Interview from Hell: Progressive Preacher

This is Bill O'Really with The Facktor. Today we travel again into the depths of the fiery pit. Of course I am in our special FAX News capsule, shielded with ceramic tiles and with a life-tube attached to the most astounding cooling system possible. I trust that I can enter Hades, interview my subject and return without incident! I've done it twice before, but it is draining because, even with the cooling, temperatures are in excess of 105 degrees!

There have been those who say that even preachers are in hell. How can a man of God who has devoted his entire life to service to mankind suffer such a fate? We'll see how it all came about.

Let the wench lower me now into the tunnel five miles beneath the surface of the earth. As I travel each mile temperatures will increase exponentially. It is said that hell is seven times hotter than fire! I didn't believe that until my first trip down this entry into the abode of Satan himself! No, he doesn't live there yet, but it will be his eternal home I understand when he is cast down!

Staff, look up that scripture for me, if you will.

Revelation 20:2 "And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season."

I understand that when Satan is first cast down it will be the millennial reign of Jesus. There will be peace and happiness on earth with Satan bound.  Contrast that with life today where Satan is Prince of the Air, so they say!

Let's examine one of our  experts as we travel "south". I have Frank Ingraham connected remotely. Let's check with the Reverend Ingraham now:

Bill: Hello Rev. Ingraham. Is there such a place as hell and is the devil real? What say you?

Frank: Yes, Bill hell is for real just as heaven is for real! You see, rewarding someone for their faith would be fruitless unless there was something to save them from! Those who believe and trust in Christ are saved from the very hell you are visiting at this time. However, Bill, you can return with your special equipment, but sinners are bound for eternal punishment!

Bill: "God is love", does not the Bible say, Frank? How can a loving God punish those he loves with such a harsh punishment?

Frank: Yes, Jesus is a loving God! He loves you as your own father would. However, your father wants the best for you and wants to see you safe. Sometimes fathers must threaten to punish, even severely, to get the rebellious child to obey. He does that out of love!

Bill: But I understand that God will do more than threaten. He will actually administer punishment!

Frank: Bill, if your father only threatens to punish, but never punishes, he loses respect. Be sure that God is truth and for those who reject Him, they will have to be punished! However, he gives all men a choice. It's his gift of grace! God doesn't do the punishing; he removes the safety barrier from around the one who dies in sin and Satan inflicts his cruel sentence. The sinner is a child of the devil and he is disciplined by his father! Here's what St. John said about this:

John 8:44 "Ye (sinners) are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do."

Frank: Some say that we are all God's children. That's just not true! We are born of the flesh, but we are adopted by Jesus. It was God's plan that all children born become his. It was planned that way from the beginning!

Ephesians 1:5 "Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will..."

If we aren't adopted by Jesus because of our faith in him, then by default, all others belong to their fleshly father, the devil!

Bill: It is reported that in the United States that 80% say they are Christians. Just a few will "go to hell" so to speak. Is that right, Frank?

Frank: No, Bill. The opposite is true! Even the demons believe in Jesus, but it takes trust to be born again as an adopted son of Jesus. Demons lack any trust and most of those 80% lack faith in Jesus, which is by the way "trust"! We can tell true Christians by how they live. If they still live like the devil, they are still children of the devil! The Bible says this about how many will populate heaven:

Matthew 7:13-14 "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."

Bill: You've even got me a little worried, Frank. I was born a Catholic and have always believed, but I must say, I don't know what "born again" even means! Am I in danger?

Frank: It's not for me to judge, but maybe if you went ahead, if you're sorry for your sins, to repent and let Christ redeem you by his blood. That's trusting in Jesus because he says that there is no salvation without the shedding of blood. That blood was his!

Bill: I'm not yet convinced, Frank.

Frank: That's what the monarch, Agrippa, told St. Paul, Bill.

Acts 26:28 "Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian."

Frank: Heaven is not a game of horseshoes, Bill. You can't ALMOST go there. To get the ringer, a person must truly believe and have faith in Jesus. It must be the stake, which is the Cross, on which Jesus died, and no other!

Bill: Thanks Rev. Ingraham. I'll think on these things tomorrow!

Frank: Yes, Bill, that's what most people say they will do, but you know what they say about tomorrow! The right time is always now, but the right time may only occur once!

Bill: Bye for now, Frank, and thanks for your opinion. The Facktor is the "no spin zone" and you gave plenty of evidence to support your claim! Let me continue my journey into the pits of hell.

The cable creaks as the capsule lowers. The temperature gets hotter and hotter, even in the protective shield. Even one little crack in the armor and Bill is doomed for eternity. He remembered something about "the full armor of God"! "I wonder how that would help?" thought Bill.

The capsule stops. The destination has been reached. "There appears to be fire everywhere" thought Bill as he peered outside through the diamond reinforced glass.  He laughed as he thought of the Simpsons "I'm Hank and I sell propane and propane accessories." Bill, thought "Where is that little guy?" He smiled as he thought "Hank Simpson deserves hell!" Then the Holy Spirit spoke to Bill. "Yes, Bill. All men deserve hell!"

