Early this morning. . .

. . . I some how found myself in a lumber yard standing with my father. Together we looked at the back end of a lowboy trailer much like the one I once used in the military to haul armored vehicles and howitzers. We discussed how to add a piece of wood to protect the back where the tracks of the vehicles had chewed up the wood. We decided upon a piece of hardwood, attached so that it could protect the other wood, take the abuse, and be easily replaced.

Then a fork driver came over to put a load of lumber on the trailer, which morphed into a flatbed. My mother appeared and told the lift driver to put the load toward the back. He questioned her about this decision, and I supported it, pointing out that the weight center of the trailer was different than the physical center.

I recall having some sort of music player, and telling my mother it could store lots of music, even the Welsh music that was now unplayable, as it was vinyl records and we had no record player.

The trailer was nearly loaded now, and my father asked if the strip of wood was ready yet. I started toward a building and looked back to say that I’d be back, I only needed to get a sweatshirt and use the bathroom. I headed toward a large, steel building, not unlike the one in which I worked for many years at Camp Roberts.

As I approached my own bathroom, in my own bedroom, the steel workshop faded away and I awoke.

That’s the second dream in two days in which Camp Roberts appeared. In the other dream, the night before last, I had returned to Camp Roberts, and was once again wearing olive drab, and heading to an old warehouse where the supply office would issue me steel-toed boots.

If I literally returned to Camp Roberts, to the East Garrison where once I spent ten years, that steel building and the other wooden buildings would be long gone. Even as I was leaving that place, before I entered the Forest Service, a new, large maintenance facility had been christened and moving begun.

I remember my fist day in that steel maintenance building, which was fairly new at the time. I met Sargent First Class Edwin Spickert. People were pretty much on first name basis then, and I was introduced as Terry. Ed said, “I knew a Terry once, and you sure don’t look like her!” I became “Robi,” then and there. I stayed Robi until I hung up, or layed out in the trash dump, my uniform with its bittersweet memories.

Ed worked with the designers and engineers planning the new maintenance building many years later. He made Warrant Officer, too, as did several of the other “old timers” at the shop. When I started there there were a handful of “new guys” like me, and a hand full of these older guys who’d been around what seemed like forever. When I left after ten years, most of the old timers were still there, most of those formerly new guys, too. But there had come a hoard of others, as the shop grew and grew, busting out its seams.

I learned a lot while at Camp Roberts. I worked hard. It wasn’t easy. I made mistakes. When I left, I left. I never went back. At least, not until my dream the other night, and the one early this morning. I made a lot of mistakes while I at Camp Roberts. I’ve made a lot of mistakes everywhere I’ve ever been. Hind sight, it is often pointed out, is 20/20.

Today, opening the online Bible to which I often refer to, I found before me:

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:1

There are a number of people that it would me nice to say something like, “Hey, I really learned a lot from you.” There are a lot of people that I could also say, “Hey, I’m sorry.” I still have nagging regrets of things done and things left undone. I appreciate that regardless of my life, imperfect in my eyes as it is in others’, is seen as perfect in my Savior, Y’shuaJesus. And I am thankful that there is now no condemnation for all of us who are in Messiah Y’shuaJesus. Thank You, Y’shua!

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Dollywood and Mountain Peace

The West Fork of the Little Pigeon River in Pi... — The West Fork of the Little Pigeon River in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Last week, all week, we spent in Pigeon Forge and Gaitlinburg, Tennessee. Six of us went there, my wife, our two kids, and two of their friends. We rented a cabin, rather than stay in a hotel. We cooked breakfast, but ate out in the evenings. Lots of choices of places to eat, too. Two days we spent at Dollywood Park, on rides and taking in some shows. While walking around, lots of country and folk bands played. The weather was warm, but not overly humid, and it didn’t rain, like it did the last time we visited. We took time to explore tourist shops in Gaitlinburg.

The thing about the entire area is that people, while mostly tourists coming for the entertainment as well as visits to the Great Smokey Mountain National Park, were a model of behavior. Lots of people. Lots of respect for each other, too. It wasn’t too crowded, in comparison with Memorial Day weekend, but there were still a lot of people. This respect, for lack of a better word, was especially noticeable while driving: people maintained a safe driving distance, didn’t drive too much over the speed limit, and made way for others to enter their lanes of travel when needed.

