So you wonder what the fracas is about. The attack on free speech and the hate filled rhetoric continues and it forces Mr. Trump to respond. When he does, he becomes the object of more hate. Isn’t what the Trump haters, the media and those whom they beguile very un-American?

Take a look at yourselves haters, you are the ones who need to stop the ridiculous onslaught. And not only is it aimed at Mr. Trump- now his supporters are branded as stupid, low class and uneducated. How fun- to accuse and belittle others when they do not conform to your own idealogy. How un-American! The one who is fighting for America is rejected. The one who has amazing insight, which is proven over and over again to be correct. 9/11, Iraq, Paris, Brussels. And those who stick their heads in the sand and do nothing for us even though they could, rise up to say …oh NO!. NOT you!

Reminds me again of another person who was ridiculed and branded by the insiders. He wasn’t gentle to the insiders. He mocked them calling them “whitened sepulchers with dead men’s bones”, “generation of vipers”. Oh yes- many think of Him as docile. But He rocked the world back then with His radical thinking because He had the ability to see the establishment as it was and He called it out. So much so, that the establishment decided that the only way to deal with Him was to kill Him. They tried to demonize Him, to embarrass Him- calling Him names etc. Sounds familiar?

Whenever, a person tries to bring about real change, those who are entrenched in power will try to hold on to that power and seek to kill the messenger. Power is intoxicating and those who exercise power over others will do ANYTHING to hold on to that power no matter what and who it costs.

Let’s be real. It is not only about power. Real human beings are suffering  in our country and if we say we are a democracy, surely we should allow democracy to prevail. But the warfare, both physical and spiritual, against Mr. Trump shows that we have strayed far from being a democracy to rather being an elitist oligarchy with many strings and puppets at their disposal. Surely the people have a right to vote for whomsoever they choose- be it Mr. Trump or not. And surely the people should be allowed to think for themselves.

Mr. Trump is a voice crying in the wilderness. And the ones who hear his voice understand that it is time for a change. And if God allows it- real and meaningful change will come. And if not, then we will bear on our backs the burdens of the elite and the ruling class. We would be truly on our way to utter ruin. So prepare yourselves. Either way, after this election, we, as a country, will never be the same.

When fear becomes a coat that we wear, then we have nothing. Life as it should be, becomes an illusion. When men in their ignorance, in their selfish and many times opportunistic and hateful persuasions, seek to distill fear to us so that we may breathe in fear’s vapors, then who can we run to, where can we hide, how can we protect our children?

The innocent perish daily. This week, in the wake of the attacks in Brussels, in the memory of Paris, in memory of San Bernardino killings and in the memory of those lost in the genocidal wars being carried out in Syria, Iraq, and around the world, my prayer is for us, who are alive and witness these horrors,  to rest in the arms of One who is greater than fear.

During this week of the Passion, we remember His sacrifice. We remember the murder of our Lord, who signified purity, love and all that was and is good. Yet, He suffered so much. And the price He paid, is for this very reason- that in the midst of the fear being perpetuated on us- that we have a hope. He looked fear in its face and laughed at it. Fear had no hold on Him. He faced death, conquered it and rose triumphantly over it!

Fear wants us live in torment because life has always been fragile. These events just emphasize just how fragile it truly is. We understand life is but a vapor. We know that all we hold dear to us can be lost in a moment.What then should be our response? Simply this…. WE LIVE! Let us trust in the Living God. The One who made the heavens and the earth. He is able to see us through. And He has given us the blueprint to overcome fear.

And better yet, once we know the salvation of the Lord, our lives would be fueled by this scripture in John 11:25- “Yeshua said to her, “I AM THE LIVING GOD, The Resurrection and The Life; whoever trusts in me, even if he dies, he shall live.” (Aramaic Bible)

I pray His peace be on us as we meditate on His covering and know that in spite of the rampage of the spirit of fear, Our GOD has defeated fear and all its minions. He has given us a Hope that is greater than life. That though our bodies may perish, we have a hope beyond the grave. Let us seek after God that we may dwell in His presence in earth and in the promise to come. I am reminded of this promise in Psalm 91.

