Transformed: The First Semester in College

I grew up in a conservative and religious family. I'm proud of my heritage and my parents provided a perfect example of love and responsibility. We were poor, but poverty is a character builder! Being religious (Christian) by today's standards does mean being conservative.

My high school mathematics teacher told one of her classes that my father, Elston, was the "most radical man" which she had ever met. I'm proud of that! She and I have different definitions of "radical". I'm sure that she was referring to "a person favoring drastic political, economic, or social reform". However, my pride was because the "radical dad" that I admired was the one who"had an inherent abilty to do what is right". Dad, the radical, was a man of principle! His principle was righteousness because he always did as Christ would do. Therefore, Dad stood up to what's wrong in education, social ideas, government, politics and the church.  No, Dad was not a radical in a negative sense. He was a radical in standing up for what's right! He didn't seek radical change. He fought change. He fought liberal irreligiosity.

As a result of my upbringing I too am a religious conservative. As I gained knowledge and wisdom my views evolved. Rather than doing the pleasurable I sought to please God, but as most, failed him often. All my political and religious views are based on the inspired inerrant word of God as printed in the Holy Bible! My instruction manual for life is scripture.

Most of those of my era believed as I did. In high school my own ideas remained unchallenged because, in spite of the math teacher, my views as well as my Dad's, was the norm. Examples of normative thinking included viewpoints about abortion, marriage, race, freedom, patriotism, religion and even politics because in spite of there being two parties they both had similar values. Radicals were the Communists, the vulgar and Progressives who were actually socialist/communist elements who later joined the Democrat Party in 1968.

We were all similar because we were America. At that time Americans were proud to be the great "melting pot", but are now a mish-mash of diversity; a society that doesn't know what to believe! The homogeneous America of the 1950's was a result of immigration from nations which shared or believed in our freedom, our Judeao-Christian religion and our republic. Now we're populated with foreign nationals who hold our system and our religion in anathema, and want to replace liberty with the slavery to which they had become accustomed.

With that background I now recount my shock in college!  Two events come to mind that transformed me. My transformation was actually the sealing of my principles in concrete. I discovered that beliefs cannot be compromised. Compromise to achieve wrong is defeat! Before I elaborate on those life-changing events, let's look at what scripture says about principle:

Job 17:9 (NIV) "Nevertheless, the righteous will hold to their ways, and those with clean hands will grow stronger."

Holding to what's right is called having Christian principles!  We're not to compromise with truth. Whereas the media, politicians and society extols the "virtue" of compromise, compromise is what's wrong with us! Even worse than compromise is concensus. That's where everybody compromises to the extent that the notion is so watered down that everyone agrees. Concensus is a recipe for death. Compromise is the carrier of the death virus!

Romans 4:5b "...faith is credited as righteousness."

Since "the righteous will hold to their ways" where does righteousness come from? Faith!

Yes, being principled comes from faith! You're so sure that Jesus is real that you stick to your guns in all things. Out of respect for the Savior in which you believe, you go to bat for him in your life! Faith equals righteousness and yields principle! (Christian martyrs are the best example of principle).

At the time I entered college my faith was so strong that I already was principled! God sealed my faith in concrete and I was never to crumble; not for grades, success, friends nor money. Now I'll speak of the two events which transformed me.

My Political Science professor said on the first day of class "Man is no more than a tree or a frog." That statement was meant to undermine the entire meaning in my life; my faith. Almost all philosophers and theologians acknowledge than man is indeed different than the animals, notwithstanding the vegetation around us. This silly statement by an educated man transformed me because it made me distrust educators and what is "falsely called knowledge".

1 Timothy 6:20 "Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge,"

Because of the biased and false statement by my professor, I began to question what I was taught! Later, when doing post-graduate work, my psychology professor admitted with candor "It is not only our job to teach, but to remold!"  History taught me that those societies who were "remolded" died in oblivion. "Remolding" is teacher-talk for "brainwashing". I am certainly not going to give up my insight God has given me to an educator who doesn't even believe in God, let alone one who teaches an opposing religion, one falsely presented as "science"!  (Although defined as the science of mental processes and behaviors, "psychology" is the "study of the soul". It's precepts conflict in most cases with Judeo-Christian teachings.)

Transformation No. 1: I questioned what's falsely called knowledge.

Now, I read original writings. I no longer accept what teachers say that a person "said". I read and see for myself. I'm a skeptic as far as education is concerned. I've read hundreds of original works about the Civil War. I now see that my educators in the north were biased in their teaching. My teachers lied to me about the Civil War to the extent that it turns out that we never even had a "Civil War".  (The victors write history, hence a built-in bias). Eleven states constitutionally seceeded from the union and formed an independent nation. The United States bullied that new nation into a "War for Southern Independence" and as a result 700,000 thousands lives were lost. Seek truth?  Read history for yourself!

