News Release: Heaven Being GIven Away! - (A dramatization)

Heaven, BC 2100: News Release
God Plans to “Give the Kingdom Away”

Hanging around in the hallway outside the main meeting room, one noticed an unusual hum as the angels exited.  Coming closer I overheard one angel ask another for confirmation of what he had heard. 

At that point the Herald Angel exited the Audience Hall and proceeded to the Pulpit of Heaven.  Speaking with the very voice of God he had everyone’s attention as he announced that, on a certain Sunday, AD 33, “Elohim, who holds unfettered title to all of heaven will convey all his right, title and interest in and to Heaven and all its appurtenances to his Son, Jesus,  and to his co-heirs from that day forth ... free and clear of all encumbrances [there have never been any anyway], to enjoy without let or hindrance of any kind… etc, ad infinitum “… (literally-almost)!  I didn’t get it all and I needed some background for this story.

As the Angels explained the conference that preceded this announcement they had heard reports from Enoch and leading angels.  The picture that emerged showed clearly that for blessed ages God had been fine tuning his masterwork and had selected one to receive the covenant.  The angels had been disappointed with Adam but God had anticipated that result and had plans that would prepare mankind for the offer that had all heaven talking.  It would involve careful and diligent oversight of a chosen people and a personal visit by God himself among the insignificant (if not for His care) inhabitants of this world that would culminate in his death…yes it would be a real death… and his resurrection. 

The plan was for Abraham to receive the covenant (promise) of God to bless Abraham and make Abraham a blessing to all the nations simply for believing and trusting God and for Abraham’s children to multiply and learn the hardest lesson of all “that it would be impossible to satisfy God by meticulous observation of all his righteous decrees.”  While they were learning this, God would be telling them through his prophets, that he was coming for a visit and how the people were to recognize him, being born of a virgin, etc.  When God did come in the guise of his Son, Satan (who was the instrument by which Adam had been diverted from his original destiny) would oppose him and unwittingly overplay his hand so that God could have it his way (as he - happily - always does in the end).  You see Jesus would accept his death, offering a sinless sacrifice of infinite worth that could cleanse all mankind throughout the ages and present them to His Father… holy, without spot or wrinkle or loss of even one, to share Heaven with them forever.  In spite of his generosity some would not accept this gift because they would have to admit that what they called righteousness was like filthy rags and while they could get real righteousness they could do so only by letting Jesus live out his life in them.

Oh, normal eardrums would have burst to hear the explosion of joyous celebration when God finished telling about his plans, which took much longer to describe with all the details (that I left out).  As he was going through His plan, He would stop occasionally to answer a question, like the one about  how unqualified mankind is to be made priests ('middle managers'-if you will) in charge of dispensing God’s grace.  God said, “Yes they will be overly concerned with portraying My majesty and righteousness, hoping to clothe themselves in the righteousness of which they speak even though I prefer to be known by My mercy.  At the same time they will demand much of others but will hide their secret need of me and their regular reliance on My forgiveness.  They’ll be dipping in the cookie jar of forgiveness and refusing to share with others but I’ll take care of that.”

Well, I filed my story and began watching events unfold.  Over the ages as I waited and watched, I observed that God knows every thought and motive of the heart even as it forms and He knows when “enough is enough”.  Man knows nothing except the evidence of his senses.  God knows the purpose of each life and how that life may best bring him glory.  God’s judgment has at times astounded us with its severity as when the earth swallowed up the whole families of Korah, Dathan, Abiram and his followers. We are shocked but then we presume to exercise his vengeance without the benefit of his wisdom and compassion … without the all-encompassing knowledge that takes in the full breadth of our personalities, … our most elevating dreams/aspirations and our most depraved appetites.  Men don’t realize how blind they are nor do they know how willing God is to supply what they lack (as Jesus brother James put it) “without chiding them for what they don’t know.”

Correcting human frailties, God has used other nations and among his own people, the judges appointed for the administration of justice, but he, knowing our penchant for excessive punishment, made it clear that punishment was to be limited and when he said forty lashes… he meant 40 lashes and not one lash more lest their fellow Israelite be “degraded” in their sight, Deu 25:3.  At least citizens had the protection of the law but when one nation is used to discipline another nation, it seems that all bets are off and God often has to rein-in the enthusiasm with which other nations inflict pain on Israel.  In Zech 1:15 God said he was only a “little” angry and the nations he chose to discipline Israel went “too far” with the punishment.  Jer 51 records another instance in which Babylon (this time) incurred God’s judgement “for all the wrong they did in Zion”.

