Uncategorized

WATCH YOUR ASS!

I had a friend who I consider to be a brother. If he ever called me for help, I would be there. This friend once shared the following story with me. It helped me prioritize a few things.

A long time ago, in ancient Israel, an old man took his grandson to market with him. He loaded up his ass (That is what they called donkeys in the ancient languages) with his goods for sale, and sat his grandson on top.

In order to get into Jerusalem, he had to cross a bridge that connected his village to a neighboring Palestinian territory. As he was walking the ass, with his grandson on top, he heard two of the Palestine locals shouting to each other:

“Hey, Abdul, do you see how selfish that boy is, making his elder walk while he rides?”, shouted Ahmed.

ABDUL: “I see that, some children have no manners!”

So, the old man took his grandson off the ass and put himself on it and tried crossing the bridge again.

“Hey, Ahmed, do you see how cruel that old man is being, making that boy walk while he rides in comfort on the ass?’, shouted Abdul

AHMED: “I see that, some old men have no manners!”

So, the old man stopped, placed his grandson on top of the ass with himself, so they both can ride together, and not walk, then they started across the bridge, yet again.

“Hey, Abdul, do you see how cruel that old man and the boy are being to the ass, making the poor beast carry all that load?”, shouted Ahmed

ABDUL: “Some people don’t even care about their own livestock!”

SO, the old man placed his grandson on top of the ass, made sure his goods for sale were securely secured on the ass, and then picked up the ass and carried it.

Half way across the bridge, the old man tripped on a loose board, sending the ass, his grandson and himself in to the river below.

The old man could hear Abdul and Ahmed laughing as he plunged in to the water.

The Moral of the story: If you try to please everybody, you can loose your ass.

“When a man’s ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” Pro 16:7 – ESV

Faith, Observations, Uncategorized

HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?

A long time ago, while I was trying to be a student at Seminary, I attended a small church in Fort Worth, TX. This particular church had more Seminary professors per square foot than almost any other church in Fort Worth. I always wondered why this church was as small as it was. The Pastor, another Phd. grad from Seminary, was trying with all his might to get this church to wake up and get about the task of evangelizing.

The Pastor was really working on this, one Sunday morning. His sermon was full of urgency for the call of Christians to obey the will of God. While he was preaching, the free verse narrative came to my mind. When I originally posted this on my old web site, I thought I was giving a clarion call to the church. What I only recently came to understand is…

…God was talking to ME.

HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?

I was lying there in the garden, almost asleep. A man came up the pathway, stopped and leaned his hands on the gate. He looked around and asked if the garden was mine. I told him it was not mine, butI was keeping it for my Master. He asked if I knew much about gardening.

“Well, of course I do!”, I replied.

I told him that I had been to the best schools of gardening, and would probably forget more about gardening in one day, than he would learn in a year. Inundated him with a deluge of information from my knowledge of gardening. I felt that would surely quiet my unwelcome guest.

There was a moment of silence. Perhaps I had been too hard on him. I felt justified, though, he did disturb my rest.

He looked at me and said:

Have you been a gardener so long, yet without fruit?

Do you know all about the soils, yet have not tilled one foot of furrow?

Are all the seeds familiar with you, but you have not put one in to the ground?

See, the weeds outnumber the leaves on the trees, the thistles are more abundant than the flowers.

What kind of Husbandman would let his masters’ garden fall to such disarray?

You boast of being a gardener but have no fruit for all your knowledge.

How sad for you when the Master comes to judge the fruit of your labor.

I sat there in stunned silence, at a complete loss for words. I noticed, as he vanished before my very eyes, that the gate on which he had been resting was bloody from wounds that had pierced his hands.

Faith

FAITH TO BE RECKLESS

“FAITH IS NOT BELIEF WITHOUT PROOF, BUT TRUST WITHOUT RESERVATION.” – Anon

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Heb 11:1 – ESV

FACTOID: “The assurance of things hoped for (elpizomenōn hupostasis). Hupostasis is a very common word from Aristotle on and comes from huphistēmi (hupo, under, histēmi, intransitive), what stands under anything (a building, a contract, a promise). ” From Robertson’s Word Pictures

In this case, it is used as a contract of deed. Faith is the TITLE-DEED of things hoped for. It is the document that states clearly that you can have confidence in God‘s promises.

FIRST THINGS FIRST

Faith is the Title Deed That says, “Because you have believed in Jesus Christ, you have inherited eternal life.” Almost everyone knows John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” That is the language of the Title-Deed.

The details of that title deed are detailed in the verses that follow:

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” John 3:16-18 – ESV

Here you can see that there is spelled out a distinction between who inherits and who doesn’t inherit. Because you have believed, your first inheritance is Eternal Life. Those words are from Christ Himself. You can rest assured of your salvation, which is the language of the second half of the verse: “the conviction of things not seen.” Heb 11:1 – ESV

The number of Humans who have been to Heaven and returned to tell about it are few and far between. Chances are that you and I are not in that group. Because we hold the title deed to an eternal life, we can hold to the conviction that it has already been granted to us. You don’t have to stop what you are doing and go see the real estate. It is already your inheritance. Nothing in the world can take your inheritance away because it was signed over to you in the blood of the one who promised it to you.

BUT WHAT ELSE?

THAT is the bazillion dollar question!

The reason we were not raptured the second we accepted Christ as our Saviour and Lord is because he has a work for us to do here. Jesus has given you the authority to do those things. Jesus said to the Disciples: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.” John 14:12 NASB

Anyone with one eye and half a brain can tell things are going terribly wrong on this planet. THe reason we are still here is so we can bring the gospel to anyone who will listen. We have been given the authority to do that by Jesus Himself. You do NOT need your church’s permission to obey Christ. You do not need anything but a solid understanding of the scripture and faith. And Jesus has guaranteed that you will have all the tools He had at your disposal, PLUS more.

These facts are in the Title-Deed of our inheritance. While we are still here on this planet, we have the promise of salvation, and the promise that, if we believe, and obey, we are empowered to do all that Jesus Himself did to bring others to Himself.

BUT IT IS HARD!

Yes. It is hard. And most likely, people will think you are insane. People will hate you. People will run from you. People will lie about you, try to trip you up, and basically call you nuts…and it may begin with your family.

I can attest before God, I have, on more than one occasion, seen people try to kill me for the sake of the Gospel, but God always delivers. In fact, one of the would be assassins became a Christian, and later his wife became a Christian. Today, they live in California, and have a pretty good church going out there. They reach people that most ordinary Christians would run in fear from.

These things can be done because FAITH is your Title-Deed that assures you that whatever you ask in Jesus name will be done for you, if you are praying in God’s will. This assurance is the conviction of the thing hoped for.

“Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. “ – Mat 18:19 NASB

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” – Mat 7:7

“For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” – Mat 7:8

BE RECKLESS ABOUT IT, TOO.

My favorite devotional is written by the daughter of Oswald Chambers. Chambers was the Chaplain for the British Airmen during WWI, while they were stationed in the Saudi deserts. Chambers wrote a diary that later became the famous devotional book called “My Utmost For His Highest”.

