I've had two recurring thoughts lately. The first is, when did man give up on God? The second, is based on my cynical/reality based interpretation of the world. That is, I wonder at what point Noah gave up on the people? The arc took Noah100 years to build. People assume he was preaching to the people around him, although there's no Biblical evidence to prove this. I think we just assume that, because Noah spoke with God, and knew the fate of the world, that he would've tried to warn people, but NOBODY listened. Not one. At what point do you think he just said "screw em'"? I mean, really? There is a passage in Jeremiah where God tells Jeremiah not to even pray for these people! They were beyond prayer or help! That blows my mind, but at the same time, I can totally see why. I feel like everyone is unreachable, unteachable and untouchable these days. I feel like Noah and his family. I have 100% confidence in God's word, and it can't be shaken. But the world? The world is like the Pharoah of Egypt. They need to be humbled by the hand of God. I've heard many Hebrew Roots teachers saying "warn Christians about not participating in Halloween, it's a pagan and a satanic holiday". And I completely agree, but people just use this stuff as more ammo to hate God. "God just doesn't want us to have fun". It just makes them want to rebel further. At least the Israelites repented of worshipping the golden calf when Moses rebuked them! People today? No hope. So, I'm seeking God about this, and battling my inner cynic. Is there hope for humanity? It is up to Him...
The truth of it is that I feel for anyone who doesn't have God in their life, but if they can't recognize that need there's little anyone can do to help them. I might give up on the world, but I'll never give up on God. Here is a link to my music mix on youtube http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfglOLiQStR7dDuFAw_vFRPmTZlXxx2O_
Seven years ago I voted for president Obama. I was SO excited. I had a party to celebrate. I had so much hope in the renewal of the world, the earth and humanity. I used to hear republicans call Obama the antichrist (I didn't know anything about the antichrist) and thought they just hated good people. I actually thought they hated everything that (I thought) was good. Women's right to choose (abortion), climate change reform. I thought they wanted to destroy the planet. I bashed Fox news because I thought they were the only biased news channel, hah! I thought they hated immigrants, homosexuals and poor people. I supported gun control, afterall guns kill people right? I honestly didn't care if Obama was Christian or Muslim. I thought, as long as he cares about the planet, I like him. He defends the oppressed, believes in healthcare for all who need it. He's just a good guy! The old me would have hated the new me for questioning whether we should take Muslim immagrants. To me, religion was religion and they all had the same goal. I was clueless. Never in my WILDEST dreams would I have thought I would change my views on any of these issues. I mean, I considered myself to be a good person because I cared about the welfare of all people. I was SO set in my beliefs about woman's right to choose I would flip off church protesters. I'm not even kidding. I actually flipped off church protesters at the church I now attend! Shhh.. don't tell them;;-). I was a HARD CORE leftist. More of a democrat than a liberal though. I never embraced the anarchic anything goes philosophy.
I'm not going to tell you that God flipped a switch in my hard headed head and suddenly I woke up conservative. Being a Christian isn't about being a political conservative. That's not what this post is about. It is about God's ability to effect positive change in a person. His ability to completey change your mind about things. His ability to make you see things you never would have seen before. His ability to transform. Am I a finished masterpiece? Far from it!! I am a work in progress if ever there was one. I'm not "there" but I'm getting there. I still have a tendency toward anxiety. I get extremly angry about certain things. I admire people who can turn the other cheek, but I really want to stand and fight (especially with words). I have a sharp tongue that is excruciatingly difficult to tame. I enjoy verbal swordplay a little too much. I don't have any real enemies, but if I did could I love them truly? I don't know. He's working on me in those areas.
The fact is, is that the elections are coming up and I see things differently this time around. Granted I'm not excited about any of the canididates, but my views are FAR from where they used to be. I no longer see republicans as enemy and demacrats as friend. I question everyone. I question every issue, and see that it has two sides. I would NEVER in a million years vote for an atheist, a potential Muslim, or a socialist! I would never vote for a candidate who doesn't acknowledge the importance of supporting Israel as a basic tenet of survival for this country. Even I am amazed at my thoughts! I'm like.. really? I'm thinking this now? Crazy! Left leaning readers probably see it as a change for the worse, and honestly, the old me gets it;-). I totally understand where you're coming from, because I just came from there.
The thing is though, that God's thoughts are not our thoughts, and his ways are not our ways. When we tune into Him, he reprograms us. He gives us new eyes and new ears to see and hear in ways we never thought possible, or probable. I can't explain it. My only mission is to point people to the truth, which lies in the Words of God. The Bible. The truth will set us all free, eventually.
