What is True Freedom and Why do We The People not Want it?

     The Founders of this Nation used inspiring words while penning the 'Charters of Freedom' and then the Declaration of Independance and Constitution. These words included Liberty, Justice, Representation, and many others but none more profound than 'Freedom'. You see all these were concepts that each man felt the Monarch had stripped away forcing them to rebel. So when they came together to pen a Charter of Freedom, The Declaration of Independance and Constitution for our budding new Nation, all would  turn to each other for ideas and support, to other nation's documents for references, but for the main concepts of wisdom and knowledge to build a foundation upon the founders would turn to God's Holy Word. Let's start at the beginning just for reference...'We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal..." where would they get that concept? Surely not from Britain at the time. Nor from any other monarchial nation. In fact, there was no other nation that put forth this concept of total equality of man except that coming from a budding nation...which then begs the question, where did they get this concept from? It comes from God's Word. In Genesis 1: " 26Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth,^b and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” 29Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. " In this we see that God, the Father Son and Holy Ghost, made man and gave him dominion over all things created. He did this without creating a class system or a dominate ruler or any other type of heirachy. In fact, God made no distinction at this time. This was His plan all along, that man would work together for the good of all men and all things created under the sun. He did not elevate one man over another. But man has always changed things to fit his own desires, and so we instituted class systems and slavery and indentured servitude (another name for self inflicted slavery) and on and on the list of suppressive systems we have instituted. So why would our newly forming government feel the need to impress upon their people these "Individual Rights"? Because our new Government truly understood the high COST, in blood, of our Liberty and Freedom. Freedom is NEVER free. It is bought and paid for by those willing to lay their lives upon the alter of sacrifice to ensure that all may have the rights and liberties as free men, that God our Father granted to us, His children from the beginning. Let's look at this word, Freedom.

     Freedom as defined by the dictionary is: 1) the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action. 2) liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another: independance. 3) the quality or state of being exempt or released usually from something onerous. 4) ease, facility. 5) the quality of being frank, open, or outspoken. 6) improper familiarity. 7) boldness of conception or execution. 8) unrestricted use.  9) A Political Right.

     Then the founders having fought for and paid the high price of Freedom ensured that our very Freedom was set forth as a Bill of Rights from that time to now. They attempted to ensure our true Freedom by limiting the Powers of Government over the We The People. Their dictionary for the concept of Freedom was not Webster's online or in book form as we use...their dictionary to discribe and gain understanding of the term was once again God's Word.  Our founding fathers would use verses such as  John 8:36 "So if the Son sets you FREE, you will be free indeed." or 2 Cor 1:10 that speaks to God's strength when we are weak. Psalms 118:5; Psalms 3: 2-3,8; Psalms 50:15; Gen 50:20.  All these verses, speak about freedom but do not really get into it's being. That is why the founders wrote that each individual has the right to pursue happiness, and prosperity. What they did not say was it would be at the expense of another's rights. In other words, you can pursue life, liberty, happiness and freedom as long as it does not infringe upon anothers right to those same pursuits.

     Jesus promised us freedom. True freedom for those who would follow him. He promised to lighten our burdens and cares...Mathew 11: 28“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

     We The People say, "He promised I would be free so why do I have a burden at all?" He did not give it to you. You gave it to yourself. You allow satan to use the things of this world to build up stress and burdens that eventually enslave you to them so that you end up carrying more of a load than when you first started. We come to Christ believing that all my problems will end with the conversion and that once I am chosen and a christian I will no longer be subjected to this worlds issues but like our founding fathers we soon learn that even our own freedoms are not free and we have to pay for them over and over again. So what we do is, we allow satan to take a yoke and bind the burden of a house payment to it, then a car payment, and health issue to it, then any number of other items that he can hook up to the yoke that we are hitched to. Each time he adds another item, our burden to pull gets harder. You see in this scenario, we are the oxen and satan is the master steering us around our own hardened earth garden, in an attempt to till good deeds out of our misery.