The prophesies were given and fulfilled and true to his word he showed up. 

How lucky we are that our judge is the same as our lawyer.  If this were a human judge we would have to disclose a conflict of interest and recuse himself but no intelligent person would try to call God’s hand on this and demand to know “What he thinks he’s doing - acting as the accused’s attorney?”  It is clearly to our advantage that he performs this dual role as High Priest and King in the order of Melchizedek.  Heb 4:15 tells us that Jesus is able to put himself in our shoes (indeed has already DID so but without sin),  and has already taken the punishment (death) for our offences.  The court of heaven knows that is as far as you can take vengeance.  Man’s darkened spirit would still like to find a way to enforce consecutive life sentences or multiple death sentences.

When God in the form of Jesus forgave the paralytic his sins the Pharisees thought he was committing sacrilege by arrogating to himself the right to forgive sins but that is precisely what God wants man to do…forgive one another…and forgiving sins is what Peter (and all of us) are empowered (and encouraged) to do.  Whatever we...loose on earth is loosed in Heaven.  Our Master wants us to give the kingdom away to those who know they can not afford it (but GOD CAN AFFORD IT: There would be a song written several thousand years later that beautifully expresses it like this For out of his infinite riches in Jesus, He giveth and giveth and giveth again.]).

Sin surely deserves punishment but when persons, or states or nations take on the responsibility for administering that punishment they invite the supervision by the Supreme Judge Himself who will determine whether the punishment truly “fit the crime” and if the punishment strays into excessive damage or degradation God will bring the under-judge to account for his actions.

I don't know how Moses missed it (if he did) but Christ cleared up the confusion, "Do not judge, and you will not be judged.   Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven."  Sounds simple and it is obviously very important if WE want a favorable reception in the court of Heaven in spite of all the stuff WE'VE done.  Still this may be the most frequently violated spiritual "law".

STAR TREK NEW GENERATION – We’ll Always Have Paris

In this episode a brilliant scientist is affected by his own experiment with time and alternate universes and in the medical bay of the "Enterprise" expresses his bewilderment to his wife by saying “I’m having trouble holding the moment.”  His body was still physically in this world but his perceptions, logic and emotions were focused on a different reality. 

Any Christian who takes seriously the transformation of the new birth and the different mindset he senses has already experienced the scientist’s disorientation.  Paul instructed the Phillipians to “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,” and he told the Romans to be “transformed” by the renewing of their minds so they could find out for themselves what God wanted them to do.

It is not something that is natural to the human nature either to do personally or to relate to in someone else.  One of the reasons Jesus was not understood was that his answers revealed God’s perception of man’s issues and man had no common reference.  Jesus tried to bridge the gap with parables but even then the elect apostles needed explanations to get the point.  He once spoke of this difficulty when he said "I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe, how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?"  People could tell by the miracles that his grasp of God’s truth was superior to their own but they could not rise to his level until He indwelt them by Holy Spirit.  Then the weak, the timid, the frightened apostles could speak with such power and authority that it was obvious that they had been with Jesus.

The “flesh”, our humanness, continues to exert a powerful influence over the Christian and often neutralizes the effectiveness of our new nature and the privileged position we hold as children of God who can approach the creator of the Universe with the simplicity of a child and ask him for whatever we need.  The child of God who languishes in Earthiness can not help being miserable and though the word seems to say in 1 Cor 3:15 that he will be saved, it will nevertheless be as though he is a stick of wood that is plucked from the fire, having lost all that God meant for him to have and to be.

Sometimes, Christians have been asked to suffer death for their faith starting with Stephen’s stoning (soon after Jesus’ ascension) and continuing into our present day as Christians in India and other asian countries are stoned for their faith.  Only Christians who can “hold the moment” can endure as Stephen did, even praying for his slayers, that God would not hold that sin to their charge.  He truly is an example of someone who could “see” the other reality.  “Oh God, open My eyes and let me see the host of God all around me to give me strength.”

