The Worst of 2011

After noting the best ideals of 2011, I thought it would be appropriate to note the worst too. I think the worst example of the year is Eric Holder.

Holder is the Attorney General of the United States in the Obama administration. He is a small minded, weak, black man who was put into a position of authority by Obama because he holds the same values as Obama. I find nothing positive to say about this man.

Holder is a, passive aggressive, incompetent racist. He has called Americans ‘cowardly’ for not addressing the race issue. At the same time, in his position as the chief law enforcement officer of the United States, he has refused to prosecute members of the black-panther party for voter intimidation. Former employees of the Justice Department have documented that it is Holders policy not to prosecute minorities for infractions against whites. One will note of his administration that minorities are always given favor over whites. That isn't justice any more than when whites showed favor for whites historically. It is racism.

Holder advocated trying Al Qaida terrorists in civilian courts when doing so would have made a media spectacle out of their cases and cost taxpayers a fortune. Al Qaida terrorists are NOT citizens...they are enemies of the US, most captured on foreign soil. They declared war on us! International law recognizes them as prisoners of war. The public outcry for common sense prevailed in that issue.

Holder claims to know nothing about the so-called ‘Fast and Furious’ gun running debacle...though he is the head of the Justice Department overseeing it. He has demonstrated a proclivity to cover up what he doesn't want made public. He has used the issue of 'Fast and Furious' to advocate new, unconstitutional gun laws. That was his, and the Obama administration's, intent all along. I have no doubt that his claims will prove to be lies plain and simple.

Holder isn’t even an elected official. He is the same stripe as Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers, (More of Obama's "birds-of-a-feather") an enemy of traditional American values. This man is getting his 'pay back' using his racist anger against white people by abusing the power of his office. Most of the rest of the world is moving past issues of ‘black and white’ because we have other things to worry about...like the economy Obama is destroying. Holder doesn't care anything about real justice. He has only used his office to further his liberal, racist agenda. He is an embarrassment to America. Holder is an ENEMY of American values. He needs to be unceremoniously fired. Then, in November, the American people need to fire his boss.

The Best of 2011

In looking back over the year there were two stories that stand out in my mind that represent the best qualities in living beings.

The first happened in Madison, Georgia. Little 9 year-old Anaiah Rucker and her 5 year-old sister, Camry were crossing the street to catch the school bus, one morning, when Anaiah saw a truck coming at her little sister. She jumped to push Camry out of the way of the oncoming truck. In the process she suffered two broken legs. Her left leg had to be amputated later. She lost a kidney and suffered a broken neck and spleen damage. Anaiah saved her little sisters life. She said of Camry later, “I thought she was too young”. “She’s my sister. I love her.” This story touched my heart. This little girl demonstrated the best qualities in the human spirit. She will live with her injuries for the rest of her life. Her little sister Camry will live knowing how great a love her sister has for her. Anaiah's story deserves to be remembered. I have no doubt that she has a great reward awaiting her. I think God has found another jewel for His crown…

The second story happened in the Arahama area of Japan. After suffering a devastating earthquake, the area was hit with an enormous tsunami. Thousands of people and animals died. The entire area was destroyed.

In surveying the area, a team of reporters happened on a dog that was battered and soaked from the tsunami. He was keeping the reporters at bay, protecting another dog that was in even worse shape. This dog refused to leave his wounded friend. He stayed at the side of his companion in the midst of that horrible devastation. The sight of it touched the hearts of the reporters…as the story did animal lovers all over of the world. This, too, demonstrated the best qualities of spirit in a living being. Nobility is not just a trait found in some humans. Dogs have much to teach us about nobility, friendship and loyalty. They deserve our love and respect.

For My Best Friend...

I never had my own dog as a child. My sisters each had one and they were considered family pets but their loyalty was always to one of my sisters first. It wasn’t until after I turned fifty and moved to New Mexico that I finally got my own dog. I have to say, it was the best thing I’ve ever done in my life! I didn’t know that I had a hole in my heart until my Sarah Belle filled it. She has become my best friend….