The second event which transformed me was when my history professor said "My favorite organization is the American Civil Liberties Union" (ACLU). I had never heard of such an organization! It appeared to be something dear to my heart! "American". I'm a patriot. "Civil Liberties". I was a strong believer in liberty! "Union." Unity is  great, isn't it? I was gullible for a time, then I found out the truth. The ACLU is un-American, is against liberty and provides a wall of separation against religious liberty. My history professor and the ACLU used what's called "double-speak" to transform! However, rather than being moved toward the lie, I was moved toward truth. I now examine beyond words. I look at action. I look at the background. I no longer let pretty words sway me. "Hope" and "change" for instance are such tricky words. "Hope" is subjective and different for everybody and "change" can be for the worse!

I'm now discerning!  I examine all aspects of life by the standard of God's word! If it's not for him, it's against him and if anything be against Christ, it is of the anti-Christ!

Transformation No. 2: I don't listen to demogogues, but study facts.
 

Proverbs 2:4 (NIV)

4 "and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,

5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.

6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding."

 

Contrast this to deceit, spin, false knowledge and outright lies! Those methods are of the Prince of the World. "For me an my household, I choose God!"

 

Whatever happened to the "Tree of Life"?

I've often wondered "What is the 'tree of life' and is it still standing somewhere?"

The "Tree of Life" was a choice given to Adam and Eve back in the Garden of Eden. Of course we know that our forebears chose wrongly. Eve was deceived by the serpent, she convinced Adam and then they both ate of the "Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil". Their innocence was stolen from them by Satan through deceit and mankind has since known right from wrong. What's more everybody since chooses to do wrong!

Genesis 2:9 "And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil."

Genesis 2:16 "And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."

Sin happened! As you can see from reading below, God humbles Adam and Eve for their insolence, then tells how foolish they've been. Before disobedience, in their innocence, Adam and Eve were immortal. They could freely eat of the "Tree of Life". It was theirs by grace. God provided whatever that healthy fruit was for longevity. Now God taunts them, in effect saying "Eternal life was yours and now it's gone. It's too late to eat the fruit thereof!"

Genesis 3:22 "And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:"

The "Tree of Life' remained in the garden. It too was forbidden mankind. It was not yet time for God to "forget" the trespass and to make sure, the tree was guarded by angelic creatures:

Genesis 3:24 "So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life."

Notice that the "tree of life" is referred to as "the way". This brings to mind Jesus who said:

John 14:6 "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

Incidentally, the "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil" is not "the way" nor even "a way"!

"The way" was predetermined. God in his foreknowledge knew "the way" all along and made provision for a path to be followed. Of course we know from scripture that the path is narrow and few shall take it. What am I implying? The "Tree of Life" is Jesus who was with God from the beginning:

John:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2The same was in the beginning with God.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

(We don't know if the "tree" was a metaphor for Jesus or was some mysterious tree which represented Jesus and his truth.)

Let's examine these verses more closely. 

The Word was with God in the beginning (at the creation). He was God. Jesus is God's presence on earth. Hence, we have here Jesus among us from day one!  "In him was life". Jesus was "Life". Likewise, Jesus was the "light of men". He was to provide the way for mankind. We can see from verse 14 that Jesus is "grace and truth".  (In contrast to the other tree in the garden which provided knowledge).

In the beginning the light of Jesus shined in darkness. It was "grace and truth" which provided hope for Adam and Eve. They "comprehended him not." Adam and Eve, as they made the wrong choice" had little idea that Jesus was right there! Jesus is or is represented by the "Tree of Life"!

The tree not only represents life and vitality, but it also points toward eternal life! The tree of life in the garden was a "picture" of how mankind was to regain immortality; eternal life!

Jesus is God as revealed to man. God took on human form many times: 1) He wrestled with Jacob, 2) he protected Shadrack, Meshack and Ebdenego in the fiery furnace and he appeared to Abraham as Mechizedek. Jesus was with Adama nd Eve in the Garden. He was there!

Genesis 3:8 "And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day..."

Let's look at a representation of that tree:
 
Acts 5:30 "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree."

 

The tree upon which Jesus was crucified (hanged) was the cross. We know that death on the cross was unknown to Jews and came with domination by the Romans. God, in his wisdom, planned that Jesus was to die upon a tree long before the Roman civilization was ever born! That was "the way of the tree of life in Genesis" and "The Way" from John 14:6.

 

Jeremiah the prophet was another "picture" of Jesus. As he was warning the Jews about their destruction this comes to light:

Jeremiah 11:19 "But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered." (Jeremiah as a picture of Christ).

 

Jeremiah, as Jesus, was "like a lamb". Jesus was the "lamb of God"! Jeremiah was the lamb to be brought to slaughter, just as Jesus was the lamb brought for slaughter on the tree. Jeremiah was referred to as a "tree" in the phrase "Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof". Jeremiah, foreshadowing Jesus, was called the "tree" and the "fruit thereof" to be destroyed was the "way of the tree" just as Genesis referred to the "way of the tree of life". It was an attempt by our forebears to stamp out Christianity before it was even introduced into the world! It was an attempt that the lone "Tree of Life" in the garden "may no more be remembered".

