Masters of Our Own Domain

Each person has their own domain. It's our kingdom where we are in authority. As such we are kings there, if not emperors. Not only do we rule our domain, but we are heavy-handed rulers, at times loving, but at others dictatorial.

Our domain which we own is our flesh. Within that domain lies our all: mind, body and spirit. Right outside our domain is territory which we claim because we need it and use it. It belongs to the world because ingress is possible for all, but as colonials, we claim it for ourselves.

This immediate extension to our domain is our personal space. It's not ours since we live within our own domain, but we treat it as if it is ours. Others may enter that zone either by trespass or by invitation. We kiss and hug those who are invited, but fear those who enter into it uninvited.

Our personal space is part of the world and belongs to all, but it's each of our protectorates. It's ruler is the Prince of the Air, Satan, but we have annexed that space as our own.

Each person has their own personal space. Their immediate sphere of influence is their domain and their personal space. As such the twain are the world in which each person lives.

Remembering that personal spaces of everybody belongs to everyone, we are merely needful and users of it. Personal space is not ours, but we claim it.

When people get close, their personal spaces are covalent. In layman's terms, it's shared space. Their personal space and our personal space occupy the same territory. When more than one personal space becomes the space of another, then world's collide.

In marriage, two people of the opposite sex, for it doesn't work for same-sex, agree to share not only personal spaces, but the domain, one of the other. Of course this means sexually entering the domain of another in romantic love. Consummation is the rite of unity between husband and wife. That's when they willingly share their own domain, each with the other.

Because of that, neither are longer the master of their own domain. They are now one and what God joins together, let it not be put asunder. Sharing domains is easy! In good sexual relationships each are to provide pleasure to the other. Neither is master of their domain, but are partners in sharing the common domains.

Personal space is another issue. Since domains are shared, personal space is both enjoyed and in turmoil if infringed upon. When one party becomes more focused on being master of their own domain, the other seeks to either preserve their own domain or insist on being part of or even destructive of the other person's domain. When a storm enters the personal spaces of man and wife, world's collide. The personal space of one is invaded by the other.

it may be politics, belief systems, the children, families, friends, finances or even silly things which make world's collide, but with the collision, the personal domain of each is damaged. Even coitus may be jeopardized and often is because of world's colliding!

Each domain seeks pleasure. That's original sin. Rather than first seeking to pleasure God by loving him, our first desire is for self-pleasure. As such we are our own other gods besides God. Our world comes into conflict with God's world, the Kingdom of God.

When our world collides with our spouse's, that is our world's colliding. Rather than sparing both worlds from destructing, each insists that their own world prevail, even to the extent of colliding with God's world! When couples separate, the one world with two domains which share personal space becomes two independent worlds again. They no longer co-exist, but shoot weapons of mass destruction, one at the other. To preserve their own world, they each are relentless in destroying the world of the other. Since living turns to animosity, then God's world is under attack.

Couples coexist with God's blessing. Marriage is ordained by him because it's holy. When couples become individuals they become again, masters of their own domain, but have destroyed the sacredness of a shared world and even shared domain because sex may even be withheld or passive.

With discord, the two once encompassed with God's world, now break through his field of gravity and are on their own. World's colliding results in the two being cast out of Eden so to speak because of disobedience they are no longer in the Kingdom of God.

You see marriage is important because it's akin to our marriage to God. Since we are the bride and Jesus is the groom, we can never separate because spiritual marriage is meant to be forever. We can't even flirt with other gods, let alone fornicate with them! That's why marriage is so important. God cringes even when we flirt with those in another world, let alone fornicate with them! Fornication with one other than our spouse is adultery. Fornicating with another god is spiritual adultery and blasphemy. As such adultery is symbolic of blasphemy.

If we're Christians, we are no longer masters of our own domain. We live in the Kingdom of God and his domain is our domain. God keeps us there, but we can freely leave it! Satan is the whore who entices us to fornicate with other gods. Those other gods may even by our own self, but are the worlds of other people as well. Satan shoots barbs at our world, but it's God's domain if we remain true to him. As such God puts up a protective shield around our world, but that can be only if our world is covalent with his world. Faith is the gravity which holds our world in orbit with God's!

It takes commitment to remain in unison with God because temptations are great! They are powerful missiles which seek to destroy our domain and tear it from orbit of God's world. If we are sucked from the orbit of God, it's the world of Satan to which we are propelled. In his orbit, we are no longer the master of our own domain, but slaves to his. Our world explodes as it is captured in Satan's world and our fantasy of a personal domain is shattered with no hope for restoration. Our world is damned once it is submitted to Satan's personal space; this world.

