on these things. The person with a negative disposition is not in good standing with God because they flaunt his will! In short, they need to change! It takes commitment to change and the first step is to see one's own short-comings. Unfortunately, the person who is negative looks at the self through defective lenses. They are fooled. It's always the others who are at fault. Unless that attitude changes, they will face defeat!

We are all to do the things Jesus did (and as did Paul): what we have learned, received, heard and seen! Paul never had a negative disposition (after he was saved) and Jesus never did! Why, then, do people persist in demanding their way and being angry if they can't control. The answer is lack of commitment. They are not committed to loving others nor God. They are not loyal to others nor God! They are only committed to the self. Think on these things!

Disturbed by those Not Disturbed

I've always had a concern. I CARE! Sometimes I wish I didn't. Life would be much easier if only I didn't care. What disturbs me more than that is that most people just don't care, or if they do, it's kept a big secret!

I readily take positions on most issues. Why? Because I care! I share those positions, not because I need to validate my own opinions, but because I want others to evaluate theirs. I'll readily admit that I'm not always right and that's a first step to rational thinking. However, I minimize the times I'm wrong by keeping my mouth shut when I'm not sure. Others must be uncertain more than they're certain because they conceal their opinions and beliefs. It's as if they are apathetic!

I base my entire belief system on scripture. It is my guide to life! If scripture says it, I believe it. That's because it's imperative for those who read scripture to realize that it's not a history nor a novel, but are the words of God:

2 Timothy 3:16a "All scripture is given by inspiration of God..."

At the time this was written, scripture was what was written up to that time. Of course we know that all The Old Testament is divinely inspired. That's what the apostles used to convince early Christians to become disciples.  Here is the usual chronology of the books of The New Testament which were written before 2 Timothy:

James - 50 A.D.
First Thessalonians - 52-53.
Second Thessalonians - 52-53.
Galatians - 55.
First Corinthians - 57.
Second Corinthians - 57.
Romans - 57-58.
Philippians - 62-63.
Colossians - 62-63.
Philemon - 62-63.
Ephesians - 62-63.
Luke - 63.
Acts - 64.
First Timothy - 65.
Titus - 65.
Second Timothy - 66.

At least all these books were divinely inspired because it's written in 2 Timothy. However, by iteration it's apparent that the remainder (9) of The New Testament books are divinely inspired as well.

I use scripture as a frame of reference for ALL things because it God-breathed and God is "Goodness" and "Truth". Everything must be compared to scripture:

1 Thessalonians 5:21 "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good."

"Proving" in this context is "testing". The test we ask "Do my thoughts about this issue agree with scripture?" If it's bad, it doesn't. If it's good, then it something to hold onto. Good and bad aren't relative. They are defined by gospel. Then take note that we are to test ALL things; not just what we choose to test!

People, even Christians, keep quiet on political issues because they don't want to offend people! It disturbs me that Christians will keep quiet because of the popular refrain, "never talk politics or religion"!  That's the devil saying that, people keep quiet, and people obeying Satan disturbs me!

However, it's not whether I'm disturbed or not! God expects his children to speak up for his truths!

Romans 8:31b "If God be for us, who can be against us?"

If we speak truth, then we uphold God. If we remain silent, we fail to magnify God and his truths!

Christians remained silent when Jews were herded off to the gas chambers  by the millions. Their silence made them an accomplice to millions of deaths. Likewise, Christians who remain silent as millions are aborted are also accomplices. They're just as is the witness to a crime who fails to come forth. Their silence makes them guilty!

Now it's worse than ever! Even Christians not only keep silent on same-sex marriage, but many condone and some even encourage same sex marriage in spite of God's clear edict on its unrighteousness! It's no consolation that he or she is your friend, or even child, when that person defies God. You join the devil  in your defiance and are rebels against the kingdom of God!

The rest of 2 Timothy 3:16 is:

2 Timothy 3:16 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness..."

 So God gave Christians scripture to use, but Christians either keep quiet or join forces with the devil and tolerate or encourage unrighteousness!

We're to use God's inspired word for "reproof" (criticize faults; to judge without condemnation). We're to use God's word for "correction" (to make wrongs right) and for instruction (to teach others on right living). Then some go and say "That's their choice".  "Welcome to hell thanks to me!" is the implication because you, the Christian, just enabled the sinner to live in sin!

Using fallacious words is a form of silence on the issues. People who have lust for members of the same sex are not "gay". They are "homosexuals". That's not intolerant, that's a grammatically and clinically correct description of people who have emotions inclined in that direction. "Gay" is a "tolerant" word not meant to "judge". We are in fact to judge! What we're not to do is judge harshly. We're to judge by reproof!

Luke 6:37 "Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned..."

Condemnation is used in context to clarify which definition of "judging" is being spoken. "Judging" has a scale from ":having an opinion" to "damning". The context is do not judge to condemn, which alludes to judgment to correct and teach. Standing silent is an incorrect attitude and response to watching the friend or relative die an eternal death. God is disturbed that Christians aren't disturbed that their loved ones are going to hell!

