Is it okay to not conform to the surroundings in which you find yourself placed?  Of course, that is the model demonstrated over and again throughout history where Bible Leaders shook off the expectations or norms of the society around them to be “set apart” for the lifestyle and works of Almighty God.  Please forgive me, I have been making the reverse mistake and perhaps sin of trying to fit into the world by changing my spots.  However, when God made you unique, I have previously used the example of a purple tiger upon the plains, you cannot help but stand out against the surroundings.  I was not made for this world but for the next.  I have never fit in here, because this world is not my home.  Yet I have been sent like anyone else to experience the Choice we all must make and the sanctification of this wonderful training ground.  The realization of my misgiving is that I have been attempting conformity for the purpose of receiving attention, mistaking it for love.  However, when I solidified my relationship with the Lord through His offer of Grace, my understanding of Love was transformed, leaving me breathless, then irreproachably repentant and finally in contentment of my separation from the constraints and morals of popularity.  You can only be what you were designed to be if you are contented and at home with that which God perfectly designed for His Good Purpose.

Now comes the greater rub.  Christians have been because of their own good intentions and worldly resolve to rebuff me into becoming something greater than that which the Lord has spoken.  I am simply a disciple of Christ, nothing more.  This leaves me in difficult regard, for at this point I must rebuke my fellow believers, something I am always remiss in doing.  Then to proceed upon the path that the Lord has directed in exalting His name and leaving the outcomes to Him.  I am simply to Love, Him and You and plant the seeds of His Gospel message that always returns the perfect and intended, (based on the intentions of God) return on investment.  I cannot make the mistake I have previously made in attempting to please the brethren and try and conform to a new set of requirements and expectations placed upon my life by the surrounding believers.  This would be the same mistake of which I have already repented and been forgiven.  Please honor God’s intention for my design and allow me to follow Him alone through Christ alone, though I am sorry that I cannot please or fulfill your expectations for me.

I don’t need to determine in front of which audience I stand.  The Lord makes that selection very clear in the Bible, I need no analytics or marketing analysis of my own, though I do have the standing to do such work my undergraduate being in business marketing.  The Lord says if they will not hear the message of the Gospel that I am to kick the sand from my sandals and move on to somewhere where they will hear the message.  I ask you have the people around me on PSB, my blog, twitter, email, movies and Bible studies heard anything from me but the Bible message of Love, Grace and salvation?  Has that exaltation of His Name brought people to me to hear and receive that offer He is making to all men?  Do we see evidence in our surroundings of the Holy Spirit’s presence found in myself displaying His characteristics and the circumstances and people within my sphere being duly effected by that Spirit, thus coming to Christ?

If you see as I do that the answer is YES, then I have traveled the road upon which the Lord placed my sandaled feet.  If No then I must apologize to you and ask your forgiveness for I shall not try and meet the personal expectations you apparently have of me.  I serve God and Him alone through the Good Shepherd, Christ through Him alone through the utilization, training, counsel, empowerment and blessing of the Holy Spirit alone.  These are the times for our wise existence.  Those who do not know God’s requirements for their lives are either; hearing and not obeying, having never heard for not asking or not hearing or not pursuing the things of God in misunderstanding of His direction.  If you do not know what you are supposed to be doing with the power placed upon you by adoption into the inheritance and Kingdom of the most High God, then ask.  If you don’t ask then you either do not wish to know, do not wish to obey or are filled with the fallen spirit of fear in not asking.  It is time for us to be clear.  It is time for us to choose whom we serve and then demonstrate that allegiance and act like it.  It is time to determine your crafting for in that crafting there is great purpose for the Coming Kingdom.  Do you know, do you want to know?  Are you set apart from the things of this world or just blending in, biding time as I was originally.

I stand on the field of open battle as a purple tiger with His Righteousness, Faith, Hope, Truth, Peace, Prayer and Word written upon my heart and readily visible to a hopeless enemy.  I don’t need to know the nature of my audience because in so doing I am saying I need to adjust God’s Perfect Word or do something within my own inadequate skills to achieve the Supernatural Miracle that I could only achieve through the Holy Spirit’s Power and Authority.  I will do what God has directed, until He tells me to stop or changes my job description.  Although, I do appreciate the edification and encouragement of the saints please do not take upon yourselves the sinful expectations that you will somehow give me the missing components to making my ministry Worldly Successful.  I need none of that and I believe you are at that point directly confronting God and saying egomaniacally that you perhaps know better than He does how to offer Grace and Salvation, which is through Christ alone.

My job is clear, my position is set apart from this world and my place is among the saints building, encouraging and Loving everyone as God intended. Please if you want something of me that is outside of this description then know I will resist with all my being to the point of kicking the sand from my sandals and moving on to the next town.  Be powerful in Spirit, Be peaceful in the relationship with God and be hopeful of the Life to come in the Return of Christ Jesus the King.  Amen.

Certainly there is something that can be done to break the hold of tyranny upon this world.  For sure there are positive steps that may be employed to correctly and effectively navigate the treacherous waters of those who would enslave free humanity.  With no doubt it makes common sense that all is not lost, the battle unfinished and no victor declared if even one of us still possesses the avenue to shout the ideals of free speech to those that might be in listening distance. What then inspires the desire to declare loss, apathy, despair and shame the only roads left travelling?

We are sovereign, not only in our reflection to this nation and its inception but to the Creator who would have us empowered by the authority and expression of the “Free Will” he gave us.  If God had meant us to be enslaved then He would have placed us in a nation that does such to its people from birth.  That apparently is the structure of the argument and capacity that this foul beast of global empire has sought institution within this great nation. How then might a gift that was given by God be so carelessly tossed by wayside, forgotten, relinquished and merely mourned by those given those authorities as reflection of their Creator’s character and Love?

