Author: chuck

Separation of Church and State

People tend to apply the phrase “[A] wall of separation
between the garden of church and the wilderness of the world (or state)” to
Thomas Jefferson from a 1802 letter, but in actually was first used by Roger
Williams in 1644. In reality the key is who is God’s ultimate interpreter?

Williams was offered a position in the Massachusetts Bay
Colony and refused it not on theological views, but rather how they believed
the forced worship of God, he wrote, “stincks in God’s nostrils.” His belief
was that the state involved in worship would require man to interpret God’s
word, and therefore inevitably err. This is an argument with denomination, but
can be spared for a later time.

The key is with governments corruption is easier since it
may force its will on the people. The key with our relationship with God is it
must not be forced. We need to fall into this relationship on our own and allow
the Holy Spirit to guide us through the laws.

This is where the church becomes the focus since they move
into authority of interpretations. And as we can see from the thousands of denomination
the word of God can be interpreted many ways. But the key is the church is not
forcing its interpretation on us as the King did with the Church of England. No
the separation ensures free will is imposed and we can choose how to believe,
be it right or wrong.

This is where the Holy Spirit kick in to help guide us, but
again another day to discuss.

The fallacy that has been creeping in is the idea that God
and the government need to be separated. This is so far off base from what the
founders wanted, you can see it in their writings. They had no intention to
create a Godless society, but rather one who believes yet has the freedom to
choose how or if they worship the All Mighty.

The “freedom of religion” is not the same as “freedom from
religion” as we seem to be creeping towards today. Case in point is the removal
of the Ten Commandments from the court house steps. This is a perfect law that
is historically tied into the roots of our legal system and yet it cannot be
placed anywhere because its display is considered state sectioning of religion.
When in reality it is a historical reference to why we have the legal system we
have. If one believes it sanctions religion I would ask how and which one.

We are drifting away from God in this country all in
the name of freedom. I think the key is not to have freedom FROM, but freedom
OF where one can choose what they believe. The state should not “protect” us
from God, but rather allow history and let people decide.

This Nation And Christianity

Everyone likes to point to this nation as one with a
foundation of Christian values. But revisionists of history today like to point
out works of our founding fathers that show it was not the basis, but I
disagree. Freedom was the basis of the founding fathers and the first
Commandment (based on the Jewish interpretation of Exodus 20) is:

I am the Lord thy God,
which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

Freedom is the leading statement to the Christian Ten
Commandments or the first Commandment for the Jewish people, either way freedom
is key to God’s relationship with us. Free choice guides our lives, not a world
of predestined events. God may in fact know what will happen in the future, and
that is debatable, but in no way controls the future. He may interject and help
His agenda along, but in no way are we His puppet show.

As we ponder the founding of this nation on July 4th
we tend to look at the Declaration of Independence and forget the history
prior. We forget that the original colonies were founded by religious groups
trying to escape the Church of England and their controlling doctrine. The
Bible history kind of shows the way things went, since before the reformation,
during the dark ages, the Bible was only in Latin which was a dead language
even in the days the Bible was translated.

I never understood the logic here, other than to control the
flow of information. If the church was the only group that could read the word
of God than the people had no choice than to go to the church to learn the word
of God. As the Bible started to be translated into other languages, the
Catholic Church lost its control of information. From there different minor
theologies sprouted from this and the denomination wars began and with over
30,000 ones to pick from you can see the problems.

What is a denomination anyway? Simply put a “denomination”
is an interpretation, be it language or theological that helps other understand
the word of God.

Often people get into battles and I have seen many called
cults, even the Catholic Church. I feel this needs to stop since all appear to
be vying for members and wants them to believe they have interpreted the path
to salvation and hold that key. Honestly, I look at it more as “different strokes
for different folks” more than anything. Often people like the structure and
formality, where a Catholic or old time Methodist church works great. Heck on
any Sunday you can find the Gospel preached in so many different ways that you
can easily find a church that fits your liking.

At the same time the translations gave people the ability to
fact check what they were being taught!! This was key since often times, more
so today, we get preachers telling us false gospels to make us content and
comfortable. One only needs to read the Bible to see how content the disciples
were spreading the word of God. Only one was not martyred, and that was because
they gave up trying to kill him and dumped him on an island. So while it is
possible to be stranded on an Island with a Bible and have a great relationship
with God, the church was formed since this is not healthy. We need help along
the way understanding the word. And also we need help to ensure that we grow in
our faith and not remain stagnant.

With this said freedom was the Godly foundation that this
nation was founded under and not a belief that God is what all must follow.
This movement to force the Ten Commandments from schools and courthouses is a
simple example of how atheists miss the point. The whole moral code of our
society is based on those ten simple statements. So to remove them is like
trying to remove the Confederate Battle Flag, it was not erase history only
make us forget, so we will be destined to repeat it!!! Remove God and Revelations
is the natural consequence, I only need to point to the many communist regimes
to prove this point, since they tried to remove God (and freedom) and it ended
in the deaths of millions.

So when people say this nation was not founded on Christian
and Godly principles, ask them if the principle foundation was freedom. Then
discuss the what is arguably the first commandment of FREEDOM!!

The River of Time

“Time is like a river. You cannot touch the water twice,
because the flow that has passed will never pass again.” – Credited to a USMC
vet

We all tend to watch time pass in different ways, one is
sitting on the banks static, watching time pass before you. Not much changes,
yet everything is different as the river of time flows by. These people tend to
sit in the same church, listen to the same sermons and talk about the same
things week in and week out. Nothing wrong, but things become static and your
relationship with God becomes richer, but only incrementally and slowly.

The other type of person jumps into the river and watches
time pass while frolicking in the change. There is nothing static, the shore
changes, the river changes from slow and calm to fast and violent, often over
very short periods. You can be traversing a class 5 rapid that falls into a
pool of clear blue water. I think of Huka Falls when giving that analogy, where
there is a lake of calm, this narrow short channel that once you get into it means
you have no choice then to go with the flow and hope you exit alive!

These type of Christians worship God daily and where ever
they happen to be. They are not set in the traditions and will often try to “drag”
others into the water. You cannot help it with the rush and the calm you can
experience often shortly after each other. You tend to help others without the
church’s guidance or structure, and often that gets messy.

So one lives order and understand God, the other lives
in chaos and experiences God. Are you in the river or on the bank? Think about
it … neither is bad.

Get Into The Zone

Every wonder what it’s like being in the zone? Does it mean
everything is sunshine and lollypops? Or do things just kind of work out? I
think of Joshua leading the people into “The Promised Land” after 40 years in
the wilderness when he was part of a scouting group that reported what they
saw. 10 saw giants and danger, 2 saw a land flowing with milk and honey. As we
know from the story the 10 won out and thus started the wandering.

Joshua 1:7 reminds the people how to act:

 Only be
thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to
all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the
right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper withersoever thou goest.

Never once were they told it would be easy but to be brave
in the face of danger. From day one they were in the zone with God, but they
still had to face danger and fight. Being in the zone with God is different
than what man thinks being in the zone should be. For some reason we tend to
think being in the zone is being on easy street.

I think a good analogy to being in the zone with God is
being in the zone on a football field. At the snap of the ball suddenly a calm
environment becomes chaos. People are crashing into each other, scrambling to
find clear space and chasing a ball around. When say the quarterback is in the
zone does not mean the chaos stops, but rather he learns to work within it. The
zone becomes an awareness of the chaos and being able to work within it to
produce the desired results.

This is how it is in the world, when we are in the zone with
God we work within the chaos and produce miraculous results. God’s glory shines
through when things are tough and we succeed, otherwise the glory could be
placed elsewhere. Hence why the most unlikely characters are our heroes. Think
about it, Moses was a murderer, David was the wimpy son, Jonah was
argumentative and Jesus was a back woods carpenter yet through all the adversity
they remained in the zone (for the most) and served God.

So stop the pity party, focus on God, roll up your sleeves
and get into the zone.

Apocrypha, Gnostic Gospels, And False Teachings

As I explore the occult and things missing from the modern
Bible, I wonder what is real and what is not. The Apocrypha were OT writings
that were in the original English translations, but for some reason were
removed in the 1880’s. The Gnostic Gospels were rejected by the canon and are
often called the New Testament Apocrypha. The interesting thing is there are 52
texts which are from the early church, dated between 2nd to the 4th
century. Now they were rejected because they were too far removed from the
original events unlike the current canon which had documents dated less than
100 years from the time of the events.

Now all this ties into the current “religion” we call “Christianity”
which started out very loosely organized until Rome adopted the movement and it
went from an underground movement to a state sanctioned one. The concern has
come when man becomes more and more involved, self-interest starts to creep in
and things become corrupt. The Geneva Bible was revolutionary, not because it
was wildly different but because it’s footnotes rejected the Pope and the
political system as having any authority over our relationship with God. The KJV
was adopted in 1611 to remove those footnotes. Although not vastly different to
the Geneva, it became the state sanctioned Bible which ironically is the one
now touted by “KJV only” churches whose original founders rejected the KJV.

Some things that I have recently been exposed to that
concern my understanding of the Gospel as we know it today. One which is huge
is the tomb of Jesus’ family. Found in 1980 and just recently looked at in
detail the finding is they found Joseph’s family tomb which included both Mary’s,
Jesus’ brothers, Jesus’ child and Jesus himself. If this claim is true,
Christianity as we know it today would be thrown on its head.

Or would it be? The idea Jesus did not have a wife is
doctrine the Catholic church had for their priests and is implied in the Gnostic
Gospels. The idea Jesus’ body did not ascend into heaven is something most
could not accept. But would it really be a big deal. We have always tried to
make God into our image with a meat suit, but what if Jesus’ ascension was his
spirit which was visible to all? I wonder if the bones in Jesus son of Joseph’s
ossuary had broken wrists and feet. That was never disclosed in the documentary.

So my quest for truth continues and down more rabbit
holes! I just wonder if truth is lost and those protecting their power miss the
second coming of Jesus.

CLICK HERE for a CNN story about the tomb.

Does Prayer Effect Our Reality, Quantum Physics Explored

John 14:13 opens up the question on what we should ask for
in prayer:

 And
whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be
glorified in the Son

The prosperity preachers go crazy on this since you can ask
for anything, at the same time you need to believe. The quantum world we live
in is very much part of our prayer life and should be considered when we pray
also. I think to the movie/book The Secret which explores the universe and our
interaction with it. The problem with that is they tend to diminish or remove
God, or imply we are all gods. So let’s explore the possibilities.

First when you pray are you praying without expectations?
Are you just hoping that God draws your lottery number prayer and answers it or
do you pray fervently knowing God will respond? In the QM world one could say
you need to be confident so the energy you project is in that direction. If you
pray something like “help me find Gold” but have the defeated belief that it’s
all gone or you are looking in the wrong place, the QM world says your feelings
will overshadow the prayer.

In the world of faith we tend to tag on the “your will be
done” phrase to ensure we are not disappointed. That way if we don’t believe
something is going to happen and it doesn’t then God’s will must have been
done. In the case of the gold find, maybe you need to believe it will happen
and God will orchestrate it happening.

Now this is where the world of selfish prayers ruins one’s
life. Assume you have figured this out and now are getting gold, cars, houses
and all the pleasures of life without improving the relationship with God. You
only look at God and His quantum realm as a genie that grants you wishes.
Suddenly you quickly learn that more is not enough and more is needed. Hence
why 1 Timothy 6:10 says the “love of money is the root of all evil” it consumes
the relationship with God if we let it. This is why we need to include charity
in our gathering of wealth, but that is another topic for a later date.

We need to focus our prayers outward and not inward, I think
of when I came out of my coma. I was in a medically induced coma after my
cardiac arrest and two were praying over me. This is also after a huge body of
believers had been praying for 3 days. But Amiee and Pattie prayed and I
starting coming out of a medically induced coma which freaked the nurse out.
She filled me with the medications that were keeping me in the coma and kicked
the two out of my room. I was out of the coma and fine mentally within an hour.
I believe Prayer worked here!