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”
Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.
He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.

You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked.

Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.”

“This phrase was coined as a slogan during WWII as part of the US Office of War Information’s attempt to limit the possibility of people inadvertently giving useful information to enemy spies. The slogan was actually ‘Loose Lips Might Sink Ships. This was one of several similar slogans which all came under the campaigns basic message – ‘Careless Talk Costs Lives‘.” (phrases.org.uk)

I heard this phrase from a very respected pastor and often wondered pondered on the meaning. So many times, we fall into a trap of saying something and then wish we did not say it. An old proverb goes like this “Four things come not back: the spoken word, the spent arrow, the past, the neglected opportunity.”

One of the greatest test of a person’s integrity, maturity, and leadership ability is the ability to hold the tongue. Many organizations, friendships and relationships have been destroyed by the inability to curb the tongue. So let us be wise in our interactions with each other. If someone confides in us- let us have the personal integrity to curb our tongue and not repeat it to someone else. Doing so simply inflates our egos, assassinates the other person, and ultimately destroys relationships. Let us have the spiritual and moral control out tongues. Doing so displays wisdom. If we cannot do so, we need to fast and prayer for self control. Dean Briggs has a great book on this-“Consumed: 40 Days of Fasting, Repentance & Rebirth”

Always looking to the scriptures for reference, James 3 (NKJV) says it this way: –My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.  For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.  Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body.  Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires.  Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles!  And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.  For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.  But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.  Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?  Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh. Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.  But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.  But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

I have been fascinated with heroes since my youth. I love the bible heroes. I love reading about the lives of men and women mentioned in throughout scriptures because for me, their lives gives insight to a Great, Almighty and Merciful God.

I remember as a child, I would save all my allowances and when I got enough I would literally run to the variety shop and ask for the comics of heroes displayed on a string that ran from one end of the shop to the other. Oh, I had decided which ones I had wanted for a long time. Standing and watching them while my mom made her grocery requests, I calculated in my mind how long it would take me to save for them and which one was priority. I was 6 years old at the time. Superman, Batman, Captain America, Daredevil, Fantastic Four- you name it, I read it. Give me comics as a present and I would be in my little heaven.

So, when Christ showed me the Way in my teenage years, and I began to search the scriptures, I was filled with wonder at the heroes of the Bible. Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Samson, Ruth, Samuel, David, Solomon, Daniel, Peter, Paul- men and women who, inspite of their areas of weaknesses, their “Kryptonite”, they eventually emerged victorious over the weakness to glorify God and to win the battle over self and evil.

Saul and David

This is a classic that I have always loved. There are so many lessons to be learned. Many times we read this and recognize in Saul – a man first chosen by God and then rejected because he sought to trust in himself rather than the God who called him. And then we see David, shepherd, psalmist, worshiper, giant slayer, warrior, king- a man after God’s heart.

The lives of both men have been topics of numerous sermons, books and other literature for years. Today, I wanted to draw our attention to perhaps a different perspective. And I want to start in the New Testament with the words of Paul, 1 Cor 1:27-19 (NKJV)- But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;  and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,  that no flesh should glory in His presence.“

Paul had a way with words. I want to focus on the word “chosen” which means according to Helps Word Studies -“speaking to a conclusion” – properly, to select (choose) out of, by a highly deliberate choice (i.e. real heart-preference) with a definite outcome (as with the destination of divine selection for salvation).”

So with this in mind, when Saul was chosen, he had these qualities according to 1 Sam 9:1-2 (NKJV) – “There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. And he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.”

Saul was chosen and the qualities listed are all physical- nothing about his heart. Then, according to 1 Sam 13:13-14 after Saul’s disobedience- “And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. ¹⁴ But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”

This was the precept for  choosing of David. He was called “a man after God’s own heart”. What a declaration! David was chosen based on his relationship with God, his heart condition- not on his outward appearance or appeal. 1 Sam 16:7 (NKJV)-  But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

What’s the point?

Many times people use the story of Saul and David to show how God finds someone else to replace a person who appear to be disobedient and rebellious to His commands even though he was originally “chosen”. While that may be generally be true- I have another thought on this story.

