Maslows Heirarchy of Needs

The other day I found myself in a high school health classroom.  On the board was a triangle divided into some parts and each one was labeled with different various things.  This Triangle was labeled as Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.  It looked similar to this following illustration.

Abraham Maslow was a Psychologist who became known for this Hierarchy of needs,  a theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority, culminating in self-actualization. Maslow was a humanist.  In 1963 he was nominated for president of Association for Humanistic Psychology at its founding meeting.  in 1967 Maslow was named humanist of the year.


Humanism is a philosophy, or world view, based on belief in the dignity of human beings, informed by science, and motivated by human hope and human compassion.   Humanistic psychologists believe that every person has a strong desire to realize his or her full potential, to reach a level of "self-actualization".
 

Self-actualization involves fulfilling your human potential and becoming all that you can be.  The focus is on the self.  It is about advancing the human race, intellectually and evolutionally through the perfection of self and raising oneself into the state of self actualization to best benefit human kind.  The Hierarchy to achieve this is all about meeting ones own personal needs and developing those to a point of fulfillment.


If that sounds a bit religious, it is.  Many religions, especially the eastern religions are all about the self disciplines to achieve an ultimate human state.  Some would call it Nirvana, and others would call it something else.  Peoples of India actually believe that you can work on your perfection over many lifetimes until you reach that ultimate human goal.  Whether it is self actualization, self awareness, achieving nirvana, or whatever you call it, self is the main focal point.


Christianity is unique among the belief systems of the world in that it does not teach anything about the self.  In fact, it says the self can do nothing.  While the Humanist believes that self actualization comes through the meeting of personal needs on various levels to attain self actualization to then reach out to others, Christianity says that we are to set our own personal needs to the side, and focus on Jesus Christ and surrender to His will and He will then use us as an extension of himself to reach others, not to have a better life in this world, but to have eternal life in Heaven with our creator.


Let's take a little look at the Hierarchy of needs and compare them with scripture.


First off, at the foundation of Maslows humanist theory, a person has to meet their basic needs; food, clothing, shelter.  As the theory goes, if your basic needs are not met, you cannot advance and be any success in any higher levels of understanding.  In Christianity, Jesus teaches us just the opposite.  Matthew 6:25  Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?  He concludes by saying, 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.  Immediately we see the foundational difference right off the bat.  Humanists say my own needs are preeminent, where Christ says He is first.  1 Corinthians 3:11 No one can lay any other foundation besides the one that is already laid, which is Jesus Christ.


Second on the Maslow hierarchy is safety and security.  The personal safety and security is in making sure that the personal physical needs are to be met without worry.  If you can have a stable secure source to meet your basic needs, only then can you move on.  Again, this is all about self, and securing material needs in physical ways.  It could be considered that this is the level at which a gold digger operates.  They want to gain enough security and stability to meet their wants and needs through marrying into enough finances to secure those personal needs.  Christianity again is just the opposite.  God makes no promises to the believer about personal safety or security.  In fact, persecution is promised.  2 Timothy 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.  But, Christians don't find their safety and security in physical things.  Again, it is found in Jesus, and it comes despite what is happening to us physically.  Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.


Maslow says that once we have our physical needs met, and have secured them and feel safe that we have them, then we can move along to personal relationships, friendships, love interests, family, and the like.  Others come in third behind our own personal needs, and are in fact only meant as a means to meet our personal needs for relationships.  The argument would be that good relationships cannot be had or maintained if we have not met our needs and feel safe that we will have those needs met continually.  Christianity again, looks to Jesus.  It is only through the Holy Spirit He gives at salvation that gives us the capacity for true love.  If we have Jesus as our foundation in all things, we find that the love He gives will lead us to meed the basic needs of others even at our own expense.  Love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31) takes the focus off meeting our own needs and places it on doing for others as we would have them do to us (Luke 6:31).  Because we know God meets all of our needs through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19), we can then go about meeting the needs of others.  Our relationship is with Jesus, who leads us to love others the way He loved us (John 15:12).


Next on Maslows Hierarchy is Esteem.  When our needs our met, and secured, and we have good relationships, we can then start feeling good about ourselves.  This here is really about pride.  You become proud that you have met and secured those needs, have stable relationships, and have accomplished things in life.  You are now a self made person who has pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and made a name for yourself.  Hard for others to speak ill of you when you have accomplished so much.  Again, The Bible says just the opposite.  Philippians 3:8  Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.  For the Christian, all personal achievements in life are counted as nothing.  We know that pride comes before a fall (proverbs 16:18).  Mark 7:21-23 lists pride as part of the evil things that defile a man.


At the top of the Maslow Hierarchy is self actualization, the successful human being.  Everything along the way, physical needs, security, good relationships, positive self esteem, are all tools to be used along the way to reach the highest state of human person-hood, the alpha being.  It is all about me.  Jesus tells a story about such a man who had reached self actualization.  Like 12:16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.  Here, self actualization is put into perspective.  All that we can gain or do or achieve in this life is a big nothing.  James 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.


1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.


Mark 4:19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.


These are the things they are teaching our children.  The religion of Secular Humanism, man without God, is what is being taught our children.  Then people want to wonder what is wrong with this nation and why we are no longer the great nation we once were.  Well, everyone is to busy being taught to look out for number one, themselves, instead of looking out for each other as God teaches.  We are taught that we can ourselves become a self actualized being instead of being taught that we are sinners in need of a savior, Jesus Christ.  Matthew 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?



Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

A Dividing Line

A couple of months ago I started to notice something....  I wasn't sure what it was at the time.  As time has gone by it has been coming more and more into focus.  At first I thought it was just me.  Am I the only one noticing these things?  Or am I just viewing things differently now?  I realized that I was not the only one noticing these things.  Also I think in part that God is continuing to change me and mold me more and more into the likeness of His son.  What I was noticing were things happening and changing across society at large and things being exposed that were once hidden.  All of these things pertained to how we viewed God and whether we were submitted to His will and not our own.


The release of the abortion videos has frighteningly been largely a ho hum for many.  Most people who support abortion have not even bothered to watch them and think they are just conspiratorial lies.  Christians mostly have been totally appalled at the depth of the depravity to which we have fallen.  Unfortunately there seem to be some Christians who fall into the former group and not the latter.  It has further divided people and made harder their positions in most cases.  It is a situation that God cares a great deal about, and has judged nations over.


Then we had Donald Trump come on the scene.  His big entrance included some strong words on immigration.  People have further divided on this issue, but in this instance, it seems to have made people reverse course and go against what they had previously supported.  It also revealed more openly the hatred people hold in their heart for those who differ with them.  People have had horrible and yet superficial reactions to Trump.  He's just the facilitator as that would have come out at some point anyway, and has.  Whether people realize it or not, how we treat foreigners, strangers, and immigrants is very important to God.  I don't think either side has even considered that, nor when confronted with it seem to care very much.  Again, this was just another point exposed where people had to make a choice.  This too is an area where God has judged nations over. 