The experience left me relaxed. And one the way back we stopped at a trail head that crossed a river. We didn’t walk far, but played on large boulders that sat like islands clustered together in the river. We also stopped for some photo opportunities at Newfound Gap, that is a ridge along which the Tennessee and North Carolina boundary runs.

Yes, the time there left us relaxed, feeling good.

That changed as soon as we entered the Atlanta metro area. The rush of traffic pressed against us. The tension stripped the beneficial peace we’d found in the Smokey Mountains. We were home. Which of course makes me thing about why exactly do we remain in such a place such as this, in which we live. We ended up farther from my wife’s office than she’d originally thought possible, when she accepted a transfer to Atlanta. I’d hoped, of course, to live even farther away. But at the time we moved here, we were on the rural edge, just beyond the metro growth ring around Atlanta. That ring expanded over the last few years to encompass our home.

What we’ve done to cope is build a garden between our home and the creek that runs behind us. We’ve mixed hundreds of yards of top soil into the red clay, making it possible to grow a wide variety of edible and medicinal plants and flowers and roses and trees. We’ve expanded and expanded the garden to make a small enclave that promotes some feeling of serenity despite the occasional noise from the office buildings across the creek–office buildings that have morphed into small, light industry with associated noises even at the early hours of the morning.

It’s easier to find peace beside a river, in the mountains. But peace isn’t external. Peace is internal. And, yes, true and lasting peace comes from knowing the Lord Y’shauJesus as Lord and Savior. Yet, in this world, we must find some worldly peace, too. Our bodies need it. And if I can find some measure of peace amid the rancor stressed out people rushing to make a living, then that is a good thing. Shalom!

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine . . .

The Gospel in the World

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

John 3:14,15

Matthew Henry wrote:
“Jesus Christ came to save us by healing us, as the children of Israel, stung with fiery serpents, were cured and lived by looking up to the brazen serpent, Num_21:6-9. In this observe the deadly and destructive nature of sin. Ask awakened consciences, ask damned sinners, they will tell you, that how charming soever the allurements of sin may be, at the last it bites like a serpent. See the powerful remedy against this fatal malady. Christ is plainly set forth to us in the gospel. He whom we offended is our Peace, and the way of applying for a cure is by believing. If any so far slight either their disease by sin, or the method of cure by Christ, as not to receive Christ upon his own terms, their ruin is upon their own heads. He has said, Look and be saved, look and live; lift up the eyes of your faith to Christ crucified. And until we have grace to do this, we shall not be cured, but still are wounded with the stings of Satan, and in a dying state. Jesus Christ came to save us by pardoning us, that we might not die by the sentence of the law. Here is gospel, good news indeed. Here is God’s love in giving his Son for the world. God so loved the world; so really, so richly. Behold and wonder, that the great God should love such a worthless world! Here, also, is the great gospel duty, to believe in Jesus Christ. God having given him to be our Prophet, Priest, and King, we must give up ourselves to be ruled, and taught, and saved by him. And here is the great gospel benefit, that whoever believes in Christ, shall not perish, but shall have everlasting life. God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, and so saving it. It could not be saved, but through him; there is no salvation in any other. From all this is shown the happiness of true believers; he that believeth in Christ is not condemned. Though he has been a great sinner, yet he is not dealt with according to what his sins deserve.” (emphasis added)

It’s through Y’shuaJesus that death has no sting. Dead. Alive in Messiah. Eternally. In the meantime? We wait. We watch. While I’d like to say: “Mr. Henry, you said the world is worthless, but I disagree, G-d created a beautiful world and said it is good,” I can’t say that. The world even in its beauty is corrupt. The world wasn’t always that way. G-d spoke and the world came into being. Perfect. Then we rebelled. Now we live in a corrupt world. We did it. We are responsible. Sadly, as much as some Christians want to reclaim the world for Messiah, making it perfect and inviting Him to return, it’s just not happening. The world as we know it is ending; it’s becoming more corrupt, quickly.

It’s interesting that while the Word of G-d is the Word of Salvation to us, it is also the Word that condemns us in this sorry world. “Whoever believes in Christ in not condemned,” is what Mr. Henry wrote. We are not condemned in the Eyes of G-d, but now we are condemned in the eyes of a corrupt world that won’t allow there to be only one way to eternal life. The world is inclusive, but we are exclusive. The world says there is no sin. All people are good, and worthy of a wonderful life hereafter. The Bible says we who believe in Y’shuaJesus are the only ones to be received into the eternal life with G-d. We are so intolerant. Hum. . .

