That Fully Peculiar Sadness


I perceived a sadness within me.  Did it belong to me? 

A cursory search of my soul says no, this sadness does not belong to me.  Joy belongs to me, for it is given to me by the Holy One of God.

Then to whom does this sadness belong?  Doesn’t it belong to those who do not believe?  Yes to those who don’t believe.

My soul stands at the door of heaven and looks back.  I don’t see an excited horde rushing toward the door of Christ.  I see all men milling about with frantic enthusiasm for everything that is futile.

The sadness I am feeling is that, Man is not sad at all.  Like condemned men who stand against the wall of a firing squad, yet celebrate the place where they stand.  Mindless and blind as to what comes next, they busy themselves with an obvious joy.

We can only speak of what we have been told.  He who receives receives, he who does not receive is the source of my sadness.

So be it.  God is first in Christ.  It is to him I owe allegiance.  This sadness will not consume me, even as a foolish enjoy consumes all men around me.

By His Grace

The Process of Christianity


There is a lot of confusion regarding Christianity.  Granted, there is outright hatred for anything that belongs to God.  But there are also many who simply don’t understand.  I write this for the latter.  The former will remain beyond my reach.

Christianity is not a religion in itself.  Christianity spawns, or gives life to, true understanding.  It is undeniable that there are many corrupt variations of Christianity.  But the one with an honorable heart will divide lie and fiction from truth.

The process of becoming a Christian, for the most part, takes a rather predictable course.  There are great variations in means, but the mile markers are not hard to to denote.  Let us begin.

The man recognizes his lack of ability to conquer the onslaught against him.  This world is full of chaos and unknown difficulties.  Added to the physical violence he perceives, comes and almost subconscious awareness of perfection. 

With an earnest chasing after wisdom, the man begins to perceive the vast nature of perfection.  If anxiety was provoked by the chaos of this world, the nature of perfection compounds the man’s concerns.  The man has reached a milestone of understanding.  Now he is ready to encounter the next mile marker.

As his years slip by, death becomes more real.  When he was young, death was only some imaginary trouble.  But now, with the same chasing of wisdom, the man begins to examine his own end. 

Futility looms heavily over the path he knows he must walk.  How deep the chasm of his futile life becomes, especially while he has begun to examine the nature of perfection.  One aspect of perfection rises very tall;  “If there is life, why is there any death at all?”

At this mile marker the man is forced to make a choice.  Will he resign himself to obvious oblivion, or will he seek that perfection he is coming to desire?  Wisdom says, There really is no choice son”.

This is the very place where many fall away to pleasure; “Let us eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die”.  But a few will press on, for they know there is something more to be had.   Exactly how they know this, they cannot explain yet.  But it is these few who will proceed to the next milestone.

Again, the man is faced with a choice; should he swallow his own observations and simply join the crowd, or does he dare to step away from others?   Though his soul cannot agree with them, the temptation of his body is to remain included with humanity.

It is exceedingly difficult for anyone to say that God began a work in a man’s life at a certain place.  But regardless when it happened, there is a marked difference which a man can perceive.  Such a man does not think like the masses, and he knows it.  This sliver of knowledge is found as the man approaches the next milestone.  Metaphorically speaking, that awareness shoves the man through the door.

It is the diligent, honorable, and earnest heart that decides to encounter the obvious best solution.  Nothing has changed regarding his futile life.  His death still looms vibrantly before him.  And the nature of perfection has more clarity than ever before.  Whether others perceive these things or not, the brave will enter in.  Welcome to isolation.

Now God moves to introduce perfection.  The Holy law of God is introduced to the man.  Here many perceive the height of expectation, and run back to the crowd for solace.  But the man with an earnest and true heart will kneel before the Living God in prayer. 

The standard of perfection is too much for him to bear.  But so is the futility of his life.  With no place to turn, he has dropped to his knees to seek mercy.  “If God is real, he says to himself, “he will show himself to me now.  I have encountered the absolute impasse.”

The man has examined his life and found fault.  The man has examined the world and found the same.  But with his earnest heart, he cannot find fault with the laws of God.  Now the specter of his death is set ablaze with a Holy Fire.  There are no more choices left for him to take.