Those two are prayer warriors and have amazing faith! And
the QM world says we need that also! So if we have faith like Jesus said in
Matthew 17:20 then the QM would will fold into our reality:

 And Jesus
said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have
faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence
to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Again, faith and knowledge what you pray for will
happen can align the world into a possibility that you desire. It’s all faith.
Now to be a detractor for one second, what about praying for the lottery? I did
that for 30 years with no success, and I believed it was my “destiny” so why
did I never win? Was my faith not real or was there other QM factors? I tend to
believe that realm of “possibilities” is so far out there it is like praying
for a new critter to evolve so you can have a cool pet. Now finding gold in a
creek that has produced hundreds of pounds of gold already is a possibility
that QM can obtain. Not saying QM and prayer can’t get you the lotto win, but
the realm of possibilities is less likely than something more tangible like a
job that can help you earn your full potential. Also, everyone who has watched
The Secret is expecting the lottery win, so God doesn’t even go there as seen
in Proverbs 12:11, 13:11 and 23:4 – 5 which shows us God does not want this for us
anyway and tells us why!

Can’t Get Rid of God

Genesis 1:1 is probably the most controversial verse in the
entire Bible:

In the beginning God created the
heaven and the earth.

Questions arise all over the place, when was “the beginning”?
Did it take 6 days or 13.7 billion years? Does God even exist to start this? The
questions abound. Through science and every attempt to disprove God everything
tends to point right back at Him.

What if the universe was created in 13.7 billion years, does
that discredit the Bible? Not at all, there is a little phenomenon called time
dilation where two observers can experience different time frames. When things
start to travel at or close to the speed of light the calculations start to get
wildly different. Like suddenly one observer would see the universe created in
13.7 billion years while the other would see it happen in 6 days. Since it
appears to be “proven” that the universe actually expanded at greater than the
speed of light for the first few milliseconds of the Big Bang that not becomes
a possible reality that points back to the Bible being an accurate document.

We can go on and on through Genesis 1 and argue that science
is proving the accuracy of these words and is showing validity to the creation
story. Although science would argue that I am insane, I as an engineer would
argue show me. The logical explanation either has a creator or not and the pool
of data can be included in both stories without argument other than the
existence of a creator God.

Evolutionists insist that we cannot move science forward
without an ardent rejection of God and total belief in evolution. Ironically
some of the greatest discoveries in science have been from theists, so Bill Nye’s
assertion (he is the one who seems to push that agenda the most) is flawed. And
as we get into the sub-atomic realm we discover God is again more real.

We look at this meat suit we live in and analyze what drives
it and notice how it interacts with nature on a sub-atomic level, aka energy.
We suddenly realize the image of God is the “spirit” inside us and not the meat
suit we try to impose on God. So we now understand God on a completely
different level.

And what about the “God particle” or The Higgs Boson which
ironically does not really point to God scientifically. It got it’s name more
as a joke since they couldn’t call it the G-d particle and it was a finding of “biblical”
proportions in science. Although it is dismissed as proving God, it does prove
that things do not always seem as they appear since particles just kind of
appear and disappear in this boson.

So when all is said and done we see that the pesky
subject of God cannot be disproven through scientific method by atheists trying
to do so. Stay tuned as we find more.

The Spanish Inquisition

Proverbs 6:16 – 19 got me thinking today:

16 These six
things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

17 A proud
look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

18 An heart
that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,

19 A false
witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

Solomon took time to write what God hates and the number one
thing is pride. My favorite book, James, has a bunch to say on all this but the
focus for a good bit is pride. Pride has been one of those things that tends to
get me and where I get humbled often.

Often credited to scripture the saying “pride comes before
the fall”, a “paraphrase” of Proverbs 16:18, seems to be my life. I have seen
pride creep into my work, my hobbies and relationships only to quickly have me
humbled. Be it a layoff, a crash or a rejection once I get full of myself, I tend
to be corrected quickly. The key is focus on God and give credit to Him first.

The lying tongue is something that ends up getting one is
great trouble. I tend to lie a bunch on stupid things, like did I follow-up on
a job prospect. It doesn’t really matter if I did or didn’t in the long run,
but it saves the agony of being chastised so I say something like “I tried” or “wasn’t
able to get a hold of anyone”. In the end, it’s stupid to lie since once you
get yourself into a pickle, it’s difficult to pull out. There is one that is
great at this since they can make you seem crazy even when they are caught
red-handed.

Murder is without saying awful.

A “heart” that seems to think of ways to swindle people out
of money is another bad one. Unfortunately, society rewards people like this
since often times it ups their bottom line. Sales, legal and corporate
management seem to all fall in line with this mentality. One could say this is
a good use for a “psychopath” since they can legally fry ants with a looking
glass and not be punished.

Often we have friends (note we never would consider ourselves
this way, but our friends might) who often do the crazy or stupid stuff first.
They are the ones to throw caution to the wind and just go. These are the ones
God is warning us about! Don’t purposefully get yourself in trouble!

Notice how lying gets a second mention here! There is a
slight difference between the two, one is just out and out lying where the
other is getting another in trouble by speaking lies. And this ties into sowing
discord among others. I have often been called this instigator since I would
point out things that would get others furious at each other. Often this has
happened without my doing anything, like one design review that got into a
yelling match between two people over my design. Other than one was from India
and the other was from Pakistan, I could not understand why this happened.

Finally why the “Spanish Inquisition” … too long to
explain, but YouTube Monty Python’s The Spanish Inquisition skit and all will
be clear.

Irony In Translations

Revelations 22:18 & 19 lays it out clearly concerning
the war of translations:

18 For I
testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If
any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that
are written in this book:

19 And if
any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall
take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from
the things which are written in this book.

Now was this written to the readers of Revelations or the
readers of the Bible as a whole? Reason I ask is this has been applied to the
Bible as a whole, yet over the history of the Bible and the translations things
have changed. The original Bible is what? Technically all the Bibles in print
do something to change the wordings and underlying meaning.

Through my readings of the various translations and my
research into the “perfect” translation I have found one thing, these verses
have been violated by the translator. First we get into the KJV vs the NIV
version. Ironically the original KJV had 80 chapters and that was reduced to 66
in the 1880’s. Also, the NIV was translated from older manuscripts and thus
considered more reliable and are missing some verses or had some added. Now the
KJV only crowd says just because it is older doesn’t mean it is accurate. The
majority of ancient translations as well as letters quoting missing scriptures
from the “oldest” sources imply that the KJV is a correct translation.

Also, newer translations like the Message and The Voice are
very easy reads, but add a bunch of language to help clarify the statements
from the original translations. Whereas the Message has had some questionable
stuff embedded in the book, I have found the Voice to be very helpful in
understanding some of the more difficult passages.

The theological and historical bias starts to creep in since
the English language has changed and our understanding of ancient languages we
are translating from have changed. Also, when you are dealing with theological
biases, the meaning of a certain phrase could be different and therefore translated
different depending on the bias. The Jehovah Witness Bible is very much like
this since they do not believe Jesus was God.

Now through all this what does it mean for the lay person?
Should we only read the 1560 Geneva Bible, the 1611 KJV, The 1380 Wycliffe
Bible, the 1970’s NIV, the 1984 NIV or the 2011 NIV? Or some other version? Or
should we learn Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew to read from the originals? If so
that which originals should we read since the originals are lost?

Before the Reformation the Bible had been translated to
Latin, a dead language at the time and was hidden from the people from around
300AD to 1300 AD. So for 1000 years we lived in the dark, hence why it was the
Dark Ages. As we discover more archeological evidence of the time we can see
that the translation of the Bible and our understanding may change slightly.

So what does all this mean to YOU? Should you give up and worship
a goat or science of no God? Or trust in faith the Bible you have is correct? I
do not have a definitive answer here but can say that the Gospel has shown
through in all the translations I have read and therefore we need to stop the
decision process and just pick one to study. Use BibleGateway to do parallel
readings on parts you may not understand fully. The key is to read the Bible
and not have it collect dust.

I have looked into reading the 1560 Geneva or the 1611 KJV
and am quite depressed on two levels since most of the ones available are
copies and not re-typeset, so they are not only difficult to read Old English,
but difficult to read type. So I struggle with what to study next. I want to
read the Apochrypha and possibly the Gnostic Gospels. Also, I have taken
interest in the latest from Israel where the tomb of Jesus’ family may have
been found along with Jesus’ bones. This definitely throws a little change in
the theologies if it is in fact true but also shows others the story of Jesus
is true.

Gumdrops and Lollypops!?!!

“Money is just a
number and numbers never end. If it takes money to be happy, your search for
happiness will never end.” – Bob Marley

In the Bible Paul
in 1 Timothy 6:10 says:

For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted
after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many
sorrows.

In both quotes
money is not the problem it’s thinking it will solve them. I can honestly say
money makes things nicer, but the problems will always exist. There will always
be relational problems, there will always be mechanical problems and they will
always be things that happen outside our control. Life was never meant to be
simple and carefree.

My favorite “cult”
today is The Zeitgheist Movement since they somehow think utopia exists
without money. The Venus Project will make a society with plenty where no one
has to work and everything is gumdrops and lollypops. It’s insane that people
actually buy into this crap, no matter what the society is like, someone will
have to work to keep things running and they will want something more for that
effort. Someone will always want more than they have allotted to them or lust
for the others “woman” or whatever. It has always failed without God … and even
there it has always had problems.

Now I digress a bit from the point, but the key is not to
let money rule the roost. No, one needs to manage it

under
Godly principles, but not obsess over
it. Once the obsession takes over it quickly removes us from God or makes the
relationship like a slot machine where every prayer is pulling Jesus’ arm for
the big jackpot. It makes the relationship one-sided since God tends to tune
you out at that point.

Make money something to live with and God to live for, not
the other way around!

If you think about it in the secular world money is the
number 2 subject for songs and movies over love. Don’t fall into the trap of “I’d
rather cry in my Mercedes than on a bicycle.” It may be nicer, but it doesn’t
change the pain. Hence work on the pain and not the perceived solution. Don’t
find yourself crying so much and have the joy of God’s love.

I know this is a “cliché alert” but God will not provide
gumdrops and lollypops, but He will provide perspective so you can have peace
be it sunshine and blue skies or a raging storm.

1560 Geneva or the 1611 KJV?

I am looking at both of these for specific reasons. The
Geneva Bible was the one that was brought to America, fleeing the King and his
religious persecution. Ironically the KJV only crowd stems from these same
churches that flourished in the states. In researching the differences they are
minor and I guess the margin notes were what got King James upset, since they
removed any religious authority from man, including the kings and the Pope
specifically.

At the same time it has been argued that the 1611 King James
Version was edited by Sir Francis Bacon to ensure the occult hidden agenda is
there. Sites I have visited go into detail on counting the Bible and seeing
that Masonic influences are hidden all over the book. This assumes the KJV with
66 books was the original 1611 KJV Bible which it is not! Therefore the great conspiracy
over Sir. Francis Bacon editing the Bible to show a hidden Masonic numerology is
hogwash, since the Bible that left his hands had 80 books.

Now this does not mean this hidden numerology was not put in
place in the 1880’s when the 1611 KJV was stripped of the Apocryphal writings.
I do not know and find it interesting that people spend a bunch of time trying
to discredit one book or another and after reading a few different versions all
of which have “flaws” the one thing that has stood out is through all the BS,
God’s message and words hold true.

Another thing I found interesting was a recent documentary I
watched concerning finding Jesus’ tomb. If true this could throw Christianity
on its head since the theology from the early Roman church would be thrown out.
Could Dan Brown have stirred the pot to the point of bringing to light some
interesting changes in our understanding of Jesus? What would it matter?
Honestly what I have read would only change the story slightly and some theologies,
but not the message of Salvation.