In several of the devotionals, Chambers describes this faith, this assurance, this conviction of things hoped for, as something we have to throw ourselves into with “reckless abandon”. Have no thought for yourself image, for your safety, for anything other than being willing to take that one step off the cliff, knowing that God is there to see you through to a path of His design.

There is a child like freedom in this kind of faith. When my daughter was a toddler, she had no problem or hesitation about running as fast as she could and jumping into my arms. She knew without hesitation that I would catch her. We have to put aside our practical worldliness. We have to put aside all concerns for how we will look to others. We just have to have the Joy of our salvation, and the faith that whatever it is that God asked you to do, you can do it with out fear or concern. Jesus promised you that you have eternity as your reward, and all the power in the Kingdom of Heaven to accomplish what God has asked you to do.

Do we really want revival? Start with yourself. Be recklessly abandoned to the assurance of the things hoped for, and stand on the conviction of the things not seen.

We need revival in this land. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to do that thing that God has asked us to do. We can do this because we have our salvation. We have our salvation because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. The fields are ripe for harvest. Let’s be about it.

Uncategorized

The Return To God: Part IV – God Will Send You …

I recently re-read the book of Exodus. Imagine how mind blowing it was to be Moses and go through all that. I got the following things out of that story of Moses on the Mountain with God (Exodus Chapter 3).

God will send you to do a task.

The craggy earth gave way to what appeared to be good grazing ground, and a pool of water. Mount Horeb was considered a holy mountain, but Jethro, his father in law, happened to have exclusive rights to that stretch of real estate. One minute, you are a prince of Egypt, and here you are, 40 years later, herding sheep that don’t even belong to you. But, since you married the bosses daughter, you need to do your share. Ahh Zipporah, what a babe. Moses knew he had really lucked out when he married her. In their more frisky moments, he called her “Zippo“, because she was such a fiery wench. Little did Moses know that Bikers all around the world would be lighting their cigarettes with a lighter named after her. Her fiery disposition could, however, be a bit difficult to deal with. She was a hometown girl, and had a good gig what with her dad being the High Priest of Midian, AND a wealthy land owner. She wasn’t all that impressed with that whole, “I USED to be a Prince in Egypt.”, thing. Oh well, the land of the Midianites wasn’t so bad, and life was sure simpler out here than it was in Egypt. OK, maybe people didn’t blow trumpets and bow every time you entered a room, but still, being the son-in-law of the boss had its’ advantages.

The sheep were irritable and wanted to stop, and were giving him little irritated glances that told him “A Shepherd SHEPS, so step on it!!” He let them find the grass, and decided he’d grab some water, eat a snack, and maybe relax a bit. But as he was walking to the pond, he saw a thing he never had seen before. A bright light, looking like fire, inside a bush, and the bush was not being burned. He definitely wanted to check that out, as all he had been seeing for days was the rear ends of sheep. The change of scenery was inviting.

He approached the burning bush with some sense of amazement. The closer he got, the faster he wanted to go. This is where he later wondered if he’s been better off taking that left turn at the base of Horeb. He heard a voice call to him, “Moses, MOSESSSSS!” (Well that’s how it sounded when Charles Heston was Moses, OK!) His left brain, the logical side, said in way that nasally way most tax accountants use when they tell you, “you cannot possibly deduct dental floss as a business expense!”, his left brain told Moses , “Shut up Moses! Don’t say anything, maybe the voice will think you didn’t hear it!“, but his Right Brain, not even being aware there are rules or social graces, said, “Here I am!!“. The left brain gave the right brain a glare that could melt tungsten. Left brain went off sulking as Moses took off his Mountain Climber Flip Flops.

We know what happened here, that God told Moses He had not forgotten His people, and that He was their God. That He had heard their cries for help, and that their Egyptian task masters were being cruel, and it was time for all that to come to an end. Then He told Moses this:

“Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” Exodus 3:10 ESV

Except for the sounds of a flame not consuming the bush, the only other sound that could be heard was the sound of sheep, nervously chewing the grass, and anticipating their first opportunity to be irritated at Moses, again. This will become a common theme in Moses life over the next 40 years. We can only hope he is taking good notes.

After looking around to make sure he wasn’t being mistaken for another Moses that might hopefully be standing right behind him, and seeing that he was, in fact, the only human being careless enough to go tromping around the Holy Mountain, Moses stood there with his mouth open, as if his jaw muscles had grown too tired to keep working, and were taking a coffee break.

He thought a myriad of thoughts that kept leaping and tripping all over each other. This was exacerbated by the fact that the Left Brain had not quite decided to let the whole Right Brain shouting out loud thing go just yet.

So, God waited.

He created Moses, just like he created the rest of us. He knew that Moses would need a moment to collect himself, and to get his thoughts, such as they were, under control.

Moses finally got a grip on himself enough to ask God some questions.

What ever it is that God asks you to do, He will be with you.

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” He (GOD) said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” Exodus 3:11- 12 ESV

See, Moses hadn’t been a prince of Egypt for some time, as Zippo was often reminding him. Besides that, there was that whole, “I murdered an Egyptian Guard” thing. Zippo was always telling him, “Moses, Moses, that was such a long time ago. You don’t even look like the Moses on the wanted posters. THAT Moses was young and handsome! YOU look like…well, lets just say that you have a lot of inner beauty, OK? ”

Once Moses got past all the excuses he could think of to NOT be deliverer of Israel, Friend of God, Law Giver, and Holy Land tour guide, he realized all he had to do now was convince Zippo that: He had a nice chat with the Living God on a mountain, and God wants him to go back to Egypt to free the Hebrew slaved and lead them to Caanan so they can take the land back from the remnants of the fallen ones, and call it Israel. All I will say of that is that the ensuing conversation is where Zippo earned her reputation for being fiery. No one dared cross her after that.

God will empower you to do that task.

Moses said to God, “Ok, so let’s say that I actually get past the guards at the gate, then get past the security check point at the palace, and get past the palace guards that guard the throne room of Pharaoh, let’s say all that actually happens. I just go up to Pharoah and say “Let My People Go!” and he’s gonna go “OK, Sure!”??

I am going to look all jumped up and crazy. How is anyone going to believe a thing I say?

The LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” (Moses) said, “A staff.” And (the LORD) said, “Throw it on the ground.” So (Moses) threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. But the LORD said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand—” Exo 4:2 – 4 ESV

Moses was dumbfounded. THAT was some very cool stuff the Lord had in mind. Then Moses asked “Will this trick work on Zippo??”

God will never tell you to do something except that he will be there to see it through.

God let Moses practice that “stick to snake” miracle out a few times, just to make sure he got the timing down, and that Moses didn’t grab the wrong end of the snake. While he was warming up to this idea, he asked God, “So, I am going all by myself to confront an entire nation in order to free the Hebrew slaves?” God reminded him that, no, Aaron will go along to serve as Moses’s mouthpiece, but what’s more important is that GOD will be there all the time. He told Moses:

“So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go.” Exodus 3:20

Don’t be afraid to do what God has called you to do.

