Solace: Listening to God

Solace! Taken for granted, but so important! What is it? It's relief from things which are stressful. I think of it right now! Some good things can be good for a short time, but excruciating for the long haul. Sometimes  I'm trapped in an automobile and am bombarded by continual music of another’s choosing, I'm stressed!!! My solace is taken away. Between songs are lulls of short duration. It's a sanity check. Have  I ventured into hell or is this where sane people dwell?

People play the television all day long. They eat with it on and even nap with nonsense emanating from this irritating device! Periodically, about twenty minutes an hour, people on television tell me what to buy and what to eat. I get to hear that most people are constipated and others have diarrhea. My solace is gone!

My wife mentioned a band. She wanted to hear the Eagles in concert. I asked "Who are they?" She said "One of the most popular bands ever! Where were you when you were growing up?" My only response was "Listening to the roar of a tractor engine!" I love that sound! It brings solace to my ears. The tractor represents to me what is important in life: It represents work and development. It represents productivity and usefulness. In my mind it actually means peace and harmony. The exhaust noise from a John Deere tractor is music to my ears!

I like what the tractor stands for! I've already mentioned some of those meanings. While the tractor is roaring I think profound thoughts. I ask inquisitive questions. This enquirer just "wants to know".

Some of the questions I have asked as music played from the engine are:

• How big is the universe? How far does space go?
• Can time be that old? Did God compress time? Is God real or did man create a fiction?
• Who is God? Was he always here? How can "always" even be?
• Will I always exist or does the grave end it all? What will things be like here without me?
• Will I know that I no longer exist if there is no heaven or hell?
• Is there any hope for eternity? How can I be hopeful?
• There must be a way to escape eternal death. Where can it be found?
• Are there things I can do find the hope of being eternal? 
• Can I be saved? What am I saved from? Why should I be saved?
• Did God really come to earth? Who is Jesus? Is there any other way? Why him?
• Why would God even care about me? What does God expect from me?
• Why is sin wrong? Why doesn't God want us to have fun and pleasure?
• How can I be saved? Do I have to change? Why would I want to change?
• What's wrong with people? Are others content with knowing they are destined for hell?
• What can I do to encourage others to believe? Why won't people listen?

These are the thoughts of a middle and high school student working on the farm who spends each day without outside interference and whose realm is solace.  I had many other less profound questions: What makes soap bubble? Why is the sky blue? How far away are the planets and moon? What ingredients are in Tide detergent? How does yeast work? To find the answer to the trivial I read and explored. To find the answer to life's events I read and listened. I hear what God said to me as I roared down the corn rows. His words spoke distinctly to me as I had solace; me alone with the roar of the tractor engine!

What interferes with profound thinking? It's the confounds. It's occupying the mind all the time with entertainment and distraction. It's not having solace and spending time alone and with God! It's failure to meditate on what God is saying. It's failure to commune with God!

Why are we here? I mean, why did God create mankind? All we do is ignore, disobey and have an irreverent attitude, but for some reason he still cares!

Genesis 1:26 "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over... " 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it:  18 And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.Genesis 3:8a "And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day:"

"Why are we here?" is found in the scripture above. There may be other reasons, but let's look at man at the time we were created:

Man was to be different than the animals. We were made in the image of God. We're different than the animals. God had pleasure with his creation, but he needed something more! He needed something "like him" with whom to commune! One of the greatest purposes of all men is to fellowship with God. We speak with him (prayer), we listen to him (mediate) and we consider his will (empathize) and we do his will (obey). How many people mediate? How many people even pray (sincerely)? It's obvious that few empathize and obey!

We were made said God "in our image"! Within the Garden there were three: The Father (God), The Word or Voice (pre-incarnate Jesus) and God's Holy Spirit. Man was made with a "living soul" That is one of the likenesses of God! We're different than the trees and the animals in that we have a soul and they don't. That soul is the cup in whom God's  Holy Spirit dwells... if it's empty of dark spirits.

Solace is important because something fills the soul! Is it the things of the flesh which defiles man or is it the things of God? As solace is breached, the things which breach begins to occupy the space in the soul. The adversary plants evil thoughts in. Too much music, entertainment , talk and even heretical preaching that defiles the soul with bad spirits fills us. Our soul isn't clean to make room for the Holy Spirit and if we're Christians, that's who dwells there!

We are a proud people. We believe that Jesus was made just like us with flesh just as ours! How proud we are! As God said "Let us make man in OUR image!" Who is The Word? It's Jesus before he was flesh. Man, then merely dust, was made with flesh. Just like the flesh Jesus was to have! Jesus was not made in the image of man, but man in the image of Jesus! So much for our pride. We were made like Jesus so that we could be like Jesus!

Who was Jesus? He served mankind! Not only did he make the wine and bread, and healed and did miracles, but his greatest service was to save us! We can only endeavor to like him, but that we can do:

1 Corinthians 7:22 "For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant."

Why did God need mankind? Why are we here? We came to serve God. We came to serve the one in whose image we're made. We came to serve Jesus! The Word was here to serve all along! Jesus was here in he beginning!

Genesis 2:15 "...the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it"

I believe that this is a symbolic statement. If we look at what was in the Garden the main thing was the "Tree of Life". I believe the trees may have been real, but were also symbolic. The "Tree of Life" is known to be representative of Jesus and "The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil" was symbolic of the flesh and is representative of Satan who lived in that tree. Man and woman stood under  Satan's  tree and left God alone at his tree. They chose, by where they stood and to whom they listened" to follow the flesh and ignore God! God created man to commune; not to ignore!