I thought I knew something about dogs before but I’ve learned so much from living with one that I realize I never even scratched the surface. I used to say I liked dogs but I’d never sleep with one or eat with one. Now, I do both regularly and it seems the most natural thing in the world. She has convinced me that dogs are a gift from God to mankind and they're worthy of our love and respect. They’re not only our companions but they can also be our teachers.

When I hear people talk about the intelligence of dogs I am reminded of a line in the movie Forrest Gump wherein the title character says: “I’m not a smart man but I know what love is”. While Sarah Belle is very intelligent, she has other qualities that I think are more important. My Sarah understands love, friendship, loyalty, forgiveness, trust and affection. She 'gets' all the good stuff. She has the sweetest heart and a personality that makes me fall in love with her more every day. I’m convinced God sent her to me to teach me.

While I’ve always thought of home as a place, for Sarah ‘home’ is with me, wherever I am. She just wants to be where I am and do what I'm doing. (That's why my food always tastes better than hers!) She’s my pack. She only wants to be loved and have a place to belong like all of us. She makes my house a home. She's always happy to see me. She's quick to forgive. She reminds me to play a little every day. She makes me laugh every day. She reminds me about how important it is just to feel joy in being alive. She brings me so much of that joy. She has opened my heart and my eyes to see things I never have. She's taught me the meaning of unconditional love... From giving my heart to her I’ve come to have more compassion for all animals. If Sarah Belle is capable of love then maybe other animals are too.

Sure, there are the little drawbacks. I dread rainy and snowy days because of the mud she'll track in! She loves to lie down and rub in dead things?? She drinks from the toilet. She puts things in her mouth that would make me gag! And, there is hair on just about everything I own. But, like any relationship, we take the good with the bad. Like my mother always tells me, we accept our friends, "warts and all". And, who couldn't love an animal that smiles by wiggling its butt!?

Mans Best Friend lives to please the people they live with. They look for ways to make us smile and laugh. It pains me to see them abused and neglected knowing how much they have to offer. How could anyone harm such noble creatures? I think Immanuel Kant was right, “We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.”

I know, because of the differences in our life spans, that one day we will have to part. Until that day I will love and cherish my best friend and, by God’s grace, spend an eternity with her at my side. She has been my teacher even in that. I think it’s how we should see everyone we love and cherish. None of us knows how many days we get to spend with those we love so we should cherish them every minute.

Here are some things others have had to say about dogs...

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.”  Anatole France

“He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader, he will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart.”  Unknown

“My goal in life is to be as good of a person as my dog already thinks I am.”  Unknown

(If I didn't have cats and dogs...) "I would not have to answer the question ‘Why do you have so many animals?’ from people who will never have the joy in their lives of knowing they are loved unconditionally by someone as close to an angel as they will ever get."  Unknown

Now I get it...Thank You God.

Rest and Release, God's Economic Plan

This is a time in America, and in the world, when people who don’t usually give any thought to economics have economics on the forefront of their minds. We are in a time of economic instability and uncertainty the likes of which we haven’t seen since the Great Depression. Our political leaders dicker and debate on exactly what to do but no one really seems to have any idea on how to fix our problems. The Bible hasn’t left us without guidance on this issue. God’s Word reveals to us an economic system that is both equitable and sustainable if we would implement it.

The first five books of the Bible, the books of Moses or Torah, contain laws of righteousness, those that instruct people in good morals and good conduct common to all men. They contain laws of sanctification that set the people apart for serving the One True God. They contain laws for individual conduct; for the worship of God both individually and ceremonially and laws to guide the nation including national economic laws. A nation that institutes Gods law is a righteous nation. One that does not is guilty of national sin. While it is unclear if ancient Israel ever consistently practiced these laws one thing is certain, they will be put into practice in the Millennium or World Tomorrow. So the reader can consider this: ‘Millennial Economics 101’.