We are never masters of our own domain. We are either servants of God working with him or slaves to Satan working for him. We can never serve two masters. We all must choose. Even if we choose to be masters of our own domain, we are deluded; we serve Satan as his slave and everything we do magnifies him, not us. You see, becoming deluded into believing that we are masters of our own domain, is a tactic of Satan. If we believe that we are, we belong to him and Satan is the master.

Jesus is the Master! Christians are servants of the Master and all that we do is to serve him! When we are born again we give up mastery of our own domain and become servants in his. That's the new birth, essentially being enlightened that we are NOT masters of our own domain, but are totally dependent on the Master of Spiritual Domains!

Self-Evaluation at Christmastime

Read this survey in advance of Christmas and improve your performance, or do it afterward and realize that you fall short of the "reason for the season":

1. Did you question yourself "If I am not a born-again Christian, why would I celebrate his birth?
2. If you don't worship Christ (per 1 above) do you desire to?
3. If the answer to 2 is yes, did you ask Jesus to save you?
4. Did you testify to others that Jesus is your way to eternal life? (If so, then you can legitimately celebrate Jesus' birthday).
5. Did you repent of previous sins to prepare to praise him?
6. Did you magnify his name and acknowledge his majesty?
7. Did you thank God for sending Jesus to save the world?
8. Did you reflect on that Jesus was born to die in your place?
9. Did you eat your meal in remembrance of him?
10. Did you pray to (talk with) Jesus? Did you listen for his guidance?
11. Were your gifts given in the spirit of charity (or was it mere obligation or ritual)?
12. Did you expect to receive or were you just happy to be able to give?
13. Did you show love to God?
14. Did you show love to others? Your enemies too?
15. Were you just still for a time and contemplate on Jesus?
16. Did you spend time reading God's word that day?
17. Did you make any changes as a present to Jesus? (self-sacrifice in sacrifice to God).
18. Was your attitude Christ-like in emulation of him?
19. Did you pray for those who do not have what you have on this day? Did you help any others who NEED help during this season?
20. Will you endeavor to do these things next year?

The Gift of the Magi

The magi from the east brought gold, frankincense and myrrh. For the significance of those, see an earlier commentary: Gifts to the Messiah

That's what Jesus got materially, but what was it that he really received?

Matthew 2:1 "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. 9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way."

•  (Verse 1) Jesus knocked and the magi answered. The magi came. His "knocking" was his birth. Their coming was their travel from  a distant place, probably Persia, now Iran. Herein are numerous gifts: faith that it was God they followed and the hardships of the trip. They brought Jesus perseverance because they traveled 970 miles probably by camels or asses. It wasn't three men which came, but surely a caravan of single-minded people.
• (Verse 2) They queried "Where is born the King of the Jews?" Their gift here was his Kingship validated by their gift of gold which signifies kingship. They came to worship him. As such their gift to him was reverence.
• (Verse 9) They believed! When they star stood over the baby Jesus, they knew Jesus was King! Because they were Persians they were surely Zoroastrians, but were open to truth. Jesus is for everyone who believes in him. Their belief converted them from pagans to Christians.  In essence they sacrificed themselves by believing in Jesus!
• (Verse 10) They rejoiced. Their trip was rewarded. They came to see the King and bow to him and that's what they did. Joy is from the heart. They gave Jesus their heart. These tired pilgrims became new persons by belief. As such the presence of Jesus saved them. Note that their faith was before they saw Jesus. It was the hope that made them travel the path to Jesus. Their faith was such that they knew not only of his Kingship (gold) and life (frankincense), but also of his death (myrrh). They knew why he was born when he was born. They rejoiced that he came to die for them, not Jews but Gentiles.
• (Verse 11) They fell down and worshiped him! Their gift was humility. Imagine what people thought, these wise men bowing down to a poor baby who was born in a manger in a stall. Humility is important because being born again when people present themselves a living sacrifice. Their gift to him was themselves! Of course their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, but they brought these in advance of knowing him as recognition that he was who God said he would be! That is the gift of faith. It's the gift for which the givers will someday be rewarded. They receive themselves a gift as they brought their gifts: the hope of salvation!
• (Verse 12) By averting Herod, they protected Jesus, not that he needed their protection, but God used them. In other words they risked their lives for Jesus!

