Primitive Apostolic Christianity

What has been called 'Primitive Apostolic Christianity' is the result of an effort to understand and obey the will of God by following, as closely as possible, the doctrines and practices of the early, New Testament, church. The logic is that modern "Christianity" has lost its way by adopting doctrines that were originally considered heretical because of their pagan, or otherwise non-biblical, origins. Many in the the early church were taught by Christ Himself and later by His disciples. It can therefore be argued that the early church practiced true Christianity. That’s something a serious Christian should carefully consider.

It has often been claimed by it's detractors that Primitive Apostolic Christianity is an attempt to 'Judaize' Christianity by attempting to combine Christianity with "Jewish" law. This is a misunderstanding on several levels. First, the Law of God isn't "Jewish". The Ten Commandments were spoken by God directly to the children of Israel. They are, in fact, the only part of Holy Scripture actually written by God. Scripture tells us they were written by the very finger of God in stone. They were given to the children of Israel but they are intended for all of mankind. While there is no scripture that states that directly, we know that God will judge all mankind according to His definition of what sin is and that points directly back to the Ten Commandments.

The word 'Jew' was first used in the bible to refer to members of the tribe of Judah, the largest of the twelve tribes of Israel. Judah and Israel became separate nations after the reign of King Solomon. They were even recorded to have made war against one another on occasion. The tribe of Judah remained in the Middle East after the Assyrian captivity in which the ten, so called, lost tribes were carried off. Throughout the Hebrew scriptures the word Jew referred to members of the tribe of Judah. In the New Testament, or Greek scriptures, the word Jew has several meanings depending on the context in which it is used. It often refers to a member of the tribe of Judah but often also refers to anyone born in the land of Judah or any member of the religion that the tribe of Judah practiced. It was even used, on at least one occasion, by the apostle Paul to mean anyone with a personal relationship with God.

The first covenant that God made with the nation of Israel involved the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments. It did NOT include the sacrificial and priesthood laws given to Moses. These latter laws and ordinances became known as the Mosaic law...for lack of a better term. The Mosaic law was added to the Ten Commandments because of the sin of the people. To refer to any of the Ten Commandments as 'Jewish' law is to misunderstand the scriptures. That includes the seventh day Sabbath. Christ, himself, said the Sabbath was made for man, He didn’t say "for the Jews".

There aren't two true religions in the scriptures...there is only one. The religion that God revealed to mankind was progressively revealed over the centuries. Latter prophets expounded on it. That religion was expounded on by Christ because it had gotten 'off track' over the centuries. That 'off track' religion became known as Judaism because it was the religion practiced in the land of Judah. Christ attempted to correct the errors in it by His teachings.

What the early religious system in the Bible pointed to was Christ. The animal sacrifices, for example, all pointed to some aspect of Christ's sacrifice. After His life, death and resurrection those practices were no longer necessary. It was those laws, the Mosaic legal system, that were done away with Christ...not Gods law for mankind. Again, Gods law was never 'Jewish'. True Primitive Apostolic Christians aren't 'Judaizers'. They don't advocate bringing back circumcision or any part of the Mosaic, sacrificial system with it's priesthood and temple ordinances. They advocate keeping God's Laws, including the literal seventh day Sabbath, because obedience to Gods Law is what God expects of those who love Him; disobedience to Gods Law is what defines sin.

Many modern Christians sense something is missing in the practice of their faith and have begun, what many call, a “Hebrew Roots” movement. Some Christians look to modern Judaism for what they sense is missing in Christianity. Modern Judaism, however, is the offspring of the Pharisees of Christ’s time. While there is a great deal of wisdom in Judaism there is also a great deal of error. As mentioned above, a part of what Christ did in His first appearance was to correct where Judaism had gone ‘off-track’. While most of the early Christians were Jews, most Jews rejected Christ and His message.

Since modern Judaism is the offspring of the Pharisees, modern Christians wanting to return to their Hebrew Roots should carefully scrutinize the practices in it. First and foremost a Christian should rely on the scriptures NOT on traditions or non-Christian philosophies, many of which have crept into modern Christianity. Christ specifically condemned many of the practices of the Pharisees that are still practiced in Judaism. That being said, there is much to be gained from the insight of a people who have studied the scriptures for centuries. The Jews rejected Christ in His first coming…they will recognize Him as the Messiah when He comes again. As ‘off-track’ as modern Christianity has become the question is…will most Christians?