“Let me get this straight,” said Moses as he practiced picking up the snake again. He got it backwards the try before and threw the snake down instead of throwing the stick down. That almost turned out wrong.

“After you do all these to miracles in Egypt, the Hebrews will let me lead them out of the land of Egypt and just follow me out the gates?”

At the risk of being overly redundant, God said: “And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’ But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. “ Exodus 3:18 -20 ESV

The Blessings don’t begin until you have walked in your purpose from God.

By this time, Moses was beginning to buy in to this whole, “Deliverer of Israel from Egypt” thing. He told God he will do it, had the afore mentioned “discussion” with Zipporah, and put his sandals back on. God told Moses he had made the right choice and assured Moses:

“And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.” Exodus 3:21-22 ESV

OK, So I am not Moses:

But I am a child of God.

I was created for a purpose.

Now that I have returned to God, God will show me that purpose.

I may not be asked to do the mighty acts of Moses. But I know that the acts I will do will be because God will be there to work through me. He will lead the way for me. He will be ever present through the good stuff and the bad times. He will empower me to do the things he has asked me to do. The degree of the power I see God work will be in proportion to the degree I have faith in He who sent me.

This is the same for you.

No matter how crazy it sounds, do whatever God asks you to do. You will be blessed.

Faith

The Ethics of Hell

[NOTE: I have kept a copy of this article preserved and encrypted in the event that it is somehow altered by a person or persons other than me.]

“Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work. “Ecc 3:16 -17

THE SETTING:

Ray Charles can see that the Government of the United States has abandoned all that is holy, moral, legal and right. Oftentimes, I stand in stupefied wonder that “We the People” have let this happen.

The condition we are in today didn’t happen overnight, either. I remember vividly, in the 1960’s, when God was being kicked out of school. Today, there is a concerted and overt effort to remove Christianity from the common arena.

What dumbfounds me is that:

A: What passes for a representative republic openly demonstrates, with great pride, every effort it can to destroy all that was considered good, all that was considered right, all that is constitutional, all references to the Living God, and His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

B: What passes for government today openly calls Christians, and tea party members “terrorists” while giving a free pass to the people who want to kill us.

And

C: We are tolerating this behavior.

MY REACTION

I have no doubt you are aware of the same things I am. This has been a real struggle for me. I was raised in the South where being an American is just as important as being a Christian. In fact, a lack of patriotism usually meant that your neighbors will question your salvation.

I was raised to believe that we are a Constitutional Republic, not a democracy. That the Constitution IS the baseline by which all laws are measured, and no law will exist that takes away from the constitution, in any form, shape or deed.

I was raised to believe it is honorable to die for your country, that the flag will not be desecrated under ANY circumstances, and that this nation exists because of the Living God.

Now that we have kicked God out of our lives, our nation has fallen to a very dark place.

So, my gut reaction is to be angry at the Government. My gut reaction, my real heartfelt reaction, is to take matters in my own hands. That is my gut reaction. I have this reaction because, in the 1980’s I swore an oath that includes this phrase:

“I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter; So help me God.”

That oath keep crashing against the shores of my conscience, and I am overwhelmed with the desire to keep that oath.

There’s just one problem with that…..

THE ETHICS OF HELL

“The thief (Lucifer, Satan) comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I (Jesus) came that they (you and me) may have life and have it abundantly.” Joh 10:10

This part took me a while to see. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am very patriotic, that I am very willing to risk my life for my oath, that I have been harboring deep hatred and resentment in both the government for all of its blatant display of corruption, and a nation that tolerates it.

But I took my anger to God.

And I prayed.

And prayed.

All this time, God listened to me rant and rave. My anger had been kindled, I wanted to pour out MY wrath on these people.

This is when God reminded me of the ethics of hell.

The enemy of God doesn’t care where fear, anger, confusion, distrust, and treachery comes from, AS LONG AS IT IS THERE. I might feel perfectly righteous being angry, but my anger tempts me to run into sin, and not wait on the Lord. No other patriot would blame me for my feelings, either.

This scripture came to my mind: “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” Pro 25:28

Anyone of us can justify our patriotism. We can even look down our noses at anyone who doesn’t feel the same hatred and indignation of our corrupted government.

God showed me that my anger is misdirected and I was sinning in my heart by the things I imagined should be done to fix our government.

The ethics of hell means that you will be tempted to sin, and you will be able to justify it in ways that hardly anyone else could condemn.

My willingness to lose self control opened a chink in my armor. My anger was not God’s anger. My desires for action were not Gods desires for me. And no matter how well I could justify my attitude, all I did was open a door that allowed the enemy to breach the walls of my heart. And thoughts of evil piled on top of thoughts of evil, until all I became was an animal waiting to be unleashed to his prey.

Satan does not care how much you read the bible, pray, sing in the choir, as long as you are willing to be angry and sin. As long as you give harbor to fear and confusion, as long as you take your eyes off Christ, and look at the waves you are walking on.

Satan is the author of confusion. Satan speaks death in to everything he touches. Satan divides. Satan destroys. And he is especially happy when he can distract Christians away from God. Satan knows that if we ever stop being willing to sin, if we ever approach God and confirm God’s will on our lives, and if we ever remember that our first call is Love, then Satan loses this skirmish.

MY RESPONSE

“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” Isa 1:18

“Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good”. – Rom 12:17 – 21

After praying, and God pointing out that my fleshly response will not please Him, I asked, “Then what should I do?”

God laid it on my heart that my anger does not serve the kingdom. That taking matters in my own hands is not the will of God. God reminded me of my calling, and the fundamentals of all of our calling. Those of us who seek the Lord with all our hearts, who know that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God, and have accepted that free gift of salvation, know deep down that God’s ways are not our ways.

It is the ethics of Hell that demands you take matters in to your own hands. It is the Ethics of Heaven that reminds us:

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Eph 6:12

In God’s army, our battles always begins on our knees before Him. We are to listen to Him, and obey whatever he leads us to do, no matter how contrary it may be to our human reasoning. The mightiest weapons we have in God’s army is prayer and praise.

God reminded me of the battle in II Chronicles 20 (A good read), where the battle was not won with swords, but with praise. This is where we become the most effective in the service of God’s army. Praise and prayer will bring the changes we need in our nation. Unrighteous anger just adds to the overwhelming noise that exists on this planet. But prayer and praise are inhabited by the Living God.

Knowing this, then, here is what I did.

I prayed for the Salvation of Obama. I prayed to God, and the more I prayed, the more it made sense to love my enemy. I prayed for the House and the Senate, as well as the Judiciary. I prayed that the Spirit of God descend on them, and everyone in Washington D.C. that they will be convicted of their sin and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. That the powers that be have the courage to face the consequences of their actions, and to confess to the Lord, who will be faithful to forgive them.