I think it also underlines the battle between the flesh and spirit, the carnal man and the spiritual man.

In the context of the ekklesia today, God desires that we should all be saved. Even though a person may fall at times, God wants us to be overcomers. Let us not reject people based on the premise that God rejected Saul. Let us reject the works of the flesh and embrace people, learn to see that God loves them in-spite of their faults. Isn’t that the whole point of this?  Let us not put up imaginary barriers between the haves and the have-nots, the so-called “chosen” and the “rejected”. God loves us in spite of ourselves. He wants us to overcome and to succeed.

So let us not use this story to elevate one person over another, to cast down someone because they don’t fit in our world and our box and our bubble- let us instead use this to understand the war between the carnal man and the spiritual man, the war inside us and let us strive toward having and knowing the heart of God – that we may be able to shine forth our light that a darkened world may know Christ.

Isn’t it God’s plan for mankind to be saved? Salvation, justification, being a child of God is available for all. Being chosen really is about each one of us reaching our destiny. God has chosen us while we were yet sinners. So now we know the truth, let us not use it as a club to batter others because we are “better” than them. Let us not use the most vicious weapon of the enemy- “slander”- to kill of those who we esteem to be rebellious, stubborn or just not walking in what we want them to walk in, or what we want them to be.

Everyone has their calling. Perhaps instead of slandering a person, we should pray for the person, instead of casting out, we seek to include, instead of being legalistic, we allow Holy Spirit to work in our midst. If we catch the vision of God- that He seeks out that which is lost, then we can surely make a difference in the world.

There is coming a new wave of God- a wave of release and of deliverance. We have been bound by lies of the enemy too long. We have allowed works of darkness to fill our minds and hearts with fear and anger, with delusions of grandeur and personal kingdom building under the disguise of building God’s Kingdom. We are simply called to give the message of love, hope, faith and salvation to as many as we can- to build each other up and to apply God’s healing to those around us.

Saul eventually murdered himself- he committed suicide. Unless we step out of the carnality of the ekklesia, we will keep murdering those around us, and with it the mission of God implanted in the spiritual DNA of every believer. BEFORE DELIVERANCE COMES WE NEED TO DEAL WITH THE SPIRIT OF MURDER WITHIN AND WITHOUT US.

Let us, in life’s journey- seek to be a “man after God’s own heart”. Let us seek to be heroes of the faith- God is looking out for us.  Amen

I came across this old woodman’s proverb while reading and thought how interesting to capture that much thought into one line.

While upright, the tree aspires to touch the sky. Tall, slender, attractive perhaps with beautiful green foliage.  Beautiful to the eye of the beholder. But if one were to try to measure the tree, the probability of coming up with an exact measurement is usually slim since this could be considered to be a moving target. Although with modern equipment such as laser technology, this probably could be done more accurately today. But back then, when felling a tree involved sweat equity and a few tools, measuring a tree, while it stood upright, was a daunting task.

It is usually true, that when we are in the valleys of life that, we truly see how small, how inadequate, how ineffective we really are. While we are on the mountain tops, perhaps of career success, financial success, family and other types of successes, we rarely take time to reflect on who we are.Sometimes we do, but usually the reflections lack a depth that come with falling on our knees in agony. Who has agony when they are successful? You hear about the agony of defeat, but not really the agony of success.

So my point is this. We, usually,  are best measured in the trials, the disappointments, the failures. Many times we look at these things despondently and perhaps fall into the trap of disillusion, discouragement and despair. Let us be reminded of a few things.

While it is human nature to feel rejected, lonely, heartbroken, despondent in the face of grief, illness, loss, fear, abandonment, war, strife, family crisis, financial and economic crisis, threats of annihilation and the list goes on- let us remember one thing-we are in  process. If we take a moment to reflect, we might come to the conclusion, that …”This too will pass”. Because, one of the greatest characteristics of humanity throughout any society, any age, is that we can hope.

It was once said that “Man can live about 40 days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air, but only for one second without hope.”

