Meditation: June 4, 2012

“For He says, In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation, I have helped you.’ Behold, now is the accepted time; and behold now is the day of salvation.” 2 Corinthians 6:2

When the gospel of Jesus Christ is heard, the day of salvation and the accepted time of deliverance come. Eternity is interjected into time in order to produce within the soul what would otherwise be impossible. It may appear to be so simple and often is taken for granted and generalized among many other statements that are made when not fully understood. But something more dynamic has happened, but its entrance is so subtle that those seeking the spectacular will often miss it. The grace to become what the Lord has promised is introduced through such simple words as these. They prepare the heart and soul to be with Christ and to reign with Him throughout eternity. We have been given the assignment and the authority to deliver salvation to a dying world. As the Holy Spirit so directs us, we can speak His Word with power and at that very moment a life-changing experience occurs among the hearers. We cannot afford to be silent. God will use somebody. Why not us?

April 2012 Article: “The Mind and Body”

Grandiose ideas, however tall, are unfulfilled among a people who lack the means of fully expressing them. How many dreams are frustrated due to visionaries abandoning the cause?  The future generation inherited the mantle and received the call by God to guarantee a continuum of progress. However, somebody dropped the ball for a distraction, leaving their children with the task of having to decide what they believe is best.

The origin of the dream has roots that extend deeper than a few preceding generations. It was the original idea of God for mankind. He allows some to get a glimpse of what He knows in this present age placing them in the category of revolutionaries. Although the zeal for righteousness burns deep within their souls, if there are no bodies to act upon their words, theirs would become a dream deferred for another time.

God so loved His creation of man as to view him as the extension of His own thoughts and ideas. He gave Adam the ability to name every animal He created by a scientific description. Thus man was to rule over His creation, giving further expression of God’s thoughts. But when the body refuses to cooperate with the Mind, disorder and confusion result. Man was intended to be the embodiment of the thoughts of God. Love is not love without a means of expression. First, He loved His only Begotten Son. Then, His love was extended to man and through man, thus providing proper order among all things made. Yet the rebellion and dysfunction of the body inhibits the flow of the original intent of the mind. The generation that rebels against God is a mindless generation.The wild man of Gadera in the Scriptures was unclothed and violent dwelt among the tombs. No man could control him as he caused harm to himself. Even though his body was out of control, he saw God’s order through His Son, Jesus Christ and he immediately worshiped Him.

Jesus asked him a profound question; “What’s your name?” There was a dream buried beneath the disorder of the wild man. There is a purpose for each life rooted in the origin of every creature. Man has lost his vision and cannot fulfill the ancient dreams of the past because he has taken on too many identities. The demons within the wild man answered, “I am Legion, for we are many.” The preoccupation with ideas, plans, and people apart from an exclusive commitment to God divides man’s personality into many. Identity is often determined by occupation, possessions, or vices rather than the thoughts of God. When we worship the Lord, the first question He will ask is “what is your name?” Our sanity is regained when our purpose for living is singular.

Jesus came to restore to us our true identity. Our inability to do because we were too insane to realize our demise as result of sin positioned God Himself to come in bodily form to redeem us. “Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:”Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me.”(Heb 10:5) He came to both illustrate and demonstrate how the Mind and Body should function as one unit. When we take on His identity, God’s thoughts flow to us and through us to the world, thereby reestablishing God’s mandate for creation. Only then will His love cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.

October 2011 Article: “Spiritually Discerning Leaders”

The heart and soul of the leader is of paramount importance. God’s requirement for any who will rightly lead is that they have the heart and passion to completely embrace the heavenly vision. It is initiated by God who arrests the heart of the one that He has chosen in order to impart spiritual gifts along with wisdom and knowledge to use each gift for His glory. The vision is not common and so easily conveyed that any person who choose the position as a career rather than being chosen would be able to master it. They would stumble over and misapply instructions that are spiritually discerned. It must be the perfect fit for the individual who has been specifically called to that assigned task. God chooses His leaders. They are not the products of man’s choices else they would be as King Saul who would take matters into his own hands rather than remain obedient to God. When people lacking spiritual discernment make choices, they usually choose the most impressive rather than the one with the greater degree of character. Appearances are shallow while character is deep. The veneer of appearance wears thin when temptations arise. The lustful leader will abandon his position as a watcher for the souls of others for immediate gratification of his own flesh.

When God does the choosing we can rest assured that He has full knowledge of the qualities He has imparted to leader. The devil may test him but he will resist the alluring tactics of Satan. His focus is on the end of a thing rather than just the process leading him there. Therefore he makes prophetic judgments. He is spiritual as result of experiencing warfare fought on many battlegrounds. It is the memory of surmounting victories that causes his faith to soar to new heights. It is the exercise of one’s spiritual senses that increases his ability to discern the difference between what is good and what is evil. He may look battle worn but every scar and bruise on his body and soul has a story attached to it. If we could just read his life we would find so many intriguing episodes leading him to becoming a faithful servant-leader. He has learned to trust and serve God well thus earning the right to be fully followed. In this age of distrust, people have a difficult time trusting their leaders. If it is the polished and well groomed leader that stands as a mannequin; the knight in shining armor insulated in the glass window you may have a picture rather than a preacher. But if he has the appearance of just returning from the battle, maybe even bleeding from the last scrimmage, that one is able to discern the strategies of the enemy. We do not learn spiritual warfare in an insulated environment void of any challenges. We learn how to strategically fight when we take the fight to the battlefield.

