Butchers in Our Midst

Parental Guidance Recommended

Following is an example of two types of violence. One is the woman (Mary Hamilton) who aborted three babies near the beginning of the 18th century in Imperial Russia. The other is the emperor (Peter the Great) who meted out a violent type of justice. It is to be noted that Peter would not be considered a Christian by biblical standards and much of his activity centered on ridicule of the contemporary church.

Mary Hamilton, Peter the Great's wife Catherine's maid-of honor aborted three babies she had by her lover, Ivan Orlov. Mary was noted for her beauty and promiscuity. This is written about Peter's justice:

"He (Peter) kissed her (Mary) and said quietly: 'I can't violate the law tp save your life. Endure your punishment courageously and address your prayers to God with a heart of faith.' She fainted and he nodded to the executioner, who brought down his sword. Peter lifted up the beautiful head and began to lecture the crowd on anatomy, pointing out the sliced vertebrae, open windpipe and dripping arteries., before kissing the bloody lips and dropping the head." (The Romanovs 1613-1918; Montefiore, Simon Sebag; Alfred A. York; NY; 2016; page 128; parentheses mine).

We all know about abortion... or do we? Most people turn a blind eye to the seriousness and finality of abortion. Christians have an obligation to be prolife, not only in regards to the unborn infant, but life in general. Cruel and unusual punishment is not only prohibited in civilized societies, but is based on divine grace.

For the moment, turn a blind eye to the abortions (which most people do anyway) and consider Peter who was named "the Great" by his colleagues (because of his brutal wars of expansion).

Peter's justice was as cruel as Mary's injustice. He neglected the sanctity of Mary's life as the executioner beheaded her. Peter had the power and authority to stop the execution, and because Mary was Catherine's and his friend, she expected a reprieve and fainted when it was not forthcoming.

As Christians that's the justice we sinners deserve. Like Mary Hamilton, Jesus Christ received cruel punishment, although not so unusual in those days. However, by grace we are saved from what we deserve. Mary should have been punished, but not inhumanely because life is sacred!

By killing Mary, Peter caused her to suffer death twice: once mortal life and the other spiritual life. With the swift thrust of the blade not only was Mary's life ended, but she suffered the second death because she never repented of the abortions or promiscuity as far as we know.

Peter, even though Mary was a friend, kissed her as she lived and when she died. Why? Mary was his friend. Knowing her humanity, he still considered the head of his friend nothing more than an anatomy study opportunity. He was callous and had no respect for what God made.

I would bet that after you read of Mary's guilt, that you pretty much turned a blind eye when I wrote of Mary's abortion, did you not? That's because we have been desensitized and abortion has been institutionalized. Yes, just as ante-bellum society was insensitive to slavery because it was a thousands of years old institution, you have been desensitized by the abortion institution. Most Americans even favor the abortion executioners because that's who Planned Parenthood represent!

Not being familiar with abortion in the 1700s I would bet that they were gruesome, probably by slicing away at the pre-born baby until he or she died and was expelled by contractions.

Late-term abortions use chemicals to force gestation to an end the life and then other drugs are used to induce delivery. Even some abortions are terminated by burning the baby, for that is what the fetus is, with a saline solution. Other types of abortion are done by dilation and curettage using spoon shaped sharpened tools. Much of the time the head is crushed to enable expulsion through the birth canal and the curettage entails cutting the limbs from the unborn baby.

I would hope that after reading these two scenarios that the justice meted to the innocent baby in the latter case is much the same as Peter's beheading of Mary in the former! It is cruel and inhumane punishment, the former deserved and the latter undeserved for there is no crime for merely being alive!

However, let's get back to people becoming acclimated. I would guess, that like me, you were nauseated by Peter's decapitation of Mary, and that should be expected if you're a Christian, or even civilized! However, I ask: "Were you nauseated by my accurate description of an abortion? If not, then are you a Christian? If not, are you even civilized? Do you turn a blind eye to the cruelty of it all?

Peter threw Mary's head to who knows where. Are you disgusted? Well, oftentimes women abort to the commode where the remains are removed and put in a dumpster, if not flushed down! That makes me nauseous... more nauseous than Peter's rather tame (sic) disposal of Mary's head (It supposed to be saved in glass even now in a museum in Russia). Where are the monuments to the innocent babies lives? Floating through sewers or decaying in a landfill. Maybe worse yet, dismembered and sold by Planned Parenthood in a parts harvesting operation for money! Very anatomical-minded of them as Peter-minded people!

The problem with America is that the multitudes are barbarians as history notes Peter to be! People who allow this to happen are as barbarous as Peter the Great. Even Barack the Great is that barbarous by his policies. Remember, it was not Peter who used the scalpel to take life; it was the executioner! Remember that it is not Obama or even Hillary who wields the scalpel, but the doctor (sic)!  Like Peter they stand back and watch and are just as guilty!

With Jesus it was Pontius Pilate who ordered the execution. He didn't crucify Jesus, but his orders caused Jesus to die. Why? Because the people wanted it! The sin of Caiaphas the High Priest, was greater than Pilate's according to scripture (John 19:11).  In other words, the preacher had the greatest sin by not being righteous and the people were guilty because they cheered it on!

Likewise, society is guilty of the murder of innocent children because of complacency or even cheering it on. Politicians are guilty by making it legal and liberal preachers are guilty for failure to teach that it is wrong. Even those of us who remain quiet are as guilty as those Germans who lived right next to extermination camps and said nothing!

Because we are unrighteous, God will not bless us. His promise to Abraham was contingent on his people being righteous. We are a hedonistic unrighteous nations and in error do as the pagans do!

1 Corinthians 10:20 (ESV) "No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons."

Peter the Great was a demon influenced pagan! Sure he went to church, but his faith was in himself. He made himself superior to God. His idol was Peter. To preserve his own stature, he was a cruel and unjust ruler, although his subjects turned their heads to his rule and called him great. His sin is little different than our corrupt leaders who have made the hideous abortion, a crime against humanity, a legal institution! How can we sleep these nights when we know, if we consider it, that Peter the Great is alive and well in our modern abortion clinics?

Why One and Not the Other

In the cold harbor of New York,
standing tall on Bledloe's Island,
Liberty holds the enlightened torch.
She holds it high to guide those lost.