     What Christ did was this...by accepting the death upon the cross, He took all those burdens that satan had been hooking up to your harness every day and hooked them to his own harness instead. That's right, instead of you pulling those burdens through that hardened rocky ground, Christ did it for you. So now all you really have to pull is your own cross. What is that? Well, as close as I can get to that is this, you have to tell everyone you meet how you came to know Christ. Just as Paul recanted his Damascus Road experience over and over, we now have the extreme burden of telling everyone our Damascus Road story. And to treat each other as we would be treated.

     So in light of all this, why is it that We The People do NOT want Freedom? We like Israel before us have been begging for more government and less freedom for years. We The People have been receiving mana from the government, in the form of Social Security/Medicare/Medicaid/Welfare, etc., that we are complaining about not liking it and now want something more and different. So the government grows and taxes us and gives us more...yet, it is not Freedom that we are receiving but servitude in that we are now indentured to our own government. Soon we will no longer be free and all the individual rights that our founders put into place to protect our very freedoms will be undone. We the People do not understand what we are giving away and will not even know that the Bill of Rights have been completely unraveled until it is done. God will not be here to stop this as We The People have told Him to get lost.

     The only question that I cannot answer is why? Why are We The People so afraid of our own freedom? It was bought at a price beyond compare and paid for many times over by our own Mighty Men. So what is it about true freedom that scares each man that he is afraid to be free, truly free? For if you would be free, you would be petitioning Father through prayer and fasting to return quickly to our lands. Yet, even now we ignore Him and say "we got this!" I believe that there are too many individuals afraid of death within this land. They believe that if the government were bigger and stronger then it could save them...but to each of us is appointed a time to die. It is assured. God will call your name and you will answer. No power on earth can change that. The only real question is, will you be ready to answer for your life? God did not give you a Spirit of Fear to live your life and hiding behind a government or someone else to protect you from life's trials is not what Father had in mind. He wants you to step out and Live life to the fullest. You will die anyway, would you rather die on your knees as a slave or standing in front of whatever it is that your battling? Get up and stand now as truly free men, not indentured servants or slaves. Father wants His children to be battling the evil one and his hosts. Therefore, He took your burden, so that you could be rested for the times of trials and battles. We The People need to remember our founding fathers and the foundation that they laid for our great nation. We need to stand and be counted as christians and free men. This is the time for us to stand as christians and pray together for our nation. To ask God to return His light to our nation and forgive our transgressions. We have to pay the price for our sins but that does not mean that our nation cannot be saved if We The People call out to Father.

The Pending Fall of Camalot

I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Sovereign LORD, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes.

—Ezekiel 36:23 (NIV)

      The Statue of Liberty states, "Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." For many, the US has seemed like a fairy tale land. The land of dreams and opportunity. The land of Camalot or Eldorado. We have always been the land that all peoples in the world aspired to for a chance to better their lives and improve their circumstances. A chance to become more. The dream of a home and car and land and well, just about anything that a person who lives under tyranny could imagine or comprehend including never having to worry about where their next meal or clothing or money was coming from because it was all there to be gotten by anyone willing to reach out and take it. All they had to do was get here and they could find their dreams...

     We have been that land because we built our foundation upon a "biblical" value system and lived lives that strived to achieve that calling, even to a point of death for some. The founders and pioneers of this great nation understood that all things that are good are gifts from our Lord and He is our protector. This I have stated many times and will continue to put forth for we as a whole seem to have forgotten that simple truth.

     I have felt the call to continue my warnings of impending calamity that comes with the seperation from God. You see we can say all we want and rant and rave about the president or any other politicians within the Government, but the real truth of the matter is this, Jesus tells us that all authority on earth is given by the Father. Yes, even the current administration was placed into power by our Lord for a purpose. That along with the other leaders who are in authority over us, were all given that authority by our Heavenly Father. Even David understood this and though he could have taken Saul's life on numerous occasions, he would not because it was God's place to bring judgement upon him. So now that you are confused and at least upset about what I am saying, I will continue...