I prayed this prayer, and it was one of the hardest things to do to say that I genuinely love Obama and care about his eternal soul.

It is not my place to attack anyone in the government. Not even in my prayers. As a warrior of God’s army, my battle begins with me getting out of the way of the will of God, and praying for my enemies in a way that is pleasing to God.

It is the will of God that no man should perish.

But for the most part, I needed help from the Holy Spirit to teach me how to pray for people that I so sincerely despise. It is written:

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” Rom 8:26

and

“For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside.” 1Co 5:12-13a

Do I want my sense of vengeance, or do I want revival in the land? I want revival.

Revival will begin when I pray that God forgive my attitude, and when I ask God to fill me with HIS desire for our nation. If we pray for the tyrants who rule over us, we will see a revival in our nation. But this revival must first begin when we, as warriors to God, start the battle on our knees.

Uncategorized

The Return to God, Part III : God Will Tell You Of His Plan.

[Dear readers, I mixed up the order of this topic a bit. I appreciate your understanding. There is a reason.]

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. – Jer 29:11 ESV

Before you were born. God knew you would exist. He planned for you to be here. He knew you while you were being knit together in your mother’s womb. He made plans for you. He wants to tell you His plans for you. Now that you have returned, or will soon return, he wants to show you what He will do in your life.

I argued with God, “How can you say you have made plans for me when my life has been so messed up?!?”

“God, I have messed up my life so much, there is NO WAY you can restore me to the plans you made for me!”

After 20 years of running, about 6 years ago, I returned to God. I had repented. I had confessed. I felt the cleansing wash of forgiveness and grace consume me, and drive me through the rapids right over the fall, deep in to His mercy. And I was made whole again.

And He held me. He loved me. And he welcomed me home. He let me rest a bit. I was tired from all that running from Him. And he healed my hurts, most of them self inflicted, some not so much. He soothed my anger. And I am not angry, now. He fed me through daily readings of His Word. He listened as I prayed, and talked to me when I listened. For the first time in my life, I knew what it meant to be still, and know God. And it was GOOD.

And then he told me what He has planned for me. You don’t get to know what that is, because it is personal, and strictly between God, Me and my family. And it will bear fruit only when I obey and submit.

This is what God will do with you, too. He will take you through the same steps. He will then tell you all about why you even exist. That was always a big question for me. Why do I exist? Like the Psalm says,

“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” Psalm 139:14 – 16 ESV

He has known all about you, how you were made, that you are created because He has a plan for you. He has every day of your life numbered, and, if you will, He will show you what he plans for your life, and it will be Good.

What will God do for all that time you have spent away from His presence? God is in the miracle working field. It is part of His resume. He will take every wrong turn and make it make sense, and make it right, and you will learn from your past, as you forgive yourself of your past.

God will then Set your feet firmly in the eternal today. By that I mean, you will begin to recognize that, especially at first, you will need to be still, and just have today. Pray today. Listen today. Read His word today. Go to bed, and repeat that process. And as you develop obedience to this process, He will talk to you in that “still small voice”. He will make certain scriptures show up just as you need to read them, and you will begin to see a pattern. The Bible will be come for your heart and mind what good food is to your body. And you will grow.

As you grow, your love of God will grow, your praise of what Jesus Christ will increase, and you will see that you have been forgiven much, and you will know you are now the brother or sister of Jesus Christ, and He intends to share His inheritance with you. And you will see that all those broken roads have led you right to the loving embrace of Christ and his forgiveness of you. And you will understand:

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 ESV

“But what about all the hurtful things I have done to others and others have done to me?”

I asked that too.

You will learn to forgive, and you will find a way to seek forgiveness from those you have hurt. You will be led by the grace of God to seek out any one you have done wrong, and seek restitution. You will understand the importance of laying your offerings down at the altar, and seeking forgiveness of others. Then you will see that your offering has been made worthy. And you will understand what it means to love one another.

This IS part of the plan. To be free from your sin and guilt, and to be set free from the debt you owe others.

“What if they don’t forgive me?”

Some will, some might not.

You cannot control what others will do and will not do. You can only obey the will of God. To be like Jesus Christ is God’s will for you. And you just need to obey. You will be amazed how free your soul feels after you have done this.

The growth and completion of your character will take the rest of your life. That is the good and the bad news. But the best news is that, in the book of John, chapter 15, we can read how Jesus promised you he will send the Holy Spirit to walk beside you, and teach you as you grow and go.

His will is that you be just like Jesus Christ.

That is His will.

And as you begin to do this, you will discover you have certain gifts, some spiritual, some material, some physical talents. And you will discover that all these gifts complement each other, and you will hear the voice of the Spirit of God guide you in the practice of using these gifts to glorify the Father, that others will be drawn to the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

God will tell you of His plans for you.

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6

Like I said, I know what God’s plan is for my life. About 4 months ago, he began preparing me for my calling. About 6 or 7 weeks ago, he put me in a place and time that I am more able to pursue this plan.

I promise you, that now you have returned to Him, he will take you through all these steps. And He will show you His plans for you, and they are GOOD!

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” – Jer 29:11 ESV

Faith, Uncategorized

THE CONTINUING ADVENTURES OF PRINCESS CALLIE

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. Jer 29:11-13 ESV

I heard the plaintive cries of my cat Callie. Once again, she was standing in total immobility at the opened back door. She clearly wanted to go outside, but last time she made the attempt, a leaf fell off a tree, causing her to have massive heart failure. The fright was just too much for her. I, of course, applied CPR.

If you have read my earlier blogs on Callie, you know she has a certain…quality of personality ranging somewhere between stark raving fear, and unbridled panic.

I went to the door, that I had previously opened so she could go out, and waited for her to screw up the courage to do so. She looked up at me and meowed again. I knew she wouldn’t make a move unless I went out first.

I did.

She followed.

She called on me, and my presence gave her the courage to do what I wanted her to do.

Just like God has been doing for me.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psa 23:4 ESV

Faith

The Return to God, Part II: God Will Then Let You Know He Is Aware of Your Situation

Part II: God will then let you know he is aware of your situation.

(All Bible quotes used herein are from the ESV, by means of the excellent software: e-Sword. )

I think the thing that slowed my return to God was me…my thoughts, my fears, the dread of being judged as irredeemable.

I was in the way of my own redemption. I had strayed pretty far. I didn’t know how to return to where I was. I didn’t know the way back. I could recall the day of my Salvation. But it seemed a lifetime ago, and I had done SO many things, much of it on purpose, to anger the Living God. I figured I had become irredeemable. Incurable. Incapable of being acceptable to God. Chances are you might feel that way too.

I had completely forgotten what Jesus said about any who are saved.

John 6:37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

John 10:28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

Do you remember the day you were saved? Maybe it was a long time ago, and you have not lived the “victorious life”. Maybe the burden of separation from God seems like it is too much for you.