Liberty stands tall and rules the way,
but where is God who made the bay?
Where is Jesus who ascended high?
Lost at sea perhaps may the answer be!

Liberty is the Roman goddess -
She can be hailed to those who enter.
Those who come may be seeking God,
But far they come to honor Libertas.

But God is who they seek in this new land.
It's God who gives the freedom they seek!
But in the harbor where is God?
It's Libertas standing there who rules the bay.

Let's suppose that commandments were there.
Those coming in would know freedom's rules.
But in the bay,  God's not there.
We've become a nation of fools.

At Fountain Square in my home city.
Ceres, Pomona, Melpomene and Flora stand,
but where is God I implore of you?
Where are his commandments for you to see?

Gods of the Romans they all are.
Goddesses of grain, fruit, tragedy and flowers.
But where is the God of who created it all?
He can't be found on Fountain Square!

Gods of stone are most highly favored,
but our true God is deplorable to man.
Commands written in stone can't be there,
but false Gods stand above the law.

The time has come for seekers of fairness
to point toward this awkward dilemma.
Why is it that pagan Gods of evil  men
can stand in America, but God the creator can't?

Acting the Part

I had a meeting with a leader of a church which I attended in the past. Unknown to me, it was an interview. He didn't tell me that in advance, so I was startled. His wrap-up statement was "We've talked thirty minutes and you haven't said anything holy." I was flabbergasted. I had no idea that this was anymore than two friends talking. His expectation was that I impress him with my talk of things holy.

I hate to admit it, but it's true. Like most people my day is made up of ordinary things with ordinary conversations. Hours go by without me even thinking about Jesus. Even with that, what I say about Jesus, I say to my secular colleagues. I don't save up holy talk to impress my Christian friends. In fact I have disdain for those who talk holy to impress others!

My point is that I try to be a genuine with my talk of Jesus. Most of my theological conversations are in private and only God is privy to them. Sometimes I tell people how gracious God has been to me and that Jesus is the only way to salvation. When God is mocked by pagans, I defend God. I must because I honor God! That is authenticity. I endeavor to magnify God, but for him, not me. I try to do it as praise, not for show.  Much of the time I am confessing my weaknesses and failures, not what I've done. Why? Christianity is not focused on me; Jesus is to be the focus.

Matthew 6:1 ( ESV) “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven."

Now I change my focus from me and redirect it toward the preachers: preachers have techniques in preaching. Jesus had only one technique: he was genuine. What I mean by that is that he never put on a show. Sure he was center stage and spoke to many, but he never performed. He was always himself. Meekness was his demeanor even though he was King! He spoke softly and carried a humble stick. His was never a bully pulpit and love was the arena in which he spoke.

Surely, without an audio system he spoke at a level that others could hear, but there a few occasions when he spoke in the heat of the moment. His manner was temperate and unexcitable (except at the temple with the money-changers). Christianity is an attitude, not an emotion. Examine the beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-11). This is how Jesus normally preached! It was not his emotions which showed his love, but his love that he spoke with humility. He expects the same from us.

Colossians 3:12  "Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience..."

Compare at how Jesus preached to preachers today. Of course they go all the way from those formal who merely read the word by ritual, to those who shout it out and wipe beads of sweat from their brow as they blast the scripture forth.

Old fashioned preachers were noted for exhorting; that is strongly urging the congregation to be righteous. There is nothing wrong with urging, but urging was often done with shouting out the words as spittle,  spreading doctrine with emotion, not spirit. Imagine Jesus using those methods. The Pharisees said that Jesus was demon possessed. Think of what they would have thought with foam at the corners of his mouth, a red angry face and screams belching forth, let alone gasps for breath as he interrupted sentences repetitively with sucking sounds between screaming the words.

My point is not to denigrate serious preachers, but for people to recognize that Christianity is not theatrics. That's what the Pharisees were accused of doing. They were mere actors in a profound play. Rather than show genuineness and humility, it was pride they displayed.

My favorite preacher was Pastor James Mellish of Warren Michigan First Church of the Nazarene. He never put on a show and his words were spoken with love. Imagine Jesus' presentation right now. That was the presentation of brother Mellish. Sure, he spoke audibly, but not screaming. He accented his thought by raising the volume but only to inflect meaning.


Preaching is not to be about the preacher. It is to be all about Jesus. These attempts to exaggerate by overwhelming exhortation are distractions. I would encourage all preachers to reflect on their own methods. Sincere preachers are many and these may be their methods. I would encourage them to examine their methods in light of scripture, and consider first that we are our own "other gods" before God.

On Marijuana: Letter-to-editor

Many states, contrary to Federal Law, are legalizing recreational marijuana. One person's recreation is society's catastrophe. MJ is a malady which hides it's evil truth to those who lack discernment.

The most stupid thing I ever did was to start smoking cigarettes before I knew their danger. Only after my health was impaired and I was emotionally addicted, did I realize my own stupidity. It's damage is done and cannot be undone!

Compared to cigarettes or even alcohol, MJ is a cornucopia of unknown compounds whose effects and affects are little known. It is known that MJ has eighteen times more tar than cigarettes (MJ cough) and robs the user of motivation. They may deny the latter, but others know the truth!

The most pitiful thing with MJ is seeing otherwise sane looking people sucking on bongs or nurturing roaches. By doing so they step in the gutter of human weakness. Who is to protect me and my loved ones from those who drive high? Who is to protect me from the surgeon who just enjoyed a hit? No one can!

People get killed to bring MJ to selfish users. People get killed by users who drive high. Careers get killed because users think more of immediate gratification than for reality.

MJ is not benign. Users are self-abusers and suppliers are criminals. When MJ becomes legal it's the government which becomes the criminal. Just as abortion kills and is denied, MJ wounds and those who defend it are in denial.

The Flesh: A Christmas Gift

Romans 8:8 "So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God 9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." Romans 13:14 "But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof."

The flesh is so important to understand. With circumcision Abraham cut off his flesh which he sacrificed to God for his grace. God covered Adam's flesh as symbolic of saving him from sin. We are expected to do more than Abraham and God will do more than he did for Adam. If we cut off our flesh entirely, God covers our sin entirely!  Christians are to present themselves "a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1).

The flesh is more than the foreskin. The flesh is more than genitalia and the flesh is more than our epidermis and more than our dermis.  It's our everything! The flesh is all our heart, soul and mind (Matthew 22:37). Since we are to love Christ with all our heart, soul and mind, giving him those things is our living sacrifice. The three in one is our flesh and they are the trinity which heathens worship!