We are accustomed to look for acceptance from our fellow men as a measure of whether we are doing the right thing but ultimately the world is Christ’s enemy and if we follow him closely we also will have troubles in this world. (John 16:33)  Christ knew that the hour of his torturous death and the thing he feared most, the separation from his Father was at hand, but he who inspired Paul to write the Ephesians (6:13) “…having done all to stand” gave us the example of himself.  Oh God. Help us to “Hold the Moment”.

Black Devotion to African Roots

A black friend posted a piece of African cultural music on face book to which responded honestly.


Pardon me, but my informed guess is that not one in a thousand blacks understand this language any better than I understand Gregorian chants. I appreciate the harmonies and the haunting quality melodies but I am not inspired to greater exertions of the spirit by such performances and I wonder ... other than the fact that the performers are black like you and the rhythms may appeal to you... what do you find here to recommend to an American audience that has not grown up in an African culture? What does it say to American blacks that still have to look for and hold an American job if they intend to be productive and contributing members of the nation that lost 360,222 men in the civil war fighting for their freedom?

I am not insensitive to the long history of black tragedy but this kind of distraction of blacks from their rightful...yes rightful...place in in our society is not helpful. I suspect that most people both white and black are woefully ignorant to the fact that most whites arrived in the colonies and later the United States, fleeing from indentured servanthood and serfdom in all the nations of Europe. (Serfdom is just another name for slavery in which they were the property of the land owners.)

You are well read. Have you read Michner's "Poland"? I'm not a historian or I could refer you to many, many more. We all ... white, black and hispanic better get a grip! If we don't come together against the forces that are even now tightening the noose around our necks we will be forced to accept slavery as the condition of our lives until a later generation with nothing but the eternal spark of hope for liberty to sustain them throws off these new chains and oppressors at great cost.

I believe you have great leadership skills within you. God is calling all of us to lead his people (white and black) out of bondage to unproductive modes of thinking including the pitting of race against race or age group against age group. Bless you my brother.

Does the Universe Have a Purpose?

Most of this was posted as a comment on Rabbi Wolpe's report on Huffington Post about a conference of a very diverse group of wonderfully intelligent men considering the question that is the subject of this post.  They would not allow me to say as much as I wanted so here it is.

My observation may already have been made by Craig and Geivett, and having scanned the comments below, it is clear that a strong bias exists against faith, nonetheless this seems clear even for a total rationalist.  No man makes something without a purpose, either utilitarian or artistic. Since the universe began at a particular point in time (and no one argues with this), the rational question of an unbiased mind would be how did a uniform emptiness 13-14 billion years ago "develop" the tremendous potential of the universe we see.  There was nothing there to act on other things that were not there...unless there was some "thing" that was not a "thing".

Some men hold that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.  These men, like other men, often err but personal (or group) failures can not invalidate any truth they found accidentally or truth that was revealed to them.   Science may presume to describe the mechanism of how sub atomic particles acted at the moment of insemination but science has no tools to examine the attributes of someone who transcends the laws of this universe.  Men of faith can not present God to you on a petri dish for your examination but God has presented you with a dilemma and wiggle with all your might but you wrestle against truths you already hold inviolate, 1) all closed systems tend to disorder rather than order, 2) the universe being all there is, admits of nothing outside itself and is thus a "closed system" 3) scientists (not men of faith) have proven that the universe is headed for a cold death so the universe will not recreate itself...So...it looks like it was MADE.  Can we believe that we act with more purpose than someone who transcends the laws of this universe?  Only if we abandon all reason.  Can it be that the purpose is to "rub our noses" in the fact of his existence?

Judgement Begins With Humiliation

I shared a video on Muslim activity in Dearborn Michigan on facebook a few days ago and then followed it with this comment.


I don't know all of God's will in this matter but one doesn't need a crystal ball to see that God is VERY UNHAPPY with the USA for the sins we've been flaunting right under his nose. He has told us what kind of people we should be and we want to argue with HIM? God says men and women belong together not men with men and women with women. Sorry if you don't like it. Tough. He destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to make his displeasure plain. Even without that draconian measure it is clear that he provided no other way to make a new generation. We can get around it today with sperm banks but that technology just "begs the question" of what is required. Of course caring and tenderness can exist between men and between women but the relationship between men and women is the one where those qualities are intended to blossom to the fullest.