The number seven is quite signifiant in God’s word. We are to rest on the seventh day of the week. We are to observe seven annual Holy Days. The nation is to observe a seven-year cycle. And the year after the end of seven times seven years, the fiftieth year, there is to be a Jubilee year. All of these laws affect the national economic system.

The Ten Commandments, or Decalogue, are the primary laws directing individual conduct. They are the only part of the Bible actually written by the hand of God...in stone.  They are intended for all men in all ages. The forth commandment admonishes us to “Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy”. It could begin: Thou shalt not work on the seventh day, but God chose to make it a positive command instead of a negative. We are to abstain from our usual labor both for our own physical and spiritual health and as a part of our national labor system. The seventh day is to be a day in which no commerce is to be practiced. It re-focuses us on our Creator and His purposes for us.

The seven annual Holy Days are signposts to guide us into understanding God’s plan for mankind but they are also reminders of our annual labors. They remind us of the times of planting and harvest that affect all of us. They mandate times of vacation and rejoicing for rich and poor alike. They show us that all citizens are to be partakers in the national prosperity.

In a like manner there is to be a seven-year cycle observed throughout the land. The seventh year is to be a Sabbath year for the land and its workers. The land is to lie at rest. It is not to be tilled or planted in. It is not to be harvested. All debts are to be forgiven every seven years. All slaves, those who have either lost or traded their freedoms for security, are to be freed.

The year following seven times seven years, the fiftieth year, is to be a Jubilee year. All debts are forgiven. All slaves are to be freed. All lands that have been bought, or more correctly leased, are to be returned to the original family of ownership. The Jubilee year is somewhat akin to the Day of Pentecost. In a like manner Pentecost occurs the day after seven times seven weeks from the Wave Sheaf offering. The Day of Pentecost is the day God gave His commandments and laws from Mount Sinai thus freeing the people from the captivity of Egypt (a type of sin) and it’s pagan practices. In the New Testament it is the day God sent His Holy Spirit to dwell in the members of the first church thus freeing them from the captivity of sin. The Jubilee year too is a time of release and rejoicing. Together these observations of time serve as guideposts to remind God’s people of His economic system.

In the books of the law God forbids His people from charging interest to their countrymen on loaned money or other goods. The only taxation was the collection of tithes. The Levites, those who ran the physical government of Israel, were not allowed to own land but instead dwelt in cities, lived and ran the county and temple on the tithes of the rest of the nation. Gods taxation system never charged taxes on property. The tithes were only paid out of the increase or income of the people.

In addition to a tithe of ones increase paid to run the government, families were instructed to save a second tithe to use on whatever they desired during God's commanded festivals in the places He appointed. A third tithe, sometimes called a poor tithe, was to be collected during the third and sixth years out of a seven-year cycle. It was to be set aside to provide for the Levites and the needy among the people. This amounted to a taxation system of about 20 percent total of ones income.

The government always ran on the tithes the people paid because the government was instructed not to borrow from other nations. The government could lend money to other nations and interest could be charged on that money. There was no gold standard that the monetary system was tied to. Free enterprise and private property ownership were allowed but the poor and needy were always provided for.

There was no communal ownership in Gods system. The only place that can be found in the scriptures is in the early church. In that time and place communal ownership, where everyone sold what they had and distributed the money to those with need among them, served to make the people liquid and mobile for the coming fall of Jerusalem under the Romans. Beyond that particular instance the scriptures clearly advocate that every man could sit under his own vine and fig tree and none could make them afraid.

Private property could never be taken away from its owner. Land could be leased for a price that reflected the amount of time until the next Jubilee year. It was then returned to the family of ownership. There was never any kind of inheritance tax.

This is only the barest outline of God’s economic system.

