Reality check; Obama's 2016

Alright I've just got to say that if you haven't had a chance to see Obama's 2016 than you either want to live like an ostrich with your head in the sand, are blind to the truth or just enjoy being fooled.  This movie/documentary is a must see by any one who claims to be an American.  It doesn't matter what race, creed or color from the crayon box you are ... if you want truth, some insight as to why things are happening and a glimpse of what could be if certain things go in the direction that (Lord help us) they could possibly be going.

Let's just say it is a good thing I put my trust in God and not in man.  When the facts are presented, fileted out like a fish for you to see you can't help but wonder why or how it came to be.  Well I know why it came to be because America has forgotten it's first love.  It has abandoned the principles that the founding fathers used a a foundation to build this country into a great nation and while the present regime isn't the sole reason for the down slide, they sure haven't done anything to stop it or slow it down ... in fact their goal is to push it over the edge and let momentum do the rest.

WAKE UP AMERICA!!!!! Sure the present regime wanted to bring change, he wanted to change America alright and those of us who blindly voted for him based on the "promise" of "change" were fooled ( I didn't vote for him)  He wants to change America alright, change it to become a shell of its former self and we've got a load of other people who are right there beside him cheering him on, encouraging him on, look if you don't like the fact that America is different and was founded on a set of principles other than the focus of self, why did you come here, why did you move here, why do you want to be American. 

We've got it all wrong, you move somewhere because you like the place, the people, the system ... you don't move there to change it because you don't like it. If you don't like it no one is holding you back ... but if in the process we can fool everyone else to think the way we do ... well all bets are off.

WAKE AMERICA; return to God. Return to God; pray, repent, let's turn from our wicked ways, seek His face and ask Him what He wants instead of inviting Him to our party.  It was said best in Joshua ... when the angel of the Lord said he was neither friend nor enemy but he was the host of the army of the Lord.  Joshua was trying to figure out whose side he was one, the angel was telling Joshua, he was on noone's side but that Joshua needed to join him; God's side.

So America choose you this day whom you will serve. Get out, vote God ... not man.

Have you ever wondered?

Wow!  Have you seen The Truth Project?  Ok well if not I was watching the science one and in it there is a video within the video, which was overwhelming to say the least.  Ok for me at least it was a bit overwhelming … the video like a child; I was taken aback when I saw what was transpiring before my eyes and within my spirit.  I was floored in my reaction to the questions that I don’t ask because I’m so “grown.”  Why do we; ok why do I, because I know it doesn’t happen to anyone else, but why do I make understanding and knowing God so difficult?  I don’t know why I asked that question because it was at this point of my asking this question while watching the video, that God reminded me the difficulties are a result of the fall and when I consider none of it was my fault it irks me a little bit because it wasn’t my fault for sin entering the world yet I’m plagued by it and there’s nothing I can do about it because it will always be at my door step waiting for me to trip up.

It isn’t my fault this walk is so hard and so I find myself spurred to a deeper relationship with God … not so much for an understanding as in how to “figure” Him out but an understanding as to who He is and how much He loves us.  A portion that really jumped out to me was the interjection of the discussion of Romans 1:19 about it being so plain.  What can be known about God is plain; it isn’t convoluted until those of us who have some “education” make it so.  I greatly appreciate learning the dispensations, the metaphysics, the epistemology and the like; but along the way I don’t want to lose sight of the “simplicity” of God.  I don’t want to forget that sometimes God is God and that’s enough, I don’t need to know inter-recesses of the soul of learning to know who God is because it is so plain as to the fact that He has made Himself known through creation.

However it is in understanding the deep things of creation and the science of Christianity where a truer knowledge (don’t know if truer is the right word); I’m looking for that understanding and knowledge like I have for my wife and kids … the more time I spend with them, the more time I spend studying them, the deeper my understanding of them, the deeper my love for them and that’s where I want to get with God.  Perhaps the only time that will take place is the other side of Heaven but until then I want to get as close as possible and while running as fast as I can might be the expedient way, I’ve found out it is in the strolling times through the woods where you can see the smallest butter cup that I can gain a deeper appreciation for all things God.