I had a dream about a week ago. I was going to a new bible study. As I was walking in I recognized a guy who was waiting for me. I asked him "are you the hebrew roots guy"? He kind of laughed at me and I smacked him on the arm (in a joking way) for making fun of me:-0. We went in, and were listening. Next thing I remember was being in this room with an overweight Italian lady who was kissing me on the cheeks emphatically (picture a very expressive Italian lady?). She almost smothered me. When she was done I realized she had inserted something in my arm. It was a microchip! She told me if I took it out I would die. I was panicked, knowing if I stayed I was with a psycho, and if I left I still had this microchip with no way to get it out. I ran out the door. Suddenly I was carrying my cat and running to my car. I was in the country, and I was looking for a white Subaru. A car I had for about two years after high school.
When I woke up I thought it was weird that I was looking for a car I owned over a decade ago, but I was carrying my current cat? I immediately thought about how the Antichrist will use flattery to get people to worship him and take the mark of the beast. The fact that she was Italian made me think of the Pope, who is a very likely candidate for the false prophet. The fact that the microchip was inserted without my knowledge or consent was VERY concerning. Taking the "mark" is the most forbidden thing anyone can do. I don't know what else to say.
Every human is a universe within a universe. All unique in perspective. Every day has a beginning and an end. Every night is full of discovery. Time moves shapes and shift the universal mirror, echoing endless possibilities within. I have no time for grudges or enemies. What a way to spend the mind! The map in the stars points to the one vying for recognition. His decress being difficult to percieve. Interpretations galore! He says "here I am"! Speak to me now. I am listening...
A lot of people are talking about September. Ok, maybe not a lot of people, just a lot of people in the small circles I frequent. There's talk from meteors to astroids, WWIII to the Psalm 84 war, Jesus second coming to the time of the anti-christ. And for some reason it all seems to be hinging on or around September of this year. Let's just say there's A LOT of speculation,
I've seen the future... but so did Leonard Cohen:
"The Future"
Give me back my broken night my mirrored room, my secret life it's lonely here, there's no one left to torture Give me absolute control over every living soul And lie beside me, baby, that's an order! Give me crack and anal sex Take the only tree that's left and stuff it up the hole in your culture Give me back the Berlin wall give me Stalin and St Paul I've seen the future, brother: it is murder.
Things are going to slide, slide in all directions Won't be nothing Nothing you can measure anymore The blizzard, the blizzard of the world has crossed the threshold and it has overturned the order of the soul When they said REPENT REPENT I wonder what they meant When they said REPENT REPENT I wonder what they meant When they said REPENT REPENT I wonder what they meant
You don't know me from the wind you never will, you never did I'm the little jew who wrote the Bible I've seen the nations rise and fall I've heard their stories, heard them all but love's the only engine of survival Your servant here, he has been told to say it clear, to say it cold: It's over, it ain't going any further And now the wheels of heaven stop you feel the devil's riding crop Get ready for the future: it is murder
Things are going to slide ...
There'll be the breaking of the ancient western code Your private life will suddenly explode There'll be phantoms There'll be fires on the road and the white man dancing You'll see a woman hanging upside down her features covered by her fallen gown and all the lousy little poets coming round tryin' to sound like Charlie Manson and the white man dancin'
Give me back the Berlin wall Give me Stalin and St Paul Give me Christ or give me Hiroshima Destroy another fetus now We don't like children anyhow I've seen the future, baby: it is murder
Hands down, one of my favorite stories in the Bible is the story of Moses. I get excited just thinking about it. This story is paramount to the Jewish faith and for good reason. It is always referred to, and certain passages recited on Jewish feasts, holy days etc. It's pretty important, and is the ultimate story revealing the protection, faithfulness and the mercy of God. Throughout the story, God is using Moses not only to encourage the Israelites and build their faith, but to reach the Babylonians and show them who God is. He doesn't have mercy on Pharoah and his army. We can assume they were beyond his grace at the point they died in the sea. I recommend reading the story for yourself here: Exodus 3 through 20:25
Jewish people tend to think their Messiah will be much like Moses, an annointed man of God who will lead them to safety, out of persecution and into a time of peace in the Millennial age. They think the entire world will be led to the truth of the one true God, and we will all worship him in peace and harmony. Sounds pretty good right? There's one problem with this though, it's already been done! See, they don't think their messiah will be a divine being. They don't think he will be the son of God, or God himself. Just another man anointed by God, like Moses. Look at the state of the world today. If what Moses accomplished had lasted, we wouldn't be in the state of darkness, violence, corruption and evil we're in today. Even the Isaelites who were lead out of Egypt, who witnessed miracles from God, the parting of the sea, the love of God through his plagues (they were protected), they even heard Him speak (they were so terrified, they elected Moses to be the official interceder between them and God). Even after all of this, they couldn't just believe God and follow his instructions and commandments. If even the Isrealites couldn't do as God commands, how could anyone?
