‘The Church of the Sinking Ship’

Ever Read Acts 27?    

Read it real slow, out loud to yourself, then out loud to someone else.   Read it with emotion, your emotions not someone else’s.  Then read it from the perspective of the writer, then from the perspective of one of the sailors. 

Ever feel like you are the only one on board that is getting signals that fly in face of those who are ‘the professionals’, of those who have the most experience in these type matters?  After all the one who was getting the message that the journey we’re on will; ‘certainly be with great damage and great loss, not only in the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives’, was one the prisoners on-board? 

What experience did he ever have at sea that we know of?  He was shipwrecked 3 times!

Ever feel like you are the only one going against not only the majority’s decision and the military?

Even though the circumstantial evidence is contrary to you as well!  

Even ‘Nature’ is confirming the majority’s decision with moderate winds, benign names of ports ‘Fair Havens’

You are the only one who knows that ‘something about this trip’ isn't right.

Then when everything begins to change and change in a big way, in a way that made Hurricane Katrina seem like a New Orleans zephyr and the seasoned professionals and bad ass seamen begin to batten down the hatches so much so they began tossing over the cargo!   

No sunshine for days, hope abandoned and going a long time without food, will you have the courage to stand up and say, ‘See I told you so!’; as a way of encouraging the crew?

Then keeping the same message, guys this boat is going down just like I said it will.  

It’s God’s will.

2 weeks go by.

Fear is rising.  We’re going to crash!   The sailors are being deceptive and are trying to jump ship. 

Now your message gets a little (pun intended) sterner.  ‘Cut the lifeboats!  

All must go down in other for all to be saved!’  It’s the Will of God.’

What will you do with this type of message in this circumstance with this type audience?  

Feed them!  

Encourage them!  

Take care of others!   

In other words be selfless not selfish!

We’re now at a point in the story where we’re going to toss everything over the side, cast off the anchors, and run the ship aground.   As the boat begins to break up, now the soldiers want to kill you but you have to tell the centurion to jump overboard to save himself.

Remember the original message; all must go down in order for all to be saved!

Then lo and behold you’re brought safely to land after one of the toughest times in your life. 

It was the will of God for the boat and cargo to go down, because He didn't want you to stay at Fair Havens, He wanted you to crash on Malta which means refuge!

After all of this now what does He require of you?  Make a fire to warm others.  

What’s your reward for all this?

You get bit by a viper!

Now what do you say, Gee Thanks God!  This is what I get?  Or do you shake it off and throw the snake into the fire and stay humble, pray for others and continue serving others?

What message do you have that no one wants to hear in spite of everything they have ever learned to believe with the confirmation of nature to back it up including a majority of people thinking believing the same thing and you are the ONLY one that’s different?

Closing Prayer:

‘Abba, Father, and May I have the strength to be steadfast in the face of the Winds of Doctrine blowing in this hour in the Kingdom and the World.   May I have the trust to continue as your servant Daniel continued….  ‘

Remember:  all must go down in order for all to be saved.

Be the one, even if you are the only one.

No Dates......Just Dots....

       

     No Dates Just Dots    

Are we living in the ‘end times’?   I don’t know.  Yet if you just Google the words ‘end times’, you’ll come up with over 500 million options!   If you are asking then you’re good company since the early ‘team’ assembled by ‘Jesus’ also had questions, namely 3 when they asked:

“And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?”  (Matt 24:3)

Notice the 1^st thing ‘Jesus’ said when He answered them,

“Be careful that no man deceives you.  Or misleads you.”  (Matt 23:4)

Why would He say that?  Obviously, we can and probably are deceived!   Keep in mind a deceived person doesn’t know they’re deceived because they are deceived! Remember they asked these questions prior to His death on a tree.  

Look at what His disciples asked Him post-resurrection!  Acts 1:6 records what was burning on their hearts 40 days after 3 days AND 3 nights in the grave,

“So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"

So it seems this question is pretty important and has been prevalent throughout the ages.   Many have set a date for the end, only to be wrong, obviously.  Personally, setting dates are very dangerous and in and of themselves are fulfilling Scripture.

