The New Ten Commandments

Romans 1:25 "Who (sinners) changed the truth of God into a lie..."

1. Thou shalt honor noted scientists who are proven to be superior to God. Honor thy government for it shalt provide.
2. Thou shalt put the powerful, the entertainers and the sports figures above God for he is an understanding god.
3.  Thou shalt use God's name continuously as an exclamation of surprise, but not in public in a worshipful manner.
4. Remember the Sabbath Day as a day of recreation and work. God is an understanding god.
5. Scoff at the teachings of thy parents and forget them in their old age because they are repressive of your own desires. God shalt provide friends who shalt guide you in the direction you should go.
6. Thou shalt not destroy eagles eggs nor harm trees. God is a loving God and surely will turn his eyes away from those who abort their offspring. Thou shalt honor those doctors who make life more convenient for sexually independent women.
7. Marriage is for the foolish. Without marriage there can be no adultery. Thou shalt fornicate for pleasure. Children are a by-product of the foolish! Those who fornicate with their own sex are to be honored for their courage.
8. Thou shalt not steal unless the government performs the act. Thou shalt not work when the rich can provide. Thou shalt blame those who dishonor liberal government.
9. Thou shalt bear false witness against anyone or any act which interferes with social justice and entitlements. Those who bear destructive truths shall be hated and denigrated.
10. Thou shalt covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt covet thy neighbour's wife, and his job, and his wealth, and his car, and his boat, any any thing that is thy neighbour's. It's only fair since you have been repressed!

They always say "Sure As Hell"!

People always use the expression "Sure as hell", but few apparently believe it for if they did, they would never use the expression lightly. "Hell is sure as hell!" is a better thing to say because it certainly is a real place!  In fact anxious people who know they've sinned are called to do one thing: they want to be saved! The question remains "Saved from what?" The answer is "Saved from hell"! In order to be saved from anyplace the place must exist. Jesus came to save all mankind from hell!

We focus on heaven because that is the reward from being saved from hell. Most people would desire living forever in heaven, but the alternative to that is dying forever in hell! There is no place in between! No, purgatory is not scriptural and if you want to NOT believe in something, it's safer NOT to believe in purgatory than is it NOT to believe in hell!

Revelation 21:8 "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

That's hell: fire, brimstone, isolation and dying forever! "NOT being dead forever" mind you, but dying forever. Why did I seek the hope of salvation? I was "scared as hell "  because I was "sure of hell" and afraid to die forever in fire and brimstone,  That's "sure as hell" the reason I believe in and accept Jesus. He is the ONLY hope that I have of escaping fiery punishment "sure as hell"!

"I don't believe in hell?" you say.  You are a gambler, my friend, and gambling is high stakes when not only your life is on the line, but eternal death. I'd rather go with Jesus and have a chance of winning than to listen to the devil and have no chance at all, "sure as hell" I would!

My point is this: Do not take lightly and in vain what is so serious. They say "Heaven is for real!" That's true, but also "Hell is for real!" To be honest, I have the hope of salvation because I love myself enough NOT to want to go to hell. I want to save my lousy skin; the one I worshiped all my life! Because Jesus offered salvation from hell is WHY I love Jesus!

I'm sure as hell glad I'm saved from a real hell! That's God's mercy on this sinner of which we all are and I am as bad as the worst.

Much Ado About Nothing

In high school William Shakespeare was public enemy #1. I actually refused to read his poetry and plays because it wasn't what I wanted to read, being a vociferous reader of history, and to be entirely honest, Mad Magazine which at that time was crazy, but still clean. I received my worst grade ever, although I was a speed reader, in Literature because Mr. Shakespeare just didn't "crank my cylinders". How times change! I now not only read poetry, but write it. Perhaps Mr. Shakespeare is grinning at me right this moment.

He wrote the comedic play Much Ado About Nothing.  It made people laugh at the absurd. The "nothing" of which he wrote was petty thoughts on gossip, rumor and the like, most of it imagined! That brings me to my point: I spent all week thinking on nothing! Let me explain.