For the moment, living in the United States of America is pretty easy for a Believer in Y’shuaJesus. There is some persecution for beliefs. There are some minor penalties for being a voice for conservative values, morals. But here we are not thrown in the squalor of a prison for sedition, for endangering the national security, such as are Christians in Iran, and many, many other countries. The Gospel isn’t illegal. . . yet! One day, perhaps sooner that later. . .

What will it be like when Christianity as we know it today is forbidden? Will a “free” country with a Constitution that protects all religions actual forbid one particular religion? How can that be? There are various ways some think as persecution of Christianity taking place today in the United States. For instance, there are some home churches that have been harassed by local governments. Usually there is some statute called upon limiting the number of people allowed to park in a particular neighborhood, or on a small-sized piece of land. But those statutes apply equally to all, not just the home church. It has the appearance of persecution, but isn’t. . . yet.

At some point we’ll know real persecution. At some point we’ll not be able to buy, sell, or trade. Perhaps we’ll have to make a choice then. Will we choose life in Messiah or a false life in a post-Christian world? Big choice: Does that worry us? Are we afraid that at some time in the future we will have to choose a physical existence at the expense of our eternal, spiritual existence? Are we scared we will let the Lord down by denying Him. Peter denied the Lord. Shall we say we are better than he, and we could never do such a thing?

Well, here’s the Gospel. We’ve already chosen. We’ve been chosen. Our names are already written in the Book of Life, so when asked to relinquish our claim as Believers in the True Gospel of the Lord and Savior Y’shuaJesus, asked to accept the views of those in political authority, we won’t have to worry about a choice for we won’t be able to condemn our selves. We will have to stand up for Y’shuaJesus in us. The powers of darkness have already condemned us, which is a good thing. We are on G-d’s side; G-d is on our side. We are the Gospel in this world. A living Gospel; Y’shuaJesus lives in us. We are the light. We are saved. The world is ending, passing away into oblivion, into hell. We are enroute to a glorious Heaven, where we shall see, face to face, the Living Lord Y’shuaJesus, and dine with Him at the Feast. Thank You, Lord! Hallelujah! Bless the Name of the Lord.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Anoint & Appoint

Several weeks ago, while reading 1 Samual, I began to thing about anoint and how it differs from appoint.

Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

1Samuel 16:13

Anoint is defined as:
a•noint (əˈnɔɪnt)
1. to apply an ointment or oily liquid to by rubbing or sprinkling.
2. to smear with any liquid.
3. to consecrate or make sacred in a ceremony that includes the token applying of oil.
4. to choose formally: anointed a successor.

And appoint is defined as:
appoint [əˈpɔɪnt]
1. to assign officially, as for a position, responsibility, etc. he was appointed manager
2. to establish by agreement or decree; fix a time was appointed for the duel
3. to prescribe or ordain laws appointed by tribunal
4. (Law) Property law to nominate (a person), under a power granted in a deed or will, to take an interest in property
5. to equip with necessary or usual features; furnish a well-appointed hotel

The Lord had Samuel anoint David, at an early age, as king over all Israel. It wasn’t until much later in his life that David took over the position of king, after King Saul’s death. The Lord then used Israel to appoint David king.

From this idea of anointing and appointing, I thought about baby baptism and dedication. Roman Catholic and Anglican traditions call for infant baptism, while most protestant, evangelical, and pentecostal churches tend toward infant dedication. I actually don’t see a lot of difference in the two practices. In both, an infant is anointed by somebody who is suppose to be standing in for the Lord G-d, Father, Creator. Being anointed to become. . . An infant isn’t a Christian until he or she is able to choose and is then appointed by G-d to that holy office.

From here my thoughts go toward the anointing that is done in various healing ceremonies in our churches. In the Roman Catholic and Anglican tradition, an anointing for healing is much more formal that in other churches. While the prayers differ, the intent, the desire, is that the Lord appoint healing to the recipient. So I think: it took years for G-d to put a crown on Kind David’s head after He caused the anointing. Perhaps it’s no wonder we see so few instantaneous healing in our churches.

