How To Get Along With People – or dogs (Part 1)

Let’s face it…this has been a worldwide epidemic of sorts. Something we’ve learned is,…No one is perfect at it.  No one has mastered it, with the exception of one.

It has been going on for as long as you can remember…

It has been a cause of wars…

Its called Human Nature. It could be called by another name, but I’ll digress here first…

Now, before you “click” me off…or could it be tick? …Ha, there it is again. I’ll explain.

It shows up in the wildest of places, and in the strangest of situations. We spend our whole life trying to get rid of it, like a virus to be killed. But the harder we work at it… The greater efforts we place forth, with every ounce of our being to eradicate it, never seem to work. And I ask, WHY?

Everything else we CAN and have done, from moving huge dirt piles miles away, to building colossal structures high up in the sky, are possible. Some of those we successfully do, are considered monuments to the “human spirit.”

But, “Human Nature”???? It’s been a real bug-a-boo for mankind!

The closest any institution has even come close to controlling it is, ironically, the Military. Ironically, because they are trained to be most efficient in eradicating human beings, the ones, specifically, that exhibit the worst of our human nature, or are ordered to by their governments.

These people, when trained properly, are “seemingly” under control, have their heads on straight, and make right decisions. This draws to them honor for exhibiting such controlled nature in the eyes of others. Alas they, even are not perfect. How many times have we heard of a former serviceman just losing it – beating someone up or even worse – shooting into a crowd of innocent people. What happened to all that past control, and making proper decisions? It seemed to go out the window, and we can’t explain why.

This is a prevalent nature in each one of us, that comes into us at birth.

If not so, our babies would not cry when wet or hungry. They wouldn’t fight over toys, or make a scene when their mother tells them no. That innocent child, so sweet in their mother’s arms, wouldn’t later on, turn into a serial killer.

Why, we ask.  Just why, Oh God, why?…..Why would you create us with such an impossible mountain to get over? Why are we doing these things to each other, that death, “seems” to be the final way to wipe it out, individually?

In the owners manual He sent along to us, He, God, states in Genesis 6:5-7 ”And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.“

Strong words those are. Even God seemed to be at a crossroad as to the continuance of humanity, early on. But as you can see, we are still here.

Thankfully, one man stood out to Him…in Genesis 6:8 “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” Most of us have heard of this man, Noah, and his Ark. He found “GRACE” in God’s eyes. How did he do that? What was different about this man?

He listened to God – He talked with God – He obeyed God. Even when it wasn’t popular. I’m sure those around him cajoled him & laughed at him, for building a boat in the middle of dry land. They probably exhibited their human nature toward Noah, for Noah listening and obeying God, but he said no to “his” human nature and resisted their threatening natures.

So, in short, how do we get along with people?

Well, I would start with emulating those who successfully have done this the best. Take Noah for an example. He was a good listener – He kept in contact with his creator – and when his creator told him something, he believed him. That saved his life,….and yours.

Till next time…..

Disease Theft

Are you a thief?  Have you taken that which you do not or should not own?

Talk to 95% of people out there and you will hear at some time in the conversation, about their aches and pains from sicknesses they’ve had or old injuries. Those troublesome things that make life miserable. They speak of remedies they’ve tried that may or may not have worked. Talk goes on about “my doctor” that helped me through the pains, and how wonderful or how terrible a certain drug was. They personalize sickness, calling it MY Sickness-MY Disease. But, through all that, they still gloat about the current medicine or treatment that is working right now for them. They seem happy that this is what they want. Try to convince them otherwise, and they turn a deaf ear to you, or refute everything you just said. Push the issue, and they will get outright mad at you. How dare you try to change me! How dare you talk about MY Doctor like that? MY Disease.

I understand.   Hardly anyone enjoys straying off the path of their habitual life. As human beings, we don’t like changes to our daily routines. “Don’t upset the apple cart!”  We don’t want to think too hard about what we’re doing. We truly are creatures of habit. We like to take the easy road. “Work smarter -Not harder”, is the American Way. We want to get there fast-Eat our food on the run-Work less hours-in other words let others think for us. That’s why television entertainment is so enticing. It thinks for you – tells you where to go, suggests what you should be buying, and talks about how you should look.