Much of my thinking was irrational. For those of you who just add "ir" to other words, in this case it works. "Irrational" thinking is not thinking rational. Does that help? Probably not. It's thinking on things that probably didn't happen, won't happen and maybe can't happen. Therefore, the week went by with me making Much Ado About Nothing.  All my thinking was non-value-added. I worried for nothing! I ruminated, which is an unhealthy thing to do. I went over and over in my mind for the cause of the perceived effect. Yes, a situation did change, but what drove the change? My answer to that would be mere possibilities. Then as I recyled the thought, more possibilities became evident. With more rumination all possibilities were responsible!

Although I multi-tasked the time, wasted idle thoughts is laughable since not only did the "causes" not apply, but the effect didn't even exist. My entire thought processes were Much Ado About Nothing!  (Laugh if you want Bill Shakespeare!).

Proverbs 12:25 (ESV) "Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad."

Ruminating causes anxiety. When we think irrationally about things, we get sick, but for some reason we keep on doing it! Sometimes I fail to sleep at all because I created scenarios in my mind, analyze them, discard some, then repeat the process. I get out of bed tired and still anxious. What is a man to do?

I can quit having Much Ado About Nothing. Ruminating has no benefits!

Matthew 6:27 (ESV) "And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?"

Medically speaking "anxiety kills". It not only fails to add years, but it takes years away. Just listen to your heart. When you're anxious your heart is the first to tell you! "You're killing me!" it says. "Quit thinking irrationally!" and if you don't, guess what? Your heart is right.

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

On a recent program a silly suitor promised "I'll guard your heart!" as he was wooing the girl. My thoughts were "That's silly. How is he going to do that and what does that even mean?" Now I know. It came from The Bible and it means that  God will clear our minds and keep our hearts healthy and free from anxiety; or pain if you prefer!

Let's say that you are ruminating about a relationship for instance. Your mind is absorbed in what I call "awfulizing"; thinking negatively continually. These negative-thinkers are people we try to avoid. They're not happy because their world is irrational and in irrational worlds people do bizarre things. Anger is one of those! Negatively thinking people can even clear crowded shopping malls! When that person who is being "awful" says one positive word, the rumination is impeded. This comes from actual observation, plus God says it too:

Proverbs 12:25b "...a good word makes him glad."

What am I to do if I'm the object of Much Ado?  I communicate.  I'll either hear what I don't want to hear and my anxiety is founded, or I can hear "a good word" which foils my negativity. It's worth the effort!

On the other hand, if a person in my sphere is making Much Ado About Nothing, I can say something! That's "a good word" God of which God speaks. It's called encouragement.

Hebrews 10:25a (ESV) "Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another..."

Guess what? That's what friends do! We meet together and make life better for each other. It's a two-way thing. Today I'm discouraged and anxious; tomorrow it may be my friend.

And of course we can always turn to God!

Jeremiah 29:11( ESV) "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."

Negative-thinkers are those with little hope. They see bleak when bright is there. It's a personality trait! However, God wants us to have a future! This too, whatever it is, shall pass. That's my hope and can be yours because that's divine welfare in which there is no shame. God wants us to be happy people, but to be happy, you just gotta  trust Jesus!

God's Rival: About Tattoos

I knew that if I meditated on scripture long enough that God would inspire me! I have to admit that I have a personal bias given to me by society at an early age: I hate tattoos! For me, it wasn't a moral issue, but in my younger years mostly sleazy women and cavorting sailors had tattoos. When I saw a tattoo what came to mind was sleaze, drunkenness, rebellion and carousing. That's still firmly ingrained somewhere in my gray matter. However, today, although I realize that even sweet little grandmothers have tattoos, I still cling to what I have always believed.

Rather than beautiful artwork, I see tattoos as a corruption of beautiful skin. I've seen so many before and after photos of tattoos, that to me it's obvious that the canvas is much prettier before it's painted! However, beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. Rather than demanding that everybody do what I prefer, I look at what Holy Scripture says.!

