OK, so we all know that July 4, 1776 was the day our Declaration of Independence was signed and declared. That is a fact. But, what exactly does it mean to us now as Americans?
How many of you have actually read the words and thought about what those old patriots were really saying? Yes, I know you went to school and were forced to study it in some U.S. History class so you could graduate. But, how many of you have really thought about what it cost? We Americans read it then just continued to do our own thing, not understanding what our forefathers actually sacrificed so future generations could have liberty.
I see too much dissention among our Nation. We argue and fight against ourselves and our interest groups that we believe in and forget that there is only one enemy, just as there was only one enemy way back in the beginning of America. I am not against fighting against injustice or against those who would abuse us to gain their own advantage. I think free speech (And all the rest of the Constitution) are noble and the best man can do given our evil and selfish nature. However, when you study carefully what the writers of our Declaration of Independence and Constitution were truly saying, you will notice (I hope) that they wanted all Americans to have the liberty and freedom to choose their own way of life, even if it was a bad life. The point is that we each as unique individuals have the right to decide our own destiny. And if that right of liberty is threatened we also have the right to fight against anyone or anything that tries to take it away.
Now, we as Christians (And America began that way) are told that we should submit to the authorities or turn the other cheek by our Lord Jesus. But, I submit, that in some cases that is not the right course of action. Even Jesus beat and threw out with anger those who defiled the Holy place in the Temple of God. He was no passivist. He came to bring a sword of truth to wake people up to the fact that only God Himself is the ruler and leader of the world (Including America). The early forefathers knew this fact and wrote our “Law of the Land” (Constitution) as a guide to follow for them and the future generations to return to the real King Jesus. Even one of the flags used during that day stated, (Sons of Liberty by George Washington, "An Appeal To Heaven" and “We have no King but Jesus”. (Look it up on Google if you don’t believe me).
Now, saying that I want to add that regardless of your religious convictions, the forefathers were wise enough to state that we are a Nation under God (Or our Creator). They believed in tolerance of all faiths and differing personal beliefs or lifestyles as long as those differences did not cause a break in UNITY. They knew from history that only a people who could remain in UNITY despite their individual differences (In any kind) could remain a Nation that would allow the Liberty to pursue life, freedom and happiness for each individual in the collective Nation. And that only that would allow us to remain unified against tyranny.
On another kind of weird note, I like the TV commercial that shows a former Marine drill Sergeant as a therapist. The commercial states, and I paraphrase, “Can a former drill Sergeant from the military be a good therapist?” and then he is shown telling a whining client, “Well, why don’t we go over to Nambe Pambie Land and get you some self-esteem!” (And throws a box of tissues at the client). I think it the funniest commercial (And accurate) concerning our spoiled and selfish self indulgent generation. (And I know that my colleagues may give me criticism for saying this!). Well, that's what freedom is all about according to men's best thinking. I will honor their right to their own opinions, I am also a veteran and a citizen of America and honor that priveledge too, even if I believe there is a better form of Government yet to come. God is seeing to that!
So for now, God bless America this 4th of July Holiday! Hope you all remember WHO gave us our freedom and what it cost. A friend of mine says that, "There are two defining forces that have ever offered to die for you, Jesus Christ and the American G.I., One died for your soul, the other for your freedom."
I believe that's worth thinking about this Independence Day!
Licensed Clinical Pastoral Counseling
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Going It Alone?
We Christians often think that it is sufficient just to pray, go to church on Sundays or have a Life or Bible study then just carry on as if God will provide and protect us from all harm or unpleasant circumstances. We think, after all that we are the chosen ones and are under His care in every and all life circumstances and will be favored and blessed due to our faith alone.
Well, that is not what the Lord speaks. We are only Christians because we have been called and chosen by God. We are not Christians because we have chosen to be Christians or because we are any better than anyone else in the world. We are humans like everyone on this planet and we are all miserable and evil by nature the same as everyone. The fact that some of us have been enlightened to the Truth of God by Jesus Christ is not because we have done anything special or are special in any way. Christians, real Christians are some of the most perverse and decadent and losers in all humanity. The fact that we can claim to be righteous in any way is not because we have the ability to do it. Far from it! We are given the opportunity to know God and His incarnate Son Jesus only because God has allowed some of us to know Him. It is true that God wants all people to know and worship and obey Him, but we cannot do it unless He Himself enters us in such a way as to make that possible.
