Talk About Love - Ninth chapter "Beginning the Transformation"

“TALK ABOUT LOVE" All original ideas are Copyright of Richard R Sjaardema, 7/21/2010. (I, Richard R Sjaardema invite you to share and copy this material with Copyright notatation and without charge.)

Table of Contents (this page only represents chapter 9. See the archives for chapters 1-8.
A. WHY BOTHER TALKING

1. What Is Man

2. Thou Art Holy

3. Preparing For Celebration

B. KNOWING YOUR BELIEF

1. His Story Positioning

2. Word of God

3. What is Truth

C. UNDERSTANDING GOD’S LOVE

1. God’s Spiritual Gifts

2. God’s Greatest Gift

3. Beginning The Transformation

BEGINNING THE TRANSFORMATION

If you are able, I would like you to get a paper and something to write with. On your paper, I would like you to draw two lines in the form of a cross (8” or 16cm line up and down crossed with a 4” or 8cm line across about 2” or 4cm from the top of the first line. Make sure the crossing line is half on one side and half on the other side of the center line.) Now, draw a circle around the base of the cross like a hole in the ground. On the left side place an S and on the right place an N, creating the word "SON" Above the Cross place the word "FATHER". Turn your paper sideways and write the word "HIS" above the post and "SPIRIT" below the post between the "SON" and the "FATHER". Turn your paper upright again and connect the two ends of the cross beam to the top of the cross and fill in the created triangle. If this has been done correctly, you have an arrow planted in the Son, with His Spirit pointing toward the Father. Through the death of His Son, the Father has granted access to each of us through His Spirit living and active in our world, drawing us closer to Him and to one another - or in some cases, causing more division if we imagine the Father's Love was only meant for us. He has provided the path for our personal and corporate salvation and you now act as an enlightened representative of His Kingdom and family here on earth. You have borne witness to a reunification between our Creator by His great Love through Christ's atonement and death on the cross. Your spiritual identity has been granted access to him through your identity as His Child and His Love as your Father. Your understanding and belief in this reality of your existence will allow you tremendous freedom as you find that Love, Joy, and Peace with Him and with one another as you praise His Holy Name, while remaining humble in the confession of your unworthiness and continued attempt to live a life of thanksgiving and service. (Isaiah 12:2, Exodus 15:2, Psalm 118:14, Luke 3:6). Underneath the triangular point of the arrow use a pencil and write CHR on the left and IST on the right. Through His sacrificial death, He has rejoined the family of God in unity! Christianity and all the other 'IST's and 'ISM's of our world will fade into one as we love our neighbors as ourselves and honor and point one another towards our One True God through Him who has broken down our egotistical walls of division and pride (Ephesians 2). Once you understand this, you can become one in Him with everything that is His and erase these divisions through focusing on the Love available to all of us as Christ desired. We just must believe in the power of His Love. Everything else is apart from that One Way arrow. We cannot turn away to the right nor to the left, we cannot help but go straight to Him. However, He will question us about our acts on this earth, especially those committed following our "enlightenment as we judge our fellowman.

So, with many words, we have come to a conclusion that Salvation – re-unification with the Father – is a free gift provided by God the Father – through the sacrificial lamb who was God the Father re-united with Man in the person of Jesus Christ who claimed “I and the Father are one.” “So, that’s it, right? I’m saved, you’re saved, and we’re all saved, Hallelujah! Now excuse me, I’ve got to get on with my life.”

Sorry, if you wish to live your life; you will have to quit blaming God for your problems. You are bound to live a Hell on Earth. The rest of scripture is asking you to flip your life around. You can keep dealing with trouble in your life (d’evil), but our Father promises to change all that if you are willing to live for Him! He gave His life for you, and He promises that if you will be born again – be a new creature – give your life to him - and to all that He has made, you will look back one day and have forgotten about d’evil, you will have truly LIVED! So, let’s get started, shall we!

First, let me ask you a few questions:

1. Do you believe God Loves You?

2. Do you believe that all men, including you, are flawed and incapable of re-uniting with God the Father without His Greatest Gift – Salvation for all man? In other words, will you admit that all human efforts have failed and caused further separation?

