Waste Not

It's a familiar thing, visited and vivified daily by the whole of us all. The toilet, the john, the commode, the porcelain throne, whatever you want to call it. It's become reflective of the comfortable and convenient fashion by which we live in a modern world. Flushing away the unpleasant fruits of life. The distasteful, the repugnant, the repulsive. A simple mindless pressing of a lever. A simple dividing of the mind.

Needless to say, things didn’t always used to be so easy. In the earlier centuries it was common place for city dwellers to toss the contents of their chamber pots and other trash right out the window into the urban streets. Vultures, dogs, critters and even children would scavenge what they wanted from the mess. This wasn’t much of a cure for the problem though as you can imagine. Disease and sickness eventually spread its foul burden through the carelessness.

It wasn’t until the latter half of the 1800’s and the ever improving water closet that things started to change. It took intuition – realizing that something needed to be done, motivation – being sick and tired of ever growing slop problem, and courage – daring to make a change (Yes, inventors were OFTEN laughed at for the ridiculousness of their toilet patents) to get to the modern stage of convenient cleanliness.

Such is the world today. We don’t like something, we acquire the thing that we are led to believe is more agreeable whilst throwing the old away. Plain and simple. Sadly enough, society has been doing the same thing with God. The atheist, for instance, doesn’t like the guilt he feels when God is around so he tosses him into the scrap pile of irrational debates. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. – Psalm 14:1 This falls under the category of “Divide and Conquer” and it is what Satan does best. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. – Mark 3:25

The world would have us believe that all of our thoughts are our own. Thoughts favoring unfaithfulness to our wives, enrapturing us in subtle brainwash through explicit music, detaching us from loving anyone or anything period. It’ll be alright, all these things are just instinctive to being human. Be selfish. Nobody cares about you but you. And the deep yearning you have inside for God, Oh well that’s just figment of your imagination. Or more commonly, “You just need to eat, drink and be merry” or “Get laid.”

How twisted is the world? Well about as twisted as our spiritual well being; Which in most cases, rung out like a stiff old rag left to dry. Satan loves to twist unrighteousness and paint it with an appealing face. Eventually sin becomes habitual and we’re left amusing the idea that perhaps it is “simply instinctive.” What we don’t see is the pile of spiritual trash building up inside of us. The bondage, the baggage and the creeping growing barren wasteland. Much unlike the toilet who’s waste is left lingering only so long as it takes to flush.

In the United States alone 43 Million Tons of trash is produced each Day! Can you imagine if we could see our spiritual trash on such a massive scale!? We must change our perspective on life and open up our spiritual eyes. Through God we can do this. “I was blind but now I can see.” - John 9:25 Only then can we see the sin tainting our eternal soul. Only then can we see the mounds of trash blackening with disease, infestation and covering over our scope of the world, blotting out the truth.

We must divide ourselves from what is common. We must let the sudden truth abound within us and reveal what primitive technology our spiritual minds are running on. The chamber pot is “out,” the flushing away of sin is “In.” Through the blood of Jesus Christ. There’s your secret my friend. The one that’s been lingering amongst the trash all along. So get to digging. Get to cleaning. Get to salvation and get to glorifying GOD!

Behold. I Stand at the door and knock… –Revelation 3:20

But you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head. – Psalm 3:3

Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. – Psalm 24:9

For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. –Matthew 7:8

And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. -John 11:26

The Christmas Benign

Awww the Christmas season. The cheery, wondrous, delightful and enchanting time of year. We all gather together our most endearing and express our "love" and thanks for each other with gifts and filling grub.

But what is it that gives everyone that sense of uncontainable and overflowing joy. Everyone seems to have a mystic aura of forgiveness and kindness about them...Certainly a far cry from that of the classic disposition amongst society. Grumbling, grouchy, grudging, gripers many of us can be. But let's try and shine a little light on these "Bells of Joy-a-Jingling" within us.