Lately, I’ve been noticing a changing trend in television advertising. Years ago, the type of ads you saw were tobacco ads, beer ads, laundry soap ads, hand soap, and car ads. The only pharmaceutical ads were the latest and greatest aspirins for headaches and pains. But now, the majority of ads we see are pharmaceutical ads touting something new, or lawyer ads representing clients who were either seemingly wronged by a now banned drug,  replacement surgery, or the latest and greatest pharmaceutical “new” drug treating a disease. That’s a scary trend. The pharmaceutical industry is BIG business.  ”The United States has the largest pharmaceutical industry in the world. In 2007, its pharmaceutical revenue totaled at US$ 315 billion. ” (According to www.pr-inside.com and a recent reuters article from www.reportlinker.com)

That’s a lot of sales and it’s growing. They are one of the biggest industries in America today. It’s no wonder we see so many pharmaceutical ads on TV today. They have the resources to buy, and television moguls have the air time to sell to them. Hey, we gave them that ability, didn’t we?

So, what does this have to do with “disease theft”, you say? You would want someone to steal away your sicknesses and diseases, wouldn’t you? Why would any sane person want to be in pain, or suffering anyway? Don’t we try to fight pain with pain relievers?  Odd, but, true, some people love being sick. It seems to give them a purpose or a meaning in life to fight for. Some people will accept sickness as God’s correction for them, or as a means to bring glory to him. When they die, the mourners will talk of their struggle to stay alive, and the wonderful doctors, nurses, and hospitals that “helped” them. Makes a great story to tell. The news will eat it up, especially talking about all the people who were so touched by their life’s struggles.

Think about this…lets say there was a man who had been sick for years with a malady, and he received government support, because he couldn’t work at all. He was bedridden most of the time, and was looked upon by others in his circle of friends and family as a “real trooper”, bearing up with the struggle of sickness. Then suddenly, overnite, he was freed from that sickness. A miracle has happened!  You would think that he would be ecstatic, jumping for joy! But, a different thing happened. He became sad, and discouraged instead. His friends and family eventually stopped feeling sorry for him, and instead started telling him about job offerings. They stopped visiting, bringing him gifts, and serving him. The medicare payments ceased.  He realized that he could no longer depend upon that sickness to give him a meaning to live. Now he had to work for everything he got. It was so much easier to let others live for him.

Now that may be fiction, or, it may contain truth about why some do not wish to become well again. They will loose what they are used to if healed. The friends they thought they had, the attention it brought, and the pride in that they could bear up so well under such a struggle.

The simple point of all this is, that Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, the Son of God the Father, came to this earth, in human form, to suffer through what we suffer through. The effects that sin has foisted on our lives. He had no sin himself personally, but took upon Himself, all the sins, and sufferings of human beings, past, present, and future, was then murdered on that cross and died. He lives again, because he was resurrected in 3 days, and lives for us at the right hand of the Father. He left sin and sickness in that grave-it’s still buried. (Isaiah 53:5, Matthew 8:17,  1 Peter 2:24)

Sickness and disease was not originally in Adam and Eve, as they were created perfect, created in the image of God, (Genesis 1:26-28) but it came upon them as a result of their sin in choosing the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, not believing God that they would die eternally if they did. (Romans 6:23) Well, they did die in their spirit eternally, and from old age. And all of their progeny has suffered from some sickness or disease ever since, unless they received healing that only God gives through Jesus Christ and the Spirit of God. You must receive the Spirit of God to receive His benefits, because your spirit is corrupted because of sin.

So, are you stealing (unburying) sickness and disease from the one who came to capture it in His human body, and who then died so that all the sicknesses and diseases of mankind would die along with Him?

Keep the sickness and disease buried with Jesus body. Bury the pride that keeps you from receiving His gift of healing through the Holy Spirit. Don’t try to resurrect what has already been done and buried!

Are You AWOL?

AWOL-Absent With-Out Leave
A military term used to describe a soldier who has conscripted to serve in the armed services, but has left his/her duty post, without the permission of their commanding officer.