Which is the key here, since through all the great conspiracies
of the Geneva, KJV, NKJV, NIV, RSV, NLT, The Message and all the others I find
the message of Salvation through the blood and sacrifice of Jesus is the only
true path to God is still intact. The rest helps us understand God, but if we
get lost in what is allegory and fighting over what is historical fact we will
go bonkers and fall into a trap. Believe what you know to be true and keep
trying to find the real truth!

With this all said I am leaning towards the 1560 Geneva
Bible for two reasons, at the time it was accepted as the true word of God
while the 1611 KJV was considered political and my Great, Great … Grandfather
Roger Williams would have approved of that choice over the 1611 KJV. Now to
find a copy in it’s entirety!

Don’t Expect To Immediately Jump Out of the Boat

In Luke 5:5 we have Peter being asked to fish again:

And Simon answering said unto him,
Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at
thy word I will let down the net.

Jesus did not start by asking Peter to go make disciples in
the face of possible death, that came later. No Jesus built Peter’s faith
incrementally. The first ask was just to let down the nets that they had just
finished cleaning after a long unsuccessful night of fishing. He complained,
yet complied with the rabbi.

. From there he had one of his biggest catches
and followed Jesus from that point on. 

As we build our faith don’t expect to leap frog into say
preaching the Word. No, God takes us step by step to build our faith. A little
ask, turns into a slightly greater one and so on. Think of how Moses was
trained before he led the people from Israel. He had a temper that needed to be
wrestled with as well as spiritual training. He was raised in royalty, humbled in
exile and for almost 60 years trained to lead Israel from slavery.

Peter was slowly trained to the point he walked on water.
Notice Jesus did not ask him to walk on water to fetch the nets right from the
start.

We tend to expect it all now and not tomorrow or next year.
I know many “faithful” who feel they have waited all their lives and still are
not connecting with God. Often this is a “season” of winter where God wants us
to go deeper. So don’t despair and follow those small still voices. If you feel
a “prompt” to give, do so and tell them why.

The key is we keep following those little asks and God
will continue with greater ones.

KJV Only and Others

I have been thinking a lot about this since there are a ton
of detractors out there that say many different things about each version. What
I have discovered is the KJV was first published in 1611 with 80 books and in the
1880’s the KJV was reduced to 66 books. Also, the Geneva Bible is the “Protestant”
Bible which also has the 80 books. Ironically the KJV is touted as the ONLY
translation in many Protestant churches, specifically the Southern Baptists.

Anyway … my thought is to take the original 1611 KJV and the
Geneva version and do them in parallel … at least this week.

One thing I can say in all the research is the changes from
KJV to say the NIV although minor are significant theologically. Although most
churches have not adopted these “changes” and most likely will not since they
are subtitle and stated correctly in other places.

So with this I continue to ponder which direction since the
only one that seems the way is studying two old English Bibles. All to find the
truth, which honestly is very simple. Jesus was God’s first born son, and was
God in flesh, who died on the cross for redemption of mankind’s sins. All we
have to do is accept Jesus as lord, believe what was written is true and
confess one’s sins.

That is simple yet hard since today there is a movement,
specifically The Zeitgheist Movement that says Jesus was a fabricated story
based on a feeling that it could not be true. To that I respond too many people
died early on for a fake story that is historical truth, therefore based on all
the historical data, granted limited, Jesus IS real and who He says He is!!

So I will keep you updated on my journey!

Prayer is the Key

In reading and studying the armor of God from Ephesians 6:10
– 20 we end with the need for prayer in verse 18:

Praying always with all prayer and
supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and
supplication for all saints;

Prayer is key since one could argue that since God knows
all, why should we ask him for help? While technically true, God is not looking
at making us His puppets so He wants a communication from us. He wants prayer!

Along with this He wants gratitude! So give thanks along
with your prayer, but I digress.

Prayer along with others is a very powerful force. It has
done amazing things including bringing me out of a drug induced coma while the
nurses continued to increase the drugs keeping me in the coma.

We can only fight evil with prayer since a hand to hand dual
is close to impossible since we would be relying on ourselves and not God. The
key is when fighting the unseen, GO to the supreme unseen force in the
universe, God.

So pray on everything. Ask for guidance when
addressing non-believers. Ask for protection from those “fiery darts”. And ask
for blessings, needs and desires. The verse is saying pray always … for everything.
So connect with God over the mundane, the important and the selfish. REMAIN in
contact at all times. Think of God always!

2

Protect Your Brains

As we move through the armor of God from Ephesians 6:10 –
20, verse 17 talks about the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit:

And take the helmet of salvation,
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Salvation is what protects our minds, our thoughts, that
knowledge that we are “safe”. Paul chose the helmet’s status wisely since the
head can get messed with. If we don’t rest in the salvation through Jesus, we
really are missing the mark. Our minds are not in the game and our whole body
is at risk.

The Roman soldier protects his head since without it, the
battle is over. He literally needs to keep his “head in the game” since once it’s
not, it’s lost, literally. The knowledge of salvation helps us to maintain our
heads in the game since we don’t have to worry about evils fiery darts because
we know we will never lose the salvation through Jesus.

Now we get to the first offensive part of the armor and it’s
the sword. Although in this case it is the sword of the Spirit. The key point
is we need not fight the battle, just protect ourselves from the “chaff”
because the Holy Spirit will defend us. In a battle of the unseen and the minds
we need to enter into the Spirit and the realm in which it works.

When all is said and done, Paul lays out a image of what we
need for the spiritual battle before us and that which is all around us each
and every day. We need to prepare for forces unseen!! And honestly if you do
not see it as a risk then you need to dig deeper into your studies, since
worshiping an unseen God without heeding His warnings of evils us unwise.

So study, pray and talk to likeminded believers so you
to will be prepared to handle the onslaught that is here today.

Guard Yourself

As we study through the armor of God from Ephesians 6:10 –
20 we look at guarding oneself in verse 16 with the shield of faith:

Above all, taking the shield of
faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Why is faith our shield? Why not the word or righteousness?
Really when you think about it the shield of faith is proper since most of the
fiery darts being hurled these days are those who say there is no God. The “Adversary”
has started to us “science” to show there is no God. With an onslaught of “scientist”
saying there is no way the earth could be 10,000 years old the first chapter of
the Bible is then questioned, thus leading one to question it all.

If we do not fall back to Genesis 1:1 and believe that to be
true then science is right and God does not exist. It reads very simply:

In the beginning God created the
heaven and the earth.

If we cannot believe that then how can the rest be true and
this is where faith is the key to shielding us from those darts. Honestly can
science say it’s not true? No, they have created a story based on the data and
interpreted it without God. At the same time this same data can be reviewed and
interpreted with God and a totally different “story” comes that more closely
follows the Bible.

My point is we need to rely of faith to shield us from the
onslaught of information to contradicts our faith. Honestly the only way to do
that is a day by day strengthening of ones faith. You need to actively study
the Bible and pray! The key to building one’s faith is seeing the application
of faith.

The other day I was in line at Burger King … and before you
attack me on this try their chicken, apple & cranberry salad, it’s
wonderful … and I got a prompt to pay for the guy in front of me. Before I
could act he was paying and off. I noticed he left and realized his credit card
did not work and he went hungry. If I had acted he would have got lunch and I
could talk to him on why I was “prompted” to pay. But alas, I failed but did
improve my faith since that was a prompt that I realized was important and
valid. Now he did go to his car and get a card that worked, so he did eat, I just
didn’t give him the food of the gospel.

Faith is the only way we can shield ourselves from the “fiery
darts” of doubt, since we worship an unseen God. Otherwise the darts of doubt
would prick our understanding so we too start to question our beliefs instead
of strengthening them.

Shoes!!!

Again we are looking at Ephesians 6:10 – 20 and the Armor of
God. Verse 15 talks about footwear:

 And your
feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

When you think about it shoes are a import part of the
soldiers wear. Sure many armies battled in bare feet, but one is more effective
when not protecting their feet and focusing totally on the battle. The base
ware is the shoe, the foundation. In this we form the foundation of preparation
with the gospel of Jesus.

Knowing the gospel is utmost important for Christians since
we need to be ready to move on that at any given moment. We need training in
telling others about Jesus and how He works in our lives. Without that we are
not doing what is required by God in following Him. Sure we all have our parts,
but all the parts need to be able to talk about the salvation through Jesus.

This is the basis of our faith and should be studied
and practiced often. That is preparing for the fight with evil. Once we understand
the basics we cannot be stopped by a little thorn in the foot! 

Truth and Righteous Today, So What!

We are looking at the armor of God from Ephesians 6:10 – 20 and let’s look at each part and its purpose. Verse 14 has the belt of truth and breastplate of righteousness:

Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

Many translations talk about the belt of truth, but the KJV the “loins girt”. What exactly is that? It is more than a belt but a protective piece of armor that hold the breastplate in place and had protection for the privates. When you are in a boxing match most say no hitting below the belt, but in war and hand to hand combat when your life is at stake, those rules go out to the door. Hence why they needed protection.

Why did Paul pick the “loins girt” to describe truth and not the breastplate? I could argue the two should be reversed because the heart is deceived often and the loins are where most unrighteous comes from with men. But I can see the logic. The girt not only protects the privates, but the lower stomach, so the “gut check” when believing something is true or not has Biblical support I believe. One needs to know truth, especially when battling a spiritual level that is often unseen.

The breastplate of righteousness is key to protecting the heart because that is what needs to be pure when battling evil. We need to maintain virtue to maintain or connection with God and therefore live right, otherwise we could be compromised in our fight. The adversary knows our weaknesses and will take advantage of them if allowed. The breastplate protects the heart and the life blood from evil schemes and compromises.

The girt of truth and the breastplate hold each other in place. Without each other the system could fail since the girt could slip down or the breastplate could flop away in the heat of battle. So focus on knowing the truth and living righteous.

Today knowing the truth is so difficult since the focus on my study of the KJV is because so many verses are missing from the NIV that are in the KJV. The KJV defenders will say they are key doctrinal issues that need to be in the Bible and were original. While the NIV and others defend that the new translations are using older texts which are closer to the original. They also claim the missing parts are not a big deal since the main point of salvation through Jesus is key. The KJV defenders say the parts removed make it ok to find other paths to salvation and to worship other gods or people. So my quest for truth begins!

The Full Armor of God

A often talked about passage that Paul wrote is the armor of
God. Ephesians 6:10 – 20 and verse 11 is the reason why:

Put on the whole armour of God,
that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (KJV)

Think about this for an instant, as Paul was writing this he
was in jail since verse 20 mentions he was “in bonds” (KJV) or “in chains”
(NIV) and was probably being guarded by a Roman guard. He uses this image to
explain what we need to defend ourselves against the enemy. I like the imagery
and believe it is excellent in explaining how we need to prepare for the
battle, which is there and will come.

See the key is not to just strap on the armor and fight but
rather train and understand. A Roman soldier could never expect to survive
battle by only putting on the armor. They need to know how to use it, how it
defends them otherwise they will be skewered. We need to do the same and grab
the “sword of the Spirit” and read it. We need to discuss it with others and
attempt to defend it at all times. We need to strengthen our faith through
prayer and faithfully following what God asks of us.

We need to train and do it often!!

It’s really that simple since you put on the “shield of
faith” to protect you from “fiery darts” only to find it is heavy and difficult
to use under attack. If never tested, when the darts start to fly you will
panic and drop the “shield” and run. That is why we need each and every part,
honed to a razor shape skill level!

The biggest key is read the Bible to sharpen the “sword of
the Spirit” and then with that knowledge learn how to put on the sandals, use
the shield, wear the helmet while wearing the clunky breastplate with the belt
to be comfortable doing battle when it’s real.