Just look at the gifts they brought! There were three material gifts, but unspoken of was all their spiritual gifts. What was the gifts they really brought: hearts, minds and souls. That was the true gold, frankincense and myrrh! That's how much they loved the Lord. The gift of the magi was love!  That's what we should bring to God! It's our love he wants. He has always desired that from day one. What is it that we most often fail to give? Love.

Christmas or My-mass

I'd like to differentiate why I am the way that I am about Christmas, and many others are of the same conviction. I love the meaning of Christmas, but dislike the Christmas season. How can that be? The easy accusation is that I'm a scrooge, but because I love to give, I'm not.

Let me give an example. When I graduated, the routine was to send invitations out to about one-hundred people, even those who were mere casual acquaintances. One of those said to me, "I got your dun today." We don't use the word "dun" anymore, but it means "demand that a debt be paid off". He was referring to my invitation as a demand for money.

To be honest, he was absolutely right because my motives was to manipulate free things from people that I barely knew. I have been sensitive to that comment ever since and as such, I never wanted anyone to give me any material nor pecuniary payment as an obligation. That's engrained within me, and in this age of he politics of jealousy and free things (i.e., socialism), it irks me to be manipulated for gifts.

Jealousy is the part where the have-nots desire to have what the have's have without the hard work that it takes to have!

There is one thing that I love to receive: that is love. Love is what I got every Christmas, never gifts to entertain, if anything at all, but gifts of my family given of themselves. My best memories are waking up to the excitement of a good meal (which people get every day now), and all my family together, laughing and just having a good time. We had Christmas decorations and a tree, but they were merely decorations.  Beyond the tree was abundant love!

In my family seldom was their an argument. On Christmas there was never an argument because "things" lead to expectations and disappointment because happiness lies not in the tangible, but intangible.

I celebrate Christmas. I do it inside. I celebrate it my way, not the way of the world. Christmas is not "My-day"; it's Christ's-day. Not being Catholic, since we don't have mass, I don't even celebrate Christ-mass, I only celebrate Christ. That day is not "my Christmas" as some call the season, but a day belonging to someone else... God himself. It's not about self-satisfaction, but service. What is a better service than to love others as I do myself. As such, giving is great, but the best gift is the gift of love!

The problem with Christmas is that it now belongs to Satan. He has usurped the meaning of Christmas and made it, in effect, "his-day".  Admittedly, few people overtly praise Satan, but when we expect things for the self, it robs Jesus of the gift he should receive: peace on earth, good will toward men.

Note that it was Jesus who received on his birth day, not others. That tradition is how early pagans distorted the meaning of his birth. Furthermore, the gifts to Jesus were not to make him wealthy, but were symbolic of his Lordship, life and death (gold, frankincense and myrrh, respectively).

There are two gifts which Jesus expects, not only on Christsday, but everyday: our love to him and to others. It's a good thing when a modest gift is given any day, especially to meet the needs of the less fortunate. However, extravagant gifts lead to high expectations. The thought, even sub-consciously may be this, "I hope I get something really good for Christmas this year." Expecting is appeasing the self. On the other hand receiving with gratitude things of nominal value is relaxing the focus from being on yourself.

Gift-giving is not an obligation. Christmas is not the bill-day to dun others. A person should be as content with nothing as something as long as the nothing is accompanied by love. Expectations of a gift, especially by manipulation, is dunning the giver, so to speak.

I love to give good gifts. I do all year long with my family. First off, I give them all love, all the time. Secondly, my hard work has made life easy for them and I enjoy their joy when I give them good things, even the money to buy good things, throughout the year. Because I am generous throughout the year and my loved ones have their needs and desires met, at Christmastime, there is not much more than I can buy. As such I get frustrated during the season. For me it's not one of joy, but tension. When tension arises, Jesus loses and Satan gains. Jesus' day becomes Satan's day because dissension occurs.

My wish is to return to the days that I remember; when the season was a season of love. Love makes it Christsday. Expecting things makes it My-day and dissension makes it Satan's-day.

My gift to all my friends, acquaintances and even enemies during this season, is that I love you all. Of course I may disagree with behaviors, but my desire is that "none should perish and come short of the glory of God". That my friends and enemies is love and that is what Christmas is all about!

Now for giving: I love to give.

I, however, don't like to give to those who waste their own money on trivial things and excessive entertainment. I especially don't like to give to those who waste their own finances on drugs, alcohol. tattoos and expensive designer clothing. I don't enjoy giving to those who expect gifts. Those are self-worshiping; things to appease the god of self.