Does this apply to you? Are you a soldier who has left his post?

“There once was a strong man who was sitting in his favorite Lazy-Boy chair one evening. He was watching his television shows, when all of a sudden a group of 3 unarmed, skinny, and frail-looking men opened his door, and started taking away his goodly possessions, verbally threatening the man and his family, as they hauled everything valuable they could to their getaway car. Now these men were not very big, and they struggled to cart away even the smallest of items. As his frightened and puzzled family cowered together around him in the chair, something strange happened. The strong man just kept watching and changing his TV shows until even the television was taken away. Hoping for some reaction, the family watched him then reach over for a crossword book, grab a pencil, and start to play it. ”Aren’t you going to do something about this”, they asked? He answered, “Why? I think I’ll just wait to see what happens next. It’ll be ok.” Suddenly one of the men grabbed his daughter and took her away. As his wife pleaded to the sickly looking man, he just laughed, and walked away with her screaming. The strong man’s wife just sat there with her mouth open, perplexed and very anxious, not understanding her husband’s lack of interest. ”What are we going to do”, she asked him? ”Let’s just trust God, and let Him take care of it”, he sheepishly said. “God must have a plan”, he stated.”Whatever God’s will is, is what will happen.” The men then drove away, with all of that man’s goodly possessions, including their daughter.”

So, were this a true story, you would assume that it WAS God’s will to allow that to happen, for nothing was done to stop it or to prevent it, by either that strong man or God.

Truth is stranger than fiction it has been said.

Unfortunately, this type of scenario has been happening more than you think.

What is the first thing you do when you have a headache? Well, what I do after messaging my forehead, is run to my medicine cabinet for a couple of Tylenols. After a while, no headache.

What do you do when getting a small cut? Most go get a band-aid, to cover it. After 2-3 days it seems to have healed up enough to take off the band-aid.

What about a stomach ache – Pepto-Bismol seems to be in order.

We take actions like this after these small events happen to us, mostly because we were taught early on to take care of them like this by our parents.

Now, what about real serious problems like Cancer, AIDs, or MS, that just takes away the life out of a person? These are examples of diseases that there seem to be no cure for by doctors, and where those doctors start to give you time-frames of months or years left to live.
It hurts us to see people, such as little children taken by these diseases.
We seem to lose hope, and faith in a god who seems to not be exercising his power to help us.

“Why aren’t you helping me god”, they may say in their heart?

Like those people in the story above, we either refuse, or don’t know what to do about these unwelcomed events in our lives.

People will blame God, or will point to their geneological line where a distant relative had that same problem, thinking it inevitable for someone along the way to get it.

“Oh well”, we say. “You live and then you die”

It happens so much today, that we think it “normal” to be sick. ”Must be God’s will”, or “I must have angered God somehow, and this is my payment”, is what we say or think.

If it’s God’s will and “normal” for you to be sick, then why are you going to doctors, and taking treatments? Why not let the fullness of “God’s will” go to its highest pinnacle? Wouldn’t that “honor” God’s purpose better?

Let me quote you from a book, that is a well known best-seller, and has sold many copies over the years. By the many sales, it should be a well read book. You would think everyone should know what it says, by so much reading.

It is called… the Bible, which is the written word of God. It is God’s will for you, the reader.

John 6:63 (New King James Version)  ”It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.”
Matthew 4:4 (King James Version) ”But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
Luke 11:28 (King James Version) ”But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.”
Hebrews 4:12 (King James Version)  ”For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

For those that think God wills disease for you, the Word of God says…

Jeremiah 29:11 (New International Version, ©2010)  ”For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
John 16:27 (Amplified Bible)  ”For the Father Himself [tenderly] loves you because you have loved Me and have believed that I came out from the Father.”
John 3:16 (New International Version, ©2010)  ”For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Romans 8:38-39  ”For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

God wants us ALL to be healed, and whole – not sick. He sent Jesus to be beaten and whipped so that you can be healed of all diseases and ailments. After His and the Apostles examples, we should be doing the same. Not running to a doctor or medicines, that only put a bandage on sickness and cover up the suffering of pain.