Bill: There he is. I see him now! It's the Rev. Brain Jellison of the Presbyterian Church, USA! Hi, Brain. What are you doing here? I thought you were still alive?

Brain: I am Bill, but God, for your interview, has given you a window through time as he did Isaiah and the other prophets. No, you're not a prophet, but God agreed to allow you to visit the future so that others can learn. I know this because the devil told me to say this. I do what God says sometimes and what Satan says at other times.

Bill: You mean, that you believe in God, but allow the devil to lead you?

Brain: Yes, I believe in God... always did, but the God of the Bible was unjust, so I did things they way they should have been done!

Bill: What should have been done in the church, Brain? What say you?

Brain: Read the quotation on your teleprompter, Bill. It says it all!

“Finally, the church in its constitutional documents fully recognizes that the love of gays and lesbian couples is worth celebrating in the faith community,” said the Rev. Brian D. Ellison, executive director of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, which advocates gay inclusion in the church. “There is still disagreement, and I don’t mean to minimize that, but I think we are learning that we can disagree and still be church together.”   (Largest Presbyterian Denomination Gives Final Approval for Same-Sex Marriage; LAURIE GOODSTEIN; MARCH 17, 2015)

Bill: Was that really you, Brain? Your names are so similar.

Brain: Could be. Maybe not! I'm a liar so believe what you want!
Brain: "I'm mad as hell!" I'm in hell, or will be in the future, Bill, because God is wrong about social issues. Social justice is as important as salvation. God is wrong, and I'm not sure he's real anyhow. He could never punish me this way since he's supposed to be "so loving"!

Bill: Doesn't the Bible say something about preachers as yourself? Staff, put up that quote on the screen for all to see. Ah, there it is:

2 Peter 2:1 "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. ..."

Bill: As they say, Brain, "It looks as if you got your just deserves!"

Brain: I'm right, Bill, on this one. It's God that's wrong! Oh, it's so hot down here! Excuse me for a second, Bill. I must turn away from you for a second.

Bill: What's happening Brain?

Brain: (Looking refreshed). My old flesh was depleted. It was burnt up. I get a new flesh every few seconds as the old burns away, I'll have new flesh to give to the fire. It's an eternal cycle and is so painful! What did I do to deserve this?

Bill: It appears, Brain, that you were responsible to teach truth, but were deceived by your Master whose home will be here with you!

Brain: The Bible is just a good teaching in some places! It's not really God's word!

Bill: Considering the pain you're in right now, I would think that you'd rethink that!

Brain: Satan told me that and he told me other lies too!

Bill: And they were?

Brain: That God won't really condemn me; that God isn't Almighty;  that I can do what pleases me; that women can preach in the church; that homosexuals are born that way; that "doing good" is a ticket to heaven;  that Jews are responsible for mid-east wars, and many other progressive thoughts! "After all", Satan told me," this is the 2000's!" It would appear that times have changed and the Bible is antiquated!

Bill: Have your ideas changed?

Brain: I'm still right! I will not bow to God if he even really exists! Why serve a fictitious God when I can serve justice to people on earth? Poverty is more important than where a soul spends eternity!

Bill: Jesus could have wiped out poverty with one more miracle. He could have touched only one person to heal poverty from the whole earth. He chose not to do that! Why are you placing such high priority on "social justice"?

Brain: (As he screams in agony). He says to help the poor! I did just that! But it seems that I didn't have the heart to agonize with Jesus as he died on the Cross because I have doubts about that really happening! He was a good teacher, but really... he died for all mankind (a weak snicker)?

Bill: It's rather warm in here too, Brain. Maybe I should look into being "born-again" (Bill snickers)!

Brain: I see some other preacher friends over there getting new flesh to offer to the fires. I hate their guts. I despise them!

Bill: But you are just as they are!

Brain: No, Bill. I'm different! I'm me!

Bill: Brain, it seems that you worship yourself, but do you really? I would think that you've been deceived. Your father is the devil!

Brain: I did some of the things that The Bible spoke of, but some I disagreed with! I didn't hate before I died, but I hate everybody now! It seems that with hell comes hate!

Bill: While on earth, what did you think about Charles Stanley, Billy Graham, David Jeremiah and many of the preachers who taught Bible truth?

Brain: They were Christian fanatics! They were right wing zealots!

Bill: It seems that you hated truth on earth, Brain, and those who taught truth.

Brain: Truth is relative, Bill. There are shades of grey. I understand "Fifty Shades of Grey" from a popular movie. I never did sexual things, theft, murder, or lying!

Bill: Did you support "pro-choice" ? Did you do anything to save those being killed in the name of sexual freedom? You are an accomplice to murder, Brain, whether you admit it or not! You lied to the congregations and to your church by allowing things God hates! I understand that the Nicolaitane in the Bible allowed sexual activity in the church and with your support of same-sex marriage you are a Nicolaitane, it seems: Staff, put up the quote on lasciviousness.