“That you let not your minds be hastily excited or troubled, neither by word, nor by prophecy of the spirit, nor by an epistle, supposedly from us, stating that ‘The Day of our LORD’ is at hand. “  (2 Thess 2:2)

According to Scripture there will be ‘a day of The ‘LORD’.  When?  Don’t know, but He does want us to be alert to the times and the seasons. 

           

“But concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need that I should write to you.”   (1 Thess 5:1)

“But you, brothers, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. “

(1 Thess 5:4)

Let’s not look at dates, then, can we look for ‘dots’?   Dots are specified events we should be aware of, so that when we see them we’ll have an understanding of the times and know what we should do. 

“And of the sons of Issachar, having understanding for the times, to know what Israel should do;”   (1 Chron. 12:32)

May I proffer 2 ‘dots’?   Before I do, I’d like to ask you to remember the small words you may see in your side mirrors on your car.  ‘Caution: Objects may be closer than they appear’.   I’d like to issue a word of caution, except put it on the windshield of life.  Caution: These events may be closer than they appear!”

Dot# 1: ‘The Altar’

This is a pivotal focal event that ‘Jesus’ Himself that a generation should be aware of. 

"Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place"  (Matt 24:15)

So what was He telling us to be looking for?

“…he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”   (Daniel 9:27)

Let’s ‘think McFly, think’.  In order for the sacrifices to stop they have to start!  In order for them to start there has to be a ‘sanctified’/anointed/dedicated’ altar!  In order for an Altar to be shut down, it has to be set up and go into operation! 

Scripture is very specific on how to assemble and gather stones for His Altar.  Doing it His Way.  We may have been taught to look for the Temple to go up first, then the Altar.   No it doesn’t have to be this way.   Which is greater, the gift, the building or The Altar that sanctifies the gift?

Keep your eyes open and your Spiritual Antenna up for The Altar.  What are you going to do and say if perhaps CNN starts to broadcast live the slaughtering of lambs on the Temple Mount?  You might want to prayerfully study this issue, should this dot come to pass.  Read the warnings of Malachi, especially Chapter 1.  

Dot # 2:  ‘Damascus will be a ruinous heap.’

“The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.”   (Isaiah 17:1)

Sounds to me Damascus will be totally destroyed from being a city.  When?  Don’t know, just keep your eye on the  potential event, then we’ll know the ‘sign of the times of the  season’ we find ourselves in. 

Question:  How are things looking for that city in the past couple of years?  Just sayin….

There are other symptoms of the signs of the end times, but these are specific events to be on the lookout for.

So what do we do in the meantime?  Stock up on ballots, bullets and bunkers?   That’s up to you?

What is The Messiah looking for?   He’s looking for  those who have a certain kind of faith.   Read it for yourself in Luke 18 1-8

If you have any specific ‘Dots’ please share.   Let’s take of the 3-D glasses of Doctrine, Denomination and Dogma and look to The Word and believe what we read, not read what we believe.  We could be in very exciting times, know this, that you and I were born for such a time as this.  Let’s not lose heart and faint from fear.

If it doesn’t happen in our lifetime, then what are we to do?    Don’t do as I did, and be part of a stubborn and rebellious generation that did not prepare its heart and whose spirit was not faithful to God.  (Psalm 78:8)

Rather:  Read Psalm 78 1-6 for the answer.  

Finally, lest you think that’s ‘Old Testament’ stuff that’s been done away with, I close with Pauls admonition in 1 Corinthians 10:11:

“Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. “

Bless you all….Be on the alert…the enemy is alive and well and we haven’t gotten to the end of the book yet.

Remember and Don’t Forget!

Have you ever tied a ‘string around’ your finger?

Have you ever heard the phrase ‘tie a sting around your finger so you’ll remember’?