If I give gifts, let's say to help one pay off a medical bill, and that person buys a tattoo or marijuana, in effect I am buying their tattoo and marijuana. I don't choose to do that! (Tattoos are ornaments which adorn the self and the use of marijuana is the self's way of finding happiness without Jesus).

The "other gods besides God" is each of our own selves. We are of whom God is jealous. He topples idols easily, but his design is that we have our own will. Unfortunately, most people's will is to self-indulge. In effect we worship ourselves, if we're not careful and Christsday becomes My-day. "I" have a wonderful day when things are given to "me" and I have it "my way". Where is Christ on that day as you stand under the tree of pleasure? The Tree of Life is there by himself with nobody standing under him.

Remember that on Christsday, the Tree is not the evergreen; he is Jesus. The gifts are not the wrapped presents. The fruits are not in the beautiful ornaments, They are the unseen things that offer happiness.  They are the fruits hanging on the Tree: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, fruitfulness, gentleness and self-control. Those are all fine Christsday gifts!

I am in the Christsday spirit. My way is just different. I'm not scrooge and I'm not cheap. I just endeavor to keep the focus on Christ and stay away from the false day called Christmas. That is my Christian belief and all the dark angels will never entice me to change that. Please bear with me as I worship the way which seems right for me to worship.

Be Still Within the Storm

Mark 4:39 "And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm."

When the storm comes, I go to the Lord for solace. Where else would I even think of turning?

This truth from scripture was of a physical storm, but it's not there to calm us from the fear of bodily harm, but from the storm within!

What type of storm can we have? Spiritual and emotional comes to mind with a covalence one with the other. When we are in an emotional storm our spirit suffers at the same time. If we truly are Christians, God's desire is that we control our emotions, because in the storm it's him who can calm!

God's command was that the storm "be still", it was and peace came about.

What emotions are the storm: anger, hostility, vengefulness, and self-pity. These are the waves in the storm and they are there to disrupt the spirit, essentially principalities rocking the symbolic boat, trying to capsize what is God's. These emotions are as the wave crests in water.

On the other side emotions might be: hurt, a sense of loneliness, feeling unloved, or distraught, knowing not where to turn. These are the wave troughs between the crests.

The difference between the two is the wave height and is the amplitude resulting from the storm. If the crest and trough are extreme the wave can sink the ship. The crest can peak and break. That's the surfers barrel or tube which can wash-out even the best if they are not careful. Christians need to "be still" and never ride those fast and turbulent waves.

On the other end are standing waves. They are the ones which oscillate back and forth and tend to go nowhere. Some choose to ride that wave because they're comfortable standing up there emotionally excited with little thought that the standing wave may turn into a barrel wave.

To avoid harm, Jesus wills that the waters be peaceful by being still.  That's directed not so much at the water, but those who were in the boat with Jesus and feared for themselves. "Cease the agitation!"

Themselves is the keyword here! Each person in the storm cares more for themselves than for Jesus. Jesus was asleep in the boat, but it was each of the others who feared, not even thinking about Jesus!

In our emotional and spiritual storms, they come about because rather than caring about Jesus, it is the self we all try to protect. Jesus is the Master. They said that, but didn't treat him that way. They treated their own selves as masters because each desired to protect themselves.

Jesus said shortly thereafter "Do ye have no faith?" to the fearful. If they loved Jesus, as they said they did, he would provide the calm.  They each sought to make themselves safe when only Jesus can make one safe. Their gods were themselves even with God right there in the storm with them!

When arguments ensue or crises begin, it's our nature to protect ourselves. Rather than having peace, we create our own storms. What would Jesus have us do? Be still! Don't let the storm get us agitated and riding on it's waves. Be still and have peace through Jesus.

People still don't live the life they claim. Rather than "be still" they stir the waters and create their own storms. Some people relish riding the waves and endeavoring to stand up in the barrel waves. They care little that the crest will spill over and drown them, or at least choke them with water.

For me, I desire to stand there in the shallow waters with my feet on solid ground and stay away from stormy seas. It's there that I can have peace in the stillness of the water. Why venture into the storm when safety is available. We need not fear if we stand on the solid ground.

When the storm sinks us, Satan smiles. His are the stormy seas seeking to carry each asunder, and all of them together for "what God has joined together, let no one put asunder", but the storms will do that if we don't control the storms through our Master!

