The Oriental Philosophic Arts

There was an article about meditation in today's newspaper. The complaint was that western countries have taken the spirituality out of spiritual practices. That's probably true because westerners take god out of everything, and it's small "g" here because all gods are not the same, but most westerners seem to be content to worship themselves!

Meditation is not emptying the mind, but thinking profound thoughts.  Not being a listener of music and little television, I spend a good part of my day on meditation. There's no secret to how to do it! You just query God and then think on it! For instance, my continuous thought dwells on "What this idea have to do with Jesus?' when reflecting on Old Testament scripture. Then my mind runs rampant with thoughts of symbolism, shadows of things to come and even mind-boggling thoughts such as "How far does nothing go in the cosmos and is there anything beyond nothing?" A followup thought to that is "Nothing must be something because it's a container for the material of the cosmos!"

For Christians meditation is fifty-percent of communing with God. It's the part where we shut up and listen! Yes, God speaks with his children, but we must be attentive! Communing with God is more than praying and praising him, but listening to him and doing his will. The will of God is revealed by divine inspiration. When I think on poverty, for instance, scripture pops to mind ?

James 1:27 "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."

While visiting the widows and orphans in their "affliction" requires some thought! What is God revealing to the reader of this passage? Read it, think on it and God will reveal it! Widows and orphans are economically hard-pressed. They are needy! The thought here is more than "just visit" because charity is more than that! It's helping with their needs. Meditation here is "What things is it God's will that you do and he must have a plan for you to do it! What's God's plan?"

 Joshua 1:8  "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."

Meditation is three-fold: 1) We think on how to do God's will, 2) we then do God's will and 3) we shall prosper and be better for it! In the case of the widows and orphans, they gain by your help, you gain when you help and lastly you prosper because you've been charitable. However, the focus is not on "you" here, but God and others! Guess why? You demonstrate love for God by loving others and because you love, God rewards! If this sounds familiar, it should:

Exodus 20:6  "And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments."

I have written often that God meant by "keep my commandments" that we are to love him (Commandments 1-3) and loving others (Commandments 4-10).  Or as the New Testament says "the Greatest Commandment" is to "love God" and the one like unto it is "to love others as oneself". The focus here is not on "one self" because that love is a given: Loving our Self is our idol of the flesh, which God realizes, but expects others to be loved as much!

In Exodus 20:6 it speaks of the reward for meditating: God shows mercy on the one meditating!  The Christian who meditates on the things of God receives grace for meditating! God will have mercy on the one who loves God and others enough to consider God's will in human and divine relationships!

However, meditating can be through philosophy and other, or pagan gods. Most meditation, even in the western hemisphere, is either eastern philosophy (Buddhism, for instance) or the practice of worshiping Vesta from which Hinduism and many pagan "isms" are derived.  When western peoples practice eastern thought, they are in violation of "The First Commandment" in effect, "I don't want you to practice the worship of other gods even if you still worship me to!"

Christians meditate in the fashion of pagans on a daily basis. They are placing two idols before God: 1) The pagan god on whom they meditate, and 2) on their Self because they are doing what the Self wants to  do! I bet you never thought that many people worship three gods! We always forget the "Self", but ultimately the "Self" is God's worst enemy because it's always trying to please the Self! The Self always asks the question "What is it that I want?" and the answer is always "To do whatever it is which pleases me!"

Another form of meditation is just "opening the mind". It's a process where people clear out the clutter and allow whatever to come that will come! There is much danger there, because if the things of God are cleared from the mind, principalities are ready to fill the void.

Leviticus 19:31 "Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God."

"Familiar spirits" are called that for a reason! People channel dead loved ones for advice and comfort. However, it's spirits who look familiar, but are wearing clever disguises. Those familiar spirits are in fact nefarious beings from a dark world making efforts to win you over whatever it takes! Nowadays these familiar spirits are called "Ascended Masters" because they are alleged to know things mystical to us, and can provide safety, comfort, wealth and health if you only listen to them. However, Ascended Masters are merely tricky spirits providing false knowledge, yet people turn to them rather than to God!

Meditation is in vogue right now. It has a strong foothold in industry, education, entertainment, psychology and government. However, there are many more eastern philosophies equally destructive and widely practiced! For instance, Christian women think nothing of practicing Yoga because they are told "It's not another religion!" It's not. Yoga is a practice of pagan religions and by doing Yoga Christians are doing what the pagans do!"

 Deuteronomy 18:9 "When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations."

Technically, we aren't going to them; they are coming to us! Either way we are not to do things the pagans do because God commands us not to do those things! What are they: Yoga, martial arts, eastern meditation, faith in positive affirmations,  acupuncture, holistic healing, and all types of other practices coming from the worship of Vesta! Even much of Jungian psychology is eastern spiritualism.