Isaiah 53:5 (King James Version)  ”But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
1 Peter 2:24 (King James Version)  ”Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”
James 5:14-15 (New International Version, ©2010)  ”Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up.”
Matthew 8:16 (New International Version, ©2010)  (Speaking of Jesus) “When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.”
Matthew 10:1 (New International Version, ©2010)(Jesus Sends Out the Twelve) “Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.”
Acts 5:16 (New International Version, ©2010)  (Speaking of the Apostles) “Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.”
John 4:50 (King James Version)  ”Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.”

So, you need to take action. Declare over your sickness or disease what God says about it. Speak to that disease or ailment and tell it all about God and His benefits through Jesus Christ. You are already healed by Jesus. Believe it and practice it.

James 2:20 (King James Version)  ”But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?”
James 2:26 (King James Version)  ”For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”

Jesus used the Word of God to defeat Satan

Matthew 4:1-11 (New International Version, ©2010   “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.  The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:“‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.  “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Even Jesus spoke to a fig tree…

Mark 11:12-14; and 11:19-24  ”The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry.  Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.”
“When evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city. In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Jesus teaches us here in His example, that 3 things must be done when action is to be taken.

1. Speak to that mountain (or problem – sickness)

2. Do not doubt in your heart that you will receive it

3. Believe that what you say will happen

So, don’t be AWOL from the problems or sicknesses that come into your home and try to defeat you. Speak the Word of God over them, take action, and stab them with the Sword of the Spirit – The Eternal Word of God!

Partnership With God

Male and Female, Yin and Yang, Darkness and Light, Up and Down, Inside or Outside, Sun and the Moon…these are all opposites.

All opposites by their very nature oppose each other, as each is diametrically different-they go in “opposite” ways. Yet, without each other, they can’t perform their very function, “together”.

As strange as that may sound, it is in the nature God has created into this world. The world of opposites that attract, mirrors God’s relationship with creation.

It’s a “partnership”.

I wouldn’t exist if my parents hadn’t partnered with each other.

Darkness would rule creation, if God hadn’t spoken, “let there be light”.

You wouldn’t know what losing is if you always won the game.

Nothing can function, or efficiently run in this world, if there was not a “partnering force” to complement it.

A look at the atomic structure proves that. Protons and Neutrons work together with Electrons to form matter.

It would not matter how big and strong your muscles were, if you have no skeleton to hold it up. Just break a bone and see.

Partnerships in life are that important.

God inspired the apostle James to say in James 2:20 “that faith without works is dead”. You must have both to be successful in living God’s way.

In speaking about the Word of God and creation, John says in John1:2-3,“He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” and in Genesis 1:1-4  “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. ³ And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.” This is the ultimate partnership between the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to create and renew the world we live in.

Even so now, as we live our lives, business people are finding out that partnerships in the form of networking, are producing more than if they attempted it alone.

There is a saying that is true, “many hands make short work”. Partnerships are efficient.

How does your efforts become unfruitful, even though you worked so hard at achieving it?

So, why does many a prayer seem to go unanswered?

The answer is simple-no partnership. God doesn’t do anything without your permission. He will not act without you.

Many people ask God to do things, but they are not willing to do what they are asking God for.

They ask God for a job, but they don’t go out and seek  a job. They ask God for healing someone, but are not willing to go to that person and help them heal.

How then, do you partnership with God for answered prayers?

First you must receive Jesus’ sacrifice for your life. Give up your claim on “your” life, die with Jesus, and give it up to God. Then you must also receive the Holy Spirit. He is how we connect to God. He is our “partner”. Its a two part deal. One is not effective without the other.

You also have to follow the formula laid out in James 2:20. You can’t ask only-you must work too. Step out in faith means to go forward like you already have the answer.

Remember Peter stepped out in faith when he walked on the water with Jesus. He was fine until he took his eyes off Christ, looked down and thought about the waves below him.

You must also realize that God is not “Santa Claus”, where He gives you all you want and then you can ignore Him until you want something else. Its a commitment to live life His way forever.

It’s ok to ask Him for what you desire, as He is our Father who loves us, but ask according to His will, with plenty of heartfelt praise and thanksgiving first. In fact, 90% of all your prayers should be praise and thankfulness.