 

Jeremiah warned the people. They failed to listen. Sound familiar. It was the same with Adam and Eve and the same with the Jews at the time of Christ's coming.

 

Is the "tree of life" still with us?

 

Revelation 2:7 "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God."

 

The "tree of life" yet stands! That tree is still "grace and truth" and if we accept that grace and truth we shall be among those who overcome and "eat of the tree of life"; Jesus! Where's that tree? In paradise; aka heaven! Where's Jesus? He's at the right hand of God in heaven!

 

Revelation 22:2  "In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations."

 

The street with a river is the "New Jerusalem" which is not only a reconstruction of the Garden of Eden which was a paradise, but paradise, heaven itself!  As the "tree of life" was in the first paradise it also will be in the healed world and in heaven itself. Jesus will return to rule the world for 1000 years and the "tree of life" will stand again in the capital city, New Jerusalem. Likewise, Jesus, the tree of life, will as he now does, reign in the paradise called heaven!

 

Revelation 22:19 (NIV) " And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll."

 

If any person denies God's word, that person will lose his share in the tree of life. By denying God's Word, they are denying "the way", the "tree of life". They are denying "The Way", Jesus.

 

I've never before heard this preached, but afterward learned that the Eastern Orthodox Church teaches this same doctrine as can be seen here:

Wikapedia "The tree of life (Heb. עץ החיים Etz haChayim) in the Book of Genesis is a tree planted by the Abrahamic God in midst of the Garden of Eden (Paradise), whose fruit gives everlasting life, i.e. immortality."

The tree of life in Genesis as a prefiguration of the Cross, which humanity could not partake of until after the incarnation, death and resurrection of Jesus.

The cross of Christ is also referred to as the tree of life."

Jesus was represented by that "tree of life' standing in the midst of the Garden of Eden.  God's plan in his foreknowledge was to provide "the way" to mankind whom he knew would fail. That plan was a plan of "grace and truth" . Jesus was the plan all along and our patriarchs chose "knowledge. Now Jesus can fulfill that plan of grace and truth because he reigns today alive and well in paradise! Remember, Jesus is the "tree of life" and through him death is defeated.

Who do you chose this moment? Is it "knowledge" from the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil" or is it salvation offered in the form of truth and grace offered by "THE TREE OF LIFE"? Do you accept God's word as Revelation 22:19 says we must or do you buy into what's called false knowledge as taught in universities in the disguise of science?

The "tree of life" yet lives! Although that tree died for all on a "tree" he was resurrected. The tree of life defeated death! That "tree of life" stands tall by sitting at the right hand of God in Heaven!



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apathetic-Who cares?

Playing cards last evening I said that I was "apathetic".  My opponent said "What does that mean?" to which I replied "That I have a non-caring attitude." referring to winning at cards. This conversation made me wonder (as most things do)!  Is apathy a severe problem?

Just what is this "non-caring attitude"? It's indifference. Lack of interest in important matters. No concern for whatever. Worse yet, an apathetic person has a lack of feeling and is unemotional!

The shortest verse in the Bible is perhaps the most profound! That small verse shows care, love, concern, a burden, and a total lack of apathy! That one small verse was:

 John 11:35 Jesus wept."

The friend of Jesus, Lazurus by name had died. He lay in the tomb and was already decaying since Jews never embalmed.

John 11:33 "When Jesus therefore saw her (Mary, the sister of Lazurus) weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled."

For whom did Jesus groan? What troubled him? He hurt for the death of his friend, he felt Mary's sorrow at the loss of her brother, he had pain for the Jews they being friends of Lazurus and he cried because no one had yet got the message. That message is that Jesus is God and that Jesus came to defeat death! Jesus cried mostly because those who loved and followed him had such little faith in who he was and is!  Jesus cares!

Any rational person must admit, Jesus is the most compassionate person who ever lived. With that compassion Jesus was the least apathetic person ever!

Apathy is a nondescript word. It cannot describe nouns without using the phrase "lack of" preceding the nouns: "care, concern, feeling, interest, passion, sensitivity, sympathy, and warmth".  The person who is apathetic, then" is a person with a neutral outlook on life! They aren't negative necessarily. They are just without human emotion. That's a bad place to be!

Jesus cried!  It's normal, even desirable, that we too should cry. At one time in my life, I was unable to cry. I wasn't apathetic, I thought, I just didn't get emotional enough to cry.  That worried me and I sought help through prayer. I prayed to God that I would care enough to cry!  With that statement I revealed the condition of my heart. "I was apathetic!"  I wanted to care enough to cry. I forget for what reason, but one day I cried for another! I had a feeling of relief and God had answered my prayer. I now care! Although "Real men don't cry." is the mantra of the macho, the truth is that "Real men do cry!" Real Christian men cry often. Jesus was a super-macho man. "He wept." His tears changed the world.

I had the ability to shed tears. I had cried before, but only for selfish interests. "Pathos" from which the word "apathy" is derived means "feeling". The "a" means without, hence "apathy" is "without feeling". It's understood that one should have appropriate feeling in IMPORTANT matters.  The crying I had experienced was out of fear of punishment, fear of getting caught doing something wrong or fear of not being included. I guess those issues were all important to me, but of little importance in the whole scheme of things because they were all "I" centered.