Revelation 2:15 "So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate."

Brain: Nicolaitanes were those who were pimps like Balaam. There was much evil in the churches at that time. But, that's from Revelation. Who believes that silly stuff?

Bill: Those who are now in heaven did, Brain! In fact you allowed evil in your own denomination! It seems that Revelation spoke specifically about your type of church!

Revelation 3:14 "14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; 15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth."

Brain: But I believe I did what was right! (Screaming violently).

Bill: It seems you were deceived, Brain... and you deceived your entire congregation, if what Revelation says is true!

Brain: I have had enough of this God stuff, Bill. I hate you and everyone at FAX News. I hate everyone now! Hate is my creed because I am as my Master! Get out of here and let me have the isolation hell provides. I hate everything and for eternity my M.O. is "hate". Damn you, Bill and your stinking interview. Now out of here!

Bill: What more could I say? Not a pleasant place to interview, let alone to be... forever even!  Thanks for the interview, Brain. I wish other church leaders could learn from your misfortune. Scripture says that they probably won't, but perhaps some progressive thinker will kneel to who appears to be "The One True God", Jesus! Stay tuned as Meegain Killy brings you The Killy File next. Her "Break Neck News" will interview Godly pastors who teach truth. They will tell how "Reverend" (snicker) Brain Jellison went wrong. Stay tuned! The word of the day when writing The Facktor is "prevaricate". Don't prevaricate about the gospel when you teach others!

Oh, by the way, Brain. This is only a look at the future! I understand that God is graceful! He can forgive anyone who repents. May I suggest that? However, it's got to be before you die and in God's time, not yours!

This is Bill "O'Really. Saying good-bye!

Grace and the Law

Salvation is all about "grace". Salvation is all about "The Law".

Is that contradictory?

What is grace? 

Romans 5:8 "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

Romans 3:24 "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:"

Ephesians 2:8" For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:"

These three verses taken together define "grace" . It's not a simple definition, but is a simple way to be saved. Let's look at what grace is: Because he loves us, God provided a plan for him to pay for our debt for our own rebellion. God gave all mankind a gift: We are redeemed by God's sacrifice of his own Son. We can do nothing to save ourselves, other than trust in God because he loves us. That trust is faith. Since "grace" is for free that "faith" is a "work", but because he made us, God gave us even that! Faith is a work and a gift!

Philippians 2:12 "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."

1 Thessalonians 1:3 "Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father..."

 Yes, even our faith is a work, but being able to even work is a gift of God. Our ability to love is a gift, but we must work at even loving! It's not merely an emotion... it's an obligation, even a command!

Now let's look at The Law:

Technically, The Law is the decrees of the first five books of the Old Testament. There is more than law there, but The Law can be found there. Much is said about how to live one's life to please God, but God's Law is summarized, not by all the regulations, but by The Ten Commandments. The regulations, not written in stone, are Mosaic Law.  God's Law is stated very clearly in the New Testament:

Matthew 22:37 "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

Mosaic Law explains more fully on how to obey God's Law, which can be summarized as "Love God and demonstrate it by loving others!" This is deduced from the following:

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

These two verses tie together the keeping of The Law and grace.  It is by grace we are saved and it's by The Law  that we show our appreciation for God's gift! James validates this:

James 2:26 " For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."

Therefore, God's plan, him being the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, was always about grace! The only covenant that ever accounted for salvation is the "Covenant of Grace" and The Law was a demonstration of thankfulness for that gift. From a scientific standpoint The Law is "love" operationalized:  It explains love by objective criteria:

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: 13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.”

How do we know that we love God? We obey The Law! How can we tell if we are in obedience to The Law? We are not blamed (imputed) for sin without The Law and it has a purpose:

Galatians 3:24 "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith."

With The Law mankind knew that they were out of the will of God. The Law was merely to bring people to salvation. The Law through the Holy Spirit was the beacon to mankind that people need salvation!  Hence, law complements grace:

Matthew 5:17 "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."

Grace and law are twins, not adversaries. The problem arises when people don't have the faith (trust) in the Lord and obey The Law  without the trust.  In essence, they obey all the commands without the purpose in obeying. They fail to love God and show it by loving others! James made it clear that the two worked together!  What was missing from those Pharisees who only obeyed was a heartfelt obedience:

Proverbs 3:5  "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding."

The Pharisees understood The Law, but failed to understand the reason behind it;  to show God love!

We think of Moses and the Exodus when we first consider The Law  being laid down. That was when it was written down in objective commands. A careful study will show that the first three of The Ten Commandments were commands to love God. The last seven are commands to show love for others. Together these two divisions are God's Law expressed as The Greatest Commandment and the One Like Unto It. However, The Law existed long before it was written down! It was stated:

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

What was God commanding here when he said "thou shalt not eat of it"?  I believe that this command was not referring to real fruits, but of worship! We know that Jesus is "The Tree of Life" of which mankind could eat. (Genesis 3:22, Revelation 2:7).