Jesus and the Father love us, and want the best for us, far more than you can think or imagine. Through Jesus, the Father understands what you are like, and is very forgiving as to your mistakes. That’s another ultimate partnership.

The Father’s loving purpose is for all of creation to one day be together-partners forever, living symbiotically with one mind.

So I challenge you to Partnership with God!

Time To Take Off The Gloves

Ok, lets be honest here.

What do you truly believe in?

Is it in a god that answers you with every beckon call, like a servant  you just dial up when you want or need something, but ignores him like an old nick-knack on the shelf?

Or is it in a god that watches every move you make, ready to punish you for every mistake?

For some it is a little bit of both…or maybe a lot of both, depending upon your religion.

For most of us, we tend to believe what we grew up with…what our parents taught us when we were young. Thus, a child raised as a Mormon will believe what a Mormon does; a Catholic, what a Catholic, and so on.

You get the picture.

But what about the few of us, who thought about what they believed for a second? We, were considered a rebel, the black sheep who strayed from the “fold”. We surely disappointed our mothers, our priests, and those family members who didn’t want to upset “the apple cart” of their relationships like we so “blatantly did”. We seemed to follow a new drum line; a questioning of authority, so to say. You could say we were unhappy with what we were taught compared to what we read in the book that is called the Bible, thus becoming disenchanted with those rituals, and customs we were practicing.

I grew up in the Catholic religion. I went through 12 years of it, being fully indoctrinated with the “doctrines”.

Oh, I tried it – for awhile.

They told me when to kneel, when to sit, and how to be forgiven of my sins, by speaking by rote “Our Fathers, and Hail Marys”, till I was numb in the mouth. I often wondered, does the priest have a “playbook” that nobody sees, that he reads, when looking up your sins, and tells you how many times you had to repeat the obligatory prayer, for repentance? What if you hadn’t been back to “confession” (what Catholics call getting their sins repealed by a man sitting in a booth next to you, who hears them), and you’ve got a “laundry list” of sinful deeds…why you’d be there all day saying all those HM and OF prayers afterwards. LOL!

It is funny. But only to those who KNOW what the Bible says about Jesus Christ, and His awesome forgiveness that happened over 2000 years ago.

He said, while on that cross, when he was going to die for ALL of mankind’s sins, past, present, and future, that…IT IS DONE.

No more “Hail Mary’s” or “Our Fathers” could ever change that. According to Hebrews 10: it states “…And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.”

That’s it – You can’t do any more. It’s finished! Jesus isn’t going to die again each time you commit a sin, for your forgiveness. Nor should you beat yourself up for your mistakes. It won’t help. It may salve your conscience a bit, so you can feel good about what you’ve done to “get forgiven”, but its still the same with Jesus. He doesn’t change.

He knows He died for you, and your sins. He wears the battle scars to this day, to remind himself.

So, take off those gloves…and leave the fighting to God.

Who Is In Control?

Every one of us has a father and a mother - unless you’re a result of some scientific experiment, where even in that case you still need to be from someone. Even so, somebody had to watch over you, and care for you until you reached a certain age.

Each one of us has had a myriad of experiences in our lifetime. Each one of us were raised differently by our parents or caregivers, that is true.

But one thing is common among each of us. We were cared for… think about that for awhile…unless you had creeps for caregivers, you were fed, clothed, and…cared for.

Most of us have good memories about our youth; the things we did with our parents. The great memories about the times we shared through the years. The one-on-one talks we had with brothers, sisters, and friends. Good times.

Now, I know that there are some hard, tough memories out there among you. We hear about it all the time on the “news”. Stories range from abuse, rapes, and even beatings-sad sad times.

If we dwell on these, and not the good times, we get sad and depressed.

But, for our comparison here, let’s for a moment, dwell on those good times. The wonderful things we experienced.

Now, I know no father or mother on earth is perfect. All of us learned it by doing. Others may have tried to guide us, but most of all parenting is basically learned while doing it.

That being said, let me lay out a comparison here for you.

