Spirit of Truth/The Bible on Trial

Re-opening~ The world has been closed down by COVID-19. The economic and social disaster generatied by this virus is incalculable. Everything has changed, and nothing will be the same. We will be living under a new set of rules that will affect every aspect of our lives, as the governments of the world begin the process of reopening their economies. As a result of these economic and social changes there are many people that are looking to lay the blame on China for the death and economic destruction caused by this virus, that even if not released on purpose as a bio-weapon was the epicenter of the start of the virus going out into the world, and that China should be held responsible and be made to pay reparations. How this would work I have no clue. I do know that the truth of this will eventually be made plain, just as I know that the truth of who is ultimately responsible for sin entering the world will also be made clear. Truth Will Out! I also know that this pandemic has caused many of my friends and co-workers to begin to think seriously about their spiritual lives, seeing how fragile life can be. I have also seen that those people that believe that they have a strong understanding of the truth of how salvation works are more at peace that those that don't. Even if they are wrong about salvation, they don't know they are wrong, and are therefore less likely to worry. Reopening the country/countries is necessary in order to put people back to work, and renew economic growth. But reopening the intellect to see and understand what IS truth, and what is not the truth about how salvation works is even more important. While there are temporary economic consequenses for one, there are massive eternal consequences for the other. Right now we are being given a unique opportunity to share the Truth about God with our world. Let's not waste it!

Essential Services~ The COVID-19 'Pandemic' has shut down most of the business in the world (except for China-don't get me started). In the USA the President and Congress have passed a 'rescue' package for the country that will hopefully tide over individuals and businesses long enough such that we can get past this problem and get back to a semblence of normal (whatever that will look like).  In the midst of this situation there are certain buisnesses that have been deemed 'essential', and are staying open in order to keep society operating; groceries, gas stations, pharmacies and the like. I work at a local hardware store (my retirement job) that is 'essential', because we supply nearly everything that is needed to keep a household running. And we are subject to all of the new laws that require face masks, gloves, hand washing and sanitizing, and cleaning of surfaces that will keep both the employees and customers safe when the shop at our store. Not only is the store 'essential', but so are the laws that we must obey in order to stay open.  The Kingdom of the Heavens is essential to salvation; you must be INSIDE this Kingdom in order to be saved into eternal life. In order to gain entry into this Kingdom (the sheepfold) you must come in through the door, which is obedience to the Covenant or Laws of that Kingdom, the 10 Commandments (Deut.4:13). If you try to gain entry by coming over the wall, a would a thief, you are trying to get in without that obedience, and you will be through out (Matt. 22).  Obedience to the Covenant is the 'essential service' that you must provide to the Kingdom of the Heavens and its King in order for you to be where you need to be to be saved.  "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love". John 15:10.

Cabin Fever~ For many of us during this time of COVID-19 staying at home and away from people can be a very difficult proposition. We are "stuck" with our family members and unable to move about our lives unencumbered by 'social' distancing (it is actually anti-social, if you aske me). The stress and strain can be mind boggeling, and can lead to uncharacteristic interactons that when viewed later are regretable. This is the result of being cloistered, that is "being kept away from the outside world". Often in our modern world this can lead to the emotional reaction listed above, which can be defined as 'Cabin Fever'! A 'Cloister' is actually defined as a monastary or nunnery, and for the religious separatist this is a  good thing. A nun or a Friar spends their life in solitary isolation, praying, meditating and for the most part working silence. For most of us this would be an intollerable life, but for some people that are heavily introverted this can be heaven. Humans are not designed by God to be solitary. At the very least we are designed to live in partnership with our spouse, and develop relationships inside and outside of marriage that allow us to gain a picture of God that is defined by unity, as seen in John 17, the Pastoral Prayer of Jesus. It is very difficult to develope unity of spirit when you have no physical contact or close interaction with those you love. Take heart in the fact that our current solitary life will eventually give way to a more dynamic interaction, both human and heavenly. We can now see how important having other people in our lives is, and we will never again take our family, friends and even strangers for granted.  As we cherish these current moments of solitude, as did Jesus when He went off by Himself to pray, let us also cherish the unity that the Holy Spirit brings in the fellowship of the discovery of Truth.