But take it from me, one who recently returned, Jesus meant it when He said: I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. And: whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

I had forgotten this. I can remember the day of my salvation. But I had forgotten the above. When I recalled these verses, and finally realized what these verses mean, I realized that A: When Jesus said, ” and no one will snatch them out of my hand. ” He also meant that I myself cannot snatch ME out of His hand. Jesus said repeatedly throughout His ministry that we can curse and blaspheme God and Jesus, and do all manner of wickedness, and be forgiven, as long as we have not blasphemed the Holy Spirit. I knew I was saved. My doubts of being able to be forgiven was standing in the way of my redemption to God from my sins.

This Psalm describes how I was feeling:

Psalm 42:1- 2: As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?

I missed God. I missed serving Christ. I knew I was lost, and thirsty for the sweet presence of God in my life. I had to get out of my way. and that is when the changes started to happen.

First, I prayed:

Psalm 5:1-2: Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning. Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray.

AND

From Psalm 51: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.

This is what I discovered:

Psalm 145:8 – 9: The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.

So I unloaded everything on God:

Psalm 55:22 – Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.

And, Psalm 57:2 – I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.

I have to confess. I mean I was prepared to hear Him tell me to go to hell. And I felt I deserved it. But God let me know he has been aware of what I had been up to all along, that he had never taken His eyes off me. And He didn’t do it in a way that was accusative. He did it in a way that let me know I can stop it now, and be forgiven. He knew anyway.

Psalm 44:20-21 If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart.

And:

Psalm 138:8 The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Psalm 145:8 The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

Psalm 145:9 The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.

Because you were saved, and because of the Blood of Christ you can rest assured:

1John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

You will suddenly know: Psalm 40:1- 3 I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.

God knows you are in a plight. He always knew. He quietly intervened on your behalf, in ways you will discover after your return to Him. He led you to the point where you understood how far you strayed. No one who belongs to Him is irredeemable.

You discover: Lamentations 3:21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Understand this, when you began to feel the weight of your guilt for leaving God, it was God making you aware he knows what plight you are in. It was God drawing you back to Him. It was the Holy Spirit convicting you of your need to return. He was letting you know that He knows. That you were the only thing standing in your way.

God gives you the strength and courage to confess, to return, to repent. You have earned this right because you were and are saved by the blood of Christ Jesus. Jesus has made it possible for you to go before God and do business with Him:

Hebrews 10:19-21 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Christ prayed for you. That you will never be snatched out of His hand. He came after you because of His love for you. The fact that you began to miss God, and desired to return to Him is a sure sign that the Spirit of God was at work in your heart. HE KNEW your plight and came after you.

Matthew 18:12-13 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.

You are home now. God went out of his way to find you, and heaven itself rejoiced over your return to Him.

THIS is where things get really interesting.

Stay tuned for Part III: God has made you exactly the way you are, so that you can do exactly what He intends for you to do.

If you would like prayer, please write me at: sammysnardfarkle@gmail.com

Faith

The Return to God, Part I : When you turn to God, God will turn to you.

[NOTE TO READERS: Please accept my apologies for taking so long on this one. It took several rewrites before it made any sense.]

“From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.” Malachi 3:17 – ESV

“If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.” Jeremiah 18:8 – ESV

Let’s see…Hold on a sec….(Sounds of me frantically digging through my notes.) OK, here they are. You should see my desk. It looks like the International Paper Corporation exploded all over it. Alright, let’s see. “…yet I refused to repent.” Yep, that was the point, wasn’t it?

Frankly, I don’t even know where to start on this one. If you KNOW you need to repent, then this is probably not where we need to start out…I mean, well…you KNOW, right? You might as well be about it, and wait patiently for me to write The Return To God, Part II : God Will Then Let You Know He Is Aware Of Your Plight.

When you turn to God:

How do you know that you need to repent and return to God? I wish I could say that an angel will appear, or a hand will write on the wall, or the spirit of Christmas past will haunt you, but that’s not what usually happens. It DOES happen that way on occasion. Look at the Apostle Paul. Here is how you know you need to repent.

You start to realize there is something terribly out of place. You become miserable. Your conscience bothers you more and more. The fact that you even have a conscience means God still has His hands on you. You can remember what it was like when you were saved, and learning the Bible, and can tell there is no way your present life is anything close to that. You have stopped reading the Bible, but every time you go near it, you feel like you really ought to open it. You wake up one day and realize that everything you have done since turning your back on God has been nearly a complete waste of time (We will discover later that that is not necessarily true, but for now, that is how it feels). You slowly wake up and feel the weight of your sin. You wake up and feel that that sin is going to crush you. If this is you, then you are going through what I and countless other backsliders have gone through.

I woke up slowly, and in that waking I discovered I have never been more miserable in my entire life. I was doing work I hated, I was living a life I hated, I was miserable. “Somehow” it occurred to me that, if I really belong to God, where is the evidence of the walk? Where is my Bible? Where are my prayers? Could it be because there might be something amiss between God and me? “Nah…um…well…maybe I should take a look.” And that’s what I did. I stepped out of my own skin, looked at my life, noticed my life was really messed up, and that I had God riding all in the back of the bus.

It really hit me hard when I heard Carrie Underwood’s hit song, “Jesus Take The Wheel“. I thought my heart was going to tear a hole right through my chest. The thing about God is, He loves you beyond measure. He is waiting to bless you in ways you have never imagined. But, unlike modern parenting, He is not going to coddle us, and give us a trophy just because we exist. God has His own economy, and if you want to do business with Him, you need to know that you cannot have it YOUR way, and please God. He has something else in store for you.

Here’s the big deal about turning to God. It doesn’t matter if all you did was sneak that extra cookie when Mom told you to leave the cookies alone, and you lied to her about it. It doesn’t matter if you just murdered your wife, or husband, or robbed a bank, or raped someone, or are an alcoholic, or a prostitute, or a Satanist. Sin is Sin. Period. If you are a Christian, and have turned your back on God in ANY way, THAT is sin. If you are a Christian and sin, you make a mockery of the death Jesus paid on the cross.

BREAKING NEWS: There is no sin that cannot be forgiven except to blaspheme the Holy Spirit of God.

For the past several years, one prayer that has become my daily prayer is Psalm 51:

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice.

Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.

Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.

For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” Psalm 51 – ESV

Did you feel it in your heart? Is that how it feels when you look over your shoulder because you miss God? Do you miss the JOY of His salvation? I know I sure did. And more. What’s more, in the beginning of the Spirit convicting me, I still dug in. But God never gave up on me.

Because I was so damned stubborn, it took God being persistent for 20 years to break me. I really hope you don’t wait that long. Life becomes a living hell if you wait that long. And you will know in your heart that, if you wait any longer, God will give you over to your own will. In spades.

So, give it a try. Why?

God will turn to you.

In the Old Testament, when you see that phrase of God turning to you, the word picture the Hebrew paints is of a Daddy reaching his arms out, anxiously waiting to hold you again. Jesus called God the Father, Abba…it means “daddy”.