There are many more laws and principles that flesh out Gods way of building a sound economy. God’s system is fair and equitable. It allows people to maintain their dignity and feel safe in their homes. It allows people to pass on to their descendants what they have worked for all their lives. God’s economic system allows free enterprise guided by His commandments and laws.

Because of greed the worldly systems of economics can work people seven days a week, 24 hours a day. They have literally worked untold numbers to death. Instead of debt being erased every seven years, the worlds systems enslave people by crushing interest rates and poverty. For delinquent property taxes worldly governments can take away private property that may have been in the same family for generations. The worlds way can produce the very rich but at the same time it produces the very poor. Instead of a Jubilee every fifty years, the worldly systems tend to go through a depression about every fifty years.

Gods’ economic plan is unlike any worldly system. It is unlike socialism wherein the government owns the means of production and forcibly redistributes wealth. It is unlike communism wherein there is no private ownership. The state owns everything and distributes resources as it sees fit. It is also unlike our capitalistic system where greed and “the bottom line” are the only guides. All the nations that ignore Gods economic laws are guilty of national sins and they all fail their citizens in some way.

In a world full of bountiful resources with plenty of food…people go hungry every day. That would never be so in God’s system. What’s more Gods way is sustainable. It can last for a thousand years and beyond. One day He’ll show us that.

A Land Full of Bloody Crimes

In a land full of bloody crimes like America has become there is a sharp divide on whether the death penalty is appropriate or humane. The way criminals are punished varies greatly across the country. The two percent of the population that are criminals hold the ninety-eight percent of innocent people hostage because of contradictory laws and good intentions. People that may mean well in our justice system have created a convoluted mess. The result is no justice and no peace.

The eighth amendment to the Constitution reads: Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

This was added to the Constitution because of abuses the British had inflicted on American colonists. Our founding fathers wanted America to be different. The cruelty the old world had known would not stand here. It was, and is, a noble ideal.

As a Christian I have one issue with the admonition against the ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ clause. I think that standard should be determined by the act of the criminal perpetrator. If a murderer kills his victim by hitting them in the head with a pipe, for example, that’s how that murderer should die. This is a Biblical principle. Most people will recognize the scriptural phrase “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”. Most people, however, don’t understand that it is a law intended for a government NOT for individuals.

I have often heard people claim the Bible contradicts itself when the law, ‘an eye for an eye’, is compared to Christ’s admonition to turn the other cheek. They don’t understand what the Bible says or why. When Christ said to turn the other cheek He was speaking to individuals NOT to a government. There is no contradiction. There are two different directives intended for two different audiences.

Many modern Christians will claim the death penalty is not a Christian value. Only the Bible can dictate what is and is not a Christian value. The death penalty is a Biblical law. It is the only law contained in all five books of the law. That makes it a Christian value.

Mahatma Gandhi famously said: "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth and the whole world would soon be blind and toothless." Gandhi didn’t understand the Bible either. I have no doubt Gandhi, and those who hold similar notions, mean well. They believe they are holding human life to a higher value. A proper understanding of the Bible will show that the death penalty, in fact, holds human life to the highest value.

Genesis 9:6 "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.”

This is the admonition in the book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible. It tells us that man is made in the image of the Living God. It is because man holds a special place that to kill a human being demands the highest penalty. Such is the value of human life.

Exodus. 21:24 “eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,”

Leviticus.24:17 “If anyone takes the life of a human being, he must be put to death.”

Leviticus. 24:20 “fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. As he has injured the other, so he is to be injured.”

Deuteronomy.19:21 “Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”

If someone takes your hand, they owe a hand in return. It isn’t vengeance for a government to exact such a penalty. It is true justice. It becomes vengeance when an individual takes the law into their own hands. Justice is the true road to peace. Vengeance is the road to destruction.

Numbers 35:30 “Anyone who kills a person is to be put to death as a murderer only on the testimony of witnesses. But no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.”

