Month: January 2017

One of the most important yet misunderstood scriptures spoken by Christ is Matthew 11:27-30. He says simply, “Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” The Message Bible says of the same verses, “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to Me. Get away with Me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with Me and work with Me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with Me and you’ll learn to live freely.” This seems to be an invitation easily accepted, but what else is in this? In the verse just before these, Christ tells us that everything has been delivered to Him by the Father, and that no one knows the Son but the Father, and no one intimately knows the Father but the Son. But He can unveil the Father to anyone He chooses. (New Passion Translation)

We’ve gone from hearing an invitation to be not just yoked to Jesus, but coming into a knowledge of the Father as Jesus knows Him. This requires a conscious act of our will to submit ourselves to Him 100%. This involves giving up the right to ourselves. It does not happen overnight, but the more you give to Him, the better you hear Him and start to share in the beat of His heart. The Lord’s way of looking at things we see going on in the world right now will start to be your vision. You will feel a strengthening in how you can stand in the midst of adversity. You can speak and think His precepts even when those around you seem diametrically opposed to what you now know to be bathed in truth. But it’s a journey.

When an ox is first placed in a yoke, he is usually teamed with a mature ox that has been doing this work for awhile. He learns and feels more comfortable than starting off into this new walk alone. It’s scriptural. Even Paul was initially teamed with Barnabas. (see Acts 9 and 13). Often, sharp sticks called goads are used to keep the oxen in line. The Lord also told Paul that it was hard to kick against the goads. It can hurt. It gets your attention. You cannot walk contrary to the way of one yoked to God and be in harmony with Him. We so often want to walk after what we believe He is calling us to when everything seems good, or when we think we are under the anointing of the Holy Spirit and we momentarily are of single mind and vision. But then we realize that there is something required of us. We actually have to follow what the Lord says and show His character. Even when things are not going like we want.

You cannot be yoked with unbelievers and at the same time yoked to Him. But even this goes farther. You cannot be yoked to Him and continue with old mindsets. Or hateful ways. Or how can you speak things that would turn away an unbeliever or one who has turned from God, and actually believe you are still yoked to Christ? Where is your heart for the unsaved, the downtrodden, the poor, the desolate , and the broken hearted?  How can you speak a gospel that is contrary to His words of hope to those who have lost hope?  If these things are not in your heart, then you are yoked to another. It may be people you follow, even religious leaders or political leaders, or your own self interests. But it’s not Christ. To be yoked with Him and expect to make a difference without doing your best to imitate Him is like punching the wind and believing you’ll change the weather.

Right now I’m still seeing people I know to profess Christ, continuing to spout hateful and divisive things. I am troubled because I see so much harm come from those called to show His love and mercy. Minds have become closed to His teachings. It’s visible all the time and everywhere. What has caused so many to be enticed by false promises, lies, and wrong teaching and leading? It’s as if so many called to lead have been deceived. No person who advocates a teaching contrary to the gospel of Christ is to be followed. Prayed for and lifted up, yes. But then a line of spiritual demarcation must be drawn. The Lord has never changed His mind regarding sin. Nor has Christ told you to go out and just get people to believe in Him. He said go make disciples. We seem to forget that part. One who accepts Christ must come to a place of being a disciple into His true heart or they will be out of step with Christ. Amos 3:3 says, “How can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” How can you expect a harvest if you sow in the wrong spirit? Paul warned in 2 Corinthians 6 about being wrongly yoked. If you continue to spout hateful words and create division and discord, not peace, then you are the same as one yoked to an unbeliever or one who works to undermine the grace of God.

Oswald Chambers said, “If we understand what God is after, we shall be saved from being mean and cynical.” And there’s the rub. Understanding. Seeking Him. Being watchful when those awful feelings rise up in the midst of us, and realizing that it comes from a place in us not surrendered to Him. But as it is written in Hebrews 11, “He rewards those who diligently seek Him.” I pray He reveals the hidden depths of wisdom and knowledge to you. That you never falter in seeking him and His precepts. That no matter how bad things may seem in this world or how much you disagree with, He is your source. Rest in Him. He will lead you to a broad place where you will find rest. You will know that with Him you can rise up in the worst of times knowing that He is good and He is a shield to those who trust in him. And as it says in Galatians 5:1, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” That was your past. Walk in freedom.   Blessings

 

As I was sitting yesterday, I felt a sensation on my lower left leg. Touching it, I realized that a good deal of that area was still numb from harvesting a vein to be used in my 1992 by-pass surgery. The area of the upper inside of my right lower leg also has an area still numb from my 2015 by-pass surgery. As I felt those areas, I realized many people have numbness not due to surgery. It’s emotional or spiritual. The parable of the sower in Matthew 13 speaks to this. People do not hold onto the word and the enemy snatches it away. Or they stumble when persecution or tribulation arises. The cares of the world, greed, a divided heart, and personal ambition prevents spiritual fruit in that person’s life. But to those open to hear and receive the good word and keep it in their hearts, they will bear and produce fruit that produces much.