As an example to make the point, I'll go to the Seinfeld show again. As usual Jerry was dating a girl with a "problem" since all Seinfeld girlfriends were dumped because of his shallowness. This girl cried when her hotdog came without mustard! However, when she learned that a grandparent had just died her attitude was "Oh, well." and she went on with the ballgame she was playing. The girlfriend's emotions were inappropriate for the event. She cried in self-interest, but not important matters. She was apathetic. That at one time was my own emotive characteristic!

We all need a reason to cry. It's got to be an important reason to be meaningful. The most important reason for crying in the entire universe is contained in this one verse:

Mark 15:37 "And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost."

This is what's called "The agony of Jesus." He felt severe pain. He was beaten to a state beyond recognition; so badly than his humanity was unrecognizable.  As an example of the disfigurement Jesus endured, let me relate a short true story:

My son was beaten ten to twelve times in the face with a tire iron. Even after a day, when I saw him, I didn't recognize my own son!  In fact he looked like a being from another planet. I say that with all sincerity. His entire head was swollen to twice the size and his face was so puffy his eyes couldn't be seen. His lips were just a swollen mass of tissue. I hurt for him!

My son was still less injured than was Jesus!  Before his death Jesus agonized. He felt severe physical pain!  But you know what? Jesus had no narcisstic interest in his own pain. The agony he felt was for mankind!

Revelation 1:5b "Unto him that loved us (Jesus), and washed us from our sins in his own blood..."

Jesus cried because he "loved us". He loved us so much that our sins were taken on by him and we are redeemed by "his own blood". Jesus wasn't agonizing for his own pain. He was in spiritual pain. His pain was because he was bearing all the sins of mankind who ever did live or ever will live. It was a severe spiritual load and Jesus was drained; not of his spiritual power, but of his human energy. He hurt for us because he loves us so! If Jesus had been apathetic, he would have never died for us. His agony would have never occurred. In short, Jesus knew not apathy.

Does the "agony of Jesus" precipitate feelings from you? Does this verse make you cry: Mark 15:37 "And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost." 

Right now take your mind off everything. Forget about today's activities, the fun you had last night and the pleasures of this life. Quit thinking about yourself! Now focus on Jesus and him dying on the cross. It should have been you and me! We deserve death because we are guilty. Jesus was not. Have you done bad? Real bad? Even some bad? Yes, we have all broken all the commandments, if not outright, we've done so in our hearts. We're all no better than murderers, thieves, liars, idolators, who respect no one and loves themselves. I know, you say "I've been good!". Seriously, if you truly believe that you're good, you "spit" at Jesus when he died for you! You call him a liar!

You cannot take your mind off things that long, huh? Yes, it's difficult, but it must be done! You must care! You must exchange apathy for tears. I'm referring not only tears of love, but tears of sorrow. You must cry because you have wronged God. You must cry when you sin again. You've just got to care! The one thing that a narcissistic person can legitimately care about oneself is the condition of their own heart! Do you care where you spend eternity? You should. Jesus cared!

If you care, apathy lies in the past. Your lack of concern is forgiven and the slate wiped clean. You see, the crimson blood of Jesus cleans thoroughly, No sin shows through that blood. The past is not even a blur. Apathy is a gift of the devil. Love and feeling is a gift of God. Choose sides now, but choose wisely. Care enough to weigh the consequences of an unwise choice. Apathy away!







 

Blame God when things go wrong?

George Constanza, when all went awry, ranted "Why did God do this to me?" Seinfeld remarked "I thought you didn't believe in God." George replied "Just when bad things happen!"

Gnostics believe in three Gods: 1) The demiurge Abraxas (the Archon) who is tha bad creator God for all material is evil and is the Old Testament God we call JHWH. 2) The "good" god is Monad (the Absolute) and represents the spiritual world and good. 3) The female goddess Sophia (wisdom) and is the female aspect of God who somehow did wrong and fell from grace. She helped create material things.

In effect Constanza believed in the demiurge, but not our God "JWHW", later called Jehovah. Although this episode of Seinfeld was tongue-in-cheek, it hit the nail on the head as far as the way people think!

When bad things were happening to the righteous man, Job, Zephar said to him:  Job 11:4 " For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes. 5 But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee;"

Zephar (and his friends) were "Constanzas". You've must have done something wrong because God is punishing you!  Is that the case?

Job 1:12 "And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he (Job) hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord."

All that Job had was destroyed: his land, his crops, his flock, his children and his wife. Even Job's health was sacked! However, Job never wavered in faith!  Who did "bad" things to Job? Was it God or was it Satan?  God allowed Satan to test his servant, Job, but Satan is the evil-doer. There is no bad God nor good God. God is the only God and God is great!

Exodus 18:11 "Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them."