Our Father instructed His Children to do just that!

And Yahweh spoke unto Moses, saying,

“ Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes/tassels in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a cord of blue:  And it shall be unto you for a fringe/tassel, that you may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of Yahweh, and do them; and that you seek not after  and your own eyes, after which you use to go a whoring: That you may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your ‘God’.   I am Yahweh your ‘God’, which brought  you out of the land of Egypt, to be your ‘God’: I am Yahweh your ‘God’.   (Numbers 15-38-41)

Now before you go off on your ‘programmed’ response, ‘that was for the Jews’, remember there were no ‘Jews’ at that time, there was a ‘Tribe of Judah’ one of the 12 Tribes.  Now go in re-verse to Numbers 15 15-16 and read real slow who are His Instructions for Life for?  What’s the expiration date?  How many ‘Laws’ did He say there are?

Hmmm, seems like He says, it’s for His Children, AND the alien, seems like He said, it’s Forever with NO expiration date and it’s One Law for Both His Children AND the alien.   Did I misread that?  Did Father stutter?  Didn't “Jesus’ say the same thing in Matthew 5:  17-20?   (Be careful to burp out your programmed response, let His Word speak)

So do these instructions that lead to Life (Deut. 5:33, Deut 30: 17-20) apply to you?  It depends if you consider yourself to be ‘Israel’ or not.  ‘Paul’ seemed to think you are.  He says we used to be separate and excluded from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of Promise. (Ephesians 11-22) 

‘Jesus’ did a lot of things with is Life, Death, Burial and Resurrection, one of them was to fulfill Numbers 15, making the 2 One!

‘Paul’ also tries to convey this with his wild branch grafted in to The Tree analogy in Romans 11, making the 2 One.  Even ‘Jesus’ tell us there are ‘other sheep not of this fold’ that He came for (John 10:16), making the 2 One.  And even the political religious hack who paid for his position, Caiaphas, under the direction of ‘The Holy Spirit’ proclaimed it (John 11 49-52)  ‘and not for  that nation only, but in order that He might gather together into One the children of God who are scattered abroad’.   Making the 2 One!

If we insist on keeping the 2, 2 or worse over 30,000+ denominations, then we will make up our own rules, ‘doing what is right in our own eyes’ and no you won’t be able to ‘see’ why you should ‘want-to’ make for yourself tassels.  Then I will side with ‘Jesus’ and ‘Paul’ when they cited Scripture from Isaiah, ‘you will keep on hearing but will not understand; you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; for the heart of this people has become dull, and with their ears they scarcely hear, and have closed their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes, and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and repent, and I would heal them’.  (Isaiah 6:10, Acts 28: 26-27, Matt: 13:14)

Side note:  please read not only the verses I quote, but go and read ‘The Text’ in context!  There is so much Truth for you to ‘see for yourself’ if you would only read it for yourself and believe what you read, don’t read what you believe.

You won’t understand until you do them, and you only do them because you want to out of love for Him and His Way of Life.

‘All those doing them have good understanding’, Psalm 111:20

‘How long, O Naive ones will you love simplicity?  And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing and fools hate knowledge?  Turn to my reproof and I will pour out my spirit on you and I will make my words known to you.” (Proverbs 1:22-23)

You may ‘think’ that this is silly and you may ‘look weird’. (Molly Cyrus, Marilyn Manson, Lady Gaga, Joan Rivers ever think that way?)  If, you are a believer, then doesn’t 1 Peter 2:9 apply?   Peter obviously didn’t think ‘the left side of the Book’ was done away with, He was teaching Deuteronomy 27: 17-19!

Peculiar is as peculiar does.  

So my question to anyone who asks me why I wear these tassels, is, why are you NOT wearing them?