We all start out with good intentions. But many become so bogged down by the disappointment and the feeling of being used and incapable of being or making a difference that we shut down. We become shells of who we once thought we’d be. Apathy sets in, and that which was so meaningful to us at one point now becomes an effort to even contemplate. So we allow things to enter in to our conscious life that would have once appalled us. Compromise becomes the order of the day. And it becomes difficult to get through and alert you to the fact you’re on a downward spiral.

The lyrics to Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” come to mind. You want to say, “Hello? Is there anybody in there?” I understand that you are let down. Where there was once the ability to look at all that was going on, or see more than one viewpoint on things with no perfect lines of division, you now only react with anger. You answer that you’ve gone through something and feel you can’t explain, as I would not understand. As if to say “this is not how I am. I’ve become comfortably numb.” But I see reasons why you’ve become angry and apathetic, but what I don’t understand, is how those reasons have changed your way of thinking and especially your heart. Christ in you, the hope of glory, is fading.

I’m sure we could all list at least a hundred things that have a deleterious effect on why we feel so out of sorts and fed up. We see a constant barrage of 24 hour news telling us how bad things are, and to add to their own addictive mindsets, they run a constant scroll at the bottom of the screen with other so called news of importance. Who would be the first one to delete that redundant scroll? No one. It means money. The phrase Breaking News once caught our attention. Now even in the midst of an ever increasing world of possible violent eruption, these people will use it even for the death of a Hollywood celebrity. Phones, computers and I Pads allow constant access to the mind numbing repetition of the day. We are inundated with fake news, followed by the response of those who try to corroborate it or expose it.  We see so much evil and conniving right in our living rooms that we start to ignore it rather than try to take a stand against it.

We voted for people who should be looking out for our interests but instead lie to us and look for ways to use us. Everything starts to sound like a bad report, or if there is a good report, you are sort of waiting for the other shoe to drop. Where you once tried to look at the bright side, now you are constantly skeptical. Who do you trust? Even the hope you once had in God starts to erode. Those hooks that have entered into your psyche tainted with toxins are allowed to remain as the fear of the pain of removing them is too much to bear. So we start to change.

Our anger at how we felt things/life was supposed to go, make us jaded. We forget the precepts the Lord showed us that we should follow. Now we follow anyone with a promise, no matter how unrealistic or no matter how unscriptural the character of the one delivering the words. You decide to compromise your principles to get what you feel is needed. The ends justify the means. Too many Christians seem to have no problem using Satan’s weapons to further His Kingdom. All will see the folly of that. It will backfire. Only light repels darkness. Many seem to forget that it is our responsibility to keep our heart right with God. It doesn’t matter if religious leaders have become so much a part of the world that it seems many are unrecognizable from those who cause you to feel this way. The Lord told us to always be vigilant. There would be sheep in wolves’ clothing amongst you. But He said regardless of the trouble, to be of good cheer because He has overcome the world.

Many feel like the one referred to in the Pink Floyd song, “When I was a child I caught a fleeting glimpse, out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look but it was gone. I cannot put my finger on it now. The child is grown. The dream is gone. I have become comfortably numb.” We think things have passed us by. The pain and hurt endured has irreparably scarred us. Things just seem out of focus and beyond our grasp. We become isolated from that which is our only refuge. We cannot allow circumstances to afflict us to such a degree that we are useless or feel life is stacked against us. We have to stand and fight. Do not care if you upset the powers that be in this country or in the church. If you are in Him, what you say will be reflected in your discourse. But that’s the key. You need to be grounded in His truth.

It says in Psalm 37 to trust in the Lord. To commit your ways to Him. In Psalm 42 the psalmist says, “Why are you so downcast, O my soul? Why are you so disquieted within me?” Yet he answers himself and says, “Hope in God. For I shall yet praise Him. The help of my countenance and my God.” Trust in God. Walk in His love and watch how things can change. His grace is even now being poured out in unprecedented amounts. Grab hold of it. Boldly approach the throne of grace and expect to obtain mercy and find grace to help in your time of need. (Hebrews 4:16) Blessings.

Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.” The Passion Translation of the same verse say it all belongs to Him. He’s the one who separated the waters from the land and planted firm foundations for this place we call earth. The earth always feels His presence and cannot forget the perfection with which it was formed, but somehow man in his selfishness has forgotten.

In Genesis 1, God said He created man in His image. He gave them dominion over the earth, over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth. God called all these things good. We were made to have authority over all the earth but as HE would. We were made to follow Him and be in communion with Him and if this was done in accordance with His plans all would be in proper balance and harmony. But in order for that to work man must walk in understanding and love. The original intent was for us to rule as He would. The earth would not wear out. There would be abundance for all and extinction of His creation would not be a concept to be discussed. This divine order could only work if man followed His plans and was interacting with God in all facets of life. But man has chosen chaos and disorder. The perfect rules were rejected and a mind ruled by the removal of God in our plans became the order of the day. Greed has become the motivating force of man.

In Leviticus 25, we see God knew what was in the heart of man and set up rules for him to follow that would save the earth. He said six years man would sow your land and six years you’d gather the fruit from it. BUT in the seventh year there would be a Sabbath rest unto the Lord for the land. During that year you shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard. But what grows of its own accord during that seventh year can be eaten by all who live in the land, including those who don’t own the land, and foreigners, and your livestock, and wild animals. It is a Sabbath rest unto God but what the land volunteers of itself can be eaten. Those who worried about not having enough in the seventh year were assured by God that by following His laws, you’d receive a blessing in that the land in the sixth year which would bring forth enough produce for three years. Yet we did not heed the promise. We were given the ability to create and reproduce, but we use these gifts for greed not good. So things are now out of control and we are seeing a paradise being lost. We forget the eternal and look at the now.

So we see the deforestation of the earth. A balance He put in order which would cleanse the air of carbon dioxide and other pollutants has been negated. Trees that absorb rainfall and release water vapor into the air to lessen pollution and replenish aquifers to water crops, are no longer there. Soil held in place by trees is washed or blown away. Erosion becomes rampant and silt enters our sources of water. The dustbowl of the 1930s in America taught us nothing. Haiti has lost over 95% of its trees. The earth can replenish itself to a degree even with all the destruction we’ve brought but we will not stop. Even now we are seeing people put in charge of government departments that care nothing in regard to trying to right these catastrophic practices. That might mean losing money.

Greed has caused chemical companies to come to the rescue so crops can grow even though the earth has said no. So we produce something that is causing more harm to the earth and to us each day. Many pesticides and herbicides are being used to increase crops and thereby profits. And people ignorantly defend these methods while something as divinely special and simple as His creation to pollinate crops is dying. The bee. Scientists have found that the pollen bees bring back to their hive is contaminated by these chemicals making the bee unable to fight infection caused by it or to then resist parasites. Some wise beekeepers will not allow those who use these chemicals to rent their bees. But big agribusiness has clout and political connections. They hire their own people to refute actual facts and have made it so many can no longer produce without these chemicals. If you ask many who are in position in Congress to help fight this, they say they cannot say for sure that these so called dangers are real as they are not scientists. Yet they ignore the scientists. These people are bought and paid for. And rather than try to get the world working together to clean our air, land and water, they remain blind as to what is bound to happen and care nothing to the inheritance we leave to our children. They have made a deal with the devil and there is a price to pay for that. We are to make no covenant with evil. Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” But this is willful disobedience. We see the results of the pillaging of our earth right before our eyes. In some areas even your nose will tell you what is wrong because of animals penned together in horrendous quantities so they cannot move and fouling land and water with excess waste that cannot be dealt with. And to remedy the problem of dying animals caused by this evil manifestation of greed, we feed them antibiotics, which we then ingest and which goes into our water supplies. We pay the price for this. Innocent or not. We are at the point that these practices have helped lead to the increase of antibiotic resistant bacteria. And the large pharmaceutical companies have no interest in finding new antibiotics as it is deemed cost inefficient.

The evil we see being perpetrated throughout the earth is but a reflection of mans’ inability to come into union and rest with Him who created this earth for us. It was made perfectly. But we have exercised our will to the point of spiritual blindness and to using the power He gave us to do good and allowing greed and power to be the motivating force destroying our planet. In Romans 8, we can hear the earth cry out for the return of that which is true and in right order. It was made by God and was in total oneness and agreement with Him. A veritable Eden. To know perfection and then be like this is unimaginable. Creatures and creation groan in expectation for His return. As Jesus said, all creation praises Him. Yet why does man not know what the earth and animals know? He says in Revelation 11 that He will judge those who destroyed the earth. What we see is out of order. Have no part in it. Be part of the solution whenever and wherever you can. Ignorance and apathy are never an excuse. Stand.