It is no coincidence that mankind was made endowed with heart, soul and mind and that we were made in the image of God. God said that man was made in "our image". As such the heart, soul and mind were made in the image of God: Father, Holy Ghost and the Son. They are not the real thing, but are human proximity's to those things.

Pagans worship that unholy trinity for what God made holy mankind tore asunder. God's expectations are that we give them back by sacrificing our unholy trinity back to him so he can make them holy again, just as he covered Adam's sin.

It must be understood how mankind operates. We are a system. The system is covered with flesh. The outer layer is our epidermis. It covers our dermis wherein our nerves reside. Nerves carry tactual impulses to the mind. There is where they are processed. The mind desires pleasure and asks the flesh to find some and send it onward to the mind. There the mind pleasures itself and sends signals back so that the flesh can enjoy it too. The same goes for vision and all the other senses.

In order to give up the flesh, sinners must give up the entire sub-system. That sub-system is the pleasuring. It's the beautiful and tasty fruit eaten of the tree. Therefore the flesh is man's pleasuring sub-system. It's part skin, part mind and part soul. "How is the soul part of the flesh?" It was originally made full of God's Holy Spirit because we were designed in the image of God.

Pleasuring emptied the soul of God's Spirit. The flesh was the platter on which our soul was presented to Herod, so to speak. He was symbolic of Satan. Eve presented the soul of Adam on a platter to the serpent from a symbolic standpoint.

Our living sacrifice is our flesh. We must present heart, soul and mind to God. The evil inclinations of the heart (our desires) are to be cut off, the mind is to be sacrificed and the soul presented to God for refilling. The altar is the refilling station to bring us back to the glorified body we once had!

The pleasuring system is controlled by  the mind. The mind takes temptations from the world, external to the system, and imbues it as part of the flesh. That imbued unrighteous spirit is evil and is worshiped as lust. Being imbued with the Holy Ghost is God's covering our flesh and divesting it of lust, the antithesis of holiness (Romans 13:14 above).

Being part of Christ is evacuating lust from his temple. We kick the lust merchants out so that God can live within. The flesh, the unholy trinity, is cut-off from the temple and God then allows the covered flesh to be part of him again. The flesh is covered by Jesus' blood and by grace is restored to the person to which God created mankind in the first place. Death brings man full circle to his original condition with the application of new flesh, not soiled and completely covered. That's glorification and that happens as the flesh it goes back to the dust from which it came, and a new body (heart, mind and spirit) is bestowed again.

I think on the gifts of Christmas. They were kingship (gold), life (Frankincense) and death (myrrh). They were given to Jesus as a sacrifice in honor of him when he was born.

At Christmas we give things to other in remembrance of him. What we should give to others is our flesh: our hearts, souls and minds, by loving them as we're told to love God. The material gifts given to Christ were symbolic of the spiritual gifts we are to give. It's love which was given to Christ that day.

Today people EXPECT gifts. With expectations, then, it is no longer a gift because gifts are voluntary and are given without prompting. Look at who is the recipient of the gift: it's the receiver. Christ is receiving nothing. It's you and you expect it. That's the flesh wanting free things. It's supposed to be covered, but your lusts reveal your flesh. Your heart is exposed and your mind is demanding. As those occur your soul is imbued with unrighteousness; not filled, but soaking it up. Grace is that the Holy Spirit is still within the soul, but shares the temple with money-changers. The flesh wasn't sacrificed entirely at all and the unholy trinity lives on...  in what should be God's temple.

That's why I don't want things for Christmas. My heart desires much because although the spirit is willing the flesh is weak. My living sacrifice is my flesh. At the minimum on Christ's day my desire is that Jesus' receive what is his. It's my heart, soul and mind. The best way to give God gold, Frankinsense and myrrh is to give him my flesh: my heart, soul and mind. Symbolic of that is prayer and fasting. Those are good and acceptable gifts to God and are a reasonable sacrifice!

Unifying the Nation

Because the election has finally climaxed with winners and losers, many say "Now is the time to unite."

We must test that plea with scripture:

James 3:10 (ESV) "From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12  Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water."

Salt water has impurities. Fresh water has less. Salt water is symbolic of the world and the desires of the flesh. Fresh water is truth, righteousness and the will of God. When the two waters flow forth into one, the fresh water is seasoned with the salt. On the other hand fresh water must be ample to ever dilute the savor of salt water.

Salt water symbolizes sin and unrighteousness. Fresh water purity and righteousness.

Americans voted for change. Although the water is not purely fresh, it hasn't the bitter seasoning of what has been. The voters have desalinated the water. It's rightness and truth for which we thirst. We can take a little salt, but it's fresh water we crave. We didn't go to the spring in numbers to dip salty water. It was to drink the fresh and quench our thirst. As such we no longer want socialism, cronyism, politics as usual or even division, but we must be divided on what is right and what is wrong. We cannot accept the aberrant social policies of the left just to unify.

A nation united under wrong is more wrong than a nation divided between right and wrong. My prayer is that the other half unite in our spring and drink of fresh water. They can leave their salt behind in a pillar looking toward yesterday!

Matthew 10:34  “Do not think that I (Jesus) have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35  For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. "

The sword which Jesus brings is the word. It's Holy Scripture. It's pure water which flows forth from him. His spring doesn't flow forth peace, but dissension. In effect, Jesus said "I am a divider, but my division is what's right!" No wonder that there are riots in the streets in all the major cities. Just as in the days of Noah, when all the earth was united against God, today is tending that way. Just as in the days of Lot, Sodom and Gomorrah were united against God, our Portland and San Francisco are now!

We cannot unite with the world! We are to be sanctified. That is we are to be separated from the world unto righteousness. As such unity under Christ is the goal, and unification with the world is the roadblock.

Our leaders must keep on track. They need to set the standard; a different standard than we had. Never relent to the cries of losers, but stand fast for what is just!

Mob Rule

Mob rule is when large groups of people endeavor to control a political situation by unlawful means using violence and intimidation. It is their will which they force upon others without regard to the political process.
What is the will of the mob?