We've been killing our unborn by the millions for a generation. During the earliest Biblical days they killed their unwanted children by offering them as sacrifices to Molech...yeah ...they burned them on the altar and pretended they were somehow righteous because of their sacrifice (crocodile tears). God said anybody that did that should be stoned to death. He is real sensitive to the taking of life from the innocent... oh, he'll forgive the truly penitent...but make no mistake God is NOT a happy camper when we do such things.

If he says you should eat grass with the cows for seven years before you can be fit for polite society like he did with King Nebuchadnezzer, (Daniel 4:33) you better do it... willingly. Listen! You are mortal. God is not. You not only CAN die ...you WILL die and on the cosmic scale your life span is just a bare glimmer in the 12 billion light year universe. You are not even a penny candle next to the sun ...and there are stars millions of times bigger...and you still want to argue with God? What makes you think you have a better understanding of what makes you tick than the one who made you? What? You doubt that he did? Show me one scientist that has created life from non life.

Show me a scientist who can really explain what "dark matter" is and one that can tell us he was "there" when the universe began and can speak out of personal observation and knowledge that God was not the motive force behind the unimaginable fountain of matter where there was no matter before. Oh our minds can't conceive of something from nothing but God didn't have any trouble with it. Praise God!

When David's heirs began messing up big time, God held back his wrath of total destruction for the sake of his promise to David to preserve his seed on the throne and he has fulfilled that promise in Jesus . Our founding fathers (some of them) were strong christians. None of them were divine or sinless. They were human but they trusted their advocate with the father to restore them to the leadership and comfort of the father and they gave us a land long prepared (and as it were held in trust for us by the noble people who occupied it before us). We began going astray immediately and have almost totally lost our way.

God has disciplined his people many times with others he later punished because they were just an instrument of his displeasure (who often were more severe than God intended) and the muslims will receive their due at the hand of God himself. There will be human agents involved and though I am willing, God may have other plans for me.

Advice For the New Congress

Avoid Extremes - Whether you are continuing your term as a Senator or taking your seat for the first time as a Senator or Representative, you will be tempted to take extreme positions to punish your opponents.  Please don’t.  You should remember that they represent a majority of American voters in their districts with similar positions and they must be heard and respected.  The political “water” is boiling violently and we risk grave damage to our confidence in constitutional government if we can’t make it work for us producing policies that

1.    treat each of us like human citizens rather than as sub-human slaves,

2. encourage employers to do business in the USA and discourage them from taking potential jobs overseas.  (Consider confiscating all deposits from companies and private accounts of owners of any firm that relocates jobs off shore and loss of citizenship if move continues with offshore funds.)
3. encourage establishment of local businesses and the rebuilding of small towns all over the USA
4. encourage companies to produce energy OF ALL TYPES in the United States but with a clear understanding that damage to the earth is cumulative and totally unacceptable because EVERYONE OF US lives here … even those who haven’t made a dime on the fracked well that contaminated Susy’s water.  Sanctions must be draconian-heavy and terribly swift or corporate boards will just factor-in those costs of production in the price of the finished product.
1. If any regulations exist that make it more difficult for citizens to install solar or wind facilities on their private property, cancel, rescind and nullify those regulations immediately,
2. If any regulations exist to make it more difficult or expensive for private citizens to install energy saving systems on their private or business vehicles, cancel those regulations as well.  We are tire of being told what we can NOT do.  We have always improved our lives through innovation and we can do it again.  Let us prove it.

Help us, make our energy grid almost immune to terrorist attack by producing most of our energy at the site where it is to be used and to distribute the remaining production needed by the rest of the economy over such a widely dispersed area that no one could disable it with a single attack.

Listen to the People and we’ll take care of you – Scores of Congressmen and some Senators(?) lost their jobs and others should have, including Harry Reid, (we'll get him next time) because they did not listen to the people.  You have your job to insure that we have the kind of government that helps us remain a prosperous, free and robust nation.

Take action to repair

Jobs – THIS IS YOUR #1 JOB.  PUT US TO WORK!  Millions of us are without jobs (including yours truly).  Some of us have decades of experience and some of us have youth, energy and strength but all of us can contribute to the vitality of this economy.  Help us support ourselves and expand the tax revenue (did I get your attention?).  There are millions of jobs that Americans would be glad to have right now but they are occupied by aliens that have no right to those jobs…aliens that are NOT PAYING TAXES AND ARE EXPORTING THOSE DOLLARS OVERSEAS TO THEIR RELATIVES.  Use common sense!  These jobs if held by citizens will strengthen the USA…if they continue to be held by illegal aliens they are a cancer in the corporate body.