I want to because I love Him and keep His commandments, and they are not burdensome.  I need to remind myself of His commandment/instructions and NOT follow after my own eyes, after which I play the harlot!  To be set-apart, ‘holy’ unto My God, YHVH (The Father that ‘Jesus’ kept pointing to).  It’s time to start using His Name and grow off the generic title.  Other Faiths are pretty bold in this hour and you know that gods name

I do them also because last I checked we are still in the’ throughout their generations’ phase.

Good thing ‘Jesus’ wore them, I know one woman who was grateful after she was healed of a 12 year hemorrhage!  Now that was affordable Health Care.

So remember and don’t forget!  Henry Blackaby once said, what you do next reveals what you believe regardless of what you say.

What say you?  What do you?

‘Do or do not, there is no try’, Yoda.

If you Do My Word, You Love Me, ‘Jesus’.

Did ‘Jesus’ come to start a religion called ‘christianity’?

Did ‘Jesus’ come to start a religion called ‘christianity’?    

Get your ‘bibles’ out.  I like to refer to them as the author referred to them, Scriptures.  My question, in all sincerity, where does it say that ‘Jesus’ came to start a religion called ‘christianity’?   I realize that many will cite Acts 11:26, ‘and when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that even for a whole year they were gathered together with the church, and taught much people, and that the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.’  My question, who called them ‘christians’ and why?  We’ve all heard the stories, that they were called Christians because they were ‘little christs’.  And just what does that mean?  Ever think about it?  Why would we want to adopt a greek term for what The only Begotten Son of The Creator came to do?  Especially, since ‘Jesus’ wasn’t Greek? Especially since ‘Jesus’ never even said in His earthly ministry that He came to start a new religion!  If He did, I would respectfully ask you to show me where He said this?

I do know that He came to do the will of His Father.  John 5:30  ‘I can of myself do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is righteous; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me.’

He came in His Father’ Name, not in the name of ‘christ’; John 5:43  I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.’

He was sent to the lost sheep of the House of Israel, not to start another religion with a greek name; Mat 15:24  But he answered and said, I was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’

Matter of fact, I read where He was against religion, see all the woes He railed at the religious systems of His day, Matt  23 and Luke 11.

How about His disciples, did they pick up this ‘christian’ moniker?  Do we have any Scripture where they became ‘christians’?  Even Paul, where did he become a ‘christian’? 

In Acts 8 we read the story of the Ethiopian eunuch who was reading from the scroll of Isaiah  53, Philip begins to explain out of the prophet all things concerning fulfillment of the prophecy in The Messiah, ‘Jesus’ if you will.   At which time, they came upon some water to get baptized (mikva).  Notice it doesn’t say ‘to become a ‘christian’ anywhere, matter of fact there was no roman road down there in the desert for Philip to take him down to get him ‘saved’ and into the religion of Christianity.

Can we find anywhere in the book of Hebrews instructions to become part of a new religion called Christianity?

Does James address his letter to my fellow Christians?  James 1:1, ‘James, a Bondservant of God and of Adoni  ‘Jesus Christ’, ( I don’t he would have used that Greek term but we’ll let  it go for now) TO the 12 tribes which are scattered abroad, greetings.’   To the WHAT?  WHERE?  The 12 tribes!  Notice he didn’t say to the Baptists, or The Catholics, Protestants, Judaism etc.  And where were they?  Notices James preached the Torah all throughout his letter.  The Perfect Law of Liberty!  James 1:25 Not the brutal Law of Bondage.

Even in Revelation, you would think that IF ‘Jesus’ did come to create a new religion call ‘christianity’ He would have addressed them as such.  After all He is trying to give inight into the Revealing of Himself and ‘the things which are and the things which will take place after these things’ (Rev 1:19)  No where do I find Him referring to ‘my fellow christians’.  Matter of fact it is highly suspect that a Jewish Rabbi would speak to His Jewish disciple in greek?  I don’t he said to John, I am the Alpha and the Omega as if it were a greek fraternity at a college football game.  Rather He would have said I am Alef Tav.  And John would have immediately known who He was because John was reading Alef Tav all in his Scriptures all his life.  We don’t have clue as to what that means because it’s been taken out of all our English Bibles!