Jeremiah 10:2 "Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen..."
Lev. 19:28  “Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.”

First off, scripture does not say "Thou shalt not get a tattoo or you'll go to hell"! It's more a way to please God! We're told in the Lord's prayer that "His will be done on earth as it is in heaven".  Since we'll have regenerated perfect bodies in heaven, there will be no tattoos there. So what are we to do? Practice being in heaven by doing God's will here on earth. Marking the skin is not in God's will, and it's not a whim. He has reasons for commanding that we don't copy the pagans!

Pagans are not only those who have no God, but worship false Gods. "The First Suggestion", I mean COMMANDMENT, says "Thou shalt have no other God's before me".  Christians don't have a problem with worshiping another God. We're syncretic. Many Christians unknowingly worship other God's before (or alongside) the One True God.

The astute Christian will say I don't worship Buddha, Confuscious, Muhammad or even Ascended Masters, let alone wood carvings, gold images or other works of the hands! However, it's not the man-made images God cares about, but ultimately what's important to us!

If a man carves an image in stone, then bows to it, God's not jealous of the stone, but of you!

Exodus 20:5b "...I the Lord thy God am a jealous God..."

Any discerning person can detect that God is not jealous of a mere stone because he could turn them into bread if he desired. He's jealous of his creation. It's not the stone which man worships, but the hand who carved the stone. "Image worship" is  inevitably the worship of "The Self". We are doing what pleases us. We do what we want to do!

Deuteronomy 12:8 "Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes."

Worshiping another god alongside God is doing "whatsoever is right in his (our) own eyes". Therein lies the problem!

Let's go back to the Garden of Eden for clarification. The true first commandment, chronologically was "Don't eat of this tree", referring to "The Other Tree" , the "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil". Why? Because a more important tree is standing right there in the midst of the Garden. It's the "Tree of Life". Adam and Eve chose to stand by another tree when the only tree they needed was right there longing for communion. "The Tree of Life" is Jesus pre-incarnate. Adam and Eve didn't deny their Creator, they listened to the serpent, symbolic of Satan. They had another God alongside The Voice (God). They didn't worship that tree, but came there to please themselves. They sought beauty, wisdom and wealth. Their desire was for pleasure. In effect they weren't worshiping the serpent because he's satisfied with mankind worshiping their own Self! The worship of "The Self" is called "of the flesh".

Circumcision is a statement that mankind makes a covenant with God. He agreed in Old Testament times, to have only one God and it's signified by cutting off the flesh or the foreskin:

Genesis 17:11 "And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you."

Since mankind seems committed to the cutting of the flesh, God, a jealous God, desired that man cut off the flesh for him! It represents denying The Self and worshiping God alone.

Deuteronomy 10:16 "Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked. 30:6 And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.

This is carried over into The New Testament. It's not the foreskin of the penis which is significant to God. he wants "the flesh" removed from the heart! It is his desire that you be not as the pagans are nor adorn your foremost idol; Yourself! God is shown love by what's in your heart. You may say "But I still love God!" That's true, but are you honoring his will? You have another god alongside him!

In effect man by painting their bodies, cutting them, applying studs and piercings, etc. are adorning their favorite god, "The Self". God is jealous of you! Rather than trying to please him, vain people are doing what's right in their idol's eyes; their Self!

Vesta, Muhammad and all the trivial gods weren't there in the Garden to steal God's thunder, but the Self was there, and God was and still is hurt because The Self became man's god!

The lusts of the flesh are spoken of by Paul:

Romans 1:25 "Who (the disobedient) changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever."

The "creature" is me. It's you. We all entangle ourselves in self-worship. Rather than serving The Creator, we bow to his creation. Although we were made in God's image as an act of grace, we return that gift by worshiping what God made. The most important thing God made is us and ultimately, whatever it is that we desire and have pleasure in, is to satisfy our own "Selfs". There are many gods than God that God is jealous of and they are us!

