Spirit of Truth/The Bible on Trial

Baking~ This morning I am baking my version of Cinna-buns, taken from a base recipie on the King Arthur web site. As with all my recipies that I regularly use I have changed a few things to fit my taste and the taste that my family and friends have come to love. One of the things that I regularly change in almost all my 'sweet' recipies is that I use less sugar than the  original recipie calls for; often a lot less. This is because in most cases desert, canning or confection recipies are (in my opinion) well over sugared-they are way to sweet. Reducing sugar and adding a little more spice allows the other flavors that are present in any recipe to bloom. And in the case on my culinary experiments there is nothing that I change that will kill anyone. There is, however, a recipe for achieving eternal life, and if you change anything about THAT recipe you will certainly not 'taste' the result you desire. That recipie has been passed down through the centuries since Jesus was here on earth, and those instruction have been changed over time, and throught modifications by 'experts', that if you follow you will certainly not find the result that has been promised by those 'chefs' that have done the modifying. The product of those modifications tastes 'sweet a s honey', but at the eating will begin the process that if not returned to the original recipe will lead to death. Paul has changed the Gospel of the Kingdom that Jesus brought to earth from His Father, into the gospel of god (note the small 'g') and THAT god is NOT the God of Creation, but the god of destruction. In order to find the Truth of Salvation you need to go to the author of Truth, and that is God Almighty in the Law and the Prophets (Matt. 5:17), and Jesus the Christ, and Him alone. " . . . the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus". Rev.12:17.

Illegal Aliens~ One of the most controversial problems in America (and indeed the world) today is unauthorized immigration. This can be defined as a foreign national entering our country without going through the legal immigration process.  How to deal with the millions of illegals in the USA is a pernicious problem, where good people on both sides are seeing this issue so differently that it is causing a divide between friends, family members, and indeed total strangers.  JesusBut as with nearly everything that creates animosity and conflict today the base issue is this; do we follow the Law, or not!  All countries have defined immigration policy-some more strict that others. The USA has one of the most lenient immigration policies of any country in the world, and yet meny in the USA (for whatever reason) want OPEN BORDERS, whereby anyone that has the desire to make the arduous and dangerous trip to our Southern bordes should be allow infettered access to cross into the USA and gain all the privilages of citizenship, without going through the naturalization process. The Kingdom of the Heavens also has an immigration policy. It is termed "Sanctiication". Many that say they are in the Kingdom of Heaven have entered by climbing over the fence, and not entering through the 'door'. "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. John 10:1. These people have been taught that they do not have to do the hard work of becoming legal citizens in that Kingdom, and want all the benefits without the authority of having accomplished the 'demands of Righteousness'. "But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God." John 3:21. Doing Truth is the entry to the Kingdom!

Cowards~ Bravery has been defined as being scared to death, but doing it anyway. The idea of 'overcoming' is ubiquitous in the gospel of the Kingdom. Jesus uses the word 'overcome' to establish the context of what it takes to enter the Kingdom of God.  'He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. Rev. 3:21. But what does it mean to 'overcome'? What was it that Jesus overcame, that we must also overcome? Most of us would say 'sin', and that would be partly correct. Did Jesus, as God, have any propensity to sin? Not hardly! So the answer must go beyond the 'what' into the 'how'. How do we humans that have a genetic popensity to sin overcome sin? Jesus clearly states who will not be included in those that enter the gates of the New Jerusalem: "Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying." Rev.22:15. The most difficult part of the process of sanctification (becoming righteous in fact) is recognizing that we 'don't know what we don't know." If we believe that we already have all we need to be saved, and what our church teaches as the path to salvation is wrong, we can never understand what we really need to know to be saved. There are conflicting messages in the New Testament on both the 'what' and the 'how' of salvation. Paul says one thing, Jesus says another, and somehow the church (for the past 2000 plus years) has tried to amalgamate these two identities into one unified whole. This cannot work. Doing this is the cowards way to salvation. Overcoming takes courage to accomplish. To enter the Kingdom of God, cowards need not apply.