This brings us to Jesus, the messiah they missed. You see, the Jews were anticipating something/someone different than Jesus when he came. The people relied on the priests and pharisees to determine what qualities to look for and expect in a messiah. They had preconceived notions about what the prophets had alluded to in their fortellings of the messiah. This is never good because God's ways aren't man's ways. His thoughts aren't our thoughts. His clues and our interpretations don't always intersect. Entertaining different possibilities and perspectives on His word is a GOOD idea. We have to be open, awake, and listening for the voice of God to understand moment to moment. We can't rely on the higher ups, the priests and "pharisees" to interpret God for us. I love many of our preachers today, but I don't get caught up in one way of thinking. God will always be ten steps ahead of our thinking. Jesus wasn't a military man leading Jews out of persecution, saving them from their enemy (the Roman Empire), leading them to peace in the natural world and reigning as thier physical king. He was the ultimate sacrificial lamb, atoning for the sins of humanity, leading us out of darkness and the clutches of the enemy (the devil), sending his holy spirit to be our peace and ruling over the entire heavenly realm (there's more going on in the spiritual realm than we realize) as King of Kings, not just King of the Jews. Jesus fulfilled many of the prophesies the first time around, and he will fulfill the rest the second time. See how wild God is? He's insanely genius, and He will return... but probably not as we expect;-). So let's be on our toes with anticipation and open to the brilliant manifestations and workings of God.
The sermon at my church last weekend was really good and pertains to the Moses story, expecting the unexpected and listening for God... It's the one from 8.02.15 entitled Joshua. NOT the first one that pops up (Coming Home-which was by a newbie intern guy).
Additionally fitting, this song Future/Past by John Mark Mcmillon
End note: Moses and the Exodus are the past, but I think they are a foreshadow of our present and future, as we see Revelation playing out in our lives right NOW! It is important to realize that even the prophets, speaking the very words of God didn't know exactly how things would look when they came to pass. The major prophesies they prophesied didn't even come to pass in their lifetimes. Many of them still haven't come to pass! God only reveals as much as he wants to reveal and sometimes we just have to wait in faith until their revealing.
At some point in our lives I think every well meaning and good natured person asks why bad things happen to innocent people. Some people like to use this question as ammunition against God, but without understanding of God, there is no wisdom. Why is understanding God key to understanding life? Because He created life. His laws govern life. To go against this is to rebel against gravity. Hint: it's not going to work. Refer to the Tower of Babel. Man says "we don't need God, we will build a tower to the heavens and be as Gods!". God says "we'll see about that" boom, he confuses their language so they can't understand each other. They scatter in their insufficiency and abandon the tower. Man says "we don't need God, we'll find the cure for disease on our own". God says "pssht, I'll give you more diseases than you can label, and not a cure will you find". Man says "we don't need God. We'll protect our own children". God says "don't test me, i WILL teach you exactly what you need to know". Bad things happen because man is defiant, and rebels against God. Yes, this affects the innocent. Jesus is the prime example: the innocent afflicted for the iniquity of man. Jesus sacrifice offered our souls redemption, but he still allowed us free will to choose life or death. He warns us again and again:
This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live
Deuteronomy 30:19.
He that loves discipline loves knowledge, and he that hates reproof is a fool.
Proverbs 12:1
Is God not loving? What is love? Is love teaching your child discipline or giving them ice cream and Mcdonalds for every meal? Which is more valuable? Which is more useful down the road. Which kind of love is your child going to grow up and thank you for? Self gratification leads to dissatisfaction, struggles with weight, addiction and preventable disease. Discipline leads to self control, satiation, health and the ability to see outside of ones own self imposed trap. You say "well, we're not children". God says you are, and refers to you as such. Do you not understand God's discipline? Does your child understand when you put them in time out? Maybe not the first time, or the second. Depending on how defiant your child is, it might take 100 times, you might resort to something more extreme. Eventually they understand cause and effect, but it's not until experience meets intellect that they truly get it. This might be decades later! By now you've probably forgotten the lesson, but your son/daughter is just getting it. If it takes decades or millennia, God will wait. You say "well, I just don't believe in a God that needs to be worshipped". Again with the understanding. I never understood this either, and frankly it ticked me off. I've never worshipped anything in my life (aside from a segment of my life when I thought Jerry Garcia was God). But I think any Grateful Dead head acid trip will do that to an impressionable young teenager;-). Anyway... God warns us:
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. Ephesians 6:12
Worship is a form of umbilical cord connecting us to God and protecting us from these forces. Sometimes worship is just acknowledging God and knowing that he's in control. Sometimes it's just gratitude to him that repels the darkness from our sight. I believe worship is like the Sabbath. Man was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath for man. It benefits us! God doesn't NEED it. The bottom line is that anger towards God about things we don't understand is an adolescent attitude. Potentially even a Spirit of doubt that binds us in darkness. The only way to figure it out is to ask diligently and seek out God's word for wisdom. Life is easier when we work with gravity instead of against it. That's all for now!