The wise men from the east knew who ‘Jesus’ The Messiah was, Matt 2.  They understood who He was to rule and what His subjects were to be called.  ‘For out of you shall come forth a ruler, who will shepherd My people Israel.’  I doesn’t say, my people who will be called Christians.

In Judgment times of Matt 19:28, notice that His disciples will be judging the 12 tribes of Israel, not the 32,000 denominations of christianity.

According to ‘Jesus’ what is the 1^st commandment?  Mark 12:29, ‘Hear O Israel, The Lord (title not His Name) Our God  is One!’  He didn’t say, Hear O church of Christ, Hear O Baptists, Hear O Catholics etc…. Hear O Christians!

After the resurrection of The Messiah, He walked this planet 40 days and all we have of that time period are 8 verses in Acts 1.  What was on the heart of His Disciples who had received the Holy Spirit (before Acts 2) see John 20 19-23, and had been sent with their marching orders on their mission Matt 28 18-20, All they wanted to know , ‘Lord is at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?  Acts 1:6  They didn’t say, are now at this time coming up with a new religion we can name after a Greek deity?

Before you begin to wonder about your faith and your ‘salvation’ experience, (Are you Experienced?) rest assured I am not questioning that at all.  See Ephesians 2:11-15, You are now part of the Commonwealth of Israel v12, and all dogma, doctrine of man are abolished re: denominations, V15, might that even then possibly be demon-nominations?

Finally Paul never says, hey guys I found a new and better way called Christianity in all the times he’s invited to speak in public and in the synagogues.  He does say in Galatians 3:29, that ‘IF you belong to Messiah, then YOU are Abraham’s ‘SEED’, heirs according to the Promise’.  What Promise?  That’s where we go back for our future.  Beginning in the Beginning to read and understand what our heritage is that we are heirs of!  Lots more, but that’s enough for now.  

One Post note:  Notice I never denied, ‘Jesus’ as Lord.  I am not denying ‘Jesus’ as the Only Begotten Son of The Father.  I am not denying Him as THE Redeemer and Savior And Restorer and Repairer of the Breech etc.  And I am not nor  have I ever said there are lots of ways to get in The Kingdom.

I am saying that our religion could be an idol.

Its time to believe what we read and stop reading what we believe!

We Hold this Tree to be Self-Evident    10/13/14    Rick Godley

Have you ever read The Allegory of the Cave by Plato?  In brief its about deception, delusion and control of perceived reality.  A group of people sit in a cave watching shadows of images cast by others on the wall of the cave all their life!  They ‘think’ this is real, until one looks back over their shoulder to ‘see what actually is going on’, they get up and walk past the ‘actors’ and ‘out of the cave into the light’!  I had to read that for a philosophy course in college.  Naturally, now that I was ‘educated’ with a History degree, I  was ‘smarter’ than most because I ‘saw more’.

I’m  sure we've all had our ‘walking of the cave’ and into the light experiences from time to time.  However, recently something else happened.  I was introduced to some information about The United States Constitution that got me up and walking out of the cave and into the light, only to find I just walked into the set of The Truman Show!

What if I told you, that what we thought the answer was turns out to be the root of the problem?

According to Ted R. Weiland, of Bible Law vs The US Constitution, he says that the drawing up and subsequent ratification of the US Constitution; ‘was the worst thing that has happened to America’.

Wow!

Take the test for yourself to see how much you think you know about The Word of ‘The Father’ vs the words of the founding fathers.  Go here.

For me a moment of clarity came with this sentence: ‘Christians must stop serving two masters. We must choose between the document that begins “We the People,” and the one that begins “In the beginning God.” We must choose between a government of, by, and for the people and a government of, by, and for Yahweh.’ More here.