Biblical law doesn’t arbitrarily demand a human life based on one persons word. That could lead to horrible abuses. Two witnesses were required to demand a life. In our world, with modern science, forensic evidence can easily serve as a witness capable of convicting a murderer.

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In the last few days a man in New York walked into an elevator wearing what appeared to be the clothing of an exterminator. He sprayed flammable liquid on a 73 year old woman then stepped out of the elevator and set the woman on fire, killing her. He did this in the view of a surveillance camera. He went on to turn himself in to the local police. The city and the nation were shocked.

It says something for a crime to shock the nation these days. We have become accustomed to horrible, bloody crimes against the innocent. Thirty years ago a bloody crime would make the front page of every newspaper in the country. These days it has to be something really unusual to do so.

Earlier this month in Canton, Georgia a seven-year old girl was raped, stabbed and beaten to death. The body of Jorelys Rivera was found December 5th in the afternoon in a trash bin. She had been thrown away like so much garbage. A 20-year-old apartment maintenance man is being held for the murder of this beautiful little child.

This story hardly made the news in most places in the country. It was reported between the weather and the latest football scores. Though it shocked the people in her community, the next day it was just a footnote to most of the nation. This kind of evil has become all-too-common.

The monsters that committed these horrible murders will, no doubt, go through a lengthy court process. They will most likely be found guilty. They may even be given the death penalty. If that happens they will go through years of appeals and may never actually see the death penalty. They will be housed and fed on taxpayer money for years to come. In a week or two their crimes will be forgotten for the next big stories in the news. The families of their victims will know no peace from our “justice” system.

If Biblical laws were enacted these monsters would die like the innocent people they murdered in a timely manner. Their deaths would be made public and you can be certain that it would send the message to other would-be rapists and murderers that to commit such crimes would see them die in a like manner. I guarantee that would deter most!

Oh, some of the more ‘humane’ among us would weep and moan for the terrible, and cruel way that these monsters were ended…but more families would sleep soundly knowing that justice prevails and their children were safe.

This world has gotten so off-track that it will take Christ returning to set it right. God’s system of justice is coming…little Jorelys Rivera will breath again. She, and all of humanity, will know true peace and justice one day.

Ezekiel 7:23 “Make a chain: for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence.”

Christians and Christmas

I’m one of the odd minority of Christians that don’t keep Christmas. You could call me literalistic when it comes to reading the Bible. I believe it actually means what it says.

While I have no particular problem with people wanting to acknowledge or celebrate the birth of Jesus the Christ…I just don’t believe it should be a continuation of a pagan holiday. While there is no evidence that Christ or His disciples ever celebrated His birth, it is mentioned prominently in the Gospels. Of course most modern Christians don’t actually seem to have read the Bible as the ‘traditional’ story of Christ’s birth doesn’t fit the facts as presented in the gospels.

December 25th is a day that was recognized for centuries before the birth of Christ as the pagan celebration Saturnalia. Saturnalia was an ancient Roman celebration held in honour of Saturn, one of the Titans. Saturn was the father of Jupiter, the Roman version of the Greek god Zeus. The practice predated the birth of Christ by over 200 years. There is evidence that some version of it was practiced centuries earlier in Babylon.

The early Catholic church, in trying to make converts, adopted many pagan holidays, practices and places of worship and simply stamped the name Christ on them. That was the opposite of what the God of the Bible commanded His people to do. In the centuries since, many other pagan practices were folded into the celebration that came around the time of the Winter Solstice. Celtic and Nordic practices added what became Santa Claus, the Yule log, the Christmas tree etc. These things are all clearly documented in history books for anyone who cares to research them. None of these things has anything remotely to do with Christ. Modern Christians observe the ‘Christ-mass’ because it has become tradition…and because it feels good. Knowingly or unknowingly those that observe the day do so on the authority of the Catholic church and NOT on the scriptures.