Deuteronomy 12:8 “You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today, everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes,"

There are two gods, one true and the other a pretender to his throne. With two gods, there are two sets of laws. The law of the true God is righteousness. The law of the other is unrighteousness. The disciple of God does God's will. The disciple of the other god does what's right in his own eyes.

There is One True God, but billions of "other gods" because those other gods are each person's existence.  They do what is right in their own eyes because they value themselves over God. As such, "the other god besides God" is a composite of all those in disobedience. Their civil and spiritual government is lawlessness. Lawlessness is the absence of righteousness. Righteousness is doing God's will because his will is what's right. Those who follow their own desires and beliefs rather than God practice lawlessness.

1  John 3:4  (ESV) "Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. "

Being a world without laws is anarchy. The chief anarchist is Satan. He sows discord and rebellion. When a mob rules, it's not truly the mob which dictates, but a herd of followers following Satan. In their false wisdom, their actions are foolish!

Proverbs 12:15 T"he way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice."

Hence, mob rule is ruling by fools. Those who follow the mob follow fools and are themselves fools. Being foolish implies deception and indeed, it's Satan who deceives the mob. The mob, rather than being noble principled people seeking what's good for most,  are fools who seek the law which even destroys themselves! Rather than the propagation of love, it's hatred they spew. Sure, they love themselves, but the love of others is not in them. The absence of love is hate and those who hate are murderers in God's eyes.

Usually a mob cares little for what God teaches because the members of the mob follow themselves with the pretense of order. They actually care little for what the do-gooder (sic) next to them wants; it's their own doctrine they propagate. As such mob members are self-righteous. It's not God's law which is right, but their own foolishness. They lack wisdom knowing not their own weakness!

When mobs rule, the situation is anarchy. Anarchists do hateful things like destroy, intimidate, threaten, punish and hate. How much love do you see in the mobs who rule the streets of big cities? None! It's hate with which the streets are paved. It's order which is stepped upon. Mob rule is the destruction of what is civilized. Marx taught the tactics of division to usurp authority. It's not Marxism which we see on the streets; it's Satanism as presented to the mob by Marx!

Dissident, if you're pleased with yourself, you please Satan. God sheds tears for you. You know not what you do because if you did, you wouldn't want to keep crucifying Jesus over and over again!

Much of the Christian Church Is Not!

Because one belongs to a church does not make that person a Christian. Because a person preaches does not make a bishop. Because a person calls himself a Christian does not make a saint!

The best of the best were the Pharisees, but Jesus called them vipers. Their name was synonymous with the serpent's!

The modern church is a type of Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. It professes to teach what Christ taught, but practices the deceit of the serpent.

Not even in apostolic days was the church pure. Gnosticism (those who professed secret knowledge and had a false Christ) were as popular as was the true Church. Little has changed!

2 Thessalonians 2:3 "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first..."

2 Peter 2:1 "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction."

 If you are a member of a church and have not been born again, you are part of the false church. If you attend a church which condones sin, you are part of the false church. If your church was once godly and righteous, chances are that it has went the way of the world!

It's the church's attempt to serve two masters:

Luke 16:13a "No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other."

The modern church serves two masters: in profession, it's Jesus Christ, but in practice, it's false knowledge. Knowledge is false because the doctrine of deceit is a lie. For instance, teaching that love is being tolerant of sin is false doctrine. The entire Bible is about "loving the sinner, but hating sin". The church should be holy ground and sin, except to be cleansed, has no place on holy ground.

Christians who are pro-abortion (the liar calls it "pro-choice") are deceived. Christians who are tolerant of or favor same-sex marriage are deceived. Whoever practices sin or coexists with those in the flesh are false Christians. If they profess his name, but fail to do God's will and trust his truth, God never knew them!

There are Christians in false churches. If they are there and are comfortable with false teaching they are in danger. For instance I left the Methodist Church when they united. Time has proved this to be a good decision because the national organization is on the wrong track with their social policies and failure to use the born-again experience as criterion for membership.

I know this sounds harsh, but the gate to salvation is straight and the pathway is narrow. Few will enter into the kingdom of God.

The safe place to spiritually reside is in a holy church. Now step back and look. Does your church teach and preach solid truth or is it contaminated even by the lie of evolution?

The Aftermath

In 2007 people voted for hope and change. The direction of change was unspecified and liberalism offered false hope.

Now our Creator saw fit to change the direction of the country. Indeed, our prayers must be for God's will, but powers will still be working for disruption. It is the duty of every Christian to provide prayer and guidance to Mr. Trump. He was a David as he sinned. Perhaps he can be a David who rules a man after God's own heart.

Christians can tell him through our representatives what God wills. The Abrahamic Covenant bases our prosperity on obedience to God and respect for him. If our nation is righteous we shall be blessed again. We can be great again!

Greatness is far from how many babies lose their lives for convenience or how tolerant we are of wrong. It's how obedient we are to God's desire and how much we love each other.

Love is tough-love. Some of us are hard to love. Political correctness has to stop because if we truly love we must rebuke. It's better to hurt feelings than destroy eternal lives!

In order to obey God and do God's will, we must be sober people. The tolerance of drugs including marijuana must be stopped. Drug usage and making America great again are mutually exclusive. The talk of legalizing marijuana must stop. It's the soma which is the pathway to destruction. Those who use marijuana are the living dead because it's the self which they are pleasuring. God loves the burning of incense to him, but MJ is the aroma of the devil and the pathway to destruction.

Behind many sins are alcohol and drugs because they remove inhibitions. Even unplanned pregnancies would reduce if those inhibitions from God are restored!

Crimes are committed for drug money. Women and even men prostitute themselves  for drug money, People kill people to bring you drugs. Then people kill each other for drugs.

As far as I can see the elimination of the drug industry is paramount for obedience. That should be Trump's top priority! The federal government needs to enforce drug laws and pave the way for sobriety and a motivated work force and educational system. Think about these things and pray for Trump to be what God wills for him. He is to be David. We can pray that he is!

We Are Radio!

I have mentioned before that our souls are like radios. Of course in isolation a radio is a mere cabinet housing various components, which without a signal, is little better than a paperweight or door stop. As such as they age, there is little use for them and as they decay, become junk and finally rust or corrode into the elements of which they are made!

To be a radio system there must exist a transmitter with an oscillator, an encoder as part of the transmitter, an antenna at the transmitter, some sort of medium, a receiver, an antenna for the receiver, a decoder within the receiver,  a diode, a tuning coil, amplifiers, modulators, speakers, and a chassis to house each the transmitting and receiver components. To conceal the components and add beauty to the system a cabinet is desirable.