This battle has begun not ended. we are the voices remaining, declaring that Freedom shall not be governed by the few in proclamation of their superiority to all men.  We shall fight wherever men are the property of other avaricious humans to see that they are set free to reflect their God given aspirations of hope and purpose.  This is not a duty easy stricken from the record, the columns of debits and credits regarded in the accounting of nations.  This is an idea for which all effort may be employed and that greatest talent for preservation must be our Hope.  For without that hope there is no bright tomorrow arising in the vision of the future.  We must collectively look upon that vision at this very moment and see the future to which we have all dedicated our thinking, resolves and direction.  Where are we headed?  For not knowing the course or possibly understanding the desired destination hopeful vision may never be employed and therefore fail to fire prior to launch.

What is it that we want for this world?  A system of folks pursuing their own interests that guarantees that the ideals and vision of those with the money will invariably be overtaken?  What then of the bulk of humanity who are neither rich nor slave to this thinking? How is it that our vision differs?  Do we wish to serve the Creator who gave us the characteristics of sovereignty, concern, accountability and shame for our own personal sin? Or do we want a world unbridled by the ideals that there are certain things that are just plain WRONG?  We stand at that battle ground today upon a field where the battle has only now begun.  Will we armor up in the Characteristics of Christ and take the field in Hope and shared vision of a future He has told us is soon coming? Or will we capitulate to an enemy that has already been defeated and simply awaits the arrival of the One and Only King of All, Jesus Christ the Lord?

In the beginning was God, the Word, and the Spirit of majesty that determined Creation was necessary, not for any specific purpose, simply for His Own Good Pleasure.  The Lord, content alone, wanted someone to nurture, support, love and grow that He might from time throughout their curious lives wish to walk with Him and investigate the limits and depth of existence and relationship with their Creator.  There was nothing absent in this dynamic display of creative authority and to make certain that it was not some simple replica, reflection or make believe reality, he included the unpredictable seeds of chaos or perfection in the concept of choices by Free Will.  He would not govern in a manner that was iron fisted requiring all to behave a certain fashion or conform to a certain ideal though He express all right, authority and intent that they do so, He allowed all to choose. No avatars, no daydream, no escape from the accountability facing each of us at the end of our time within the existence, for this life was created for its specific talent for delivering the harsh awakening that accompanies the Truth.

From this point forward the Lord allowing all to make certain choices drew a time line within the sands of man’s completion, for being eternal, He had no purpose for time.  Though He knew that man’s inclination would be to test the limits of authority and venture to disobedience in their choices made, just as the angels had done previously. The difference in this real manifested Earthen existence is that having known what would occur beforehand He prepared a method at outset to redeem all but one choice the denial of this gift called salvation.  What would become of man now that they were told of the escape mechanism from the prior mistake of choice?  Would they turn from the ill intent that sponsored that reckless and regrettable choice or would they maintain their position, defiant, unhealed, eventually condemned in their own disagreeable ignorance or bliss?

Now the Twist, into the mix an enemy sowed deceptive tactics designed to shroud the truth, obscure the price of making these determinations and swindle the gifts freely given to all by their Holy Creator.  Lies would be devised with such grand technique that only the spirit of God living within a man would deter their eventual downfall. Those having heard the Grand Call to Grace and obeyed through the acceptance of Spirit found those around them vulnerable to its enchanting cry of freedom that truly meant its opposite.  For those who hoped to escape God’s Will for their lives through disobedience would find themselves indebted, enslaved by the fallen angel who would bring them nothing but misery and eventual eternal punishment in separation from the God who lovingly designed them to be free.  They would get their wish, they would live outside of God’s Will or so they thought only to come crashing down upon the granite reality that God created in the realization that God’s Will would enter in their everlasting and final judgment.  The enemy laughed for time until he himself was judged and placed within the same container meant only for angels, that would include a huge swath of humanity simply through their disobedience, stubbornness or deception.  All would fall who listened to his version of the truth, for in so doing they would be blinded to the only Absolute Truth available in this or any universe, the Truth of Almighty God found through Christ Jesus Alone.

Okay now the present, today, the only day that really matters, the only day over which we have any manner of control, influence or authority.  Today, the wonderful day that God has given us to make of whatever we see possible and if we see the impossible as possible then it may be achieved through Christ. Yes, although we have some manner of understanding that the past gives us models and scenarios for comparison from which to glean experience and expectation for the purpose of making our own lives easier than those in the historic model.  We are still left with the understanding that we have the honorable gift of making these choices through our own determination, modeling, guessing or relying upon the Word of God in resolution of those problems before us. It all winnows down again to the idea of choices made today that we might live a better tomorrow, ironically reflective of God’s intention for humanity.  So making my choices today will lead me to the potential of a tomorrow that I have not yet seen but have some measure of hope that it will somehow be a brighter place that is only achieved through the prudent decisions that came with yesterday’s choice.  You see it all follows the same paradigm?  We must all have hope otherwise we don’t study history, we are not concerned with the quality of our choices and we don’t put faith hope and trust in the choices we’ve made to bring us to a tomorrow in which we were devoid of hope.  Without Hope there is no concern for choice, unless it is simply the stomach’s growl, the loins call, the lusts siren demand for sustenance and quenching.  Therefore Hope, is a belief in the things not yet seen.  Therefore those who make decisions are operating within God’s paradigm for future fulfillment based upon an idea that something better awaits all of us as a product of the decisions we make today.