I believe the Bible is abundantly clear that Gods people are NOT to worship Him they way pagan nations worship their gods. The story of Cain and Able clearly shows that God will not accept forms of worship that He doesn’t command. And, Christ himself warns His people that they worship God in vain when they substitute traditions for Gods commands.

It is easily argued that Christ was not born in the middle of Winter in Israel. He was likely born in the Fall according to scholars. He was born in the year 4 BC and not the year zero. Scripture says wise men came from the East bearing three types of gifts. It doesn’t say there were three wise men. While Mary, or more correctly Miriam in Hebrew, bore her child in a stable, he wasn’t there when the wise men came to visit. His name, incidentally, was Yeshua not Jesus. (There is no ‘J’ sound in Hebrew.) Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua and means ‘savior’. Christ means 'messiah', a title His followers gave Him later. So His birth name would have been ‘Yeshua ben Yosef ‘or ‘Joshua the son of Joseph’. All these are facts that most modern Christians don’t really even care about. They are more interested in their ‘feel good’ tradition.

It is also most often overlooked that during this ‘feel good’ time, that there are more suicides than at any other time of year. More people suffer from depression now than any other time of year. Anyone can see there is more stress and that's not to mention, the murder rate and rate of domestic abuse goes up during this time. And think of the number of families that go into debt buying gifts for their children as Christmas presents. I love children but they have been conditioned to expect Christmas presents regardless of their parents ability to pay for them. Now, my heart is touched when I hear of a child doing something unselfish during Christmas, or any other time, but Christmas teaches most children to think only of themselves. Greed and selfishness are not Christian values. None of this is what Christ intended for His followers...

People think of Christmas as the time to show love and good feelings towards others. Those who would normally ignore the disenfranchised in our society do ‘feel good’ things for them this time of year. The homeless, and everyone else, need to eat every day but it makes the more affluent among us feel good about themselves to feed the homeless...on this day. (Then go back to ignoring them when it's over.)  The Bible tells us to love our fellow man every day of the year but, as has been pointed out, what the Bible actually says doesn't really matter to people who observe Christmas.

Every year Christ is removed a little further from the Christ-mass. He is talked about less and less. More and more stuff is advertised and sold. Some of the very things Christ warned against are emphasized this time of year. We have become a 'bottom line' culture in more ways than one. But, retailers love it…because it makes people feel good!

Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. (Mark 7:7)

The God I Know

It is a typical human endeavor to create labels for ourselves. We like to define things because we believe when we do we gain some kind of power over them. We give labels to everything. Just think of going to a doctor with some kind of health problem. The first thing we want to know is: what is it? Is there a name for what I have? If we can name it, then we must be able to do something about it. In a like manner we create idols, images of things the way we want them to be. We reduce things to images that we can comprehend. Sometimes we make our idols out of wood or stone or metal. But most of the time we create our idols in our minds. Think about when you’ve heard something about someone you’d never met. You probably created a mental image of that person only to find later, when you actually met, they didn’t fit your mental image. We all do that to some degree. The problems arise when we react to our mental image, or idol, instead of reacting to the actual person. We may have heard that someone was a liar or thief or some other dark, nefarious type. When we met them, instead of meeting the real person in front of us, we reacted to the image we had of a liar or thief. Someone who themselves may have been the victim of a liar or a gossip. That’s one reason why God tells us in His word not to gossip.

We do these things, create labels and images in our minds, of God too. If the labels or images we create in our minds are not those of the God revealed in the scriptures then we have created an idol. When we worship the image we have of our god, we are worshipping an idol. We can do this all on our own but we have to remember too that we have powerful enemies in the spirit realm. Satan and his demons are attempting to lead us away from the One True God. They encourage us to create false images of God with our hands and in our minds. They encourage us to worship that which is not God. The world is full of false gods that mankind worships. We hear about them every day. We can’t just unconsciously allow such things in our minds or they can slowly change us too. We have to study the scriptures, pray and obey God to come to know Him. When we hear or read someone else’s labels or images of God we need to consciously remind ourselves, That’s NOT the God I know.