Think of it this way. You are thrust into a Iraq to
battle ISIS and all you are given is the gear. Sure you have an M16 but how do
you reload it? How do you clean it so it’s accurate each shot? How do you aim
it? How do you control it? Wouldn’t you like to know this before being stormed
in your bunker? This is the key to winning the battle, don’t just SAY you are
putting on the “armor of God” but rather DO what is required to USE the “armor
of God”!!

L

Little Details Between KJV and Recent Translations

These are two reasons I am looking at reading the KJV to see
if it is the one true translation. I will embed links so you can follow the “parallel”
translations. First is Isaiah 7:14 which states in the KJV:

Therefore the Lord himself shall
give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall
call his name Immanuel.

Notice the Voice says “maiden” and the CJB reads “young
woman”, the NIV and ESB has this but is footnoted for the NIV as “young woman”
also the Voice footnotes it that Greek manuscripts read “virgin”. The argument
is the more modern translations are trying to “negate” the virgin birth and if
you notice the theology gets moved where some versions actually call Joseph
Jesus’ father and not Mary’s husband.

The question is since the CJB, which is my “go to” for OT
translations has “young woman” I tend to believe the literal translation there
and since the Greek may have the NT theology applied there may be a difference.
The other comment is for the time that this was written a “young woman” was
implied to be a virgin.

Titus 2:13 is another one that we need to look at:

 Looking for
that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour
Jesus Christ;

Notice the other translations remove the word “the” and
place “our”. Again the subtitle change is not a big deal until you apply it to
the COEXIST banner where there are multiple paths to salvation. So “our” God
means other gods exist and have equal power. “The” God means the one and only,
therefore God.

I look forward to starting this soon, again I will do
research on KJV or NKJV or another easier read of the KJV in modern language.
So it will not start tomorrow, but rather soon.

Next Version To Read – KJV Maybe

It’s time to bite the bullet and read the KJV!! I have been
watching a series on YouTube by Walter Veith that goes over the “missing parts”
of most current Bibles including ALL the translations I have read and blogged
about. The playlist that I am referring is below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLvLmhXCV7E&list=PL0EF45DDA53AD2190

The video that started the raised eyebrow starts here (NOTE –
they are very long and difficult to watch since it is very techie)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbikBVVkrNA&list=PL0EF45DDA53AD2190&index=13

I am not looking forward to this since it is very difficult
to read the old English but I am doing research and see if the NKJV or another
more “modern” language is used that equals the translation. After watching
Changing the Word (14A) had me realize the KJV is very different from say the
NIV since many verses have been removed. Not changed but removed. Now the
defenders of the modern translations are those are more “Catholic” since it was
commissioned by the King of England which although was under the Church of
England is considered “Catholic” like, especially at that time.

So maybe that screaming preacher at the Church Pat Callaghan
was saved was right. The KJV may well be the only true translation.

One warning where Pat’s preacher just stated this as
fact without any support, where Professor Veith gives many occult references
and how these changes crept in. So time to start in the new few weeks … SO GET
READY … I will reference Dr. Veith’s work often during this read through since
there is a bunch of good stuff there.

Health Update

Well, today I am not going to explore the Bible, but rather
how God has changed things with my health. I know skeptics would say I am doing
it all on  my own, but I am saying if it
wasn’t for God keeping me around I would not have made the changes nor would I
have realized they were needed. First, my cholesterol and triglycerides were
through the roof and that only made me eat “organic” and following the Makers
Diets loosely.

I say loosely because energy drinks were a norm for
breakfast and lunch. Cookies and ice cream were ok if it was “organic”. And
Cliff Bars were the snack of choice. So while I was putting “good” “junk food”
into my body it was still junk!!

I was shown all the signs, heck 10 years prior my doctor
called well after hours to tell me in a panic my blood work. I just shrugged it
off as normal and hereditary, only to learn my lesson in a furious manner. I
figured I ran, I cycled, I was in great cardio vascular condition for my age
and weight, so just ignore the doctors and enjoy life.

I still love a bowl of ice cream. I still love a Coke. I
still love a 5 shot expresso latte. And I do all that once a week. Ice Cream
Sunday, Mexican Coke Monday (they use real sugar) and Krakatoa Thursdays are my
pleasures each week.

I eat more veggies and grains than dairy and meat. The
results are much lower blood work than I would have imagined and I feel great
without energy drinks!! So to all who ignore the blood work and doctors
warnings WATCH “Forks Over Knives” and take it serious. We only have one life …
don’t die to learn your lesion, like me!!

End Times Hoopla

If you really think about it the disciples assumed Jesus
would return in their life time. In John 14:28 – 29, Jesus tells his disciples he
shall return:

28 You heard me say
to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you
would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father
is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before
it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe.

They though he was talking directly to them and therefore
they would see His return. So that was the start of “The End Is Near” chant. We
are over 2000 years of man saying it will happen soon. Heck Harold Camping
actually made two proclamations of an actual date, that came and past without
any events.

I look to Jonah and see a God change his mind and not
destroy Nineveh. So what says that God has not done this once again? I have no
idea, what may or may not happen.

Heck based on what the Jews were expecting as the Messiah,
could we be missing the mark in interpreting Revelations and End Time
prophecies? What if Jesus returned as He did the first time, a lowly worker
from a small town in the middle of nowhere? Would the “church” recognize Him or
would they reject Him as many of the Jewish leaders did.

This has been swirling in my brain for some time since I
have an issue with God destroying those who will not follow Him. I can see this
to those who reject Him to His face, but I can see God giving everyone one last
chance before He will execute His final judgement. Who knows?

The one thing I do know is since this has been going on for
so long, it does not do much to convert those who do not believe. The reason I
am writing is not to focus on the bad that shall come, but rather the GOOD that
IS available today. Share the Gospel, not with FIRE and BRIMSTONE but rather with
JOY and LOVE. The future is something we need to be concerned with, but the
present is why we need to share Jesus! So GO!!

A Question From Twitter

I was shocked to see someone read my blog and actually
commented on it (outside of friends and family). “Monkey Supreme” @SkepticalPet asked “How do you know prayer
is something more than talking to yourself?” I responded with “sometimes it
feels that way, then the undeniable happens and doubt is removed”. From there
we went back and forth for a while without any outcome since Mr Supreme
obviously was not real open to a discussion and is a self-described “Secular
humanist & Anti-theist”. So with that I hope he reads my blog in depth and
can see instances of prayer and man’s interactions with God.

I believe he feels I am a “bronzeage” idealist on a “train
to nowhere.” But that’s all right since a health understanding of science with
a belief in no God would be a natural belief. I know I bounce there from time to
time myself. Yet I have died and am here to talk about it. I have had miracles
happen, seen them happen, and connected the dots between prayer, God’s will and
reality to come to the conclusion that God must exist or statistical anomalies
are normal.

I assume with the name Monkey Supreme, he is a staunch
evolutionist and would love for him to research my “crap” on that subject. In a
nut shell we are looking at the EXACT same evidence and concocting a story
about how it all fits. Mine involves a supreme being while the evolutionist
involves chance. I can demonstrate mine in nature, showing how this randomness
is more than just chance but without a belief in there being a possibility of a
God one can easily dismiss the evidence.

There are actually only really two possibilities of how this
happened, random chance from an explosion or an orchestrated design. Both sides
can argue until they are blue in the face and unless each party considered the
other possible than they go nowhere. Like how I believe and extended discussion
with Mr. Supreme would end. We would both be frustrated that the other one did
not get it and we would have wasted each other’s time.

Often I revert to Matthew 10:14 which states:

And if anyone will not receive you
or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave
that house or town. (ESV)

Basically in context Jesus is telling his disciples when
traveling look for receptive people otherwise you will end up in debates that
are time-suckers and have no positive outcome for the kingdom. At the same time
if we take this approach for all who seem unreceptive to the Gospel, than we
waste our time on this planet. We need to understand the balance and don’t get
sucked into a long drawn out debate.

Today I pray for Monkey Supreme that he will get an
undeniable touch from God so that it begins to put into question his current
belief system. Also, that a friend who believes comes alongside him to answer
questions and help him develop a relationship with Jesus. I pray that my
discussion actually has him look deeper into my blog and reads my story from
May 17th, along with my evolution blogs to see I am not just a “bronzeage”
wacko, but rather a very techie nerd who has spent decades to come to the
conclusions I have, rather than accept the whole story of “faith.”

Interactions with God Today

One of the favorite arguments of atheists today is if God
was real He would intact with us as the God in the Bible. If there was a God,
they argue, there would be great miracles and voices from burning bushes. But
today we get that subtitle nudge or that odd coincidence. God interacts with us
differently than in the days after Jesus. He no longer picks the odd one in the
bunch and works miracles through them, God did that with the least expected one
in the bunch, Jesus. A poor carpenter from a remote Jewish town became the
Messiah.

But with Jesus came the Holy Spirit and no longer do a few anointed
ones have audible conversations with God, but rather we all have access through
prayer. Our interactions are more intimate and also easier to understand God
working. Before we may have God parting the Red Sea, but at the same time those
same people that witnessed this great feat were worshiping a golden idol. God
may have realized the big show did not work and maybe an intimate nudge was
what would work with others.

Unfortunately with the story of the parting of the Red Sea
most look at it as a story, even if they are “believers” and have seen the Holy
Spirit at work in their lives. That was the problem with each one of the great
stories of the Bible, as generations separate the events to the people hearing
them, they become fictitious allegories rather than real. At the same time
praying about finding a drill and looking up right after it was done and
finding it in the rafters while standing in the one square foot of a 10,000
square foot building where it could be seen may be God to Katy but just a coincidence
to others.

The great thing about the intimacy of God is rather than
trying to prove it to others, the idea they should try it come into play.
Suddenly they have their “God moment” and a spark may start a flame of passion
for the Lord in a once unbelieving heart. That is the beauty today that we miss
otherwise in OT days. Sure miracles still happen, like with me, that has been
explained away as timing without divine intervention.

No today it’s more difficult to convince others without the
spectacle, but easier to understand when it’s about them.

Let’s Get Ready To Rumble

Genesis 32:22 – 32 is the story on why Israel got its name.
Jacob, who stole his brothers blessing and birthright, is about to meet him and
has an encounter with God himself. Knowing Jacob’s story we see how God took
this selfish and power hungry kid wrestled with him for years to humble his
spirit. He was swindled into indentured servitude for his true love and from
there traveled to meet his brother.

The encounter with God is an interesting one since they
wrestled all night and even after disabling Jacob, he held on and demanded a
blessing. God eventually relents and changes Jacob’s name to Israel, which
means “wrestling with God” or “struggling with God”.

This demonstrates two things, first how persistence sometimes
is necessary to change God’s mind on a matter. Second, is how we often have to
fight for what we want, even with God. Sure it’s easy to accept God’s will as
Jesus did, but often God’s will has shown to change. We need to understand that
a good debate is what God is looking for … now with Jesus, what happened had to
happen since a sacrifice was needed for redemption of our sins.

I often look at my life and wonder how many times I freaked
out and yelled at God that changed God’s will for my life. Was God looking for
a wrestling match or does He like a good debate? I don’t know but throughout
the Bible we see time and time again the “heroes” questioning God, sometimes
they win and sometimes God does.

The point we need to learn in looking at these instances is
we need to fight for what we want, but understand when God does make a stand
often there is a reason. Like with Jesus, His death on the cross was inevitable
and no matter how much He asked, what had to happen would. With Jacob I wonder
if God wanted to wrestle the remaining fight out of him or if he wanted to see
his gumption? Either way, God relented in this case and gave into Jacob’s
desires.

NOTE – it did cost Jacob his comfort since he lived
with the hip pain for the rest of his life. So as he did get what he wanted,
God extracted a small price for changing his will.

Can A Prayer Be Argumentative?

Often my prayers have been more a “bitch session” rather
than something that could be prayed in a public setting. Is this acceptable
Biblically? Do we have examples of this in the Bible? Or should we just focus
on the Lord’s Prayer and build from there?