This is Moses speaking. The man who stood on Holy Ground and met God at the burning bush. He met the creator God, JHWH (Jehovah) and said "the Lord is greater than all gods" for there were many false gods.  Gnosticism is an evil philosophy and undermines the "One True God". Crediting evil to God is giving God the blame for what Satan has done! Our God is a merciful God!

Deuteronomy 7:9 "Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;"

Since God is unchanged from generation to generation, He's the same yesterday, today and tomorrow,  our modern God is the same merciful God who looked into the eyes of our patriarchs thousands of years ago. This same merciful God is the same as Jesus the Christ, the promised Messiah! No, Constanza! Satan is responsible for bad. God is the author of good! It's defilement of God which brings forth bad!

I dated a girl several years ago. Her younger sister had died. This girl blamed God for her sister's death and had lost her hope. She no longer had faith in God! She never reconciled that God sees death differently than we do. Death is a reward God bestows upon his children. A life of tribulation, poor health and disease is wrought by Satan. This girl gave God the "credit" for evil when it was not his doing at all! Perhaps our merciful God took the life of this ailing girl to stop the agony of her life! In any event, it was God's will that she should "come home" where he had a room awaiting because she professed Christ!

Quit blaming God for the evil of this world. Quit blaming God for bad things which happen. Satan is the "prince of this world" where he rules with dictatorial powers.  He has no mercy and is the father of calamity. Blame Satan. Give credit where it's due! To God be the glory!

Root Cause of: Government Shutdown and Life Itself

There are many problems. Some are world wide, some are national and many are eternal. Problems are basically roadblocks to success or happiness. If things function normally as expected, and then things go wrong, a hidden variable has been introduced. Returning to normalcy is the process of discovering the causes for the variation. Statistically it is reasonable to expect, because of the odds, that problems occur because of one major change in the system. Finding that change explains the deviation and if corrected, provides a solution to the problem. When the problem is resolved normalcy returns!

Although there may be many "causes" of the problem, one problem usually stands out well beyond the others as the major contributor. In fact many so called "causes" are merely contributors and are really side-effects or symptoms. Whenever there is a problem of any type is it not best to seek the solution? It's impossible to fix any problem unless causes are fixed and fixing the "root cause" will provide the best fix. After the root cause is fixed, many times secondary causes go away because they are only symptoms to the problem. Finding the root cause is valid for any type of problem-solving!

As life goes on it transitions from day to day with some degree of smoothness. Although things may be imperfect the system has some degree of efficiency that those within the system feel is acceptable. Then at some point in time things go wrong. The system is out of balance and everyone struggles to bring it back to the norm. All those struggles are confounds!  We actually introduce more variables in life and increase the problem  by tampering with false causes. We fix what's not wrong and what's wrong goes unfixed. People seldom look close enough to find the "root cause" because it's buried deeply within the system!

As an example, if one looks at a New York City Interstate Traffic jam, it may have been "caused" an hour earlier because some car hesitated too long in changing lanes. It takes time after a problem is created for the problem to manifest itself because the "root cause" is deep within the system. Studies in traffic flow have provided the root cause to traffic problems and processes are put into place to minimize variations which cause traffic to jam.  (We've all been in traffic jams before only to get through the jam and never find anything wrong! That's because we weren't there to see the root cause!)

Root causes are the main and often the only cause of a certain problem. For instance, my brother had an itching rash all over his back and was treated for allergies for three years. Nothing changed but the medicine and none were effective because the rash was not an allergy. It was lymphoma cancer. The doctors had not "root-caused" the problem. They had treated the symptoms. It appeared on the surface that the cause had been found, but the problem required many more tests and many more studies before the cancer was found! Finally, a knowledgeable doctor delved deeply enough into the study to find that Joe had lymphoma. Science doesn't understand all the root-causes of cancer yet, but they did understand that the root cause of the skin irritation was cancer cells. The symptom of this type of cancer is skin welts with itching. Previous doctors had not been treating a cause, but were treating a symptom!

Those who are in charge are "blamed" for causing problems. Irritants (and even bad doctors) were blamed for Joe's skin rash and itching. In the traffic example the Department of Transportation gets the blame. Whenever a problem arises "blame" is the first phase in "problem-solving". Unfortunately blaming fixes nothing! Blame is a roadblock to problem-solving.

Let's look at the government shutdown. Blame is where we're at! It solves nothing.The Teaparty gets the "blame" for not passing a budget to keep the government operating!  Rivals can blame all day long, but there's no resolution because Teapartiers are not the root cause. They're not even a cause at all! 

Is it Harry Reid? Barak Obama? John Boehner? No to all!  It's not the fault of any one person. Where then lies the cause to the problem. To find the "root cause" a problem-solver must dig deep and not be confounded by personal bias (politics). Was it Bush's policies? Clintons? How far back to we go?