"Self-esteem" is not a problem for mankind! We all worship our self and God said "no man hateth his own flesh" (Ephesians 5:29). In effect God is saying "No one hates their own rival god; themselves"!  This passage from scripture tells how to topple that god as Dagon was toppled in the presence of God:

James 4:7 "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up."

We lift ourselves up! That's called "self-esteem" by the babblers. Letting the Lord lift you up is Christ esteem. In effect it's toppling the god of the flesh, your pleasing of the Self, and bowing down to the Almighty God who will lift you up! You don't have to paint that idol to make it pretty for him, but the natural skin he gave you before it was contaminated as the pagans do, is sufficient for him!

Don't worry so much about adorning the flesh. It's temporal and isn't important. That god will die once, maybe twice, but Jesus will always be there desiring that you adore him rather than adorn yourself. What's the best reason NOT to get a tattoo or piercing? It's an act of love for God whose will it is that you obey his will! That's enough for me! I don't care what famous or professional person has body markings. They too are deceived. They too listen to the serpent and do his will. Listen to God!

Legacies

Presidents' real concern is to leave a "legacy"; how posterity is to remember them. We all leave a legacy, but most people want to leave memories of the good things they do.  Unfortunately, for most famous people, legacies have little to do with what is truly "good", but what they perceive to be.  Since, I'm a Christian and believe "only God is good!" (Matthew 19:7), then mys standard for "good" is what God wills to be done. People even have different perceptions of what God wills because of their own bias and theological doctrine.

Liberal Christians believe mostly that scripture is a guide for living. It directs them how to live in accordance with what's best for society. As such their doctrine is "social justice". They don't care all that much that their leaving society behind with rampant sin which they call "moral issues". What they care about the most is "economic issues" and what they did to make life better for those who haven't been successful on their own.

God would rather any leader to leave a legacy of a righteous, but poor nation; rather than an evil, but prosperous one! However, if we are righteous we shall be prosperous! That's the Abrahamic Covenant; the deal God made with mankind in Abraham's time. A leader who desires to leave a "good" legacy, then, would do what's right in God's eyes and the nation will prosper because of obedience! That's not to be.

Jesus had compassion on the meek and the poor. However, his compassion didn't extend to the abolishment of poverty, which he could have done for he said "You will always have the poor!" (Matthew 26:11). If Jesus had eliminated poverty he would have left a great legacy, but his legacy is something so much better; it is hope!

Jesus could have wiped out poverty with one wave of the hand, but he directed US to help the poor. However, his emphasis was not on poverty, but the "poor in spirit". His legacy, I repeat, one of hope; the hope of salvation!

Matthew 11:5  (What Jesus did) "The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them."

Jesus left a legacy! It wasn't wealth for the poor. It wasn't money, but spiritual comfort. "Life is tough for the poor now, but the meek shall inherit the earth, and they will find comfort in heaven!" That's the legacy of Jesus; and by the way, he did "level the playing field" because he's not a respecter of persons! (Acts 10:34). Jesus never promised social justice or equal wealth. His focus was on "equal opportunity" for salvation. He could have forced "equal outcomes", but then justice would not be served. We are rewarded for our "works" and our "tasks"  our simple: repentance, acceptance, belief and trust. How hard can that be? Apparently, most people find it humiliating because they'd rather face an angry God than a loving Savior! They want their name in the "books', but not in the book that counts!

Right now I'm leaving a legacy. My desire is that my descendants, by reading this, know that although I am an awful sinner, that being a weak human, I do what my flesh wants to do rather than what my mind desires to do. I am guilty just as Paul explained it:

Romans 7:19 "For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do."

Paul struggled with "the flesh". I do too! You also struggle with the flesh. We all wish to do "good", but our carnal nature interferes with what we desire to do. I want my legacy to be what my heart desires rather than what I do! However, in spite of my flesh, I want posterity to read my writings and say "He was only human, but his heart was in doing good. He believed in the word of God and wanted everyone to do God's will!" That's a "good" legacy and that's the impression I want to leave with everyone. Whether I am rewarded or not is up to God, but I present myself to Jesus; stained, but cleansed. He did the cleaning. I'm assured that Jesus can be trusted to do what he says!