The only possible choice, to avoid the inevitable, is to turn away from this search completely.  But with all he has invested, that is no choice at all.  Willingly, the man rises to his spiritual feet and walks into a firestorm of the unknown.

His faith has come alive, but not for no reason.  The mutual work between the man and God has produced obvious conclusions.  It is time for God to make an eternal choice; at this point it is righteous to introduce the man to the Holy Son of God, Jesus.

The man has reached the first milestone of heaven.  he has become a Christian.  After this, there are thousands markers more to attain. 

But it is at this place where I will cease this writing.  This sessation comes, because beyond this place, the predictability of the man’s encounters with spiritual milestones belongs to the invisible God.  Where God will take this man is absolutely unknown.  What service the man will supply for the Holy Son of the Living God, is up to God to decide.

Beyond this milestone, the choices of the man matter very little.  It is the intent of the Living God that will drive the man from here on out.

I have written this for the sake of those who argue against Christianity by the use of the human experience alone.  To some degree, the human experience begins the search.  But our experience on this earth is not capable of grasping the fullness of God’s Grace, or will.

I know there will be arguments against these things I have written.  But there will also be honest questions.  I publish this, willing to receive either.

I have not written this to challenge secular mindsets.  And I cannot say that what I have written is a blueprint for every man.  But I have written this that it might be seen, there is a relatively logical progression to be taken between the mind of a worldly man and the mind of a Christian.

I will finish this writing with the following thought.  True Christianity is not a product of any man’s personal choice.  It is produced by a mutual willingness between God and his people.  Christianity is a living experience in which the truth of eternity is revealed, to whatever extent the Living God is willing to reveal it.

With what relative innocence I can muster, I have written this without a desire to judge, chastise, pigeonhole, or destroy.  There are battles to be had.  But let this stand as an offer for peace.  The Spirit of God within me is quite capable of waging wars of words and ideas.  But such things will present themselves when they do.

May God grant understanding to anyone who reads these things.  For without his help, no understanding will rise to the surface.

By His Grace

Chaotic Building Materials


He who would save his life will lose it.  Yes, the Lord said that.  But did you know there’s an absolutely logical reason for it?  The saying is not a threat from God.

Nothing man can build, in the way of a life, can last.  The only items he has in his hand to build with, come from chaos. 

He gathers and digs, and scrapes together items that form his life.  Where did he get these things?  He got them from the mass of chaos that is this world.

It can be compared to a man trying to build a house out of rotten and twisted lumber, rusty nails and screws, and a tape measure that was drawn by a child.  He tries to build a straight house on a foundation that is crooked and rough.  To top it all off he builds in a place prone to storms.

Chaos is chaos, it can’t be anything else.  Such a life is bound to explode into futility, and horrible frustration.  The one who desires to save this life, will find himself busy in repair forever.  So yes, he who desires to save his life will certainly lose it.

But the life that God offers is not built on chaos.  God offers a man the things that are built on eternal life.  By their very nature, they are perfectly unshakable.

Here’s the rub my friends.  All we have ever known is a life of constant repair.  We have been duped into believing this is life.  Pathetically, we are secure in this belief. 

When the offer of life from God arrives, it is perceived as another form of chaos.  It threatens to tear down the sweat and blood house we have built.   Since a man is already busy, beyond his ability, repairing what he has, there is an automatic rejection of more demands.

Only those people who recognize the futility of their life, receive God’s gift readily.  But God is insistent.  “I’m trying to give you life.  Let go of what you have and you will live a joyous and full life.”  So a struggle unto death becomes.

The resulting war is no joke at all.  A God born faith is required, as if a man stares down a hungry lion.  But the battle will not relent.  The only closure to this war, is the grave itself.  Sadly, many millions have gone to the grave, embroiled in this battle but never receiving God’s grace. 

Not every man perceives these things.  Most often the battle is rejected without consideration. 

Look at it this way, you will fight a war with something until the day you die.  Why not wisely pick your battle?

The Apostle Peter addressed this: “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.”  (1 Peter 4: 12)

Give up and live.  Strive to retain what you have and you will die. 

Chaos cannot give birth to life.  Life cannot give birth to chaos.  The two are forever opposing.  Chaos will destroy itself.  Life lives forever.

Christ Jesus offers life.  But who will take it?