In our clinic and home Church, we try to admit that we are all struggling to fight against the conformity of this world’s systems and against our own selfish desires. We admit that we are not worthy of God’s Awesome and undeserved pardon of Grace. In our counseling sessions we admit that we as counselors are in fact no better than our clients in that regard. It is true that we as elders, Pastors and counselors have a commission to carry the Gospel and are held accountable for telling the truth of God’s Love for people of salvation and free Pardon. But, at the same time we all well know that we too are merely faulty human beings who by some miraculous and inexplicable Divine intervention have been given the privilege and great responsibility of letting God’s Holy Spirit work with and through us for His good pleasure and not for our own recognition.
I and my colleagues are well aware that we are not really very important. We are aware that only God is important. Our Lord said, “Of myself I can do nothing, it is the Father who does the works.” And so, it is with me and us at our Flock of the Church of Jesus.
Too many people these days are following some pastor or leader or person in a group of so called Christians and do not realize that they are in fact lost and deceived about the true message of Christ. The truth is that Jesus is the Head of His Church (The Body of Believers) under the Father God and that the Holy Spirit determines with Christ who is a member and what each will do for the Father’s Glory and Honor and pleasure. We do not honor God by simply believing in Him or by just going to a building and talking about Him. We can only honor God by being in a personal relationship of honesty with Him and allowing Him through the mind and power of Christ Jesus to lead and show us how to grow in love for God alone. We are doing no good service for God by just playing the game of religion and then living our lives the way we think best. The plain truth is that we cannot live right unless God Himself has mercy on us and allows us to know and do what He wants.
Actually, I believe we have but only ONE choice in life. That One choice is simple, It is the choice to want God in our life or not. That is the only choice we really have and even that is a gift from God to us! All other so called choices are really self-centered ones that in some way will we hope give us what we want. What we want is always opposed to what God wants and so the miserable conditions exist in the world as we know them.
Let’s be honest. When you really analyze yourself, is not everything that we do hold an expectation for a return for us in our own favor? God in His mercy and love does not act that way toward us. He does not desire fairness over mercy. He desire first and foremost that we seek Him and learn to love Him as our friend and our sovereign creator. All else follows that first commandment.
Only God is Love (As the Apostle John says in 1 John) and God desires us to love Him above all else. It is only from that simple commandment for our good that He said it. We can never find favor with God as long as we seek to be independent and segregate ourselves in any way from Him or our fellows. There is not one holy or good person. All are guilty and condemned to die. And only because of the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ do we as condemned humans have a chance of eternal life.
The people that come to us for counseling often only need to hear the Words of God spoken exactly as they are written in the Holy Bible to find what help they need. It is our job to merely repeat what God has already spoken and then watch and witness what transpires. I am always amazed at what God can and will do in spite of me or my staff of counselors! It reminds me of the early Church and how only one or two true believers acting with God can in fact glorify God. We ourselves really do nothing alone.
The conventional so called churches today have “missed the mark” (One definition of Sin) by making a business of religion just as the Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes did two thousand years ago when Jesus was in the flesh among us. Jesus never subscribed to organized religion. In fact He always condemned it's rules and formalities. So why do we continue to build buildings and congregations and call ourselves Christians? Perhaps it is because we want to make our own brands of social acceptance and comfort? Who are we really fooling? And who are we really working for? If we are in fact true followers and disciples of Christ and the Father we will be about His business of working out in love what we believe in our hearts, be it with fellow believer's in a building or even better in the world carrying the "Great Commision". I believe that we must stop finding ways to segregate ourselves from others hiding in buildings. We must get down in the “trenches”, so to speak and stop pretending that as Christians we are so special we remain powerless to affect the world positively for God. Jesus went out of His way to show that only God is special. Jesus went amongst the outcasts of the world and befriended them, defended them, healed them and taught them THE Way back to a personal loving relationship with The Father God. We as humans (And He even stated as a man) are under the FATHER’s Grace and will. No one is good, no not one! Only God is good! We can become good with time and practice and holy if we abide there with Him daily. The Holy Spirit will see to that!