I have a close relative who I love tremendously! The thought of that person dying tears me apart for two reasons: 1) I love that person with all my heart, and 2) I love the person so much that I cannot stand the thought of the person going to eternal hell. Because of my love, I reproved the person who took it as a personal attack on the person's life choices. Now we're totally alienated. That's "toughlove"! It's what I must say to endeavor to turn the person from a life of sin to becoming a Christian. I would rather that the one I love despise me than keep silent and watch the devil lay claim to the eternal destiny of the person. That's true love and is much more than the false concept of love as "love is not offending"!

I get disturbed at those who condone without speaking up. Christians need to be disturbed because friends and relatives are going to hell. If they get disturbed enough they will not remain silent because they cannot if they're led by God!

.

Interview from Hell: Karl Marx

Bill: This is Bill O'Really from the Fakter. I'm so glad you could join us today. Join me for an exclusive interview with Karl Marx. Herr Marx has agreed to speak with us today because, in many minds, he yet lives ,and he wants to clarify what went wrong! Herr Marx, or would you prefer to be called Karl?

Karl: Ich bevorzuge Herrn Marx, aber Sie können mich anrufen Karl.

Bill: I'm sorry. I forgot to turn the translator on! What was it you were saying?

Karl: (exasperated): Just call me Karl. It sure is hot in here!

Bill: As usual I descended to hell in a climate controlled booth wrapped in the finest most expensive reflecting heat shield. Although we do try to make you comfortable, after all hell is five times hotter than fire, or so I understand.

Karl: I'm not getting use to it, but I'll make do! By the way Bill, have I said "I hate you!"

Bill: I was going to say as usual "What say you?", but you beat me to the draw (laughing).

Karl: Don't laugh at me Bill. That's offensive. I believe you accuse socialists of being "politically correct", but that's just "social justice" which I propagated.

Bill: (as Karl wipes his brow): Social justice didn't get you very far, did it Karl?

Karl: What do you mean by that?

Bill: You meant good, but goodness at the expense of others is evil. It seems that you have your just deserves.

Karl: Oh, you've drank the kool-aid too, Bill. Religion is just the opiate of the people. Weak people believe in God because they can't face reality. They fantasize heaven so that they can face the future, but it doesn't even exist!

Bill: But do you believe in hell?

Karl: No, but it sure is hot wherever I am and I have no friends here. I recognize my colleagues: Ingles and a few others, but they only glare at me and spit. That spit spews and evaporates before it hits me, thank God!

Bill: That's hell you just described! Karl, get real! You're in hell. Just say so!

Karl: If I admit that there is a hell then I must allow that there is a heaven. Just can't do that Bill. Too proud I guess! If I say there is a heaven, Christians claim that's God's house. I don't believe in God so there is no heaven and hence, this can't be hell!

Bill: But earlier, Karl... and I quote, you said "thank God!"

Karl: That's a Freudian slip. I didn't mean to credit God.

Bill: If there is no God who is responsible for you being in hell?

Karl: Reality is what you make it! This isn't real. As my mind clears, this place, which resembles hell, will go away. I believe in that!

Bill: So it's stupid to believe in God, but savvy to credit chance? You're just waiting for Darwin to be right?

Karl: He had to be right. I based my socialism on his ideas! Oh, Charles is right over there! Charles, help me out here!

Darwin: Damn you. Go to hell, Karl!

Bill: Charles seems to be in the same predicament that you're in! Maybe you should be friends!

Karl and Charles (in unison): I hate him!

Bill: There seem to be a lot of hate in hell. Well, let's look at your Utopia.

Bill: Wasn't socialism supposed to create a Utopia? What we call heaven on earth? What went wrong?

Karl: Socialism failed because stupid people held onto a belief in God. They failed to put the government first.

Bill: That sounds right. It's still that way, but socialism has crept in anyway.

Karl: Most people pleasure themselves with drugs, hedonism and power hunger. It was supposed to happen slowly without notice, but my student Stalin went too fast! People got wise to him because they looked at Europe which went socialist so slowly that no one noticed. That was what I intended. What my enemies call "creeping socialism".

Bill: Is there a chance socialism can still prevail?

Karl :It will! Kruschev believed that the west will be crushed from within. He said that America will be destroyed without firing a shot!

Bill: Is that happening?

Karl: America is at that point right now! God isn't dead yet, but he's dying slowly. Even the churches are rotting. They promote abortion, feminism, and even homosexual marriages. Those ideas belong to me!

Bill: You agreed with homosexual marriage???

Karl: No, I believe in sexual freedom. It's only God... Oops!... The thought of God which inhibits sexual freedom. As for marriage, socialism sees marriage as an interference to individual contribution to the state. We don't believe in marriage or families. People need to forget institutions and pay allegiance to the state.

Bill: And where did those beliefs get you, Karl? Where's your hope?

Karl: My hope was in the government. I don't think I'm wrong. It's just that death is real and I died.

Bill: But you're alive in hell! I mean whatever you call it.

Karl: I wish I was dead dead, but for some reason this infernal heat is eternal. It never lets up! I just wish I had one taste of water. Even putrid water!