From Wikapedia "The Federal National Mortgage Association  commonly known as Fannie Mae, was founded in 1938 during the Great Depression as part of the New Deal."  In 1970 Freddie Mac was chartered by Congress to work hand in hand with Fannie Mae to make loans to those who would normally not qualify because of income and credit. In all fairness in 1970 Richard Nixon was president. It would appear that we can "blame" Franklin Roosevelt and Richard Nixon for our government shutdown because Fannie and Freddie are known to be secondary causes which caused the Bush Recession. However, Obama and voters "blamed" George Bush although Democrats Barney Frank and Chris Dodd were caretakers of Fannie and Freddie. Obama was elected because of the failures of Fannie and Freddie and because of Dodd and Frank!

Were Dodd and Frank the root cause? No. They were tamperers as were Roosevelt, Nixon and Obama. By tampering they created variation in the system which led to ultimate failure. Where then lies the root cause? Politicians who have ignored the successes of capitalism and turned to the failed policies of socialism ARE THE ROOT CAUSE. It's Progressives who jumped on board the bandwagon to make America an entitlement society. The noble cause of sharing the wealth created a situation where concern led to the abuse of power and ultimate failure in the system! Marx introduced the concept to the world, but it was in play as early as the French Revolution. Abraham Lincoln was the first "progressive" president.

Before the Civil War America was a nation of unified states which was a fine balance between nationalism and states rights. With the repressive laws of Reconstruction the federal government's power dwarfed that of the states, and the intent of the Constitution was changed!  When a change of that magnitude succeeded, gradual change occurred handily and with little opposition. Change became rapid under Roosevelt with the New Deal and with Lyndon Johnson's Great Society. Obama brought socialism to otherwise patriotic Americans by appealing to "hope" and "change". Hope and change has direction and here we are with the tampering of Obama. Hope and change made a bad problem worse because it was tampering with wrong causes, leaving the root cause unaddressed!

In life, there is a problem! I'll define the problem as "sin" because that's the problem as God sees it. Sin is rebellion to God. In effect sinners follow Satan as their ideologue just as Progressives follow Marx. God is my  guide in all things... politics and government included! Let's examine the causes of sin. On the surface we can pick causes: immoral entertainment, lewd women (and men), provocative dress, opportunity to get rich et al.  Are these entities the cause of rebellion against God? No! They are symptoms of the disease of sin! What then, is the root cause of sin?

Remember, we must dig deeply for the root cause!  We all have "original sin". We are guilty just because our ancestor, Adam, made bad decisions. Like those socialists who want to share the wealth, Adam wanted to share the knowledge. Whereas socialists place their hope in government, Adam placed his hope in self. Both are wrong. Our hope is in God alone! Hence, because we're human we all have the desire to sin within us.

Here's the root cause as Paul was inspired to know:

Romans 5:12 "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—"

Paul dug deeply. He understood the "root cause" of sin. It was the devil's doing because Adam believed his lies! Likewise, we all continue in sin because we too are deceived by the devil. Do you want to place blame? Try blaming Satan!

By knowing the "root cause" of our problem we can come up with a solution or we can just tamper! Tampering is when we try to "save ourselves" by being good or doing good. That just makes things worse. (The Pharisees were examples of this by killing the man who came to save them by trying to do "good").

(The Civil example of this is Obama making things worse by trying to "do good". More of the same bad things just makes things worse. It's tampering!)

Here's the solution:

Romans 5:19 "For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous."

That one man, unless you're blind, is easily seen to be Jesus! Jesus is the cure to the problem of sin. Yes, sin will continue, but it is defeated. Jesus cured the "root cause" by the shedding of his blood! Because we're sinners we're made righteous only through the death of Jesus! If mankind had failed to find the root-cause and the problem-solver had not yet come, we'd all still be putting a band-aid on the problem!  We would all still be trying to obtain salvation by works and just tampering with symptoms (false causes). Thank Jesus for his grace because by his spirit our eyes are opened to the "root cause"!  Look at the two possible outcomes by failing to get to the solution to the "root cause":

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

I recognize the cause of sin, Hence, I see the solution has already been provided. I accept the cure for sin as the blood of Jesus. I will not tamper by trying to "change" things outside God's solution and my reward is happiness, success and longevity!

Yes, I've committed the cardinal sin. I've combined politics and religion! God gave us wisdom and has told us that we should come to God in ALL THINGS. Politics is just one of many! If we seek truth, that also is truth in civil matters. Politics is spinning truth. Wisdom is seeking truth!  Whenever, there is a problem look for the source of the problem! Socialism exists because it's an ideology which is founded upon the government as provider. Socialism denigrates God as an opiate of the people and places itself over God. As a consequence those politicians who fail to follow God support leaders who can only "tamper" with causes to ultimately multiply the problem! Progressive (socialist/communist) doctrine is outside the will of God!

Deuteronomy 30:2 (NIV) "... and when you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, 3 then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you.

 

The "civil or political" solution is the the same as the "religious" solution to our national problem! As God tells Israel to return to the Lord and obey, and the nation will be restored, God will do the same for America. Progressive politicians have taken an ungodly route. They've abandoned God and accepted the Marxist idol as savior. The only way for America to be restored is by returning to God!