My prayer is that we ask Him as the psalmist did, to teach us good judgment and knowledge. Cause us to hear the way in which we should walk and help us acknowledge His loving kindness that is still here for us each day. Teach us to do your will in being good stewards of that which you have put in our hands. Revive us. Lead us. In your mercy, forgive us. Blessings.

Mules have been around for ages. Even in the wild, a female horse can mate with a male donkey. Man has overseen the mating of horse and donkey to produce an animal that can carry more weight . They are sturdier than a horse and need less care when it comes to diet and living conditions. A horse, though, is easier to ride and a horse will follow blindly with its rider into battle. They know the bugle sound calling them into battle. A mule has much more of an ingrained sense of self-preservation and are often unwilling to place themselves in danger no matter how much the rider will try to urge them on. A charging cavalry would find themselves on an animal not as agile and quick and likely to be disobedient when trying to get them to go forward into danger.

A major characteristic of mules is that there is a mismatch of genetic material. The main way to get another mule is to mate a horse and donkey again. Mules are usually sterile. Births that come to term are rare. Sometimes a mule can get pregnant, but the embryo develops for just a few days and then dies because it lacks the genetic instruction to develop further. Mules can be useful to man for the best inherited traits from both the horse and donkey, but in the world of man, a person that takes on the characteristics of a mule is not useful to the Kingdom.

The most common trait seen here would be the inability to reproduce. This is often because of greed and selfishness. Me first. We see in the world of business and finance that a common characteristic is again greed, but also hoarding. One can never have enough. They store up for themselves treasures where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. Where their treasure is, there the heart of that one is seen. (Matthew 6:19) It seems that no amount of money is enough and anything is fair game if it will produce a profit. I find it ironic that some like Buffet and Gates who are seen as ultra liberal by the religious community, are the ones that are divesting themselves of their wealth to help others. They seem to have a better sense of what to do with stored up treasures. They reproduce through their humanitarian efforts, while others remain sterile but think they are rich.

The same with politicians. They were given the responsibility to represent our interests, but seem to only look after their own. They have set up for themselves individual kingdoms. Set for life. Misusing and abusing money entrusted to them to wisely use. They work to ensure their future from day one in office, yet fail to remember why they were elected. Some still try to stand for what is right, but it is often a losing battle and God help them if they upset the apple cart. Billions have been stolen and no one is ever held accountable. People look to social security and health care and find the cupboard nearly bare. Yet those who took an oath to represent us have pensions and health care for life. Promises have just become ways to get elected.  Seldom are they seen manifest. Again, too many people that are sterile. They only produce a culture of more people only out for themselves.

Religious leaders are not exempt from producing too many mules. They go out of their way to forge alliances with those in power. It is just as much of an aphrodisiac to them as it is to the politician or businessman. Things that happen today with the alliance of politics and the church make them seem to be interchangeable. Too many in the church have forgotten what the Lord said in Mark 8:36-37 “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Too much of the gospel has been neglected. What they don’t understand or are able to reckon with, they discard. This, in too many cases, has become a business. And the common man cannot afford it. For many, I would ask, “What are you producing?” Many are more interested in having followers than making disciples. In the Old Testament, Micah rebuked all in leadership in the church and business who used social and political power for personal gain. He summed up what we are to do in Micah 6:8 when he said, “What does the Lord require of you but to do justly, To love mercy,  And to walk humbly with your God?” The Lord said in Matthew 23:12 “ Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

We are to make disciples whether it is in politics, business or the church. We can and should reproduce that which is seen as good. That which brings life. That which causes many to look and see what is it that compels us to be selfless and not selfish. But too many feel they are doing quite well right where they are. In Revelation 3: 17-20, the Lord tells us to buy from Him gold refined by fire. But they felt they were rich and had need of nothing. The Lord tells them they are unaware that they are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. He then offers life and He stands at the door and knocks. Hear His voice and open the door. Invite Him in. See that the ways of selfishness has no good end.

Paul tells us in Titus 2 that His grace has appeared to all men and it brings salvation teaching us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and that we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age. We are to do the same thing today. Put off that which will only cause separation from Him, to the point you become so used to how you do things, you no longer realize the distance between you and Him. Seek Him while He can be found. He is the only way. I pray a spirit of wisdom for all. Blessings.