Why do Americans suddenly insist on doing things the pagan way? There is a vacuum in the heart which men try to fill, but fill with whatever it is which promises more than it can perform! On the other hand, God delivers what he promises! The faith that he will is our "hope" for mankind and any person knows that a healthy person stays healthy if they have hope! Meditation can fake hope, it can never deliver, but in the process the practitioner is doing the "Self's" will and not their Father's in heaven!

Things We Do to Please Our Other God

Because the sins are of "the flesh" they are forgiven by the sacrifice of flesh. Circumcision was symbolic of baptism. After repentance, a little of our god was sacrificed to God. We gave a small portion of our own flesh as a testimony to God that we were one of his.

Some deny that a body with flesh, a man, died on the cross to redeem our sinful flesh. That's what the gnostics believed: that only a phantasm was on the cross! It's imperative that Christians acknowledge that a man called Jesus was truly crucified in our place, and because he was bodily resurrected, then we all have that hope. Without the sacrifice of "flesh" there is no hope!

Romans 8:1 "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:"

Sinners "walk in the flesh".  It's "the flesh", the other god, who  sinners endeavor to please. With Jesus, all it takes is "faith" because we believe in him and his "fleshly sacrifice", and that's how we worship him.  How do we worship the "god of self", called "The Self" and "The Flesh"?

Here are some of the things men do to please and appease their "god of the flesh":

Galatians 5:19 "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."

Because we do things to please "the flesh" in contrast to "Thou shalt have no other God's before me.", sinners "which do such things shalt not inherit the kingdom of God". Those who are the "children of God" have an inheritance. Those who are of "the flesh"  don't have an inheritance because their true father is the devil:

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

And guess what "children of the devil" forfeit? God's inheritance! Why? It's "the lusts of your father ye will do"! Now let's look at some of those "lusts" sinners do to appease and pleasure their father:

• Adultery: Infidelity to the marriage partner. It comes first because it is so sacred an institution. Husbands and wives are a unit exclusive of any others. Triangulating destroys that unity. Marriage is symbolic of the Christians unity with Christ, our groom. If people are true to God's institution of marriage, is it likely that they'll be true to Christ, their bridegroom?
• Fornication: This is "whoring around" and is symbolic of having relations with other gods. Revelation 2:20 speaks of the church at Thyatira and tells them that they have fornicated by bringing the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes into the church. That is sexual activities and its toleration, just as Balaam did in times of old! Their own flesh is the god with whom they fornicated. Therefore, fornication is something God hates!
• Uncleanness: These are unrighteous things. Since baptism washes away sin and is cleanness, uncleanness is letting the natural man rule.
• Lasciviousness: That's acts of crudeness and ludeness. It's being trashy. It's doing things the pagans do! It's engaging in smut and pornography and many other titillating things.
• Idolatry: It's merely pleasing one's Self". Sometimes there are material figurines which are symbolic, but idolatry is placing the Self before God.
• Witchcraft: Doing the deeds and will of principalities who are at war with God. There are no "good witches". White witches look as if they're "good" to deceive people into accepting them. All witchcraft is evil and repulsive to God. Faith and trust must be in God, not nefarious impostors!
• Hatred: This is not only despising God, but fellow human beings as well. Hatred is the key sin which demonstrates disdain for God. Its opposite is love. Since "love" is to be our reaction to God's salvation, "hate" is not being grateful to God for his grace.
• Variance: That's doing abnormal things. Variances may not be at odds with the world, but they are with God's will. Homosexuality was the "norm" in Sodom and Gomorrah, but is at odds with "the kingdom of God".
• Emulations: This is doing what others do. It's copying the world rather than following Christ. It's "When in Rome do as the Romans do!" because people do those things even when not in Rome. God tells us not to do the things the pagans do!
• Wrath: This is unrighteous anger. For example, wrath is road rage. It's how we manifest displeasure at the actions of others. It's our failure to realize that others don't worship our little god; the Self.
• Strife: That's being disagreeable with our fellow men. Rather than seeking common ground, it's finding fault. Strife is the cause of divorce because different world's collide. Two people have different gods (two Selfs) and each of those gods are striving for control. Who wins "The War of the Roses"? There is one winner... Satan!
• Seditions: That's disobedience to authority, from God on down! Rejecting the regulation of police officers when in their line of duty is "sedition" and is sinful. Why are mobs not blessed? Because of their seditions!
• Heresies: Adhering to doctrines not taught in scripture as God's teaches. When people accept evolution, that's heresy because, in effect, it is a doctrine that teaches that God is a liar! Heresies start with neglecting God's will to accommodate society.  It's being mislead by false doctrines!
• Envyings: It's coveting what others have. It's wanting what's theirs without the effort of earning things for yourself. Socialism is an ideology based on class envy.
• Murders: Killing when not at war. Yes, abortion IS murder.
• Drunkenness: Not being "sober" either because of the use of alcohol or drugs.
• Revelings: Mob's disrupting the norm. Behaviors unacceptable to God.

These not only are offensive to God, but are sinners ritualistic worship of their Self under their priest Satan.

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!