And I think perhaps that we all have some anointing that occurs in our lives, perhaps a calling to a particular ministry at a particular time. And we don’t exactly hop right into that calling, but we begin to prepare for it. Perhaps. But maybe we don’t. Maybe because the appointing is delayed, we doubt. And when we doubt we think, “Nothing is happening. I thought I was suppose to (fill in the blank).”

And further, I think of David who wanted to be anointed and appointed to build a temple for the Most Holy Lord G-d. He was denied. That didn’t stop David from preparing for the temple. He gathered all the stuff and probably dreamed of how it would look, though the privilege of seeing to the construction, and seeing dedicating the temple went to his son, Solomon.

From this I take some lessons:
G-d anoints and allows the appointing to follow in His time, not necessarily ours. An anointing may be the Lord’s Spirit enabling us to have the potential, the aptitude, to do a certain thing. We don’t know how to do it at that moment, but we have the means available now to learn.

When we feel called, perhaps this is the anointing, and we need to walk in that anointing until we are appointed officially to the position in which we feel called. And that may take time. Also, we may feel called but not see anything happen. Don’t let it stop us from preparing, for perhaps we hand it off to someone else. Oh, sure, that is going to be a bit of a humbling experience. But perhaps that’s exactly what we need.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Count your Blessings?

In early May, a friend emailed the following to me:

“I was reading something today that Patrick Henry Reardon said:

“Suppose for a moment, that God began taking from us the many things for which we have failed to give thanks. Which of our limbs and faculties would be left? Would I still have my hands and my mind? And what about my loved ones? If God were to take from me all those persons and things for which I have not given thanks, who or what would be left of me?”

“You know…this made me cry and start to thank Him like I never seemed to do before, because I never thought about it as this. We all can think…oh I count my blessings…but do I really?”

I thought about what my friend sent me, and I finally got around this morning to writing her back. I wrote: Hope all is well with you and your husband. I’ve been slacking off lately, and writing only one post a week and letting other things go. I can’t use the excuse that I haven’t the time, as I do. What I have been doing is reading more than I’ve done. I’d love to say it’s been all super spiritual studies, but it hasn’t. There’s a used book store not too far from us and I’ve got several hundred dollars in credit there from having dropped off many of my wife’s professional books a few years ago. From time to time I’d go in there and get a novel or two. A few months ago I went through the shelves and picked titles in the science fiction and mystery/thriller sections, as well as some in the non-fiction section, that sounded interesting. So now I’ve gotten into reading a novel or two a week. I do read slow.

My day’s are still somewhat filled with various projects, in addition to dropping and picking up the two high schoolers. We added about ten yards more of top soil, extending various garden beds this year. We’re adding a small-250 gallon-pond also. The spring rains and cool weather have allowed things to really grow well this year. We hope the summer will be wet and mild, too.

Thanks for all the emails you’ve sent. I read them all with care. This particular one, “Counting our Blessings?” was one that spurred me on to do a lot of thinking. What I had to consider, ponder, is that there are-I confess-lots of things I’m not thankful for at all and would just rather them go away. Yet they don’t. So in those, too, I’m learning, there are reasons for such things to be. I think some times I may be like a child being told to eat his vegetables, and thinking, “I suppose you want me to thank you, Mom, for those?

I did take the opportunity to sail last week on Cassandra, my Cape Dory 25 sailboat that I keep on Lake Lanier. The weather finally warmed up and the winds calmed down to around 10-12 mph with gust only to around 20 or so. I haven’t even cleaned the poor boat up from its winter nap. But for two-and-a-half hours I sailed around the lake just having a grand old time. Only one thing unpleasant occurred: While pulling the starter rope on the small motor I use to go in and out of the marina, I managed to knock my hat off into the water. By the time I got the motor started, the sails furled, and turned around, my favorite hat sank into lake. Oh, well, it was still worth it.

I think the lesson of that day fits right into counting blessings: In then end, even the unpleasant events all fit into the whole is such a way as we’ll eventually conclude that because of Y’shuaJesus, it all has been worth it!

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine upon you all.

