Month: November 2017

Empty Rooms


An empty house is not blessed and casual observance witnesses a once proud home, falling apart from the inside out.  Rot, decay and ruin almost immediately ensues a residence once the residents move out.

Our own bodies are similar.  When we are filled with life, with joy and with purpose, our ‘house’ of our body teems with good health.  Once we become empty, hollow and without meaning or purpose, our body begins to decay and fall down.

Moreover, not only does our body begin to fall down cripple, but our spirits become dour, filled with gloom.

As people, we become empty when we grow numb to routine.  The repetitive act of getting up and going to work, paying bills, always behind in money drives us into a whirlpool of denial.

Once in a permanent state of denial, we become depressed and often bitter.  In our bitterness, anger settles in.  We become angry with ourselves, with our loved ones, with our boss and neighbor and environment. Blame approaches us and we point our fingers menacing at others for our condition.

In general custom, we begin to focus inwardly where we build a wall and defy anyone to penetrate our private space. We become experts in projecting an illusion of our self for at this point, we are shallow and afraid of who we have become.  A better word to describe us at this junction is that we are in fact, lost.

Where at one time in our lives we felt we knew all the answers, we are burrowed with doubt, self-pity and a general malaise of hopelessness.  Where to turn?

Any number of events can twist our lives into a painful journey of a personal torture zone. We can feel trapped and forgotten as we soon even forget our old self.

We may dream painful dreams that recount a former time when we were happy and regret all those things of which we no longer are.

The truth is that we can never settle on the past. Neither can we permit events or loss of fortune to define who we are.  Finally, we must come to grips with HOPE.

Hope means that we must see a future.  And I that future we must also see things as getting better.  In these terms then, we must also believe we are going to actualize a better tomorrow.

By this point in your life, you should have already learned that money will not solve your problems.  Also, at this point, it should be recognized that by your own power or will you will only achieve identical results.  Try as you might, your personal house remain empty.

This essay will not leave you hanging in empty space for indeed there is a way out.

Jesus will waiting and willing to accept you and to provide you with a meaningful life.  He is willing to fill your house with treasures that neither rust nor rot. Seek out the Lord for Salvation and also seek out his church.  Cast aside the feeling of emptiness and going about this world alone. Go to the Cross where Jesus died for you and me and become accepted into God’s kingdom.  Entering into God’s kingdom begins NOW.  Accept the blessing as a child of God and begin your journey today, now and at this moment.  Discover the house that is overflowing and will never empty again.  Believe on our Lord Jesus, the son of the living God.

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And We Think we KNOW (No, We Don’t)


How many of us when walking on the sidewalk would notice a bright sparkling mineral as a diamond.  We pass by them all the time and believe the large majority of them to be nothing more than broken glass. The same is true with pennies, of which we pass daily.  A 1944 steel wheat penny sold for over $110,000 and I’m sure that neither you nor I would pay any attention to it if we walked across it, thinking it was nothing more than a penny and nothing to waste our time over.  I know this as I come across perhaps dozens of pennies every day where people have simply tossed them out and away.

I say these things as it may be that we have prayed for greater resources, and God sent them in the form of a diamond or penny, yet we’re not wise enough to know their worth.

Naturally, it can be true with other items as well.  People come out the thrift stores or yard sales all the time with ‘worthless’ items worth thousands of dollars and sometimes, even more.

My point is that God can truly bless us in any way he desires.  In fact, we are walking around treasures all the time without realizing it.

If God were to steer our eyes and our feet, we could easily be lead to instant riches.  This would not be a matter of luck, but with reliance on God to steer our Paths.

The bottom line of this is that we really don’t know Jack.  We think we know and think we have life under control, but without God there is really no control at all.

It comes down to our realization that we really don’t know what we think we know and trust God to control our lives.  In truth and in reality, God is really the only virtue that we can trust and really say that we know.  And with God it goes beyond thought into the realm of Truth.  That much, we can know.