Bill: If I told you that you could get out of here, would you change?

Karl: Comrade Satan says hell, I mean here, is forever!

Bill: What if?

Karl: I won't change for anybody... even God if there is one!

Bill: That's a lot of pride you have Karl!

Karl: For some reason I always had pride and I saw no reason to change.

Bill: Karl, it seems to me that you're just like the bourgeoise which you spoke of.  You're as bad as they are! Shame on you.

Karl: I hate you, Bill. I hate POX Network. I hate! I hate! I hate!

Bill: You're a hater just like Hitler then. Do you know Adolph?

Karl: I see him sometimes. He's in the worst part, but they make us kneel to him. That's demeaning! He used my ideas and then screwed with the people's minds. They think he was a fascist, but he was one of mine! Hitler even named his party "National Socialist", but progressives credit him with something else to make their own stinking skins smell sweet. Hitler is mine, but I still hate him too!

Bill: It's getting late here. I've got to go to beat the traffic down. I'll give you the last word!

Karl: If there really was a God he wouldn't let me suffer here!

Bill: It seems that he gave you many chances, Karl. It seems you chose eternity unwisely! Don't blame God, who you don't admit exists, for your own rebellion.

Karl: Go to hell, Bill. See you soon!

Bill: Pull me up, crew. I want to get the hell out of here!

Bill (on the way out): Our word for the day is "rationalize". When writing to the Fakter never rationalize fantasy as facts.

Bill: Stay tuned for a followup interview with Mr. Marx. Greata than Sufferin will see if Karl would change if given another chance. Give him hell, Greata!

What Was I Thinking?

Of all the animals only man has the audacity to claim that they are smarter than God.

People can't cure the common cold yet explain how our existence happened.

Men hoard for themselves wealth, but complain because others aren't generous.

We think that our group has a right to control and everyone else seeks power for power's sake.

People build whole societies based on fragments of old jawbones and believe it, but can't admit that miracles do happen.

We look at governments which nearly destroyed the world, say it must never happen again, but then elect evil people to run governments whose only goal is destroy what we have.

Men who know that  2 + 2 = 4 cannot fathom that (evil men) + (power) = (evil men with power).

Or: Christians who claim that they hate sin then vote for people who propagate the sins they claim to hate.

The continuous thought throughout the Bible is Jesus, yet many ignore the prologue written in the Old Testament.

Truth isn't debatable. Truth just is! People can only debate the cleverness of lies.

Those who claim to love God then have sharp-tongues with others deserve to lie in their own vomit.

Inconsiderate people get impatient with others then dwell in the past.

Some love almost everyone else then despise the one they pledge to love forever.

To "love, honor and cherish" is something people say in a moment of passion, but then "loathe, dishonor and perish" those to whom the vowel was made.

For those uncommitted to their mate,  it's unlikely they will have fidelity in their marriage to Jesus.

Love is a work,  not just an emotion. Jesus said "If you love me, keep my commands". His commands are to love him and others. Love is what people are TO DO! Therefore, the fiction that love is merely an emotion defies Jesus who calls it a work.

For marriages to work both partners must be committed to make each other included in the "one". If one is divergent in their desires, then there becomes two and disunity results. In formula form: 100% wife + 100%  husband = 100% marriage.

Children are to honor their parents and get the promise that their lives will be long on this earth. In practice many children rebel and then think they are invulnerable.

Most atheists were at one time Christians who found that they could not manipulate God.

The lunatic who was possessed by demons did not follow them over the cliff, yet sane people follow the same demons into the lake of fire!

The answer you seek is found in the Bible yet people don't really seek answers, they seek excuses and call them reasons.

Where skeptics believe that there are conflicts in the Bible, should use the same skepticism to test who is smarter; them or God? God IS truth. Skeptics can only QUESTION truth.

"Life" isn't when my heart beats nor when I breathe in air. It's when I care for others and feel sorrow for what I do that I'm alive. Apathetic people are merely the walking dead.

Where Everyone Knows Your Name

The sitcom Cheers had a jingle called Where Everyone Knows Your Name by Gary Portnoy. Thanks, Gary. It was about a bar where the hanger-outers were always the same. They all became one big family as they sipped their beer and discussed life. Whenever anyone walked in "everyone knew their name"!

That reminds me of Joe Spielman. Joe was General Motors Regional Plant Manager when I first knew him. When he came to Bowling Green, he always called me by my name! He adopted Melvin Conner as a friend. Melvin was a production worker, and a former boxer, whose teeth had been knocked out! Joe liked Melvin and when Joe came to Bowling Green he always asked me to take him by Melvin!

Joe never forgot Melvin's name. Joe never forgot my name. Of course I had a name tag, but he never seemed to even glance at it! Joe just always knew my name!

One day at Headquarters in  Warren, Michigan, I became bored with sitting all day. I went to the back of the huge conference room to listen and participate. Joe Spielman came into the room. I congratulated him on his promotion to Vice-President of General Motors. I told Joe "And I knew you when you were only a Regional Plant Manager", which had been his previous position. Joe laughed and said "Thank you, Larry!"