But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. Gal. 1:8

Black and White in America

I, like many Americans, am thoroughly disgusted with hearing empty allegations of racism every day! Far-left liberals see everything in black and white, male and female, gay and straight etc. The guiltiest among them are the so-called ‘leaders’ of the black community like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. These men are RACE HUSTLERS and worse, cashing in on the controversy that THEY stir up! They do so for one reason…their own publicity! They care much more about that than their own communities! And, they project their own narrow-minded racist mentality onto everyone else...especially conservatives.

Most of us are too busy living our lives and trying to get along with each other to be bothered by such narrow-minded lunacy. These race hustlers fail to look beyond black and white to see the humanity common to us all. It is such people who are keeping racism alive and well in America!

Splashed across the news in America just now is the case of Trayvon Martin. For someone who’s been in Outer Mongolia…he was a seventeen-year-old black teenager who was recently shot and killed by a self-appointed neighborhood watchman in Florida. The controversy surrounding the shooting involves, what the media has reported as, a white man shooting an unarmed black youth. (He was, in fact, a Hispanic man...but race hustlers needed him to be white.) Almost every news channel has film of mass protests led by Sharpton, Jackson and the New Black Panther Party calling for the arrest of the man who did the shooting. The Black Panthers have even put a bounty on the head of the alleged shooter. It's a case of racial profiling they tell us.

I’m not concerned here so much with the details of this event except to say I think it’s a tragedy that we’ve lost another young man. I don’t believe all the facts are in yet so I am withholding my judgment. I believe the media is using this event, to their shame, to bring in more viewers. In doing so they are leaking only part of the facts and are stirring up racial discord for no good reason other than ratings. What I find completely hypocritical is that none of the ‘so called’ black ‘leaders’, like Sharpton and Jackson, have voiced ANY public outcries over the 49 young black men shot in Chicago over the St. Patrick’s Day weekend...or any of the other 'black on black' crime that is rampant in some parts of this nation. I guess there were no good photo opps there!

The left wants to tell us what constitutes the news and they want to ban free speech for anyone who disagrees with them. Well, it’s time for honest people to drown them out! Americans, black and white, need to dump ‘political correctness’ and talk honestly with each other. BOTH sides need to LISTEN to each other. Both sides need to face the facts the other presents and stop throwing around charges of racism over honest criticism. Up to now the conversation has been woefully one-sided…thanks, in large part, to white liberals. Black Americans should seriously ask themselves if their 'so-called' leaders are helping them or actually hurting them. They should ask the same thing of white liberals! They also need to ask what's in their own power to change. Racial profiling is going to exist in peoples perceptions until the race in question changes their behavior. Jesse Jackson himself once said: “There is nothing more painful for me at this stage in my life, than to walk down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery—and then look around and see somebody white and feel relieved.” Even Jackson himself racially profiles! That's because of behavior in the black community! It's NOT about skin color...it's about BEHAVIOR!!! That's not racist...it's just a fact!

Almost every people on earth have been enslaved at one time. Blacks were enslaved in America for over a hundred years. Other Africans originally sold them into slavery. Arabs later took up and expanded the trade. White Europeans were late in the game. And, it’s a historical fact that the first American to own a black slave was a black man!

This country almost tore itself apart ending slavery. Over 500,000 lives were lost in our Civil War, ending the practice in 1865. No one alive today was ever a slave or a slave owner. It’s true that racial prejudice and racism have remained alive and well for over a hundred years since. But white Americans have done everything possible to make up for the injustice of that national shame. And, yes, it was white Americans that fought for their freedom.

Our government has spent over 40 TRILLION tax dollars and passed dozens of laws over 40 years to ensure racial equality. Though liberals think the government should do everything for everyone...it simply can’t. The government can’t change the perception of non-blacks towards blacks. The government can't change peoples attitudes. Change like that will only begin when black Americans begin to take responsibility for, and uplift, their own communities.

America has been the greatest beacon of hope the world has ever known. Sure, we have our problems and our flaws, some of them deep, but this country has provided the most freedoms for the most people in the history of the world. Our history, while flawed, is also full of our attempts to become a better nation.