There is no such thing as "irresistible grace", which is a basis for Calvinism (Point 4). Mankind was given a choice and a free will in the garden and he made the wrong choice! That choice was to accept a gift or not. God gave Jesus (The Tree of Life) to love, but man chose unwisely. He sought pleasure, wisdom and wealth by eating of the other tree. Hence, "grace" was there all along and so was The Law!

Genesis 2:17 "Thou shalt not eat of it" is in essence, "love God" and is truly The First Commandment! By electing the "Tree of Life" (Jesus) they would accept the gift of God (grace) and love God. Jesus was The Word (John Chapter 1), and it was Jesus who was that "Tree of Life". Genesis 2:7 is like God's Law, it's a summary of The Ten Commandments!

Jesus was in that Garden. Adam and Eve could eat of his tree, but didn't! They rejected grace and chose instead to worship their self. By selecting the wrong God to love they violated The Law.  They failed to love God! They  were never innocent, since before they even ate of the fruit, they were in disobedience! Eve assumed the dominant role delegated to the man and the Man let her usurp his authority.

As such "grace" was always the way to salvation and it was only by faith. Abraham's faith was the measure for us to follow:

Romans 4:16 "Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all..."
Galatians 3:7 "Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham."

Abraham was "saved by faith". He trusted in Jesus. His "work" of his willingness to sacrifice his own son for the sins of the people was "trusting Jesus" who was The Word, there guiding and instructing him. Abraham believed in the propitiation of Jesus' blood for the sins of mankind although it had yet to happen! His faith was greater than ours because we believe what did happen while he believed in God's promise of what was to come! Abraham has the same salvation which we have! He was saved by grace because grace was always the plan of God!

In fact all the Old Testament patriarchs had the same faith in God. Men have never been saved by works, but by faith alone. Jesus is the only way. Works never was the way!

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

There was never a "Covenant of the Law" nor a "Dispensation of the Law". Those are mere inventions of Calvinists to rationalize their own doctrines. Salvation was always by Jesus. He is the only way to salvation... ever! "No man" is saved except through the propitiation of Jesus, including The Old Testament patriarchs!

Grace has always been the covenant! Salvation has always been by grace. Jesus has always been the Way and only way!

Being Sincere in our Sorrow

As a child I did  something horrible! I did it several times. I took what wasn't mine. Things for which others worked hard! I walked into a friend's house, opened his money box which he had shown only to me, and took part of his money, This sin was two-fold: stealing and betraying! Illicit gain is usually both, but add to that the third wrong: I disobeyed God!

Exodus 20:15 "Thou shalt not steal."
Matthew 22:39b "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."
John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments."

It's obvious that anytime one breaks any commandment several more are broken and if we are guilty of breaking one, we as well have broken them all! For my theft I was a renegade. I was not to be contained by the commands of a distant God. My goal was to please myself! It was to "me" that I knelt at that altar. I was my own idol!

 Exodus 20:3 "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

Sure I still believed in God, even as a child, but I put "ME" before "GOD"!

Later on in life I worked at a service station. My boss told me that I could repair if I chose to. At the start I repaired and put the money in the cash register, Then Satan's deception kicked in. He said "You don't have to do that work so it's okay that you put part of it in the register and keep some!" I listened to him because I rationalized. Later on Satan used my sin against me. "You can have all the money. It's all yours because you did all the work!" I proceeded to listen to the adversary. I began to pocket 100% of the money. It wasn't much, but amount doesn't matter! Jesus was sold out for 30 pieces of silver. Perhaps that's why God hates theft so much! It's ill-gotten gain.

Jump ahead to 2007. This sin always weighed on me! Because God loves me and forgave me, he still allowed me to feel guilt. Why? Because I had not made restitution!

Exodus 22:12 "And if it be stolen from him, he shall make restitution unto the owner thereof."

Before we can be forgiven and the slate wiped clean "sorrow" must be sincere. It's easy to feel bad because a person did wrong, but "sorrow" is contrition enough to make things right to those who were wronged. Repenting is seeking God's forgiveness, but restitution is seeking forgiveness of those wronged and is a measure of just how sorrowful a sinner is!

Restitution is making wrongs right. It's more than replacing what was stolen. It's admitting the sin and seeking forgiveness from the other. As a final measure, what was taken is to be returned!

Since I had taken a small amount years before, I could easily give that amount back. It would be an insincere measure of my sorrow because taking what I took would be easy. Money has time value! What I owed the man grew over time. I was led to repay him 500%. That was a sacrifice for me even at that time, However, I received forgiveness from the man who was then 86 years old, then shook his hand and returned what was his with interest. It was me who got the blessing! Guilt was removed from my shoulders. My repentance was closed. My sorrow led to restitution.

Before we move on, let me mention one more incident. I needed a part for my furnace. I put it in my pocket at work and walked all the way to the door. Almost there I remembered God's word. I was stealing! I immediately walked back and put it in its place. Satan spoke to me then as he had before! He said "It's a gigantic corporation. To take that relay does not hurt anybody!". I replied to him, "Liar!", and returned the relay. I had been severely tempted, but rejected Satan's deception. Guilt, the tool of the Holy Spirit, made me consider what I was about to do! Guilt is a good thing. It keeps us from being psychopathic sinners because they are without remorse. Those who don't feel guilt are called reprobate!