     Our Father has allowed us to install our own 'king and court' if you will. Our own means of punishment. The very means of our own spiral into another depression and internal conflict. We the People have elected to follow the path of lesser gods and self indulgence to the point that we no longer care how we get what we want; as long as we get it, and someone else pays for it. Therefore, our elected officials are taking those of us who works monies and are using that to give as 'free' monies to those who are demanding it. Those who are demanding it do not even understand that they are paying for it out of their taxes and/or union dues. They truly are deceived into their camalot world of believing that they can get more money by staying home and doing nothing while the government taxes those of us who work to be able to pay for the 'programs' for those others not willing to work, to stay home. For the first time in our history, those who are staying home on government assistance are receiving more money in benefits per hour than those of us who work. So now here is the problem with this....why shouldn't we all quit work and go home? If it is good enough for those others to sit at home and receive those benefits for years (literally), then explain to me why I should be out here paying to support that individual? Once again this is a Camalot scheme that is doomed to failure and it will fail within the next couple years. We will soon be in a depression that will resemble that of the 1920's and people will not be willing to pay for others who will not work nor give up their right to bear arms to protect what is theirs as the economy implodes upon itself. God will not correct this and He will not stop this from occurring as we have taken him from our land. You will see gas hit $5 soon enough. The Government will attempt to control the situation but it will not be able to as things will continue to spiral and destabilize. That is when the 'fires will start in the west'. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. I will continue to write of the coming destruction and dissolution of this once great nation so that those who read and listen may know that God is the author of all things.

    

Abortion/Murder

     Today I write something that I feel led to say. It is about the injustice and hypocrisy of our current outrage over the deaths of so many children that were killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School. Truly, those children were gifts to their parents and their deaths were a crime and tragedy. Yet, I am amazed by the Hypocrisy and inconsistency exhibited by the leaders that are in power in this nation.
     The loss of those 20 children is nothing compared to the innumerable deaths that occur each and every year at the hands of doctors given license to murder innocent life by those same individuals who are now screaming about gun control and murder. Every year doctors in this land murder thousands of children legally, thanks to those same individuals, by aborting a pregnancy. We have gotten so bold as to play God and say when life is to begin. We can see through a sonogram and ultra sound that a fetus is in fact a child and even scientists agree that am em brio is a form of life but not a fetus? Really? Why? Only because it is inconvenient? We are smarter than that and know that all life begins at conception...so, what is the real reason to stop the pregnancy? Let's get real. In the case of a life threatening issue, then a decision has to be made as to when to deliver but God alone is the author of life and truly decides the day and time of each persons life. Will stopping a pregnancy really save a life if the mother's time has come or will allowing the baby to be born be a way for Father to bless the family with a continuation of life and love that would have been missing with the loss of a loved one? If a woman is raped and God creates life from that event...are we really to kill that life? Or was there a higher purpose for that creation? Father knows when to create life and He alone has the plan for better things. That child may be the means to healing for that woman that no amount of counseling or other family love can give. How about when the infant will be born with a defect. That's what we call it isn't? A birth defect or a defective child...come on. It's BROKE, so I don't want IT. How callous can you get. How selfish can you be? Really, some of the most special children in the world are those who are born 'defective' in the terms of the scientific community. Father may have been sending you a special blessing that you are aborting.
     Today we are murdering thousands of baby's, even partial birth murders, and our government has decided that we must provide the means for that to occur through our tax dollars even if it is against my religious beliefs. I could not justify killing a child while in a foreign land as a soldier. I do not know any soldiers who could have. Yet, now my very government is making me pay for women in my own country; who do not have the self control to not engage in sexual activities or use protection, to kill their unborn child resulting from their own actions. Not only is this morally wrong but it is murder in the sight of God. He created that life and the leaders of this country are making We The People accomplices to their acts of murder. God did not give them the right to help that woman to dispose of that child. He especially did not give them the right to tax us to pay to kill that child. I for one am angry that I am required to pay to taxes to kill unborn children. Where is the media's angry outcry over the millions of children who will never live life and be able to attend school? Who will never be able to ride a bike or a skateboard or know the love of a family or get married. Where's the outrage of  the Senate over the millions murdered for the convenience of those who do not want an infant?
     God's wrath is righteous and coming. We are a hypocritical peoples who are deserving of that which will soon arrive. All those prepper's should be crying out to God not relying on their own strength for even they will soon discover the futility of their efforts. God created this world and everything in it...He can destroy all things as well. As for me, Father is my strength and shield. His is the path that I walk upon. I will follow where that leads me until He calls my name.