The following text contains excerpts from a letter written to Barack Obama from Pat Buchanan. I reprint it here because it contains facts that need to be openly and honestly addressed. Instead of crying ‘racism’ after reading it…it should cause the black community to do some soul searching.

First, America has been the best country on earth for black folks. It was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have ever known. Jeremiah Wright ought to go down on his knees and thank God he is an American.


Second, no people anywhere has done more to lift up blacks than white Americans. Untold trillions have been spent since the ' 60s on welfare, food stamps, rent supplements, Section 8 housing, Pell grants, student loans, legal services, Medicaid, Earned Income Tax Credits and poverty programs designed to bring the African-American community into the mainstream. Governments, businesses and colleges have engaged in discrimination against white folks -- with affirmative action, contract set-asides and quotas -- to advance black applicants over white applicants. Churches, foundations, civic groups, schools and individuals all over America have donated their time and money to support soup kitchens, adult education, day care, retirement and nursing homes for blacks. We hear the grievances. Where is the gratitude??


Is white America really responsible for the fact that the crime and incarceration rates for African-Americans are seven times those of white America? Is it really white America 's fault that illegitimacy in the African-American community has hit 70 percent and the black dropout rate from high schools in some cities has reached 50 percent?


Is that the fault of white America or, first and foremost, a failure of the black community itself?

As for racism, its ugliest manifestation is in interracial crime, and especially interracial crimes of violence. Is Barack Obama aware that while white criminals choose black victims 3 percent of the time, black criminals choose white victims 45 percent of the time?

Is Barack aware that black-on-white rapes are 100 times more common than the reverse; that black-on-white robberies were 139 times as common in the first three years of this decade as the reverse?

We have all heard ad nauseam from the Rev. Al about Tawana Brawley, the Duke rape case and Jena. And all turned out to be hoaxes. But about the epidemic of black assaults on whites that are real, we hear nothing.

It’s time we stop being afraid of words and throw out the hypocritical lunacy of ‘political correctness’. We need to be honest with ourselves and stop expecting the government to do what governments simply cannot do. White Americans elected a black president. Now it’s time for black people to take responsibility for themselves. The government can't change the perception of any people. Any real change in perceptions, and in racial profiling, will only come when black Americans finally get fed up with the behavior their own people and begin to change their community. I'll say it again...It's NOT about skin color...it's about BEHAVIOR!!!

When will we learn what Dr. Martin Luther King tried to teach us and begin to work on the content of our hearts? Real dialogue, real change must begin in our hearts. That's when our communities will change. And, that's not going to happen while Race Hustlers like Sharpton and Jackson stir things up for their own publicity. That is black and white!

Kindness

Ever wonder about the origin of the word kindness? It struck me recently that we use the same word, kind, for someone or something similar to something else. We speak of two things being the same kind. We speak of other humans as a part of man-kind. It seems to me, in a like manner, kindness is the recognition that others are a part of us…our kin, our kind. We treat them the way we would treat ourselves…or the way we would like to be treated. Kindness is the extension of our definition of our selves to include another being. Kindness is an essential part of love.

In a like way, love might be defined as opening our selves up to include someone or something into our view of ourselves. It is the extension of our concept of our self. We love our teams, our possessions, our pets; we love our families and our friends. Every time we open up ourselves to love something or someone else we extend our selves to include them as part of us. We begin to see others as our kind and, hopefully, to treat them with kind-ness. We rejoice when they rejoice. We feel pain when they feel pain.

I believe one of the purposes of life is growth. I have often used the example of an acorn that pushes up a sidewalk to become an oak tree. We can grow in different areas of our lives. Physical growth and maturity is defined and guided by our DNA. We can also grow emotionally and spiritually. Emotional or personal growth may be defined as coming to understand ourselves better and coming to control our impulses in a way that makes us a stable part of society. Exactly what defines spiritual growth is more controversial.

Though many people these days will tell you they are ‘spiritual but not religious’ they are usually hard pressed to define exactly what they mean by 'spiritual'. I believe only our Creator rightly defines spiritual growth. He understands us far better than we understand ourselves. Out of His love for us He left us a guide for our spiritual growth in His revealed word to mankind. Spiritual growth is defined in scripture using the analogy of fruits...those things that we bring to bear in our lives. For example: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control”. Gal. 5:22-23 KJV According to God’s word these are the qualities that define spiritual growth. Kindness is one of those qualities.