My restitution was not of me. God is not proud of me even for making things right. My restitution was merely obedience to him, and even that act was as filthy rags to him. What pleased God was that a sinner such as I still cared what God's will is! He looked at my heart and considered it's condition. It was still malleable and he likes that!

When I stole from my employer and was about to steal from another, I rationalized my actions: "It's just a little amount and it's a big company", I thought. Rationalizing is Satan's method of getting us to justify wrong. It's how Satan twists our mind to do what's wrong. That gift of rationalizing is called "reason" and that's what our forebears got at the "Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil". We know the difference now, since we're no longer innocent of sin, but with that knowledge of right and wrong, we are weasels. We use reason to make wrongs right in our own mind. Rather than seeking to please God by standing under his tree, we stand under our own. We use our own devices to appease our god, "Me" and all the while say "I'm okay with the One True God!"

Restitution is not always monetary. We can repay hate by doing acts of love. We can repeal what we've coveted by being generous to others. We can cancel out our the use of God's name in vain, by praising him with the same words. We can make amends for lying by always being truthful. We can quit killing  others by loving all God's creation and doing what God commands! Yes, even "hating" a person is killing him or her! What we do in our minds is the same sin as what we do with our bodies.

Hopefully the reader gets the point. As Christians, change is required. It's easy to "believe", but "change" is the hard part. "Change" is a measure of how much we love God! He tells us that!

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

Southern Comfort

The region of the United States known as "The South" is famous for hospitality. It's in the "Bible Belt". Specifically, Kentucky has been a hotbed of Christian activity over it's history. Many people migrating from New York, to New Jersey, to Virginia, to North Carolina came finally to Kentucky before they moved westward. Likewise, those from Delaware and Maryland ended up coming through the Cumberland Gap..

The Ohio River brought many more from Pennsylvania and beyond to ""Kah-ten-tah-teh', meaning 'Fair Land of Tomorrow' or 'Land Where We Will Live Tomorrow'."  (A History of the Daniel Boone National Forest 1770 - 1970). Since pale faces had trouble with that mouthful, this land came to be called "Kentucky".

 Martin Wilkes Heron (1850–1920), the son of a boat-builder, in 1874 at McCauley’s Tavern in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana was the originator of "Southern Comfort". (New Orleans Restaurants & Cuisine: Southern Comfort). However, long before that, Kentucky had it's own brand of "southern comfort". It is "Kentucky Bourbon".  It is supposed that "Kentucky Bourbon" also came from Louisiana. However, the Reverend Elijah Craig who lived in Bourbon County,  Kentucky, is who is credited with bringing this "southern comfort" to Kentucky ( John E. Kleber, ed., The Kentucky Encyclopedia; Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1992, 103)

Today, Americans consider it strange that Baptists, even Baptist preachers would not only consume, but manufacture "spirits".  "Spirits" are alcoholic beverages which contain the psychoactive drug ethanol. It alters perception, mood and consciousness.  This alteration in personality is what people seek to exist in this cruel world! In the South people turn to it for "southern comfort".  Alcoholic beverages mellows the one who imbibes, creating a more apathetic attitude and demeanor.

Too often, and much so, people turn to alcohol, not only for recreation, but for comfort. It's the "soma" which George Orwell coined to enable people to exist. Problems are blurred by alcohol, but it does nothing to solve problems. Thought processes are altered by its use, and the main problem with alcohol is not that it's addictive, but it disengages the user from reality. Those who depend on alcohol for comfort, whether southern or northern, are deceived by the evil one who wants people to fail to consider what God offers.

1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:"

If anyone is under the influence of spirits (alcohol)  that person is under the influence of spirits (demons)!  We are to remain sober to protect ourselves from destruction! We are at war with darkness and the devil seeks to destroy us; specifically our salvation, but on the way, the body may be  a casualty!

Without alcohol, what can we depend on to comfort us? How can we make it with the day-to-day hardships? What is our "soma"?

John 14:16 "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever..."

When Jesus left for his seat in heaven, mankind was not left alone! Jesus is the Comforter, but God left another Comforter. Who would that be?

John 14:26 "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."

The Holy Ghost is the very "Spirit of God"! Yes, there are evil spirits which deceive, but the Holy Spirit comforts. He aids us, if we are vigilant to his admonishments,  to get through  the toils of life! However, to heed the Holy Spirit we must be vigilant, and to be vigilant, we must remain sober. "Southern Comfort" nor "Kentucky Bourbon", not only fail to comfort, but puts a barrier in the mind to the instruction and comfort in the Holy Spirit, THE Comforter!

Christians don't need Southern Comfort when we already have the "Comfort of the Kingdom of God", which is God's elixir available  that we may cope and are not destroyed! When troubles arise, people turn to alcohol when a better "beverage" is available. The Holy Spirit is represented as "Living Waters" and that is "God's Comfort"!