Now for the differentiating factor; what is the motivator that drives that vision of a future for which we all make hopeful daily decisions?  Is your hope in this world?  Is it in some relationship, some bounty, some security, finance or wealth?  Is it in the realization of historic glory, where your name is posted on the billboards, social media surfaces and pages of history for all to search and ponder now and after your passing?  Is it for some home into which you will pour all of your efforts, desires, life and treasure, building for a family that is not yet here?  Is it for your business that it may become the immortal extension of you when you’re gone, that your name might be displayed on its bylaws past your mortal ending? Or are you living for the lusts and hungers of today alone, never concerned with tomorrow for you will go out in a blaze of lightning today if it were to come as some realization of a nirvana or state of epiphany?  There is a drive for your hope.  What is it?  Do you quest for some achievement in this world, which drives those decisions upon which your hope resides? Or have you heard the Truth of God’s Word in that this world is not your home, only a temporary training residence and that your hope is in a day that cannot yet be seen except through the telescope of Faith in God’s Truth and Promise of Eternity?

What are you living for, it is either for God for something else, there is no matter how much you wish there to be no middle ground in this question?  It is one of those pestering questions for which most avoid a discussion or even listening to a pastor who preaching in expository.  The Lord God has told us the Truth.  I have made a significant argument that it is the choices that we make which determine our future whether or not that future is one focused upon worldly events or something eternally minded.  It is the hope that God created that forces us to have a vision of where we are going in order to be even minutely concerned about the quality of today’s choices.  If we are living for God then we make choices based upon the Word he has given us, the relationship we have in tandem and the direction we receive through the power of His indwelling, Spirit’s Will.  Certainly, there are those of us who may venture into a reality where we have one foot in eternity and one upon the Earth, but the Lord’s Word expressly tells us what to expect as result of this practice.  Backsliding or serving the world is something that as a decision made by those who proclaim a faith in the Truth of God’s Word will be the most excruciating, concrete outcome known to man.  You cannot serve two Masters, if you are and you somehow have devised a method through which you and you alone are going to avoid the consequences, then you have departed from the Word of God and I pray for your soul in the outcome, because you are not going to like it when it arrives.  Now is the time of certain and simple clarity and Truth of purpose and action.  We are all adults and the children entrusted to our care are even greater reason to establish this manner of clarity for all your family.  You know when asked if you are serving God’s Will for your life or if you are chasing the aspiration and hopeful choices for achieving some Earthly reward.

I know this because it is by far the most frequent question that I receive from Christians, that being, “What is God’s Will for my life”?  This is an escape ploy and avoidance mechanism to deny the fact that first; the Bible tells us what God’s Will is for All Christians and secondarily that you know what His will is for your life but don’t want it to be the truth or the sacrifice of which He is commanding you.  You are being naïve and coy with a God who knows your heart and that is eternally foolish.  It is time for us to make a decision, a choice, since we all make choices based upon our hope of a greater tomorrow.  God has promised you Eternity, Adoption, Inheritance, Service, Rule and Reign, Power and Authority and Eternal Love spent with Him in a body that does not feel pain, get sick, grow old and will not decay or die.  If that is not enough upon which to base your hopeful vision to stimulate the God Based choices you are making each and every day than nothing will ever be enough.  I Wish to tell the Story the greatest Story of Glory, sacrifice and Love expressed for all mankind that ALL might be saved and find themselves spending eternity with a Holy and Righteous God.  There are rules that He set forth in order to receive this hopeful future that clarity of which are unmistakable to all.  We must believe upon the virgin birth of Christ Jesus, that He lived a sinless life that He might become the perfect sacrifice to pay for the sins of ALL Mankind, historical and future, if they would but believe that He took their punishment upon that Cross and died having become ALL SIN and was resurrected and arose to be with the Father in Heaven, just as those who believe shall be.  He lives now within each believer, cleansing, transforming, preparing them for that future we hold in such regard.

What is the basis for each decision I made today?  Did I make it in quiet agreement with the Word, Prayer and the Voice of God within my heart?  Do I live each day with the end in mind, the end for us that means the beginning?  Have I lived like I will never die?  What is the nature of my hope and what the vision which it inspires?  For what am I living and upon which vision are my decisions being hopefully constructed?  Do I live for now of for then?  Am I concerned that my now is not working out how I planned or am I looking at my now in contented and hopeful faith that God has prepared this now that I might get to that glorious day, Then?  What is your simple clarity?  Is it profoundly simple just as the choices made represent God’s gift of free will choice or are they complex, difficult and requiring evidence and supporting argument that portend a dedication to the things of this world.  It’s okay, you can choose whatever your heart desires.  I pray that you choose Christ, but I love you so much I understand if you can’t see your way to that hopeful promise.  For now I just pray that you will take a moment and ask God quietly to give you the clarity of your purpose that you might be free to pursue that which is truly within your heart.  If you choose this world, the Bible tells you what to expect, I am sorry that eternity is not your thing.  I still love you and pray that God touches the center of your heart with a hope constructed upon the foundation of His Everlasting Love for You.  In Jesus’ Mighty Name I pray that we all come to the knowledge of that hopeful future and begin making decisions consistent with our Free Will choice.