We had the gay marriage ruling in June that has now come to the point where the government is now jailing Christians for their beliefs in God.  This was a day long warned about but that most people felt assured would never come about.  How is two same sex people getting married supposed to affect anyone else?  It's their private business.  Except now we have Christians having their businesses, homes, livelihoods, and now even their freedom taken away as a result of this ruling.  This subject is even splitting the church as some denominations have become false religions that seem more interested in the lust of the flesh than the will of God.  It has completely finished removing us from our foundations on Godly principles with the judge jailing the clerk for her faith saying that it would be a bad precedent to allow Gods law to supersede the will of the court.  So we now have it declared that Government is above God.  Problem is, people are buying that argument.  Not surprising though since we are now in the 3rd full generation raised without the Bible or prayers being taught that we are just animals that sprang up accidentally from some prehistoric soup cocktail. 


Now more than ever before I feel this next election is not just about who our next leaders will be, but about whether we will accept or reject God.  Frankly, I think it is our last chance based on what I am seeing with God exposing all of the evils for everyone to see and forcing people to take a stand one way or another, for or against Yahweh. 


The silence of the Christian too may be seen as complicity in these things as well.  We not only have to just give lip service to our convictions in the Lord, but also stand up for what we believe with actions.  We need to speak out what we believe to a lost and crumbling nation.  We need to not fear what they may say or do to us, for if God be for us, who can be against us?  Now more than ever we need to be obedient to the word of God and set the example for others, even if it means jail or worse.  Again I hearken back to Esther, who knows if we were not put here for a time such as this?


The agenda of the evil one has been laid bare.  We have been given notice.  Choose this day who you are going to serve.  Will it be the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the Creator of the universe?  Or will you reject that path and take your own route or that of another god?  Wide is the path that leads to destruction, and narrow is the way that leads to life.  Jesus says I am the way, the truth, and the life.  no man comes to the father but by me.  You show that be being obedient to Him.  Jesus also says, if you love me, keep my commandments, not do as thou wilt.  


Judgment is coming.  God is still in control.  At this very moment He is working in the world and preparing His way.  We are either for him or against him.  It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of an angry God.  We ought to obey God rather than men.

A Time Such As This

Esther 4:14
For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?


The story of Esther is one of the most dramatic books in all of scripture.  The story of  Jewish girl taken by force to be part of the Kings harem to choose a new bride from who is chosen to be queen.  Dire circumstances fell and increased government persecution of Gods people came to a boiling point when a descendent of a former enemy of the Jews gains power and influence and tries to have all the Jews put to death.  Esther must then use her position, defy the formal protocols of the land, possible facing death as a result to stand up and make it be known to the king exactly what was up.


The above verse came at the time when she was being asked to stand up for Gods people and proclaim the truth, even if it meant her demise.  We today are facing hard times.  While we are not yet at the point of being annihilated, we are at the point of having our ability to live and express our faith openly taken away.  The full force of government is being used to try and make us go against our God with the threat of loss of property, livelihood, family.  We are regularly ridiculed and lied about, demonized by those who wish to silence us.


Looming in the backdrop of all this is an old enemy of Christendom; Islam.  For 1400 years those who follow Mohamed have been venturing on a quest for world domination and the extermination of Christians and Jews.  Unbelievers here side with them and give them favored status, while attacking and removing all symbols and remembrances of Christendom from our national memory. 


In modern memory we can still look back and see what happened in Germany to the Jews and see very eerie similarities to what is starting to take place in the US.  The German government too gave favored status to Muslims while attacking and removing anything Jewish from German memory.  They, like has begun here, were being made as the scapegoats.  All that was wrong could be placed squarely on Gods people and if only they were not there, we could evolve into the great human utopian era. 


Now is the time for believers to stand up and proclaim the truth of God to the nation and to the world.  It is time we stand up and live our beliefs faithfully and recommit ourselves to do that which God wills us to do.  It is time to stand up and call out the evildoers and expose what they are doing.  For if we remain silent at this time, God will raise up those voices elsewhere and we will not be spared.  Who knows whether we have been placed here for a time such as this?

What in the World?

We are at one of those moments in history...  a time of choosing; a time of direction.  Pressures from all sides are culminating rapidly, dividing people, forcing decisions to be made about where we stand on issues.  The issues are not easy ones without consequence either.  It is costing us friendships.  It is costing us jobs and businesses.  It is costing us our children.  It is costing us our freedom.  It may even cost us our lives.


The rapidity with which events have taken place is staggering.  Even the seemingly simplest of things and the most minute details are being changed and challenged.  The forces of darkness are in full stride and none of us is safe from its influence.  We have lived and are living through a global revolution.  We could not have even imagined the depths that this world has fallen into before the turn of the century.  Some of us were told, but still the realization is mind boggling.


For those of us who have read and studied our Bibles, and have believed on Jesus Christ and been indwelt with the Holy Spirit; We knew this day was to come.  While of that day and hour knows no man, only out Father in Heaven, Jesus tells us that we can know that the season is nigh.  The prophets have told us about what these days would be like.  We thought we understood.  I think our understanding has grown a lot deeper with just seeing the inklings and beginnings of what is about to transpire.


Despite all the things going on, from fears about the end of our planet due to CO2, down to having even the tiniest little aspect of our lives regulated, to evil men who plot the takeover of the planet. the choices really boil down to the same ones that all men have had to deal with.  Is God real?  The attacks run from man made theories that contradict the very first pages of scripture to threats of having heads chopped of for refusing to bow down to false Gods. 


The pressures are put on us mentally with the constant barage of propaganda to deny Gods ways in favor of mans from the media, education, science, government, foreign threats.  The pressures are put on through our success, and our wealth, posessions, that are all threatened if we don't do and think as we are told.  The pressures come physically as well, through threats of loss of freedoms and/or loss of life.  They will take our children away from us if it is deemed we are not raising them as the state demands.  We are not that far away from being rounded up in Box cars to be sent to camps. 


All of this really puts an exclamation point on what Paul says about enduring to the end.  It is not easy, and all of this is sorting folks out.  We are finding out who is falling by the wayside, or are in rocky ground.  We are and will be seeing whose foundations are built on the sand or on the rock.  We will see who sticks to the good when it is called evil.  The great falling away is going to and is coming about as these kinds of pressures increase. 


Romans 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.


We have a hope though that gives us the strength to carry on and to endure unto the end.  That hope is the promise of what is to come, our eternal home with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and God the Father for eternity in perfection.  We are  heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.


31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.


Mark 13:28 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: 29 So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors. 30 Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.


