Category Archives: teaching

Enduring Consistency

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“Raw raw sis boom ba!
I belong! I belong!”

The proper exaltation for one who formerly was cast out.  It is not proper that this one should hate the inclusion.  But does that joy last?

The beaming smile of a young man as he gets his first car.  “I’m free!  I can go where I please!  Finally, I am a man!”  Not really, but don’t tell him yet.

Which is stronger, inclusion or the responsibilities that will surely come?

The joy of a child is dear, and held in high esteem by all who are mature.  If this is not so, then someone needs to explain to me why grandmas talk about babies incessantly.

The beaming smile of a middle aged woman; her face constantly glowing.  Though trials, terrors and difficulties have strewn across her path, she endures with excellent consistency. 

Such things are even marketable among men.  “There’s a lot of money in that there attitude.”   (properly voiced with cigar in mouth and scowl on face)

But wrongful pride in a young girl, who has been granted inclusion, is ugly.  And the rebellion of a young man stacks up in the courts of the land.  Our joy in them is dashed. 

And the beaming face of a middle aged woman, which is only apparent by means of cosmetic surgery, is no beauty at all; the cheap imitation of truth.  Kinda like some knock off version of Kool Aid; sour to the taste and despised by all.  “Back to the real stuff we go!”

If Christian joy is not sincere, it cannot be joy at all.  that special kind of hypocrisy that non-believers post prominently in neon signs.

We read the accounts of those who sang with boldness at the prospect torture and death.  No fictitious apparel can produce that kind of joy.  No provisional joy will endure in those circumstances.  “Ya either got it or you don’t.”

How do the exceptional remain exceptional?  How is it that they have kept their joy pure; unadulterated by pride and difficulty?

We find the answer in their perception.  The answer lay squarely in their expectations.  Those who endure to the end do not consider themselves as belonging because of any special trait they own.  They keep first in mind that they are included in something vastly larger and more desirable than themselves.

The young girl becomes the appealing woman mentioned above.  And the young man contributes greatly to the society that granted him his beloved freedom.  And the division between beauty and ridiculously ugly glares brilliantly.

With this answer something astounding appears.  Correction in our attitude is simply a matter of changing perspective.  “Becoming” is only a matter of being willing to understand the value of our place.  And never to allow that understanding to dissipate, or to become poluted with pride.

The engine of truth is relentless.  It drives through humanity without respect to the desires of any.  A man will either jump on board or get squished.

But if we embrace truth we retain the things that are beautiful.  We “become”.  We desire.  We learn to “do” with excellent consistency.

___________

Please don’t allow stupidity to interpret this message.  This is not a “how to” message.  It is not the preface to an impossibly thick manual on “becoming”.  It is more like a directional sign.  “Caution detour ahead”.

The true answer for any man is within him.  It is God Himself who directs.  If we don’t point to him, then we join with liars. 

“If the Lord does not build the house the builder builds in vain.”  If you want to be excellent, you have to go get it from him.  Therefore this message is far more a description than a “How to”.

If that disappoints you, then you’re the very reason I wrote this.

Slander

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A paraphrase of the legal definition of slander is that one tells a lie to one or more people about someone else. 

In my mind, there is not alot of diference here between slander and gossip.  Except that sander has overtones of malicious intent.  Whereas gossip may have a relatively innocent tone.  And gossip has to do with passing on what someone else has said.  While slander has a particularly focused origin.

Now, when we think about the word “lie”, we do not necessarily have to contrive something from our imagination.  There is a lie in slander, in which we know the truth but twist it purposely to cause injury. 

Likewise there is a lie in slander in which we think we know the truth but I do not have the full information.  This is the place where slander is very similar to gossip.

The first is malicious in its intent.  The second is just full of stupidity.  (alright, alright, think PC…… Ignorance)

The reason I bring this up has to do with the slander of celestial beings.  There’s no need for me to waste my time on the topic of slander between men.

While we may know the truth in regard to the gospel, it does not necessarily follow that we know that truth in regard to the history of heaven.  So when we speak about certain issues we speak without knowledge.

I’m not sure how much more I need to point out before the reader gets a grip on where I’m going with this.  But let me surmise ignorance, if you please.