Without solace, always occupying the mind with the things of the flesh, is ignoring God. We can't meditate on God if we are constantly standing under the tree which bears fruits of pleasure, wealth and reason.  Therefore man was created to attend God. Our work is to see that God is loved, obeyed and admired. We "dress and keep the garden" by worshiping under "The Tree of Life" and attending to THAT tree! That tree is Jesus! Man was made to attend Jesus. We are his servants as he serves us! It's a mutual relationship because we are in communion with God! While we're tending the "Tree of Life" we tend the other tree by putting it's fruits in the basket of the Holy Spirit. We take hate, lust, envy strife, etc off that tree and put it in God's basket!

God didn't like being alone and recognized that neither do we!

Genesis 2:18b "It is not good that the man should be alone."

God said this, not only in reference to Eve, but to everything. It is followed by the creation of objects, Eve and as God begin to commune with his man. Man was created so God could care about us! He shows his love by providing for out needs! He saw that man was lonely and he filled that lonely spot with things to comfort his creation.  God created man so that he could love us!

 John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

God's love didn't start with the birth of Jesus. His love started at day one; when man was created! Way back in the garden.... God felt hurt. He saw man hovered under the other tree listening to the serpent tell his lies. He knew all along; I'm going to transfigure my Word into flesh and to show man that I love him so, I will sacrifice my own Son for those I created.

God not only loved man, but he was just! It would be unfair of God to create man, then abandon us to our own folly. He gave us free will to even make bad choices. He wanted people who love him, not merely automatons who're programmed to obey. God loved us, but he created us to love him back. Yes, Dr. David Jeremiah, God EXPECTS us to love him back!

John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments."

 God doesn't merely wish that we love him, but he created man and expects us to love him back! And how do we demonstrate our love? By obedience to his will. We in effect stand under "The Tree of Life" and do what he does!

So yes, man was created to receive God's love and to love him back, but it doesn't stop there! God's desire to watch his creation live in harmony. He didn't want chaos to reign in his kingdom. He created men and women to love one another. The type of loving he's referring to is loving others just like God loves us. It's not a physical love, but a caring love! It's Godly love for each other:

John 13:34 "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another."

Then back to us!

Genesis 2:18 "It is not good that the man should be alone."

We were created to have companionship with others.  He created Eve to serve man, just as man serves God. He put Eve with Adam to multiply as we see later in scripture. God created man to be happy! How better to make a man happy than to provide a devoted woman and a family? From God's viewpoint his desire was to see his creation grow! Man's purpose in life is to create a civilization, but one devoted to God and not evil It's God's intention and a purpose of all men to be civil. We obey rules and authority. We quit doing what's right in our own eyes and do what is the will of God!

So it's your desire that you engross your mind in whatever entertains? That's not your purpose in life at all! I've given many purposes for which God created you and yet you stand under the other tree; the one without purpose. You stand under the tree which distracts and fills you with pleasures of the world. While you're standing under that other tree,  Jesus looks your way and thinks "That's not why I created mankind? What are they doing to me? He's heartbroken!

Our obligation is to seek some quiet and consider the things of God! That's "working out our salvation". We put away the things of the flesh and listen.. In solace we shall hear!

On Killing Jesus: Who Taught Jesus Scripture?

In the movie version of Killing Jesus,  it was said that when Joseph and his family fled to Egypt to escape the death dictate of Herod, that there Joseph taught Jesus the scriptures! I believe that statement to be totally erroneous! I'll make two points:

John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. 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."

These verses say so much! The first thing which is paramount is that Jesus is "The Word" and as such is the voice of God and that he was there at the beginning! The second thing is that Jesus is "The Light". What does that mean? He IS Truth because HE IS "I AM": He is God!

John 8:12 "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."

"Darkness" is ignorance about spiritual matters. "Light" is knowledge and that knowledge must be truth. If we look again, "the flesh", God incarnate called Jesus is "full of grace and truth". It should be clear that spiritual light is about God's truth, the ultimate truth, and the teacher of that truth is he who was "The True Light", meaning Jesus!

Jesus is God and he teaches truth because he is "The Light"!

The third thing which is most important is that "The Word" was "made flesh" meaning that the teacher of truth became God incarnate, Jesus. As such Jesus didn't need anyone to teach him scripture because he knew what he had spoken over all the ages of mankind. Whenever God spoke to man throughout the Old Testament  (OT) times, it was the pre-incarnate Jesus speaking!

My conclusion then, is that Joseph never had to teach Jesus scripture because scripture was always in Jesus' omniscient mind! Jesus was all-knowing and never had to be taught! Indeed Jesus knew more about God than was ever written down! He was quite aware of what his own will was!

To validate my contention, I can find no where that the Bible even claims that Joseph was the teacher of truth to Jesus. He was a mere carpenter! Truth is divine. Joseph was not divine!

As a young child Jesus taught those who were well-trained: Let's look at the earliest mention of Jesus teaching:

Luke 2:40 "And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. 43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. 46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. 47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. 48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. 49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? 50 And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. 51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.  52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

According to this Joseph didn't understand scripture himself! "They understood not the saying which he spoke unto them"! Joseph and Mary failed to understand. that Jesus was the OT  Messiah and he came to preach and teach. He came to present the gospel truths!  Joseph and Mary had not the basic understanding and knowledge of prophecy, and were certainly not inspired, yet Killing Jesus claims that Joseph taught Jesus scripture!!! (Oh Really, O'Reilly?)