John 14:2b " ...if it were not so, I would have told you." (Jesus's words about heaven)

King Sargon was spoken of in The Old Testament.  History had no other accounts that Sargon even existed. He was lost to posterity and had no legacy at all. In fact, Sargon had become a non-entity. He never existed in the minds of those who came after him. Jews and Christians had faith in scripture. They believed that he existed, but those unique people who believe merely in science denied his existence until one day archaeologists discovered Sargon's palace long ago concealed by God.  Sargon, for hundreds of years, had no legacy. Now his legacy is that he was the most prominent king of that era!

On the other hand we look at another man:

Mark 10:45 "For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
46 And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.
47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me."

A royal and great king for quite some time left no legacy! However, here we have "blind Bartimaeus" who is still known, with continuity, for nearly 2000 years! Who would have ever thought that a poor blind man, would set the example for centuries?  Did he do great things? No! He merely did one great thing: he cried out to Jesus "have mercy on me"  because he believed that the Son of man came "to give his life a ransom for many"!

We still remember him today. Jesus said that "The meek shall inherit the earth". (Matthew 5:5). It was his way of saying "It's not kings who are important, but the unimportant people in the eyes of the world!: Bartimaeus will never be forgotten. His legacy will live on! Not only will people still read about a poor blind man who cried out to Jesus, but millions cry out in the same way that Bartimaeus did! By doing so, their legacy is eternal. Not only is Bartimaeus written of in Holy Scripture, but more importantly he's written about in two books: The Book of Life and The Other Book..

For my regular readers you know that I often refer to the two trees in the Garden of Eden as :The Tree of Life" and "The Other Tree"? These are symbolic of the two books because they are symbolic of two choices.!

Those who sought refuge under "The Tree of Life" have their names in The Book of Life.  Those who stood under "The Other Tree" have their sins recorded in The Other Book.  Bartimaeus stood under the "Tree of Life" and has his name recorded in The Book of Life.  I believe that Bartimaeus' life is recorded too in The Other Book  for it includes all that comes from "The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil".  Just as "The Other Tree" includes knowledge of both "good" and "evil", recorded in The Other Book is both "good" and "evil"  (I believe that Christians too will face God on judgment day, but will be judged righteous).

For those who never cried out to Jesus as Bartimaeus did, all the evil they ever did will be recorded in The Other Book.. For those who cry out to Jesus, all they did will be blotted out and The Other Book will merely say "Bartimaeus, a poor beggar cried out to Jesus because Jesus paid the price for him!" That's Bartimaeus' legacy!

Now let me digress back to me! What I have done would fill many pages of The Other Book.  However, I want that book to merely say  "Larry cried out to Jesus!" That's all the legacy that matters. God conveniently "forgets" all the things which could be in that Other Book and replaces it with one thing: "Larry cried out!" As any good Teacher does, Jesus will give me a compliment: "Well done, good and faithful servant!" My hope is that be my legacy. My only wish is that Bartimaues and I have the same legacy. Sargon, now discovered, can have his; I'll take what Bartimaues is having!

The Autobiography of Jesus

Luke 24:27 "And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he (Jesus) expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself."

Jesus used scriptures because he knew the word well!  How do I know that?

Luke 2:46 "And it came to pass, that after three days they found him (12 years-old Jesus) 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."

Some say that Joseph taught his son scripture while he was in Egypt. I contend that Jesus knew scripture first hand because he inspired it. Jesus in effect wrote scripture by the hand of righteous patriarchs!

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

Scripture was inspired by God. He was the writer and man was the typesetter so to speak! Then we must ask if God inspired scripture, how did he do that?  It was by his mediator, "The Voice" of God:

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

When God speaks that "Voice" is Jesus! In the New Testament John Chapter 1 identifies that "Voice". He is "The Word" who is God and became flesh. "The Word" (aka, "The Voice") is called "Emmanuel" (God With Us) and is also called "Jesus"! The inspiration for writing the scripture by the hand of man came from Jesus himself before he was made flesh. From day one, since he was with God in the beginning, when scripture was inspired, it was by The Word! Therefore, Old Testament Scripture is the autobiography of Jesus! Think on that!