After reading through some of the material last week, I wrote to Ted the following e mail:

“ Have listened to 2 of the Cd's you sent...  the interview with Dwaine Moore and the speech you gave at some convention.  (Well done, I can tell you have the Fear of Yah going, in your voice)

Sheesh....  I guess I asked for this....  Still looking forward to Sunday.  reading the Primer....    

When I was a youth one of the fun (and stupid things) we would do from time to time was to break open a golf ball, ( you ever do that?), in the middle was a small pink ball that would bounce really high, like the super balls.   However, to get to the core, the golf ball was wrapped really really tight with elastic, and once you got the outer shell off, then those 'rubber bands' would unravel at a high rate of speed!   Which was fun.

I feel like that golf ball.

So many things are unraveling at a high rate of speed!!!

Thanks for your obedience.”

I had Ted on my show this past Sunday if you want to listen to it, here.

It’s becoming more obvious that ‘the systems of man’, religion (pick your ‘ism’, denomination, sect, etc.), government, education programs, social mores et al, are all designed to hack at the branches, or reform the fruit, rake the leaves and even fertilize the soil, to get a ‘more perfect Union’.  A Greater Society. A smarter generation. a better world, a bigger church, a better You!

Isn't there a way that seems right to a man but the end leads to death?

A friend of mine Brad Scott opened my eyes to the phrase in Scripture, ‘when men began’. When man begins things, nothing good follows.

“Then men began to call upon the name of the LORD.” (Gen 4:26)  Sounds benign as if this is the 1^st time man began to pray to ‘the  LORD’.  That is, until you look up the word  ‘began’ in Hebrew, (you know, the language it was spoken and written in!) and you’ll find quite a different meaning!  It means to profane, pollute, defile, dissolve, weaken, wound, take inheritance!

So ‘men began’ in Philadelphia to form a more perfect union, huh?  When there was and still is, The Perfect Law of Liberty, a law that has ever been done away with, and it leads to Life!

‘And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, ‘ (Gen 6:1)   Not long after this verse, the earth was filled with violence!

Genesis 11 has men getting together to say, Let us make bricks for stone, let us build for ourselves a city, let us make a name for ourselves!  Verses His Name and His 1^st Commandment, He makes stones, and He wants us in His Garden not cities!

What do you get when you get all mixed up in Genesis 11?   Babylon!

Who is the whore system in Revelation?  Babylon!

Remember a Mother of Prostitutes means she has daughters; one could be your church!   I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of Babylon, my people, so that you do not participate in her sins and suffer from any of her plagues.”  Guess we’re still here for the Tribulation, sorry Left Behind lovers.

Are you tired of chopping wood and carrying water?  

Hacking at another abomination all the while you may be one? Thinking another vote will count to turn a Red State Blue or a Blue State Red?  Wondering why your prayers to end abortion haven’t been heard by THE  High Court?  Still think you got to fight for your right to bear arms when it was yours all along?

“Demanding rights is an admission of slavery to the one from whom those rights are petitioned”, Ted Weiland Page 316

I suggest we all go back to The Beginning to get Understanding .  The answers for the end are The Beginning!  “Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’.

Ask yourself, your seasoned ‘christian’ friends and just plain strangers to accurately name the 2 trees in The Garden?

I suggest Our Father (not founding fathers) didn’t plant The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  You never see this tree again in Scripture!  Matter of fact it’s only mentions twice in Genesis 2. However, you do find The Tree of Life 10 more times in your Bible! 2 in Genesis, 6 in Proverbs and 2 in Revelation.

Now ask yourself, your seasoned ‘christian’ friends and just plain strangers to accurately name the 2 seeds in The Garden?

Seed of the Serpent vs. Seed of the Woman.  (Woman don’t have seeds, they have eggs, but that’s for another discussion.)

What tree/seed were we born into?  The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil!  See Psalm 51:5    Romans 5:14   1 Corinthians 15:22 

No wonder Nicodemus didn’t get it in John 3!    Nicodemus *said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?”  To which ‘Jesus’ leaned forward, almost incredulously asks; ‘Jesus’ answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? 