“Die Religion … ist das Opium des Volkes”

Some weeks ago something was said that reminded me of a time, long ago, when someone pointed out to me that my religion was simply an opiate that dulled and blinded me to reality. This came from a person with whom I’d been very close. She told me she wanted to live her life fully, somewhat echoing H.D. Thoreau’s thoughts on life from his book, “Walden’s Pond.” I was, if I understood her correctly, living a life that was based on the illusion of better life after death, one that believed the illusions fed to me today, keeping me in a sort of bondage, addicted to a false hope that allowed me to endure without complaint the hardships of today, and to submit joyfully to them all.

So I began a little research. I learned the full quote from Karl Marx (published in 1843) is: “Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.”

Then I looked at one of Karl Marx’s other publications, “Manifesto of the Communist Party,” published in 1848. According to Wikipedia, “it has since been recognized as one of the world’s most influential political manuscripts. Commissioned by the Communist League, it laid out the League’s purposes and program. It presents an analytical approach to the class struggle (historical and present) and the problems of capitalism, rather than a prediction of communism’s potential future forms.

“The book contains Marx and Engels’ theories about the nature of society and politics, that in their own words, “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.” It also briefly features their ideas for how the capitalist society of the time would eventually be replaced by socialism, and then eventually communism.”

Class struggle. For Marx, religion permitted the poor to remain poor through their religion suppressing any objection of those that controlled them. For Marx, those that exploited the poor used a little bit of charity once and a while to make them feel okay about their exploitation of the poor. And all the while “religion” allowed this to happen.

Now look at a source for Marx’s idea of opium of the masses: According to Wikipedia, The phrase “This opium you feed your people” appeared in 1797 in Marquis de Sade’s text L’Histoire de Juliette. Marquis de Sade. What a character. He was a total mess. He believed in unbridled freedom: the freedom to whatever one pleases regardless of who is hurt or murdered. What Sade is saying in his book is that the State uses religion to appease the people, to keep them in line and controlled. People are controlled when they look to their religion, their government, any world enterprise or institution, as their savior. And their religion supports this view, exploited, which is fully exploited by the state.

Furthermore, Sade said that that the appeased people become fully dependent upon their controllers, and fall into a mortal weakness. If their nation is threatened, they are easily overcome. It makes no difference to them who is controlling them, for they are poor, blind, and too weak to now object.

And it’s true, we see admonishment after admonishment by the Apostles in their writings that we are to live at peace with the government, live in harmony with each other, as best we can. And if that’s as far as we understand our religion, then we will submit to all forms of enslavement, joyfully going onward, blindly.

For the class struggle Marx desires is to envelope the world, for evil capitalism to be defeated, for socialism and communism to succeed and dominate. The way it played out in Russia after the Bolshevik revolution was a suppression of religion.

But it seems that suppressing religion is not enough; it must be replaced. Hence, in the case of USSR, the communist party becomes the religion, for it, itself, is the savior of the people from the clashes of class. Class is done away with, stamped out, molded by the Party into exactly what Marx accused religion of doing: first making the people into soulless serfs, announcing that they are the property of the State, and that the State will provide their “soul.”

While Communism and Nazi Fascism are different, opposed, the aim of each is similar, to control the people through replacing G-d with a hero-worshiped man. Take Austria in 1938. The country was in terrible economic shape. Stories of Germany rising out of economic depression at the false=messianic hand of Adolph Hitler led Austrians to vote to become one nation with Germany, to accept Adolph Hitler. Adolph Hitler was to the Germany people a savior, and now he would be the savior of Austria. There were few outcries from the religious institutions of Germany. Hitler took over. We know how that worked out.

In Germany, the religious institutions supported the Germany government, with some exceptions. One pastor didn’t go along with the Hitler. Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He paid with his live.

Dr. David Livingston, a Biblical archeologist and scholar, writes that:

“There are some basic principles for “using” religion in controlling others. If we know and understand them, we may not so easily be caught in a trap ourselves.

“To begin with, everyone yields final authority to someone, some person. There are five possibilities among which everyone chooses who will control his life.

“First, we may choose ourselves. This kind of person may say, “I am the captain of my own fate, and hang everybody else. I will do my own thing.” Such a one tends to be proud, defiant and sometimes lawless because he has set himself up as his own final authority. This was the position of the kings and emperors of the ancient near east, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

“A second possibility is to yield to someone else’s final authority. This can be imposed on people by force. But however it happens, people become somebody else’s slave.