I looked down. I wasn't wearing a name tag. Joe Spielman, V.P. OF GMC remembered my name and he "always remembered my name"!

I was impressed! "Joe", I said. "You remembered my name. How many people do you have working under you?" I believe that he said 40,000. I asked "And how many names do you remember?" Joe responded "You'd be amazed!" His underlings told me later that Joe did in fact remember thousands of names. He wasn't exaggerating; people were important to Joe.

It's important for everyone to remember people. By calling a person by name that says "You're important to me!" I especially enjoy frequenting businesses where when you walk in they call you by name. Let's look at scripture:

Luke 12:2 "...there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. 4 And I say unto you my friends... 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? 7 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows. 8 Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: 9 But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God."

I don't know if Joe Spielman professed Christ. We discussed religion one day and he said about the Mormons, "We all pretty much worship the same God." ( To the best of my memory). Joe was personable and Joe did remember names! However, Joe is a far cry from having the memory of God!

God is a personal God. He knows me! He resides in God's house Where Everyone Knows Your Name!  Not only is your name known, but "even the very hairs of your head are numbered!" God's memory dwarfs Joe Spielman's. Even more impressive than "knowing your name" and the "number of hairs" you have, God knows all your thoughts. "There is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed!" With God's memory and omniscience, we have no "secret thoughts". What we are thinking, even at this moment, go out on the universe wide "supreme social network". Our most minute sin is broadcast all the way to heaven!

God also hears what we say. I discussed religion with Joe. He heard me and we talked. It was great that an executive would "shoot the bull" with me! However, when I speak with God, the King of he Universe listens. He knows my name and who I am. If I "confess his name  before men", Jesus will confess me before the angels of God! This is what he'll say:

"I know Larry. He's not perfect, but he's forgiven. It doesn't matter what he did before because I paid the price for Larry to live forever. I've forgotten what he did because it's now forgiven. Accept him now in his new home. Larry, this is your reward, good and faithful servant!"

That's what a personal God will do. I only need to remain faithful. God knows that too! However, if one doesn't confess Jesus, he says "He that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God".  Jesus will say...

Matthew 7:23 "And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

If you're not saved, insert your name "__________" after "I never knew you:". You're going to a place Where No one Knows Your Name ! Hell is a place of isolation. There are no friendships there! You remember your drinking buddies at Cheers? They knew your name here, but hell is Where No one Knows Your Name and no one cares too! Part of damnation is isolation.

If you want Jesus to know your name, confess him. Confessing him isn't knowing his Name, but trusting that he is who he says he is and did what he did that you go to a place Where Everyone Knows Your Name!

My Sayings-Part 2

Loving enemies is impossible for those who don't even love their fellow Christians, parents and even spouses.

All the splintering of mankind was knit together on the wood of the cross as Jesus died for all.

Man's service in heaven is the same as it's always been. We are to tend to the "garden". Within that Garden still stands the "Tree of Life" and that's whom we are to tend.

To get your way show an attitude. That will get what you want at the expense of cordiality.

Ask not what your government wants you to do, but what God would have you do for him.

Love from others is hard to perceive, but the acid of hate eats through the thickest skin.

For those who feel out of place in the church, they will feel like hell if they went to heaven.

Death is God's mercy on those desiring to escape a hate-filled world.

The "Big Bang" was in reality a "Tremendous Clap" as God turned his Glory into things glorious.

The root of the tree of the Cross grew first on a hill and spread across the world. It thrived best where people attempted to poison it out of existence by persecution.

My belief in Christ is compounded by the multitudes who hate him for his goodness.

Truth is absolute. It can't be changed by hammering, twisting, spinning, forgetting, whitewashing or lying. Truth just exists. It can't be manufactured, let alone reworked.

Tell me of your love and I will doubt. Show me your love and I will see your heart.

A gentle stroke on the back of ones hand spreads more love than words which flatter.

"It's all in the blood! It's all about Jesus and love by obeying."

We want from God everything, but he's satisfied by potential love. It's that love we may return, but it's not guaranteed that we will.

There's three people who matter in life: God, Jesus and Emmanuel. That's the one person we're to love most.

From sin unbound I'm heaven bound.

If a great statesman wrote a personal message to you, I bet you would read it! The King wrote an entire book just for you. Have you read the Bible?

A Christian nation is made up of people who trust in Christ. Without individual Christians a nation will never be Christian.

The universe was never empty. It was always filled with hope!

If the earth was colonized by aliens and someone earlier colonized them and they must have been colonized at some time. Then there is no end to the number of colonies as we move backward in time. The colonies would be of an infinite number without a beginning. That seems to point toward God as the only colonist does it not?

They say God is everywhere. I tiptoed to my closet, said a short prayer, and sure enough; he was there too!

God forgets all our sins when we're forgiven, but he never forgets our name and always remembers to love each one of us.