Think about it this way, the name God gives Jacob and His
Chosen People is “Israel” which literally means “Struggle with God” so I
believe God not only accepts the struggle but welcomes it. We see the father of
the nation, Abraham, getting into multiple confrontations with God. The first
was when God told him He would be the father of a great nation and he scoffed
at that and took matters into his own hands in Genesis 16 with Hagar. In
Genesis 19 Abraham barters with God to save Sodom and Gomorrah like in a Middle
Eastern market. Even after being the father of the nation of Islam, God
continued to promise and he laughed at God, yet at an old age bore Isaac
(Genesis 21). Finally, in Genesis 22, Abraham is put the the ultimate test by
God and does not argue.

Moses in Exodus 32 argued for the sparing of the nation when
the made the Golden Calf while he was on the mountain receiving the Ten
Commandments. The argument compelled God to spare the people and Moses then
freaked out on the people. Later Moses unsuccessfully argued with God to allow
him to enter the Promised Land, God allowed Moses to see it, but not enter.

The Book of Jonah is a story of an adversarial relationship
with God. Jonah is told to preach against Nineveh and he runs. When he finally
submits, he preaches they repent and God spares them. With that Jonah gets
upset and argues with God about not destroying them. In both instances Jonah’s arguments
fell on deaf ears.

In John 2:1-12, Mary debates with Jesus that He save the
wedding. This led to His first miracle of turning water into a fine wine. Yet
in Matthew 26:36-56 Jesus prays to God in the Garden of Gethsemane that God
will spare His life and we know how that was answered. In a final in Luke 23:34
Jesus asks God to forgive those who killed Him.

So we see time and time again man and God in a heated
debate, sometimes God submits and other times He does not. The key here is not
to fear God into being a cowering chicken, but to stand up when you feel
necessary and try to change God’s mind. It HAS been done before! Those who
believe the future is written in stone are mistaken, it’s wide open and there
for all to enjoy. I think the key is, know when it’s time to stop the “bitch
session” and move on with reality.

COEXIST Is This Possible with Islam?

I recently check out a video from TheFuelProject on YouTube
which compared Jesus and Muhammad:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajfs7Tp35rQ

And immediately I think of the COEXIST bumper stickers that
a proliferating the nations cars. They started to appear after 9-11-2001 when
there was apparent profiling of Muslim profiling. Suddenly the granny grope became
ok with TSA while ones who may be profiled walk unchecked so not to offend the
Muslim. As with the previous methods of ensuring our safety on flights, no
threats have been stopped and granny has been humiliated in the process.

Anyway back to the bumper sticker which is a New Age shot at
Christianity since the implication is often we are the only non-tolerant religion.
As we can see from the video which takes the “Holy” texts to show the
difference between Muhammad and Jesus. The bumper sticker means the following.

C – This is a crescent moon that represents Islam, whose
Holy book says kill non-believers. O – This is the peace symbol or pagan/Wiccan
pentacle, the interesting thing is these are the most intolerant towards
Christians. E – It is the male/female symbol or a scientific equation, science
again when discussing God become very intolerant of any suggestion of His role
in the universe even though the data suggests His activity. X – This is the
Star of David and represents Judaism, the Jew has become the focus of the hate
in the Middle East since all the surrounding nations want (and have wanted)
them obliterated. I – It is a pagan/Wiccan symbol used, interestingly this is
the second use of a pagan symbol. S – This is a Chinese yin-yang symbol, while
today the Chinese seem benign their past has been less than that. Granted this
has been more because of communism and less about their religion. T – The cross
is used to represent Christianity, which ironically is the focus of most of the
disgust by those who “wear” these stickers.

Ironically the C and the T represent the opposite ends of
the spectrum. Although many point to Christianity as equally violent in their acts,
this is two misrepresentations. First, as we see in this video, Christianity
does not promote violence rather peace. Second, events like the Crusades and
the Holocaust were pervisions of scripture. Also, the crusades started as a
defensive measure against a Muslim Caliphate or invasion.

So while the underlying idea of COEXIST seems benign, it
actually is dangerous to all parts, since it diminishes each and their
contributions to peace or war to a slogan. Also, it is not to open the
discussion but rather to END it. COEXIST means no more heated discussions but
rather silence and that is the major problem, since with silence comes
ignorance. So COEXIST and stop killing, but also open the dialogue about each
faith and eventually all can see the T is the end or the ANCHOR!!

How Do We Deal With Charity?

This is a subject that came up in our men’s group the other
day, what should we do for the community? We were studying James and the “GO,
DO” parts. I love James since he is short and to the point, but this opened a
lively discussion. How do we use our limited resources to serve the community?
Should we be the “judges” on who deserves care or should we be “led” to serve?
Should we “cast ye pearls before swine” (Matthew 7:6 – KJV) or give to anyone
who asks?

So how do you determine the service project and how to use
your resources? Does Jesus say hold back to determine if the poor are using
you? No Matthew 5:38 -42 gives us the instruction to give to those who ask,
ending with verse 42:

Give to the one who begs from you,
and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. (ESV)

So with giving of our resources is not to be judged by man
but by God. We need to pray about making sure our resources are used by God,
but not used by man taking advantage of our kindness. We shall not judge that,
but allow the Holy Spirit to work on those receiving the help. Matthew 6:1 also
warns us about how we serve:

Beware of practicing your
righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then
you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. (ESV)

Now when serving we need not have our service done for all
to see and all to take notice, but rather the “transaction” is between you, the
person receiving the help and God. Churches often make headlines for their
service. I know 12 Stone and their Feed the 5000 one year made news. We got the
Gwinnett Braves to allow us to use their lot to give the food. It became
headline since during the start of shopping chaos for Christmas at nearby Mall
of Georgia, 12 Stone had thousands more clogging the road. In their defense
they did not plan properly and the next few years went unnoticed by the press
since they changed the distribution model that did not disrupt the community.

So do we give blindly and hope we did not cast pearls or do
we judge who gets our help or do we prayerfully trust Jesus and the Holy Spirit
will guide us those in need who are receptive? I believe the latter is the
model Jesus was saying we need to follow. So what happens when we give to
someone who starts obviously abusing the generosity? Do we stop or do we keep
giving? Well Jesus said if you feed a man a fish he will eat for a day, if you
teach a man to fish he will eat for a life. Right? No actually this is not in
the Bible, in any translation.

This is often attributed to Jesus since he was the one who
taught us to be “fisher of men” (Matthew 4:19) but this “parable” is not in the
Bible. This is where we need to be careful and read the Bible more. I love the
saying and I am sure I have attributed it to Jesus more than once, but in
reality it’s credited to an “ancient Chinese Proverb” or a 19th
century English author. Because this is not in the Bible does that mean we
should not help those become self-sufficient? Jesus made lame beggars and mad
men useful members of society, so there is some scriptural support for this. We
just need to lean into the power of Jesus and follow HIS prompts and quit over analyzing
help. Sure sometimes your “pearls” may seem wasted, but God may do a working on
that person that we may never see the fruit.

Do what you can, follow the Holy Spirit and pray about what
you do. And DON’T FORGET in an act of kindness share the source. Tell the
people about the love and grace Jesus has shown you and that is WHY they are
receiving the “blessing” otherwise you’re just another nice person.

Worry

Today I have been dealing with worry and stress. My father’s
sister, AKA my aunt, had a heart attack recently and is doing fine after a
stint. Looks like the cholesterol problem is genetic and still is bad. Well
worry has hit our family and honestly there is not much we can do about it. We
either need to have faith in God, or drive ourselves to the grave.

So what does the Bible really say? Well Matthew 6:25-34 is
almost a cliché these days:

25 “Therefore
I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what
you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more
than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look
at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and
yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And
which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?28 And why are you anxious about
clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil
nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in
all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But
if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is
thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little
faith?31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What
shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’32 For the
Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that
you need them all.33 But seek first the
kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added
to you.

34 “Therefore
do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.
Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (ESV)

Basically we have to either go with the flow or freak out.
It is really that simple … we see in this world stress causes more problems
with one’s health than the resulting actions one takes. I am not saying don’t
take action and “let God handle things”, but rather don’t freak out. It really
does nothing more than cause more problems with your unguided actions, lack of action and
personal health.

This is where the cliché comes in and why people can’t stand
this statement. But look at Paul, and others who had direct contact with Jesus.
They showed life is rough and worry does not help. Therefore, relax, be calm
and know that God is in charge!!

I am presently I am a degreed engineer working as a janitor,
no sign of work, living in paradise. I have mixed emotions, but worry is not
one since the decades of worry before did not help any. I am trying to find
work and loving the idea of cleaning toilets for the time. The only thing I am
working towards is health care … since it’s costly. But again I will wait
things out and see what’s next.

This Means GET IN THE RACE And Not Talk About It

A friend wrote a song about this and just posted it recently
which go me a thinkin’. 2 Timothy 4:7 talks about a strong finish:

I have fought the good fight, I
have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

This is often used as one of those Christians “clichés”
because it is often given to us when we need encouragement. But I look at this
and think we need to fight the fight, run the race and FINISH!! When you look
at 2 Timothy 4, Paul is giving his farewell remarks to Timothy and basically
saying goodbye.

The metaphors are not telling us to buck up and get going
but rather to GO and DO!! And DO with such passion that you are spent at the
end. If you race or fight for it all, you leave nothing on the track or ring.
So this is more encouragement for us to go all in and do all we can for the
kingdom.

I honestly think that is the key here so that we are not
lounging around and feeling sorry, but rather doing what we can to get things
done. Our churches today spend more time talking about missions trying to
encourage others, than doing. We all have this burning desire to help others
and Paul is simply stating we need to just DO what is required.

So talk to that friend you are questioning about
faith. Go help that old neighbor fix their yard. Do extra at the office, not
for attention but because it needs to be done. Live your live like Jesus and
Paul did, for others. Look outward and pray for the opportunities and the
gumption to respond. 

Is Prayer Like Panning For Gold?

Well I got a new hobby these days and that’s panning for
gold. We recently moved into an area which has had significant finds of gold,
so since we have a river that had been mined gonna give it a go. So far we have
recovered no more than a few flakes. Believe me I am not expecting to get rich
doing this. The creek has apparently produced 100lbs of gold!! That may seem
like a bunch, but in thinking about it that is less than $2M in today’s money
and based on the debris around the property that was split among a bunch of
people. So I am not expecting to get rich, just curious what is there.

Now so far I have carted a bunch of buckets of rock to my
sluice box that yielded nothing. Am I discouraged? Not really since the amount
of rock that has been moved around the property is nothing compared to what I
have moved so far. Now some of us find answered prayers like panning for gold,
just not real rewarding. At the same time others seem to hit the right spots
and get major nuggets easily, like some “prayer warriors”!

Is God like gold and difficult to find, or like gold and
incredibly valuable or both? Often it’s what you pray for, I read a Facebook
post that said this person prayed for a bike and when he did not get it, he
stole it and prayed for forgiveness. What is the problem? Is God not hearing
our prayers, too busy for us or are we not praying for the right thing at the
right time?

Think of it this way, is God difficult to find or are we
just looking in the wrong place? I have prayed for things until I finally
stopped without an answer while other times I have answered prayers in action
before I started praying. How can we find that happy medium? I think the
answers are in the Bible, we see the great prayers are looking for God’s will
and not theirs. Solomon asked for wisdom, and got wealth along with it.

I think the key is connecting with the value of God like
gold is not hunting for value for self but in value for salvation of others.
Think about Jesus, he could get almost anything he wanted being God’s son, heck
He made water into wine so the Midas touch is nothing. But even with the wine,
He was putting others before Himself. He died on the cross for us before
getting what He wanted.

Think of it this way, if we focus on us getting more
and better we are not ready. If we pray for responsibility and wisdom, when the
more and better come we will be ready. Most of the time God needs to grow us
before He blesses us. So hunt for God as aggressively as you would gold! The
difference is YOU WILL find God!!