I, as a father to my son, would never intentionally hurt him. I would die before I would let that happen. If we were cold, and all I had was one cover, I would give him the blanket. If all we had was one meal, he would get it before me. If I had to choose between new shoes for him and paying a bill, I would buy the shoes-no question about it. I love my son.

If you were in the military, you served others. You placed your life in harms way to protect your homeland. You have sacrificed your life so that others may live -I applaud all of you in the military and armed forces for this. There is no higher reason for living than laying down ones life for his friends. You loved others before your own life.

Now – some how – some way,  since human kind has been on this earth, there has been a concerted attempt at convincing us all that God is somehow … mad at us. That God sends, or allows, bad weather such as, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, or tornadoes. Insurance adjusters and every contract written out there, call these “acts of god”.

Religious people will tell you that God “takes” people to be with him in heaven. These same people tell you that God has mysterious ways, and “has a reason” to allow you to be sick, or to get an “incurable” disease.

“God is in control” they will say, “that nothing happens without his approval” or nod.

So, lets take this reasoning a bit further. Since God is “in control of everything”, what about abortion? Does this God, who is “in control” condone abortion? What about serial killers, rapists, child abusers, wars, plane crashes, the bully on the playground, the animal abuser? Is this all “ok” with God too, since he is “in control”, and “allows it”?

I’ve thought for a long time about this. I’m sure many of you have too. If you don’t think about it, you are basically afraid of that god they promote. Afraid he may strike you down, or cause these bad things to happen to you,  if you even consider it.

The Bible states that God loves us. Why then does God “allow” such horrific events to happen in human lives?

I personally wouldn’t do it to others, or allow it to happen to my own son. It is unthinkable. We even have laws against such things. You can be arrested for such acts. So why does God allow it?

Using that reasoning, we look holier and more righteous than the god they talk about.

Can you see now, how these religionists, and other misguided people over the years have confused us as to whom God really is?

The Bible states “God is Love”. Using the above comparison, that statement does not fit with “their” expression of who God is, does it?  They must be sadly deceived. They use “their” definition of who God is because its convenient. It is much easier to place the blame on a god who is in full control, and take away any personal responsibility for events happening in ones life.

Many don’t really know who God truly is, because they listen to others, like this, and don’t read for themselves who God says He is in the Bible. They have not truly personally experienced who God really is.

God is NOT angry with us. The truth is, He loves us much more than we believe. Much more than your physical parents ever did or even could have.

So, the question still remains.

Since we obviously still have terrible events happening in our world, who or what is causing it?

Based on the evidence of comparisons and the reasoning presented above, with Biblical statements, against the common belief that God causes it or allows it, we can eliminate His involvement.

Obviously, the total blame, has to be placed squarely on you and me, and all of humanity since the dawn of time. The robber robs the store. The gunman shoots the gun. The raper defiles the woman. The abuser beats up the victim. The deceiver corrupts the feeble mind…the gun doesn’t shoot by itself, the victim doesn’t abuse him or herself.

So, what about the weather, you say?

Good question. Who controls the weather?

Ask any meteorologist-they will be able to predict what the weather will be, by studying historical weather patterns, moon phases, wind directions, and cold and warm fronts. The weather follows a pattern set by previous weather patterns, which were also set by older historical weather patterns.

Basically, the weather we see now, wild weather, tornadoes, and hurricanes, are caused by a historically corrupted weather pattern, that has consistently gotten worse over the years. The laws of cause and effect prove this. The weather across the globe, is all interconnected, as a swirling mishmash of wind currents, ocean currents, temperature inversions, and land mass shape.

The weather coming over the Rocky Mountains, is so different from the weather that blows across the great plains, but they are connected, and each affects each other. If you eliminated those mountains, the weather would be very different across the great plains.

Our major hurricanes start off of the coast of Africa, where there are vast desert regions, with no mountains, only extreme heat inversions, with high winds meeting a cooler coast water temperature inversion.

There is evidence that suggests that that vast desert region on the western coast of Africa, used to have vegetation, and rains to water it. This would have kept those super heated temperatures coming off of the coastline at bay, but, the desert there is growing larger each year. How? By people cutting down what trees and vegetation is left.