Revelation 7:17 "For the Lamb (Jesus) which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."

Are you drinking the wrong beverage? Should men be drinking Southern Comfort or Living Waters? Which spirit leads men? Is it "spirits' through the demon's deception with alcohol. or is it the Holy Spirit? Is it the deceiver on whom men depend or is it Truth departed by the Lamb of God? It's not the drink which enters the mouth which is wrong, it's the drink that deceives the spirit. How can the Holy Spirit comfort a person who is already being comforted by a strong drink served by a strong demon?

With all our tears here on earth, only the Spirit is able to truly Comfort! We must allow him to do that, and with faith, God will never give us more than we can stand! He never promises a rose garden, but a mere Garden of Eden. Those who lean on the Holy Spirit will smell the herbs therein. The ones who lean on spirits may never sniff the fine aroma in God's garden!

Job is a fine example of leaning on the right spirit. Follow his example and prosperity will return. With his losses he never turned to alcohol, but to God! Let God be the Comforter!

The Holy Spirit of God is not only "Southern Comfort", but he is the "Ultimate Comfort". All we need to do is to fill our bellies with the drink of "living waters":

John 7:38  "He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water."

That my friends, is holiness coming from the drink of sobriety, the Holy Spirit!

Christians Don't Love God

I feel lost not writing when I'm inspired. Then regardless of whether it's read or not, today I write. I may not tomorrow because I may not be inspired tomorrow!

Today, I agonize over one thing: I live my life to obey God, but yet I feel insufficient in my Christian life because I have trouble "loving" God. I do believe in, have faith in, trust him and respect him, but loving is the hard part!

We are accustomed to having the emotion of love.  An emotion is the human body's response, both physically and mentally, to excitement. It doesn't need to be wondrous excitement, but can be as simple as gratitude. On the other hand excitement can be fearful as well. Basically, emotions are how the body responds to the surroundings; the input into our body system.

Let's take sexual attraction., for instance. From a man's viewpoint, because we're visual, when we view a beautiful woman in a bikini, we respond. Sure, we say that we merely enjoy what God created, but in all honesty, that's a nearly impossible task. Men respond, even into old age!

Admiration comes at first glance. We think "What beautiful dark hair!" Most often the interaction time is so fleeting that the emotion of "appreciation" ends here. With more time, we notice other attributes and with that, our body system starts to act. Our eyes examine, our mind processes and our body responds. With response the emotion of "lust" engages. We can feel it! Our heart beats faster, we warm inside and our mind, if we allow it, can take a joy ride through fantasy land. It's that ride that God tells us to flee. It's imperative to keep our exposure to temptation to a minimum!

What I described is an emotion that most of us have felt. Many confuse "lust" and "love". Love doesn't have exotic and abrupt signals. It may be mere content. With that the body becomes apathetic in reality. With contentment comes a feeling of being "pleased". We are satisfied with the security of having someone to share life with, and maybe even have happiness in companionship. What I'm alluding to is that "love" does not have heavy-duty tell-tale signals to flag the emotion. Its' most difficult to even know if we're in love because the body and mind aren't consciously engaged in agreeing to the feeling inside.

Love is more an attitude than an emotion. Making a relationship of love requires a positive outlook and a non-critical spirit. This applies to people as well as to God. We must look toward a relationship with a commitment that a satisfying relationship is not only possible, but that it can be!

When the mind and body are in disagreement, we're confused. Many mistake the excitement of a fast-beating heart and being flush with "love". That's why those in "lust" think they are in "love" and relationships fail because emotions are misread. God wants us to experience love while Satan is content with us being confused between the two. Many relationships do start with lust, but mature people oftentimes outlast the lust until love develops. That's right... love is something people mature into through time!

Lust is instantaneous. "Lust" is what's commonly called "love at first sight". because of the strong emotional response our body feels, we think "It's meant to be!". However, most often it's not!

I'm not sure that "love" is an emotion as is "hate"! With hate we have biological and physical responses to outside events or people so that we have the same palpitations and inside burning that we have with lust. In fact from a Christian standpoint,  lust and hate have more in common than lust and love! Lust, without enduring friendships, can quickly grow into hate! Satan wants us to hate each other because God is "love", hence he uses lust to advance hatred!

My point in this argument, is that "love" may not even be an emotion! It certainly is an "obligation" and therefore a "work". When we take wedding vowels we pledge to love each other. We can't swear that we will "feel"  love for the rest of our lives, but we can swear that we will put forth the effort to love each other! There are ways to "work" at love: Communing is one. Empathy is another. Sharing another, etc.

Secondly, God says in effect "love me by obeying my commands". That is the "work" of love. We do things which God likes and don't do things God dislikes! He wants us to love him, others and even our enemies. He wrote standards in stone in how we demonstrate love. There are ten! We can't even do ten things to show our love, so how is it that we love God? That's what's hard for me. I question my love for God at times because the emotion is not there, and I fail him in my works.