If you are a Christian, you have the right and privilege to call the Living God “Daddy”. He loves you so much it hurts good. He is already waiting right where you are. He is standing right behind you with his arms stretched out waiting to hold you again. He loves you. You are the prodigal son returning to his father after squandering all your talents doing things that served your appetites.

Did you know that the Bible describes this reunion with God actually dancing with you? That the Angels themselves throw a huge party? I can just see Jesus throwing a high five to his dad.

But that alone is not the total reason you repent. That is just what happens if you chose to repent. What happens when you repent is, God cleans you up Himself. He will lift your burden. He will pour his forgiveness all over you. Your heart will be clean again.

Let me ask you something. Do you have to bathe before you take a bath? Nope. That would be silly. You don’t have to clean up before you turn to God because, frankly, that is impossible. Because of the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ, you are and will be clean again when you confess with all your heart, and repent (Means to turn back, FOR GOOD).

You know, just like I knew, that you miss God. Maybe you don’t remember how you got where you are. Maybe you don’t think you can figure out how to get back home. Maybe you don’t think you can be forgiven. You would be as wrong as I was when I thought all those things.

God was there all the time. When I was running from him, all I was doing was crossing his palm. You see, the Bible tells of God’s promise that nothing, no power, no thing at all can remove you from His hand if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. So, you can come home, because you are already there. He already knows what happened in your life because he saw it all. You cannot shock God. Believe me, I tried.

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

Give it a try. You really have nothing to lose.

Let Jesus Take The Wheel.

============================================================================

Here is an outline of my next few posts:

Part II: God will then let you know he is aware of your situation.

Part III: God has made you exactly the way you are, so that you can do exactly what He intends for you to do.

Part IV: God will then tell you of His plans for you.

Part V: God will send you to do a task. He will empower you to do that task.

That’s it so far, but there will be more in this series.

Faith

The Prayer

There is a prayer that I prayed over the last several years. I prayed this particular prayer because I was returning from my rebellion against God. I fell from his grace about 20 years ago, and it has taken me that long to get to the point where I have been willing to pray and read the Word. I admit that I did not write the prayer (below), but I prayed it almost every day for a year. I have recently begun this prayer cycle again.

I have a very strong feeling that someone out there is going through a real challenge, a real struggle. Try this prayer below. Just do it. It doesn’t matter if you feel like it or not, just commit to do this for 40 days. Whoever you are, I pray with you in this struggle. A lot of Christians have no idea what darkness lay waiting to capture a soul. It is very difficult to see this happen, and even more difficult if you are the captive. Pray this prayer, and watch your life change. Pray this prayer on behalf of the one you see struggling. God knows where you are. Let him see you obey and let him hear your voice.

THE PRAYER

I pray this prayer in the power of the Holy Spirit, and in the name of Jesus Christ.

In the name of Jesus Christ I bind, rebuke, and bring to no effect: All division, discord, disunity, strife, anger, wrath, murder, criticism condemnation, pride, envy jealousy, gossip, slander, evil speaking, complaining, lying, false teaching, false gifts, false manifestations, lying signs and wonders, poverty, fear of lack, fear spirits, retaliatory spirits, deceiving spirits, religious spirits, occult spirits, witchcraft spirits, and spirits of Antichrist.

I bind all curses that have been spoke against me, I bless those who curse me, and pray blessings on those who despitefully use me. I bind all spoken judgement made against me, and judgments I have made against others. I bind the power of negative words from others, and I bind and render useless all prayers not inspired by the Holy Spirit; whether psychic, soul force, witchcraft or counterfeit tongues that have been prayed against me.

I am God’s child. I resist the devil, in the name of Jesus. No weapon formed against me shall prosper. I put on the whole armor of God. In the name of Jesus, and because Jesus has granted me this power, I take authority over this day. Let this day be prosperous for me, and let me walk in your love, Lord.

The Holy Spirit leads and guides me today. I discern between the righteous and the wicked. I take authority over Satan and all his demons and those people who are influenced by them. I declare Satan is under my feet and shall remain there all day.

I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. I am God’s property because I have been bought with the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Satan, you are bound from my family, my mind, my body, my home, and my finances. I confess that I am healed and whole because of the blood of the Lamb, Christ Jesus. I flourish; I am long lived, stable, durable, incorruptible, fruitful, virtuous, and full of peace, patience and love. Whatsoever I set my hands to do shall prosper, for God supplies all my needs. By the authority Christ Jesus has placed in me, I have all authority over Satan, all demons, and beasts of the field.

God, I pray for the ministry you have for me. Anoint me, God, for all you call me to do for you. I call forth divine appointment, open doors of opportunity, God ordained encounters, and ministry positions.

By the name of Christ Jesus, I claim a hedge of protection around myself, my spouse, my child(ren) throughout this day and night. I ask you, God, in the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, to dispatch angels to surround me, all the members of my family, to put angels throughout our home, around our cars, souls and bodies. I ask angels to protect my house, and all the land that surrounds it, from any intrusion and to protect me and my family from any harmful demonic mental attacks.

Lord God, I pray this prayer of behalf of my neighbors, my friends, my extended family and my nation.

I ask this prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, my Savior and Lord. – AMEN

Faith

The Return to God – Introduction

“From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, How shall we return?” Malachi 3:17 – ESV

It is my experience that, if you really want to mess your life up, and you think you are serving God, just tell God, “Hey Big Guy! I got this. It’s all right if you want to take care of things, I know you must be really busy.” IF you happen to have any friends who actually fear God, they just might scoot over a few feet before the lightning hits you.

“Such arrogance!”, “Such hubris!”, “There is no way I would ever say that to God.” I know, I can hear you thinking it.

Don’t kid yourself, we all do this at one point or another, in small ways or big. This might be exactly why a lot of people who Love God, through Jesus Christ will not go to a church, because they see the same arrogance and hubris in that church, while that church is not able or willing to see how far it is off course.

If you are wise, and are listening to the Holy Spirit, you will repent immediately. But if you aren’t, like I wasn’t, then you might be in for a long ride down a darkening path.

I did this in really big ways. I was in Seminary. For the first time in my life, I was making nearly all ‘A’s. I was learning biblical languages. I was involved heavily in getting a few churches started. etc, etc, blah, blah, blah. – whatever.

Don’t get me wrong, I started out on fire. I was moving in the spirit. I was reading the Bible and praying. One evening, about, maybe 20 years ago, whilst sitting in services at a small church in Fort Worth, Texas, the Ministry for Divorced people was presenting services. This is when God let me know he was unhappy with me.

See, I had judged these people and said in my heart, “These people are probably divorced for a reason!”, “I don’t feel sorry for them!”, “If they had been doing the will of God, they wouldn’t be in this spot.” Crazy, right? I KNOW none of you guys would ever think a thing like this, but I did. But what I didn’t take in to account when I did that was, GOD WAS LISTENING TO THE MATTERS OF MY HEART.

God disciplines those whom he loves.