Withdrawl~ In today's world the word 'withdrawl' gives many people  a picture of drug addicts or alchoholics going through the horrors of detoxing. Yet there is another use of the word that while not as titilating subscribes a person to a dubious identity, that of 'quiter'! This weekend is the first of three tournaments that will crown golfs FedEx champion. The prize is $15 million dollars to the winner of the year long points race, that will identify the most consistent and best golfer on the PGA tour. This is a prize worth having, and is a career making victory that puts the winner into the Golf Hall of Fame. This weeks tournament is where the 125 top golfers in the 'race to the FedEx cup' will be reduced to 70 golfers, that will go on to next weeks tournament. Fifty-five golfers will be OUT of the race. Today Tiger Woods (no explaination needed) withdrew from the Northern Trust tournament with a right oblique muscle strain. He will try to play in next weeks tournament, but the disappointment due to his exiting this weeks championship is palpable. The press release stated that due to a 'mild' muscle strain Tiger reluctantly withdrew from competition. As for next weeks competition, there is no (by rule) ability to withdraw from that competition; once entered, a player MUST complete all four rounds of the tournament, or be immediately and irrevocably eliminated from the FedEx Cup competition. All of us, whether we understand it or not, are now entered into a life or death competition from which there is NO withdrawl. Even if you don't realize it you are in a competiton that pits TRUTH against Lies, and your option is to WIN or die. Overcoming the lies that are sin is what leads to victory or defeat, life or death. By overcoming 'as Jesus did' you earn the 'right to the Tree of Life', and a permanent place in the Kingdom of God.

"You've got to be kidding me!"~ There are such things in the English language as 'throw away lines". These are either declarations or responses that are symantically null-that is, they mean nothing.  For example - "Hi, how are you?" The normal answer is, "Fine". For most people, and in most cases, this is a greeting and not a real question that demands a direct answer. Neither the person that says it, nor the person that receives it expects to give or recieve a long, drawn out answer that tells a life story. It is simply a conversation starter. My Uncle Paul, who taught college level symanics (I took his class) said that if someone is really interested in what is going on in your life the proper question would be, "How are you, and why?" This delivers and expectation of a more complex answer that the word "Fine". Another one is when you make a comment of a dramatic nature, and the recipient says, "You can't mean it!", or, "You've got to be kidding me!" Then you have to repeat what you just said to reinforce to story. It is as if the person that is receiving the comment didn't hear you the first time, and needs reasurance that you meant what you said.  This can be very annoying, and in some cases demeaning. So when you are in a spiritual discussion with a friend, or an aquaintance, and you say, "You know, Jesus never said that", you will often hear one of the same responses as described above. They are so inculcated into their belief patterns that when you call them on it they cannot believe you have the temerity to question them and their understanding. When this happens don't worry, and don't get upset. Jesus knew this would happen and said this: "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you." John 15:18.

Truth is Frightening~ Most of us, at one time or another, have found ourselved in the unenviable position of sitting in the Doctors office or a hospital room waiting for test results. This can be a most nerve wracking and frightening experience, because in spite of assurances by your Doctor or your family there is always the thought in the back of your mind that 'this time' it's going to be bad. What is even worse is being told that it will take a week for the biopsy to be processed, so you must wait with anxious expectancy for that call from the Doctor's office that tells you your fate. This happened to me in 2006 when I was just about to go on vacation, and was told that my needle biopsy from a lymph node in my right neck would take a week to assess, so just go on vacation, have a good time, and when you get back we will have the results. I spent a week in 'anxious expectancy' in Sequoia with my family, sleeping little, working on the manuscript for "The Spirit of the Church" (Tate Publishing, 2007), and spending time with my family. And yes, it did turn out to be a Stage 4 malignant melanoma, and because I am still here things turned out well. The point is not the illness, it is that pesky 'anxious expectation' that is the issue. When you don't know the outcome, when the situation has not resolved, when your mind is filled with doubt because you DON'T KNOW THE TRUTH about what is going to happen to you, there is always concern as to whether you will survive or not. For many the pressure is too much, and rather than face the truth and deal with it they bury their minds in irrelevancy and try to ignore the 'elephant in the room'. This NEVER works well in the long run. Facing TRUTH about salvation and eternal life does create 'anxious expectation', but seeking and finding the truth will bring a peace that happens because you now understand, and can make positive change.

Truth is Perishable~ Have you heard the adage, "Practice makes perfect"? It is commonly heard in music studios or classrooms, at golf lessons, shooting ranges, or anywhere teachers interact with students in passing along knowledge and skill in virtually any discipline. However, this understanding is a lie! Practice does not make perfect, it only makes what ever you practice PERMANENT.  Only PERFECT practice makes perfect results. Every skill in every discipline, whether physical, emotional, intellectual or spiritual, amature or professional, requires not only perfect practice, but persistant, consistant, and regular practice in order to not only aquire that skill, but keep it current. This is especially true when it comes to searching for, and finding Truth.  Just because a person has made the effort to learn the truth about salvation does not mean there is not more to learn. No one, so far, has found ALL the truth that is 'fit to print'. There are concepts inside truth that must grow and be developed inside the intellect (heart). Finding part of the truth does not mean you have found enought truth, in order to accomplish the 'demands of righteousness'. "Who then is the bondservant that is faithful and sensible enough for his master to put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? Matt. 24:45 (JB). There is a 'faithful and wise' bondservant that WILL know ENOUGH about the Words of Jesus in the New Testament, the Words of God in the Old Testament, history, and the sciences, to be able to form a 'Unified Field Theory' about how the truth of salvation in relation to eternal life, to be able to 'give' (teach) his fellow bondservants this 'food' (truth) at the proper time. Then the truth will go to world 'at the proper time'. Keep learning, keep growing in truth.