“The third possibility is to yield to God. This may sound like a good way, but there can be trouble with this position. The problem is that if the god to which a person yields is a figment of his own imagination, he is in the first category mentioned above. He is worshipping himself. People may think they are worshipping God, while they are only worshipping an idea of God they themselves imagined. Or, they say “visualize God to be as He is represented in some great painting.” But, that is not God at all. Some may say that actually all ideas of god are nothing but the creation of man to meet a deep-felt “god-need.” Those believing this need to go on to consider the next two possibilities.

“The fourth possibility is to yield final authority to someone else’s idea of God. This is where real trouble arises. If we yield to someone else’s concept of god, we become his servant. This makes one a slave of the most complete kind. Because anybody who controls someone else’s religious thoughts really controls his whole person. Israel was warned in Exodus 23:33, “. . . if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.” And by the time of the Judges, Israel had already discovered that serving someone else’s idea of god ultimately leads to servitude (Judges 2: 12,14). Jeremiah later pled with Israel not to serve the gods of the nations, “And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the Lord our God all these things unto us? Then shalt thou answer them, like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.” (Jeremiah 5:19, see also: Amos 5:25-27).

“When we serve a god that someone else has “dreamed up,” we become their slave. That is what the rulers of Russia, Japan, China, and other nations have done to their subjects. Rulers in the Ancient Near East did exactly the same.

“By now the reader will have begun to discover the most basic method used in gaining control over others. It is simply this:

“Whoever controls a person’s religion, controls his will; whoever controls his will, controls his thought-life; and whoever controls his thoughts, controls that one’s actions. Possession of another person as totally as this, makes him a complete slave, even though the person may actually seem free and have a high living standard.

“If there is one word which describes the method used to control others, it is “deceit.” Those who employ deceit are following the Father of Lies who has gone out to deceive the whole world (Revelation 12:9; 20:3,8,10). The fact that he can deceive everyone indicates that he has a number of agents using his methods. It also indicates that great masses of men — hundreds of millions of them — have been living in spiritual slavery.
How to be really free

“Thank God there is a fifth possibility. That is, we can allow our lives to be controlled by the True God Jesus Christ as revealed in the Scriptures. Jesus said,

If the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.

(John 8:32)

“To be sure we have yielded our wills to Jesus Christ Himself, we should read for ourselves about Him in the Bible, the Word of God. No other description of Jesus is completely trustworthy. And having decided to follow Him, we want to be certain we are not just following someone else’s understanding of Him! Of course, we should listen to and read of the exposition of God’s Word by other men of God. A very important aspect of our obeying Christ is to be in fellowship with those of like mind. But, even so, we want to get God’s will for ourselves as directly as possible from His revealed Word.

“The True and Living God HAS revealed Himself. He is not hiding from us. He reveals Himself in His Word very plainly. Then, in the written Word we discover that in this last period of time in history, He has come into the world in the Person of His Son.

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners, spake in time past unto the fathers by prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, Whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by Whom also He made the worlds; Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. (Hebrews 1:1-3)

“Will you ask yourself, “To whom have I yielded to have the final authority in my life?”

“”Religion” IS an “opiate”… but CHRIST IS LIFE!
And He said, “You are my friends if you do whatever I command you.”

“The antidote to spiritual slavery is to surrender our wills to Jesus Christ, then let our minds be washed with the pure water of the Word of Truth as we determine to obey Him. Meditating on God’s Word day and night will make one prosper and set him free (even though he might be a slave in Caesar’s court: Psalms 1: 2,3).”

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Christianity as Religious Extremism

Generally, citizens and guests within the United States of America are free to believe and behave as they please. Constitutional provisions protect various rights, such as freedom of religion. The First Amendment to the US Constitution states in part: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. . .” The consequences of such protection has brought about a situation in which two foreign-born men came to America, and have the right to interpret or misinterpret their religion as they please. This interpretation on their part led to the Boston marathon bombing.

For a Christian, there are within the framework of the Bible, various scriptures that self-limit our pure freedoms. Y’shuaJesus taught:

Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Matthew 19:19

The Apostle Peter spoke about submitting “to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake.” (1 Peter 2:13)

It’s all part of balance. We have the right to exercise our religion, and we have the duty to self-limit our rights such that we obey various ordinances that are created by our G-d-ordained government to protect all citizens.