Desppite what we see going on and the feelings we get to complain and grumble about all of it, we know that what is happening must come to pass and we know in our hearts that our redemption draweth nigh and our deliverance is soon in coming. 


Revelation 22:20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Deal With It

Sometimes we try and ignore or avoid our problems; passing them off or just walking away. God wants us to deal with issues in our life, by letting Him deal with it. That means doing things His way, not our own.

Are We Proactive Or Reactive?

When I was young, I used to play football.  One of the lessons I remember about playing football was that you wanted your game to be proactive and not reactive.  You wanted your opponents on their heels, having to adjust themselves to what you were doing rather than the other way around.  It was one of the keys to victory. 


I was sitting around the other day thinking to myself, why is it that I do the things that I do?  That led me to this other thought of whether I was being proactive or reactive.   Each and every waking moment we spend in life, we are being either one or the other.  We are either causing people to react to what we say or do, or we are reacting to what others are saying or doing.  Neither is good or bad in and of itself.  It just is.  It is the nature of interaction.


When a person is proactive, they are making a particular choice.  Let's take something simple.  You are in a room with your family, and you stand up and announce, "I am going to the store".  You have done something proactive and decided to do something.  Everyone else has now been placed in a position to react.  They can go with, ask you to get them something, ignore you, laugh at you, whatever.  But, what you have done is to set the agenda.  Now, you may be able to compromise a little on the details based on others reactions, but you have set the direction.


What if the situation were more complicated?  A number of years ago, I had a health problem arise.  It was pretty serious, at least to me.  I just had no clue what the problem was, why it was happening, what to do to fix it, or even wondered if I would survive it.  I went to see a doctor.  they ran tests and mumbled some things I could not understand and offered me some pills.  I suppose I could have just been reactive and taken the pills and left it at that.  I was not satisfied with that.  I became proactive and sought a specific diagnosis.  I studied, got other opinions, And by the time of my last doctor visit, I pretty much was able to give the doctor a complete rundown of my symptoms, how and when they occurred, and what those symptoms seemed to indicate and a possible plan of action on how to improve it.  The last Doc just kind of agreed with me and again offered me medication I already learned would not work. 


I guess what I am saying is that it is hard to be proactive in situations where you are not knowledgeable.  My reaction to something was to become proactive through study, educating myself.  This again goes back to my opening football analogy.  You could not be proactive on the field if you did not understand the game.  You had to have an idea of what you want to accomplish, how to get there, and an understanding of the opposition, and what they were trying to do.
 

It is in this latter point that I think that many Christians are failing these days.  They are either totally reactive, basing their ideas and actions bouncing off surrounding events; or they are trying to be proactive, but don't understand the game, have no plan of action, and no understanding of their adversaries.  Both are recipes for failure.  You end up looking like uninformed complainers, offering no hope, and appearing hypocritical, not practicing what they preach.
 

The bible says, 2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.  As believers we should know our playbook, understand our plan of action, and be able to effectively implement the plays.  I'm not talking about formulaic responses, but truly understanding What God wants and expects and putting that to play in our lives.  Truly living for God is proactive and will cause a response in others.


Why is this the case?  The word itself explains this, Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  When we live out the word in our lives, and share our lives with others, it will naturally cause others to react to it, one way or the other.  It will either draw people in, or push them away.


The end game for the believer should be the same as God's in the 2nd half of 2 Peter 3:9 ..., not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.  We should all be playing some role within the body of Christ towards that end.  We do that most  importantly by being obedient ourselves to that which God has called us to do, living rightly, using whatever talents and interests God has given us for the furtherance of the gospel.  Each of us has been given individual abilities, superpowers as it were, that we can use in His service.  Some pray, some preach, some provide, some sing, some clean up the mess, whatever.  It all goes to make the team run effectively.  That pass play won't work if the receiver runs the wrong route, or the lineman makes the wrong read and misses the blitzing linebacker.


Our touchdown is Jesus.  When we can lead someone to the foot of the cross and they accept Jesus as their Lord and savior, that is our score.  And the crowd goes wild! Luke 15:7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. v10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. 


john3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.  This is the gospel message.  It is the goal of the plan, the end game of the playbook.  Our whole lifestyle should be proactive in leading people to make this decision. 

Can You Handle It?

The other day I was having a conversation with a friend of mine.  During the course of the conversation, my friend mentioned a common theme that many people believe is true but one that I am not so sure is.  The idea is this; that God will not give you more than you can handle.

This is a pretty common theme that I hear all the time.  I hear it from both church goers and unbelievers as well.  It is one of those "universal" themes that people seem to have about God.  I think that also in time of great difficulty it is kind of comforting to ones self to think that I can handle this because God would never give me more than I can handle.  Is this true?

The concept come from I Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.  It certainly seems here that this is indeed a statement right out of scripture that God will never give you more than you can bear.  But we need to look a little closer.

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man.  When we start out here we find the people to whom this is written in the same plight of those who use the saying, in a position of troubles.  But, what kind of troubles?  These are very specific issues with these people.  They are temptations that they have fallen to.  The temptation to which they have fallen, and so many others is the temptation to sin; or go against God's will.  We often find ourselves at our wits end in a situation where we have made a decision and are suffering the consequences thereof.  We've all been there and it is nothing uncommon.  We have all been disobedient and had to suffer the consequences.

but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able...  This is the part people like to take out.  We can handle anything because God won't let us get in over our heads.  We have to think about this one here a minute.  Yes, God is faithful...  faithful to whom?  God is faithful to His children.  If you are not a child of His, God is not obligated to be faithful.  This verse, after all, was written to believers.  It was for believers.  It is believers who will not be tempted above what they are able.  Unbelievers will not even see a temptation as a temptation.  It will not be something they would even be interested in avoiding.  An unbeliever will plow full steam into temptation and revel in it.  They might comfort themselves with these words, but they will continue doing the same things.

For the believer,  "but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."  The question is, what is that escape?  For the believer, that escape is the Word.  In Mathew 4 we see Jesus being tempted by the devil.  With each temptation, Jesus gave example for us on how to escape temptation.  It is written, it is written, it is written.  And it wasn't just the words, but also the fact that Jesus believed the words and obeyed the words.  Obedience to the word of God is the way of escape from temptation that will allow us to bear it.  If we are not going to be obedient to the word, we will not be delivered from the temptations.

The truth is this, God will allow us to get in way over our head.  He will let things get so bad sometimes that we have no clue what to do.  Everything will seem out of control, topsy-turvy, and one thing right after another until our heads are spinning.  We know from Romans 8:28  that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.  If you don't love God, God may be using those circumstances to force you into a corner to make a decision.  The way of escape that God has for mankind is through His son Jesus Christ.  That is the whole point.  Without Jesus, we can't bear it.   The load of our sins that we have will cause us an eternity of torment beyond anything we can imagine.  We don't have to bear that weight though.  We can give it to Jesus.  Jesus is the way of escape from all the temptations we have fallen into, and obedience to God's ways will keep us from further temptations.