OK, so where does that leave us as individuals? It leaves us in a state of absolute helplessness apart from the undeserved grace of God. It states that we in no way can be good by any possible ideas or behavior that we do in any way. We are in fact rotten to the core! and often worse, we refuse to accept God's free offer throught Jesus and we suffer needlesly for our love of self; our own ideas and behaviors will destroy us and then we truly are loser's in life! But the Good News is that we do not have to be good nor can we be by any effort on our own. We cannot be good by nature. We only have to decide to choose to be on God's side and accept let Jesus’ sacrifice and free gifts to be really free and win! When we do that and believe God then God will take charge and direct our lives His way and for our best good. We do not need to make any more choices in regard to trying to be good enough. Only One choice is necessary and that is simply to decide to choose God and Jesus. After that God will do the rest for us and even in spite of our evil nature and bring us back to Him, to happiness and life forever no matter what happens after that. No matter what we prefer or think, we will be led and guided toward His ultimate and loving and perfect plan. When we start thinking too much about life and what we should be doing as individuals we only will confuse ourselves and Satan will be only too willing to assist us in that! So, lighten up and let the One and Only God and His Son Jesus Christ along with the Holy Spirit take control of your pitiful and egotistical and self serving life! Stop judging others or even yourself. Let God run your life and watch (Witness) what He can and will do! You do not need to be a member of any particular group or congregation to be His servant and friend! It is however, very helpful and even necessary if, and only if, you have the right attitude toward God. But, stop being a mindless follower of other people (Trying to please them or trying to look good to them or others) and start being a mindful follower of God by following His Son Jesus Christ in a personal relationship with Him! That is the ONLY way you will find relief from your restlessness, irritability and dissatisfaction in this world. True peace, forgivness, freedom, and salvation for eternity is yours free for the asking. Start reading your Holy Bibles, get with other followers of Jesus Christ and learn to know the Truth. Our way is not for sissies! But, it is the Right and True Way, the ONLY way to God is through Jesus! And It's FREE!
Well, that is not what the Lord speaks. We are only Christians because we have been called and chosen by God. We are not Christians because we have chosen to be Christians or because we are any better than anyone else in the world. We are humans like everyone on this planet and we are all miserable and evil by nature the same as everyone. The fact that some of us have been enlightened to the Truth of God by Jesus Christ is not because we have done anything special or are special in any way. Christians, real Christians are some of the most perverse and decadent and losers in all humanity. The fact that we can claim to be righteous in any way is not because we have the ability to do it. Far from it! We are given the opportunity to know God and His incarnate Son Jesus only because God has allowed some of us to know Him. It is true that God wants all people to know and worship and obey Him, but we cannot do it unless He Himself enters us in such a way as to make that possible.
In our clinic and home Church, we try to admit that we are all struggling to fight against the conformity of this world’s systems and against our own selfish desires. We admit that we are not worthy of God’s Awesome and undeserved pardon of Grace. In our counseling sessions we admit that we as counselors are in fact no better than our clients in that regard. It is true that we as elders, Pastors and counselors have a commission to carry the Gospel and are held accountable for telling the truth of God’s Love for people of salvation and free Pardon. But, at the same time we all well know that we too are merely faulty human beings who by some miraculous and inexplicable Divine intervention have been given the privilege and great responsibility of letting God’s Holy Spirit work with and through us for His good pleasure and not for our own recognition.
I and my colleagues are well aware that we are not really very important. We are aware that only God is important. Our Lord said, “Of myself I can do nothing, it is the Father who does the works.” And so, it is with me and us at our Flock of the Church of Jesus.
Too many people these days are following some pastor or leader or person in a group of so called Christians and do not realize that they are in fact lost and deceived about the true message of Christ. The truth is that Jesus is the Head of His Church (The Body of Believers) under the Father God and that the Holy Spirit determines with Christ who is a member and what each will do for the Father’s Glory and Honor and pleasure. We do not honor God by simply believing in Him or by just going to a building and talking about Him. We can only honor God by being in a personal relationship of honesty with Him and allowing Him through the mind and power of Christ Jesus to lead and show us how to grow in love for God alone. We are doing no good service for God by just playing the game of religion and then living our lives the way we think best. The plain truth is that we cannot live right unless God Himself has mercy on us and allows us to know and do what He wants.
Actually, I believe we have but only ONE choice in life. That One choice is simple, It is the choice to want God in our life or not. That is the only choice we really have and even that is a gift from God to us! All other so called choices are really self-centered ones that in some way will we hope give us what we want. What we want is always opposed to what God wants and so the miserable conditions exist in the world as we know them.