The Bible says; 2 Timothy 3:7 Ever learning, but never able to come to the knowledge of the Truth.  This elucidates the principle that a seeker of knowledge is performing the works base analysis of the world based on a collection of knowledge to achieve a specific, enlightened, “knowing”.  Perhaps this is why those mentioned may never find the Truth for they are looking at in a “works” based defined accumulation system?  How does faith differ from the collection of knowledge, faith in itself being an action word portraying the belief in something after a certain accumulation of understanding?  Here in lies the difference between faith and knowledge.  Faith is a suspicion that something is true or false, rather a collection of emotion and mounting evidence leading to a conclusion.  Where knowledge may lead to an enlightened understanding or it may not based upon accumulation of data and inductive reasoning some “epiphany” may or may not occur.  Faith will always grow as evidence is pursued as the accumulation of knowledge also grows when learning continues.  However, as faith grows and becomes stronger there is less need for evidence as at some point it is simply taken as Truth where learning will always be seeking additional information to in fact achieve that state of desired epiphany.

Here in is a clear declaration and definition of the battle lines between believers and those who continue to seek evidence of God.  One group started out with something small and then as it was built upon it grew into something that required no more feeding but continued to grow through understanding, relationship and evidence of promises kept, that being the faith group.  The other group, continued to seek evidence and learning and was unable to find the necessary proof of the supernatural understanding sought so it continued in its doubt, never growing simply adding more data to a ever increasing accumulation of ideas, history, principals and knowledge.  Faith leads to some purpose and that purpose is an increased relationship with God and the courage to continue in the face of overwhelming odds armed with nothing but a belief in promised success or victory.  Where knowledge may be pursued for a lifetime and still remain knowledge at the end of that lifetime having never reached an epiphany or evidentiary confirmation of some manner of Truth.  Certainly accumulation of knowledge will lead to experience and that experience will give a manner of street wisdom based on having seen situations in past experience, but it does not promise a growth or an understanding of supernatural ideas and ideals as faith portends.

What then of what pleases God or what may be used as a deceptive device for the enemy’s purpose of alienating us from Almighty God?  Certainly faith must be limited by the enemy or inhibited in its growth stages in order to deconstruct, diminish or place governing limits upon the growth of faith within each believer.  As the Bible says, “without faith it is impossible to please God”.  Why then does this become relative explanation for the enemy’s continued efforts to limit growing faith within the body of believers.

Well, simple.  If faith is the call that first acquainted each believer with the Truth of God and growing faith allows them to become rooted, sure and safe in those promises as reliance upon them grows with our faith, then the enemy must do everything in his power to stop our faith in its infancy.  Additionally, if as in the garden of Eden, the enemy is capable of convincing us that Knowledge is in fact equally or more important than faith, he has effectively achieved the one degree of separation between our path and the skinny path God intended us to walk.

For once questing knowledge instead of taking the Truth of God on faith, a human is turned over to their own decadent thinking and begins a spiral toward narcissism and misunderstanding eventually leading to academic reasoning and the absence of the faith that pleases God.  So the enemy’s motives, groups, followers and those in danger of missing God will always be shrouded in a singular focus upon the accumulation of knowledge in that absent faith.  Therefore they are typically easy to identify by this over or laser focus upon knowledge as the way to future prosperity in comparison to believers who hold steadfast to the emotional understanding that a faith in God’s promised deliver, provision, protection and prophecy is the only element necessary to successful future endeavors.

This argument may have seemed at outset something trite or minute, but in actuality this is argument that separates the two halves of the population of man.  Those who either subscribe through faith in some understanding of the supernatural outcomes of humanity’s future and the everlasting based upon logic, reasoning and data analysis.  Or those who have heard the call of God through the Holy Spirit placed upon their hearts and by faith have sought a greater understanding of those supernatural issues outside of the embrace of logic and reason to grow in their educated faith and become sure in the reality that is Almighty God and His Will for Mankind.  This battle rages before us and I will continue to point out this mounting gap that separates us, but we must become aware of the signs that indicate the division between the Earthly and the Heaven Bound that we might be called out from those secular things into the holiness in which God wishes we reside.  I pray for clarity in your minds, hearts and souls regarding this difference for though it may appear subtle, within that subtlety resides the enemy’s talent to lead us astray from our growing faith in God’s Promises.  In Jesus’ Name I pray.

Sat around dreaming of another way, extremely glad to safely say there was none.  All my worth wrapped up in Kingdom work, so glad to see investing could be so much fun.  Another day, some way to express myself and find a way to paint the pictures etched inside my mind.  Unafraid, cause even in the heart of evil there’s always good to find.  Signatures of the great men that came before me, penciled in where I had always fancied some crazy notion or idea.  What to do when the old thoughts simply bore you and the new hasn’t yet come to be?  Where might a man go when not yet given direction to leave from the one that gives the promises upon which we believe?  What new conceptual thought or program does one lend when every thought within his head never bring good’s end?

Are there worlds that are worth finding, climbing, observing or defining outside of God’s Perfect Will?  Shall we be explorers of that which is beyond the veil, hidden from our eye assuming that it has been done for protective or other unrealized purpose?  What depth must we reach when to do so brings about potential for calamity, calamity for which we have prepared no restriction, concept of readiness?  What venture that is self-authorized beyond the consult and relationship with God shall turn to any good?  David was our perfect model in this regard as each time he embarked on his own escapade, whether driven by fear, desire, conquest or investigation without first contemplating the voice of God through prayerful meditation ended precisely in disaster.  Do I vainly believe myself beyond the model and fancy of the man who God said is one after His own heart?

I don’t mind being guided by a Holy God who loves me.  I don’t mind having limitations and applying self-control to my own curiosity that I might remain safe from the things that are not yet known.  It does not degrade my life’s joyous ambition to remain within the specific gravity of God’s lead.  That is frivolous thought to believe that answering to a Sovereign God who knows all those things that are beyond our control and from whence the dangers project threat is somehow limiting our own growth and personal power.  I do not wish to go where God has not bid me, I do not wish to know that which God has not told me and I do not wish to become in my own pursuit of glorification what has not directed that I should become.  I am contented with that which He gives me for Jesus is more than enough for me.