Proph-O-Drama (Lesson #10) — Fat Beggars School of Prophets


(lesson #10) Discerning Together In his book, What’s So Amazing About Grace?, author Phillip Yancey tells of sociologist and preacher, Tony Campolo, visiting a chapel service at a Christian college as a guest speaker. He says that Campolo addressed the worship service saying, “The United Nations reports that over ten thousand people starve to […]

via Proph-O-Drama (Lesson #10) — Fat Beggars School of Prophets

Hate the sin, love the Sinner


In his 1929 autobiography, Mahatma Gandhi wrote that we should “Hate the sin, love the sinner.”
Often, Christians repeat this quote attributing it to the Holy Bible. While the concept of “Loving your enemies…” is Biblical, Christians should take note that the secular community, beginning with the behaviorists in the 60s began to use this concept of separating person with behavior to excuse individual behavior.
To the behaviorist, a person’s behavior is separate from their person. Christ stated that: Matthew 15:19 “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.
Knowing that we are judged via our hearts, how then is there a separation between our actions and our individual spirits? For example: If we examine the terrorists who performed the heinous deeds in Paris recently, we certainly perceive the evil within their hearts for destruction. We don’t separate their actions from their individual persons, as we accept without question that what they did was wrong. Even the secular world agrees with this as the laws of God in this respect are written within our hearts. Everyone knows what they did was wrong.
That doesn’t mean that we aren’t to pray for those who inflict harm to us. Yet, to excuse the behavior because of past experiences is absolutely insane.
We do the same in this country. No matter what the crime, what the behavior, we have a built-in excuse for the behavior. If you don’t believe me, go to: www.socialpsychology.org. In every way, we have provided a built-in excuse for almost any behavior imaginable. This is wrong and counter to Christian principles. Christian principles holds individuals accountable for their actions as God’s also does the same.
In the old days, we ascribed horrible actions as sin. Sin is the attitude, the eventual, causal actions of our attitudes (matters pertaining to the heart) that separates us from God.
In short, sin doesn’t require psychotherapy per se: it requires confession and repentance, going to Christ with our problems and admitting that we cannot walk this earth alone. We are in need of a savior, we need a savior from ourselves as all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
No matter what problem we face, God has promised to help us. No matter how bad our behavior, if we repent and turn to him, Christ is there to receive us.
Hence, before we make an excuse for ourselves or our loved ones, we should assess our hearts and see if we stand either for God or against him and His Kingdom. In fact, God will answer us through our hearts as we act on our behaviors. Our behaviors will either be filled with sin or they will reflect God’s love in this world. The choice is ours without excuses

Proph-O-Drama (Lesson #9) — Fat Beggars School of Prophets


(lesson #9) The Dramatic Meal (Proclaiming the Lord’s Death Until He Comes) Even taken individually, but especially together, we instantly see that the prophetic acts of Jesus are all designed to demonstrate: God is here. God is in charge. God loves you. Even at the most shrill moment when Jesus drives out money changers […]

via Proph-O-Drama (Lesson #9) — Fat Beggars School of Prophets

PROBLEMS WITH IDENTITY


As an infant or baby most parents arrive at ‘pet’ names to refer to their newborns.  Some affectionately call them ‘Champ’ or ‘Angel’ and the like.  We have a host of names, all of them to identity the fact that they are special to us.

Later as we mature we attempt to form a resolution with who we are.  In other words, we go on a saga of personal identity.

In the past, we had the fireman, or the police officer, or doctor, or lawyer and such.  At whatever mechanism we arrived at identity, we generally adopted that in terms of our vocation, i.e., what we did for a living.

Naturally, we had the mom or dad or grandma or grandpa or brother or sister.  Clearly we had those roles.

Today, the emphasis appears to be either gender or gender identity.  With the LBGTQ movement, all identity centers on some form of sexual identification.