But. There is always a “but,” isn’t there. But our responsibility is first to our Lord, our G-d. We must study His Word to be approved. We must study the Whole Word, not pick and choose from various places to suit our fleshly agendas. Our conduct is to be exemplary. We are to be models as citizens. So we do all we can to be good Citizens of G-d’s Kingdom at the same time juggling the responsibilities and duties of the country in which we reside. We want to also be good citizens in a secular sense, too.

Yet increasingly we, as Christians are told by people who aren’t part of the Lord’s Fellowship, the Lord’s Church, how we are to behave. I’ve spoken of this in the past. It is a bit of an irritant to me to hear, “The Bible Says” this or that, “and you should. . . ”

So this morning I noticed a posting on the Lighthouse Blog that bothered me. It’s more of the same setting of a stage for Christian persecution in the future. It is more defaming of Christians. The beginning of the article is taken from an article on Christian News Network, By Heather Clark:

“Washington, D. C. – Over 40 United States Congressmen have signed a letter calling upon the secretary of the Army to rescind a briefing by an instructor who classified evangelical Christianity and other faiths as “religious extremism” next to Al Qaeda and Hamas.

“As previously reported, the training session occurred a year ago in Pennsylvania, and involved an Army Reserve unit that was receiving training on worldwide religious extremism. Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) obtained a copy of the Power Point presentation, which includes a slide that lists 18 religious groups that the instructor deemed to be extremist. While it is not known whether the groups were ordered in relation to their severity, evangelical Christianity appears first on the list, followed by the Muslim Brotherhood, Ultra-Orthodox Judaism, a group called “Christian Identity,” Al Qaeda and Hamas.

“The presentation had utilized information and data collected by the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that classifies “hate groups” throughout the country.”

And then there is a related article to which the website refers:

Obama Administration: We Can and Will Force Christians to Act Against Their Faith The article states that “the Obama administration is claiming that the First Amendment—which expressly denies the government the authority to prohibit the “free exercise” of religion—nonetheless allows it to force Christians to directly violate their religious beliefs.” This article details the fight that a nationwide hobby store is engaging in so that it doesn’t have to comply with the presidential mandate in the health laws to provide birth control and abortions to employees.

Now this presentation that declares Evangelical Christians (are there non-evangelical Christians, really?) as Religious Extremists was initially reported a year ago. And this Hobby Lobby fight has gone on for a while, too. The crux of the matter is that as Citizens of G-d’s Kingdom and citizens of a secular nation we must voice our opposition at times to governmental measures and mandates that go against our religious views. We do this by informing our representatives in the US Congress, and we do it by actions within the legal process, in court.

While Christians may submit to ordinances made by governing administrations, they also may act within their rights, objecting to ordinances they deem unG-dly.

What Christians don’t do is kill and injure people at the Boston Marathon. That’s just plain ol’ evil.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Zombie Apocalypse Revisited

In his book, The Return Man, V.M. Zito has a character explain about the zombie brain: “Basically, our memories are stored in the higher section of our brain, the part that only more evolved mammals like humans have. But experiences in our lives that take place under strong emotion are tagged before they’re stored, by a more primitive part of our brain–a part that predates our evolution, back to the lower animals. This primitive brain is a pretty scary place. Aggression, rage, hunger. . . all the basic survival instincts originate here.”

Brain Injury (journal) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The character continues with an illustration from a case in the 1800s, in England. “Three men in a lifeboat after a shipwreck, facing starvation, killed and ate the cabin boy. What happened was that their malnourished bodies conserved energy by shutting down the higher brain, then operated out of the lower brain. The reptilian brain, it’s often called. Evolved functions, like ethics and compassion, went right out the window. The men’s reptilian brains saw a simple choice–eat a boy, or die. So they ate.”

The fall season of Walking Dead just concluded. Last season’s final episode revealed a startling development: whenever a non-zombie dies, the body reanimates into one of the walking dead. Everyone is infected. While this isn’t normally the case in zombie movies and books, it isn’t new. Mira Grant, in a zombie trilogy wrote about viral loads in humans that were kept in check by the bodies immune system. It was only if those loads exceeded a certain point, or increased through a bite, that the person died and reanimated.

So a few nights ago, it dawned on me that these people having a virus that can explode at anytime is a perfect analogy for our sin nature.