Masks~ Yesterday (April 3, 2020) the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) issued a revised directive that now says that everyone that goes into a public place must wear a face mask in order to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.  Previous to this directive they had stated that as long as you stayed outside of a 6 foot radius from others in the community you did not have to wear a face mask, as it did little good. The CDC also said not to wear an N-95 mask, as these masks should be reserved for medical professionals working with infected patients. It seems that under pressure from non-medical people the CDC changed their original understanding of the efficacy of wearing non N-95 masks in a non clinical envirionment. The idea is that if you treat yourself as if you have the virus by wearing a mask you will prevent someone else from getting the virus should you cough, sneeze, or even breath on them.  The idea is that by using a non-medical mask you will help others feel safer about being in public with you, even if it does little or no good in either preventing someone from getting the disease from you, our from you giving the disease to someone else. There is a 'mask' in the Bible that the Christian church has adopted that helps church members FEEL better about their salvation. By putting on this mask that they can hide behind, they FEEL safe in the assumption that 'grace' will save them into eternal life as long as they believe that their sins do not count against them, and they feel protected from the ravages of these sins, which they believe have been forgiven by the blood of Jesus, and all of this by faith. The mask of the gospel of God that the apostle Paul has provided gives them confidence that as long as they SAY they love Jesus they are saved.  Masks hide reality!

Memory~ All memory is attached in our minds via emotion! There are certain things that become ingrained in our memorites, for both good or ill, because each of those memories were put in our minds by being attached to an emotion that was either good or bad. It really doesn't matter the source of the emotion, as long as it is a strong enough emotion of the moment, it can attach any kind of circumstance or piece of information in our memory. In band class (when I was teaching) I would ask for a show of hand as to which of my students had ever been to Disneyland. They almost always had been there at one time or another. I would then ask when was the last time you went to Disneyland? The answers had various ranges in time, but they all knew when they had gone. I would ask who did they go with, and for girls what they were waring (boys almost always did not remember). I would ask who went with them, or about food they ate, or something they bought. And they could tell me. The detail in their memories about their last adventure to Disneyland was amazing.  I then would ask them if anyone had ever broken a bone, or had hurt themselves in an accident. Again, the detail in the memories was truly amazing, even to the extent of the injury, they type of accident, and the visit to the Emergency Department for treatment.  I would then ask them to notice that it didn't matter whether their experience was good or bad, what triggered memory was the emotion that went along with the experience. There are certain life experiences that we cannot forget. COVID-19 will be one of them. When we are emotionally involved with the Words of Jesus we will not be able to forget them in times of stress or joy. If we abide (live in) the words of Jesus, God will be able to call them to our remembrance when we need them the most. If you love His words you WILL remember them.

“A long and wicked life followed by five minutes of perfect grace gets you into Heaven. An equally long life of decent living and good works followed by one outburst of taking the name of the Lord in vain - then have a heart attack at that moment and be damned for eternity. Is that the system?”- Robert A. Heinlein This statement was made by one of the great Si-Fi writers of all times, who also was an agnositic. I find it fascinating that even he, for whom the jury was out of the existance of God, could come to the conclusion that the author of the concept cited above knew that what Paul wrote as his own personal gospel was not logical or valid.  This concept of 'salvation by grace through faith' cannot be verified through comparing it with the words of jesus that He gave to His own eyewitness disciples. As a matter of fact, what Paul wrote as 'the gospel of God' is completely debunked by what Jesus taught to His own disciples, and what HE gave to His prophets and to Moses in the Old Testament. Spirit of Truth Ministry exists to bring this Truth of God to light in a world in which Christianity (a construct of the 'apostle' Paul) bares nearly soul responsibility for propogating this huge lie to a world that needs the Truth of Salvaton now more than ever. Join our effort to bring the light of the Truth of the Process of Sanctification that Jesus taught to our truth starved world.

Receptive~ Just an observation - It is amazing to me how effective a crisis is in bringing people to a place of acknowledging the importance of having a spiritual identity. This is not to say that those people that call themselves by an already existing spiritual identity, such as a Christian denomination, Islam, nature worship, or any other regional religious practice, are not seeking a path to enlightenment, they are. It's just that in today's environment of COVID-19, and all of the endemic worry and concern associated with the news surrounding it, there seems to be an uptick in the expression of their religious identity to not only friends and family, but also complete strangers.  I work at a local hardware store (hardware stores are considered 'essential'), and regularly my customers speak to me about their approach to handling their concerns and often worry about how our society is dealing with the social aspects of this pandemic. They will tell me that while they have concerns about the potential of getting the virus, or how we are dealing with 'self isolation', They 'say' they are not worried about outcomes because they have the "Love of Jesus" in their hearts and they feel all will be well. And this is all well and good. But the other thing I have noticed is that there are a few (a hand full) of my customers and co-workers (in particular) that have expressed an interest in 'finding truth'. They have given me an opening to introduce myself as also a 'seeker of truth', that is simply a "Follower of Jesus", and not a member of any religious group. I even was able to introduce the book "The Spirit of the Church" and our web sites to one of my female co-workers, and even gave her a copy that she promised to read.  Crisis can be a bad thing, but it can also be a way of showing people to The Truth.