Fishing Is Hard and Discouraging

I fished with my father as a kid. We used a cane pole and fished in the creek. Normally, when I caught one, it was so small that the tug couldn't be felt, and I only realized that I had a fish when in desperation, I pulled the line out of the water. I was never taught to fish in the right spot, using the best tool, and the proper methods. The fish are still laughing because they still won't take my bait!

I find fishing to be nonproductive and boring. Others live to fish. For them the wait is forgotten with the catch of the beauty. My only beauty got away. I remember the exhilaration of the battle, but the devils of the deep won. Big Fish is still alive and taunts me whenever I even think of fishing! I'm no fisherman yet still I fish. If I ever get that feisty fish everyone dreams of getting, I'm sure the world will rejoice with me! However, It isn't going to happen. I don't fish. I'm discouraged. I fought the desire to fish and apathy won!

One day in my youth I was asked to fish. I rationalized that I'm not a fisherman. The fish were plentiful, and even I, should be able to catch fish. A fisherman showed me how to do it. It had little to do with my education, personality, the aura around my pole and line, my profession or my appearance. I didn't even have to wear fisherman's apparel. Catching fish isn't about all those things, it's about confidence. I remembered that Huck Finn caught fish with that old cane pole. Why could I not do the same? Here's the situation.This is when I was asked to fish:

Luke 5:5 "And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. 6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. 7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. 9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: 10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men."

Matthew and Mark referred to them as "fishers of men"!  When I was saved, I was asked to fish. It wasn't a voice I heard nor a booming vision from heaven. I read it here in scripture. Jesus used failed fisherman and taught them to fish. It had nothing to do with anything, but trust. Jesus directed them where to fish and all they did was drop the net and fish filled it. Their only struggle was what to do with the fish! Just as God spoke with Moses, telling him how to speak with Pharaoh, it was to be that Jesus would guide the apostles and tell them what to say and do. Jesus inspired them! They were pumped up fisherman, but it was because Jesus was a good teacher, and Peter "was astonished". He knelt in the presence of God. He confessed his unworthiness.

I am now a "fisher of men" too! It's now my job and destiny. If you're a Christian you are to be a fisherman too. Even you children, sissies, women, office workers, used car salesmen and duck hunters are, as we have seen. Fishing isn't only for fisherman, but for all Christians.

Matthew 29:19 "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen."

This was said to the eleven apostles, but the best fisherman (besides Jesus) turned out to be Paul and he wasn't even there when this was said. It's because everyone  are to "go ye therefore, and teach all nations", and a person doesn't even have to be a preacher to teach them! "Why?", you say, "That's the preacher's job!". You too are preachers:

 1 Peter 2:9 "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light..."

Christians are by default priests, and guess what? You are preachers who fish! Not only do Christians fail to be a priest, but they fail to fish too! Christians don't do our work assignments very well at all!

As Moses said that he was the wrong person to speak with Pharaoh, all he needed was confidence. He only needed to trust in God. Aaron was his "security blanket", so to speak. God assured Moses that Aaron would be the spokesman. That created confidence in Moses. He could just stand there and let Aaron do all the talking. That's the way Christians think! They may go to fish, but then stand by and let another do the talking. They lack confidence and trust.

With the security of Aaron there, it's seems that Moses did most of the talking! His job wasn't really to convince Pharaoh, but to convince the Israelites that God is powerful and to have faith in him. Moses fished for God and caught 600,000 fish along with their offspring and mates! Moses taught truth and some fish failed to follow and were thrown back. Fishing, to get the beautiful fish, is done with the bait of truth.

I'm a poor fisherman! I have caught few myself, but the ones I've caught are beauties!

Luke 15:10 "Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth."

The "one sinner that repenteth" is one caught fish! Look what the angels do. They rejoice! We know that angels sing and that's part of rejoicing. When that beautiful fish is caught their is heavenly music played for God! I've heard it! Have you?

My most beautiful catch were my two granddaughters. They were going to get baptized, but had not been saved. I led them to repentance, and now they are "fishergirls". They have become fishers themselves! The angels sung loudly at my catch that day. Most of the time I go home with my stringer empty, but that day, I had two beautiful fish and I thank God that he provided the catch!

The bait is truth, but the truth is done with a method. There are many methods out there, but one of the most common and truthful is called "The Roman Road to Salvation". It allows the untrained fisherman to bait the hook with truth and put the bait in the face of the fish. The fish can chomp down on the bait, but most will swim on. Some of the fish will take the bait, but save it for later. All we have to do is present the bait and let God attract the fish! Let's look at proven effective bait:

Roman Road to Salvation:

Romans 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..."

Romans 3:10 "as it is written: 'None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands; no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not  even one.'
13 'Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.' 'The venom of asps is under their lips.'
14 'Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.'
15 'Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 in their paths are ruin and misery,
17 and the way of peace they have not known.'
18 'There is no fear of God before their eyes.'"

 Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 5:8 "...but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

 Romans 10:9 "...because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

 Romans 10:13 " For 'everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved'.”

 Romans 5:1 "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

 Romans 8:1 "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

 Romans 8:38 "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

What Say You? My Sayings.