For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

Galations5:17

It seems to me, there are an awful lot of zombies walking around, operating out of their lower brains. Or operating without any brain. Brain Dead! Who builds a couple bombs and plants them at the end of the Boston Marathon? Brain Dead, Lawless, Wicked People. But that’s obvious. They have been given over to an evil nature. Their higher brains starved so long they simple don’t reason, only act in senseless, evil ways.

Then there is the momentary lapse of consciousness, falling to the primal brain functions. There’s the law enforcement officer leaving his loaded sidearm on his bed, where a child finds it and shoots a woman, killing her. Or the Special Ops Soldier that is showing off his weapon to a woman and ends up firing it into himself, and dying as a result? And there is the normally good driver making a poor judgement, and running into someone, and that person being injured?

They fell victim, became a casualty, of the war of the flesh of which the Apostle Paul spoke. The remedy?

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Galatians 5:16

Paul makes it sound as if we have a choice. Just walk in the Spirit. We must walk with discernment. We must walk with consciousness. We must walk with our heads up, our eyes wide open, and our hands ever ready to be raised to the Lord. We need to stop thinking about tomorrow, or wallowing in the mistakes of the past, and we must walk in the Spirit, TODAY, NOW!

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

What the World. . . Needs now. . .

. . . Is Love. . .Sweet Love. . .

“What the World Needs Now Is Love” is a 1965 popular song with lyrics by Hal David and music composed by Burt Bacharach. First recorded and made popular by Jackie DeShannon, it was released on April 15, 1965, on the Imperial label after a release on sister label Liberty records the previous month was canceled. The song reached number 7 on the US charts in May of that year. (source: Wikipedea)

Twenty-eight years ago today, Jackie DeShannon released the song that cried out a prayer for love.

Lord, we don’t need another mountain
There are mountains and hillsides enough to climb
There are oceans and rivers enough to cross
Enough to last ’til the end of time

What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love
No, not just for some, oh, but just for every, every, everyone

While true for today as for the sixties, the call for love didn’t begin with Jakie DeShannon’s song. G-d commanded love, way back when:

. . .you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

Lev 19:18

The Apostle Paul wrote quite a bit about love. Here are some sample quotes:

Rom_12:9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
Rom_12:10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
Rom_13:8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
Rom_13:9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Rom_13:10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Isn’t it love that will counter lawlessness? Isn’t love that will bring peace and happiness?

Perhaps. But before we can have love, before we can have peace, before we can have happiness, we must:

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Mat 6:33

Perhaps that’s the problem. We want love, we want peace, we want happiness, but we don’t seek the Lord while He can be found.

Something to think about.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Of Lawlessness, Last Days, and Dreams

We are told that in the Last Days before the return of our King, lawlessness will increase. Looking back throughout our human history, we can see periods of war, famine, plague. Certainly. But something is afoot these days that sets us beyond what has come before.

This week in the news North Korea tells foreigners to leave South Korea as it struts its stuff like a roster before a cock fight. The Mid East is bathed in blood as secular dictators are being pushed aside so that a religious government might rise in the ashes. And then there is Iran. In America violence seems rampant, erupting in the most unlikely places. Throughout, ordinary people are frustrated, angry, rude, unkind, and don’t even know why.

It feels like the Spirit of G-d is departing–that no longer is evil somewhat reigned. We are left to suffer the consequences of our sins.

This is just the way it happens. Does a father forever continue to treat his children as infants? At some point a father looks at his child through tears and says, “You are on your own now.”

Yet we are also told that:

. . .in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. . .

Acts 2:17

So between what feels as with drawl of the Spirit and a pouring out of the Spirit?

It is a time for us to learn endurance, patient waiting, faith. We have not lost the Spirit of G-d within us. G-d has not departed from us. We are anointed with the oil of gladness, and can, if we choice, revel in the joy of the Holy Ghost. Today. But we must make an effort to seek G-d, through His Son Y’shuaJesus, by the power of the Spirit. We must rest in the LORD now, find His peace amidst the lawlessness of this present world.

As things fall apart, we must recognize that the Lord is with us. We must rally beneath His Banner of Love. We must be holy, must be wholly His. We must forgive insults and act wisely. We must not be alarmed. And when we dream dreams we must pay attention to them, be encouraged by them. For it is when the dreams come to us, G-d may speak His quiet voice, encouraging us, healing us, changing us, and instructing us.

Lord Bless, Keep, and Shine upon you and yours. . .