For Fear of Living

     We as a people fear death. We do not understand death and so we fear it. We have allowed Satan to make us believe that death is the end of all things good. A prime example of our own cultural misunderstanding on this is during the movie 'The Last Samari'. When Tom Cruz's character is having one of his 'conversations' with his captor Katsomura and they are discussing the death of COL George Armstrong Custer. Katsomura was impressed with COL Custer's courage and death. To him it seemed a glorious death and something to be admired, while Tom's character was repulsed and very upset about the loss of so many men unnecessarily. Tom's character, like most Americans, places a high value on life. Which is not wrong by any means. But in this case it brings into question if there were anything he felt worth dying for? Was there nothing in his life that was worth his life? Then why was he in the military to start with? Was it just a job? His addiction to alcohol speaks volumes to his inability to live with his life choices and where they were taking him. In contrast, Katsomura's life was about sacrifice and a willingness to die. He in fact embraced death and looked forward to a glorious death in the service of his Emperor.
     This is a totally alien concept to our culture even today. We fear dying as an end of all things. Even when we state that we believe our Father in heaven and He has promised that death is not the end, we still doubt and fear. Jesus told us that He was returning to the Father to prepare a place for us so that where He was we could be also. Yet, we have not listened to the Spirit and lived our life like we were truly free of the fear of death. Doubt me? When I was a child, my parents let me ride in the back of a pick up truck. Today, we do not. Life is too precious. We HAVE to wear seat belts. We have to wear helmets when riding bicycles, or knee and elbow pads when riding skateboards. What about sports games? How many new rules govern the game of football compared to 10 years ago? 20 years ago? Bull riders wear helmets and ballistic vests now. I am not saying that these are bad...I am pointing out that we have lost our fearlessness. We are losing a lust for LIFE. God created man to be free to conquer the wild things. Yet we are making things so protected and safe that there is no real feeling of conquest. We in turn fear death and do not really LIVE. Instead, we turn to movies and other types of 'entertainment' to momentarily loose ourselves in a false reality of adventure where even if we do 'die' we will automatically re spawn and live again to exact our revenge upon our fake enemies and eventually live out our fantasy of conquest and adventure, destroying all the opponents in the most realistic fashion that the creators of these fantasy worlds can generate. We spend hours and days and yes even YEARS if you think about it, of our lives, living a false life inside these false worlds that were created to addict us to them so that we would want nothing more than to live inside them all the time. So now we are chained to a job that we hate so that we can afford to live and pay the bills, only to provide us the necessary income so we can return home to live a lie in a false world of movies or games that we truly want to live but no longer have the courage to pursue. All because we need the safety and security of knowing that we are not in danger...really? Is that what we were called for? Or were we created for more?