So here we are, later in the ages, the  end of the age?  Don’t know, yet its later than it has ever been and more and more Truth is being revealed.   Mark 4:22   Matt 13:11   Deuteronomy 29:29   Job 12:22  Amos 3:7   I Cor 2 7-10  Proverbs 25:2

Which tree did the ‘angel of Light focus on?   The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  The Tree we are all born under.  What is Religion?  What is Government?  Social Programs?  VBS?   Most would make a case that it’s all the Good things from the Good Side of the Tree of Knowledge! All the while pointing out at least we’re not like those evil people on the other side!

What’s wrong with this line of thought?

IT’S THE WRONG TREE!

One who is Smarter than we said that Death was the produce of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil! 

Since you are what you eat and that which you consume consumes you and Our Father instructed us to eat from any other tree including the Tree of Life!  He wants us to have Life!  So much so He Sent His Son of Liberty to Proclaim Liberty and to Restore Life!

So perhaps, when He told us to take up ‘our cross’, (that other tree, the one that seems right to a man but ends in death, that one we are to deny self), take it up, root it out like The Master Gardener did in His Garden and left behind His Tree, The Tree of Life!  To follow, Him =Tree of Life.

And IF one comes in with a better way to form a ‘more perfect union’ that seems right, pleasing to the eyes; Gen 3:6  “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.”

Perhaps, just perhaps certain men crept in unaware in 1788: (Jud 1:4-5)  For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, wicked men, turning the grace of our Elohim into lasciviousness, and denying our only Sovereign, and Master Yahshua the Messiah.

Jud 1:5  I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that Yahweh, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.

Homework assignment read all of Jude slowly.

Do you still want to fight for your rights? 

Do you still want hold this Tree to be self evident?   Because it is self evident where rightly did Isaiah prophesy of us   ‘Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.  Isaiah 5:20

I close with an admonition from Psalm 1, know that you might be in the cave, and then know, just because you walk out of the cave, discern that you’re not walking into The Truman Show.

Blessed is the person who does not
    follow the advice of wicked people,
        take the path of sinners,
            or join the company of mockers.
² Rather, he delights in the teachings of Yahweh
    and reflects on his teachings day and night.
³ He is like a tree planted beside streams—
    a tree that produces fruit in season
        and whose leaves do not wither.
    He succeeds in everything he does.^[a]

⁴ Wicked people are not like that.
    Instead, they are like husks that the wind blows away.
⁵ That is why wicked people will not be able to stand in the judgment
    and sinners will not be able to stand where righteous people gather.

⁶ Yahweh knows the way of righteous people,
    but the way of wicked people will end.

Can you do all things through Christ?

 

Ever notice those who seem to quote ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’ seem to struggle with a lot of issues?  Please hear me; most of these truly are sincere people who ‘love The Lord’, yet somehow have misunderstood that quoting The Word is the same as Being The Word.  That’s what a religious system will do to people, hamstring them in The Way they should be walking and not just talking.

At least these stupid pharmaceutical ads reveal more truth about their possible side effects of ingesting their chemical concoctions!   I quote from some of them:  ‘may cause serious side effects, including hepatitis B or C.  Common side effects include upper respiratory tract infections, headaches, diarrhea, sore throat and a runny nose.

Hmmmm, only one pill twice daily?  Read on, and then you’ll find out more!  What is the most important information I should know about using this product?  Oh!  Possible tuberculosis!  May increase your risk of certain cancers!  Lymphoma, low red blood cell count!  Dark urine, vomiting, fevers, skin rash and stomach discomfort just to name a few on a full page of other information.

This is not from an anti-depressant by the way.  Side effects from one of those products say it may increase suicidal thoughts!  Among others.

To be clear, my point is, swallowing religious ‘pre-scripture-ens’ without reading The Word is like taking chemical compounds without reading ALL the side effects!