That Summer in Pennsylvania.  Men were present before their God in humility of purpose and presence.  Petitions, declarations, proclamation of Liberty made on the eve of intent for remorse, reprise or rapid subjection to indictment and death.  Simplicity had found its breath in the voice and heaving chests of a group of men daring to declare peace their intent but war if occasion required.  The line drawn, rope ended, last knot traversed, hanging out over the precipice of circumstance and occurrence they chose the Hope of God instead of doubt.  Insecurity present, without surprise they determined beyond the cost of their lives that living as subject to tyrant and price immeasurable.

And who came to plead God’s case that all men are Sovereign in their relationship, fealty and obedience to a perfect King?  Well, all who came to offer everything, knew fully and wholly of the Holy God that they entreated with request and answered blessing.  A nation, a start, opportunity, not chance because what does powerless fate have to do with the Sovereign Declaration of God in answered prayer?  What fickle minded philosophy or cadence can count time to the music playing outside of its existence, a melody beyond reference, simply to be enjoyed, gathered and remembered as the day when God spoke to all.

This would cost, probably everything, but then that is what comes when the word priceless has been covered.  But what is all material good or treasure in weighted measure against humanity’s freedom and promise of inalienable expression and pursuit of God’s unalterable rights?  Comparison may not be entertained when reviewing Heaven’s blessing.  This was God intervening in the material plane, proving once again that for those whom He loves all things are not only possible, but probable, likely and loving in expression to His Beloved.  When men chose to act upon their creative courage in likeness to God they honored Him and when they doubted not or offered all as expression of faith, they learned that pleasing God is possible to men who will be righteous before Him.  What were they given on that sweltering day when men came together in their committed expression that they had a King and No Man could take His Place?

Well, they were given choices that belonged to few in History; Choices of where to live, how to serve, what to teach and what to learn, how to govern and how to join in the governance of a people yearning, agreeing and enjoying the Freedoms God presented?  What price had they paid, well surrender, not to some tyrant King who would show them prison, rope or blade, but to the King of Kings giving their lives to divine providence to live out God’s Purpose for a Nation.  This Nation, a free nation, was dedicated to live for God’s Plan for humanity, in living their lives as a fearful poem, written to reflect His honor His Glory His Peace and Power before this world that all would know clearly, completely and endearingly that Jesus ruled the hearts of America.  Though others would come with freedom to choose whom they served in the afterlife, this nation had made a choice by invoking God’s Gift of freedom, inalienable from the assaults and frailties of men, that we had dedicated our freedom’s to the God who had given them.

Why then the assaults upon family, upon Christianity and the olive tree of Judaism?  Well, in a country dedicated to God only those with the moral compass and spiritual understanding could truly comprehend that deep meaning.  Placing them in assaults travel they forgot, in fear of their own potential loss, the Power they served and the story they had sworn to tell, teach and cherish.  They had forgotten, not the freedom that blessed them but its arrival, its source, it preciousness, before God and men. Now forgiveness is launched, for repentance must be made and without it no cleanse conscience for our leisurely treatment of Holy Objects and Ideals.  When men are sworn to watch the vault of important things day and night without loss of intent or vigilance and they depart that august duty, what shall become the nation in the time of darkness and defense?  Without appeal before God there shall be no measure or recourse, for what was given of Him in gift and loss through Him in adulterous behavior, must be regained From Him in request for pardon.

These are the days of Glory, not for Americans though we can review the times through which God’s Hand has delivered us, but for God as the World’s Eye turns to our recovery and reshaping again given by His Awesome Craftsmanship.  This America must change, transformed through the sanctifying Hand of Almighty God to become a nation that shall not forget our way again, remembering the Sovereign God, expressing His reflection and Love for the People He Created by bestowing that Sovereign Free Will Upon their free nation.  We are protected as long as we remember who it is that offers that protection and from whose mighty Hand we cannot be plucked by any enemy whether man or principality.

This is One Nation Under God and that is the only Way It shall continue to be a Nation. Roar America, raise your mighty Voice to Heaven declaring your worship of the Almighty God who Loved you enough to hear that roar and whisper back, I Love You.  May God Bless this United States of America and may His name be ever on our lips and His Love indelibly inked upon our hearts and minds in the Freedom He Gave Us, two hundred and forty three years ago today.  Thank you Father in the name of the Precious Son you gave for our salvation, Jesus Christ Our King.

Afraid to face the dark? Or is it the dawn? Perhaps the middle of the day when your mind is so taxed with information and obligations that you would prefer to escape?  Maybe you fear the tax man, elephants, mice, clowns or balloons?  Are you frightened by the thought of fear, not yet knowing from what to flee but knowing it will come nonetheless? This emotion is perhaps one of the greatest motivators in this life.  It is drives, cowers, stifles, reflects, mortifies, stumbles, hobbles, regrets and petrifies more people from achieving their joys in life than any other motion. It stops loves pursuit, forces one to stay in an abusive circumstance or makes us weep out of shame for the steps not taken.  What is fear to you, is it master, humbler, threat or thief?