Neither father nor mother knew what Jesus meant by saying "my Father's business"!  The Father told all in the OT and the discerning and wise knew that the OT  Messiah was this young child! Because the parents failed to understand scripture they "they sought Jesus sorrowing" as they didn't understand "the why" as taught throughout scripture.

The child Jesus grew and was strong in the spirit of God. He was filled with wisdom and the grace of God was upon him. Jesus was spiritual, powerful and wise because he not only IS God, but God's grace was upon him. His spiritual fortitude and wisdom were a gift of the Father so that Jesus could teach others, including his own father! Joseph wasn't the teacher, but merely the student! He learned from Jesus and Jesus taught Mary even very plainly in the scripture above!

Even the "doctors were amazed". These were the most educated men of the temple! Jesus at twelve years old "astounded" the creme de la creme. Surely these doctors who were learning from the child Jesus were more knowledgeable than the carpenter, Joseph!

Mark 6:2 And when the sabbath day was come, he (Jesus) began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?

I believe those in the synagogue asked two questions rhetorically: "From whence hath this man these things?" and "What wisdom is this which is given unto him?" The answers to these questions were intuitively obvious! Jesus knew these things which he taught because he IS The Word and he was speaking what he had said before! The answer to the question of "what wisdom" is that his wisdom is God's because The Word was made flesh and is "The Light". Jesus knew God's truth because he IS God! He was wise on his own because as God he is omniscient!

Saying that Joseph taught Jesus scripture is insulting! An analogy would be that a fetus told the OB-GYN how to properly deliver him! That would be insulting. The child had never been born before so how could he tell the knowledgeable on who had "been there, done that"! It would be preposterous.

Jesus spoke his own wisdom and knowledge of scripture because they were his words and his knowledge... PERIOD. His truth was never contaminated by any others' imperfect knowledge and lack of wisdom. Jesus taught truth because he is "The Light". He is Truth!

Just Sitting on a Log!

When I was a child we burned wood to heat our home and even had a wood stove on which our meals were cooked! When our clothes, the few that we had, were ironed, it was by irons heated on  that same wood stove.

Dad didn't buy the wood. That's too easy and much too costly. We sawed and split our own. Actually, it was wood given to us by neighbors. All we had to do is cut it, burn the brush, saw it up and split the larger pieces.

In my family were seven children. Six were boys. At that time the youngest was too little to help with the wood. He was not held accountable! However, I was about five, but I had a job. It was an all-day job. When the tree had been felled and the limbs stripped, it was time for the cross-cut saw. This saw had rugged teeth for quick cuts. It was the equivalent of a modern-day chain saw, but Dad and the two older brothers, taking turns, were the energy behind the cut! The next two boys, age wise, piled brush and stacked the wood as the older ones and Dad split it. My job was "sitting on a log".

In order to saw the log which created massive lateral forces, two of us would sit on that log, it being wedged on support crosses. All day long as the wood was cut, I would just sit there on that log and weigh it down! It's a non-valued added job, but somebody had to do it! Although it was a non-productive job sitting on that log, it served a purpose. It made the log stable.

For the immature "sitting on a log" is understandable. That's about all that we're qualified to do. However, as I grew older I graduated to more productive things. My first promotion was stacking the brush. Then I graduated to stacking the wood, then to actually using the saw! At first I pushed when I should have pulled and the saw buckled. With practice, I could wield a good cross-cut saw just as Dad could. I had matured! My days of "just sitting on a log" were over! Or were they?

At around twelve years old I began to feel the call of the Holy Spirit. Dad and Mom told me that I had become "accountable", a traditional age for Jewish children to become responsible. What that meant is that I was old enough to not only know that I was a sinner, but that there would be harsh punishment if I didn't trust the Lord.

For years I knew that I was a sinner, but now it was official! Other people knew that I knew. I knew as young as seven or eight, but wanted to enjoy the world as long as I could! I didn't want to be like the newly saved person who thought "If I had known sin could be this much fun, I would have never got saved!"  In order to not be a hypocrite, I just didn't claim Jesus!

A Christian life is much as the sawing of wood. We needed the wood for sustenance. We need Christ for sustenance. No one gave us the wood. We had to work for it! It takes effort to be saved too!

Philippians 2:12b "...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."

Just as I grew older I was held accountable for more responsible contributions to the sawing of wood. My part grew in providing for the well-being of the family. I quit "just sitting on a log" and began to work! What I did as I matured added value to sustaining the family. I piled brush, stacked wood and maneuvered the saw. I got off that log!

At around fourteen I got off that spiritual log. I quit just sitting there. I remembered my older brothers saying "You're as worthless as a bump on a log" because in effect I was a human bump merely sitting there, just like on a log. It was time to go to work! It was time to "work out your salvation" according to scripture!

My first attempt to wielding the spiritual saw caused backlash. It wasn't a very effective way of cutting my own spiritual wood. My immature attempt at cutting the wood was by avoiding sinful actions such as "cussing", stealing and the like. I thought that when I became "good" enough then I would be a Christian. Nobody could ever be that good because only God is "good"!

My "work" was efforts to save myself by doing "good"! That's pushing the cross-cut saw when I should be pulling. It's my heavenly Dad on the other end of the saw, and rather than doing as he would have me to do, I was still fighting the saw. Although I was really fighting the saw when I cut wood, I bragged to those who never sawed "I'm doing a man's work now... I'm sawing wood!"

Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast."

I was to "work out my own salvation", but I was doing it by pushing when I should have been pulling! I was in effect trying to saw the wood, not only by myself, but against God. Every time God pulled, I pushed and when he pushed, I pulled! I had to work on this! I considered what I was doing and thought "God and I have got to do this together! He's my Dad and I must pull when it's time and push when he needs me to."  Right then God said "Quit trying to saw as if you're by yourself!"

God taught me how to saw. I quit "just sitting there on a log" and followed his lead. He said in effect, "Let me lead. You follow!" I must be his servant and let him be my Master! His gift to me was that he gave me faith in him. He showed me that his way of sawing was The Way! That gift meant that I could quit doing unnecessary work. I could quit putting in counterproductive effort! I would allow him to lead and trust that he would lead me where I needed to follow.

My spiritual sustenance is salvation. We had always hoped that we cut enough wood for the winter because if we waited until it was too cold, we just might freeze! Jesus provides the wood to see us through the winter. If we depend on him he will see that "we work out our salvation" and consider his will. The type of work he has for us is to consider his ways. Rather than doing the sawing on our own, our "work" is thinking on the things of God and considering the best path.

As we carry the wood home, we can take the long hard way or the narrow path which leads straight to home. Working out our own salvation is to find that path where the "yoke is easy and the burden light" (Matthew 11:30). Working out our own salvation is doing the work the easy way. It's allowing God to do it all! That's his gift to us. "We are weak, but he is strong!" (Song A Closer Walk with Thee). Our "work of salvation" is to "quit sitting on a log" and let God do his giving. He has much to give!

So if God does the giving and we are to "quit sitting on a log" what is it that we should do to provide sustenance to the family? We are to tell others about Jesus and his gift to all! The ultimate love which we're commanded to do is to love and the best way to love is by sawing with love. We quit pushing against the person on the other end of the cross-cut, but teach him how to make the work of salvation easier too!

As time passes, we can throw away that cross-cut saw and let God do even more! We use his power saw. The chains that he freed us from can be used against that big old contrary hardwood log. We fuel the new chain saw, oil it, and then let God cut the wood. Take that will you? That's his gift to us!

Lady Gaga: Born This Way!

I hate to even mention trash, but I guess it's trash day! Lady Gaga (that's not a lady, that's a nightmare!) sings the song Born This Way. I guess if Lady Gaga believes that it must be true! I mean after all, she's a psychologist, scientist, scholar and archaeologist, is she not?  Or perhaps she knows firsthand! Well, I guess her credentials are as extensive as Obama's were to be president. She did graduate from high school, but dropped out of college after a short spell studying "the arts"! Well enough, for credentials. Perhaps Ms. Gaga has some type of inherent ability to detect truth!

"Born This Way" pertains to what? Well, here are some lyrics to her song (From Born This Way, Lady Gaga):

"There's nothin' wrong with lovin' who you are
She said, 'cause He made you perfect, babe
So hold your head up,
girl and you'll go far
Listen to me when I say
I'm beautiful in my way
'Cause God makes no mistakes
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way."

People love who they are. Yes, we ARE "born this way". It's called "original sin" and that sin is pride! All mankind is born with pride. Having pride is of God, but having pride in excess is evil. It's putting the thoughts and beliefs of the individual over God's truth. It's when people put their interests and desires ahead of God. It's having "other god's before him" or "in addition" to him.  With pride, mankind wanted to be as God. The small amount of knowledge that man derived from "The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil" made them uppity in the presence of an almighty all knowing God! Gaga speaks of that pride "So hold your head up"!

However, there is something wrong with "lovin' who we are"! The minute we're born mankind needs one thing: man needs to change! People are "born this way"! They are all born with that "original sin" and the thing we need to do is this:

Romans 12:1 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."

Brethren pertain to those who are Christians. The first thing anyone needs is salvation:

Romans 3:10 "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one..."

Lady Gaga was truly "born this way", whatever way she was born. You and I, too, were "born this way". What way is it that we're all born? We're all born sinners! That's everyone and we all fail to be righteous. Being unrighteous is our inability to obey God. All of us are "born this way". No one can follow the will of God on his own!

Secondly, the lyrics say that "He made you perfect, babe." God made the first humans perfect. They spoiled that by disobeying the only commandment God gave to them. "Don't eat that stuff Satan offers you!" They took it and ate. Thereafter, God put a curse on mankind. Adam's and Eve's sin were handed down through the generations to us! We have the same pride which they have! Since, then, "babe", you were not born perfect, nor was I? We all have a character flaw, babe! You sing about yours! You brag that you were "born this way"! I'm ashamed that I was!

Let's see some of the character flaws people have:

Leviticus 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
Leviticus 18:26 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations;
Deuteronomy 18:10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch. 11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. 12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord:                                                                                   Galatians 5:19 "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies..."

These flaws are some of what are people's desires to do unrighteous things: homosexuality, break Gods laws, abort or destroy their children, be involved in New Age stuff, commit adultery, fornicate, be slutty, put things before God, hate others, do unnatural things, have anger, be bickering, rebel against authority or improper worshiping God. All those are you, "babe"! You are "born this way"!

Some say research studies conclusively "prove" that homosexuals are "born this way". That's not true! There is no such research, and any which alludes to that was done either by the homosexual community or those favoring their acceptance. Bad methodology, by definition, confounds any research for researchers are inherently biased against things of God!