 

Socialism (ungodliness) is the "root cause". Godliness is the solution. To be "Godly" we are to be Christlike. There's the solution! It's not so hard, is it? Jesus is the answer!

Before you can be forgiven you must forgive yourself?

Forgiveness implies that someone has done wrong. A person who forgives ceases to hold resentment. When God forgives he grants remission of the offenses. With God forgiveness is mercy for rebellion against him. For mortals forgiveness can be for actual wrong or perceived wrong.

Let's first look at perceived wrongs. Some may get angry if on some point there is disagreement. No one did wrong; that's what I call "world's colliding". Those world's collide often in marriage. Colliding world's is a tool Satan uses to make dysfunctional families to the extent that marriages are destroyed. When marrying each partner brings along a milieu. Sometimes the environments match; sometimes they don't. Most likely any couple who gets married has many familial differences. Those differences are sources of turbulence, and Satan just loves it!

Perceived wrongs, however, can be on any subject. People are clumsy in speech and actions and others are just overly sensitive; thin-skinned if you prefer. When around some people, known to be thin-skinned, it's as if everyone is walking on thin ice. It's necessary to watch words, actions and even expressions so that the thin-skinned one will not be offended!  It may be that skin thickness is inversely proportional to how secure a person is in their own world!

To be "the better person" a Christian must often resort to asking forgiveness for perceived wrongs although the wrong is only in the mind of the beholder. It takes a humble and secure person to grant forgiveness when no wrong was intended. My hat's off to those that can do that and I pray that there is a special place in heaven for those that are meek!

Greater than perceived wrongs are actual wrongs. In the religious world actual wrongs are the sins of individuals.  The irreligious have no standards of conduct except those that they agree to impose upon themselves. Many impose no morality on themselves or anyone else. "If it feels good do it!" is their creed and by belief they are Epicureans. They live for pleasure and each irreligious person in effect makes themselves God. In fact, many "New Agers" believe that God is themselves and it is only necessary to have a peak experience after self-actuating to find God within! (This differs from Christians who are temples for God compared to heretics who believe that they are gods!)

Holy Scripture reminds us that we're all evil-doers/wrong-doers/sinners. 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:" Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"

Excepting the Son of Man (Jesus) everyone who ever lived was a sinner. (That includes me and everyone else. Self-righteous people are sinners too! They're just blind to their own sins.)  We have all done wrong. Whether anyone likes it or not "wrong" is legally, morally and ethically derived from Judaism. There isn't one "wrong" not included in The Law, The Pentetuch (first five books of the Old Testament). All religions in the world are either descendants of Judaism or apostatized from  the teachings of JHWH, the Hebrew God.

Since we have all done wrong, any "sane" individual should desire forgiveness to avoid eternal punishment if nothing else. However, it's obvious that when pleasure is the principle, evil-doers feel no desire to seek forgiveness since they in effect have set themselves up as idols. They worship self by putting self above God! Hence, "insanity" in my view is worship of oneself!

As for Christians it would be logical to assume that each sought forgiveness to become a disciple of Christ!  (Keep in mind that most Christians are "Christians in name only" and have never confessed their sins).  Likewise, if a person seeks forgiveness from God it is logical that they recognize the wrong they've done.  A sincere Christian not only recognizes the wrong they've done, but feels remorse for those sins. If no remorse is felt, contrition is faux and forgiveness isn't received! Therefore, sincere sorrow and contrition is rare and hence the "path is narrow" to eternal life. Look at yourself honestly and evaluate your own contrition. Are you truly sorry?

This leads me to a conversation. In Bible Study several years ago a young lady said "It order to be forgiven by Christ you must first forgive yourself!"  Being older than most in the group I politely asked  "From what Scripture did that come?" She replied "I don't know. I just always heard that." 

There are several verses where forgiveness is contingent upon forgiving. Here's one prominent example:

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

However, in all cases "forgive" refers to "forgiving others" and precedes Christ providing forgiveness to the sinner. In not one instance is Christ's forgiveness contingent upon "forgiving oneself". To think that way is presumptuous and heretical. In effect the sinner is placing himself in equal or greater stature than God.

Here's an example of what it takes for Christ to forgive. The person doing the anointing is what we call a harlot:

Luke 7:46 "My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman (the harlot) hath anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. 48 And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven."

 

Did the harlot "forgive herself". No! She merely honored Jesus recognizing him as God. She showed love to Jesus. She never once was presumptuous that she had any power to self-forgive. Because Jesus forgave her much, she loved him much.  This "harlot" is believed to be Mary Magdalene who was honored by being the first to see the risen Savior!  You see, she came just as she was, without one plea!  She never sought to forgive herself (works salvation), but relied only on Jesus.

 

So what does it take to be forgiven by Christ? It's simple without stipulation or works:

Luke 5:20 "And when he (Jesus) saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee."

 

The Old Testament: It's all about Jesus!

Do you read scripture? Scripture is any religious writing, and for modern Christians, that's the Holy Bible, consisting of the Old Testament and the New Testament. Yes, "modern" scripture is both the Old and the New.  The word "testament"  means a "covenant between humans and God", and covenants are promises God makes to mankind!  What we have are a book we call the Bible which is truly a book of promises.