Much of the Christian world is at odds with itself over dos and don’ts and obscure doctrines. We have all but ceased to be the light to the world that God calls us to be because we have forgotten the simplicity that is in Christ. We have forgotten kindness and the other qualities that define spiritual growth. It would do us all good to frequently remind ourselves of those qualities. What God wants from us is a change in our hearts. These qualities are the evidence of that change. These are the things we are to work on. They are beyond any doctrinal debate. It is worth noting that the first mentioned is love…it’s where kindness comes from.

A new commandment I give unto you, That you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. John 13:34

Biblical Symbolism and the Holy City

The question about whether the Bible is to be taken literally is one that has been asked by Christians for centuries. Those that have answered “No” have created churches that bear little resemblance to the early church. They’ve based their belief systems on human authorities that have proven to be unstable at best. Those that answer an unequivocal ‘yes’ are faced with some conundrums. Are we to take literally such verses as “if your right hand offends you cut it off”? Believers with a modicum of common sense will say ‘No’ because taking that verse literally is to ignore greater principles in the scriptures. And, most would agree that symbols used in the scripture are not literal. So the Bible is clearly not to be taken completely literally. Some discernment on the part of the believer is necessary.

If it is not literal then whose interpretation should we believe? Answering that with a person means that person has more authority than the scripture. Obviously, no one has a clear claim on that position. So we are left with the principle of letting the Bible interpret the Bible. To do so means having the faith that God inspired, not just the writing of the scriptures but also the compilation of the books of the Bible. If one believes that God had His hand in the canonization of the scriptures then it is no great leap of faith to believe the Bible interprets itself.

This brings us to Biblical symbolism. Using the Bible to interpret the Bible means the symbols used in the scriptures are explained in the scriptures. The question then arises, why does God use symbolism instead of simply stating what He wants us to know?

What you have to understand first is that the Creator of the universe is trying to explain the most profound spiritual truths to human beings with three-pound brains.

Think of the Bible as a kind of first grade primer that is an attempt to teach us how to read. It’s all we are capable of understanding so far and it still takes the Holy Spirit in us just to scratch the surface.

So God uses similes, metaphors and analogies of things we do understand to give us the faintest glimpse of those truths. We are, symbolically, looking through a glass darkly after all.

Marriage, fishing, carpentry and building, blood sacrifices etc. are all things that we can understand so God uses them to teach us.

Christ likens the church to His Body. He also likens it to a bride that He will marry. Additionally he likens it to His temple that He is building.

So we are part of Him in some way. He will become one with us in some way. And when we all fit together in a unified whole He will inhabit us in some way.

All these analogies teach some aspect of His relationship to us.

When Christ stepped out of Eternity to inhabit a mortal body and walk among us as one of us He did so as a carpenter. Ever wonder why? He is building His church, His temple.

King David, a type of Christ, designed the temple he wanted to build so carefully and in such detail that the stones for it could be cut away from the building site and when they were brought to the site they only needed to be slid into place.

Christ inspired some of the authors of the scriptures to liken us to stones that He is working with. He works with each of us away from the building site. He cuts away anything that won’t fit into His final plan.

Those that have already lived have already been cut to fit. So when Christ returns they will be raised first to fit into their places first. Then those that are His that are still alive will be changed and fit into their places. The whole structure will be built on Christ as the foundation. He will also be the cornerstone that allows the other stones to come together and function as one structure. He will build the New Jerusalem out of us. His body. His Bride. And He and the Father will inhabit us.

Christ and His bride will become one. How does He teach us that? By showing us the New Jerusalem that He is building out of us…His body, the bride that He will become one with, and the temple that He and the Father will inhabit.