Why Is It Atheists Are Almost More Ardent Then Christians?

We are told in Matthew 28:19 to go and make disciples:

Go therefore and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit,

First is that something we do? I know blogs and less direct
contact has been the way for me for quite some time. The one thing I notice in
my discussions is how aggressive the atheists I talk with can be. Most are way
more passionate than I am about really nothing other than pride in being right.

I can discuss odds and probability to answered prayers to
which I get addresses as a whacko for even believing such a thing. We get into
my favorite subject of Evolution and then name calling begins and almost every
other form of propaganda one can use to make me look nuts. It’s ironic that
while I can point to events that have personally built my faith in God,
including my death, and I am dismissed without a second thought.

I bring this back to Christianity today and wonder why we
allow ourselves to be walked on so much? Is it a lack of understanding since
most pastors today teach a watered down message so not to alienate new attendees
who may be offended or confused? Is it we no longer read the Bible like we use
to, rather if we do read it peoples interpretation of what the Bible says to
them?

I know when attacked for my lack of understanding of
Evolution and then when I ask direct questions like show me a point where in observed
nature we have seen a split of taxonomical classification outside a species? I
am then told how ignorant of the process I am. Yet when I point to the Linnaean
Tree and ask how then a reptile can convert to an ave (bird) in short order, I
am further ridiculed.

Note, it’s not that I am so steadfast in my belief of Creationism
that I cannot budge. Quite contraire, I have been a creationist, to an God
inspired evolutionist, to a pure evolutionist, to a creationist again. I am not
afraid of changing my mind, if someone can convince me. And that’s the point,
they will not even try to engage me on a intellectual debate and remain in elementary
school yard babble.

This works for the majority of Christians on a myriad of
subjects. Then Zeitgeist Movement is the most popular series that intertwines
modern issues with showing how the Bible can be debunked. It is quite clever
and can shake the faith of even the most ardent Christian. The problem stems
when someone watches the YouTube flick and suddenly becomes an expert on what
is wrong in the Bible and therefore tries to force their way of thinking on us
who believe.

What usually happens is we either roll over and not
defend the faith or are unable to defend the faith. Either way an observer sees
this and gives up. Now I will say it’s much easier to make disciples when you
were discipled by Jesus himself. Having seen firsthand the miracles and the resurrection.
But even still we have a story that when read answers all questions. So with
that said, read your Bible, ask questions, make disciples and take on the
giants. But do not use name calling, bandwagon or other propaganda techniques
to attempt to win rather God’s word and the Holy Spirit!!

Our Free Will And God’s Will

Today we are continuing to focus on the first “Commandment”
or for Israelites call them the first of the Ten Statements. Exodus 20:2 opens
with the statement:

 2 “I
am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out
of the abode of slavery. (CJB)

This is key to understanding God and His relationship with
mankind that God’s number one desire for us is freedom. Immediately I will get
attacked because many say the Bible promotes or allows slavery. They will point
to Leviticus 25:44-46 and say there that condones slavery. While I do agree
this argument is valid since there are many places that address slavery, if you
look closely it’s more an “indentured servitude” since sections like Deuteronomy
15:12-18 shows that after 7 years a slave must be freed.

I am digressing here, but with freedom this applies to
everything, including how God deals with us. This is where freewill comes into
play since God has given us freedom to live on the earth. The idea of “predestination”
where we are more God’s puppets than His children is way out of whack.

Follow me here, those of us who have children know when they
were born we had big plans for them. As we quickly learn our will for their
lives does not always match what actually happens. I know my father did not
expect me to be cleaning toilets when I was in my 50’s. God is the same way, he
has a desire and a will for our lives and we MAY be predestined to be a
president or a king, but it’s OUR choice to follow His path for our lives.

I know personally God has nudged me, humbled me and
sometimes whack me on the head with a 2×4 to get me moving in His direction.
Often I wonder if that is something I can control or is it something that just
happens. So while we may be “predestined” to be a king like David, it doesn’t
mean we will become king or like David do it right all the time.

We must understand that Jesus died on the cross for
redemption of our sin. The Hebraic Law said blood must be spilt for the forgiveness
of sin, we actually a sacrifice or the first born or fruits. You give up
something of importance to prove you have repented of your sin. In Jesus’ case
God gave His first born son for redemption of our sins. All we must do is
freely accept this, confess our sins before Jesus and believe in His story. It’s
that simply, but it requires you to freely choose which path to take. 

When Prayers Fail – Jesus’ Ones

When Jesus was praying in Gethsemane in Matthew 26:36 – 56 we
see Him praying to God. Now a quick note with Jesus’ prayers, isn’t it kind of
like talking to yourself? But in verse 26:39 he prays something that is not “granted”
by God:

Going a little farther, he fell
with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this
cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

As we know Jesus prayed this particular prayer so fervently to
the point of sweeting blood, yet God did not grant his request. Here the SON of
God was praying for His life and God did not honor this request. We see
Nineveh, who was evil, repent for a short time and God did not destroy them as
promised.

So don’t get so upset when we pray for God to do something
and it appears to God unanswered. I know I have prayed many times where God has
seeming ignored the prayer. Recently, I prayed for a lady to receive her
hearing back and it did not happen. Why? I have no clue, but look at Luke 22:31
– 32 to see another failed prayer of Jesus:

31 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have
you, that he might sift you like wheat, 32 but I
have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again,
strengthen your brothers.”

Jesus had foretold Peter’s denial and prayed it would not
happen. As we know Peter denied Jesus three times shortly after he prayed. So
when we see Jesus’ prayers fall on apparent “deaf ears” of God why should we
expect every one of our prayers to be granted as we desire? We shouldn’t, but rather
understand that we may never understand why this is.

My prayer for the lady with hearing was from afar, I often
wonder if I had boldly prayed for her WITH her if the outcome would have been
different. I don’t know since I did not do that. But I do know that often my
unanswered prayers often become clear in time.

The key is don’t fret if prayers are not answered the way
you expected. Sometimes you have no clue what is in store. Also, as we talked
about yesterday, God’s number one commandment to us is freedom. With freedom
comes responsibility and with that we sometimes suffer the consequences. God
will not correct all the ills of this world that the world has inflicted on
itself by free decisions.

Mankind can derail God’s plan for a time, but will never
cease it. I think of this new home as a great example. As we walk around the
beautiful property and look at the wonderful scenery you start to notice little
things that show the damage man has done from logging to hydraulic mining of
our hillside. Yet in less than a 100 years that desolation is a faint memory in
the land. So like the land, God eventually can and will repair and restore us
to the path He desires. We just can’t get our panties in a wad when our prayers
seem to go unanswered and injustices we see are not righted.

Just remember God’s will be done!

The USA And God

“One nation under God” is something we have grown up saying
as children, well until recently for some. But are we “one nation under God”?
Honestly, today I don’t know but the foundation is Godly based. Why is that?
Well first the founders learned that freedom is number one with the people and
God. We need only look at the Ten Commandments to see this.

Now one might say freedom is NOT one of the commandments,
but follow me on this. As Christians we look at the number 1 commandment as Exodus
20:3, having no other gods before God. But if we look at this from a Jewish perspective
the commandments start with Exodus 20:2 which states:

I am the Lord your God, who
brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

It’s my understanding that the Jews look at this as the
first commandment and the Christian’s first and second (no idols) are combined
as one. We need only look at the CJB’s interpretation to see this division. Now
why was it so important for the first commandment to be more of a statement,
than a “Thou shalt not”?

This is simple God values freedom of man over anything else,
even worshiping other gods. If it was not for our freedom we have a choice to
enter into a relationship with Jesus or not. Man’s free will causes most of our
problems today and unfortunately man’s free will is beginning to limit freedom
in the USA in modern times.

Also, back to the “one nation under God” statement in our
pledge. The Pledge f Allegiance was formally adopted in 1942, yet was written
in 1892. Interestingly the words “under God” we not added until 1952. So while
us folk under say 60 somehow believe that was the original wording, it was not.
Now does that mean it’s not true? No just look at all the founder’s documents
and one can see this was not the case.

Although many may not appear to be “deists” and some are
pointed to as atheists, we can see that they understood the importance of
freedom also. So while they may personally have misgivings about a omnipotent God,
they realized while they were fleeing from religious tyranny that freedom to
worship as one chooses is critical for a free society.

So while people are trying to dismiss the “one nation under
God” and having God removed. The argument is while all the founders we deists,
they were not ALL Christians. But they all realized the importance and perfect
law derived from the Bible that they used it as a foundation for this nation.
If you don’t believe that read the first 5 books and see how Moses’ writings
match how our nation is set up.

So while we are not truly a “Christian” nation, we
were founded UNDER GOD giving each person the “unalienable right” which “are
endowed by their creator” to follow God or not. And that is 100% Biblical!! The
erosion of our freedoms are the most concerning thing I see with this nation
today and not removing the Ten Commandments from the court house steps!!

.body.

What Now?

After spending the last 4 months moving we have settled into
the “Land of Milk and Honey”. As with the Israelites when they settled into the
land it was work to secure it and work to protect it. As long as their faith in
God was solid, although seemingly insurmountable, God helped them along the
way. And note how he “helped” them and not “gave” them.

The only story in the Bible where things seemed to be handed
to one on a platter was with Solomon. He asked for wisdom and got much more.
One thing that we don’t see clearly in the Bible is the fall of Solomon and the
repercussions that followed. We can see the strife in the family that was a
result of David’s lust, but we don’t see how Solomon’s writings that did not
make it in the Bible have been used by “the other side” to bring forth demons.

The point to make here is when things are given freely
without labor they often tend to go bad eventually. Back to our story, we moved
into “paradise” a month ago after decades of living humbly and struggling
through life. As things progress it seems more like the Chevy Chase movie “Funny
Farm” than paradise. We have had doors fall off, electrical issues, garage
flooding twice, septic backup and tainted water. This is just the first month!!

Now I still feel we landed in the right spot since it is
beautiful, just requires more work than expected. But how does this come back
to God? Well I think of a passage in James 1:22, that talks about doing:

 Do not
merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

As Christians we a given salvation freely and nothing more
we can do will change that. Unlike paths to salvation with “other” religions,
they become “works based” as far as what one does matters on the road to
salvation. Don’t interpret what I am about to say as Christianity is works
based, ALL THE WORK WAS DONE ON THE CROSS!!

But as with everything so freely given we become slack with
our gifts and take them for granted often. Sure Paul enforces that nothing can
change our salvation in Jesus, but at the same time James is saying faith
without works is dead. Who is right? Both, salvation is freely given, but
without going out and doing what Jesus taught it stagnates and get’s moldy!!

The Israelites were given the Promised Land flowing with
milk and honey for free, but they still had to work. We are given salvation for
free, but still have an obligation to do “kingdom work” for Jesus.

My original question “what now” … where shall this
blog go? I feel doing the daily reading sometimes seemed forced with the blog.
At the same time this randomness of not having structure has this with no
direction and just kind of rambles. I started taking topics and diving into
them like “why does God allow suffering” but have really not gotten anywhere
with them. Should I focus on a book and blog about the progress and how it’s
going? Should I return to a structured read through the Bible only using a new
translation? Or just continue what I am doing? Thoughts from the “peanut galley”
are welcome at cvs (at) bellsouth (dot) net.

May 17, 2014 I Died

I have written about this a few times, but as I woke today I
was thankful for life again. For those who do not know my story on May 17th
I came in from a run said hi to my wife and hit the floor. My heart had stopped
working, I was dead. This event is “affectionately” known as the “widow maker”
since there was no warning and it hit immediately. May 20th I woke
up and cracked a smart ass joke to someone asking me a “logic question” to see
how I was thinking. I then got the story.