God and gods: Apples and Oranges

Many people say "We all worship the same God so all religions are the same!"

Unitarian-Universalism is the notion that all people without regard to religion will eventually be saved. As such which god by name that is worshiped is of no difference because all gods are God!

Many, even non-Unitarians, believe that notion because of their own doctrine. It is certainly not scriptural since it's fairly clear:

John 14:6 ( ESV)" Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.' "

Acts 4:12 (ESV) "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”   

John 3:16 (ESV) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Scripture is plain: Jesus is the necessary person for anyone at any time to be saved!  I use the description "person" here because Jesus is God who came down in the flesh.

John 14:6 (ESV) "Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

According to John 1 Jesus is God in the flesh, referred to as "God incarnate" and was called both Jesus (Savior) and Emmanuel (God With Us). Elsewhere he calls himself  I AM, the very name of God!

To decide who is God and who is not, let's use fruit as a symbolic representation:

Both the apple and the orange are fruits. Their size is near the same and they both are sweet and of a similar shade of red. No one can argue that both are fruits and appear to both be sweet and desired.

Although both are fruits, one is an apple and the other an orange. They are different, but both are still fruits. Compare this to Allah and Jehovah, for instance. Let the apple represent Jehovah and the orange Allah, Vishnu, Brahman, Buddha, or even an animal or other pagan god, not that they're the same, but they all are gods to a great many people.

On the outside of the apple is what we see in life. It's a peeling called the apple's flesh. That flesh represents Jesus who is God in the flesh while the whole apple represents God. Inside the apple is the core. Because God has spirit, the core of the apple is Jesus who died on the cross and his juices were released, the blood and the water. Jesus is still with us, but now with the apple peeling gone, we must look at the core. The core can be seen only when the skin and meat are eaten, but it was there all the time, just waiting to show itself.  The core of the apple represents Jesus' Holy Ghost. Although the skin is peeled and gone elsewhere, the core is still here to see. We still nibble on the core to nourish us and to remember the flesh which was there and the meat which was eaten!

The flesh is gone to heaven, but the core is still here. Likewise, under the flesh of the apple is the meat. That represents the father because the flesh is around him and the spirit in him, but the apple is all three. To be an apple there must be meat, flesh and core, which bears more fruit with the seed.

On the other hand, the orange represents a god, but not God Jehovah. It too has a skin, but it's rough. Whereas the apple is smooth, the orange is not. However, it too has beauty because it can be seen. This flesh is a perception of what God looks like, but none of these other gods can be seen. Therefore, the orange flesh is a mere perception and is not real. (Of course the orange peel is real, but this is symbolic). If one was to taste of this fruit, it's bitter, but there is pleasure inside.

On the other hand the flesh of the apple is quite good and for our health we should eat of it.

Inside the orange is good tasting fruit. If we eat one section we ate tempted to eat more and eating one piece entices to eat of more. The orange is a fruit, but it's not an apple. Some only believe that because both are fruits that both are Apples!

It's the same way with gods. Because Allah or Veshnu is thought to be God or even claims to be, they are not God; they are mere gods and are false gods because they deceive one to believe that just because they too are fruits, that they're apples as well!

Oranges don't have cores. To be an apple there must be a core. The Holy Ghost must be present. The orange does have a skin, but the orange never claimed that it's skin was special. It was a rough facsimile of the apple. Likewise, other gods, don't have special skin. These gods have never walked the earth. (Buddha is not really a God, but a philosopher. His god was Vishnu). So to be a real apple and not a false apple, a smooth undefiled skin is required and a core as well. In fact pagan gods have not even real meat. It's temptation. They offered sweet orange juice, but it wasn't squeezed from a real Apple!

The not so secret ingredient to the One True God is that he must have a real skin (Jesus), real meat (the Father) and a real core which can bear fruit (the Holy Ghost).

No other god even claims to be who God IS. Sure, they look similar and some even have good attributes, but none are the real Apple. They are just pretenders to Applehood! Only God is the real Apple and his juice is the blood of Jesus who died for our sins. No other fruit is an Apple like that and if they claim to be they are mere oranges or Ugly Fruits. Perhaps they should be called "ugly"!

All gods are not the same. God is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient. Your other gods are weak, not ever present and don't know a thing. Paul called your god an "unknown god". Your god is not even real fruit, of he's not God. He's fake fruit!

Worship God in spirit and in truth. These other gods are false and can save no one. Only Jesus saves and his core is at your door knocking. Join him. He's part of the only really good fruit!