We wonder...Is it the laughing children? The falling snow flakes and hanging mistletoe? Something in the autumn spices, hot cocoa and sudden appearance of mouth watering appetizers and plump treats? Perhaps the dazzling lights strewn across yards and houses or maybe something about the smell of freshly cut Christmas trees? Certainly it's nothing of the chilling whip of frigid winter winds-- that penetrates even the thickest of coats, the barren trees, higher heating bills and shorter periods of sunlight. And if not these, what is it?

I believe it is something of divinity. Something of eternity predating the dawn of man, even the dawn of time. Something found in the image of God and mirrored in the image of Christ Jesus. It's the seed of selfless "love" planted deep within us. A vital fragment of our Creator that compels us, moves us and leaves us yearning for his mystical fulfillment.
So if God is fulfilling, what draws him near? I think this verse gives us a clue...

"...Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." - Romans 13:9,10

We must Love the Lord our God and keep his commandments, largely, by loving others. After all, if we cannot learn to love each other, how much more can we learn to love God?

"...Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself." - Luke 10:27

So after a long year of worldly onslaught and the dulling gossip piling in and smothering our spirit, everyone's looking to pour a little water on that inner seed (whether they know it or not). To let it grow. And grow. And grow. So with the closeness of friends and family and a date of remembrance for the birth of our Lord, many of us have an outer shell to shake off; Whether it be apathy, spite, sternness or simply snow, it’s best remedy is cheer, openness, fellowship, a warm fire and the word of God.

“Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” –Isaiah 60:3
“…I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” – John 8:12

So is it the cinnamon, cocoa, pumpkin or chocolate pie, snow, lights, color, trees, warmth, laughter and everything else? Or is it the long buried Love of the world outpouring and our God drawing nearer. Well, I'll let you decide for yourselves...


Merry Merry Christmas! :)

Ti's the season, a season for War!

“What about me?” he ponders sitting in the back, arms crossed and slouched in his chair. “Surely God wouldn’t stand by my side in any battle. I’m nothing but an unworthy backslider.”

It’s all too common to think that we are unworthy of God’s Grace, Mercy, Forgiveness and Love as we step into the boundaries of Christianity. Why? Well for one our spirit knows that we fall short of God’s eternal Glory and the thought of our all powerful all knowing all wonderful Creator standing by our side holding us up and shadowing our every move makes us feel quite insignificant, frightened even! It might even rouse ideas like something from a fiction novel where a cryptic black operations organization somewhere has been watching our every move our entire lives and holds at their fingertips endless means to blackmail us. “Please please! I want to be in control!” We cry out! Our flesh revolts, protests with an attitude worthy of attention. Many of us are compelled to heed it, feed it, and yield to its every beckoning. We’ll do anything to keep it at bay, anything to seemingly bring a few short periods of peace into our lives. "If I just finish this case of beer, if I just buy this toy, if I just sleep with this woman, life will be just “great” for a while." After all, it’s normal right? It’s simply an instinctive part of being human, built into our very core DNA, our organismically evolved structure. We’re hungry, we eat, we’re bored, we play, et cetera et cetera.

This compulsive nature is something that requires a substantial amount of humility to fully grasp. The world in so many ways drives to convince us to fancy our every fleshly whim. To eat, drink and be merry. Unfortunately enough, most of these desires truly are “of the world” and “of the flesh.” Satan knows this and is, in fact, behind it all helping it to grow, deceive and destroy us. Consume consume consume until we ourselves are consumed. God is the only one who can utterly fulfill our desires! Permanently!

This compulsive nature is in no way instinctive. We are led off to the slaughter (quite crudely put) on an un-virtuous path to believe this lie. Attraction (not lust), comfort (not coveting, greed, riches or fame), security (having a purpose and not living only for ourselves) among other things—These are God given instincts, not compulsive gratification. The world simply twists what is natural and adds some appealing desert on top in the form of false morality.

Where am I going with this? Well, I believe in sharing what truths each of us hold. God blesses us and I believe he wishes for us to pass on our blessings by letting others know how on earth we came to be blessed in the first place. How we came to be free from the world and filled with God’s eternal joy!