The transmitter is usually a remote system. It's hidden away and those who receive the signal seldom think about what's behind the transmitter with the exception of who is transmitting (the newscaster or disc jockey), and the information being transmitted (entertainment, education or information). Because of solar flares, storms or imperfect systems static may be transmitted, and too close proximity between the transmitter and receiver may cause an ugly sounding phenomena called feedback.

Radio systems were invented in order to allow remote listeners to hear messages from a distance. Then as time progressed listeners desired to see the messengers as well. Television is essentially a radio with pictures. With pictures the message is enhanced because it can be seen as well as heard! Exploration into other type sensory radio systems has been done for years: touchies, smellies, and even tasties. Technology has the ability to broadcast about anything dreamable!

Spiritual radio is our Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. It can be used for both. Some listen to it for factual information, but others to hear and see what they want to see and hear, and others use it for entertainment.

Genesis 3:3 "But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7 And the eyes of them both were opened..."

Let's look at this early communication system. It was meant to be a door stop! It had a beautiful cabinet, but it wasn't to be used! I say "door stop" because it was the door to an invisible world. Since God provided all the needs of our ancestors, all we needed to know and all the joy which was ever there was in the garden. After Adam an Eve used the tree for more than a door stop, it became a radio with it's own beautiful cabinet. It contained no information, but it could receive it from two sources... one with high fidelity and the other with poor, called infidelity.

High fidelity reproduces sound true to the original. When hearing the Voice of the Tree of Life this radio system produced high fidelity, because truth came through clearly without static nor feedback, even though both trees were in close proximity.

Distortion exists in radio systems because of faulty transmission or poor quality components. Distorted sounds and pictures are not true to the origin. For the spiritual radio system God did not transmit "neither shall you touch", but Eve heard it that way because of a faulty signal!

The radio was in the midst of the garden. It had no need and no use because God provides. However, Adam and Eve, especially the shopper Eve, looked through the store windows too often. The salesman appeared suddenly to her and gave his sales pitch. He was dressed in one of his many suits, this time of snake skin, to captivate the woman.

Then he proceeded with his sales pitch:

• You need this radio and you deserve it because you are you!
• What the competition warns is not true, You won't get shocked and die!
• You will see with clarity (this radio was an early television even).
• You will be important because you have this appliance and you alone!
• It's educational, but with education comes power.
• The good food it supplies are unseen messages. The bread of life comes through this device.
• It has a beautiful cabinet which you can admire day after day. It fits well the décor as the centerpiece of your garden!
• It will teach you much and is a must have educational device.

Of course the radio was free and people have always liked free things! Eve took it and Adam took of it's fruit with her, even with poor fidelity it was tasty, perhaps it's picture seemed better than the real thing. It's picture was hi-def and it had surround sound! It's speaker was high in the tree and tuned into supranatural signals! Distortion, although there was attenuated with ease through spinning one little knob!

You see, this primitive radio with a picture tube has changed little! It is a "must have" for the world and to keep on top of the things in the world, people's minds need it! What's more, it entertains and is pleasurable!

Eve turned it's knob and took a bite of it's information. Just as the salesman in his fancy snakeskin suit promised, it was safe. Eve didn't die. The warning from the manufacturer was wrong. He was merely being over-protective so that new buyers would want it for it's intended purpose: mere furniture to be tended with polishing. Because Eve didn't die both she and Adam began to enjoy that radio.

True to the salesman's word, they gained much knowledge and perceived that they were now most wise. They even knew more than the maker because this tree is in fact safe!

They easily tuned it to many channels. Their favorite were the naked channels. They tried what they saw and indeed it was pleasurable! They became bored with child-bearing and rearing and came to live for mutual and self-pleasuring. This radio became essential, they thought, to be happy.

They implored of the manufacturer how the radio works because it's signals made them sick as they turned it on!

The manufacturer explained this device and warned that too much of it without turning it off would indeed kill them, but kill the inside forever because the salesman failed to explain the radiation emitted from it. Although it was advertised as a "free thing" to lure people, it's cost kills. It's radiation kills from the inside out. The pair had figured this out because they began to feel sick inside. Knowing of their contamination the manufacturer cleaned the radiation and restored their inner life. Their insides as they get near the radio, are contaminated at times because the radio's components are charged with radioactivity. Those pretty knobs which glow in the dark are radium!

It was explained this way: There are unseen signals transmitted. The tree is the transmitter's antenna.  There is a signal transmitted from dark space where there is no light. The transmitter is the Prince of the Air and he goes to and fro with his "stations" sending messages from the dark. Even twinkling stars naked in the sky are transformed with modulators for your entertainment. These modulators can even change the message! They take true form sine-waves and chop them until a partial truth is sent with some truth removed from the truth wave form,

Remote to the listener is a false disc jockey, He takes the most tantalizing and popular songs and videos and plays them over and over day and night. Sometimes he takes truth, but holds his finger on the record as it spins, New truth is heard and the listener likes it better than what the Voice recorded.

The transmitter sends out the message and entertainment all over Eden. Those inside the Garden on the east side if the world are shielded by a messenger of God; a seraph with six wings, consisting of God's entire shield. The best of the six is offense: the truth transmitted by God's Voice: the Word!

Saints take shelter from the poor reception of the radio in the Garden.

When the signals are emitted outside the garden where no light shines, and truth is modulated, the transmitter amplifies the message because the atmosphere belongs to the transmitter. To reach the world requires a loud message with a clear signal. He travels to and fro because his signal is weak and he has limited power.

Each person, now their own radio, has an antenna. It's the flesh, but includes the mind and heart. To enhance the message all three work in synch to provide the most pleasurable experience. Even the distortion is attenuated by the mind so that the heart takes the infidelity and makes it high fidelity. The signal has already been modulated to make that easier.

Our skin is the beautiful, but sometimes it is a crude cabinet which houses the components. Our brain's synapses fire joy and fun to stimulate the mind to please the flesh, Deep thought amplifies the signal (temptation) for better reception!

With the desire we crave and when we feel that we deserve the system, it can get overloaded. Feedback absorbs our will and the current increases, With continued use the radio goes bad and unless we throw it out and change the message, we shall die! As the electronics short out and what's inside explodes, our cabinet burns and because of it's special artificial material, the fire never goes out!