It is the atheist who makes it hard (did you know that it takes more wherewithall to push and search for the nonexistence for God than it does to believe in Him? So if that makes me simple minded you can call me simple simon.)  They say we, believers, are ignorant about believing in a God we can’t see.  While they do deserve an answer to their question, they’ve got to allow themselves a bit of grace and to move out of the way.  When they ask a question, we’ve got to do our best in speaking what the Lord has shown us but then they’ve got to be ready to receive the answer even when they may not understand it fully or may not want to take it for face value. 

Jesus, divine and human

This past August I had the opportunity to develop a program for the children at our church that was similar to vacation Bible school, except it was only on Wednesday evenings.  So one Wednesday we would go to a park or to a pool, but the big event for the inaugural “All Out in August” was at this place called Adventure Dynamics.  Picture if you will 30 kids, ages 6 to 12, three hours of time and two stations; a 50 foot tall zip line and a giant swing … while some of the kids were fired up (they reminded me of Chihuahuas on caffeine) and couldn’t wait to get to the top of the station to either go zipping for the Lord or flying through the air like superman, but there were a few that were completely terrified and tempted to stay on the ground and miss out on what was in store for them.

Have you ever been tempted to stay on the ground or not pursue something and later come to find out you missed out on something better?

Temptation in its proper perspective is one of the biggest challenges to our walk with God.  Think about it, temptation is the one thing that threatens to draw us away from the very thing that would just make the difference in our lives.  Where ever we are on the path with God, we will find ourselves in a situation where there is a choice to be made and temptation will be right there. Jesus found Himself in the same place at one point in His life.  What I want to do today is to show you how Jesus was both divine and human.  This is significant because it is in the example of His humanity where we can draw strength in overcoming our wilderness experiences, because there will be times where we will need a word from God to sustain us and in essence so did the Son.

So if grab your Bible if you want to follow along or you can keep reading because I've put the verses below but this way we'll be able to get a glimpse of  Jesus, both divine and human. Let's go to Mark 1: 9-13.

 ⁹ In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

Jesus acknowledges His humanity by departing His earthly home to be baptized by the one who was sent before Him to declare the coming of the Messiah.  However, the baptism isn’t for the traditional sense of repentance but it was so that all righteousness could be fulfilled.  Throughout our journey to do what God has called us to do we will turn from doing what we think we should be doing to being led by God and fulfilling His will in our lives.  Here in a beautiful exchange, we are witness to that change of direction.  Jesus, who has come to a level of human maturity, turns His back on Nazareth and the simple life of carpentry to step into the beginning His purpose.  It is through His obedience to the will of the Father where we are about to witness a glorious display because Jesus was both divine and human.

 ¹⁰ And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ¹¹ And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

If you’re looking for an example of the Trinity on display, this is one of the few passages in the New Testament where they are together.  There are two significant actions taking place; the Baptism which signals the transfer from preparing the way to going the way, and the confirmation of Christ’s divinity.  Here the physical manifestation of the Spirit and the audible voice of the Father declaring His Word over the Son.  When God spoke those words we find He is speaking in the present tense. This is to point out the relationship between the Father and Son has always been that way.  You are my beloved Son; Jesus didn’t become the Son of God at the baptism or at any other moment in His ministry; He is, was and always will be the eternal Son.  The second part of this confirmation, with you I am well pleased; Jesus was God's joy, happiness, and peace. This speaks to the Father’s pleasure not only with all that Jesus, who was divine and human,  has done in the past but for what He is about to enter into as well and we find starting in verse 12 what that looks like.

  ¹² The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. ¹³ And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.

Jesus, who had come into the wilderness so that righteousness could be fulfilled in the baptism, doesn’t even have time to savor the moment.  The Spirit, which has just rested upon Him, now drives Him deeper into the wilderness.  He’s not being driven into the wilderness so He can fail, but it’s so the “who” He is, empowered by Holy Spirit, can come forth.  It’s here where we find that just because you’re following the path God has for you doesn’t mean trial and hardship won’t be part of the journey. The chorus to the southern gospel song, written by Gerald Crabb, Through the Fire reads, He never promised that the cross would not get heavy and the hill would not be hard to climb … just as Christ was pushed into the wilderness and tempted for 40 days, not just three times, that spoken word over Him sustained Him, the empowerment of the Holy Spirit was crucial because Jesus was both divine and human … Don't let the enemy talk you out of it, don't let the enemy side track you onto a "smoother" path, don't let the enemy take you where God didn't send you.