Don’t fully understand it? We only have three-pound brains after all…

I Kings 6:7, I Cor. 3:16-17, Eph. 2:20-22, I Tim. 3:15, Heb. 3:6, I Pet. 4-5:1, Rev. 21:14

Life Philosophies

My philosophy of life is very simple. The universe exists to create life. Life is about growth. Witness an acorn pushing up a sidewalk to become an oak tree. God defines what growth is. He wrote the guidelines for physical growth in our DNA. He revealed the guidelines for spiritual growth in His Word. He hasn’t left us in the dark. We exist to obey our Creator. Everything we need has always been here to fulfill that purpose. We don’t need modern technology. We don’t need to be rich or famous. We don’t need to go to the ends of the earth seeking spiritual enlightenment. We only need to live our lives guided by His word in the small corner of the earth in which we find ourselves.

Every age of life has it’s own lessons for us to learn. One of the greatest lessons I've learned is that there are only two basic ways of life…the way of get and the way of give. We can live our lives with the motto of: “I-Me-My-Mine” and only concern ourselves with what we can get, or take, from others. Or, we can live the way of give and help, serve and uplift our fellow man. In the process we can be uplifted ourselves. We all have the power to hurt or to heal. It’s that simple to me. I try to choose the way of give every day. I try to understand what love is by allowing God’s love to flow through me. I’m still learning to get out of His way.

It doesn’t so much matter what happens to us as how we respond. This is a lesson wise men in every age and in every society have discovered. We have the choice about how we will live. That, we should never relinquish. To grow, we can’t let others pull us down. We can all learn not to let life pull us down. We can help each other with that.

As I grow older, I sometimes worry about what will happen to me. Will I live alone? Will I die alone? Will my life have mattered to anyone? I look around and see other human beings succumb to various ailments and diseases. Alzheimer’s and cancer are especially hideous and cruel to me. I can’t live in worry about the future though. Worry only takes away from my experience of ‘now’…and what I worry about may never happen. So I engage life…here and now. I try to balance contemplation with action and to balance my needs with those of others.

I try to put God first in my life. Christianity is a way of life to me…one I take very seriously. I don’t have it all figured out but I’m working on that too. I don’t preach to others. I never try to convert anyone. I try not to judge others. I try to live my life in such a way that people will see it and think I must have something worth seeking. That’s a part of Christ’s gospel to me.

I try not to use other human beings for my own selfish desires. I first love and respect myself. Out of that love and respect flows my love and respect for others. I’ve tried living putting others first without love and respect for myself and found that nothing comes from an empty cup. Integrity and self respect are the only foundations solid enough to build an honorable life on.

My goal in life is simple…to become a good man in God’s eyes. I know I fail every day in my attempt to live a Christ-like life. But, I get up every morning and try again. I try to be quick in saying, “I’m sorry”…first to my God, then to those around me I’ve wronged. I try to treat every human being with the respect they deserve simply for being alive. Realizing we are all connected, I try to treat the other living things on this planet with respect and compassion too. I am a meat eater but I believe in treating animals with respect and love. We are all connected after all.  I try to see the connections and the beauty in life.

Even though I try to be a good man I know I’m full of flaws and faults. They help me to understand the struggles others go through. I believe people are basically good and bad. Everyone has, at least, one major flaw and many smaller ones. I know I do. Accepting people anyway gives us a chance to exercise love. Acknowledging our own imperfections keeps us from getting cocky!

I think my main purpose in life is to behave justly, love mercy and humbly walk with my God. By doing so I hope to set an example of a better way to live, Christ’s way, and to encourage it in others without being dogmatic. I recognize we all struggle so I try to be compassionate and forgiving. One of my main goals in life is to learn to forgive everyone for everything. I know what God has forgiven me of...

I know I'm nobody and nothing special at all. When asked what my ‘best quality’ is…I’d have to say my values. I don’t live up to them very well but I try. What I know of faith and hope and love God has taught me through other people. I just want to be a channel of God's light to a dark world...like others have been to me. This is to honor them...