3. Will you accept that God the Father Himself provided the sacrificial lamb through that re-unification with all of humanity and divinity found in Jesus Christ and that His death on the cross paid the penalty for your sins and that of all of creation?

4. Are you ready to accept that free gift of Salvation and Give your life back to God, and love your neighbor as yourself - even going so far as to consider them more worthy than you?

If your answer to these questions was yes, I would like to recommend that you recommit your life to Him daily through a prayer such as the one below. Let’s call this the CoG’s prayer as you have now borne witness that you are a Child of God!

“Dear God, thank You for loving me so much that You paid the penalty for my sin so that I can spend eternity with You. I confess that I have sinned against You and your family! I humbly request Your forgiveness, knowing that you have cleansed me from all unrighteousness. Lord, I willingly offer You my life. Please use it for Your glory. Fill me, I pray, with Your Holy Spirit and help me to share Your Glory and this wonderful Good News with my fellow man in a way that brings them closer to you. I love You Father, Amen.”

Giving Your Life
Good and Bad

My guess here is we are still making this too difficult. My concern is that if we do not understand what this is all about, there is no way we can appropriately share the Love of God with our fellow man. My judgment is that through a lot of data, I have attempted to break down the walls of separation between us and bring the message of the gospel down to just one verse, John 3:16. But my feeling is that this message is still too broad for us to understand. My wish is that you would understand a simple but all encompassing reality.

Accept some wisdom from a middle aged man that has been forced to review his life. When I was a child, I happened to be the shortest guy in my class in school. A good friend chose to call me “lack-o-legs.” There was a young lady in my class who was looked down upon, but whose name closely resembled my own leading to another taunt from my peers. I was blessed with large teeth which did not fit in my mouth and were therefore on display for the world to see leading to the endearing chants of bucky, bucky, bucky. The morning bike rides to school allowed these headlights to collect an insect collection from time to time to display upon my arrival, yummy! The resulting staining from natures wear added injury to the taunts. Through her love for me, my mother challenged me to laugh with my friends – “they wouldn’t be teasing you if they didn’t love you!” What a wonderful memory, right? Why would anyone choose to bring up such pain to a middle aged man?

But your pain continues to this day. You can remember your earliest days. You ask a question that rings down through eternity calling insult on our Father above! “Why would a Good God let bad things happen to good people?” Although we have attempted to answer this, and many of us have already accepted God’s Greatest Gift of Salvation of our souls, the question is bound to continue to nag us. It’s time to lift up that cross and plant it in the earth. Lay your life down on the ground. Dig in deep! Lift the burden of the cross and plant it in that lifeless form you see on the ground. Take the soil of all of your experiences and pack them in around its base. Promise to God and to yourself that you will use all that has been and all that will come for His Glory. See Salvation for others through the pain and experiences of your own life. But at the same time, remember that you are now dead. Use your pain for your own healing and hope of a better life on the other side. Allow them to strengthen your faith and allow these seeds to bear fruit for eternity. Know that He can use all of your experiences to give you strength in weakness, joy in understanding, and compassion to meet one another’s needs – emotional, spiritual, and physical. You are experiencing the University of Life through your experiences. He knew you before you were knit together in your Mother’s womb. He structured your life and its experiences in the hope that you would find your need and desire for Him. He asks that you would use your experiences to help your fellow man. Although you can be dead to self and live for eternity, you are grounded in the earth of your experiences. Be a compassionate listener to the needs of your fellow man and find that the strength and experiences that have made you who you are give you the ability to offer them this same hope, faith, and Love which you have found.

Find that drawing you had earlier of the arrow pointing man to God. This is still too impersonal. Below the word "SON", place your name. Believe just that first part of John 3:16 before you move on. I need you to give your life to God. If you need to, go and look in a mirror and state the following paragraph over and over until you believe it. Commit it to memory and repeat it whenever you are in doubt. Give Him everything and allow Him to use it for His glory. Find Him! Seek Him! Forgive Him! Know Him! Love Him! Serve Him! Understand Him! Go to Him!

For God so loved you! For God so loved you! For God so loved you! For God so loved you! For God so loved you! For God so loved You! will you give Him your life and feed his lambs - his 'loveless' orphans and widows? And all those who need that extra touch from His Love! You don't need to go around the world, start by feeding those people within your grasp, and thereby allow yourself to be fed by them.