Stop for a moment dear one and realize that it is okay to be afraid for in this moment there is the great possibility for decision and growth.  I embrace you and am sorry that you are terrified, I wish I had the power and authority to take that from you, but it is here in this lifetime, provided somehow by God as a motivating tool or obstacle to provide for our successes.  Yes, my fears may all come true right now and then where I am left.  Dead, perhaps if that is the nature of my terror?  Incarcerated, alone, tired, hungry, impoverished, ill, unloved, unwanted, separated from those you love, what is the end result of this fear that haunts you in its promises?  What happened right now if every fear you had were to suddenly be realized in an instant?  Where are you?  Are you still alive, are you okay or has the fear truly rendered you incapacitated as it promised?

Is fear rational?  I don’t think that matters, because it is emotional, and being of feeling its logic is frankly irrelevant.  However, fear is belief based.  If you do not believe that an emotion can hurt you are subject you to some fearful punishment then you will deny its worldly claim to effect that outcome.  As well, since fear is sponsored by belief then if God tells us that the spirit of fear is an enemy given facet of life, does it change the nature of the understanding of how to defeat it or navigate its promptings? Basically, if God didn’t give us the spirit of fear and it is therefore an enemy attempt to control our emotions to provoke specific action or inaction then God’s Word says that we are to speak His Word and the enemy must flee, for we are to resist his attempts to drive him from us.  Therefore, describing my fear through the lens of faith, it is one of those obstacles provided for my overcoming. For victory’s sake, I must resist, understanding that the temptation to flee is just as any other temptation; lust, pride, covetousness, adultery, fornication or thievery. When I resist them patience will strengthen my faith and when patience has done its work, perfection is revealed.

I know that this task is not easy, but no one has tried to tell you that it will be in fact it may be down right impossible, which is the true blessing.  You see, the things that you can do are simply life successes that may be overcome with our time, talent and a measure of hard work or coin.  It is in the impossible task that God’s Glory is demonstrated.  I don’t know what your fear.  I am sure that it is equally as terrifying as my own.  What I do know is that God Loves you so much to never frighten you and that Perfect Love Casts out fear.  The worst the enemy can do to me is take my life in a frightful moment of fear and mortality.  Almighty God is the only one with control of my immortality, my spirit.  Reverent fear of the one who holds every soul in the palm of His Hand, now that is a rational fear and a good one to have.  Work out your salvation in fear and trembling, not of any man, creature or power or principality, but of Almighty God.  Lord Jesus we are holding on until your return.  Let us do good work for you in the process of waiting.  In your precious name.  Amen.

Okay Caleb, you’re fat. Yes, I am thank you for reminding me the need for a more healthy consideration of this life over which I am the steward. I will not answer you in the worldly fashion for to do so would require me to put back on the skin suit of the old man who really cared what the world thought of me. My identity is in God. What you call dumb, funny looking, fat, weak, smart, incapable or simple He made for His Good Purposes. So, are you insulting me, who is fearfully and wonderfully made by the Almighty Hand of an Omnipotent God with perfect skills as a master craftsman or are maybe are you challenging the work of His Mighty Hand?

The methods by which the enemy will seek to assault you will always be identified with those that gain him access to the treasures of your joyous heart. We must be vigilant, diligent and aware of these creative attempts and become wise to our own navigable pathways in defense. It is entirely possible that the Lord allows the enemy at us through these avenues just as He designed the Law as a mirror for our self realization of sin, this too is a glorious mechanism that we might see the weakness in our defensive posturing. If is hard to protect an opening that might become a foothold or lead to a full on entourage of enemy encampment if we cannot ourselves see that weakness and take it to God with request for its healing, closing or eradication.

The Lord gives us more than we need, perhaps we are simply failing to recognize the tools and weaponry of our overcoming?  It is apparent that if I continue to walk this road that the Lord has determined for my footfalls that I will be assailed by the slings and arrows of enemy assault because of the nature and the importance of my mission for God’s Glory and purpose. Therefore, God’s Word is clear about a businessman embarking on a project without first considering the capacity, manpower and finances to finish or undertaking a battle for which there is no rational reason for victory. I am walking this road in the absolute certainty of victory.

Now that victory does not depend upon me but it does depend on my willingness to acquiesce and follow only the Lord’s direction. If I determine to follow my only tactical or strategic bullet points of objectives then I will most certainly not be following the path to victory dictated by Him in the outset or agreement. That means I must expect that this enemy also knows that I am a soldier for the Lord and the enemy being an effective planner will always assail me with the hope that I will find the road too difficult and take it under my own counsel to quit or come up short. Yes, God will use all things for good for those who love Him and walk according to His purpose, but that presupposes that we are in fact walking for His Purposes, not our own.

I might want seclusion, safety and limited relationships with saints and the World, but is that consistent with His rules for my Life? Of course not. So if I want His Goals, His Victory, His objectives then I must embark on this project with the intention of following His guidance, His wisdom and His planning for strategic and mission realization.  That requires that I see that you are being used by the enemy to point out the weakness in my defensive field or to show me that the Lord, as in this case has eradicated or deactivated that button that used to be effective in my persuasion. I praise God for His Glory in protection and thank Him for providing the mirror that you’ve given me to show me how much He truly does love, provide and protect me.

Thank you for being you, In Jesus Name, you are fearfully and wonderfully made in His image. Will you embrace that or avoid it as you’ve continued to do so for the duration. I pray that you surrender to His perfect Will for you life, In Jesus’ Holy Name.

If you go into a room and discuss any topic with the intention of bringing about an argument, there will those ready to oblige. However, if you go into a room and have complete love in your heart and wish to have a conversation things will likely go smoothly, that is until you determine to discuss one of two things; Jesus or the specific sin to which those in the room regularly practice. Why is it that those two subjects are inflammatory just from their mention? Could it be that we do not want anyone determining our worthiness or righteousness because it is directly attached to our self identity? If we identify with sleeping with multiple partners that are not our spouse or live the life of drunkenness every night then it is perhaps something for which we have already built considerable internal criticism and shame. Maybe our families have already spoken to of our pursuits and we already stand upon a position of weakness or the need for defense? I understand that about mentioning my normal practices by why would the mention of Jesus prompt the same veracious appetite for argument and self-defense?