I know this life is a gift. I Thank God for it every day…

The Seven Fundamental Principles of Genesis

The famous Scopes “Monkey” Trial in Tennessee (1926) tested a state law called the Butler Act, which made it unlawful, in any state-funded school “to teach any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals." The evolution versus creation debate still rages today. There are those entrenched on both sides and those that try to find some kind of middle ground between faith in the scriptures and the faith found in a scientific theory. It is ironic that such a great deal of controversy in our modern American society comes from our understanding of the first few chapters of Genesis. I have come to believe this is the wrong battle for Christians to fight. Genesis isn’t intended to be a scientific treatise on How God created the universe. The message of Genesis is more profound than that. It doesn’t matter if one argues that the first chapters of Genesis are to be taken literally or figuratively. It doesn’t matter if one believes that the earth is six thousand years old and God literally took the dust of the ground and formed Adam with it or if the story refers to an “Adam and Eve moment” wherein, at some point in evolution, God gave His creation a human spirit and the nature of mankind was changed forever. An argument can be made either way. The greatest irony is that some who fight the hardest in asserting the Bible is the revealed Word of God go on to ignore the very principles contained in it. They go on to ignore the principles within those first few chapters that they insist should be read literally. These principles are truths that God has revealed to us in His word. We need to be reminded of them…often…because they lay the foundation whereupon all other scriptural truths rest. The message of Genesis is that we come from God and He cares about us.

The first fundamental principle in Genesis is that God created the universe and established order therein. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The Hebrew word for created here implies perfection; it implies order. This principle tells us plainly that there is an intelligent, creative force behind the scenes. The universe isn’t some kind of immense, three dimensional, billiard table wherein atoms randomly collide with each other and order just, accidentally, appears. The existence of the universe is intentional. Whether it came about in a Big Bang or not isn’t the issue. How He did it isn’t the issue. The issue is that it exists for a purpose…to create, sustain and nurture life. It has a destiny. It came from God. He created laws to establish order in His universe. When those laws are obeyed the order God intended permeates His creation. When those laws are disobeyed chaos and confusion result.

The second fundamental principle found in Genesis is that God created life. We come from God. Humanity is not an accident. Whether God used some form of evolution or literally formed Adam out of the dust of the earth, our existence too is intentional. There is a purpose in our being here. We have a direct connection to God because we come from God. Even those that deny the Word of God sense this on a deep level. Every tribe of man in every age has believed that man is somehow special…that we were meant for something more. Perhaps it is written into our ‘spiritual DNA’. We all sense that we have some greater purpose. We have a destiny because of where we came from.

The third fundamental principle in Genesis is that We are partakers of a part of Gods nature. Here again arguments can be made that we were made in the image of God physically, that we look like God, or that we are like God in our nature. Either way, we are partakers of a part of Gods nature. Modern scientists try to make us believe that we are like just any other species of animal. They tell us that we are only different in degree…not different in kind. The scriptures tell us otherwise. There is something special about mankind. God cares about what happens to us just as any good parent cares about what happens to their child because a part of Him is in us. Later in the scriptures He reveals Himself to us as our Heavenly Father. There are modern ‘Christian’ churches that ignore that revelation entirely and instead refer to God as goddess or some other idol created in their own minds. Anyone calling themselves Christian should look to only one source for understanding God and His nature…the holy scriptures. God reveals His nature to us and it is more majestic than any idol of the mind man has ever concocted. A part of us understands that.

The fourth fundamental principle in Genesis is that We are here to obey God. Our purpose on earth is to obey the will of our Creator. We are to live in harmony with the order that God established in the universe by obeying His laws…both physical and spiritual. That’s how we’ll attain the destiny that a part of us knows awaits us. Adam and Eve were placed in the garden of Eden and only given a few commandments…be fruitful and multiply, replenish-subdue-and have dominion over the earth, and…don’t eat of the fruit of one tree. We have a purpose…and that is to obey God to live in harmony within His creation. Even, so called Christian churches balk at this one…they tell us that we are here only to believe. That’s like the owner of a sports team spending millions to hire the best coach that can be found only to tell the players that they needn’t obey him…just acknowledging that he is the coach is enough! To obey God we have to act; we have to do something. God does not force us to obey Him, He gives us free will to make the choice to do so or not.

The fifth fundamental principle in Genesis is that only God can decide what is right and what is wrong. Only He knows what must be done to live in harmony within His creation. Adam and Eve chose to disobey God and ate of the one tree whose fruit was forbidden to them. Adam and Eve took of the knowledge of the tree of good and evil. They chose to take to themselves the right to decide what is good and what is evil. Our ancestors took to themselves the right to decide what only our Creator can really know. It is in our nature to do the same thing. We can disobey the will of God and take to ourselves the right to decide what is good and what is evil, we can live solely by the dictates of our own hearts…or we can return to God and believe His word. The only way to truly live in harmony in Gods creation is to do it His way, to obey His will.