God asked His prophets, Zechariah and Jeremiah the same question, “What do you see?” He did not ask them “what do you feel”, or “what do you think?” Discerning leaders must see with God what He sees. Only then are they enabled to participate with God in what He is doing. When we see with Him then we are enabled to fight with Him. He shares with us the victory in the battles He has won. When we must fight, even in situations that appear to be overwhelming and defeat appears to be inevitable, faith rises higher than rising current against us. The enemy comes in like a flood, a tsunami threatening to overwhelm our banks. Then there arises before us a righteous standard judging the threat of evil and dismantling its attempts to overtake us. Discerning leaders will lead his troops into to battle. But he will also lead them through each battle to triumph.

AUGUST ARTICLE: “Things Have Changed”

The world is changing at neck-breaking pace. Opinions are shifting in different directions and it is becoming more difficult to identify with individuals who adhere to the old standards of morality that appear archaic to a burgeoning moral system. The leaders of today study trends and patterns in order to keep tempo with the rest of the world. They logically conclude that if they do not change, and both methodologies and taboos are not destroyed, there can be no progress.

People continue to encroach up the line of demarcation, yet few oppose this egregious action. The gradual conditioning of our generation’s mass mind has prepared it for the societal changes without objection. There is a sense of camaraderie among those whose moral judgments keep them separated from others who remain indifferent to moral dilemmas. The question on the table is, “now that we have gotten these things out of the way, where are we headed?” This is a generation that has greater freedoms to do as they please, but lack direction to do what is wise. When we settle on hedonistic pursuits rather than what is right, we create a recipe for disaster. Once guiding principles are absent from our moral landscape, it is only a matter of time before the collapse in morality triggers a domino effect that erodes the economy, heightens criminal activity, and sparks the search for answers in places where they cannot be found. We desperately need a moral compass. Are we progressing or are we losing ground in the battle for the heart and soul of this generation? Every year, the criminal mind continues to develop earlier in children because even at a young age, pivotal decisions rest on their shoulders regarding the life they choose to live.

There are no paternal and maternal influences to guide them in the decision making process. This is being taken away in the form of children’s rights and jeopardizes parental rights to govern their own households. Yes, it is true that abusive behavior must be regulated and restricted, but now there are questions as to the definition of abuse. The State of Georgia tried a case where a parent was accused of invading the privacy of the child by kicking down the door to the room while the child was being stubborn and insubordinate. Is this intrusion when rebellion dwells in the household and order is enforced by children rather than law officials? This issue raises questions as to the extent of governmental involvement in policing the home of those who uphold the standards, methodologies, and morays from past generations. If we are not careful, it will be against the law to preach the Word of God lest someone be offended. Then those who uphold a biblical perspective will be considered our modern day criminals while the morally and spiritually bankrupt Barabbses will be celebrated.

There is a tremendous need for established absolutes in order to become a principled nation. The only absolute is God and the only way to know Him is through the preaching of His Word. Our prayer is that somebody is listening and paying attention to the shifts that have taken place and the shifts that are yet to come. If nothing more is done than what is being done now, we are in deep trouble. But the Word of God has been given to us. God is yet speaking to us that we might be changed. Hear His voice and do not allow the shifts of society to harden your hearts.

Civil Liberties Overtaking True Freedom!

When will the last shoe drop? How far down do we have to go with unquestioned allegiance to a deteriorating system before we ask the thought provoking questions of those who maintained an awakened conscience? The music and the song of the world have lulled the masses to sleep and, while they are anesthetized, an unassuming lobotomy removes the sense of reasoning from the minds of the people. The course has navigated them to a new place of tolerance where anything goes. After reading the newspaper or listening to the news report, one can see how current events are leading us down the primrose path of disaster, destruction, and ruin. All of these things are working together for the worse possible scenario and not for the good of those who wish to maintain the standard of righteousness. The message from the pulpit has shifted to a soothing voice reflecting the consensus opinions of those who want nothing more than the possessions of others.

It is not merely gays in the military with the U.N.’s unprecedented acceptance of the position of the Human Rights Commission as being the primary issue. We live in a social climate where none of these things disturb us and are now accepted as the norm. There has been a major shift in popular opinion and the sentiments of the masses where most of what occurs remains unquestioned. It was so gradual that it did not seem to be orchestrated as a plan to desensitize the populous so that a sinister evil could creep in among them. The preoccupation with issues defended by aggressive and hostile radicals did not stop long enough to consider what they were in fact defending. Even though there is a cause worthy of our attention and constant effort, we must be careful that we do not fight the wrong battle and engage in the war against the truth in favor of the adversary. He may have recruited turncoats who think that their Captain (the Captain of their souls) does not have their best interest at heart.

Therefore, the issues are skewed and morality becomes relative and subjective to personal opinion. Their environment has become propagandized by the sowing of tares among the wheat. Yes, there was a time when legitimate causes were on the table and many that are currently worthy of our attention. It is true that the seemingly “ever vigilant and aware” were blinded by their own prejudices, but others must be careful that they do not become reactionaries and so drunken by their drive for revenge that they can no longer see straight. Wholeness is not the product of compromise, but the product of truth. We can lovingly accept the humanity of all people but disagree with behavior. When the personhood of an individual is bonded to behavior, then none can receive correction. All behavior in their eyes is right. “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:25)

To draw the line between right and wrong is not left without controversy. Many question the authority for any to speak as if their position is absolute. This lingering attitude provides further evidence to the declining extent of how far society has fallen from the standard to which it once ascribed. Today, people are afraid to speak, for they know that in speaking the rebuttals are more than they are willing to face. However, Jesus was crucified by His own people. He was not just rejected by them, but they evidentially despised Him to the extent of desiring and having Him removed from the earth’s scene! How could we expect anything different today? If they did it to a green tree, what will they do to a dry one? God offers us true freedom and it stems from complete submission and alignment with His will. Only then will we experience peace.