You see, by the time I had arrived at this level of arrogance, I had separated myself from God by insisting that I take the wheel, run things on my own. I hadn’t noticed that my personal life had changed, and not for the better. NOT ONLY THAT: when God told me to check my attitude and repent, I had the stones to tell God, “Really? From what? I am serving YOU, God. And, I might add, I am doing a great job.”

See what I did there?

I was ignoring the fact that my personal walk with God had slipped away from being an intimate experience, and things were drying up. I had gone from daily prayer, to no prayer. I had gotten “too busy” to read the word. I had let sins that God was protecting me from creep back in and eventually dominate my private life. I had become just like the people in Malachi, whom God had called to repentance.

He called and I said, “WHAT?!?!”

God told me in my heart that, unless I repented, he will remove me from the “status” I enjoyed. My service FOR God had taken place of the service OF God.

I refused to repent.

He called me again to repent.

I refused.

I thought He should recognize what all I was doing FOR HIM. (Yes, I am a Jack Ass!!).

See, I didn’t think I needed to repent of anything. My arrogance had driven me to the point where I had become god, and I had removed the guidance of God from my life.

God warned me. He called me to repent over and over.

Yet I refused.

Then things went to hell.

My marriage ended, I was “encouraged” to leave Seminary. I lost my job at a private Christian children’s home. The churches I was involved in, and built, were taken from me, and given to someone of a more humble nature. My prayer partners refused to have anything to do with me…

…yet I refused to repent.

Then, when things got really tough, and I was living out of my car, I decided I hated God. I blamed Him. And I spent the last 20 years hating God and running from being what he designed me to be.

Recently, I began to hear the voice of the Lord calling in my heart. It was quiet, gentle, and so sweet it made my heart ache with such longing. I learned many things from the last 20 years, and that is what my next 12 or so posts will be about. This is just the introduction.

I am writing this to show you what God showed me. I am not going to bore you with the 20 years of running. I am going to start with Malachi 3:7 – the part that says, “Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of Hosts.” That is why I am calling this series, “The Return to God”.

If you are still breathing, there is hope for you, whether you are a church, or an individual.

For me to be useful in the Kingdom, I had to repent, confess my sins of arrogance, ignorance, self importance, and especially from telling God that I AM serving Him when all I was doing was drifting away from Him.

I had to understand that I had become an embarrassment to the Kingdom.

But God used those 20 years to teach me what repentance is all about. From repentance comes His presence in your life. That is what the next posts will be about. I hope you get something out of this. If you don’t, that’s OK too. I am writing this to those individuals and churches who think they are serving God, but have let the arrogance of their own ways separate them from God.

Tired of playing church? Want to know why a lot of Christians do not want to go to your church? I want to share the lessons I have learned from this painful experience. There were many tears in my journey, but it has brought me to a blessed joy that only comes from the presence of God. Part one of this series will probably be the longer of these posts.

I pray, in Jesus holy name that all that I write is the truth, represents God in the furtherance of His Kingdom, and becomes a blessing to all that read it. I pray that Jesus continue to be my Savior and Lord, as the Holy Spirit walks beside me, and teaches me how to be God’s beloved Child. – Amen.

Stuff

Callie The Great

I gave a lot of room about Misty and her adventures with the Bird Mafia and the slathering, enraged rabbits. Now I want to give equal booking to Callie, “The Lion Hearted”.

I believe Callie may be the embodiment of Tesla, but on steroids.

OK, she has nervous tendencies, but she is also very quiet, observant and intelligent.

Callie can talk and understand understand English, too. In fact, she is working on her second draft of a science fiction trilogy that I personally will be surprised if any editor picks it up. Said trilogy is an epic saga involving a race called the Mondorphians. The Mondorphians look and act just like humans in every way, but they also have super-human abilities that most humans can never imagine. They have chosen our planet to hide on because it is in the back waters of a galaxy that is also in the back waters of the universe. They are hiding from…wait, that isn’t the point. It’s her novel, and if she wants you to read it, she will publish it.

I just wanted to tell you why I think she is channeling Tesla. You know all about the Tesla Coil, and the incredible technologies he invented. These inventions are the real reason we have cell phones and microwave ovens. Tesla simply wanted a faster way to make popcorn while he texted his BFF, Edison about American Idol.

It was storming very hard here, in the Megalopolis of Union, MO. Big hairy rain drops were falling all over the place. And the lightning could not only be seen, but could be felt.

My theory with Callie and Tesla was inspired when I was watching Callie gazing longingly out the back door, the very door whose threshold she faints at the idea of crossing. My theory is that she has perfected inter-dimensional portal transportation. She she must have gotten the idea from one of the Tesla books I left laying open.

I could clearly see she was anticipating something. Misty, could too, because she had to interrupt a yawn to see what was getting Callie so exited.

Callie’s breathing quickened, her tail twitching went into high gear, and she firmly placed her tiny, nervous little paws on the glass panes of the back door, as if she wanted a closer look at what was about to happen.

Then it happened.

A bolt of lightning hit our back yard. The flash filled the house. The air frissioned with ionization. A loud boom rattled everything in a one block radius.

All this happened in a nanosecond.

What also happened in that nanosecond is that, where Callie had been standing at the back door, was an outline of fur, gently floating to the ground where Callie had been standing. In that nanosecond of brightness, she vanished before my very eyes.

I have not seen her since.

I think she utilized Tesla knowledge, harnessed the power of the lightning, and crossed over into another dimension.

Stuff

Animals Gone Wild

Spring brings a ton of activity to our back yard. We have squirrels, bunnies, and birds of all type and stripe. My cats are driven to near insanity trying to decide if stalking a bunny has the same merits as stalking a bird. The strange thing is, every time my cats go outside to stalk something, they come running in fear back to the house. At first, I thought that my cats were a bunch of sissies. I can justify that because one of my cats is afraid of her own shadow. She vanishes in a puff of fur at the least provocation. But that is where my theory breaks down. My other cat is not such a coward. Misty is a huge cat that might be related to the Russian Blue variety.

Misty is many things… large, voracious, heavy…her movements normally are measured in geological time. She never shows any expression other than “I need a nap”. I HAVE seen Misty chase things before, though. The transformation is miraculous. Here is this feline, roughly the size of a glacier, moving at speeds that most cheetah would envy. Nothing on earth moves so fast as Misty going to the food bowl. My point is, when sufficiently motivated, Misty can really move. My back yard is full of motivation.

The other cat, Callie, will stick her nose outside, see a leaf move and die of shock immediately. Misty will languorously step over the prone body of Callie and see what the noise is all about. Birds will be all over the back yard (Mostly purple martins, Cardinals, Sparrow, and Oriole) . Misty is not afraid of animals. When Misty looks through the glass back door, and sees an animal, she will begin to move in strides that are actually perceptible, and wander outside. But THIS TIME, when she went outside, she came running back in with the same look of terror on her face as my other, naturally frightened cat will have.

I found this to be too strange. Being a researcher, and the normal adventurer that I am, I vowed to get to the bottom of things and see what could make a normally laconic cat, the size of a dirigible, use enough energy to actually express fright.