Were homosexuals "born this way"? They were born with a DESIRE to sin as all men are. Each of us have specific "great sins" which Satan uses to burden us! The desire for homosexuals is the sin of same sex intercourse. God calls that an "abomination"! It is disgusting to him! Because we may not deem it disgusting does not invalidate God's statements about HIS feelings!

Some sins are greater than others. Homosexuality seems to be one of them!

Romans 1:27 "And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient..."

The danger of homosexuality, although it is pardonable, is that the homosexual may be beyond conviction. He or she is so caught up in their lust for one another that the Holy Spirit cannot penetrate their callousness. From a spiritual standpoint, homosexuality is "playing with fire"! Those who practice it may get caught up in it, and never have the will power to change!

Lady Gaga says "I'm beautiful in my way"! "Beauty" truly "is in the eye of the beholder!" (Margaret Hungerford). What we see as beauty God sees as "ugly". Sin is the" ugliness" of mankind. Lady Gaga who does have outer beauty is "ugly all the way to the bone"! Her soul is contaminated with Satan's ugly lies! Whoever condones the sin of homosexuality has an ugliness inside. They fail to be discerning and are unwitting pawns of the devil in his war against good and God.

Lady Gaga says "I'm on the right track, baby"! That's her misconception. She is entirely wrong! She is reprobate in her thinking. If she is "on the right track" why is she not doing, saying and singing what God wills? She spews the lies of Satan! If anyone is on the wrong track, it's Lady Gaga. It would appear that she has total ignorance of God's will, perhaps educated by mere entertainers! Is she beyond hope? Only God knows, but she's definitely "on the wrong track"!

She could be "on the right track" as we all can be!

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Sinners are to come as they are! God loves them with one condition: any person must believe in Jesus, and not only believe, but trust him because salvation is by faith! John gave two outcomes: believe and live forever or don't believe and perish... FOREVER!

It's a simple choice, Lady Gaga. You're not "on the right track" and all you need to do is change. You were "born this way" and NOW "it's time to change"! Perhaps that would make a great stanza to your song!

Christianity and the Passover

It appears from scripture that the Lord's "Last Supper" was on the first night of the "Passover". What Christians celebrate with a communion service is called "the sedar meal", by the Jews, but for different reasons. Both sects celebrate the same evening. Both celebrate "salvation", and for both sects, someone had to die!

Although it is not specific about timing, for scripture to be internally consistent, it's obvious that "The Last Supper" was on the first day of "The Passover". One account of The Last Supper begins with this passage:

John 13:1 "Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. 2 And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him..."

Judas was there! As he sopped his bread it became known; Judas would betray Jesus. At the Passover sedar Jesus "KNEW that his hour was come"! Jesus knew that Passover was the time God had selected for him to save mankind by his own vicarious death. Jesus was the Lamb who shed his blood for the salvation of mankind. It was and had always been necessary that people have faith on the power of the blood:

Hebrews 9:12 "Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"

This scripture explains that by the blood of Jesus mankind can be saved! His blood redeems us. As sinners we're in a prison. We have wronged our fellow man and disrespected the authority of God. We are sentenced to die and at the cross we stand. Our penalty is death by crucifixion! However, Jesus steps forward and says " I will pay the price with my own blood to save this wretched criminal". Then Jesus went to the cross and I'm freed!   Somebody's blood must be shed for the salvation of sinners:

Hebrews 9:22 "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission."

Remission is when the guilt of sin is removed from the sinner and the sins placed on the shoulders of Christ. That's what happened on the cross. Furthermore, under The Law  the remission of sins had ALWAYS been by the blood! Before Jesus came mankind had been under The Law., but even then, salvation was by the blood. The blood of animals which "sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh". It was not the blood of the animals which provided redemption, but it was a picture of the blood of Christ. Somehow, I believe by the Voice of The Word, mankind was told about God's own birth and death and the patriarchs knew their faith was in Jesus! When they celebrated the sedar, Jews at that time were commemorating Jesus' Last Supper!

Now for the Passover. It's a Jewish period beginning this year at nightfall April 3. Jews use a lunar calendar so the date for Passover is different each year, but for 2015 that's tonight. Jews all over the world will celebrate the sedar, but it is not a commemoration of The Last Supper for them! With the rejection of Jesus' sacrifice, Jews no longer remember what he was to do, but only that God saved the Jews from Egypt and Pharaoh.

According to scripture,  Egypt always represents bondage, because the Jews were enslaved in that nation. Sin is represented as bondage throughout The Bible. Therefore, Egypt represents sin in scripture. Likewise, Pharaoh represents a picture of Satan. The Jews were saved from sin (Egypt) and from destruction by the devil (Pharaoh). How was this done? The final act which offered the hope of salvation for the Jews (representing all mankind) was culminated at the Passover.

The Passover:

Exodus 12:5 "Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.
7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.
8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.
11 And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord's passover.
12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord.
13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
14 And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever."

The lamb without blemish, the male, represents Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God! The time for the sacrifice was given to the Hebrew people using the lunar calendar. It was when the moon is in a certain position. That position corresponded with the time of The Lord's Last Supper!

The "whole congregation" will kill the Lamb in the evening. This represents that all men are responsible for sin. It wasn't only the Jews who killed Jesus, it was everybody. The Egyptians caused God's wrath, but the Jews executed the lamb. Likewise, sinners (symbolized by Egypt) convicted Jesus and the Jews all had their hand in his crucifixion. Since Pilate washed his hands of the dirty deed, and had a right to, it was the Jews who essentially killed the Lamb, but it was because of all mankind.