2 Peter 2:9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

Turn It Around

We got a lot of problems in our nation right now.  I don't think I need to go through the list because most of us in this country have an idea.  Republicans blame democrats, democrats blame republicans, conservative v liberals, black/white/brown, men v women, You name it, there is a side and an opposite duking it out.  Meanwhile there is the 400 pound gorilla sitting in the room.  The Gorilla is sin.


Sin is something that for us humans comes natural.  Lying, cheating, stealing, hating, blaming, accusing, slander, violence, bloodshed...  it's there throughout our history as the human race.  In the times we live in now, many sins are not only tolerated but even celebrated.  There does not seem to be much holding back the sinfulness any longer.  It goes on unabated and the sinners just puff their cigars and swig their brandy snifters all while chuckling their way to the bank enriching themselves with worldly lusts at the expense of others without even the slightest twinge of a guilty conscience.


Sin is a destructive force.  It decays and rots things away.  It leads to disease and war, famines and unrest.  No good end comes to where sin reigns.  Anger, hatred, suffering, poverty, and revolution are just some of the consequences that can be expected when sin has settled into a culture and permeates the fabric of a nation.  It is characterized by self centeredness and self pleasure with a lack of caring about others. 

I paint a grim picture, yes, but we are in grim times where we are witnessing what I have said and more.  Our future looks even dimmer as the consequences of sin bury us ever deeper into chaos and anarchy.    We are near the edge of collapse.


What we are seeing is a result of our choice as a people to walk away from Yahweh, the God of the Bible.  We rose from a tiny little union of loosely confederated states to the greatest and richest nation in the history of the world based solely upon the principles of God found in scripture and extrapolated into the national culture.  God honors those who honor him. 


We have long ago left that path though, removing Bibles and prayer from the everyday teaching of our people.  We took God and unceremoniously dumped him into the trash bins of our society and decided we in our greatness no longer needed His divine blessing or protection.  We've spent the last 50 years removing every symbol of God from our town symbols and public places.  The creator of the universe is relegated to a Sunday morning service in which many of the congregants don't even know God's ways much less desire to follow them.


While up until this point this seems like just one big rant, but it isn't.  I am taking a brief look at the state of affairs as they are and considering how they might be fixed.  There is only one way that I know of, and that is a revival.  We as a people have to turn back from our wicked ways and commit ourselves to follow the Lord, and to do what he says to do.


It's funny how some people can't even stand to have the ten commandments in a courtroom, but if we would humble ourselves just a little and decide to follow them instead of trashing them, we would see a turnaround like no one has ever seen.  Is it so bad to tell the truth?  to honor parents?  to not go after the neighbors wife?  Isn't it best to have fair business dealings and not to cheat people? 


I suppose in our sinful nature that might be too much to ask of any individual.  We don't have to do this in our own strength though.  God will help us.  He will empower us to do what is right.  He will give us a new heart that will desire to do what is good in the sight of Yahweh.  We just have to acknowledge that we are screwed up, that sin controls us.


Once we come to that realization, we are then open to accept Gods fix for our sinful ways.  God came down in flesh and dwelt among men.  He lived a perfect life that we are unable to.  He was beaten and killed; a punishment that we deserve for our wrongdoing.  He took all of our guilt upon himself and offers to give us His righteousness in exchange so that we might be reconciled with our creator, Yahweh.  Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.  If you love him, keep his commands.  Love the Lord your God, and love your neighbor as yourself.


The reward is far more long lasting than just seeing the repair of an earthly nation, but it comes with an eternal reward of spending eternity with our creator in a perfect place where sin and corruption do not exist.  There is no more pain, or sorrow.  The streets are made of gold and the gates of fine jewels.  A river of life runs through it.  It is hard to even imagine such a place.   No crimes, no hate, I don't know this for certain, but I don't even think there will be any dust bunnies collecting behind the sofa to have to clean up.  lol. 


The choice is yours.  As for me...  I choose the Lord.

The Burden

Over the years, as a minister, youth leader, apologist, writer, teacher, friend, neighbor, I have spent a great deal of time sharing and expounding upon God and His word.  In all occasions, I have sought to, studied, and prayed that I was giving the truth of the word to the best of my understanding.  It is a great responsibility that not just leaders have, but every bible believer has, to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. 


It can truly be a difficult task with so many doctrines out there, so many different interpretations that seem almost contradictory to one another.  I've spent many years in debates over these differences.  I did so because somewhere within me lies this desire to want to know the right ways, and to be sure that I am sharing the truth with others.  I cannot imagine how I would feel if one day I discovered that I had led people astray.


My main goal and desire has never been to be right, or to uphold any church doctrines.  The most important thing on my heart that I want to share with others is the way to Jesus Christ and the salvation that He offers to all through His atoning death on the cross and His resurrection that allows us to have our sins forgiven and to be made right with our creator.  I want nothing more than to have others share in the joy of being reconciled with the Father through the Son. 


I also want to see believers living victoriously in Christ, learning to act and think as the Father.  To that end all scripture was given by inspiration of God and is profitable to that end of both salvation and living a holy life.  It is only through the power of the Holy spirit we receive at salvation that can empower us to do so.


It is a hard burden though.  There are many struggles.  You struggle with yourself, knowing how imperfect and unworthy you feel to carry out such a task.  You struggle with the enemy who throws out all sorts of confusing religious doctrines to muddy the waters.  You struggle with your emotions that desire so strongly for others to come to Jesus, and stay living in the way.  You worry about whether you yourself are teaching rightly.
 

I've only done these things on a small scale.  I can't imagine the weight of a mega church congregation all looking to you to steer them in the right direction and be the example they can all look to.  


We who are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak the bible tells us.  Where do the strong go when they feel weak?  Where does the teacher go to get answers?  Sometimes the burden feels heavy.  I suppose that weight drives us to our knees where we can find answers and regain strength, lifting the burden so we can carry on. 


Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. 10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

From God to Thee

What would you do
If you lost it all today
Everything you hold dear
Was suddenly taken away
What would you do
If you lost someone today
People that you love
Suddenly taken away
What would you do
If you were abandoned today
All of your friends
Suddenly turned away
What would you do
If by surprise today
You find out
Your health is gone away
What would you do


Would you cry at the loss
Of all you possessions
Strike out in anger
Or fall into depression
Would you weep at the loss
Of one whom you care
Or bottle it up
Deep inside somewhere
Would you be angry
At your friends who turned
Feel betrayed
Like you were burned
Would you shudder
At facing your demise
Be angry and confused
Feeling sorry, me why


What is it that you value
Where is your trust
What is it that’s important
Decide we must
Do you place faith
In things temporary
That someday will pass
To make you merry
Do you hold tight
To that which will crumble
Making your life
Count on things which will tumble
Does your joy come
Materially
On that which is
Temporary


Might I suggest
Basing life on the real
Even though you can’t of it
See touch or feel
Something more than
Wood flesh or stone
Something that is there
When you are alone
Something that has
Stood time’s test
That does not go away
Like so much of the rest
Love is the answer
Love is the key
The love of Jesus
From God to thee

Beginning of Wisdom

Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. 11 For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.