We have the tuner to tune infidelity out and disarm the oscillator. There is a true wave form and he is spirit, He's our disk jockey who uses a straight signal for high fidelity. He's a great personality! One of the top three. His name is the Holy Spirit! His voice is the speaker! Our soul is the chassis for all the components and it is made is the image of God.

We Are Radio!

Vanities

Vanity is irreverence toward the Lord. The Almighty God is our Father and to him we owe everything. If his name is said it must be with deep respect. Even the substitution of benign words when thinking is irreverent because God is holy! We are commanded to honor God by Law:

Genesis 20:7 "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain."

Let's get technical for a moment. God is without name. He just IS because when asked his name his response was I AM. However, God is called by many titles:Adonai, Emmanuel, Jehovah, Lord, Father, God, and so forth. There are hundreds. None is his name! How can it be then that we can take the Lord's name in vain? Technically we can't because he has no name. Giving him a name when he has no name is vanity, because we are presumptuous.

Let's say for instance, we meet Queen Elizabeth. Her name is Elizabeth, but her title is Your Majesty. If a person called her Elizabeth, the queen would be upset because there would be a lack of respect. Even more troublesome would be to call her Beth, Liz, Lizzy, or even Queen or Queenie!  Any such names would be offensive to the monarch because it would minimize her authority.

Then what is the meaning of the Hebrew word where the translators have imposed "name"? It is shem, meaning to defame God's individuality.  Even the word "individual" is irreverent! God is neither a person nor an individual. He just IS! Perhaps "authority" is better because God certainly has that and is due worship for having it.

Then the intent is not to trivialize God's position of authority.

Next let's examine the word transliterated in English as vain. It is in the Hebrew shav' which is to say ruinous or useless. 

As such we are not to trivialize God by using his position in a useless or callous way. Why?

Job 35:13 "Surely God will not hear vanity, neither will the Almighty regard it."

If we dishonor God's authority, his response is to ignore us. He quits taking what we say to heart because those who use his name in vain dishonor him.

When I cautioned a person who used the popular slang "Oh my God", the response was "I meant nothing by it!" Although that person perceived herself as innocent, in fact she was not. Saying that expression with even an acronym (OMG) or a substitute (My Word) is useless because no honor is given to God by it's use.

Even substitutions are vanity because God can read our minds:

Psalm 94:11 "The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity."

When we cover our sin of disrespect with substitute expressions, God is wise enough to know what we really meant in our hearts... nothing. To cover up what is intended is vanity. It's useless in the sight of God. We are to let our yes's be yes and our no's no. We need no divine expressions of amazement short of "glory" and  "hallelujah"!

Even when we pray because of routine, God's authority is trivialized. What I mean is a prayer such as this is vanity: "Dear Lord, we thank you this day, God, for what we have, Lord, because we love you, Father, and pray for these things in Jesus name."

Therein, the words seem honorable, but if we think about the prayer, people use God's titles as commas, as pauses to think, and as a routine prayer. In effect the titles are in vain because the reverence may not be there.

Perhaps a better prayer would be: "My Father in heaven, hallowed is your name"... and so on because the Lord's prayer is to be our guide if it is said from the heart, and not done as a ritual. Many do that as even I sometimes do. Such  rote prayers are useless unless they are not coming profoundly from the heart. When one prays "dear God" that person must truly hold God "dear" or the prayer is vanity:

Ecclesiastes 12:8 "Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity."

When we refer to God without magnifying who he is, it is vanity and we are guilty of breaking a commandment. Why?  We fail to obey his will and miss the mark set by God. We are to honor God and we are to do that with sincerity and obedience. Using his titles flippantly, carelessly or uselessly is sinful. Will we Christians go to hell for such callousness? Likely not, because God has grace, but surely he is disappointed that those who use his name in vain (carelessly) do so at their own peril in opposition to his will.

Of course we can pray in the onoma (Greek) of Jesus. Onoma being the "authority" of Jesus because Jesus is NOT God incarnate's name. He just IS because he IS God. He is merely called by the common name Lesous (Hebrew); (Matthew 1:21).

Neither should Jesus' name be used in vain because Jesus IS God. We can submit our payers to his authority as our mediator to God, but because Jesus is God, we are never to use his name carelessly.

With all that said, God is not a knit-picker. He doesn't pounce on our every careless thought, word nor deed because he realizes that we're merely humans. That's his grace and he will be merciful when the time comes. However, we should still honor and respect him for who he is to please him, just as we call Queen Elizabeth "Your Highness" out of respect for her worldly position.

Does she deserve that reverence? No, but God does!

Memories

The memory is the process of the mind. There are three major steps: 1) thoughts registers, 2)  records of the thoughts  are kept, and 3) records are either filed permanently away available to the sub-conscience or retrieved for use.

Much of the process occurs when a idea is registered. Then is the event that it's inputted, processed and combined with other inputs.

As an example, one day I considered the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son to God. I received the information externally and in this case from the Holy Bible.  I processed the information and stored it away somewhere in my mind where things are stored. It was a great story!

Before then I had studied many times the crucifixion of Jesus. That too was stored in my mind. One day I had an epiphany: the sacrifice of Isaac was symbolic of and a picture of the sacrifice of Jesus. I had combined two memories in my mind! I have a record of each now and also a connection between those two thoughts. When I retrieve one idea now I get both because my mind has intricately linked the two by combing two thoughts into one grouping.

Without use, these thoughts are filed away. I can retrieve them when I need to providing that my mind is healthy and they have been used recently. If those memories have not been retrieved for a long time my long time memories become buried in the mind's dust with the sands of time. Only my sub-conscience can retrieve them, as hard as I try I can't get to them, but then maybe later the sub-conscience dusts them off and retrieves them for me; albeit I may prefer that they stay filed away.

My short term memory is great. It goes back about a day or two for me. Unless I really care about something, I dump most memories in the garbage bin of the sub-conscience. That's where I also try to dump unpleasant memories, but alas, the sub-conscience keeps dusting them off!

I'm good at forgetting sin. If I pleasure in the forbidden, I conveniently file them away in long term memory, but hope that they will be forgotten. I have placed many sins in that dust bin. Few will I ever recall. However, I do realize that I've filed away many sins. Some I have repented of, but others I have enjoyed and hidden the files in my memory under the heading of GBTF (guilty but trying to forget). If I forget that I did that sin before, then it's convenient to do it again because I can just file it away again!