     I struggle with these same issues. My time in Iraq left me searching for an escape from reality for a time. Something to help me get away from being in a war zone. So like so many soldiers, I turned to movies and games. These helped me escape reality for a time but they are also addicting in that upon returning from theater you still feel the NEED to play whenever you are under stress and want to get away. The doctors and psychiatrists call it Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and you can call it whatever you want but it is an inability to readjust to life without the fear of immenant death. Death is a reality in a war zone and one that you live with and learn to enjoy the adrenalin from. Upon returning to 'civilization' there was no constant need for adrenalin and nowhere to go to stimulate that need, so many soldiers are trying to create an environment where it can be found...such as in a movie or game. This is how Satan has perpetuated the lie that life is dull and useless. The only way to live is through a game or movie.
     God did not call us live inside a game or fantasize about what life could be like through the lives of movie stars. He called us to LIVE. He wants us to actually believe in something so strongly that we would be willing, like Katsumoto, to give our life for it. I have always held my life as worthless compared to that of my wife and children. I would die to protect them. I also willingly volunteered to deploy for the tours in Iraq. In the movie 'Open Range' Kevin Costner's character tells a group of men in a bar that, "You may not know this but there are things that naw at a man worse than dying." So the question is this, are you truly a man? If so, what is it you believe in so much that it is worth dying for? Is there nothing in your life that you would be willing to lay down your life to protect? God created inside each of us a desire to worship Him. We may not recognize that it is a need to worship our Father, but we each know that there is an emptiness that NEEDs to be filled and we search to fill it with something. Therefore, we spend an inordinate amount of time searching for something to fill that emptiness. Sex, Drugs, Alcohol, games and movies will only stimulate that need for a short while and then it will make its empty presence felt again demanding even more stimulation. That is the lie that Satan uses, that you can become complete by filling it with something besides God. But the truth is this, there is nothing that Satan can offer that will complete you that is whole or big enough to fill that emptiness except our Father and His Spirit. Now the question is, would you be willing to die for that? If filling that emptiness that exists within each and every one of us required the knowing sacrifice of your life, would you be willing to make it? Could you watch as the gates were opened that released the hungry lions into the arena that meant you were to be eaten alive? Could you quietly kneel with your hands tied behind your back and your feet tied together, while a mad man screamed islamic words behind your back and then slowly began beheading you with a dull knife? Could you watch your own son butchered in front of you by an angry crowd and then pardon them for their crime? Satan says that death is the end and wants us to fear it and question our ability to earn salvation so that we are afraid to truly LIVE for Christ. If we truly were not afraid to live for him as a disciple, then what could be accomplished by Christ's body? If we truly were not afraid of death then we could freely ask Satan, "Where O Death is your Victory? Where O Death is your Sting?" as written in 1 Cor 15: 55.
     We need to stand on the victory of our Lord Jesus who overcame death and rose from the grave to sit at the right hand of our Father victorious waiting for our return to live with Him forever. Not in fear but in Victory as a true Child of God. I am not there yet and am still overcoming my addictions and temptations. Yet, I know that Father promised that He would help me to live a life of freedom and victory in Him as long as I keep looking to Him for grace and mercy.