Testing God is like crossing the boss. You in effect fire yourself.

"I Saw What You Did" should be the theme of the "Great White Throne Judgment".

God's type of love is expecting to get loved in return, but knowing he won't be.

According to Jesus, children in their ignorance are smarter than educated adults.

Biblical kings were as little children. Because their gods were measured by the strength of their armies, they were in effect saying "My Father is stronger than yours!"

"I'll have a table for twelve." Jesus said, 4000 years before he was seated in the Upper Room.

Looking toward the Cross is our thermometer of love. With Peter's denials it was 3 degrees below zero, but with Jesus death the temperature rose to seven times hotter than fire as Jesus experienced hell for all mankind!

Failing to believe in God doesn't change his reality, but does acknowledge that the human mind pleasures in denial.

For those who abuse themselves, loving others the same way fails to demonstrate to God that there is  love for him. The "shall nots" of his commands are how you love yourself before loving others in order to demonstrate a love for God.

We wait until death for an indestructible body. If we were to get it now, man would find a way to destroy it, being our own worst enemy.

A test of how much love you have for another is facing the meat hammer of persecution, and presenting to God a tender heart!

How can you compare to Jesus whose sandals you're not worthy to carry, when your own shoes are used to walk on others?

If the meek are to inherit the earth most, our inheritance will be returning to the grave with everything we had when we came.

John 3:16 understates God! God "IS" ALWAYS, hence he never LOVED us, but always LOVES us! His love will never be past tense.

Gnostics say that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married. Jesus could never have married  without sinning, because he was married. His bride was already the church!

Virgin brides traditionally wear white as a sign of purity. As the bride of Jesus, Christians all wear stained dresses, but when the dress is bleached in the blood of Jesus, that dress becomes white as snow.

We have nothing to trade in exchange for God's mercy because what we have is his anyhow! All we have to do is accept his gift and love him for his generosity.

Submitting to God in our own time ends in failure to wind a stopped clock.

Sincerity is measured by the tears shed for others. Look for the stains on the pages of the Bible.

APATHY:  A Pitiful Attitude They Have for Yahweh.

Anger is how humans demonstrate love... for themselves.

If the love we show is the love we have, then our heart is as infertile as a desert.

Politics: Dr. Tim Hulsey on Laughing at Our Gullibility

We know that the progressives running the country have lied to us while laughing
at our gullibility in order to pass the Progressive in Chief's tunnel vision
issue of health care reform in order to cover the 2% of Americans who wanted
health insurance and could'n get it. In order to accomplish that, they had to
put the health insurance for the remaining 98% into the magician's hat of MIT
economics, where obscurity, complexity, and duplicity were added to glamour the
other agencies of government.

The Cheerleader in Chief assuaged the fears of the the AMA, Congress, and the
American People by crossing his fingers on both hands and swearing unequivocally
that the 98% wouldn't lose the health care coverage and treatment they had
tailored to their individual needs, all the while knowing he wasn't telling the
truth. In true progressive style, when confronted about these lies, he claimed
he didn't say that. Prevarication stacked on prevarication!

Suddenly, economist Jonathan Gruber, who developed the model that allowed
progressive Democrats to write legislation so egregious, yet so ambiguous to
fulfill socialist goals, is a person with whom no Democrat is familiar. He has
repeatedly and gleefully admitted how much fun it was to sit around the
progressive campfire to dupe the United States of America.

Old videos bely the denials flying from Democrats who just took another
"shellacking" by American voters. They were either not truthful about knowing
Gruber or they are too senile to represent the people, the majority of which
didn't like Obamacare even before the Gruber revelations.

Progressives whine that this is just politics as usual, even though Obama
assured us that his presidency wouldn't be "business as usual." That obviously
isn't true, either.

Whether it's politics as usual or not is irrelevant. Progressives obviously have
no integrity.

Politics: Dr. Tim Hulsey on Constitutional Limits

Despite multiple documented admissions by Obama that he can't simply change
immigration laws unilaterally, because "we are a nation of laws" and "have a
separation of powers," it appears that he will, through executive order, change
US immigration law.

In his previous explanations to Hispanic audiences about the Constitutional
limits to what he can do by himself to reform US immigration law, he
acknowledged that this would be unconstitutional. Even though he was not a law
professor, Obama graduated from law school and was an instructor in a University
of Chicago law school course on the 14th Amendment, so he should have a working
knowledge of the US Constitution.

If he felt unilateral presidential action such as this was unconstitutional in
the past, what has changed? Certainly not the Constitution.

I understand the reluctance of Republicans to use the "I" word: impeachment.
They have been convinced that it would hurt them in the eyes of American
citizens. Members of Congress, however, take the same oath Obama did to "protect
and defend the Constitution of the United States of America."

If Obama violates the Constitution, does not any member of the House of
Representatives, faithful to his oath of office, have a duty to at least
consider impeachment?

Even liberal George Washington University Professor Jonathan Turley, an Obama
political supporter, says that actions Obama is considering are dangerous to the
very foundation of our country. He characterizes Obama's actions as contributing
to an "uber presidency" against which the Founding Fathers tried to protect us.