The blood of the lamb shall be sprinkled on the doorpost and upper post of the houses of all the Hebrew people. Although the Jews were the ones who killed the lamb, they were the ones to be protected by the blood shed by the Lamb. Any of those Hebrews who were gathered in the home protected by the blood were safe! Their firstborn would not be die by God's judgement. The blood on the doorposts represents the Lamb's blood on the cross at Calvary!  The doorposts and the upper post formed a type of cross, signifying how the Lamb's blood would be shed for the redemption of mankind!

Jesus was God's firstborn. Rather than the Hebrews losing their firstborn, God gave his own in our place! God administered justice on the Egyptians (sinners), but the Jews were saved by the blood of the lamb! Moses knew that what he was doing was celebrating Jesus because God spoke with him! That was The Word, Jesus, speaking!

The Hebrews were to eat of the flesh of the lamb in the night. That's why Passover starts at night. The Lord's Last Supper was an evening meal! Coincidence? God planned it this way! Jesus  said:

Luke 22:19 "And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me."

Compare Jesus's Last Supper with the Passover meal; what's called the sedar meal:

Exodus 12:8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.

It is the bread without leaven that was eaten at the Passover meal. At The Last Supper, Jesus body was represented by unleavened bread! Nor a coincidence!  Then why was it said at the Passover:

Exodus 12:14a "And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations ..."

Jews do this by the sedar meal. At the Eucharist Christians do this "in remembrance of him".  We remember when Jesus first "knew" of his own death. However, I submit that at the Passover sedar, The Word (Jesus) knew about his own future sacrifice! In fact that was God's plan from the beginning and The Word knew it all along! Likewise, so did Moses!

The Passover represents the salvation of mankind! Here we see that:

Exodus 12::13b "...when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you..."

The blood here on the doorposts represents the blood spilled on the cross. The blood of The Lamb! When God saw that blood shed, those who applied the blood to their own doorposts (heart, household), God's justice will "pass over you" and you shall be saved! The plague (death) shall never destroy you. You shall be saved! Saved from what? The plague... eternal death! With salvation from the plague, the Jews were born again! The covenant God made with Abraham was kept. Likewise, God made a covenant with us. It was by grace; the same grace shown to the Hebrews at The Passover!

Romans 10:9 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."

At The Passover, the blood redeemed the Jews. However, they had yet to be saved! The Pharaoh (the devil) chased after them. Many wanted to turn back and could have. Possibly many did! However, the Jewish people were protected from harm when they escaped Pharaoh. As they passed through the Red Sea, opened by God's grace, they were actually "safe" from death by Pharaoh!

Likewise, when we accept the blood redemption of Jesus, we "shall be saved". Just like the Jews who had faith and sprinkled the blood on their own doorposts and have hope, we too have hope of salvation:

 1 Thessalonians 5:8 "But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation."

No, we're not saved yet! Pharaoh is still pursuing us relentlessly. His desire is to take us back to Egypt to serve him still. Pharaoh will never give up! Baptism is our way of saying "I believe that Jesus was resurrected"! It's our way of saying "God put a barrier between Pharaoh and us with the sea." The sea represents baptism!  However, even after the Pharaoh's presence was no longer an issue, some Jews still looked back. The spirit of Pharoah and the lusts of Egypt was still in the hearts of most. They wanted to go back to Egypt (sin) rather than trust God!

Baptism puts "water" between us and actual harm by Satan. However, we still have memories of what's in Egypt. Pharoah still tempts us from beyond the sea. We have the "hope of salvation:", but we must finish the race. Pharoah still chases after us. We must continue always to trust in Jesus. With our trust we have the "hope of salvation" and the minute we die we will, if we are Christians, be beyond Satan's reach! We shall be saved at the instant of death! Jesus will pluck us from death by Pharaoh!

However, God didn't pass over the Egyptians. Just as they paid the price of their sins, with the loss of their firstborn, those whose sins are not covered by God's first born will die an eternal death.

Yes, today is "Good Friday"! It's "good" for mankind because God was good to us! Only God is "good" and Jesus is God. It's "Jesus' Friday" because "Good" died for us that day. Sunday we celebrate Easter. Jesus was raised from the dead and we celebrate this day in demonstration that we believe that Jesus was resurrected! According to scripture belief in the resurrection of Jesus is necessary for salvation!

 Romans 10:9b "...and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."

It's not only belief that Jesus lived and died, but that he still lives, that we have the hope of salvation!  With the escape from death through the Red Sea, the Hebrew people had hope. They had the belief that their nation would live again! That happened. Israel became a great nation, died the first death, and now they are again resurrected (1948).

However, unlike the Jews, our hope has been placed on the redemption that has happened while they still await! Why wait on what is?

While they wait for Jesus to be born, we celebrate his being alive! That's what Easter is about! That's why they're still celebrating Passover and us Easter.

Big Bad Colonel!

I failed to do my job! As a Christian, I have two assignments: love God and love others. To show my love from God, it's reflected in my love for others. Truly I have merely one assignment, to love God, but I do that by loving others. Direction on how to love others is what's called "The Great Commission" (Matthew 28:16-20). I am to preach the gospel to the world because I'm a priest of God (1 Peter 2:9)..

These are easy assignments. Love takes little energy, but demonstrating love is work. It's hard work! My contention that love takes effort because we are commanded to do it. It's not just something humans emote! The "work of love" is where I have failed.