I do get excited about God! I get happy when people turn their life over to him. I hope that's a sign that I love God rather than "that person is now just like me!". It goes back always to self-interest. It's hard to discern whether we  love God, or merely our self! For instance, if I'm born again, am I excited because I'm in a safe space and fear of death is under control, or do I love God for his grace in making me a new person? It's difficult, you must admit!

Let me be an alien for a moment. I come to earth and see human beings. I look at different peoples and focus in on those who claim to love. I read their book and say "That's good. I like that religion!" Let me watch some of those who claim to be "born-again", followers of Christ. It's not evident that many followers do much following. In fact I would swear, as an alien, that they must have another God. It seems that they are into "self worship" because they aren't doing what their God says he wants them to do! They are doing what's right in their own eyes.

As I, the alien, continue to watch this religion of "love" seems to do much "hating"! There is a battle it seems. These Christian earthlings battle in mysterious ways. They have built forts with steeples and put different names on their forts. They gather there because they're right and those in the other forts are wrong. They stand at a parapet and hurl verbal bombs at each other. Yes, some have twisted what their book of love says, but others are just into the "self". Only their regiment is right. In fact each person has their own little agenda which satisfies their "self".

Within these forts scattered throughout the communities are secret warriors. They sit there in their pews and criticize the officers and each other. They have their own rules of engagement and get angry when the officer in charge challenges their methods of operation. The officer is often devoted to God, but it seems that the soldiers battle only for themselves. In fact there is little camaraderie. People either don't obey the book at all, append it as out-dated, add easier rules or totally ignore what the book says because they would rather be worshiping the "self". They want to "do it my way!" where "my" is their "self".

I'm just an alien but I'm confused! Why do these followers of what they claim, not follow who they claim? I saw in their book, which I read, that there are certain things they can do which sets them apart and demonstrates to their God that they love him. Not many people are doing those things!

Their excuses are many! Some are just lazy. Some have another God before him and others are confused because of "grace". Since God has grace and their salvation is a free gift, they claim that a life of sin is of no consequence. They think that God's love covers disobedient people. Grace is what God has for them before their saved, but afterwards what they do does matter! People aren't into the "doing" part. It's the believing that comes easy, but as an alien I see that even what they call demons believe! Then what is the difference?

Back to the earthly me now. I have trouble loving God because I have trouble with obedience. As long as this troubles me, I feel guilt, and know that God is still betrothed to me. If a person has no guilt and can sin freely then they become calloused and are reprobate.

Back then to me as an alien: I don't know when that happens, but God does. As an alien to the earth, now returning to my assumed role, it seems that most Christian earthlings are alien to Christianity! I hope that I'm mistaken because oftentimes I'm one of them!

To overcome the devil, one must not go by emotion.We have a "promise of salvation" and faith is trusting that promise. If we weigh our salvation on an emotional concept of love, we're doomed. We measure our love by how we treat others and what we do for them. Again, many of us must be aliens because I don't see many Christians loving God by doing what he asks us to do!

Why?

I am discouraged so I am ceasing writing for awhile. Readership has dropped for some reason. Apparently, I may be stepping on too many toes, or else, I'm merely admonish scripture poorly. Bear with me while I seek spiritual guidance on what to do with my "Daily Thought".

What Do you Think?

Think on it! I do that all the time. Seldom do I feed my mind recreation. I never did! I have fun and pleasure, but my mind is never idle.

Terri asked, when I had remarked that I never heard of "The Eagles",  "What did you listen to when you were a teen?" My response was "The roar of a tractor engine!" That's why I think. Much of my thinking is done as I run or bicycle. In college as I fell into the throes of rapid eye movement, I solved complex calculus problems. I find solitude the best environment for cognition. Silence fuels synaptic fires!

I think on complex things. Why am I here? Is God real? What is truth? How do animals exist whose systems have such complexity? However, one of my favorites, and I think on it often, is "How can it all be?"  That thought is twofold: How can God be forever and how can forever be? I think my thoughts are profound, but look at this:

Isaiah 55:8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

For now, let's forget "my ways" and focus on "my thoughts";  the thoughts of God. Most people would agree "Herrin has deep thoughts!". I'm not alone. Unless you and Maryjane are close friends, it's likely that you think on these things as well!  Perhaps not as often as I do, but we all wonder!

My deepest thought both astounds me and confuses. It is one thought which intimidates me beyond the imagination because this profound thought is mere teasing by God. Yes, God knows, for he is omniscient.  My thought goes beyond the creation. It is on "what is not"!

Scientists can explain, but not to my satisfaction, what the creation is and how it happened, but they can't begin to explain what was before the creation! Think on that!

The creation takes up space. There was a void in which matter and energy was placed. Scientists are futile in their explanations of how it came to be, but make no attempt to explain "where it was put". At one time even Albert Einstein said it was created by God! The next generation said "Creation occurred with the Big Bang", and now the wisdom of the ages is that "what is was always". There was no creation. Everything has always been!