If threatening the foundation of our constitutional republic isn't a "high
crime," worthy of impeachment, what is? Bank robbery wouldn't endanger the
nation.

It's an interesting dilemma for a Congressman to need to consider impeachment of
a president who cannot, for obvious reasons, be impeached.

On the Bright Side

Truth has two aspects. Some dwell in the warnings of scripture while others have hope in what is to come! What's graceful, is that the choice is ours. Joy and hope aren't forced on us and we are free to reject those for doom and pain. Most people choose the latter. Perhaps "people are stupid", as Jonathan Gruber  says quite often! However, people fail to reject a beautiful promise, not because they're stupid, but because they are self-absorbed.

Let's take a quick look first at why Americans lost out by the passage of Obamacare. Gruber knew that Americans were too "into themselves" to visit unpleasant places. He called it "stupidity", but "apathy" fits better! People were so enthralled with "free health care" (sic) that they forgot the costs of "free stuff". They desired what the government was going to do FOR them, ignoring what the government now has the power to do TO them!

That's the same as daily living. People look at each day wanting the best to happen, but believing the worst. People fail to see the blessings which are so numerous that they are ignored in favor of any negatives which enters peoples lives. People complain about the hardships, all the while failing to see that our lives are easy because we are prosperous. Some may do without extravagance, but in America we are blessed by God's provisions.

We are to "count our blessings"! Yes, even "one by one"; as the song goes. How many people even look at their blessings, let alone count them? One person who calls me only does so with bad news, and that is often. My counsel is for that person to look at what is, not what could be!

Let is count some blessings right now:

• I'm alive. I didn't die young nor was I aborted!
• My parents loved me with vast doses of love.
• I have children who I love and grandchildren as a bonus!
• I have my health.
• My age is concealed by my vitality.
• I have a beautiful home in a clean city.
• I have a wife. My hope is that she loves me.
• I had a chance for a great education and I took it!
• I had a great job all my life.
• I have much in my retirement.
• I've never suffered the death of a child.
• My brothers are the best and my sister cherished.
• Not only are all my needs met, but I have "man toys".
• I have a great church and they are my family.
• My preacher preaches truth.
• I have hobbies which I enjoy.
• I have a savings account with money in it.
• I can afford dentists and doctors. I don't have toothaches now.
• I don't have body  pain. My back doesn't hurt anymore.
• I am privileged with living in America.
• I have 102 first cousins. 
• I enjoy the sky and the stars. I breath clean air.
• I commune with God and he with me!
• I have hope for eternal life. A great gift from a great God!

I could go on and on! Those are only a few of my blessings! I'm not the only person blessed. Most Americans come close to some or many of these. It's not a perfect world. There are people who lack loving families, a great job and so forth; but they need to look at everything! People need to compare their blessings with those of the people of mid-Africa. People need to compare what they have verses what their grandparents faced! Americans are truly blessed and blessings are a gift!

Genesis 22:18 "And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice."

Blessings are of many types: material prosperity, health, happiness and the like. All blessings are of God and if any person looks, blessings are there. However, we are to look on the positive side! What blessings can be had?

Matthew 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."

These are example of the blessings available to all, even the destitute! Why should I worry about my car breaking down when I put it in perspective?  I lost thousands and thousands of dollars thanks to government tampering, but I still have my life! Look on the bright side with me! The bright side of destitution and persecution are promises: the kingdom of heaven, comfort, God's favor, our spiritual hunger satisfied, mercy from God, we shall actually see God and be his children, we'll live in heaven, and we shall be eternally glad with joy!

That's the bright side of life! Even death can be bright if life is lived right! The things of the world are temporal, but the promises of God are eternal! What is great, that if we love and obey God, he will take care of us. We can trust God to supply our needs, and if it's his will, it will happen! We have a problem as humans. Sometimes things aren't in God's will because sometimes "good things" lead to self-destruction. I appreciate what I have now and love God for his blessings because at one time I didn't have! I appreciate no longer having pain because at one time I was in pain. I appreciate food because I have often hungered. I appreciate true friends because at one time my friends were not true! And so it goes!

Right now my life isn't perfect. I wish that I could see my children and grandchildren more. I live with the consequences of my past sins. It would be great if our laws were fair and our system perfect. It would be great if my church was full and my own sins were fewer! It would be great if all the people whose love I desire, that love was fulfilled! But look at my blessings! It's not what could be, but what is, and the fact is I'm blessed and you are too!

Thoughts About Nothing-Most Profound!

The popular show Seinfeld, according to George Constanza, is about "nothing". It's about the routine events in the lives of three non-descript people. However, there are bits of "something" in the lives of nothing. Three people are "something" and they wander around in a routine as they stumble into the lives of other people whose lives are also about nothing. Two cases of nothing when added together create something. Each week millions of people watched a show about "nothing" to laugh about "something".

Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."