Old Traditions

     When I was young my parents attended a religiously conservative church. We are talking very conservative and restrictive. Their premise was always, "bible and bible alone." It was the Holy Word of God and not open to interpretation...I will let that sink in for a while. The only true version to utilize was the King James Bible as that was the proper bible to use. No Questions. There were strict structures in the way the worship would be conducted and there would be no deviation from that. None. A welcome, three songs and a prayer, another song or two and then the Lord's Supper, then another couple songs and the sermon. Always concluding with an invitation, which usually included 2-3 versus of 'Just as I Am'...finally, when no one responded, there would be a closing song and prayer and the worship was over. Everyone trooped out the back and shook the Preacher's hand expressing how wonderful his sermon was.
     I was raised to believe that the bible 'condemned' musical instruments in the worship service. We were not allowed to dance as that led to sin. We were not allowed to drink as that was forbidden as well. We were not allowed to smoke or chew tobacco as that was sinful.  There would be no clapping or standing up and praising or lifting up your hands to God during service. Any noise that was made was usually met with the offending child taken out back for punishment, spanking. All because the bible stated that we were to worship our Lord in an 'orderly' fashion.
     We raise our children like this and then wonder, why they are no longer following our teachings? First, let me make clear that I am no saint and I am no bible scholar but I have learned to question what I was taught at an early age. So let's look at the issue of music to start with...does the bible really state that there will be no musical instruments in worship to our Lord? No. Actually, what is stated is that, "the Christians will sing and make melody in their hearts to the Lord." That verse has been used over and over by those opposed to musical instruments in the service to keep them out. Yet, I can also show you where the bible states that each person is to, "utilize the talents they have been given for the Lord." That verse has always been used by the church to mean monies yet it was not just talking to money. It was also talking about individual talents that Father blessed His children with. Now I am not musically inclined and would not be able to lend much assistance to a choir or band or any other musical type of worship, yet I sing along with the church in praise to the Lord. Do I think it is wrong to have singing only in worship to our Father? No. However, let me ask you this, when we get to heaven and each of us must answer for what we have done or did not do, I do not want to look at my Lord and try to explain why I condemned the use of a talent that He had blessed one of His children with and why I was responsible for the quenching of that talent, the Gift God had blessed His child with. We have a responsibility to nurture and to encourage our children to use God's blessings, which He gave to them to use for His glory, and not quench their fire to fulfill that Father inspired dream of enriching others by the use of those talents. As for reference purposes, walk back into the Old testament and look at David. His playing of the harp was a God given talent that eased the troubled mind of King Saul. This was all part of God's plan. What would have happened if Jesse had said, "No, you cannot play the harp nor will I allow you to learn to play it because you are going to be my Shepard boy only." See the issue when we interject our own understanding of what is needed and necessary?
     And what about dancing? Was dancing truly the devil's design? Was it truly evil personified? Or was it fear that the youth would forget their upbringing and sin 'in their hearts' if not in body from being so close to each other? Honestly, dancing is not condemned in the bible. You cannot show me where it is. I have had smarter men than me take me to the story of the beheading of John the Baptist and claim that this was the result of dancing and they also took me to parts of the bible telling us to be modest and decent. Okay, if that is your stance, then why is your spouse wearing clothing that is too tight? Or why do you go watch movies you know will have language, nudity and sexually suggestive content? How many of us have honestly cleared our homes of the filth that causes our minds to think of women or men as sexual objects to be lusted after? Be honest with yourself...you are the only one who can answer and God already knows! So what we were really saying is, "I don't trust the other young people to not lust after my son or daughter. Or that I know how I was and I am not going to allow my child to be tempted like I was." If that is true, then say so. Lying is lying. Tell them why you won't let them go to the Prom. However, let me refer you back again to David in the Old Testament and note that, once in celebration of victory, David danced naked in the street while playing the harp in worship to the Lord and it was ACCEPTED by the Lord. Just a thought...