The purpose of this post is that all of the aforementioned are more or less wrong.  Our true identity is that we are a child of God and a member of His kingdom. One might also label us in terms of sin or dust or worthless in the absence of God’s salvation.

Paul affirmed that there was neither Greek or Jew or Gentile or male or female, that we were all children under the umbrella of the kingdom of Christ and His Church.

Where we get it wrong is that we are always referring back to the world’s standards to establish our identity.

Thus, we are Northerners or Southerners, or rich or poor or educated or uneducated or somehow impaired:  we are ARE everything but what we actually are.

To this degree then we are all phonies.  We are phonies for in this sense we are striving to conform to the world and the world’s standards of whatever model.

When Jesus asked who was our mother?  Who was our brother? (paraphrased)

This stands out as we know that Jesus had a mother, had two sisters and brothers as well, but never pointed to them as his in that capacity.

Jesus emphasized our relationship with Him and His Father in terms of who we actually are. So yes, the quality of our identity is expressed in degrees and quality of relationship.

Remember Jesus said we must hate our own mother and Father or have no part of Him.

And while he didn’t mean hate in the ordinary definition we use it today, Jesus obviously was attempt to draw those who love Him closer, again in illustrations of relationships.

So then who are we?  We are all sinners until submitting to the spilled blood of Jesus on the Cross and who saved us, died and rose for our salvation.

We are His and that should be the theme of who we are.  Anything outside of that will suffer with a problem with identity for our true identity rests within the hand of Jesus and His Father, God almighty.

Non-Practicing Person


We have all heard the term “non-practicing Jew”.  I guess then there is also a such thing as ‘Non-practicing Christian.’  I was never sure though about the actual meaning of the terms.  I think WWII proved that being a Jew was not in the  dna but actually a religion. The Nazis were forever wrong about identifiying who was and who wasn’t a jew with their practice of eugenics.  The same is true with being a Christian.  How in the world can you be a Christian but not actually practice it?  Is it something you actually practice?  Or is it something you believe and then do without practice?  I know. It’s confusing.

I think the bottom line is a non-practicing Christian is a Christian when things are bad and then they want God to do them a favor.  It means they don’t want to deny who they are but fail to live up to what they say they believe.

In that sense, we are all non-practicing something for we are all short of what it is we say that we believe.

Of all things, if you are a Christian, though, believe it and then do it.  Saying it without doing it is horrible.  Not saying it and not doing it is just as bad.  There is no way a person can be at peace with himself if our true self is hidden, locked up and denied.

Deny no longer.  Be whoever you are.

I think that we’ll like you better that way.

God has NOT finished Talking Yet


For those who believe that God has finished talking to those of this world, then one might want to reconsider some tasks many Christians believe and do.

We might want to look at prayer:  If God is not going to answer us then why would be bother to pray at all?  Of course, we believe in prayer and also believe in God’s faithful answers.

Much of this is once again going back to prayer but for many it is the personal relationship with God thing.  If the relationship were indeed personal, then it would not be one way>  It is a two way relationship and one that many insist they have with God.  This would not be possible if God had finished talking.

Okay so I point to this as some will say that after the various books in the Bible that God stopped.

I’m arguing that while we use the scriptures as a reference to test God’s words for today, God is just as vocal today as ever.

In other words we can’t have it both ways.  We can’t say that after the scriptures two thousand years ago that God stopped talking and then preach that he does. Either He does or He doesn’t but it not in accordance with whatever religious agenda we have.

As with any other doctrine, it’s a matter of being honest in our approach.  If we don’t know then we should say we don’t know.  But saying we know when we don’t is sacrilegious.

I say that Jesus said that he speaks to those who know his voice and Christians know his voice and thus, end of argument.  We pray because we believe and we seek a relationship with our God because once again, we believe.  And while we believe, our beliefs are not composed of fantasy, but truth and in spirit.  Truly God has not finished talking yet.