That is a fascinating promise from the word of God.   Let's break it down a little.


What is the "fear of the Lord"?  Fear of the Lord can be looked at in several respects.  One can be truly scared of Yahweh.  One can respect Jehovah.  One can honor the Lord.  All the many aspects of fearing God should lead us to one thing; obedience.  We should fear what God can do to us as sinners which should cause us to repent and change our ways to be more pleasing to Him.  We should have respect For the Lord and understand that what He says is right and just and to do what he says is the same.  We show honor to God when we are obedient to his ways.


I remember as a young lad in the 4th grade, I was on my way to school, and while on my way to school I saw a Tonka dump truck in a yard.  I decided I wanted that Tonka truck and took it.  I carried it to school and even brought it up to show the class during show and tell. during which I lied all about the truck until someone stood up in class and said, "hey, that is not your truck!  I saw you take it!"


Well, next think I knew I was being walked by the ear down to the principles office.  The principle then called my parents.  I was scared to death.  I didn't know what would happen.  Surely there would be severe punishment.  I was taken home by my mother.  I was sent to my room and had to wait for my father to get up.  It was an agonizingly long time, or so it seemed. 


Finally it came...  Dad walked into the room.  The look on his face was at least as bad or even worse than any punishment that I was going to receive.  I saw hurt on his face.  I had disappointed him, disgraced everything he had tried to teach me.  I loved my dad and wanted him to love me, and now I was not too sure he did.  I cried and cried. 


I did not get a spanking that day, if I recall.  It was explained to me why what I did was wrong, and I was forced to go make it right by bringing the truck back to where I had gotten it.  I could not just leave it there either.  I had to knock on the door, tell the people what I had done, give them the truck back, and apologize for having taken it.  It was one of the hardest things I had to do in my young life.


I loved my father.  I had honor and respect for him and wanted to do nothing more than please him.  I was afraid of what would happen if I let him down.  I thought at first I feared getting a whoopin.  That was not it though.  It was a fear of harming our relationship that I feared the most.  Because of that fear, I wanted to do what was right.


That for me was a beginning of wisdom.  When we understand who Yahweh is, and what our relationship is to Him, we should want to do what is right.  Yes there is fear of what he might do to us, but even more so we should fear what doing wrong would do to our relationship with him.  We should want to be obedient not just to avoid getting a whoopin, but because we love the Lord and desire to please Him in what we do.


That fear is the beginning of wisdom.  We will then seek to know and do His will.  As we understand our Father more and more, we will understand better who He is and why He wants us to do the things He asks of us.  Gaining knowledge of what is Holy to God and applying it to our lives gives us understanding of His principles.


When we learn and understand the ways of Jehovah, we find out that all those do's and don'ts lead us to living happier, healthier, and longer lives as a consequence.  Not only do His principles have a consequence of those, but we also please Yahweh and He blesses us with longer life as well.  It is sort of a compounding result. 


Ultimately, understanding who God is and what He expects should lead us to realize that we ourselves cannot achieve that perfection, but only strive towards it.  We recognize, through our own failures and the understanding of His word, that we need a savior.  We will learn that God so loved the world, that includes you and I, that He gave His only begotten son, Jesus Christ, so that whosoever believes of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross will not perish, but have everlasting life.  If we confess with our mouth and believe in our hearts that Jesus was raised from the dead, we shall be saved.  And as saved, we will want to be obedient children and not displease our Father.


Fearing the Lord begins wisdom. Learning leads to understanding. Obedience leads to life; longevity in this life and eternally in the kingdom to come. 


Proverbs 3 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: 2 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.9 Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

Ebola and Torah Observance

In the Bible are many rules for how we ought to live our lives.  Some of these rules are extremely practical and were years ahead of science in the effectiveness of what they accomplished.  Many of these rules are forgotten or ignored today.  We are told that we no longer have to follow those old rules because they have been done away with or that we are no longer "under" them.  I say in this time it might be important to look at and consider following some of them.  It may not be for your eternal salvation, but it may be for salvation in this life.


By now, I think most people have heard of Ebola and have seen it spread first in Africa, and now to various other countries including the United States.  This is a very serious deisease and despite the taking of some precautions, has spread to others who have been in contact with still others.  Whatever the reasons given for this spread, and the mutations possible, mistakes, etc... I would argue that it comes down to this, people do not know and are not following the laws of God.


There were many rules about clean and unclean things.  People with diseases were set apart from the camp.  Women when menstruating were unclean.  Anyone who touched a dead person or animal was unclean.  All soldiers had to have a shovel so they could bury their human waste.  Washing of hands, keeping storehouses clean, and other such ideas were all contained in Jewish law and tradition given to them by God.  If we look at how the Ebola and other diseases are spread, following Torah rules would help in preventing the spread.


Isolation seems to be a key ingredient to holding down the spread of disease, biblically.  For many reasons folks would have to separate themselves from the community when they were "unclean".  They would also have to be inspected before they could return to the community as "clean".  We seem to be ignoring this during this Ebola outbreak and have even seen leaders say that such isolation would be "inhumane".  Inhumane?  It only makes sense, but I guess if you do not follow God, anything is OK.


During the middle ages when the black plague pandemic killed of huge populations in Europe, there was one particular group of people who were far less effected by the plague than everyone else.  It was the Jewish people.  It was precisely because of their observance of Torah that allowed them to survive in greater numbers where others perished.  It was their laws of clean living that prevented them from having the conditions present for the spread of the disease in the Jewish communities.  As a result, they became economic powerhouses and gained the wealth that the dying had left.   Because of their survival, the remaining who survived blamed the Jews and accused them of poisoning the water to take control of the countries.  They were then expelled from the nations, or faced death.


If this Ebola grows into a pandemic, it may be those very laws in the Torah that allow you to survive.  Keeping yourself clean, you area clean, and if society won't isolate the sick, we may have to isolate ourselves. 


Even if Ebola does not grow into a pandemic, living this way will certainly keep you healthy and help you to live rather disease free, for the most part.  It is a promise from God.  And if that is not enough, all of it is verified by the science we know about.  While we are not saved spiritually by looking to observance of the law, observing the law can save you.  It might be time to take another look at the law and what it says. 


Exodus 15:26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.