Dangerous Times Demands Tough Choices~ A favorite piece of doggerel reminds me of how many people react when faced with an uncomfortable or dangerous situation: "When in danger when in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout!" The world is being tested as has not happened since the 1918 Flu pandemic. This testing is not killing as many people today as did this Spanish Flu outbreak that infected (est.) 500 million people (a quarter of the world's population), and killed (est.) from between 17 million and 50 million people (some estimates are as high as 100 million). This happened in the midst of World War I. To maintain morale WWI censors in the combatant countries minimized the early reports of the illness and mortality rates to make it seem to be not as bad as it really was, in order to keep panic to a minimum in the world. This shows that there was a Deep State even back then that would 'spin' news reporting to fit a unique narrative that those in power needed have, to maintain power over the people of the earth. We see this same thing happening in the Main Stream Media today, only in reverse.  How we (the people of earth) handle this COVID-19 situation will speak volumes as to where we are in prophecy and in time. God always gives two choices to the people; choose Life and Prosperity, or Death and Destruction (Deut. 30:15-20). We are even now being given this same choice, that is to either keep a clear head and choose the Life Road, or to panic and choose the easier Death Road. What we have learned in the last few weeks on our programs shows that there is this same choice that is seen in Revelation with respect to the Seven Thunders seen on Revelation 10. If you do one thing today,you should tune in to our program The Revelation of Jesus, where Rick Sterling will define this choice in clear terms and outcomes, so you know where you stand.

Be Not Afraid~ The COVID-19 virus has the world on edge. If you listen to the news then you will, by definition, be as nervous as a cat at a dog show. And truly, there is a lot about which to be concerned. The origins of this virus not-with-standing this virus is apparently playing by a different set of rules than previous viruses and community spread disease. The currents death rate is 0.04% world wide (according to CDC statistics) but this is expected to skyrocket as the virus continues to make inroads in the population. Just yesterday the Governor of California, Gavin Newsome, declared that everyone must stay home, and can go out only under specified conditions. Busiesses have been ordered to close (with exceptions), and this is going to put a huge finacial burden on not only the owners, but also on employees, many of whom will lose their jobs as some of these businesses fail. The US government is working on a 'bail out' for individuals and businesses, which will help in the short run, but may not be the desired 'fix' for the long run. This is a very stressful time for the world.  But Jesus *said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." John 6:20. Jesus came and stood in their midst and *said to them, "Peace be with you." John 20:19. Stressful times do not so much develope character, but reveals it! In life it is never the trouble that happens to us that counts, it is HOW we deal with that trouble that matters. Feeling anxious at times such as these is normal, but how we deal with that feeling separates those that are followers of Jesus from those that only pay 'lip service' to His will. The ROCK upon which we should build our house is the Commandments of God and the Testimony of Jesus (Rev. 12:17). Abiding in His words and teachings gives us solid ground upon which to view both good times and bad with calm assurance and peace!

Be Not Afraid~ One of my favorite pieces of doggerel (comic verse composed in irregular rhythm) this: "When in panic when in doubt, run in circles scream and shout!" This speaks specifically to what we are seeing in the news about the 'run' on toilet paper and other survival good that are flying off the shelves in grocery stores. Yesterday things were so bad where I live that I couldn't get into the parking lot at our local Stater's, and cars were lined up on the street. When is it appropriate to be afraid? We are almost always afraid of something about which we know little or nothing, something that catches us by surprise, and not in a nice way, such as a surprise party. Today, and for the forseeable future, we see this in the COVID-19 outbreak making it's way across the world. People are scared out of their minds by just the thought of getting this disease, primarily because or the horrible and self-serving attitute of the main stream media, that wants to promote their own agenda in trying to discredit a sitting President, and also sell advertising.  We can also see this same type of fear all through the Bible, when people come in contact with people or events that they have had no previous experience with. But God does not want us to have fear, He wants us to have peace.  So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and *said to them, "Peace be with you."  So Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you." And when He had said this, He breathed on them and *said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit".  John 20:19, 21, 22. "I will fear no evil, for You are with me." Ps. 23:4.