Can all be right? First off, let us deal with "nothingness". What must have always been is emptiness. Mass and energy can move about in nothingness, hence nothingness is something. It's the vessel which holds all things. However, this vessel is boundless. Go any which way and nothing goes on forever. Void is infinite. My highest most profound thought is where did "nothing" originate and how far does it go? For me there is one answer "It must have begun with God!"

The beginning has to be with God because he was all that existed. I've said it before: "Nothingness was not void, it was filled with God's Holy Spirit!"

Revelation 1:8 "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."

The Lord God said that everything began with him. That's "omnipotence". God is "all-powerful"!  If that's true, and offer me an alternate explanation, God filled that emptiness and created matter and energy which now fills a little part of nothingness.

Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."

What God "created" was "in the beginning". Hence, "nothing" was created by God in which to place what he created. God is the beginning. He had to be! But did God have a beginning or did he just "begin" to create? See how deeply one can think on the power of God? But think more deeply than that! Without God "nothing just happened", "because nothing caused it". Void just always was, then "poof", everything became into being without reason just because "chance" did all the right things, which by the way, weren't in existence; took the right conditions and the perfect time, and then it all came together in perfect harmony , and voila, we have creation!

Where was God when even void was created. He just WAS.

Exodus 3:14a  "And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am..."

In effect God was saying that only he is without beginning, and of course he is without end. God always WAS and always IS and always WILL BE.

Surely people who believe that "chance" created all things have no trouble believing that Higg's boson farted and pleasant smelling solid matter filled the diaper of space. Naive people need to think beyond natural phenomena because according to God "my ways higher than your ways"! I believe with all the faith which exists in my mind, that God is the ONLY explanation. Great minds believe that too! Einstein said:

 "God does not play dice with the universe."

The greatest human mind thought, and his mouth responded, in saying in effect "Creation is not by chance, God created it!" No Einstein was not a religious man. He never professed a personal relationship with God. He's the epitome of self absorption because he attempted to explain it all! However, Einstein came to a point where he realized that without God there is no explanation! He humbly had to admit that he found no cause and effect relationship to explain the universe, so he relegated it to the God in whom others believe!

Can you imagine in the beginning as God set everything into motion. He has said "as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways".  We merely attempt to explain what God did, but God DID IT!  God had a perfect plan for everything, his drawing board was his own mind and his tools were his thoughts. Was the boson which released energy and became matter, rather than the fart of chance, a "will" from God?

I won't go into detail, but natural acts takes tremendous amounts of time. A boson can erupt in a moment, but it would take billions of years of time for reactions to make recognizable and useful things. With God time is without definition (2 Peter 3:8). God squeezed actions normally requiring billions of years into an instant in time. Silly? What is the alternative? If something can be made from nothing, isn't it plausible that it can be done in an instant. That's the way of a god. That's God's way of doing things! He's not limited by what his creation can comprehend; his power is boundless!

God's voice said " I am the Almighty God"! What does "almighty" mean? It means "absolute power". It's power beyond definition or comprehension. It's power beyond our thoughts! We can't fathom that absolute power because God said "my thoughts than your thoughts"!

Furthermore, God doesn't want us to know his ways! Adam and Eve wanted to be as God and know what God knows. They were punished and cursed. Wanting to know what God knows has always been mankind's fault. Einstein attempted to know what God knows. He failed! Stephen Hawking, said to be "the smartest man in the world" fails! I'm not smart, but I have more wisdom that Hawking! I understand that man will never be able to know God's ways or God's thoughts! Hawking doesn't believe in God. His god is "chance" and we are who we are because dice were rolled, but by whom we do not know!

Genesis 11:4 "And they (the whole earth) said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth."

A tower was built to see into the heavens. The people sought to know what God knows (make us a name). Somebody, then, was a picture of Stephen Hawking today! We know from archeology that the zigurat they built was one for astronomy and astrology, inseparable then as now.  In order to explain us, they looked to the cosmos, not in search of God, but desiring to know what God knows. They repeated Adam's and Eve's sin, and just as they were punished, the whole people of the earth were scattered and their language confounded. They became mere "babblers" to each other! Hawking continues the babbling!

God doesn't want mankind to know his ways nor his thoughts. We have always envied God and sought to know how it all happened. He told us: He created it, yet we still don't believe although there is no other explanation!  How he "willed it" is not scientific. Science does not create. Science merely seeks to learn what God did. Why? Because they fail to see the need for God in their lives. If they explain " the ways of God" well enough then they make for themselves "a name"! They are as gods in their own eyes!

My God is not Stephen Hawking. He will be just as John Brown shortly; his body moldering in the grave. I won't judge his soul. God will do that, but if God is truth, then we know what happens to those who fail to trust God. Realizing that God is the Creator and he did the creation in his own time, is trusting in God! If God can create he can renew. If he can birth then he can make us "born again"! My faith lies in Jesus, God incarnate. If you're depending on the likes of Stephen Hawking, then your god is a fool and you are fooled!