Psalm 91 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.  Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.  He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.  Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.  Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.  Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.  For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.  They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.  He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.  With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

Trading Places

Does anyone remember the movie, Trading Places?  In the movie, Dan Akroyd plays an extremely wealthy Wall Street broker for a rich brokerage firm who has the perfect life.  Eddie Murphy plays a street wise homeless scammer always looking for a hustle.  The two owners of the brokerage firm on a bet for $1 switches their roles around.  They discredit and ruin Akroyds character and have him arrested, reducing him to a street bum and take the street bum (Murphy) and give him the other guys job, house, car, servants, etc...  


It kind of struck me this evening that this is kind of what God has done for us.  He took His only begotten son Jesus Christ, and traded places between he and us.  Jesus Christ lived the perfect life.  We on the other hand have not.  Even our best is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).  God allowed Jesus, in our stead, to become as we are, taking upon himself all our sinfulness when He was nailed to the cross.


Now, in the movie, it was not enough that the Eddie Murphy character Valentine was just given the position.  The offer was made and he could have declined the offer.  He could have checked it out and walked away.  He didn't though.  While at first he seemed apprehensive, he soon took to the new role and started acting in a manner which fit the position to which he had been given, through no effort of his own.  By mid movie we see Valentine now a hard working, honest individual whose tastes and interests had changed.  He accepted the position which had been given him whole heartedly.


In the same way, we too must accept the position that we have been given.  It was not enough just for Jesus to take our place on the cross and take upon himself our sins.  We had to accept that and take on the role Jesus had.  Jesus' position of righteousness, power, and authority is given to us if we accept the trade.  We then grow into the role of Jesus and our character and interests become fitting to the role we accepted.  We become more Christlike.  After a while, we are no longer recognizable as the person we used to be, but instead are seen as the person whose role we took on, Jesus.


2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.


Mathew Poole Commentary:
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin: Christ knew no sin, as he was guilty of no sin; Which of you (saith he, John 8:46) convinceth me of sin? 1 Peter 2:22, He did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: but God made him to be sin for us. He was numbered with the transgressors, Isaiah 53:12. Our sins were reckoned to him; so as though personally he was no sinner, yet by imputation he was, and God dealt with him as such; for he was made a sacrifice for our sins, a sin offering; so answering the type in the law, Leviticus 4:3,25,29 5:6 7:2. 

That we might be made the righteousness of God in him; that so his righteousness might be imputed to us, and we might be made righteous with such a righteousness as those souls must have whom God will accept. As Christ was not made sin by any sin inherent in him, so neither are we made righteous by any righteousness inherent in us, but by the righteousness of Christ imputed to us; as he was a sinner by the sins of his people reckoned and imputed unto him.


Accept the offer to trade places, letting Christ take your place and you taking His. 

Romans 10:

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

¹⁰ For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

¹¹ For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

¹² For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

¹³ For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Desire

What is it that you desire?  What is it that you are passionate about?  Take a mental moment and think in your head about what you most want.......    Do you have it?  How many of you thought about a job or career goal?  How many thought about some sort of personal achievement, such as completing a marathon, or mastering the guitar?   How many thought about that nest-egg for retirement, or your children's college education?  Perhaps it getting into a position of leadership?  What we desire and aspire tells us a lot about our state of being and who we are.


It is our desires and passions that drive us.  We often do what we do so that we may move toward attaining what is is we want.  We build relationships with people who will help us further along towards our goals.  We make choices of attire, change our look, move to certain neighborhoods, drive certain types of cars, etc etc, just so that we can fit in and move ourselves closer toward that goal we have our eyes upon.


For many people, that ultimate goal must be obtained at all cost.  People will turn on thier friends and family, lie about a coworker, steal someone elses ideas and claim it for their own.  They will lay traps and snares to catch their competition off guard and destroy their reputation, and besmirch them just so you can advance towards your end.  You want what they have and you will do whatever it takes to get it, even at the expense of others.


Most of the things that people desire are just temporary.  Even when they get to where they think they want to be or achieve what they wanted, they still find emptiness and therefore are driven to keep on pushing and pushing for the next thing and the next thing.  No amount of money ever seems to satisfy, no amount of possessions ever seems to quiet the hunger; no amount of subjects ever satisfies the lust for power. 


I don't think that many people even realize they are doing this.  We've been raised to think that we are just evolved animals that need to look out for number one in a dog eat dog survival of the fittest struggle to pass on the best genes to the next generation as we grow ever closer to a utopia that we will never see as we die and become part of an empty nothingness to be long forgotten except for some sort of legacy we can leave behind to future generations.  It is sad and pitiful.
 

All is vanity.  We may never reach those goals we have, and when we do, they can be stolen away by others, crumble away due to some unforeseen circumstance.  Our life can be cut short before ever reaching the plateau we were ascending to.  Our schemes can backfire and we lose all that we worked towards and put our hopes in.  Why put our trust in things that are so unstable and that will pass away?  Why do we waste our energies on efforts that over time will not matter at all and will pass away into forgetfulness.


Oh what a sad state we humans find ourselves in running to and fro, working and striving for things that in an instant will be gone, putting our trust and hope in activities that lead us to nowhere.  There is nothing in this world that we can take with us when we leave it.  We have no real control over who takes over what we have achieved and what they do with it, nor will we really care.  We will have passed on.


In Luke 12, Jesus is with some folks and is asked by a man to convince his brother to divide his inheritance with him.  Jesus replied, Man, who made me a judge or divider over you?  Then he makes a profound and life changing statement if people understand it. (v15) Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.


Remember the desires we thought about at the beginning?  For most, what came to mind Jesus said is not life.  The cars, jobs, achievements, wealth, houses, trophy spouses, contacts, power, whatever, are not what life is about.


Jesus illustrates this point with a parable beginning in v16  "And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”


"rich towards God".....


That is the key, isn't it?  In Mathew 19, Jesus puts it this way, 19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 


The reason that earthly desires never satisfy is because we were designed to please God, not ourselves.  We try to fill that void with things that will never satisfy that desire.  The only way we will ever find true peace, happiness, fulfillment is when we make our desires match Gods desires.  It is when we love God and our neighbors as ourselves that we find true life.  When we understand that all these temporary things are not ours, but are Gods for us to use for His purpose and not our own, our lives are transformed from the slavery of always striving to achieve to the freedom of knowing that God has already achieved what we most want for us through His son Jesus Christ; the forgiveness of sin and being made right with the Father and given the Holy Spirit by which we are refreshed and renewed and given a new view of life that is on an eternal scale, rather than a temporary one.


Psalm 37:4 Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.  When we do delight in the Lord, He gives us what to desire, and fulfills it.  And God may love us so much that He may also allow us to enjoy some of those other earthly desires we have, knowing that we will use them for His glory and not our own.