It is time to understand the old in light of the new! This old paper we have been working with must now be discarded. It is time to pull out a new slate and understand all that is from a new perspective. It is through an understanding of the truth of God’s Greatest Gift that we might find the desire to live in a brand new way! Thankfully, he has shown us the how and promises to be with us along the way. Although I am speaking, you must hear him in spite of the words I use or the examples I present. However, I do wish you to do the following exercise with me.

Do you have that new, clean piece of paper in front of you? Near the bottom, I would like you to place a circle about 1” or 1cm in diameter. Now, coming out of that circle, draw a line about 8” or 8cm high. 3” down, place the 4” or 4cm line as you did before and complete the triangle as we did in our previous exercise, but do not fill it in. Inside that triangle, place the word I with the word AM below it – all in capital letters. Above this arrow, place the word Father. At the base, on both sides of the circle, complete the word SON as in the earlier diagram. If you have done this right, you now have an arrow again planted in the son pointing to the Father with the words I AM in the triangle.

Now, look upon this new creation and follow this breathing exercise with me. As you breath in deep, hear the Father claiming “I Am your Father”. Now exhale and state the words “I am your son”. Do this over and over until you understand its implications. Use it as you go to sleep. Place this paper in a place where you can remember these words whenever you see it. Allow it to become your mantra for the remainder of your life. Understand this message in all of your relationships from this time forward. You are the son of God! Your purpose in life is to point others to the Father. He asks for all of you! If you have trouble with the word son, listen to these passages from the Bible:

Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus (God the Father). And if you are Christ’s (God’s), then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

Matthew 5:9; “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Ok, I’m stuck here again wanting to share so much more than what I am going to, so I must challenge you again to read the Bible every day. Now, if you are able, read Romans 8 regarding this new life in the Spirit. I am only going to focus on verse 14: “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”

John 1:12 states “But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God.

Now, you may find that your past is making this relationship difficult. Many of our earthly fathers have not set the greatest example of what this relationship is like. Other experiences in your life may be causing interference. Therefore, I would like you to exercise your demons so that you can obtain the promise. If you need help in this exercise, find it! Go to your nearest church and ask for help! If you do, bring this chapter so that they can understand the experience of transformation you are going through. Understand, if they reject this message of love and acceptance you have received from our Father, find a different counselor. This may even be true in some Christian churches.

Again, this is a spiritual battle – but you now have a Father and a host from Heaven willing and capable of helping you destroy your demons to protect you, His son. Let’s use an example from the life of Israel given to us as they, like us, prepare to enter into the Promised Land. Grab your battle gear of faithfulness and celebrate your victory with your host from heaven – you can call on them whenever you find yourself in need. Think upon your demons or individuals or emotions that keep you from accepting the love of God the Father. Pray to Him about them. Write them down if you will. Prepare to claim your victory upon them. Understand, that as many of our demons have been caused by individuals and circumstances throughout our lives, these are not the human individuals themselves, but only the demons left behind. The individuals represented by our demons are but humans haunted by their own demons, just like you. These now are your demons, your memories. These are beings of spiritual darkness that reside in your soul keeping you from being the man or woman – the son of God – that God your Father wants you to be. Confess your weakness and ask that you might find forgiveness for the human beings or experiences that caused these demons in the first place. Pray that they too might find the freedom you are about to experience and enter this battle ground in your spirit. Prepare yourself to believe that your demons will flee from you as you choose to resist them. God has promised that you shall defeat them and can bury them once and for all. Enter this battle from Joshua 16:16-27 in prayer, for it was placed in the Holy Bible in representation of your victory. This, now is your battle…

As you go out, hear the words of Moses in Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear or be in dread of them: for it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you.” Now, enter your battle;

Capture the rulers of your darkest demons on sheets of paper. Give them specific names and present them before God through prayer and meditation. Hear God state to the host of heaven; “Put them out of his site and place a guard on them. (But you - do not stop praying!) Host of Heaven, Help him to pursue all of his bad memories and those enemies that would keep him from understanding my love. Capture them as they scatter due to the capture of their rulers. Do not allow them to once again put up residency in his mind so that he might be able to enter my kingdom and accept my love and choose to be my beloved son. For I AM his Father. Because of my love for Him, I shall give him victory this day. Bring them to him one by one and allow him to put them to death.”