My daughter called 911 and they immediately went into action
with a stroke, since that was the more logical condition based on recent family
history with Veronica. I had no CPR for 5 minutes as I turned blue! The EMT’s
from station 13 in Gwinnett and engines from 13 and 21 showed up and stated to
work. I was paddled 7 times and they got a heartbeat after 45 minutes. By then
we arrived at Emory John’s Creek ICU where I was put into an induced coma.

Now take my family, they were not being told when he pulls
through but rather don’t expect him to survive and if he does he will be brain
damaged. So for three days after following the ambulance and watching the EMTs
perform CPR all the way to the hospital everyone waited for the inevitable. I
came to and freaked, they figured I was having some episode but rather noticed
the date on the white board was 5/20/15.  So once the ventilator was pulled I was
peppered with question, the first asking if I had rubber boots and was standing
in a puddle would my feet be wet. Of course I had no idea why they were asking
me dumb questions so I retorted back, “How deep is the puddle”. To that Katy’s
pent up angst was relieved, I was back.

One story that I recently learned was two close friends from
our church 12 Stone had come to pray over me. God had coordinated these two
coming together to pray. I was out and they started to pray fervently over me.
Well during this time I started to come out of my induced coma. The nurse
freaked told them to stop praying and to leave. Then she started to load me up
on the drugs to keep me in the coma. An hour later I was being asked silly
questions.

Now all was not over since I bounced back and forth between
ICU and surgery, but 2 weeks later I walked out the door weak but alive. Now one
year later I have taken the doctors serious and changed many things. I am
running again, I am eating well and am actually losing weight now. I PR’ed for
a 5k and my triglycerides went from 686 pre-death to 85!!  So things are progressing in the right
direction!!

Now what have I taken from this after a year? First, I
experienced a miracle. Not just a miracle of timing, but a flat out miracle. In
the months since I have heard story after story about many who went through
what I did and lost the battle. This was not an “easy win” for God, everything
had to happen perfectly. If something dropped out of sequence and if God had
not have thrown in that “special sauce” I would have not made it. So I am
humbled to have experienced this.

Second, is my diagnosis of what happened leading up to this.
Sure hindsight is 20/20, but my eating sucked. I was eating organic when
possible, like Cliff Bars, Organic Ice Cream and Organic cookies. I was
drinking energy drinks for life support; a minimum was 1 or 2 a day. If that
did not work a Redline was added to the mix. Sodas were ok as well.

It’s amazing how unfettered access to healthy food is not
always good. Couple warning signs I had. First, I was cramping on short runs
and having done marathons, a cramp at 1 mile was something wrong. Doctors
figured it was nutrition or Compartment Syndrome, little did they know it was
Intermittent Claudication or an early indicator of a heart blockage. Another
sign was slower metabolism. Everyone complains about that as they get older, so
I figured it was normal. Guess what, eat crap and your metabolism slows down.
Doesn’t matter if it’s “diet”, “organic” or “energy” too much will literally
kill you.

So my warning to those who are experiencing slow metabolism,
eat better and get checked out. Since my “event” I am losing weight, eating
well and experiencing a metabolism from my 20’s. Keys are RAW and ORGANIC!
Those few times I dabble into something outside this, it’s packaged organic.
And note Monday’s are Mexican Coke Monday (since they do not use HFC’s),
Thursday’s are Krakatoa (an expresso drink) Thursdays and Sunday’s are Ice
Cream Sunday, so I do treat myself, just not once or thrice a day.

Other health tips are avoid GMO’s, and not those like
“seedless grapes” that have been genetically modified through breeding to get
there, but rather Monsanto Corn that cannot be handled since it’s been spliced
with toxins to kill pests and be immune to Round-up. Sorry for the long
sentence, but this is critical!! I don’t have a problem using nature to
naturally evolve new strains of food, but using chemicals to evolve new toxic
strains is dangerous! Enough of the health rant.

Every day I wake up and thank God for life, this is no
longer a cliché for me. Second I thank my family for getting the ball rolling
and acting fast to get EMT’s here quickly. Third, the EMT’s led by Dave Yarbrough
(who has become my running buddy) who did NOT give up on my when many would
have. Forth, Emory and the crew for putting up with me and making sure I am
back on my feet. Also, for picking up the tab!!! Fifth, the many people who
helped and prayed for me, that made a huge difference. Sixth, 12 Stone church
for all the additional support and post event counseling. Finally, my family
again for the love and support from everyone here and away!

We have moved to a new part of the country into a home that
is a fantasy. It’s exactly what we had dreamed for, only better and we are debt
free now!! I still have not completely come to terms with that and being part
of a miracle while seeing the outpouring of compassion from so many. Why me? If
it’s like any other dealings with God it will all make sense in years to come.

What Is Love Anyway

Right away I think of a Howard Jones song with the same
title. But honestly what is love in the Bible anyway. First we must understand
that the Greek, which most of the New Testament was written in has many words for
love. They are :

  • Eros – Passionate love,sexual
  • Philia – Deep friendship
  • Ludus – A playful love, child like love.
  • Agape – Selfless love for others
  • Pragma – longstanding love over long relationships
  • Phiautia – love of self
  • Storge – natural affection between family members

The most common assume definition of love in the English
language is Eros, which is rarely if ever used in the Bible. The most common
word interpreted in the Bible for love is Agape. So what does this really mean
for us as Christians?

Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:1-2 that we should give ourselves
like Jesus did:

1 Therefore
be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk
in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering
and sacrifice to God.

In this instance Paul is saying love is giving ourselves to
others. In this instance he uses the extreme of Jesus giving his life so we
could receive salvation. But if we really love someone we should not just say
it but rather do it.

Now get your minds out of the gutter and follow me. Giving
one’s self away is being selfless or showing love by putting another first.
Doing what others need with no expectation of a reward, from the person you are
helping or really even God. No, just giving your time and attention to another.
Simple, at least to say but how to do it.

Again … gutter. Honestly this is something I struggle with
daily mainly because I am easily distracted and some feel that is not showing
you care. I understand what they say but that squirrel is over there and needs
to be chased. It’s takes time and practice. More often I fail since I don’t get
the rules. But I will keep trying until I die … again;-)

I love my wife on many Greek levels, just need to be able
to give myself to her more … again, gutter.

Is Being Mad At God Ok?

The question today is can we be mad at God and pray about
it? I think if we say no we are not remembering our prayers. I can think of
more than once yelling at the top of my lungs … away from mankind … and getting
down right angry with circumstances.

We can find all over the place where people are upset at
God, Job for his anguish, Jonah when Nineveh was spared, David multiple times,
Jeremiah and so on. We need look at Psalm 94 to see David being PO’ed at God
for not destroying the enemy. Verse 3 is a great example:

How long, Lord, will the
wicked,
    how long will the wicked be jubilant? (NIV)

Often we are mad if things don’t go the way we planned while
other times we are upset at circumstances, but the key is to realize it is
normal. God already knows your heart and sometimes you just need to let it go.
Often in the outburst, you will get clarity on why or what needs to be done. I
know this has happened to me often when I am indignant.

Does this mean you are now allowed to rant day in and day
out with God? No, not at all we need to quickly get anger and discontent out of
our system quickly and regain focus on God’s glory and ultimate plan. I know we
do derail his plans often by our own action or lack of action, but He will
adjust and continue we just need to regain focus quickly to follow His lead.

I know it’s hard not to lose it from time to time. I believe
the Bible shows it’s normal and to do it. But again, focus on your solutions
and not God’s. What I mean is you need to understand why and again that answer
may not be prevalent until years if not decades later.

The key is lean on God as you do your close friends.
When you are upset, they understand and will let you go. And when you calm,
they will repair the hurt and help find a solution. Just relax and don’t think
each and every prayer to God has to follow the XYZ formula.

Me and Silent God

Before we continue the title references two characters from
media, Jay and Silent Bob.

How many of us have said they don’t hear from God? It seems
as young believers we pray and stuff happens, but then things slow down. Or do
they?

I titled this “Silent God” for a reason since most of us I
never heard the audible voice of God. I know of one or two who claim this that
I would not consider crazy. So if we cannot hear God how do we know he is
listening? First, as I write this I have in the background “Rescue” by Michael
O’Brien which was filmed in front of our shop. A crazy guy a few months before
this was filmed came by and started talking about how God was using the radio
tower and 747 were the wings on eagles we were to take and that there was an
illuminated cross on our building. That was good and all since the business was
starting to feel the pain, but we dismissed him as a nut job since he was often
seen in our dumpster. Anyway, when the video was released it had an illuminated
cross in the window at the end. So odd coincidence or God talking to us?

Along with others God talks to us in many way. The next is
via the Bible itself. 2 Timothy 3:16 says “All of Scripture is God-breathed; in
its inspired voice, we hear useful teaching, rebuke,
correction, instruction, and training for a life that is right”
(The Voice). I can go on and on how many answers to questions I have found
answers to in the Bible. The one that sticks with me is the “Ouija Board” Bible
experience, where one prays, opens the Bible and points. I had a pressing
question on taxes and what I should do, I did this twice and both times landed
on the story of the coin and whose face (Mark 12:17 and Matthew 22:21).

Also, God has spoken to us through circumstances over the
years. You have been praying for something and sometime later you look back to
see where things were pieced together to work out for the better, be it getting
ones prayer or not. I have story upon story on this blog where my life has been
one big sting of God’s coincidences, so much so that probability dismisses
chance.

The other way God communicates is through the Holy Spirit
which can get sticky. You know that little voice that often is us and other
times is God. One time I was in QT getting a drink while realizing I had a
lottery addiction. I got a little voice in my head that said buy a ticket. I
was sure it was God and bought my winning ticket!! Well it hit nothing and I
realized it was my desires and not the Holy Spirit speaking to me. I finally
said I God wants me to buy a ticket, the cashier will ask me. Since I made that
resolution no matter how high the jackpot, not one cashier has upsold the
lottery to me.

This is one of those sticky situations where we need to
train ourselves into knowing the Holy Spirit verse our own little voice.
Reading the Bible helps immensely since it will help refine your little voice
AND recognize when God is talking since it will not violate scripture.

The last way is through creation. This again is a touchy one
since the atheistic branch of science has explained God out of creation. So
when we look at a mountain we see seismic activity in the past or the
woodpecker knocking at our door as a finely evolved species. Well maybe the
woodpecker is a bad example since if it were to slam it’s head into a tree with
enough force to get food, without the cushion in the bill, brain or reflexes to
keep it alive, the species could not have evolved since it would die trying and
never be able to adapt. But that is the point, no matter how science can
explain how God did it, God still did it!! So wake up and communicate with
nature and see God in the process!

Quickly To The Last Square

Revelations 22:20& 21 are the end of the Christian
Bible:

20 He who
testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come,
Lord Jesus!

21 The grace
of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.

 

We end this great book with the statement that Jesus will
return again. Now when John wrote these words most of faith believed this would
be a short time. The same way the Jews have been waiting for the Messiah,
before Jesus and after, God takes His own sweet time.

We always mention “God’s Time” as His clock is somehow
different than ours and it may be since science insists the universe is 13.7
billion years old and the Bible says it’s may be up to 10,000 years old. Who is
right? As we know time is relative and through calculations a phenomenon called
time dilation where time is dependent on the speed we travel, God traveling at
the speed of light has a much different frame that someone standing still.

The key is we want things now. Well in Revelations case we
may be seeing things happen sooner than later. We never know and God somehow
may be delaying things like with Nineveh. We may never know in this life.

Two big points that one must look at, first the Bible was
written over a period of 2000 years by 40 different authors. Each book fits
perfectly in pointing to salvation through Jesus. From God and righteous man in
paradise to God and redeemed man in paradise, the story fits. The only way you
can see this is to read the Bible, completely and frequently.