     What about that demon alcohol. Well I will just touch on this one as I have had it drilled into me since my youth that it is the devil's brew. Truthfully, I do not drink much if any alcoholic beverages these days as a choice because I like some of them too much. However, Jesus started His ministry by turning water into wine. Now I know and have been preached at, that the first fruits that were discussed in translation was not actually wine but grape juice. You can accept that if you wish but the truth of the matter is this, if God caused His Word to be an inspired translation for all men. Then even you have to acknowledge that God chose the wording. Therefore, wine was wine, and not only was it wine it was the BEST wine of the wedding celebration. The reason even the guests were surprised was the fact that usually the best was served first and after everyone was already drunk or under the influence they would not notice the lesser quality wine being served later. However, not so in this case, this time the best was provided by our Lord. You can also refer to Timothy were Paul tells him to drink a little wine for his stomach. This was not an uncommon remedy in those times.
     I could continue and probably should say that smoking and chewing were not mentioned in the bible in either testament. However, the question you must ask yourself is this, "is this what I should be doing with the residence of the Holy Spirit?" We each are the residing place for the Holy Spirit today. He will come and dwell inside each of us and make His home in us. Is this what you want to offer Him as living arrangement?
So now that I have brought myself a lot of contention and consternation from the religiously conservative who do not like things to change, let me ask you all a question if I may....what if I am right and none of these issues that we have split and argued and debated for years means anything to our Father in Heaven except when you quench the fire of a talent He purposefully gave to one of His children? What if we by our own desire to worship God in an orderly fashion have quenched the fires of conversion and love that some would have given and made to our Father? Does clapping and praising God by song and dance and music  really detract from worship to our Lord or does it just make me 'uncomfortable' because we have never done it this way? Does God really frown upon choirs? Or pianos? Or organs? Or even guitars and drums? Did He not inspire their construction? Does Father really look down upon your drinking? Or dancing when out with friends? Our Father told us that He wanted us to live a life of joy and freedom. Why are we now creating chains to bind ourselves and enslave ourselves to a life of religious rigidity and regulation. That is not what I read about in the Holy Word. That was not a life that He called us to. He called us to a life of freedom in Him. A life of acceptance and compassion. If we cannot accept each other as who we are and lift each other up in our use of the talents given, then how are we going to inspire the world to want to come be like us? God wants us to share His talents with  our fellow Christians. He wants us to dance and sing to Him as David did. Not necessarily naked but with joy and praise for God's victory. God loves each of His children and for too long we have quenched the fires of devotion that we are to be writing upon our children's hearts because we are Pharisaical about some things that truly do not seem to matter. So here is something for us all to think upon as well, in the story where David is dancing in the street naked in worship to the Father, who is the one that God curses and punishes? Look again at the text and contemplate on whether you are a David or a Michal. You see his wife rebuked David for his actions and God judged her harshly for it. We are warned many times in the bible about quenching the fires of love and devotion of others due to our own attitudes and traditions. Revelations gives us strong warnings of never adding to or taking from the Holy Word...are we in our traditions taking from? We need to determine what is biblical and what is worth standing upon to ensure salvation and hold firmly to that. I do not believe that my soul will be lost due to a pianist playing accompaniment in the auditorium. However, if it is a vital soul saving issue to another christian who TRULY does not understand or questions, rather than standing on old tradition, then we are told to give up those freedoms for the sake of that one individual. Yet, that is also a freedom, to be able to give up a freedom for the sake of another. That in itself is a sacrifice and worthy of God's favor. He knows our hearts and so will know what resides within.
     I know that I have crossed many lines of traditions and boundaries with this one but sometimes these need to be brought forth and questioned in a manner that hopefully is logical and provides my perspective on old questions that still divide our Body and cause deep pain and hurt to many. If what I wrote offended you, I will apologize for the offense as it was not intended to offend but to provoke thought and discussion. May our Father watch over and guide us as we continue to walk daily in His presence.