Old Testament scripture says the same thing about Jesus that is in the New Testament. Writers are merely standing on truth from a different vantage point. The "scripture" leading to salvation in Jesus' time was The Old Testament. Never neglect words that tell a vivid story of what will be before the time has yet to come!

The Old Testament is an autobiography of Jesus of his own life before he ever lived it! The Word given to the prophets of old was the Son born in the flesh. Think on the profundity of one of us writing our own life and death story before we were ever born. That's what Jesus did!

Naked and Afraid (Continued-Ending)

Many of you have walked Naked and Afraid, and everyone trekked toward the extraction point. Everyone are pilgrims in this jungle and sometime, maybe even a long time, the Director will make a decision. Your journey is over. Your PSR has either grown through weathering the storms or it has decreased. The Director will never give you anything that isn't manageable and he even stands by to bring in help when you're at the lowest points. All the person has to do is ask! We are to pray to God that his will to be done.

There may be a problem. The Director, symbolic of God, may have a different "will" than what you think will benefit. Those "naked and afraid" men and women have a goal. They want to all go home and things be good again. The Director (God) of the real life program may have other ideas. He telepathically asks many questions to which he already knows the answer. He's got that camera on all your life, never losing it's power and never running out of memory. He will judge where you go after extraction based on your spiritual performance in life! It's whether you love your co-partner and whether you appreciate your Sponsor! God sponsors all and he deserves credit. Crediting God for directing our lives is how we love him.

Two people; one man, one woman finally get to the extraction point. There they are met by a black-clothed person with a hood and a sickle. He takes each by the hand. Before some go with him, they suffer much. Others are gently led out by a gentle hand. As they're led to extinction, have they run the good race? Have they engaged the jungle as they should? Have they loved each other and helped each other as they spend their time together? All that is on God's camera!

Mark 4:22 "For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad."

It's easy to do good things when the camera is on, but how do we behave when it's off? On the show, it does go off and maybe some of the guests cuddle a little too long or a little too lovingly. The set director may exercise judgment and cut the filming, but with God, the camera is never off! "Nothing is hid" from the Director of the universe. What those who are  naked do in private are exposed. Nothing is kept secret!

Husbands and wives at home may not see distasteful things done off camera or blurred out, but God does. It's all the things we do in life, in full view and hidden, that will be seen when the Director decides where are home shall be after extraction!

What is it that we are to do, even when we think the camera is off?

Matthew 7:19 "Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

How's that PSR after all those days in the jungle or desert?  How great is your faith? With God, because of his mercy, those with any faith at all, having even a low PSR, will have the hope of salvation. God will take, because he has grace, even those who believe and have a little faith, to a room in his mansion in paradise! However, there will be those whose PSR is lacking or non-existent, who have faith, but it's misplaced. They try too hard to do everything themselves! The Director watches those because success in survival is using the aid of your partner. In this life our partner is God and he loves those who let him lead them by the hand. They bury their pride and allow that just maybe, God knows how to aid us in survival!

Those who have an honest PSR are immediately whisked away.  Jesus said to the thief on the cross next to him as he died:

Luke 23:43 "And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise."

There is rapid transit from the extraction point to that eternal home! What awaits there for those whose PSR is sufficient?

John 14:2  "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you."

Those who persevere under those fiery darts that the jungle and desert shoot, are rewarded. Now, on the program it's merely self-satisfaction, but in life, the reward after death is eternal life in that heavenly mansion! That makes the effort all worth the while, but meek people must not be proud! The duration is not self-sufficient, but the person must lean on their partner who is God! Those who leaned on God are clothed with armor and certainly not afraid! There will be no repeats for them! They're safely at home now!