There it is-we, human-kind, have historically  caused a hurricane weather pattern to affect another land far away.

So, God, didn’t do it.

We did.

So, who’s in control?

We are. Plain and simple.

YOU control your thoughts, your body, and also events around you that effect others, like the weather. It may take longer, and you or your grandson may or may not see the effects immediately, but my point is, everything you say or do affects someone, somewhere, at some time in the future.

I think it is time we accepted the responsibility for what we do, and own it.

Quit placing the blame on the God who loves you, ask for His forgiveness for doing these things, and who ALSO rescues you from the effects of the things you do who is more in the rescue business, than in the destruction of humanity business.

Oh, yes, He does rescue (save). Many times I can look back and see His rescue in my life, or I wouldn’t be here to tell you about this.

Therefore, YOU are in control!

Watch what you say and do!!

Til Next Time…

ImPRESSions on Words

In my last post, I brought out that words, either spoken or written, do have an effect on life, and that it is a permanent effect, never wasted, or eliminated out of existence.

Today, I will elaborate on a popular medium that has become a great “word” influence, and how it has effectively shaped our world to this day.

As I write, there is an institution of the world, that is a respected industry, that is “always on” 24 hrs a day, has access to just about anywhere and anyone, and is offered as a major course in accredited colleges and universities as journalism.

I will refer to it here simply as – “the News”.

Most of you reading this have watched or read it, from newspapers and magazines, to the modern-day cable news network CNN, and its worldwide  24 hour a day programming.

The news can be used to inform communities about destructive weather about to happen. It can warn us about traffic backups, or tainted foods. It can tell us about new laws enacted, or planned to be enacted.

The reporter, Edward R. Murrow is well known for his insightful investigations into corrupt institutions. Every young reporter in the past, wanted to walk in his footsteps, to  be involved in exposing the “truth” to the American public.

In the early days of American history, “news” or newspapers were utilized to educate and inform. They wrote and spoke about the British and their unfairness towards the colonies, with some of the authors ending up in prison or put to death for what they wrote, inciting what has become known as the American Revolution. In early history, religious figures were even put to death for what they spoke.

In the days of the Bolshevik Revolution, propaganda was used to sway public opinion towards communism. Hitler wrote and spoke words to effectively sway the German public into World War, and oppression of the Jewish people.

Thus, the news can be utilized to educate, inform, and “lift-up” humanity out of their ignorance, or it can be used as propaganda to further an institutions’ political means, whether good or evil. It has become much more an influence than just merely “news” or entertainment.

“Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position. As opposed to impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense, presents information primarily to influence an audience. Propaganda often presents facts selectively (thus possibly lying by omission) to encourage a particular synthesis, or uses loaded messages to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented. The desired result is a change of the attitude toward the subject in the target audience to further a political agenda. Propaganda can be used as a form of political warfare.  ”-Wikipedia.com

“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.”—Edward Bernays, from his book Propaganda

We use the word “propaganda” to reflect an alter reason for words, which is to shape another’s opinion. Although not openly admitted by those utilizing it, every “news” outlet is promoting their opinion in some way, whether it is for monetary gain, with advertising, or a certain political agenda. There is no 100% truthful and unbiased “news” published today. Even this Blog could be construed to reflect to try to sway another’s opinion.

Today, no one wants to read or hear about the latest bake sale, or a lost dog. The publishers know that sensational “news”, and disasters will sell newspapers, and get people to watch the news, which leads to advertisers of products selling their goods. There is big money to be made in “news”.

The power of Words, spoken and written by “the News”, are obvious, when seen through this evidence.

Although “the News” is a large portion of society today, and has great influence, it is still a fraction of the effect of what the words that are spoken or written can have in shaping our world.

As I said before, you can shape the world, by everything you say, or do.

I do not know the figures, of how many people have lived on this earth, since the beginning of time. If there are 5 to 6 billion people alive right now, then the total amount of those who have lived on this earth in the past must be enormous. That’s a LOT of influence.

No building is constructed by using one board. From the foundation to the roof, it is made from many smaller pieces.