My friend and relative was a retired U.S. Army Colonel. Because of his status in the military I was intimidated by this powerful, but small man. He was probably a type-A personality, well-suited for an army officer, which may explain his military success.  The Colonel spoke gruffly to those around him, but the alert eye could observe his kindness to his dog. How people treat their animals is a reflection on how they consider human beings. There are few proud roadblocks in a man loving his dog, but society says that real men can't show love to other men, and I'm not referring to aberrant attention!

The Colonel came to my residence often. I ate with him and his wife often. The Colonel never ever made mention of God and, out of fear of rejection, I never mentioned God to him! God told me to tell him about Jesus many times, but Satan made the usual rebuttal "It won't do any good!" I liked the Colonel. That's how real men say that they "love" another guy! However, I never showed my "like" for him (I just can't use that word 'love' in this context. It just aint right!), by asking him if he was a Christian. I just assumed that he wasn't and was satisfied with the Colonel going to hell, only because I was remiss in what I should do!

Unlike me, God cares little that the Colonel held a high office. God doesn't care if this little man ordered bigger men around and they listened and obeyed. God has respect for the things of Caesar, but his concern is with the things of God!

Luke 20:25 "And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's, and unto God the things which be God's."

By my omission I render the Colonel unto the government, suggesting that it was futile to render him unto God! I had little faith in God! "Surely this secular man has no interest in salvation!", my mind ingesting the vomit from Satan's mind! I was a man of little faith! Whereas, I respected his position, God did not:

Acts 10:34 "Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: 35 But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him."

Did the Colonel fear God? I think he did! I went to Indianapolis to visit the Colonel on his deathbed. He was dying of prostate cancer. God told me to ask about his soul! I didn't!!! I actually thought "It's no use!". As I was leaving, this mighty man of small stature put me in my place. I was humbled in his presence! With agony residing in every wrinkle, the little Colonel said "Larry, will you mind praying for me?" My heart was touched and  my pride diminished. I didn't deserve to speak to God on the Colonel's behalf, because I was in disobedience. I had been asked to testify to him before and didn't. Now here I was ready to speak, but was speaking unworthily! It was I who needed prayer. I believe the Colonel was okay!

Was the Colonel a Christian. I don't know! Was there a deathbed conversion. I believe that he repented of his sins on his bed regardless, and that the Colonel may have been a deathbed Christian, no thanks to me! It's not what we say we believe, but to whom we place our trust! When the Colonel asked for prayer, he was trusting Jesus! His trust wasn't in a longer life because he knew that was too late! So I prayed for him to die in peace and for Jesus to welcome him in!

He thanked me! It was sincere! I cried. He never knew that and neither did the onlookers, but I shed tears for him. It was tears of happiness that he trusted, mingled with tears of shame that I had not demonstrated trust like he did. This man was a Centurion, not in Caesar's army, but in God's:

Mark 15:39 "And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God."

The Centurion helped crucify Jesus, but he finally realized who Jesus truly is: "the Son of God"! The Centurion confessed that he had wronged this "King of the Jews" and acknowledged it! I can't say that the Centurion went to heaven, but he believed in Jesus. I don't know if the Colonel went to heaven, but he demonstrated that he trusted in Jesus as God's own son.

If he (the Centurion or the Colonel) did wrong all his life and came to the Master at the end of the harvest, the Master welcomes him into his vineyard. If at the end of the harvest the man finally came to the Master, the Master is there with open arms! There are deathbed Christians and others who are Christians before that time, but come to the realization that "trust in Jesus" is necessary and sufficient for entry into the kingdom of God. If the angels are by his side as he transitions into eternity, who am I to say he doesn't deserve grace... for neither do I! God spoke "Well done; good and faithful servant"! even for those who served for a short time! Now that's grace.

Murder Without Remorse: The Killing Spa

George Orwell spoke of a future when socialism produces a society based on "doublethink"; the same person have conflicting thoughts and believing both". As a result of doublethink, people say things in "doublespeak" where words take on opposite meanings! Below is a perfect example of how Orwellian America has become! This is a news piece written by journalist Sandhya Somashekhar about a "spa-like" abortion clinic in Washington, D.C. The following are excerpts of the most Orwellian statements made during the interview:

• "Carafem...   'Abortion. Yeah, we do that.'
• The clinic, opening this week in Friendship Heights, Maryland, specializes in the abortion pill and will be unique for its advertising. Its unabashed approach also reflects a new push to destigmatize the nation's most controversial medical procedure by talking about it openly and unapologetically.
• abortion-rights activists are now seeking to normalize abortion, to put a human face — and in some cases, even a positive spin — on the procedure.
•  A series of Democratic lawmakers have publicly acknowledged to having undergone the procedure.
• ... new online projects solicit personal testimonials, including from women who have no regrets about terminating their pregnancies.
• At Carafem, staff members plan to greet clients with warm teas, comfortable robes and a matter-of-fact attitude.
• Hatalsky praised efforts to "destigmatize" the procedure, which she said is attracting a passionate new crop of young activists to the movement. 
• ... 'we also need to be unapologetic and bold,' Ferrero said, to connect with young people, whom he said have flocked to the 100-year-old organization.  Some of these younger activists have grown weary of what they see as an overly apologetic attitude about abortion among their leaders.
• 'Not everyone is sad about their abortion,' said Letts, who has attained celebrity status in the abortion-rights movement. 'We need to hear the full range of stories, and the positive stories are not being conveyed appropriately.'
• 'It was important for us to try to present an upgraded, almost spa-like feel,' said Melissa Grant, vice president of health services for the clinic.
• 'It's fresh, it's modern, it's clean, it's caring,' he said. 'That's the brand we're trying to create.'" (New abortion pill clinic promotes 'spa-like' environment; Washington Post; March 30, 2015) [Bullets mine].