But how about those who were extracted and didn't persevere? What is their future? It's bleak! Those who didn't allow their partner into their life to help protect them from the evil abounding in their jungle, contracted a virus. It was terminal! Not only in this life, but it causes a second death!

It would appear that after extraction those with no or false PSR are taken to a preliminary place in Hades where they will get a taste of what is ahead for them. After a time, God will have enough of all this "naked living", so to speak, (living in the flesh) and call everyone to his presence! We all will be judged, but those who have been living in Paradise, living like Adam and Eve were created to live, stand before God! He says to them:

Matthew 25:23  "His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord."

This person whose PSR was real, symbolic of his faith, will be clothed in royal white and pure garments, what was his shame will be covered by the blood. The flesh is no longer an issue because in heaven all things are pure.  God reviews all the film, looks in the Book Of Life, and commends the person! His name is not blotted out of The Book and here's what it says:

Revelation 3:5 "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

Jesus, who judges the small and the great, puts in a good word in with God for you! God looks at the video (or book) and finds nothing:

Isaiah 43:25 "I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins. "

Although you really messed up, but because your sins were covered by faith (a real PSR) your slate is wiped clean. God, with his power, exposed all the film shot by the crew with his Light. You never killed, you never fornicated, stole food nor anything, as far as God remembers! Rather than standing there on Holy Ground Naked and Afraid, you stand there in raiment of white and assured of your salvation! You are not afraid!

On the other hand, those with no or feigned PSR , only God knows, stand there just as they did in the Garden. Jesus is again in paradise and it's his Voice you hear! Plead your case Adam. Plead your case Eve! Both of you stand in front of the Merciful One and plead for mercy, just as Adam and Eve begged! The Voice sees you trembling and afraid! "Why did you sin?" he asks. We men say the same thing that Adam said way back then "It's the woman's fault, Lord. She beguiled me!"

"Then woman, what's your excuse?" God asks. She said "The serpent deceived me!" Yes, the serpent deceived her regularly and continually. Woman is and has been man's downfall. Because of our desire for the woman, the man capitulates. In Scripture Eve sinned first, but Adam sinned too! The woman should be modest in all aspects and the man should not burn with desire to please her!

As Man and Woman, they stand before God, this time not together, but alone, God recounts all the sins. As he speaks they shake in fear, standing there "naked, alone and afraid"!

Revelation 20:12 "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. Revelation 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Man and woman whose faith was lacking and lived for the flesh; the same flesh Adam and Eve tried to cover with fig leaves, yet shuddered in fear, stood there in the presence of the Lord and were "naked and afraid"!  As God reviewed the texts written in the other book where their entire stay, from insertion to extraction, is recorded, he found it full of sin and with works as filthy as rags! "What shall I do with you?" God asks. "Please, God have mercy in us poor sinners! We didn't know what we were doing?"

This time mercy is not available. Grace is for those that live in Christ. Justice must be done or God is a liar. "I don't see your names in The Book Of Life! I see the other book full of sins and no worthy works. Your PSR (faith) was feigned!  You get no reward! You caught a terminal virus transmitted by the Prince of the Air, and because you were extracted still  having that virus, you are to die again. Angels, cast him (or her) into "the lake of fire"!

The fear of the second death is why people living are afraid of death. Most of mankind have that virus. The only cure for it is accepting the blood sacrifice and death to atone for our own sins! The reason Man and Woman were naked and scared at the "Great White Throne Judgment" is because they were as Adam and Eve again, but they were without excuse. The Law has been written and that Law is to love God and all others! In paradise God showed mercy on Adam and Eve, but at the end-of-time judgment, there will be no mercy, only justice with no reward in Paradise!

Choose now how you survive this life! Is it Naked and Afraid, or clothed in the full armor of God and assured of the 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."

Why stand there "naked and afraid" exposed to the fiery darts in the jungle in which you've been inserted?  Be wise, be brave! Put on that full armor to protect yourself from those darts. Be strong, have faith! Keep that PSR high! If you persevere in that jungle with the Comforter alongside, then at your extraction point you will be rewarded!