The other point is our view of paradise, right now we have “hell”
which is an eternal pit of torment and heaven which is depicted as a place with
clouds and blue sky where we are in an everlasting church service worshiping
God. How boring when compared to the vibrant and wonderful world we live in
today. Sure it’s better than “hell” but expect more and not that!! Don’t think
in one instant Heaven will be a bland, nondescript place that is boring, it
will be the best of earth and MORE!!

So rejoice in God and live for his glory! Share the
message of salvation through Jesus with as many people as you can!! 

Back to Square 1

Genesis 1:1 opens the Christian and Jewish Bible (plus semi included
in the Quran):

In the beginning, God created
the heavens and the earth.

As Judeo-Christians we need to understand that verse 1 of
our “Holy” book must be true or the rest of this is really just a story book.
Think about how “science” tends to hammer away at this more than anything else.
Sure there are great discoveries that help mankind, but the idea of a “creator
God” is ludicrous to most in the science community, hence the mocking.

I go in and out of YouTube discussions on the subject of
Evolution verse Creationism all the time and tend to get the “other side”
mocking me rather than answering my questions. That is the thing that makes me
wonder if science has a real foundation on their beliefs or if it’s just a
bunch of circumstantial evidence that could be interpreted two ways.

The “stories” have many sides and the one thing I always
point to is a fossil record that matches Genesis 1 almost perfectly. How did
they get things so close having no foundational clue on how life began?

Having explored suffering (and before in other threads) I
have posed the question did we blow it before and this is another restart of
mankind? Was technology greater in ancient times before God destroyed mankind
and rebooted. Are we just about to “reboot” again? I wonder sometime.

Anyway back to Genesis 1:1, it’s powerful and must be
believed or it brings into question the rest of this book. Now for the science
nerds who say “no way”, think of energy. Energy always was and will be, like
God. Energy created the universe. Why is it so far to believe that there is a conscious
energy, much like that which drives our body, that figured out how to create
life from nothing and did it.

Think about how the only way “nature” has done this since is
with some kind of cause. Did the universe randomly explode into rotating
galaxies making only on that we know of capable of life? Did it also violate
nature even more by creating some galaxies rotating in the opposite direction?
Or do we see repeatable explosions in nature go OUT … not slowing to create
masses of rotating particles in multiple directions, therefore proving God.

As you can see … I am back taunting YouTubers who
profess science;-)

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The Fuel Project

If you have been flowing me over the years you notice I
mention The Fuel Project from time to time. Their YouTube channel is
TheFuelProject and has all their videos for free. Over the years they have
produced some remarkable series that explore everything from a Biblical
perspective of the New World Order (Know Your Enemy) to a detailed study of
Revelations and the End Times (Revelations: The Fuel Project Guide).

I would like to suggest you dig into all they have to offer,
The Restless Church is a good opening one since it addresses the “make the
Pastor do it” mentality. Honestly, we need to start looking at more than how we
worship but rather what we do as a church. Once you realize the church is under
attack then watch Know Your Enemy. It’s very long, but gives a great Biblical
and Historical perspective to the New World Order and what it could mean to
society and the church.

The reason I am promoting this YouTube channel is he says
simply what needs to be said in this new age. We are falling asleep at the wheel
and need a wake up call. Now don’t freak out and start a mono focus on the Illuminati,
but rather be aware and call on God to help you. The idea is not to shut down,
but rather energize up and do so with the full armor of God.

So today start a ½ an hour and watch Mark and TheFuelProject
for a great insightful study on what the Bible means in todays world and that
it’s no different that when Jesus walked the earth.

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheFuelProject

Check it out!!

Conclusions from Suffering, So Far (Suffering Part 9)

I still struggle with the whole chronic suffering thing. I
completely understand trials we must endure in life and actually am not freaked
out by them. Returning to James 1:12 we have comfort in knowing God is with us
during the rough times:

Blessed is the man who remains
steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the
crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

So how do you wrap your head around this concept of
suffering for God when it’s chronic? Sure is easy when you endure a financial
hardship for a few decades and see the reasons why on the other side. But to be
in agony and pain for a life time cannot be comforting.

I guess the problem isn’t being there in the suffering, but
explaining those who ask the question. It’s almost impossible to answer this to
someone who has no clue who or what God is and is almost as difficult to do
this for someone who does believe. I think if we did understand God’s nature
all the time we would be dead, since our human bodies are so limited we almost
need to escape it to really understand.

And maybe that is the key, no matter how rough things are
here on earth as believers in the Salvation of Jesus are promised an existence free
of pain or trouble after death. That again is a concept that is difficult for
someone with no HOPE in God to understand since death is final to them.

One needs to remain solid in their faith, like Job, when financial
destruction, family tragedy and agony happened at the same time he remained
faithful to God. Sure he questioned why, but not that God was a vindictive kid
with a eyeglass frying us in heaven.

Often if we continue in James 1:13 – 15 we see God cannot
tempt us into evil:

13 Let no
one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be
tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But
each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then
desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is
fully grown brings forth death.

So like when I died, God did not strike me dead or tempt me
to eat poorly. No I did that myself and paid the ultimate price, just was
brought back by diligent work. That trial was self-induced! Others are often
inflicted on us by others, like my friend who was tortured. Their life of pain
and abuse has now manifested itself in other health issue, but again this was
suffering from the hands of others.

Finally things just happen, like with my friend who has a
paralyzed son. It just happened, like accidents often do. Sure in all cases God
could swoop down and heal us all, but what would we learn with that? Jesus
healed the sick, had the lame walk and raised the dead yet they still hung him
on a cross. God knows the impact is not world changing and ones faith through
trials has a greater impact to those who do not believe that watching something
miraculous happen for a brief time that will be explained away as something
other than God over time.

Trials stink and nothing we can do to change that, the only
thing we can do is respond in faith that we will grow closer to God though it
all.

5

Is Man In An Eternal Cycle? (Suffering Part 8)

We started in Genesis with God and “righteous” man in
Paradise and man messed it up. In Revelations God and “redeemed” man will be in
paradise, but who says this has not already happened and we messed it up again?
Think about history and how many times we have repented only to drift away from
God quickly. Having just seen the 10 plagues and the Red Sea part, the
Israelites quickly made idols in the wilderness. Over and over we see stories
of forgiveness and people forgetting that grace.

In recent time I saw a resurgence like never before when the
World Trade Center was destroyed by Islamic terrorists. The country immediately
return to faith and patriotism. But in less than 10 years that has been chipped
away by “political correctness” and the phrase “religious intolerance” where we
are back to doing not following God or caring about the country.

Now imagine if the “New World” was “paradise” promised in
Revelations. Like the “Promised Land” we had to work hard to gain it and keep
it. This throws off the churches image of “paradise” since they make it sound
like we do nothing and the lion turns vegan and sleeps with a lamb. Maybe we
missed it and “paradise” was America and in 200 years we did as every other
time God gave mankind what they wanted, within a few generations we reject Him
and His gift.

I know Revelations 21:4 makes “paradise” out to be no death,
pain or suffering:

He will wipe away every tear from
their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor
crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

What does this mean in action? In the Old Testament Isaiah
25:8 has basically the same words that is hoped for the Messiah. So I ponder
and wonder two things, first has this happened already and we blew it. Think
about Jesus from the Jewish perspective, they are still waiting for the
Messiah. They did not recognize Him when He was before them. Second, are we
going to blow it by not being content? We crush Satan, but who says another “tempter”
will not rise up.

Also, is Revelations metaphoric and happening on a daily
basis? Each time someone dies it is in one form or another described in
Revelations. Are the prophecies for a single event or a constant flow into “paradise”
for believers? My fear is like the Messiah appearing 2000 years ago we will not
recognize Him and reject Him. We expect one image and may get something
completely different. We need to be aware of false Messiahs or antichrists, but
should also not miss the real Christ in cautious faith.

Now tie this into suffering, how long will those have
to wait for no more pain? It can be trying to live a life with pain and
suffering hoping Jesus will return and remove this burden only to die without
relief. This hurts those who watch in faith, praying for something that never
happens. And we continue to ask, if God is so just why is there suffering?

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Why Do We Think Life Is Intended To Be Easy? (Suffering Part 7)

The western church is programmed for thinking the “Easy
Button” has been pressed when you sign up for Jesus, when by example history
shows this to be false. The man himself was beaten and hung on a cross to die a
painful and humiliating death. That is not the model “Prosperity Preachers”
when preaching their version of the Gospel.

Don’t get me wrong MANY life prosperous lives as believers
in Jesus. But our example was Jesus and the disciples with Paul. Think about it
one committed suicide, 11 were martyred and one was imprisoned on an island
when they failed to kill him. Not a rosy outlook no matter how much you try to
tie in John 14:13 it doesn’t work the way you think:

Whatever you ask in my name, this I
will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

 

The PP’s in the world want you to pray for that Porsche
while tithing to be in obedience in God. If you don’t get it you MUST have been
disobedient and therefore need to give more to the PP. It doesn’t make sense
when you read this and think it opens heavens treasure chest. Why didn’t James
or Paul or any of the others keep their lives? I would assume they prayed for
them in the name of Jesus before losing it.

So when we suffer and go through trials understand that we
are building character and stories for the kingdom. From this we must look at
James 1:2-4 to understand that we will have joy in the end and therefore stop “belly
aching” over the problems at hand. Have peace and even joy!

Sure We Live In A Fallen World But Why? (Suffering Part 6)

Pastor Tim Hager, an associate minister in the Washington
D.C. area, asserts that we suffer because we live in a fallen world. “When
sin entered the world, death entered,” he says. “Chronic pain,
illness, and disease are a form of death.” This comes from Genesis 3:16 –
19 where man and woman are told it’s not going to be “easy” anymore:

16 To the
woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pain in childbirth. You will bring
forth children in pain. Your desire will be toward your husband, but he will
rule over you.”
17 To Adam
he said, “Because you listened to what your wife said and ate from the tree
about which I gave you the order, ‘You are not to eat from it,’ the ground is
cursed on your account; you will work hard to eat from it as long as you live.18 It
will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat field plants.19 You
will eat bread by the sweat of your forehead till you return to the ground —
for you were taken out of it: you are dust, and you will return to dust.” (CJB)

 

It doesn’t seem to be until the New Testament that the “wages
of sin are death” (Roman’s 6:23), so how did this come to be since Adam did not
die the moment he ate the fruit. The “Law” does not have death for every sin,
only a sacrifice, which often was grain. So as far as I can tell the root of
sin = death is either derived from OT concepts, or was the teaching of the time
or was new with Jesus as he tends to “step things up” from OT topics.

So when Pastor Hager says chronic pain is a result of sin
because they are forms of death doesn’t add up scripturally. It’s an easy way
to say Adam was the cause of all this, but was he really? The question who did
Adam’s children marry is a huge one, was it incest or were there already people
from chapter 1’s account of creation and chapter 2 was the account of the head
of the nation of Israel? If it’s the latter than sin had already been in the
world and death was not a problem. Was “death” the separation of God’s holy
people from Him?

Blanket statements like Pastor Hager’s tend to make those
who believe in God and are suffering chronic illnesses bitter more than
comforted. I tend to think the chronic things is more from genetics and “evolution”
rather than God. God set up nature to survive and part of that is adaptation
(or one of the pillars of Evolution), part of that are mutations that tend to
cause problems rather than help. God eventually limited our lives and with us
mixing things around things Pastor Hager described just happen.

As for injuries, that’s just what happens in life …
accidents. Sometimes they are minor and other times they may bind us to a wheel
chair. That is not from God saying eating of the fruit is death, but rather
proof free will is in our world. From this I am starting to conclude that God
is more “hands off” than we think. Sure He will appear for some great miracles,
but for the most part this world is left to run on its own. The chronic pain
and illnesses are just part of this Pachinko Machine we call earth. God starts
our path and may nudge us along, but it’s more left to events than to God
pulling everyone’s strings.

NOTE – when God does enter it’s clear that “strings” we
pulled!