Our “constructed” society has been shaped from many words spoken to each other.

That is why we desperately need to be careful about what we say and do.

Watch your words…You are shaping the future world, one board at a time.

Be sure it is for the good of all-PLEASE.

Til next Time…

Water, Wood, and Words – Similar?

Without being negative, and “preachy”, I’ll try to attempt here a simple explanation of how much effect your words can actually have.

A little history, though…

As I grew up in my early years, unfortunately I was very shy. I tell others that I even had difficulties speaking on the telephone. I was happiest by myself, in my own little world.

Over the years, I was “forced” to talk to others publicly, in having employment where I had to interact with all types of personalities.

I guess the main job that had the most influence, was at a convenience store, working the 3rd shift.

You see all kinds of “buggers”, to coin a phrase, in this time frame, from “cross-dressers” to outright theives, bold as pirates, just daring you to go after them with their stolen beer or cigarettes. Like roaches, they all come out at night.

School was Hell. There’s just no better words for it. I think the cruelest people outside of terrorists, or despot rulers, were my “peers” (a nicer word than what I wanted to call them).

I envy those who say they had very wonderful and meaningful school years. Great! I am very happy for them-truly. I honestly cannot understand why I did not, but I am sure it had a lot to do with my fears, and instabilities.

Things are better now. The scars are still there, but mostly suppressed. What it has done for me… is to be able to see life from a different angle, than those who did not go through this.

Now, do not get me wrong -I don’t recommend going at it this way. The “hard knocks of life” are a very bad method of teaching! In fact you really don’t “get over it”. The scars are there. The memories are there. Forgiveness is the only way to deal with it. Otherwise, it will eat at you until you are digested alive.

The reason I even bring this up, is to illustrate the effect of what you say and do.

There is a cause and an effect. Nothing in this physical world is wasted.

Just by studying the laws of physics, you learn that proven fact.

The Law of Conservation of Energy states…
Energy can be neither created nor destroyed; the energy of the universe is constant. This is the First Law of Thermodynamics.

The Law of Conservation of Mass states…
Matter can be neither created nor destroyed, though it can be rearranged. Mass remains constant in an ordinary chemical change.

You boil water, and it seems to disappear from the pan-we all know it turns into steam and dissipates into the room. If you burn wood, or paper, it breaks down the molecules into gases, and changes it into another form. But it didn’t disappear. It merely changed-metamorphised into something else-never wasted-just not the same form.

In the same way, your “physical” words, and the “physical” things you do, aren’t wasted either.

Somehow, we all think, (or maybe we don’t think…) that words aren’t a physical thing to be handled or carried, like that example of water or wood.

Can we carve words like we can carve our wood? Can water be abusive, like words? Of course!

What happens to any word that is spoken? Does it just flitter off into space, never to exist anymore? Can that word, no matter how small, or large, still exist somewhere? If so, then, just think about all the millions and billions of words that have been spoken or written. There must be more of them than sand or stars, considering the thousands of years humans have been around. Could they ALL still exist?

Think about it! Remember the laws of physics. Nothing is destroyed or ceases to exist in this physical world-it just changes shape!

WOW! Including the words in this Blog, somehow, or someday may be in a different form or activity.

The only thing I can deduce from that is, be very very careful what you say or do. Choose carefully, and wisely.

Remember, if you’re old enough, or a student of American History, what the prevalent saying was during World War II- “loose lips sink ships”. Whatttt? You’re kidding, right? If my lip speaks about a ship, it can sink it?

Now why would the American government think it so important to make this statement? Did they believe this could actually happen? Well, if the right words made their way to the wrong people-the enemy- it could actually sink a ship, by letting them know where it was or what it was carrying.

People, words are very important!

Watch your words! (In other words watch the effect your words have on events or life)

Think of words as money.  Money foolishly spent at a racetrack, could very possibly ruin you. Money wisely spent in helping a family out of trouble, will last a lifetime, and will lift you and them up both.

Its the same money, but used to either hurt or help.

So, its your choice.

You are in control, of your words.

You are in control, of life’s events.

Watch out and be careful of where, and when you spend them.

Til Next Time … Stay in control!