That is a tremendous question upon which entire series of PhD’s have been offered and accepted. Far be it from a knucklehead from no where to render expository argument otherwise, but to me it is all associated with the inherent mechanisms associated with conviction of the Holy Spirit. We know that we are doing wrong regardless of the cultural norms so when anyone alerts us to that fact, especially in the circumstance when we have surrounded ourselves with advocates we have the propensity to rush to self-defense.  That is why they hate Jesus and avoid or immediately try to extinguish the topics surrounding a discussion about Him. Because, Jesus is the only worthy and righteous Judge.  In fact, the Bible states that He is the only one assigned that position and that the world, nations and individuals will all stand before Him one day in that judgment for their lives.  Additionally, let’s face it the idea of positing yourself as God on Earth here to save the entirety of mankind and making it exceedingly clear that you are the only door to Eternal afterlife is going to provoke some response, especially from those who desperately cannot have this information expressed or actually be true.

Sin, is the problem of man.  No religion deals with sin other than Christianity. Judaism delays it, allowing a yearly atonement for that sin that returns again the next year. Buddhism simply recycles it and the sin foretells the quandaries one will face in the righteous expression of our next life since the sins of this one determine the destination in the next. Islam determines that we simply have to try real hard to legally and morally balance the scales of good vs evil in our lives that on that day of our judgment we will be found 50.1% good allowing us entry into the next. Most other religions simply address the living of a virtuous life without addressing the complex internal dilemma of my psyche full of sin. There are some new age mystic faiths that deal with it in through meditation and living a centered life in touch and in tandem with the spirit of the Earth and nature but still never tell us how we are to deal with the sin of our past and present. Yet, Christianity deals with this subject head on. It says that the entire reason for our separation from that which is Godly is that sin which marks us, poisons us and determines the direction of our journey into the afterlife.

Christianity deals with the most caustic subject in any room anywhere that will always provoke argument, the sin of mankind. Jesus came to accept the punishment for every sin of all of mankind for the history and future of man’s existence.  God addressed this problem of our conviction by allowing us a method by which to be cleansed of previous sin and be forgiven for future sin all with the unbelievable benefit of being adopted into His Holy Family and being given as an added bonus of eternal life with Him, rather then the separation and punishment that befalls all those who are not forgiven. What God requires is repentance from that sin, simply admitted that it is wrong and that you did it, then admitting the belief and faith in the work that Jesus came and performed because God loved us enough to deal with the greatest topic of religious consideration our moral insurrection against the things of God; Sin.  What makes Jesus the center of men’s argument and some times heated response is that He says that if we don’t accept that free-will, Loving Gift that we will in fact be sealing our eternity in separation from Him within the Lake of Fire that He prepared for disobedient Angels. It is the judgment or the mention of the incumbent judgment afforded to all men once they leave this worldly plane that provoke or evokes the anger of men, for they feel that no one, even the God who created them should have the authority to determine the rules for their passing to the afterlife. They have in fact invented a god of their own imagination and a heaven of their own day dream and if you challenge their narcissistic understanding of that construct you have now threaten to destroy the fabric of their entire existence.

I guess looking at those odds I too would have the recourse to express some ideas in dramatic fashion if you were challenging my reason for being or the determination of my fantastic afterlife with your words about a God who had a differing set of rules. That is why it is so important for disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ to understand the circumstances in which they will stand for speaking the Word even in Gentleness and Truth will in fact challenge man’s existence in this life and the next. Why does the mention of Jesus or the sin that people practice provoke such emotional response, because the Truth of it would mean that we are all damned unless accepting the one path to life set before us by God. We are simply so independent and rebellious to authority that we will not accept any mandate that is not of our own volition. Well that is okay, this one is by choice, you can choose to be cleansed of all unrighteousness, transformed in this lifetime and given eternity with God in the next or you can choose to be judged in front of that Holy And Righteous God and sent for eternity in a pool of fire with His Angels. It is in fact a rational choice with one clear option that is to the benefit of all mankind. Yet you still out of the Love of God for all men have been given the choice to serve whichever god you choose. You can choose the gods of this life in which case you will receive the rewards of this life and no reward in the next or you can serve the Everlasting God who will reward you in both this life and the next. The choice is yours. Whether you have effective argument to justify your current behavior the choice remains in the background awaiting your decision. No other religion deals with it except the true Gospel of Peace, provided by God through Jesus. The way the Truth and the Life found only in Jesus Christ the King. Choose, this day whom you will serve in this life and the next.

Searching the quizzical origins of argument, I was forced to inquire of myself, I said, “Self, what causes you to believe that everything that proceeds from your mouth, is indeed true or correct”? Then self was perplexed for he was stumped without answer, indicative of a man who had not yet pondered the questions he ought to ask of, well, self. How do I know with certainly upon those things about which I pontificate regularly that they are asserted fact instead of the idle ramblings of a man who would be king? In this endeavor I was driven to the origins of how “truth” might actually be defined.