The sixth fundamental principle in Genesis is that Satan exists and he will do anything, use any deception, to entice us away from God. This principle is completely missing from modern human psychology. The human condition can never be fully understood without this piece of the puzzle. There are spiritual beings intent on enticing us away from living in harmony with God and His creation. It is a misunderstanding of scripture to think that Satan is some kind of ‘equal but opposite’ force from God. Satan is a created being and is allowed by God to exist. God allows Satan to tempt mankind for Gods own ultimate purpose. God could have kept the serpent out of the garden but instead He allowed it to be there for His purposes. Later in the scriptures we learn that this is in fact Satan’s world until Christ returns.

The seventh fundamental principle in Genesis is that Only God can decide how He is to be worshipped. When Cain and Able brought their offerings to God…their form of worship…one was accepted and one was rejected. God made that decision. Instead of Cain repenting and returning to obedience…he became bitter and went off on his own. Ever since that day the children of men have devised more and more of their own gods and forms of worship. Instead of simply doing as God commands, it is in our nature to do what we think is right. This is yet another way to deny where we came from. Over and over in the Hebrew scriptures God warns His people NOT to do as the heathen nations, not to worship Him as they worship their gods. Modern Christianity is full of such practices. They have ignored one of the fundamental principles found in the first few chapters of the writings they claim to believe in. Those that diligently seek God should take note here. The only forms of worship God accepts are those He commands. We should make every effort to root out of our lives those spiritual practices man has created to worship the gods man has created.

It isn’t difficult to see that the world rejects all these principles. All the great intellectual movements in our world are contrary to them. The world has come up with it’s own ideas about religion, government, and the sciences…The prevailing ideas in all these fields, and many others, are in complete denial of Gods principles. We are enticed away from them by very powerful spiritual forces. In addition, the human heart wants to do what it wants to do. It doesn’t want to live in harmony with Gods will. But, there is that spark in those that God calls for His purpose. Those that hear His voice need to follow it.

God hasn’t left us in the dark. He has left of a record of His will. He has left us a light in the darkness so that we can decide to return to obedience. The Bible is the ‘Revealed Word of God’… It contains His principles and laws that we couldn’t find any other way. It’s also a record of Gods dealing with mankind. It contains a history of what happens when we obey God and what happens when we disobey Him. Additionally, it contains prophesies of what will happen if we choose to obey or choose to disobey God.

In a sense the Bible is like a first grade primer. Like the stories about Dick and Jane that we older folks remember, it is a way for the Creator of the universe to impart to mortal beings with three pound brains His ultimate truths. God isn’t concerned with animal sacrifices…they were merely a way to teach us about the seriousness of breaking God’s spiritual laws. His son isn’t really a lamb…that’s an image that He uses we can understand. The scriptures are full of such imagery. God uses images of things that we can understand to teach us His truths beyond anything in our experience. Without understanding these principles human beings can never understand this mortal existence. It is our understanding of Gods word that teaches us we have a purpose and a destiny, that history has a beginning, a purpose and an ending. The universe has a beginning, a purpose and a destiny.

The very fact that the scriptures exist is proof of the greatest principle in the scriptures…God loves us. He cares about what happens to His children. Gods law is proof of His love for us in the same way that any parent who loves their children gives them rules to teach them and to protect them. And, finally, possibly the one scriptural principle known to all the Christian world…”God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son so that whosoever should believe in Him should not perish, but should have everlasting life…” Amen.

Ramblings of an Old Guy! Pt.4

Life is a one-way ticket. This has been a well-known truth to thoughtful people in every age and society on earth. Oh, some young people may deceive themselves into believing that they’ll be here forever…but age tempers that notion soon enough.

Some people say that we are born alone and we will die alone. I suppose that’s true, depending on how we connect with other people. To be connected to others makes our existence seem not so alone.

It seems to me that, in the journey of our lives, all we can really take with us is our connections to other people. Those that share the same time with us seem more connected to us than those much younger or much older. They have their own generations to feel connected to.