This is a profound statement. "In the beginning...", think about that! That's "day one" of it all. That's before matter existed! Within the bounds of infinity there was absolutely nothing at all; that is from a empirical standpoint! Alone in that void was one "thing". I don't want to undermine God because he's undefinable and "thing" cannot begin to represent a just, all-powerful, loving God, but I need to express a thought!

Revelation 1:8 "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."

God's contention is that he not only preceded "the beginning", but caused it! Out of nothing everything became into being! Likewise, after all is gone, all the material and energy is dissipated God will still Be! His "Being" is his name:

Exodus 3:14 "And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you."

Explain God to me, if you will! He's beyond explanation and he strictly "IS" and has always "BEEN". Beyond that, his existence is  "glory":

Deuteronomy 5:24 "And ye said, Behold, the Lord our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness..."

God has two aspects which he has shown to man. We have seen "his glory" and "his greatness". Let's tackle "greatness" first. Genesis 1:1 is a testament to his "greatness". Everything, everywhere in all times was created by God and is a result of his omnipotence and omiscience (all powerful and all knowing). He is beyond time and space. God IS great! Revelation 1:8 calls him "the Almighty"! That's his "greatness".

Some don't give God credit for his greatness. What was created from nothing is credited to coincidence. It was the "God of Chance" who stood aside and watched it all happen by itself without cause. Although even science knows it's not possible to have an effect without a cause, the "beginning", for them, was without cause! Sane people know that there must be a cause! That's God's "greatness"! He caused it all!

The second visible aspect of God is his glory! Now try to explain that one to me. Glory, from Latin gloria means "fame". It's being highly honored and a celebrity. Ezekiel saw this vision of God:

Ezekiel 1:27 "And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. 28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake."

What Ezekiel saw in his vision is really beyond words, but this is his weak ability to describe the most glorious entity of God. His vision fits the exact presence of God who passed by Moses on the mountain in his glory.

Therefore, in the beginning there was only Glory and Greatness. His greatness was his power and his glory his royal presence, so royal that mankind could not look upon God's glory.

In the beginning there was more than nothing. God's existence was in the vast space of nothingness. He created others so that he could interact and be loved. Rather than the love and companionship he desired, God, like Seinfeld,  had only the companionship with a bunch of imperfect bumblers. His love for us anyhow is what is called "grace". In the beginning nothingness was filled with hope!

Imagine, if you will, only God and nothing else to the very ends of the cosmos which is neverending. It's theorized that we're near the center of the universe and as one proceeds outward all heavenly bodies accelerate at the fringes of the universe. As they spirally speed away from each other the density of occurrence of cosmic bodies is so sparse that "something" gives away to absolute "nothingness". "Nothing" goes on for infinity. If a person could travel, even faster than the speed of life, after the known universe is left the traveler could travel forever in nothingness. It may be that somewhere in the middle of "nothing" may be "something" again and again. Other universes without bound as large as our own may exist, and their number is without end!

That's mind-blowing! Nothingness, forever, eternal, neverending, timeless, etc! God did it! That's his Greatness and there is no other explanation. His Glory is his very Existence. He's more than power as seen in his brilliant light, but he is Shechinah. That's the Light or Presence of God!

In the beginning there was Glory, Greatness and nothing else! There were no First Heaven nor Second Heaven. Those spaces were void, but within the "Nothingness" there was a "Third Heaven", which incidentally was first! In the beginning there was nothing and that void, or absence of anything, was filled with "Something". The "Third Heaven" is paradise and is where there is a presence of God. It's God's house!

Acts 7:49 "Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?"

Heaven is where God IS. There was never nothing! There was always heaven because God always "rested", or resided somewhere. There is hope in what that means! We're not dependent on things which exist in physical form. We have what's unseen.

 2 Corinthians 4:18 "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."

This is our hope! Right now, just as black holes cannot be seen in the cosmos, but there is evidence that they're there, there is another "place" unseen which is eternal! Although we can't see paradise, we know it's there. It's the "house of God". It's in the "kingdom of God". We know that it's there because that's where Jesus went!

 John 12:15 "Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt. 16 These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him..."

When was Jesus "glorified"? I believe it was at the transfiguration. It's no coincidence that Moses was there because Moses had been on Holy Ground before. He had stood in the presence of Glory before and here he was again. Jesus was transfigured from an uncomely man into Glory. His state of being "Emmanuel" (God With Us) was made complete when God fully endowed him with the FILLING of his Spirit. (God had been baptized, but the Spirit had landed ON him. Now he had the filling!). His Greatness was saving all mankind and his Glory was being God! He was the Light of our salvation!

In the beginning... nothingness... forever... eternal, neverending! God did it all! The Bible is "His Story". The tale is his-story (history). Unlike a story about nothing, the Bible is a story about everything!

Seinfeld and friends ran around without purpose and lived without hope. It was a sit-com of fantasy, but it's story is real. Most people are Seinfelds! Their lives are about nothing. Since I was a young teen, my life has purpose. All my life is about something. God took the "nothing" from my life and replaced it with "something"! That something is "hope" and when there is nothing again, I'll still have the presence of God. I'll be in paradise for ever and ever and won't be alone. There will be Greatness and Glory there!