Helen Keller also said “”Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope or confidence.”

HOPE is the great character trait embedded in each of us. And when we are down and being measured by all sorts of measuring sticks- it is the one thing that keeps us going. The psalmist says it beautifully in Psalm 23- (NKJV)

So despite being knocked down, trampled upon, beaten, abused, taken for granted- whatever the means to get us down, let us take comfort in the fact.

THIS IS JUST A PROCESS. IF WE CAN JUST UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS, WE WILL MAKE IT.

And, once we know this,  that the Master will never leave us, He is there with us every step of the way in the valley, we most surely will get to the end.

When I am down O Lord, let me reflect on the things you need me to learn. Help me to learn the lesson well that I may become a better person. Certainly, I am a work in progress. As noted in Jeremiah 18:1- we are but clay in the potter’s hand and He is in the process of perfecting us. The process involves being broken and put again on the potter’s wheel.

My prayer is this -“Give me strength and expand my hope as I am on this wheel of change- that I may know you, O Lord.”

Paul says it well in Phil 3:7-14 (NKJV) –But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.  Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;  that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,  if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.  Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.  Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,  I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Let us do the same. In the daily measuring process of our lives, let us press forward to our destinies in Christ.By the grace of Almighty God, the best is yet to come. Amen

“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.” Elie Wiesel, author, novelist, political activist, and Holocaust survivor of Hungarian Jewish descent, and Nobel Peace Prize winner.

How precise this quote is. How relevant it is today. For us, in the 21st century, whose lives are channeled by social media, television, fantasy games and more, we have become a people who could not care less about anything except what affects our immediate need or circumstance. Our humanity is being drained, our sense of self has become convoluted into a mixture of reality, science fiction and self delusion.

In the book of Revelation, there were seven ekklesias in Asia that Christ addressed specifically. Of these, two of them had no condemnation. The persecuted ekklesia at Smyrna and the ekklesia at Philadelphia. But, Christ had this to say to the ekklesia at Laodicea:

Rev 3:15-21 (NKJV)- I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.  Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.  To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

Neither hot nor cold speaks of indifference. Not caring about anything outside our own selfish desires and needs. Because of indifference, Christ wants to vomit. He wishes this ekklesia will have some passion, some fervency. Instead, they care about their riches, their wealth, their sense of luxury having need of nothing. Christ admonishes the Laodiceans, that in spite of the sense of self, sense of satisfaction, their full bellies, that in reality they are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked! This must have come as a shock to them.

Be zealous and repent!

The rebuke touches me because I have been indifferent. I have clothed myself with indifference like a garment to protect myself against the pain of a culture intoxicated with excess.

Many times, if we do not play by the rules, we become outcasts. It starts from a very young age. The schools try to categorize you into the various buckets based on your ability to fit into a “one size fit all” curriculum. And once you do not fit in, the shaming begins and continues into adulthood. So, many times, people put on a garment of indifference to dull the senses and the pain. It affects our entire lives. It seems as if we have a generation of people who have covered themselves in the garments of indifference to hide away things that may cast light on our weakness, our frailty, our humanity. We encase ourselves in a bubble. But the problem with this is that God understands our weakness. When we are weak, He is strong in us. When we hide behind masks of indifference, pretty soon, the masks becomes our personality. Remember Jim Carrey’s movie .”The Mask”?

But we must become fervent again. Put aside the frailities and our egg shells and launch out into the deep. We cannot love if we are afraid of being hurt. We cannot succeed if we are not passionate. Where has our passion for God gone? How long will we continue to live in a bubble of pretences and fantasy. Sooner or later – whether by God’s hands or by man’s, the bubble will burst and then we find that we are “wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked“.

Why don’t we look onto the Lord for help? He counsels us “to buy from [Him] gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.”

Most assuredly, let us begin with those around us. Let us truly love those He brings us into contact with. Not the love that we  most likely have been exposed to- where we love ONLY if we are loved. Rather, let us begin again with 1 Cor 13:

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.  And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;  does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;  bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.  For we know in part and we prophesy in part.  But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Love is unconditional. Can we really do it? I bet we can.