Plying all my skills as an investigator, I disguised myself as a small shrub and hid myself in plain sight of the beasties that roam the back yard. This is where I made several startling discoveries.

The big one is that my back yard is controlled by a Purple Martin Bird Mafia. I watched as Misty approached some shrubs. It was then that I overheard one of the Martins talking to another one,

“Duh..Boss, dere’s dat pesky, but rotund, cat again.”

To which the other Martin responded, “I got eyes aint I?”, “Ray Charles can see there is a monstrously huge cat trying to sneak up on us.”

Said the first bird, “Duh…whadda ya tink we should do, Boss?”

To which the other bird replied, “I’ll go see the Don about it. We have enough trouble wid da squirrels invadin our turf. It’s gettin to where da bunnies don’t want to pay dere ‘protection’ fees.” “We gotta show we ain’t so easily intimidated by some big lummox of a cat.”

So , that bird went to another bird. He kissed the feathers of that birds right wing and addressed him:

“Don Birdlioni, I am your humble servant coming as to inquire of what youse tink we should do to show we ain’t lettin no feline take over our territory.”

To which Don Birdlionni responded, “Guido Birducci, you are indeed a faithful servant and a good Boss to my men. I too have observed the feline, roughly the size of a 3 story house, attempting to impinge on our territory.” “This concerns me greatly. ”

The Don looked at the Red Headed Wood Pecker that hung out in the corner of the lot. This red bird was obviously the Consigliari, the adopted, but greatly trusted son of the Don. The Consigliari gave a subtle nod to the Don.

The Don said to Guido Birducci, “Here is what I want you to do.” “I recently did a favor for one of the bunnies. That Bunny understood that one day I might ask of him a favor in return.” “I want you, Guido, to go to that Bunny and remind him of my gracious gesture.” “Remind him that I need him to reciprocate on my generosity.” “Tell him to do this small gesture for me, and I will be happy”.

Guido Birducci flew over to the rabbit warren immediately.

A FEW MINUTES LATER:

Misty was controlling her breathing and her pace. As large as she was, she was remarkably silent. Imagine all her luck. Out of nowhere pops a baby bunny. What a prize. What a catch. She can capture it and bring it back to her clan and share it with her people, like any huntress would.

Mere inches separated her from her prize. This was the moment that would mean a tasty snack to round off her skimpy 3 bags of cat food a day.

She pounced.

Out of nowhere, several angry and slathering bunnies jumped out of the shrubbery and kicked the daylights out of the Misty. The squirrels, realizing they might be able to curry some favor with the Don, joined in the attack and chased Misty back indoors.

Now, all my cats will do is stare longingly outside through a closed door. And one lone Woodpecker will stare at the cats with a small, but menacing smile.

Observations

How To Be A Modern Journalist

Of the roughly millions of imaginary readers of my blogs, I receive about 3000 imaginary e-mails a day, asking me for advice on a wide variety of subjects.

I recently received just such an e-mail from a High School Senior at Colon High School, Colon, Mich. Millicent Nederhose asked me not to use her real name, so out of respect for her privacy, let’s just call her “Slagathor”.

Slagathor’s e-mail reads as follows:
“Dear Mr. Poindexter (I decided not to use my real name either),

I read, like, nearly everything you post, and, like, I was wondering, like, if you can tell me how to, like, be a T.V. Journalist?

Like, your devoted fan,
‘Slagathor’ (Not her real name)”

Here is my response to this forward thinking young woman:

Dear ‘Slagathor’,

Let me be the first to congratulate you on your career choice! Journalism School can be tough. Not all Journalism Majors make it to the big leagues.

I appreciate you asked me in stead of someone who actually is a Journalist, or teaches Journalism, or even has a college degree, or has at least driven through the parking lot of a Junior College on his way to Wal-Mart.

Having none of those qualifications, I will be happy to guide you through a preliminary hurdle that should show you if Journalism is the right choice for you.

I want you to know that I have already done a great deal of research (a term you might hear in Journalism school) on this topic. This week, I have been watching endless hours of in-depth T.V. Journalism. From this research, I have developed a short quiz that, I believe, will help you know of you can make the cut to the “Breaking News” world of T.V. Journalism.

Just relax, take a deep breath, and do your level best. There are 3 multiple choice questions, with the answer following each question. Please choose YOUR best answer to the question before reading the answer derived from my in-depth research.

Q1) Define ETHICS

A) Doing the Right Thing, for the Right Reason, at the Right Time.

B) ETHICS? Isn’t that, like, a racist question?

C) A sauce you sprinkle on your salad that helps you lose those extra 5 pounds.

ANSWER: B. If you answered ‘C’, you need to know that fake sprinkles are marketed everyday that make you believe anything, like, if you use this stuff, you will no longer need Viagra. If you answered ‘A’, you have no business being in Journalism.

Q2) You are the first “On The Spot” reporter to to the scene of a terrible accident. You see that 98 year old Griselda Haskins has been run over by a 1965 Buick. You notice that after the Buick had run over poor Mrs. Haskins, the car careened over the curb and smashed into the front window of a Starbucks. Tired of being an “On The Spot” reporter, and realizing that, what you do next will determine whether you finally get to be an “Anchor” (Another Journalism Term), you do one of the following things:

A) Render First Aid until the ambulance arrives, securing your position as the first “On The Spot” reporter who gets to interview Poor Old Mrs. Haskins and the Police.

B) You step over the prone body of the widow, Mrs. Haskins, to ask the driver how he feels knowing he ruined a perfectly good Starbucks.

C) You order a Latte with extra foam and pretend to do A & B.

ANSWER: ‘C’. If you answered ‘A’ you clearly have no grasp of the priorities of the Journalistic profession. Drop your pencil and leave now. If you answered ‘B’, you are destined to remain an “On The Spot” reporter.

Q3) You have finally made Anchor. Seconds before you go “live” (That is TV talk for being on the air), your editor/producer hands you some “Breaking News” that you KNOW is factually inaccurate. Your future as an Anchor is on the line. You do one of the following:

A) Report the truth. Your Journalistic Integrity and High Ethical Standards will let you do nothing less than tell the truth. The viewers deserve nothing less from you.

B) You don’t care because you get paid the same no matter what you report.

C) You finish your latte and read whatever pops up on the Teleprompter.

ANSWER: ‘C’. If you answered ‘B’, you return to your former job of “On The Spot Reporter”. If you answered ‘A’ you clearly have no future in any form of Journalism.

I hope, Slagathor, this little quiz has been helpful. You can see, now, that Journalism adheres to a standard that not even New Orleans Prostitutes can lower themselves to. Very few people have what it takes to be a T.V. Journalist.

One last thing, Slag. If you don’t look like a super-model, you don’t stand a chance of ever being in front of a camera. Looks matter more than anything in Television Journalism. You don’t even have to pay close attention to what you are doing if you are attractive and can read a teleprompter. The same holds true for Politicians.

Yours,

Peter Poindexter (Not My Real Name).