Maybe you find yourself surrounded by wild animals in the wilderness, you’re mind is flooded with doubts about God.  The enemy tempts you to believe your troubles exist because God has forgotten you. Being in the wilderness doesn’t mean God doesn’t care, or that He’s disappointed with you it may have very well been Him who sent you, but don’t wonder why you’re there, you have a word remember?  Mark 1: 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” God knows His creation … and it’s in the wilderness that we discover what we’re made of; it’s here where your faith walk is confirmed, and you learn to lean on the power of Holy Spirit. You can be tempted, but that doesn’t mean the enemy can defeat you. Don’t bite the fruit, chuck it and prove sin has no power over you. One Word from God can change anything.  Jesus was both divine and human but it was that confirming word from God that helped sustain Him.  Is your wilderness more than you can bear? Maybe you’re concerned about your future during these uncertain times. Do you need physical healing; maybe a financial breakthrough? Perhaps that fresh touch from God is enough to regain your focus. God has the answer for which you’ve been searching; that one word that has helped keep you in your wilderness times, to resist the enemy when it seems so easy just to give in. When those times get rough, go back to God in prayer, ask Him to reveal it, stay in His Word so that you can recognize His voice and ask Him to remind you what that word was.  I know there are times that I’ve got to be reminded what that word was so that I too can overcome the temptations and wilderness of life.  I mean think about it for a moment.

Think what it would be like if we all could recall what the Father had said about each of us.  Imagine what we could do and what we could overcome.  Staying in prayer helps us to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, reading His Word and staying committed to what it says keeps us full and able to recognize His voice.  It makes those wilderness times more bearable.  Just remember when the temptations seem to be strong and the wild beasts are nipping at your heels that God is pleased with you.  And just like Jesus who was both divine and human that word sustained Him and that same word can do that for you as well … that one word can change your life forever. 

He's back ....

Wow where has all the time gone?  Ok that question is quite a relevant one so while the literal answer to that question is time has left the building, meanwhile the nonliteral (?) answer would be that only the shadow knows ... ok ok, I'm rambling a little here, when in fact I should be apologizing to y'all.  Sorry for not posting since the month of August ... it isn't that I haven't had anything to say, it's just that this thing called time has been getting away from me and I'll try to do better ...

so without any further delay, here's the latest contribution .... has anyone given much thought to the beginning? You konw where everything started?  That question or thought has been nipping at me lately and so with that I want to give a perspective on this thing called creation ...

When it comes to God and creation and such, there’s nothing better than the beginning.  If we could get folks to go back to the first four words in the Bible; In the beginning, God … that kind of takes care of everything else.  Unfortunately we have veered so far off course it is almost pathetic.  However, just the basic understanding of how everything got here … when God created it all, and that He actually did just speak it and it was so; that’s some powerful stuff.  The Creator of the universe created everything for His glory.  Not only that but while we were created to bring Him glory we get to enjoy Him, His world and function as a ruling steward of His created world and everything in it.

However somewhere along the way, we wanted to change things up.  We wanted to be in control of something instead of being satisfied in the major portion of life.  We couldn’t be content in the fact that we had everything else except the fruit from one tree.  I know hindsight is always 20/20 and it’s easy to sit back and sharp shoot the decision that Adam and Eve made or didn’t make and say we’d do it differently.  However, how false is that statement in reality?  Look at the temptations and challenges we face daily and how many times do we fail? And even looking back at the situations, we’d really probably not make a difference or even change our decision because we continue to make those ridiculous choices time and time again.  We allow evil to lead us rather than the Creator.  I like the quote by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, that states “If only there were evil people somewhere, insidiously committing evil deeds and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them.  But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.  And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?”  How true that statement is, and basically summarizes what happened in the garden at the fall. 

How easy is it to say that if we could rid the earth of all the evil and evil people on earth how easy life would be, but would it really be easy?  Would we make different choices?  I would like to think so but I go back to the fact that we struggle with our flesh.  Paul said it best in Romans 7 when he wrestled with the notion of doing that which he didn’t want to do and not doing that which he wanted to do.  We must crucify our flesh daily for if we don’t we will ultimately find ourselves receiving the same “reward” those rebellious angels got; eternity in Hell as according to Matthew 25:41.