As a prince in God’s army, you have been given a sword of forgiveness and a helmet of understanding and a shield of love. As your memories come to mind, destroy them. Through the power which is yours through God your Father, pierce them through with your sword of forgiveness. The darkness of their mortal life within your mind will be ended today, for you have become a son of God. Through your helmet of salvation, their reign of terror keeping you from the Promised Land shall meet a very great slaughter as you will now be able to see your fellow man as nothing more than a fellow helpless creature in need of salvation. Pursue the dark nature of your memories and wipe them out. Release them back to the earth from whence they came. Destroy them all. If you are unable to destroy some of them, bind them up and bring them back before the throne of God.

Now hear God thunder; “Bring out His demons.” Bring out your demons which you wrote on paper before your battle. With your demons lying on the ground before you, Hear God’s command: “Place your foot on the necks of these. Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and of good courage; for thus I AM God your Father and I will do this to all your spiritual enemies against whom you fight.” Go, smite them! I command you to destroy these and all those memories you have brought to me bound! Destroy them. Put them out of your mind. If you must, hang their dead carcass where you can consider their worthless bodies for a day, but then, rip them up – burn them – bury them back in the earth once and for all and do not let them come between us again. Place a stone in memory of their death to remind you that never again shall they come between you and me, for I AM your Father and you are My son in whom I am well pleased. This day, you have been born again and we have begun a relationship which I have desired from the moment of your first birth. Never leave me again – for I have never left you – I love you and I have called you my own. Welcome Home my child, my love!

Nothing else can compare with this relationship you have entered. Listen to Gods word:

Romans 8:37-39a: “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God”

Hebrews 13:5-6 “keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, “I will never fail you or forsake you.” Hence we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid; what can man do to me?”

I Samuel 12:22-24; “For the Lord will not cast away His people, for His great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for Himself. Moreover as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you; and I will instruct you in the good and the right way. Only fear the Lord, and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you.”

Jesus (the firstborn of many brethren (Romans 8:29)) words in John 10:27-29; “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

This truly is a relationship that will last from a Father who loves you, desires you, cares for you, died for you, lives for you, and claims you are my son in whom I am well pleased.

Gravity of Spirituality

Son of God; as I have mentioned several times before, your spiritual gravity must be firmly rooted in the truth revealed by God the Father. You dare not trust your own mind. The things I share with you here come through much study, prayer, and desire to share the truth of God. However, I must confess that I am but a human and my understanding shall continue to build until I leave this mortal body. Therefore, if you question what you read, by all means, bring it to the Father – search His word – talk about it with another child of God whom you love and respect. I have faith that if together we seek the Father, He promises to come with you and commune with you and show you the light. I am certain that following the publication of this book, I will wish I had written many things differently and that I will learn much more from many of you. That being stated, I am on a spiritual journey with you and we must continue:

“The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back.” (Isaiah 50:4-5)

These words touched my soul in my devotions this morning as I prepared to share more with you about the Love of God. Indeed, the sermon and praise I was able to partake of in church with fellow believers and the opportunity to serve in ministry this week gave me tremendous insights and purpose in my own Spiritual life. The words I have been forced to memorize as a member of the choir have always become real and personal! The conversations I have had with my wife, children, and brothers and sisters in my daily walk have been touched by the hand of God. The music I have listened to on the radio, although I have heard most of it before continues to provide inspirational messages throughout my days. I am left in a continual state of Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control – all the gifts I have been promised by walking in the Spirit. Perhaps you sense them. Perhaps you desire them. Perhaps they make you sick – if so – so sorry – as Tony would say “They’re Great!”