I was born-again when I was a teenager. At that time all my past sins were forgiven (Romans 3:25). Jesus blood cleansed them from my soul, but many are still filed away as memories. If I look back as Lot's wife did, I can feel guilty for those forgiven (and that's Satan the memory retriever) or I can relive the sins in my mind (again, Satan at work).  Those belong to Satan and his team because God has already forgotten them (Hebrews 8:12).

You see, God has the ability to forget, but we don't. However, part of the peace in being a Christian is realizing that God has the capacity to forget sins, and if we live for him, we can leave them filed away as well! There is no essential use for remembering past sins. It is good to remember that we have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), but the specific past sins  can and should be forgotten. They are useful for Satan, but detrimental for us!

Paul advised that we should forget what is behind and strain on what is ahead (Philippians 3:13-14) and to keep our eye on the prize (salvation). This means to "not look back" as Lot's wife was told not to do. Looking back killed her and it can make us die a second time!

This is in contrast to psychotherapy which would direct a person in counseling to have a break-through with the past as a means of closure. Closure for the Christian is by the propitiation of Jesus' blood.  If we continue to feel guilty for sins already covered, then we neglect repentance of those current sins we have every day. We are sub-consciously being directed by Satan.

In the Holy Bible "remember" is used 210 times, mostly in reference to God. Being omniscient (all-knowing) he never forgets anything unless it's covered by the blood of Jesus. Being omnipotent (all-powerful) God can forget at will! Whereas, our sub-conscience can always drag memories out into the light of the mind, God's Light dims those memories from his and  exposes them as useless.

Right now I have recent memories of sins that I've done. Jesus' death covered those sin, but for the efficacy of the blood, I need to repent of present sins. God remembers those until I repent and until I do that, they can still be recalled to haunt me. This recollection of unpardoned sin is of the Holy Ghost. Jesus is not pleased with my lack of right-living and his desire is that my new person have the traits of righteousness. His desire is that I (and you) be set apart from the world and become a new creature. This new person still sins, but has sorrow and repents of it. When repentance happens God wipes the slate clean and we resume our new personalities.

With repentance comes forgetfulness. Those sins are behind so why bring them up when even God has forgotten them?  Lot's wife should have forgot what was behind and look toward the prize ahead. What was the prize? Immediately she would have went to paradise on earth (Israel), but in the end to paradise in the Kingdom of God. By looking back Satan grabbed her spiritual hand, took it and she died right there on the spot, both the first and second death. She remembered the pleasures of sin, rather than the hope of salvation!

If Lot's wife had looked ahead rather than back, she would be saved and even recognized that it was by God's grace even though she was a sinner. However, she had no need to look back because as she was safely out of the city, she had the hope of salvation!.

For us born again, we too have the hope of salvation. All we need to do is keep our eyes on the prize and not looked back! Of those saved by the parting of the water in Moses time, many looked back at the comfort and pleasure of Egypt and died right there on the spot.

God is gracious. We can accept his grace and look ahead, or not trust him for salvation, and look back. Our eternal destiny is always a choice. My desire is to look forward to the prize. God forgets and I need to as well!

Law of God & Law of Sin

Romans 7:25 "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin."

Romans 7 is all about sin and that Christians still sin.  However, because we are weak that doesn't mean that we should continue to sin.

There are two laws mentioned in this last passage of that chapter. God's law is not Mosaic Law nor the Ten Commandments! The latter is the criteria of God's law and the former are the regulations. What then is God's law? It's to have genuine love for God. Aren't we to love others? Yes! Loving others is a corollary to loving God. Essentially, we show God our love by sacrifice, by praise and by telling others about salvation. Praise is reserved for God. Sacrifice is for both God and others. For God sacrifice is submission of the self to God and for others, it's charity.

Telling others about salvation is the Great Commission. It shows love to others. Also, it's tending to the Garden of God, mankind's assigned vocation back in Genesis. Why would we want to tell others about salvation? 1) Because we love them so much that we don't want them to go to hell, and 2) because we love God so much that we want to do his will. What is God's will? That none should perish!

We show love to others out of love for God.

So the law of God is divine love. Our focus is on love of everything which is of God. By now, the reader should be aware that hate is the absence of love; it is not mean-spiritedness although that is the extreme expression of hate. Apathy is hate because it is a lack of love. Not caring that a brother is going to hell, is certainly not love and indeed, since it murders his soul, is hateful!

The law of God is focuses on God's will. Loving is what God wills. Any lack of love on our part is against God.  Focusing on ourselves rather than God is apathy, even rebellion, toward God. We are to be a living sacrifice. What is it that we must sacrifice? Our flesh!

When we think of "the flesh" it's much more than the skin. The flesh in scripture is the part of us which communes with the world. Think of the flesh as antenna which receive signals from the world and relay those signals to the brain. If the mind processes those messages to the senses, both physical and mental, then the body pleasures in them.

Pleasure can be of the senses: vision, hearing, touch, smell and taste. Tasting good things is as sinful as feeling pleasure. In other words gluttony is as bad as fornication!

There are other unseen senses as well: pride, lust, coveting, power-seeking, the desire for riches, etc. These senses are part of 'the flesh" as well, although we don't think of them that way, they indeed are carnal! Animals have the physical senses and basic responses are mental senses, but mankind dwells in the mental senses. For instance imagining sexual activity can be a substitute for actual activity. Thinking about the taste of food makes one salivate.

In essence "the flesh" is anything which interferes with the will of God. Since God is in a holy place and we're not, then the world has tremendous influence on us! Rather than obey the One unseen, we obey our own desires. We worship in addition to God our own selves!

Hence, the law of sin is doing what is right in our own eyes. It's coming short of God's will and is the opposite of the law of God. The author of love is God and the author of sin is Satan. By relishing the things of the flesh over the will of God, we fail to show love to God and thus hate him through disobedience.

We serve Satan when we neglect God. The law of sin is the will of Satan. His methods all use hate because God only is love. By trying to obey the law of God and the law of sin is serving two masters. Those masters are God and the devil. We know that we can't serve two masters because we will love one and hate the other (Matthew 6:24).