Let’s be honest. When you really analyze yourself, is not everything that we do hold an expectation for a return for us in our own favor? God in His mercy and love does not act that way toward us. He does not desire fairness over mercy. He desire first and foremost that we seek Him and learn to love Him as our friend and our sovereign creator. All else follows that first commandment.
Only God is Love (As the Apostle John says in 1 John) and God desires us to love Him above all else. It is only from that simple commandment for our good that He said it. We can never find favor with God as long as we seek to be independent and segregate ourselves in any way from Him or our fellows. There is not one holy or good person. All are guilty and condemned to die. And only because of the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ do we as condemned humans have a chance of eternal life.
The people that come to us for counseling often only need to hear the Words of God spoken exactly as they are written in the Holy Bible to find what help they need. It is our job to merely repeat what God has already spoken and then watch and witness what transpires. I am always amazed at what God can and will do in spite of me or my staff of counselors! It reminds me of the early Church and how only one or two true believers acting with God can in fact glorify God. We ourselves really do nothing alone.
The conventional so called churches today have “missed the mark” (One definition of Sin) by making a business of religion just as the Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes did two thousand years ago when Jesus was in the flesh among us. Jesus never subscribed to organized religion. In fact He always condemned it's rules and formalities. So why do we continue to build buildings and congregations and call ourselves Christians? Perhaps it is because we want to make our own brands of social acceptance and comfort? Who are we really fooling? And who are we really working for? If we are in fact true followers and disciples of Christ and the Father we will be about His business of working out in love what we believe in our hearts, be it with fellow believer's in a building or even better in the world carrying the "Great Commision". I believe that we must stop finding ways to segregate ourselves from others hiding in buildings. We must get down in the “trenches”, so to speak and stop pretending that as Christians we are so special we remain powerless to affect the world positively for God. Jesus went out of His way to show that only God is special. Jesus went amongst the outcasts of the world and befriended them, defended them, healed them and taught them THE Way back to a personal loving relationship with The Father God. We as humans (And He even stated as a man) are under the FATHER’s Grace and will. No one is good, no not one! Only God is good! We can become good with time and practice and holy if we abide there with Him daily. The Holy Spirit will see to that!
OK, so where does that leave us as individuals? It leaves us in a state of absolute helplessness apart from the undeserved grace of God. It states that we in no way can be good by any possible ideas or behavior that we do in any way. We are in fact rotten to the core! and often worse, we refuse to accept God's free offer throught Jesus and we suffer needlesly for our love of self; our own ideas and behaviors will destroy us and then we truly are loser's in life! But the Good News is that we do not have to be good nor can we be by any effort on our own. We cannot be good by nature. We only have to decide to choose to be on God's side and accept let Jesus’ sacrifice and free gifts to be really free and win! When we do that and believe God then God will take charge and direct our lives His way and for our best good. We do not need to make any more choices in regard to trying to be good enough. Only One choice is necessary and that is simply to decide to choose God and Jesus. After that God will do the rest for us and even in spite of our evil nature and bring us back to Him, to happiness and life forever no matter what happens after that. No matter what we prefer or think, we will be led and guided toward His ultimate and loving and perfect plan. When we start thinking too much about life and what we should be doing as individuals we only will confuse ourselves and Satan will be only too willing to assist us in that! So, lighten up and let the One and Only God and His Son Jesus Christ along with the Holy Spirit take control of your pitiful and egotistical and self serving life! Stop judging others or even yourself. Let God run your life and watch (Witness) what He can and will do! You do not need to be a member of any particular group or congregation to be His servant and friend! It is however, very helpful and even necessary if, and only if, you have the right attitude toward God. But, stop being a mindless follower of other people (Trying to please them or trying to look good to them or others) and start being a mindful follower of God by following His Son Jesus Christ in a personal relationship with Him! That is the ONLY way you will find relief from your restlessness, irritability and dissatisfaction in this world. True peace, forgivness, freedom, and salvation for eternity is yours free for the asking. Start reading your Holy Bibles, get with other followers of Jesus Christ and learn to know the Truth. Our way is not for sissies! But, it is the Right and True Way, the ONLY way to God is through Jesus! And It's FREE!
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