By His Grace

Unspeakably Different (repost)


(I am on a mobile device and could not repost this automatically.  This was written December 1st 2013)

Man invented paints so he could capture his own image and make it last for centuries.  God has clothed eternity with his own majesty which never fails or fades.  Vibrant colors with living shades adorn all of heaven.  While man perfected acrylic on some gravity ridden surface.

Man works to invent robots.  All the while the living God is surrounded by creatures too beautiful for words.  Man has learned to mutate sounds so that his ear might hear things never heard before.  While the voice of God is like the sound of many rushing rivers.

Man worries himself nearly to death over fighting diseases and sickness of every kind.  His boasting can be heard from sea to shining sea for every grain of progress he makes.

Meanwhile, all of heaven is inhabited by creatures whose bodies have never even known decay.  And if boasting is ever heard it is to boast of the glory of the God who made them.

What should you expect to gain, you who try to bring down God to your level.  How is God like us?  He is all together unlike us.  Yet men rail against him all day long; making jokes in endless stream.

You will receive your proper do on the day when he brings you before his throne.  There you will give account for every idle word you have ever spoken.  Every evil thought you possess is like fuel for the fire that will consume you.

We are all deserving of eternal punishment because we have treated the Holy One with disdain.  We have been violent and have hated him for no reason.  Look how he has even prepared salvation for us, his enemy.  We have taunted  him by using his Holy Son’s name in vain.  But the living God intends a different meaning to that name.

Come away from the stench that is man.  Approach the living God with confidence for this is the day of salvation.  Confess your evil before him and accept His loving forgiveness. 

The Math Man


The child is taught,

“1 + 1 is 2;

2 Plus 2 is 4.”

And as “one” proceeds,

One multiplies the more.

And as he grows

The teaching throws

Confusion upon him.

The lie is born,

and he becomes:

A man.

“Many is greater than less.

Strength is found in mass.

‘United we stand!’

And thus we are blessed!”

Yet God will single him out.

The millions drop,

Along the “Way”.

And few are found,

In this very day,

To stand with strength;

The weak betrayed.

God’s wisdom:

Will single you out!

Believe!


Men do not believe.  They do not believe that God is true.  So they go about their hopeless affairs as if God does not care. 

Why?   Why can men not bring themselves to believe that God cares?  Is it that they have not read his promises?  Or is it that they have prejudged the Holy Lord and decided even his writings are of no value.

Men do not believe the words of the Holy Lord of life, because they themselves are the only witness they witness.  And they count the Holy One as if he were like them.

They live their lives in error, far more than correctness.  They are full of fault and double minded in everything they do.  Their lives are a series of catastrophic failures.  All the while they live in a place that renews, even by itself, sustained by the Holy Lord, for the mercy of salvation.

They are wicked to the very core of their existence, and cannot find one righteous pure action within their members.  They wake in the morning having sinned on their bed.  They go through their day without knowledge, and lost in futility.  Evening comes to them and finds them immersed in trivial and worthless things.

Everyday is the same.  Therefore they judge from their own knowledge.

They know they are made of such things, and they suppose there is no better than they.  For along with the futility of their life, comes pride.  Humility is not desired, for certainly their weakness will be known.  Truth is far from them.  And embracing life is better.

So with a small wave of their hand and up raised chin, they dismiss the things of the Holy Lord of life.

They have lost nothing for they had nothing.  They stand to gain nothing for they will not believe. 

They look for proof that God is, and that He is righteous.  They set their feet firm saying, “I will not move until I know for sure.”

They spout great things of how the Lord will receive them because they are good people.  They are vicious creatures against the rule of God, while they consider themselves as pure.  All the while the Lord remains a fire of pure Holy Righteousness and merciful Love.

They look for mercy but do not repent of their sins.  They make no effort to learn of, or please the Most High God.  They count him as less than what is flushed down the toilet.  How then shall they be received by He who is Holy and Eternal?

You who do not believe.  You know that there is more than yourself.  Yet you remain like stone in your rebellion.

Remain then and die.  The Lord’s kingdom will move far from this place without you.  You will be left a beggar with your own witness witnessing against you.

The good news of God is all over this world.  The glorious news that God has prepared a way to embrace you, abounds.  Make your choice today.