In human terms, we slander one another all day long.  We suppose what good another should do, but we do not know what comprises the thoughts of the person we slander.  That is to say, we don’t know the history of that person.  We don’t know the reason why they cannot accomplish our expectation.

So it is with Satan and all his dominion.  What man was there to see him in all his splendor?  What man gave God counsel to ban him from the throne? 

Make no mistake, I am not siding with the evil one in his undeserved plight.  I am once again pointing out something I hear spoken quite often.

How should we best approach this entire subject regarding Satan?  In the interest of avoiding slander, would it not be better to put our focus on the things we can know?

For instance, we know what we should do, yet we fail to accomplish God’s expectations.  I suspect, if we gave that our all, we would be consumed far too heavily to spend wasted moments in slander of another.  Would it not be better to close our mouths and simply do what we are told.

I understand the zeal of a Christian.  When understanding of the plight of God comes clear, there is a very zealous desire to chastise the one who has brought such pain.  But this is something we should strive very hard to avoid.  God will take care of himself.

Our indignation is warranted.  Even a seething anger finds no apparent fault.  But to castigate without full knowledge is simply stupidity.

Then there is the moment when we realise the plight of man.  How we were unjustly tricked into sin and death.  Every hideous thing has come upon us.  And thoughts of rage begin to grow.

The very reason for this post is to help wisdom find a place to live.  Let’s get one thing straight.  We are born again that we may become victims.  We are to suffer for the name of Christ.  We are not called to judge all creation.  God will do that using us as examples.  And we are not called to challenge all creation to a fight.  Jesus did that and won!

I hope this has been helpful to someone.  It is not the kind of conversation that is brought up at dinner very often.  It is not the kind of conversation you would hear from a pulpit(sadly).  And it’s not the kind of conversation you would have with your mom as you’re driving to the store.  But slander of celestial beings is done popularly everyday (particularly by Christians).

Pursuit of Desire

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A man chases after the things he thinks are good.  If he is cold his entire mind, body and heart desire warm clothing.  If he is parched and overheated he will desire water, shade and cool.

The desire of man is a beautiful and useful tool.  And desire is provoked by perception.

Who perceives his own death?  Who perceives his heart is cold before the living God?   Who perceives that he is dying of thirst?  Such a man will desire the water of life God offers.

Warm clothing of eternity and living water for his parched soul.  If he does not desire these things but finds himself lacking, what wisdom can be said he owns?

Who perceives that he is parched and about to die for over exposure to the things of hell?  Such a man will greatly desire to live in the shadow of the Most High.

Men pursue what they desire.  What they desire defines what they pursue.

Young men pursue lust.  Old men live in their habits of lust! Who is wise among men to pursue eternal life with desire born of God?  Such a man will live!

Is Logic Truth?

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Men love logic.  It is the foundation of their wisdom.  It is the tool used to create this computer.  It is what has created the automobile, air conditioning, nuclear science, and every other modern convenience known.  But is logic the same as truth?

Truth remains untouched by decay.  That must be so, for it is true.  What is true must, by definition, be faultless.  So is logic faultless?

Logic works.  If you apply 1+ 1, you get two.  If something that is not is compared to another which is, they are, by necessity, different.  This is logic.

But is logic faultless?  The answer must be a categorical “no”.

There are anomalies which logic cannot explain.  The very nature of things is too big for logic to comprehend.  Let us put aside the nature of physics, which nature seems to bend at will.  Logic does not reside with consistency in the mind of man.  He does as he pleases, whenever it pleases him to do something.

This was the primary subject of John Nash; the study of economics for the very purpose of logically quantifying the activity of randomness.  For the sake of predicting random behavior among men, he set out to provide formulas of reliable character.  Had he been able to succeed, this world would now be an entirely different place.  But all he was able to accomplish was to provide a more closely refined guess.

Marketing uses his ideas to compel sales.  Governments use it to get one step ahead of the populace.  Men use it liberally, whether they are aware of his work or not, to compete with that “slight edge”.  But is this spawn of logic truth?

Logic tries to quantify the nature of things while they are in decline, advancement, temporary stability, or promised by observable action to appear.  But this place where we live is constantly switching direction.  A man dies, yet a baby is born.  Sickness comes, regardless the intent toward health.  Accidents happen.  Bodies rot in the ground.  Trees fall.  Storms appear, do what they will, and dissipate.