God, by his grace, made deals where individuals and nations have hope, not only in this world, but for eternity. God promised the biblical patriarchs that if they believed in and obeyed God, they and their peoples would be saved. God promises Christians that if they believe and obey Christ, they and their households will be saved (It is expected that the head of the house would teach scripture to his own home and that they would be saved also).

During my own life I read the Old Testament several times, not cover to cover necessarily, but sometimes in completion and other times by topical studying.  It appeared to be a great narrative of mankind's origins and history, with the law, songs and prophecy thrown in, many of which I failed to understand!  I won't say that I got nothing out of the Old Testament, but it didn't minister to me as it should have! 

While I was driving on a long trip one day I was thinking of the story of Abraham and his willingness to sacrifice Isaac, his son, to God on the hilltop. As you may remember, God substituted a goat kid in the place of Abraham and Isaac was spared. I said to myself "That's all about Jesus!" From then on whenever I read scripture, I ask "What's that got to do with Jesus?" With that question the Old Testament, which was a mystery became crystal clear! Everything is about Jesus!

Modern churches have the luxury of having both testaments. We not only read about Jesus, but we read the words of Jesus, often printed in red. We now have "page 2" as Paul Harvey always said!  Immediately upon the death and resurrection of Jesus, people became his disciples. They believed in and followed Jesus. The early church (assembly of his disciples), called Nazarenes and later Christians, was founded in the mid-first century, before the New Testament was written and became canon (officially accepted as divinely inspired scripture by the early church). 

The New Testament refers often to "scripture". If  Matthew through Revelation had yet to be written, let alone accepted, then what does "scripture" mean in the New Testament (NT)?  Obviously, "scripture" is Judeo "scripture" and is the Old Testament (OT).  What does the NT say about scripture (i.e., the OT)? Let's see just a few of many verses:

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:"

2 Timothy 3:15 "And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."

The OT is inspired by God, and has many uses, foremost being "instruction in righteousness". The OT tells how to get saved and that it's all about faith in Jesus. Yes, the OT is all about salvation and Jesus!  Should modern Christians read, know and love the OT? Yes, Jesus confirms the necessity!

Matthew 22:29 "Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God."

 

Mark 12:10 (Jesus) "And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner:"

 

The OT is not only about the law, but the law fulfilled. Metaphorically, the OT is the excitement of the coming championship game, but the NT is the joy after winning the game. Jesus is that joy as can be seen from:

 

Mark 14:49 "I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and ye took me not: but the scriptures must be fulfilled."

 

Luke 24:26 "Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? 27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself."

 

Back to my story of my eyes being opened by the story of Abraham. The Holy Spirit opened my eyes to the OT. I saw that the entire text pointed toward Jesus, prophesied Jesus and the stories paralleled Jesus. Scriptural stories are "pictures of Christ" and early worship foreshadowed the worship of Jesus. God, with his foreknowledge, knew men would fail in obedience to him, but planned for our salvation by one final sacrifice for all and for all time! Here, it can be seen that just as my eyes were opened to scripture, so were the apostles:

Luke 24:31 "And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?"

Luke 24:44 " And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. 45 Then (Jesus) opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,"

 

Today people are saved by reading about the promises and miracles of Jesus. Early Christians were saved by seeing Jesus in the OT:

Acts 18:28 "For he (Paul) mightily convinced the Jews, and that publicly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ."

 

Romans 10:10 " For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed."

 

I'm comforted by the OT!  It not only tells of the coming Messiah, but gives me words of wisdom and understanding. I have hope because OT  prophecy tells about Jesus hundreds, even a few thousand years, before his virgin birth, how he was to be conceived, the mercy he was to provide, his death on the cross and his resurrection.  My hope is multiplied by the evidence that god-inspired prophets were 100% accurate in telling of Christ! Early Christians were convinced by the OT that Jesus is the promised Messiah and they accepted Jesus as the promised Savior! Since the prophecy is 100% accurate, my faith is firm and my hope assured because I have faith and am saved by my belief and acceptance in the One promised! As we can see scripture tells of that hope:

 

Romans 15:4  "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope."

 

Not only was the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross revealed to mankind hundreds of years before, but in the book of John scripture reiterates the detailed prophecy of how it would happen. Paul preaches to the disciples that Jesus death was foretold:

 

1 Corinthians 15:3 "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;"

 

Do you read "scripture"? Do you read and understand the Old Testament!  Some churches don't preach from the OT often and some not at all.  Some focus entirely on the NT and any argument made from the OT is denigrated.

 

One thing we do know for sure: The OT is divinely inspired! It's God's word spoken and/or given to mankind. Being God's Word, the OT is holy and is right, fitting and honorable to be of great value if one seeks divine inspiration.

 

Start afresh right now! Read the OT and all the while ask "What's this got to do with Jesus?" However, read the NT first so you can answer that question as you read. Reiterating... the OT is all about Jesus!