If you have been down this road of constantly striving to achieve things, and finding yourself constantly unsatisfied and frustrated, why not try a different way?  Let someone else do all of the effort and striving.  Give the reins of your life over to Jesus Christ.  Let your desire and goal to be to better understand The Father, through the Son, by the Holy Spirit.  Jesus made a promise to those who do this.  He said in Matthew 6:33 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." 

Time to Shape Up

The last couple of weeks have been very introspective.  Some long and arduous issues had come to at least a temporary end and as we moved into the new year season.   I was hit hard with the Romans 12, 1-2 theme of having a renewed mind through submission to the Lord.  Not only did I write about it, but was also presented with several teachings from various sources on those exact verses. 


One of the things I got to look at was the fact that there is sin in the camp.  With that there are two options.  Either there is a lack of faith that God can deal with it, or there is willful disobedience in just flat out wanting to continue in sin.  Neither one is that good.  We can be confident that God will forgive us if we confess our sins.  If Jesus asks us to forgive 70 X 7 in a day, surely the Father will exceed that in mercy.


Another thing we have to look at is , do we fear the Lord?  This should be one of the drivers to be obedient unto Him.  If we are being disobedient, than we do not have the proper fear of the Lord.  Our fear should be two fold.  We should be scared of what God may do to us in disobedience.  Punishment is never fun.  It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of an angry God.  On the flipside, and what we need to have more of, is not the fear of punishment, but fear in letting God down.  When I was a child, there was nothing worse than disappointing my Dad.  I loved him so much and wanted his love.  If I broke the rules, I knew that I had hurt him, and that was worse than any punishment.  We should feel the same way towards God.


Another aspect I have been looking at is being the living sacrifice being our reasonable service.  If we were to totally commit to God, what things are standing in the way?  Is there a hobby we love that we might have to set aside?  Is there a job we have that is taking all of our time and energy?  Would we rather sit around and watch our TV program than to get down on our knees in prayer time, or to study God's word?  Our reasonable service calls for us to put God first, and our desires into submission.


All of these issues could be blocking the Lord from using us mightily, or preventing our prayers from being answered.  Our blessing could be right around the corner, but we can be just like the wanderers in the wilderness who, when within just a few miles of the promise, lost their chance and spent the rest of their days just wandering about because they were unable to trust in God with all their hearts.  Why would God use us and bless us mightily if we are unwilling to submit ourselves to Him?  How can we hear Him and get His guidance if we have an unrepentent heart and choose to sin against Him? 


In this new year and as we approach the day of atonement, we need to be taking stock of ourselves and ask as David did, to ask God to examine our hearts and see if there be any wicked way in us.  If you are serious, don't be surprised to see trying situations arise.  It is when we are jostled about that what is on the inside of us spills out.  How we react to situations reveals to us what is in our hearts.  Do we fret and cry and moan and groan, complaining why me, oh poor me?  Or do we get down on our knees in prayer and open up our books and ask God to show us what He is trying to teach us?


We are coming up on trying times, my friends.  We need to be getting our houses in order.  We need to be getting ourselves right with God.  Playtime is over and it is time to grow up.   God isn't seeking ability, but availability. 


Joshua 24:14 Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.
15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Renewing Our Minds

Romans 12 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.




When I was growing up, Star Trek was one of my favorite shows.  Years after its medium run on the small screen, the show burst forth onto the big screen with a number of highly successful and entertaining movies.  In the second Star Trek motion picture, The Wrath of Khan; The crew of the Starship Enterprise is facing certain death as a scientific project turned weapon is set to explode and the ship does not have enough power to escape without repairs.  The First Mate, Spock, enters the engine room and sacrifices himself by exposure to extreme radiation so that the engine can be repaired and the ship and crew saved.  It was and still is one of the most emotional scenes in movie history. 


The most emotional scene in human history was when our Lord gave up His life so that many, through Him, might be saved from a horrible fate.  Paul argues in Romans that since our Savior had given up His life in our stead, it is only reasonable that we should also do likewise and be a living sacrifice ourselves.  Since Christ gave up His life for us, we should lay down our lives for Him.  Since Jesus took our place, we should take His place.  Rather than live for our own selfish desires, we should set those aside and live our lives in a way that pleases Him. 


How do we do that?  One might ask.  How exactly do we know how to live in a God pleasing manner?  What does it mean to be conformed to the world?  How are we transformed?  How is our mind renewed?  These are all legitimate questions to ask when looking at this verse.  It is a process.


When I was a kid, I used to love playing baseball.  We would go to the neighborhood sandlot and play for hours.  It was a great time.  My parents, seeing how much I liked to play ball signed me up for the local baseball league.  Once I got playing there, I saw that things were different than in the sandlot.  There were rules to be learned, techniques to perfect, situations to learn to recognize.  It was a whole new world and almost everything about my playing had to be learned or relearned in a new way for me to improve and excel as a player.  Over a few years, with constant practice, and studying the rules, I eventually became proficient in the game.  The old way that I used to play had been transformed into the new way of play by study of the game and practice.


It is the same way when someone becomes a Christian.  We have been playing around in the sandlot of life and learned a number of things we thought were correct, but now that our eyes have been opened we understand that those things were not as right as they were.  We have to be digging into our rulebook, the bible to better understand how the game is played.  We then take what we learn from the rules and apply them in our life.  The more we study and apply, the better we become.  After a while, things become second nature, or, our mind is renewed. 


While that may all sound simple enough in a couple of paragraphs, this is the area where presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice come into play.  We are going to have to alter our game.  We may be asked to play positions that we don't want to play.  We may be asked to do things we are not comfortable in doing.  We will have to take time that we would rather spend doing something else to perfect our walk.  We will be getting advice from all over the place telling us we don't need to do this or that, or distractions will arise to try and pull us away. 


Renewing of the mind is an ongoing and continual process that takes time, and effort.  We have to want it.  We have to want it more than anything else.  It may cost us friends, family, ridicule, exclusion, and as we have been seeing lately, we could even literally lose our heads for believing and practicing the christian faith.  We have to forsake all else to be a disciple of Christ. 


If we look at anyone who is a success at anything, they have done the same things.  You think Eddie Van Halen just got up one day and played so well?  Why was Michael Jordan so great?  They sacrificed their lives in pursuit of such greatness in their area of skill, as have so many others successful people.  If those successful people could give up so much for something so temporary, why should we be dragging our feet in becoming a success in something with such eternal value?  We as believers need to step up to plate, give it 110%, and offer ourselves up as a living sacrifice which would be our reasonable service so that our minds are renewed into God's way of thinking instead of the worlds.

13 Years Later

It is September 11th, 2014.  It has been 13 years since terrorists made a strike on our soil using airplanes to take out the World Trade Center, hit the pentagon, and a third plane that may have been heading to the white house thwarted by hero citizens who gave their lives.  Over 3.000 Americans killed in cold blood. 