There is a ruse of stability.  It is sufficient to compel belief in the reliability of logic.  But there is enough randomness to betray the elevated place to which men have lifted up logic.

Truth is like a restrained body of water which lay above a valley.  It is.  It is restrained for now.  But once let loose, all that appeared stable among the people of the valley is ripped away in a moment.

God alone is truth.  Logic is the “truth” of the foolish works of man’s hands, which he worships with great delight.

For now, God restrains His truth for the sake of testing souls.  But, like the body of water, once He unleashes pure truth, it will wipe away every possible contrivance of man.

You do not believe in God?  What is to be said?  You must worship something; that is the nature of man.  Do you worship yourself then?  Perhaps you worship logic, and what it can accomplish for man.  What is it to me what you believe?  I am here to testify that God is.  And to testify that He respects nothing but purity, humility and truth.

Those who looking the perfect nature of God with a humble heart, will certainly find release from the “things of this world”.  Those who continue to contrive their own nature of truth, will continue on the path of decay and destruction.

When God unleashes His Holy Flood of Truth, it will be far too late to make amends.  He who loves the works of man’s hands will worship those works.  Those who love the Holy work of God, will find humility, truth, love and life.  All men will make their own choice.

To the humble, God shows Himself.  But to the proud, God remains shrewd.

The Mind is Slave to the Soul

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The mind is a very fertile and powerful organ among the members of our body.  Regardless our state of affairs, it is able to rise to the occasion.  Though it is not the source of decision.

If a man is depressed, the mind can drive him to death.  If a man is joyful, no Depression can touch him.  If a man strives to accomplish a task, within the reach of his body, his mind will quicken.  If he determines to say, “No I will not”, his mind will shutdown possibilities.  The man is soul.  The body is the place where the soul lives.  The mind is therefore, the slave of the soul.

Within the boundaries of man (within the nature of constraints God has placed on this world), the mind is able to accomplish the things the soul desires.  This can be bad or good.  For if a man’s soul is darkened, so his mind will be darkened.  But if a man’s soul reaches for God, his mind also will reach for God.

God will respond to the soul who desires him.  Though the mind is full of wickedness, God can cause righteousness to grow.  But let the man, in his soul, first search diligently for what is God.  Let him also continue in this searching as he sees the fruit of God appear.

If I go to an apple tree, in its season of fruit, I do not expect to find skunks growing on it.  If I have planted the apple tree I will be quite miffed at its produce.  I will cut it down and burn it to ashes.  It will not matter if the tree has produced apples for years.  I have no use for skunks.  There is no place for them among my things.  And though they do exist, independent of my orchard, I will not grow them willingly.

Can we expect less of God who plants righteousness?  If a soul has once desired the holiness of God, receives what God graciously gives, then turns to embrace wickedness, can we expect God to embrace that soul?

The righteousness of God will cease in our things.  Though they will continue for a little while, as we have developed a habit, they will dissipate overtime.  In the place of the righteousness of God, we will find the fruit of wickedness.  How can we expect that to be received by God?

Let us be wise and press the mind to accomplish.  What our soul desires, the mind is forced to endure.  Therefore if we desire God, let us continue to desire more of God.  If he has blessed us with a crop of righteousness for a small desire how much more for complete desire?

Man is not body.  Man is soul clothed in a body.  The deception is complete enough to keep the fool a fool. 

No man has seen his soul.  But any man can readily see his body.  Most people believe the body is who they are.  They have not noticed the subtle difference between the decaying nature of the mind and the eternal nature of the soul.  They are caught in a deception, and there they will remain eternally.

The body cannot do the will of God if the man’s soul is in rebellion.  But let the man look up and desire his maker, and he will see marked difference in his life.  The problem is, most people do not understand this.  So when they once receive the grace of God, they fall back to the desires of the body.

If a man’s body is healed by God, men consider it a miracle.  But the real miracle happens when a man’s soul agrees with God, and of the body is forced to obey.  The mind will do as the soul commands.  Will the soul do as God commands?

A righteous man

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A man is not righteous because he does right things.  Is righteous because he himself is righteousness.

The good deeds are his children.  They are not his identity.

He has become a righteous man because righteousness is what he has desired most of all.  He has appealed to God through Christ.  And he has received that for which he has asked. 

Such a man has stopped doing and has become.