Restore production jobs to USA- Steel is a core industry that we probably need for self defense but other materials are lighter and stronger than steel so maybe we don’t need it.  We need to replace steel in our automobiles and if we do we may be able to reduce our importation of foreign oil by 50% or more.  Consider that 93% of the energy of the engine is used to move the car down the road  and only 7% is used to move the person to his destination.  Look into carbon fiber.  Yes it is made from petroleum but give us a few years and we may be able to fabricate it from thin air or from some fast growing hardy plant or sludge we suck off the floor of the Gulf of Mexico (millions of barrels of it down there y’know).

Restore local retail trade to small towns all across USA- Most of you are former businessmen.  Consider ways to provide what small retail businesses need and DO IT.  America is depending on you to help.  We’re ready at our end.  Just lift your’s.

Energy Independence NOT SLOGANS! Task the military if industry is reluctant to cooperate.  Conscript industry talent and force them to serve at military wages if they refuse to cooperate.  This is not an optional goal for the United States of America!  We MUST become independent and we MUST DO IT NOW!

Finance - The USA is being sold to China and the international oil companies, and this must stop.

Health Care-Repeal Requirement to Buy Health Ins and most of the rest of it as well.  You want to fix the medical mess?  (You do know it is a mess right?) 

Tell the insurance industry that they must offer the same policy in Georgia that they offer in Texas and make sure that Georgia and Texas (and all other states) allow it because we are not citizens of individual states requiring immigration from one to the other and we should be able to take our health care anywhere in the USA just like we can carry our carcass from state to state without a passport or visa.

Tell the medical equipment industry and the pharmaceutical industry (and other medical specialties) that they can not go up each year on the price for their services by multiples of their initial price.  Impose substantial penalties for violators.  No justification or explanation will be accepted.  Period.

Clean Water/Air – Repeal the Haliburton Exemption-  The water under our land does not belong to any man…Native American, or white European immigrant.  Every man woman and child has a right to expect potable water in their faucets that can be used safely to bathe in, cook with or drink.  It is not for sale to local utilities, big industries, international entities or foreign governments.  The VERY IDEA…that our water should be owned by Red China or anyone else for that matter!

Protect our Borders – We can’t solve world poverty by allowing everyone with annual income lower than $2.00 per day to immigrate to the US…physically impossible.  We actually damage the ability of foreign countries to fix their problems by giving them the opportunity to vent their problems through our borders.  They have no incentive to provide the solutions if we continue our current policies.

If any of this sounds extreme, bear in mind that we are being cut up, sliced and diced and we are sick of it.  We are not the property of the billionaires and the multinational companies.  We are (together) a sovereign nation and we intend to act one both as people on our day to day jobs and as representatives in your task of speaking up for us in the halls of finance and industry.  

Bush Deficit? NO WAY!

The Washington Post babbled again recently about Obama's inheriting a huge deficit from Bush. Amazingly enough,...... a lot of people swallow this nonsense. So once more, a short civics lesson.    

 

Budgets do not come from the White House. They come from Congress, and the party that has controlled Congress since January 2007 is the Democrat Party. They controlled the budget process for FY 2008 and FY 2009, as well as FY 2010 and FY 2011. In that first year, they had to contend with George Bush, which caused them to compromise on spending, when Bush somewhat belatedly got tough on spending increases.

 

For FY 2009 though, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid bypassed George Bush entirely, passing continuing resolutions to keep government running until Barack Obama could take office. At that time, they passed a massive omnibus spending bill to complete the FY 2009 budgets. Remember?

 

And where was Barack Obama during this time? He was a member of that very Congress that passed all of these massive spending bills.  He signed the omnibus bill as President to complete FY 2009. Let's remember what the deficits looked like during that period:    (below)

 

  If the Democrats inherited any deficit, it was the FY 2007 deficit, the last of the Republican budgets.  That deficit was the lowest in five years, and the fourth straight decline in deficit spending. After that, Democrats in Congress took control of spending, and that includes Barack Obama, who voted for the budgets. If Obama inherited anything, he inherited it from himself.

 

In a nutshell, when Obama says he inherited a huge deficit, what he is saying is "I inherited a deficit that I voted for and then I voted to expand that deficit four-fold since January 20th."