Here are just a few of the common misconceptions about Our Heavenly Father:

God is not opposite but equal to Satan. Lucifer was the being created by God who rebelled and became Satan. God is not at war with Satan. Satan has made war on God and lost: he will do so again…and lose again. He is in NO way equal to God. We shold not mistake the fact that God allows him to do what he does, for now, as anything approaching equality with our Heavenly Father.

God is not desperately trying to save all of mankind. If he were He’d be losing. This is ‘A’ day of salvation. God is not calling all of mankind now. The day will come when He will.

He doesn’t punish people for breaking His commandments in the way many think. When someone touches a hot stove God doesn’t send an angel down to burn their flesh. Sin, breaking God’s law, brings it’s own punishment just like a hot stove does it’s own burning. Like a parent punishes a child for intentionally breaking a rule, God punishes those who willfully disobey Him.

God doesn’t make ‘deals’. He laid down His covenant, His B’rith, and we choose to follow it or not. He set before us life and death and He implores us to choose life.

God isn’t in nature. He is apart from and outside of the universe. He cannot be reduced to any form in time, space, matter, energy or any other thing He created.

God doesn’t absolve people from obeying Him for simply accepting Christ as their savior. Faith requires action. To Love God, to come to understand Him, we have to obey Him.

God doesn’t automatically send someone who hasn’t accepted Christ to hell. He wouldn’t send a young child, or anyone else, to hell for never having heard of, or understood, Christ. He’s not a vengeful old man waiting to punish sinners or unbelievers. He doesn’t take any pleasure in punishing disobedient children. He wouldn’t send, even a disobedient child, into an ever-burning hell fire. Those who consciously reject Him will be burned up and even their memory forgotten.

He doesn’t love some of His children and hate others…He loves all His children.

He is not a part of some mysterious trinity. His Holy Spirit is His power that emanates from Him not some ethereal being, more powerful even than God the Father.

God is NOT ‘the goddess’ or ‘our Higher Power’ or ‘the deity’ or any of our other euphemisms. God reveals Himself to us as our Heavenly Father. God will not be reduced to any form we can conceive. God’s name is hallowed. It is not to be taken casually or lightly. In a like way His sons name is not to be taken casually or lightly.

God cannot be defined. To define something is to categorize it; to group it with other like-things. There is only One God. There is nothing else in that category. Because we are mortal beings with three-pound brains our brains cannot contain or conceive of God in His totality. We can only come to know what He reveals of Himself. Because we are limited in our various languages He uses terms that we can understand to teach us.

Only the scriptures reveal to us the One, True God. He is the Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer of everything there is. He is righteous, just, patient, merciful, everlasting…and so much more… God is a spirit. We must worship Him in spirit and truth. God is Love and Love is ultimately how we come to know Him.

The Power of Forgiveness

Forgiveness is without doubt one of the fundamental elements of Christianity. Perhaps it is the fundamental element. Forgiveness is the key to Gods plan. God forgives us our sins and we are commanded to forgive one another of the wrongs we do each other. Without forgiveness Gods plan would be pointless. There would be no hope for any of us. Without our forgiving each other we would be unable to live together in harmony or know any kind of inner peace. Forgiveness is the foundation upon which a Christian life is built.

I’ve thought about writing an article on forgiveness for some time now. I first thought to do so in general, academic terms with a kind of dispassionate observers perspective. I came to realize that my own personal story may be the best way to approach the subject. Maybe there is someone struggling out there who needs a personal story to connect with. This is my testimony of forgiveness.