If I know that my truth or the words that I am speaking are truth then I naturally assume that you will perceive them such as the august gifts of wisdom I have come to bestow upon a world that is in desperate need of my insight. Say, what? If truth is based upon perception then how does one group corner that which may be assumed is truth? If that is our guiding structure than whatever the ruling class, the dominant set of thinkers determines is truth is then in fact the accepted truth. But then what if I don’t accept it, being a sentient being and finding what they’ve said, preposterous, I am free at that point to simply deny their truth submitting that since truth is simply respondent to the perception then I therefore perceive it to “not be true”.  Therefore, truth must have a larger construct, rule, law or guidance that is not subjective that is indeed objective and may be reviewed by all, regardless of perception to in fact be the reliable facts upon which we may secure our thinking vessels.

Okay, so there has to be some manner of objective, reliable compentry to the Truth in order for it to be truth.  What then is that agreement or those elements upon which reason relies that defy and objection in determining some fact is in fact the truth? How can we for instance stand in front of a judge and proclaim, “I promise to speak the truth, the whole truth, so help me “God”. Oh, wait you have now injected a disputable measure of spirituality in to this argument. That is frankly unfair.  For how might I have an argument based upon truth, in fact regarding the subject of truth itself without now having to also have an argument that the truth is unavailable in its entirety without such discussion about a Sovereign God who is the Keeper or the Reviewer of all that is Truth?

Is it impossible for us to just come to rational agreement that 2 and 2 are in deed 4 in order for it to be truth? Well, that injects several other difficulties into the mix you were hoping to simplify. Yes, in deed we may come to some agreement that 2 and 2 are 4 and that being the sole determination of its truth as a statement until such time as some departs from that agreement as that continues to rely upon man’s perception or power of definition as the determination of “Truth”. Additionally, we are now left with the hopelessness that at some date in the future someone may come a long and demonstrate a circumstance where 2 and 2 do not in deed add up to 4 at which points the entire basis for our reliance upon the truth was subjective from the outset. What then must we assert from the inevitable injection of Sovereignty in to the mix by judicial partners and authorities?

Many would believe that they are in deed subjecting humanity to some arbitrary or faith based duty to respond to a Truth that is determined by a God in which none believe. However, what men have determined over time is that since truth may not be simply subjective, within the purview of man’s determination that it must be “a” “lien” “able” from the whims of man to subjectively transform its state of origin. Basically for Truth to be truth it may not simply be agreed upon by a majority party it must have been supernaturally defined as outside the subjective findings of man. Oh, wait, you mean sciences continued notion that they will experiment and experiment until the in deed have a proof upon which they will make millions of dollars and acclaims to fame by submitting some heretofore misunderstood concept of a natural truth?  If I follow the process of cheese being made back to the source that was the goat or cow from whence it came have I now discovered or won the capacity to define that Truth?

The universe exists, if I deconstruct it and find the components that were used to construct that universe is it my realization of this that makes it truth, or simply is my realization giving credence and support to the objectivity of the universe that does not need my definition in order to be proclaimed Truth? You see God exists outside of my definition. He does not need my belief in Him, my perspective of his believability or my definition to objectively be Truth. Therefore, God is a better basis for determining truth than is that of a round headed, pontificating, self proclaimed Holy Man of God. It is God who is the only Truth and from His definition, His origin, His instruction, direction and design that we capture an agreement that surpasses the gullibility and subjectivity of men’s narrow conceptual analysis and fickleness.

Without God then therefore we may not have any Truth and in fact the Truth that is God is the only reliable and responsible Truth to which all men may subscribe. That coincidentally is what is said in Roman’s 1 and once we have denied that fact God turns us over to our own decadent thinking. This is where I believe we create that point in man’s errant thinking, the Point I refer to as, “The House of Cards” or the “World of self-creation” which again is something warned of in the ten commandments. Men, once turned over to their own decadence are forced to construct a universe based upon their own subjective analysis and must then surround themselves with members of like-thinking that their definitions are safe from challenge and subsequent loss of reality when that definition is in fact challenged by rational or different thinking.

I believe that is why when a culture group driven by their own desire to become a certain way that is inconsistent with God’s direction that they must then convert all members of their communities, businesses, faith groups and support mechanism to repeat that mantra or it begins to fray the lightly woven tapestry of their subjective “house of cards” definition of the universe around them. That is why they are never satisfied in pursuing their own self-interest once approval is gained or tolerance ventured, they are driven to have the entire world acknowledge the reality of their thinking otherwise their universal definitions are forever tenuous and may  be challenged at some distant point. This fear will cause them to destroy ever group with whom they disagree, in a quest for self-preservation of the Truth that cannot be Truth without their decadent supportive thinking and active defense. It is a sad circumstance wrought with feelings of shame, inadequacy and insecurity, often replaced by hypocrisy and condemnation of those faith based groups who submit and hold dear to the only origin of actual and factual truth being God Himself.

Truth is not what I make it but it defines me as I am a created being living within the Universe defined by God. I do not possess nor may I acquire or hijack the capacity to defined truth in my own subjective measure for it will forever be based on my inadequate thinking and therefore subject forever to interpretation, agreement and subject to the internal errors within my original thinking. God is the only source of Truth. It is the Truth that Jesus Christ is God having submitted himself to the humbling reality that He alone could come to Earth and fulfill that law that He presented in order to save us from an achievement beyond our capacity for performance. He laid down His life that we might be free by our reliance upon the Truth that Jesus Christ is Lord and upon that Truth that does not for one moment require my belief in order to be true, that will set all humanity free from the horrors of sin and death. The Truth is Truth regardless of what the enemy says that it is. We know it we feel it we smell, understand and crave it for it upon that Truth the only available immovable mooring within the universe that we may securely lash the eternal ships of our Spirit existence.

The Lord God be praise in the Mighty Name of Jesus.