Where are we at 13 years later?  Have we defeated the enemy?  Not really.  Have we pulled together as a nation?  not really.  Have we turned to God as a nation?  Definitely not.  We are more divided than ever.  We have moved further away from God.  Our freedoms have been systematically removed.  Our government has grown larger and more intrusive.  Our police forces have become branches of the military.  We have made criminals of those who grow natural food, and legalized those who genetically alter our food so they can use poisons that destroy the environment.  We have criminalized self reliance and created millions of dependents on government.  Our jobs have been outsourced to the point where we expect people to make a living flipping burgers or standing at a wal mart checkout.  We tell people they can't collect rainwater, but let corporations steal water from drought stricken citizens.  We have accumulated more debt in the last 13 years than in the entire history of the nation.


There is so much more that I could mention that 13 years and 1 day ago would have been completely outrageous, unheard of, and would never have been believed if they were told these things would happen in the USA.  We've come to accept being searched at airports and events, having our phones tapped, our information stolen and sold, being told what we can eat or drink, even what kind of light bulbs we have to use.  We've had our healthcare and insurance taken over by government.  Our banks bought out by government.  Corporate welfare and bailouts for the super rich that has sold us common folks into perpetual slavery.  The most sickening part is that we are told that all of this is for our own good, and for our own safety. 


Is this the kind of world that so many of us have fought for?  Is this the kind of ideology that we are trying to tell others that they should be like?  What kind of upside down world has it become when the likes of China and Russia have warned us about the terrible outcome in store if we continue down the path we have been heading.  Our leadership thinks the more dangerous enemy is their political foes and uses the full power of government to go after US citizens, while we take weak motions and tokens against the real threats of Islamic terror that has been doing nothing but growing steadily since 9/11. 


Instead of repenting and turning our ways back to God and His ways upon which this nation was founded, we have stood defiant against God, pushing him further and further away from public life.  Instead of promoting the Bible and making admonition of teaching its principles, we have practically criminalized it and penalize those who do read it.  Instead of defending the rights of people to worship God as they see fit, Christians are often faced with rules and regulations that limit their ability to live their faith, and in many cases the full force of government is used to attempt to make the Christian go against what they believe and to support things that are an abomination.


We have a government that tells Christian people that they cannot feed the hungry, help the homeless, speak the word in places, pray at certain places.  Our schools won't allow Christian prayers, but will accommodate Muslim prayers.  They take our history and change it to remove our Christian founding.  They teach as science, unproven theories that are without God, but will not allow competing science that supports creation. 


A spirit of lawlessness have come over the people.  We see rioting in the streets with looting and vandalism, random attacks on people, the knockout game, pouring feces on autistic kids.  We have seen the growth of greed to the point where making the dollar is taking precedent over the safety of the people.  They alter our food, steal our water rights, poison our ground, stuff our foods with chemical alternatives all the while ignoring the vast increase in cancers and heart diseases, Alzheimers and autism. 


It seems to me that on 9/11/2001, it was just the beginning of judgment upon us.  Not so much the God is going out of his way to punish us, but that He is allowing us to walk further away from His protection and allowing us to suffer the consequences of our actions.  Does He really need to dole out punishment when we are doing such an effective job of screwing ourselves up?  When the bottom does finally fall out, it won't be Gods doing, but our own fault for acting so foolishly and disregarding His ways. 


I think we are past the point of avoiding some of the horrible consequences that are awaiting us.  It may be that only such harsh consequences will make us turn back to the Lord.  When the debt load collapses the economy, there will be famine, starvation, riots, gangs and militias fighting for control of small territories.  This will be followed by drought and disease.  Outside forces will seize upon our collapse and invade.  It is a natural progression of consequences that can be seen through history.  There is nothing about us that makes us immune.  If and only if we return to God right now, might we get through what is about to occur.

When the Going Gets Tough

Have you ever gotten mad at God?  There are times where things just don't seem to fit together like you thought, or you did not get the answer from Him you expected, and life just is not going at all smoothly.  I'm not talking about something superficial like you didn't get that new car you asked for.  I'm talking about gut wrenching issues, agonizing hurt, after long periods of time pleading.  Something that just makes you drop to your knees and scream, Why Lord?

You may be wondering, why Lord. why do the evil succeed?  Why do they get away with it?  How long, oh Lord, must I deal with this or that situation?  Why is it that I never seem to come out on top, Lord?  Why is it that I have been alone so long waiting?  Have you not heard me?  Can't you see that I am hurting?  Why have you not delivered me? 

I think many of us get to these desperate heart aching points in our walk where we just cannot see or understand the plan God is working in or through us.  Times where we almost can't find any words to express the anguish that we are feeling or the desperation that we are experiencing.  What are we supposed to do?  How are we to carry on when it just seems like the world is falling in on top of us and the bottom has dropped away?

I've been facing such situations recently, so as much as this is sharing with others, it is also a little therapy for myself here.  All those types of questions are swirling around in my head, and I am asking and pleading, wondering when is it going to end?  What am I supposed to do?

I got a word before the intensity of the situation I am in ramped up several hundred degrees. 

Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

When we are upset and troubled, even wounded deeply to our core, we still need to carry on in a way that is pleasing to God.  He made a promise to us in that verse.  We can't let our pain become so great that we begin hurting others.  We need to keep our focus on God and doing what is right, treating others as we ourselves want to be treated, doing our jobs to the best of our ability, being honest, not being a gossiper, etc etc...  If we do those things, we have a harvest coming.  We might not know when it is or how it is, but we can rest assured that it will come when it is ripe and ready and perfect for us.

I wish I could say that I have been a perfect soldier in this, but really, it is kind of a hard thing to do.  We are hurt and upset and do some things that don't necessarily help, or think we can do something about it and forget that God is the one in control.  We can get caught up in our emotions and reap some consequences we'd rather not.  That is the hard part about the "faint not" in that verse.    We can make things worse when we get like, I got this God.

I think that when we get past the initial "WHY GOD WHY?", we can settle back and look to the word for the practical applications of "how, Lord, how?"  Maybe God will bring some useful verse to remembrance like He did for me with the above verse, or we may stumble upon a teacher on the radio or TV that has a message that speaks to our situation, and we should of course look through the word and meditate upon what it says.  The instructions on what to do can be found there.

Another hard thing that we should be learning to do in tough situations is learning to trust God even more.  It is all well and good to trust God when things are going well, but when things happen and appear to be at their worst, that is when we really need to knuckle down with some serious faith and determined faith that says, despite what I am seeing and feeling, I know that that harvest is out there getting ripe and I have no doubt that if I do as the word says, the blessing is promised to me by God, and God keeps ALL his promises.