I do not say this to you to carry an air. In fact, I believe it would be good to mention again that I am no better than you. As we mentioned in the last section, in this family there is a Father and there are sons. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither male nor female; neither Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, or Christian! We are all brethren in the Lord. We have become brothers with one another, with Paul and John, with Peter, Isaiah, Moses, and Adam. The Bible claims the firstborn of our brethren was Jesus Christ – the sacrificial lamb. (Romans 8:29) It is only fitting then that as the Israelites followed a custom of sacrificing the firstborn - and sanctified the firstborn with a birthright - that Jesus, as a bruise to their very ego in being their own Rabbi, was sacrificed for our sanctification and that He received the birthright. This does not mean one brother cannot mentor another brother. Although there may be earthly offices within the Kingdom of God on earth, we all have equal access to our Heavenly Father. The strength and abundance of our spiritual gifts will depend greatly on our own personal investment of time, yet, that investment carries tremendous rewards for you as you live this life and minister in His name.

I must tell you, when I began this book, I did not realize quite where it was leading. However, I realize now what wonderful news this is that you have accepted God’s Greatest Gift through Jesus Christ and that God now resides in you! You have become a son of God. You have joined in the mission of Christ. You and the Father are one. As with the Jews concerning Jesus, you may consider this to be blasphemy, but hear his response to this accusation in John 10:34-35: “Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came (and scripture cannot be broken), do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, I am the Son of God’? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”

This promise is now yours! I challenge you to believe it with all your heart, with all your soul, and with your entire mind! Listen to the old law Jesus referred. The Israelite nation has been singing this song and committing it to memory for thousands of years, but today I ask that they with you might understand these words as our brother Jesus did. Hear the words of the Psalmist from Psalm 82:6-8; “I say, “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, you shall die like men, Arise, O God, judge the earth; for to thee belong all the nations!”

And now, let me bring you into Isaiah and hear the words of the Father regarding the Son’s work in His Kingdom – You now lay claim to these words – for you are a son of God the Father! Isaiah 49:5 “And now the Lord says – he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob (the deceiver, who grasped his brother's heel) back to him and gather Israel (who has wrestled with God in a symbolism of all men) to himself, for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord and my God has been my strength – he says: ‘It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” This is what the Lord says – the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel – to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: Kings will see you and rise up, princes will see and bow down, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

If you have accepted God’s Greatest Gift of Salvation through His sacrificial atonement for your sins through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, you have become a new creation. You have accepted an invitation back into the Garden and have been allowed to partake of the tree of life. Your life never has to be the same (although it certainly can be)! The truth of this teaching has been difficult to understand and many have left the faith or misunderstood. Jesus spoke these words following a miraculous feeding of over 5000 people with 5 loaves of bread and two fish. A mob was forming and Jesus was concerned that many were following Him only because of the miracles and the free food. The people brought up the idea of bread by stating in John 6:32 that Moses had provided Manna, so what could Jesus do. He had responded that God had provided the manna and in keeping within the subject of bread, Jesus referred to Himself as the true bread from Heaven that God the Father sent to give life to the world.

Now imagine, reference to the tree of life, as you listen to Jesus words from John 6:47-51; “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down from heaven that a man may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

This was a hard teaching then, and perhaps it is still a hard teaching for you now. My understanding is that Jesus was foretelling the fact that His flesh would be beaten, bruised, and given over to death in the sacrificial atonement for our sins – and that by his wounds, we have been healed! We have received eternal life. In participating in the sacrament of Holy Communion, I don’t know how many Christians recognize this idea of accepting God’s Greatest Gift of eternal life. Meanings within denominations vary greatly.

I hope that in reading many of the Bible passages shared in this book, you are receiving a hunger for the Holy word of God. As I can hear our Father speaking so clearly through these ancient writings with words that make so much sense in a world of growing confusion regarding religiosity, I trust that you will recognize the need for daily devotions. In a world where everyone seems to have an opinion and desire to share their spiritual identity, I hope and pray that this book might help start a spiritual revival in our global mindset to return to the oldest of books and listen to God as through His love He has provided so much instruction for joyful living. Hear His call from Isaiah 48:17-18;

“Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: ‘I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go. O that you had hearkened to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river and your righteousness like the waves of the sea”

I have seen many believers who are overwhelmed by the turmoil of life, and I have seen the unfaithful appear unscathed. In my own life, I have found that although there is turmoil, I have found strength in the joy of the Lord. Some speak of the struggle to be spiritual. Perhaps they are attempting to gain God’s favor through righteousness. Perhaps they have not felt the love of God in their lives and serve the Lord from a position of fear. Fear of God’s wrath like a little child expecting discipline or fear of some pending doom, again, based on God’s wrath.