"Liar, liar, pants on fire"~ There is an old saying that goes, "How do you know when a politician is lying? When their lips are moving!" And this is also true for pastors, teachers, preachers, medical practitioners, fiduciaries, or anyone in a position of responsibility for others that knowingly lies to further tor protect heir position, or income, at the expense of their charges. This is also true  in relationships between family members or friends. If a person KNOWINGLY lies to save their own skin at the expense of another then they are betraying a sacred trust that cannot have a remedy, even if they subsequently ask for forgiveness. The damage is done, unreparable, and irrevocable, in spite of their sincere and heart felt apology. The person wronged may have the character that allows the to forgive, but by the very nature of the LIE they can never forget. It is for this reason that it is critical to KNOW whether what you believe to be true actually IS true; because if it is not, and you teach it, or tell it as if it is true, you may never be able to undo the damage that belief has done to another person that believed it because of you. And this is especially true when it comes to spiritual truth. There are lots of 'truths' out there that people sincerely believe, but which one IS true, without question? Jesus answered, "You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." John 18:37 What Jesus told Pilate gives the parameters for truth; If the words come from Jesus they are true; if they don't, they aren't.. But there are writers in the Bible that never knew Jesus personally while He was here on earth, they never heard Him speak, or saw His miracles, and yet they are held as authorities of truth. Be careful of them!

I was a on point in my life an avid golfer, and passed the love of the game on to my son, who was a high school team golfer, and still plays from time to time. I love the game, because it embodies many of the the same time tested spiritual principles that can help bring a person into the Kingdom of the Heavens; honesty, perserverance, growth in spritual identity, forgiveness of mistakes, practicing to become perfect, and most importantly-playing by the rules. These are all things that in one way or another that Jesus came to teach those that would become members of His Kingdom to accomplish, so they can 'win the prize' of eternal life. So it was with great consternation that due to the politically correctness of our time I learned that there will not be a single "Champion Golfer of the Year" crowned at thie 148th Open Championship this year. The golf Powers That Be in Britain have decided to give 'participation awards' this year to the 156 golfers that qualified to play in this years Open, rather than the 1st and 2nd place trophies that are normally presented. Also, the prize money for First Place through 80th (80 players will make the cut) will be combined and then divided among all 156 players that entered, so no one will feel 'left out'. Funny thing, though; the quality of the play as been severly affected by this. For some reason the players have lost interest in doing their best, and are instead just going through the motions of 'playing the game'. Scores are getting larger, and the galleries (people in attendance) are getting smaller each day. Now you understand how silly this would be if this was actually the case. No one would play under those conditions. Yet we are told that this is how salvation works today, as preached by the Christian church as founded by the 'apostle' Paul. Everyone wins the Prize, just because they say "I am saved through grace". Simply not true!

The Hubris of Stubborness~  Have you ever experienced looking at your gas guage in your car and saying to yourself, "I'll get gas on the way home"? And when you get in the car to go home you are so fixated on getting away from work, getting home and relaxing that you forget the promise you made to yourself to get gas; and you run out a half-mile from your driveway. Or you have to make a trip to the grocery, and your wife says that she needs a few items, and you think to yourself, "I'll remember it, I don't need to write it down"? And when you get to the store you promptly forget one of those items because you were to stubborn to take a few seconds to make a list. We have all experience this. It is not the result of malicious intent. It is simply that we believe that we are better than we really are at keeping track of all those things that invade our ongoing thoughts. When we believe that we know all that we need to know about anything, we remove our ability to learn anything new from the equation of our lives. The hubris of stubborness is a chronic problem of identity; we believe that what we believe is correct, and believe we don't need to know anything else to accomplish a task. 'Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked," Rev. 3:17. As much as we would like to believe it, we (all of us) are in some things still at the first stage of learning; We don't know what we don't know. And this is a very dangerous place to be, because this 'not knowing what we don't know' can rear up and bite us more quickly than a rattlesnake in the brush.  Little children don't have this problem. Become as a little child, and learn Truth