The first statement starts off with an apathetic uncaring comment "Abortion, Yeah we do that." Abortion is murder!  To think on the profound act of abortion, just substitute "genocide" for "abortion" and "Jews" where "abortion" is implied, although there are no allusions to "baby" or even the early stage of babyhood; the fetus! It's this same carefree matter-of-fact attitude which allowed a religious German people to accept the mass murders of their fellow human beings!

Only a fool would deny that a fetus is not a different species, but a stage of human in development. Few deny that abortion kills anything other than a human being. They cannot deny science. Aborted babies have personalities commensurate with other body systems. Personality is not a magical event which happens with the "birth canal crawl",  but develops right along with the other five systems at the same rate. At 18 days or so when the heart beats, the personality beams with it! Scripture supports the sanctity of life. There are many, but here a a few:

Psalm 139:13-16 (ESV) "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them."
Psalm 127:3 (ESV) "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward."

Of course God commands that we not murder with the penalty of death due for killing! However, it is clear from this scripture that children were made for God's purpose; to praise him and commune with him! For us, children are a reward. They are little "you's"!  "Mini-Me's:! Since man was created in God's own image, children are all his heritage. We all descend from God in that we are living souls, not mere instinctual animals. We are children of God! What God joins together, scripture tells us, man is not to destroy.

Carefem is to talk about the abortion procedure "unapologetically".  Therefore, one is to assume that killing for them shall be done with intention, aforethought and without remorse!

Revelation 22:15 " For without (outside the gates of heaven) are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie."

Those who are unapologetic for killing are those who love sin! They have chosen and their choice is evil. Abortionists who are without sorrow are reprobate! Their minds are gone! They have sold out to evil:

Romans 1:28 "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient..."

Women give "testimonials, including from women who have no regrets ". How could anyone with a heart not have a regret in killing their own! These women, just as the "doctors" (sic), who perform abortions, are reprobate!

I remember as a young child, our mother cat had kittens. One morning I walked into the shed and saw half eaten kittens and some missing. The mother had killed and eaten her own! I was appalled. Sure, they were just kittens, but that was so cruel of her! What's more cruel is that women kill their own babies. Sure, they're not eaten, as they do in China, but their byproducts are sometimes used for nefarious reasons too gruesome to discuss! As Lett's said about mothers killing their babies "Not everyone is sad about their abortion." They may not be sad, but I am, and the Lord is not only sad, but angered!

Melissa Grant who works at Carafem said "It was important for us to try to present an upgraded, almost spa-like feel."

"Hey, it's spa time. Let's go get a facial, a massage and an abortion. A fine day for mother and baby!" How horrible can people be!  Killing babies is not pampering. Spa-killing is essentially akin to gas-chambers for the Jews, who like the babies, were considered sub-human parasites responsible for the dire condition of the motherland! Ms. Grant would make Propaganda Minister Goebbels proud. She's a good little Nazi!

Carefem "spa" was described by one manager as "It's fresh, it's modern, it's clean, it's caring." Let me see. It may be a "modern" death retreat. It may be "clean" except where babies are sacrificed to Molech, but "It sure aint caring!"

Women who care, care for their own! Sure, it may be a hard decision to make, but it's a brutal one. Their is no such thing as a "safe abortion" because abortion is inherently "unsafe". Someone gets hurt! Someone get's murdered!

Most women are victims. They are just as the naive German Christians in Nazi Germany. They failed to think on things which are important;  to  have feeling for the ones who would be hurt. They told themselves "Hitler is right. They aren't human. Goebbels is right. They are parasites!" It wasn't a sudden decision they made, but the propaganda machine constantly worked on their minds until they had a propaganda induced full frontal lobotomy! Christians lost their minds! Satan had deceived them. Like Eve who killed all her offspring through sin, today's "Eves" follow their heritage. Eve and Eves have been deceived to kill their own!

Yes, a result of her sin, Eve, who had been immortal, her entire heritage, her line, were to suffer death because of her! Adam played a part too. He was the woos who allowed his wife to disobey, just as men woos's still allow and encourage their women to abort!

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:"

Adam (and Eve) killed their own. They in effect murdered their own offspring! Not only was it a spiritual death, but they were to die a second death as well. Eve was responsible for that as was Adam. In collusion, they sinned and all their children suffered death. They too sacrificed their children to Molech!

"But", you say, "God had mercy on Eve"! It is not recorded anywhere that Eve repented. Like the women of Carafem, it is not written that Eve showed remorse. In her own spa, the Garden of Eden, the dirty deed was done, and she did it with apathy! As Letts of Carafem said "Not everyone is sad about their abortion.", Eve seems "not to have been sad about killing her offspring"! Like the women of Carafem, I believe Eve to have been the first feminist. She assumed the dominant role with God and in the family and made poor poor decisions. Adam was responsible too because he let her be a feminist.

Aborting women are apathetic Eves. I can say that because Eve's my "mother", since she was the mother of all. Although she hasn't yet killed me, it's coming soon for all men are destined to die! We owe our thanks to Eve. Women, quit being lied to! Men, take charge! That child sacrificed to Molech is yours too!