As a child I lived in a home filled with alcoholism, physical abuse and violence. The details aren’t important anymore. It was a long time ago. But it occurred at such an early stage in my life that it affected everything in my life for decades. For most of my life my relationships with other people have all been tainted by the abuse I suffered. I know that I’m nothing special. Unfortunately this is far too common a story in our world. Too many of us have had to deal with similar things, or far worse, in their own lives. The good news is that there is a way out of the darkness such things bring into our lives. The truth really can set you free…

For years I never talked about the darkness abuse brought into my life. It was too personal. I balled my feelings up and pushed them deep down inside me without ever addressing them. They kept me from getting too close to any other human being. They kept me from being able to trust anyone. They kept me from being hurt again. They made me prone to depression. And, they awakened dreams of revenge in me. Like a spiritual cancer those feelings slowly ate away at me. I clung to the hate they created in me like it was a personal treasure. That hate gave me a feeling of power, a power I didn’t have in my childhood.

I became a Christian some years later. With my efforts to seek God and obey His will I began to study His word. When I first read in the scriptures His admonition to love our enemies it was very hard to hear, but my heart knew it was the truth. I probably read the scriptures about how I should forgive my enemies hundreds of times, all without connecting what I was reading to my issues. It wasn’t talking to me it was talking to other people. I wasn’t ready to let go of my power. I wasn’t ready to let go of the dark feelings that felt good to me. The armor of God I wore was full of chinks.

One day, after professing to be a follower of Christ for years, I read about forgiveness yet again in Gods word. This time I realized He was speaking to me. I finally took it personally. In prayer I admitted that I didn’t have the ability to forgive, I just didn’t know how. But I knew that God, through His grace and the power of His Holy Spirit, could do it through me if I would get out of the way. So I prayed for God to work through me and forgive those who had hurt me. True to His word He worked in me to do it. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t an overnight event, it took me a long time asking the same prayer to finally let go of my hate and resentment. But it happened. God set me free of something that had pulled me down my whole life. I felt as if an enormous weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I began to feel Gods love. I still have scars on my body but my heart has been healed.

I had to repent of my dark feelings before God could forgive through me. Repentance is closely related to forgiveness. Repentance, admitting our sins, shortcomings and weaknesses opens our hearts and allows Gods forgiveness and love to flow through us. Only God’s light can drive out the darkness.

It seems a part of our human condition that we allow so many things to come between us. We want to see ourselves as separate. It makes us feel special. It also cuts us off from each other. But we are dynamic beings. Holding on to darkness only causes us to stagnate. It doesn’t allow us to grow. It pulls us down. God’s love, God’s light is dynamic. It flows through us and uplifts us.

I’ve made it a part of my life to study mankind by studying myself. I’ve learned that we hold on to hate and resentment because they feel good. They can give us a sense of power and control. God’s Holy Spirit working in me quietly taught me that that kind of power is an illusion. It only works to pull us down. Hate and resentment only hurt the one who holds on to them. They don’t cause the one hated to lose any sleep.

There’s a popular parable that says each of us has two dogs fighting inside us, one good; one evil. The one that wins is the one that we feed the most. I know feeding the one that holds hate in us feels good. I also know that road holds no inner peace. It only leads to destruction. Satan uses those chinks in Gods armor to constantly pull us away from God. I know that forgiveness is the only way to let it go. It feeds the good dog in us. Forgiveness is a part of love and real love flows from God like rivers of living water.

The truth is we are all connected. We all come from the same ancestors and they came from God. I wonder at people who question whether God even exists. I think they must live in a kind of prison. I want to shout to them from the rooftops that I KNOW God exists because of what He has done in me! I know that God is Love. He doesn’t exist ‘out there’ in some intellectual realm. He can live in us, if we make room for Him by allowing His light to drive out the darkness in us.

Because God’s love is dynamic we can’t just stop at forgiveness. We are called on to go further. We are called on to love our enemies. I knew that my heart had truly been healed when I was able to pray for those who hurt me and mean it.

I used to think of miracles, like calling down fire from heaven to destroy ones enemies, as the greatest proofs of Gods power to mankind. I came to realize that what He wrought in me by teaching me to forgive was a greater miracle. I don’t need any greater proof of His love…