The passage from Romans is a grace in action. While God commands us to serve him, we serve the flesh. He loves us anyhow even though we fail him. Jesus and mankind have the same outward flesh, but our inward flesh is opposite. Jesus never ever served under the law of sin, but we do. Because he was tempted, just as Adam was and we are, he understands our inner flesh. Temptation (the world) signaled his flesh, but his mind rejected it because there was an impervious shield between his mind and his body. That shield was the Holy Spirit.

Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit. His sponge was clean and absorbed God's Spirit completely. Men are imbued with the Holy Spirit. It was made clean when we were born again, but like the post-Noahaic world, it became soiled quickly. As we sin even after being born-again and washed clean, any sin we do or think soils the spiritual sponge; that which is within our souls.

As the filth of sin is taken in it displaces the Holy Spirit within. The soul is still imbued with the Holy Spirit, but contaminants reside within us, unlike Jesus whose cup is full!

The law of God is filling our soul with love. The law of sin is dirtying the soul which is God's temple. It is a holy place and God lives there, but we dismay God when filth enters the temple within us. Imagine if you will, a holy God who never coexists with sin, coexisting with it inside your temple. That breaks the law of God which is love!

At some point in time the soul may displace so much spirit in the soul that the evil master wins out. God doesn't want to live with your other god besides him. He never leaves you, but by apathy you chase him out. That's apostasy and blaspheming God's Holy Spirit. By allowing continual sin into God's temple within you, the Holy Ghost is evicted. That's because two masters can never be served. Some Christians are of the flesh so much that the author of sin becomes their master!

Satan is not God. His power is limited. He can never force his will upon anyone. He can merely send that signal to your flesh, it being the antenna. It's you who processes the offer of pleasure. Your mind asks "Is the pleasure worth the risk of punishment?" If the answer is "Yes it is!" then you are serving your own self.

The law of sin is that the person you serve is yourself, and is in opposition to the law of God. The "law of sin" may be better described as "the law of You" since you are your god.

There is always a conflict between the law of God and the law of You. You must present yourself as a living sacrifice and God will evict the flesh from you.  It will never be all gone because we are tested. We are not the Son of God; we are sons of men. God allows sin into his temple within us to see what we do with it. The expectation is that Christians shun sin.

How well we shun sin is an indication of how much we love God!

Of course we are to ask forgiveness when we do sin, but when there is no aforethought. Sinning with the intention of asking forgiveness after the pleasure is farcical.  Indeed those who do that are following the law of sin and are more in unison with the author of sin.

The law of sin is the reciprocal of the law of God. The law of God is perfection. That's also what God wants from us. It's a lofty goal and can never be obtained because of the flesh. Grace comes from God because he knows that it is impossible. He wants perfection, but settles for less so that love will abound within us!

As the law of sin disrupts the law of God, righteousness decreases as wrongness increases. The law of sin is that mankind will always fall short of perfection, but Christians are shielded and armored against falling too far as the whole armor is never put on. The armor protects the flesh from the world. In effect it puts an invisible shield between the world and its receptor, the flesh.

Even with the whole armor, there are voids. This is normal because we are human. That's where Satan shoots his barbs! When we sin and ask forgiveness the law of God intercedes and divine light is shined in the eyes of Satan, and because he forgives our tribute to Satan, grace abounds!

The law of God gives permission to the law of sin because unless God allows, nothing can happen. Just as God allowed Satan to go to and fro and tempt Job, he allows Satan's dark angels to go to and fro to tempt, but not harm us. As such the law of God is powerful, but the law of sin is dependent on God as the law of God supersedes the law of sin. It's reason for even existing is to test our faith and to show our love. The best love we can show is to avoid the law of sin! It's putting the flesh subservient to the mind because the mind belongs to God and the flesh to Satan.









Yes, we all struggle with the flesh. Jacob wrestled with the Angel of God. That was the Word who appeared in a temporary body so as to test Jacob. Strangely Jacob won the wrestling match. It was not the Holy Ghost with whom he wrestled, but the flesh. It is possible to overcome the material, but we will never win the match against the Spirit! Jacob was marked with

How Should Christians Vote?

Remember David? Even though he was a man after God's own heart his flesh defeated his spirit. He succumbed to the beauty offered by Bathsheba and committed adultery as well as murdered Uriah because he coveted his wife! When he was found out by Nathan the prophet he realized that he was a wicked man. Psalm 51 is about his admission of guilt, his sorrow and repentance!

Here we have a wicked man who was king. This "crooked stick" made the best king ever. Why? Because in spite of his flaws, he obeyed the will of God!

I have flaws much like David's. I have murdered people in my heart because scripture says simply "hate equals murder" (1 John 3:15). Also, just like David I have lusted, coveted and fornicated. Because I was guilty, I became sorrowful and repented. By grace David was saved and by grace I am saved!

Guess what? You are no different! By holding a lofty standard for me, you are establishing a different standard than for your own. That's scriptural too (Matthew 7:1-3)! Furthermore each of you have given Donald Trump s tougher standard than your own! He did some of the same things David did and some of the same things which you and I have done! James Dobson has said that Donald Trump is born-again. Does that mean that he currently walks a perfect man? Not any more than David did nor you and I do!

A Christian merely has to look at past performance and campaign promises to decide. What standard can we use? How about Holy Scripture? Specific to this election are many, but these are paramount:

• Trump is for protection of Christian worship. Hillary is not.
• Trump is pro-life. Hillary is for abortion even up until delivery.
• Hillary is divisive by race, faith and gender. Trump does not divide the electorate by demographics.
• Hillary propagates same sex marriage. Trump does not!
• Trump promises those judges who believe in the rights of the Constitution. Hilary has spoken with disdain of the Constitution.
• Hillary race baits. Trump does not.
• Trump has a plan for prosperity. Hillary's plan is for shared poverty.
• Hillary welcomes pagan religions and their acceptance. Trump asks for controlled immigration.

There is a difference. My own impression of Christians who are willing to vote for Hillary, is that they are against themselves.  They are without discernment!

Hebrews 5:14 "But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."

Yes, one is for evil, and the other probably as some "evil" in his heart as well, However, just as David did, any "king" will have too. It's our place to depend on God, and that he often uses crooked sticks for his purpose! Even Paul was a murderer! With God all things are possible, so you self-righteous Christians need to stand back examine the log in your own eyes!