I know that I seem to relate to folks closer to my age easier than those much older or much younger. To talk with someone who remembers where they were when Kennedy was shot is more rewarding in some ways than talking to someone who only knows it as a page in a history book. We have more to talk about because we have faced the same issues in our time. That doesn’t mean that it’s not rewarding to talk to older people at all. They have a different perspective…one well worth listening to as far as I’m concerned. Young people also have much they can teach us…if we’re willing to listen. No, what I’m talking about is feeling a little more connected to people who have seen some of the same things in life.

In the last week Whitney Houston died. I never saw her in person. I only heard her recorded voice electronically. She was an absolutely amazing talent! Her rendition of “I Will Always Love You” still sends chills through me. The woman had a true gift from God.

I note her passing because she was one I felt more connected to as a fellow traveler in this journey of life. While I may admire Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin among others, they were not in my generation. They had their own fellow travelers. Ms. Houston was a part of mine.

There have been other musicians, actors, and public personalities that I felt connected to as being a part of my time on earth. I’ve noted their passing as fellow travelers too. John Denver is one who comes to mind as a great influence on me. Each in his or her own way made me feel…not so alone in life. Whitney did that. She added something to life. Life will be missing something without her. I feel for her loved ones…they, no doubt, feel her loss so much more sharply. I will say a prayer for them.

I begin to understand why some people I’ve known in their 80’s, 90’s and even in their hundreds feel…ready to move on. They’ve lost most, or all, around them that made them feel connected to their age.

I used to think I would never feel disconnected from young people. I thought I would always ‘get it’ about some new fad or trend. I realize now what older people have been talking about all my life. I just don’t understand some things the younger generation is into!!

I still like the old ways of doing some things. I’ve always liked antiques because they made me feel connected to the past in some way. Blacksmithing does that for me.

While other people are obsessed with the ‘next thing’ in technology…I couldn’t care less about electronic gadgets and the like.

It seems a shame to me that in our ‘rush to the future’ we are losing something of our past. I guess it’s just nice to talk to someone near my age that still remembers, and appreciates, older ways of doing things; someone who remembers where they were when... Some days I feel my age more than others.

I’m going to miss Ms. Houston and her amazing voice. And there are so many others. But, that's life and it goes on...

Ramblings of an Old Guy! Pt.3

In looking back over the last year I find that I’m also reflecting back on my whole life. Like older people always say, I wonder where all the time has gone. It seems I woke up one morning and fifty years had gone by!

Like so many folks I know, I’ve had periods of melancholy and I’ve fought with feelings of depression. My youth is gone and I have lamented that. But, I’ve decided not to live there.

Today, in 2012, I awake to different feelings. Today I awoke with feelings of joy.

God has given all of us the gift of choice. Like the old saying goes: “Pain is mandatory but suffering is optional.” We all have the power to choose how we will face the truth of our existence. We will all grow older and, one day, we will all die. We can choose to be depressed about that, to suffer ‘existential angst’ in the words of some, or we can be thankful for the gift of this life. I choose to feel thankful to my Creator for this gift!

I can’t do the things I once could but, from a different perspective, I have the view that more years afford me. I can see things that I never could before. I awake to a new year. I look ahead to the challenges and blessings in it. I am assured deep in my soul that the best is yet to come!

I have found an inner peace that didn’t know in my youth. My faith in my Creator has grown stronger. My Hope in His gospel is established. I have opened my heart to feel love in a way that I never could in the past. I now realize that some things I once thought mattered so much…don’t matter at all.

In this new year that God has given me I choose to open my heart to feel the joy in His creation. I live in a beautiful place. I am blessed with a nice home on a great piece of land. I have a best friend that reminds me of the joy of life every day. I have good friends that are there when I need them. I’m there for them too. I love the work that I do! I have the absolute Best mother on the planet! We have become friends and let the turbulence of the past go. I would like to do the same with all my family members but some just aren’t ready for that. I am blessed...

I now find that holding on to pain and resentment has only served to hold me back. I know from my own inner conflicts that people often do things they don’t understand. I have to allow that they too can change and grow. I’m learning to forgive everyone for everything. There are far too many good, noble and beautiful things in this life to focus on the bad things.

This is the Day the Lord has made…I will rejoice and be glad therein!

I’m sure the Best is yet to come!! I have to cut this short…Life awaits!

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.

_____________________________________________________

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.