I wish to share with anyone reading this, steps to conquer and overcome this world. God’s word says “All things are possible to he who believes!” and his word is certainly a force to be reckoned with. It’s immutable, powerful and deals a DEVASTATING blow to the enemy! Evidently enough, the enemy will do anything in his power to cause you to believe otherwise. He’ll fill our heads with doubt quicker than we can spot a bum sheep. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” – 1 Peter 5:8 Now THAT makes you feel a bit sheepish!? We cannot depend on ourselves though because “ourselves” will disappoint every time guaranteed. “My salvation and my honor depend on God ; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.” – Romans 9:16 It’s paramount to build up our spiritual armor to defend ourselves against the enemy. To do that, we NEED God!

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God!” – Ephesians 6:10-17

We’re aiming for nothing less than 100% victory here!

Don't let satan whisper in your mind and say "DEFEAT SIN!? HAH! Anyone who believes that is a moron! It’s part of being human and therefore impossible!"

Not so! I quote again: Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." –Matthew 19:26

“You’re so unworthy! God will never allow you into his loving arms! “

Don’t believe this Lie! Don’t you think God understands how hard this life can be? He created EVERYTHING! He knows you’ll scratch your nose before you scratch it. He knows the number of hairs on your head! He knows how annoying some of you family members can be more than YOU do! Hah! He doesn’t care how far we have to travel down the wrong road before we turn back! As long as we turn back full heartedly!

"I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: ... For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry." -Luke 15:18-22,24

So, with no further ado:

Step #1 HATE THE SIN! It’s essential that we make this key change in our heart! Many of us cry out to God and plead and pray that we may stop doing wrong but in our hearts we really “don’t” want help. You must wash this out by hating the sin, humbling ourselves before the Lord and giving the control of our lives direction, fully to him!

Step #2 Build up your spiritual fortress! Whatever you struggle with: Cut Off the Source! Our Eyes, Ears and all our other senses fuel the mind, the mind fuels the flesh! “What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.' " … “ But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.” – Matthew 15:11, 18, 19

Step #3 Take up your armor, sword and shield! Scripture Scripture Scripture! God's word is undefeatable, sharper than any double edged sword! Find a key verse to repeat in your head, say it out loud even! This deals a crushing blow to impure thoughts and temptation! (Example: “I am not my own, I was purchased for a price, I have no right to sin!”)

Step #4 Maintain your fortress! Read the word, Pray! Make it a habit to be mindful of the Lord in all that you do! “…do all to the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matthew 6:19-21

Godspeed on your journey to victory! Amen Amen Amen! God has faith in you! I do too!

P.S. Interesting note: The official motto of the state of Ohio is “With God, all things are possible.”

Let there be Light!

Mark 4:3-8

"Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred."

Of the multitude of people on earth fortunate enough to hear God's word, there remains only a few who keep steadfast on the path of truth. There are those like the parable from Jesus where the seeds fall amongst the thorns. They hear God's truth yet allow themselves to be yoked with unbelievers. Even someone of great faith can falter when they dwell with the council of the wicked one for too long.

"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?" 2 Corinthians 6:14

Then there are some who are like the seeds on the stone. The truth excites them! Entices them to follow! But like an unruly child who does not do their homework, the world yields no mercy to the unprepared.

"But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Matthew 7:14

This world is a playground for deceit. It's as vivid as the day, silent as the night, and sharp as a sword. I say though, God's sword is sharper.

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12

My point is this. Many things in life we may never understand. Like as the whims of the flesh can be so overpowering to the spirit in some. Or even those with a real taste of God's sweet sweet grace and everlasting glory can fall again into the traps of that loser satan. But for those of us who are truly blessed to have a relentless fiery passion for serving the Lord and doing his good will. I feel it our duty to take up our cross and fight for his Kingdom! To prevail over what is foul and unclean! Let light consume darkness! Amen!

"You are my lamp, O LORD; the LORD turns my darkness into light." 2 Samuel 22:29

"Life will be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning." Job 11:17

"No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light." Luke 11:33

"Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.

Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD." Psalm 150:1-6

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!