Didn't The  Creator tell us the side effects of NOT following His Ways that lead to Life in the left side of His Book of instruction?  

Didn't The Creator also tell us the benefits and results IF we do what He says do in the left side of His Book? 

‘See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou may live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou guest to possess it.’ Deut 30  16-18    

Please read all of Deuteronomy 30, matter of fact why not slowly read all of Deuteronomy!   

Your Master, The King did, and He used it to defeat the enemy, yet we've been taught to throw it out cause it’s old and past its expiration date!  We got a NEW covenant!  That’s like Huey Lewis singing about, I want a new drug!  

How’s that working for us? 

‘ADHD christianity’ with over 30,000 denominations!  Man that’s what I call Unity!  Uhhh, depends what you call unity.  No, depends are adult diapers!

One can’t be ‘blessed and highly favored’ if one isn't doing what He says do!  Please read Deuteronomy 28,  29 & 30; there are conditions in there.  If we do what He says do, THEN we are blessed, IF NOT then we choose the alternative and that’s the curses.   Now, please go and read Leviticus 23-26, real slow, in your quiet time, to yourself, out loud.

If you were on a deserted island and someone dropped a Bible for you to read and you never even heard or knew what it was, where do you think you would begin reading from?  The book of John?   The ‘New’ Testament?  Heck, the folks in the ‘New Testament didn't even have a ‘New’ testament to quote from!  Contend FOR the faith, Once delivered to the Saints!  There was nothing new about that!

Before you say, Rick:  ‘I don’t see what you’re saying’.  Know that you are fulfilling what both ‘Jesus’ and ‘Paul’ and Isaiah said!  Trifecta!  (Mark 4:12, Matt 13 14-15, Acts 28:26-27, Isaiah 6 9-10)  Proving once again, ‘Jesus’ never quoted ‘Paul’, but ‘Paul’ AND ‘Jesus’ both quoted from the left side of the book! (Scriptures!)  They were on the same page, but not like modern churchianity.

Know this my friend, you will never ‘see’ what I am saying, nor what ‘Jesus’ or ‘Paul’ was saying until you begin TO DO what Abba says Do!  Seeing is NOT believing!

Psa_48:8;  “As we have heard, so have we seen…”

Psa 18:44;  “As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.?

Remember Faith comes how?  (by going to church?  NO!)  ‘Paul’ knew it!  (Romans 10:17)  

Remember ‘Paul’ had no ‘new testament’.  What ‘Faith’ was he talking about?

You have been taught to ‘see it before you can believe it’, WRONG!  Abraham didn't see it, yet he believed and it was credited to him as righteousness!  He obeyed, and then he saw!

You won’t understand unless you do!  (Psa 111:10)  ‘ a good understanding have all they that do his commandments’ (the left side of the book!  Not To be saved!  Because you ARE saved and you Love your Master!  Exodus 21)

Remember,  “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  Your faith should be evident and congruent with all in Scriptures and its substance!  Be this kind of ‘substance abuser’!  Be the 1 in 10.

So you still think you can DO all things through ‘Christ’ who strengthens you?

Can you put bacon down?

Can you stop bringing in penis trees (Ashtoreth)  to your house and hang them with gold and silver gonads?

Can you stop going to a building that has a phallic object on its roof?

Can you come out of her Oh my people and be separate?  Touch not the unclean thing?

Can you stop spreading strife among the brethren?

Know that the answer to all these are Yes you can.  The key is the ‘want to’, got to have a ‘want to’ to ‘want to’.  (Proverbs  1).  (And Yes I used to do these things)

Before you want to engage in verse volleyball with me on what you were taught, I suggest you read His admonitions 1^st.   His instructions are not too difficult (Deut 30:11), His yoke is easy and His burden is light. 

It’s His people that need to turn from their wicked ways!    I’m here to help, let me know if you have questions.

I hate to quote from High School Musical, but Truth is Truth no matter where you find it.  ‘We’re all in this together’.