Who or What is Your God?

     What is your god? I recently stumbled upon this question again as I was praying about my own life and situation. In Genesis 1. God talks about who He is and how he created everything. How He is multiple even then, uses the term 'our', when talking about creating man in our image. Later God talks directly with Abram and Noah. They know Him and He is their God...or at least is one of their gods. Remember, during those times they are polytheistic and many believe that even Abram was polytheistic to start with. I do not know and so will not debate that. What I do know is that when God comes to Abram and makes a pact with him, Abraham is given that name because he develops a deep and lasting relationship with God. And God does not develop relationships with children who worship other gods. It seems to be the same with Noah and Moses. You see each individual who Father searches out is notable for being a monotheist. In other words, they loved God and Him alone.
     So how about other religious ideologies? Are they all bogus? Are they all doomed to failure? And what about the recent Prophets that have arisen since the time of Christ? Well, I will use my limited knowledge and background to attempt to answer that as best as I can. I am not a biblical scholar nor do I claim supernatural understanding, so bear with me...you see, I once was talking with an acknowledged atheist about just this very topic and he was ready to send me on my way as another bible thumper. However, I told him that I did not have any intention of beating him down with a bible nor did I have the required knowledge to quote him into submission, to which he laughed. He then asked me why I believed in Christ more than any of the other religions out there...and you know, he made me stop and think about that one. I responded with this, "it all comes down to this one thing, faith. I can tell you that the bible is inspired but unless you believe it, what I say does not matter. You have to have faith." He thought about that and acknowledged that, but asked why should he have faith in Jesus over Buddha or Mohammad? I smiled at this one and responded, "well let's look at them, Buddha was a Prince and never claimed to be more. He never wanted to be deified nor worshiped. Yet men worshiped him anyway as they are want to do. Then came Jesus who claimed to be the Messiah. God's Son. He performed miraculous signs and wonders as witnessed by many others. He has been worshiped as the Christ ever since. Then along came Mohammad, who claimed to be another Prophet of God. He claimed to preach and teach God's holy word, yet if Jesus was God's Son, why was Mohammad needed? Once again, many men have worshiped Mohammad as a Prophet of Allah since that time. So what it comes down to is faith. I believe that Jesus is God's Son as He claimed to be and that He was willing to die for me so that I could be free from my sin. However, it comes to each man and woman to choose what they will have faith in." The atheist was surprised by this dialog and although not acknowledging a change in his beliefs, he did state that he would contemplate our discussion.
     So what about you, are you atheistic? Are you hedonistic? Are you polytheistic? What do you believe? Be honest with yourself, because you know the answer to that question inside yourself. If you say that you do not, you are lying to yourself. What is most important to you? Is it your checking account or stocks? Then money is your god. Or at least a god in your life. Are the many 'toys' you have your god? What about your sexual appetites, are they what drive you? Do they occupy the central portion of your thoughts and actions? Does Pornography rule your heart and mind? Let's talk about drinking alcohol, do you need a drink when you get home? Do you NEED a drink to wind down or to calm down after a hard day or maybe a really stressful event. Do you say that you only drink for social events but they are all the time? Do you even remember what happened at the last party or social event? What about drugs? Even prescription medications are addicting and can become the center of your life. Your god. You crave and desire it...NEED it. Feel like your universe is meaningless without it. You are willing to do anything to get what you need again. If only for a little while...sell your body. Your soul. All for a little lie.
     Yes, it is all a lie. Satan has sold us the American dream in a lie that we all bought into. We bought into the lies of the 60's of free love...oops. It wasn't free and we now have Baby Boomers who are retiring who were the products of that 'free' love. Hedonism is about me and about pleasuring me. It is not about caring for others and the 'Golden Rule' as written in the Bible. We have still not learned this lesson today as even more single mothers are having babies or abortions than ever in history. We as a society are still to wrapped up in ourselves to worry about doing what is right as written down by our Father in Heaven.
     We are also to wrapped up in getting what we want right now to worry about taking care of others. We have slogans like 'the Golden Rule' Whoever has the Gold makes the rule, or Whoever has the most Toys Wins. Really? What happened to taking care of your father and mother when they grow old? We got too busy for that...now we put them into a nursing home. I cannot be bothered with caring for my elders. Besides, if I had to support them I couldn't buy that new boat or bigger car.
     We paint our politicians as the evil elites of society and they are examples of our society as a whole. They are representatives of The People. We the People should stop and look in the mirror and see the actual face looking back at us. Do you recognize the person looking back at you? Proverbs 27:19 states "As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man." When was the last time you sat quietly and looked long at your heart? When was the last time you sat and asked Father to tell you what He sees when He looks at your heart? I know that mine is stained black with sins that are dark and deep. Anger and Pains and desires that have eaten at it. Yet, I have begged over and over to be cleansed of those only to wallow in that filth again. Father promises healing to those who will accept into their heart his love and follow His path.  I put my hope and faith in that promise so that one day I may enjoy resting in His presence.