Somehow, wrath is not the message I am receiving from Scripture. Somehow, wrath is not the message emanating from Christian music today. Somehow, I think many of us are receiving a wrong message. Somehow I think we’re stuck in the wars and devastation of the old testament and missing the point that Christ’s last words on the Cross were “It is Finished!” Eternal Life has arrived! The Kingdom of God has come back to earth and is active among us and we are serving in it today! This is a message of hope! Love! Peace! And Joy! Seriously, my brothers, the Joy of the Lord shall be thy strength and you shall mount up on wings like eagles, you shall walk and not faint! You will not grow weary in sharing this good news of Salvation from The Lord Your Father – Your Redeemer – The Holy One!

As we experience a Christian concert or Spiritual conference, don’t we sense a presence of Victory in Jesus? Don’t we stand on His promises that He will defeat our enemies? Do we have the faith to believe He will bring the host of heaven to fight our battles? Listen to a description of our battles from the Holy Bible;

“Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (Ephesians 6:11-13)

As you define your faith, do not let go of the Father’s hand. Stand firm in the word of God that you might be able to discern wisdom from foolishness. As you question how a good God can allow bad things to happen to good people, find your answers in His word.

I am an opponent of fear based theology and salvation by righteousness. The data I have shared in this book so far is that God Loves You! All men experience separation from God which is manifest in d’evil in our lives. God’s Greatest Gift was his personal atonement for your sins through the Lamb of God which was God Himself in the person of Jesus Christ. I have stated that you are saved by His grace – no ifs ands or buts! I have claimed that the rest of the Bible is God’s directions for peaceful and healthy living - Live according to the recommendations and find peace and happiness in spite of turmoil or rebel against the recommendations and suffer the consequences of your actions. But, unfortunately, I could be totally off base.

You must search the scriptures and find out for yourself. But I believe I have shown that the Bible is trustworthy and has stood up under scrutiny now since ancient history – for a period of over 1000 years greater than any other Holy Book. All the stories, instruction, oracles, promise, and spiritual awareness can and should be trusted – and God indeed has spoken to you through scripture. He has claimed that His is the only way of salvation – given to you as a free gift! I hope, as you accept His Love and appreciate that you are a son of God that through the resulting joy of this revelation, you will find the desire to seek Him where He can be found – and not only from some crazy voice in the crowd spelling gloom and doom for all of mankind in the name of our Holy Loving Father - God!

This is indeed the gravity of spirituality I pray you might find in your life. Be rooted in the word – it is extremely important for your spiritual life and it will cause amazing changes in your ability to cope with the physical and spiritual dimensions of your existence. I have found few religious teachers who do not bear false witness of this God of Love.  To often, God's wrath, which lasts only a moment is used in characterizing our fellowman as going to hell.  I have dealt with that subject in the following link:
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwiki.answers.com%2FQ%2FDoes_the_devil_exist_in_the_world_or_not%3Fsms_ss%3Dfacebook&h=a4fc8

Therefore, learn from Him! He has proved to be an awesome teacher for me. Offer your talents within His Kingdom as you join in worship with His family. Don't expect to find the right answers anywhere than what he speaks to you through your new understanding of His word. Read it through your eyes which have been blessed by His Love witnessed so well through John 3:16-17. You will find spiritual blessing as you reach out to reunite His family in peace. This is indeed His mission given to us. Be involved – be faithful – bask in His glory.

Do not only check in for what you might get out of spirituality, but invest in spirituality because our world needs a brother or sister like you. If you have understood this message, get up off your bed of troubles and live! Quit dealing with d’evil and make sense of your life! Find your purpose and blessing in God’s plan for how you will be able to use your free gifts for life eternally! Start living today and start sharing God’s love with your fellow man. You will be amazed how much better life feels when you wake up energized with joy, hope, and purpose instead of a headache, nausea, and yet another broken dream or guilt trip – but maybe you’re so far gone, you’re numb.

“I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2

Join in singing with Moses, Isaiah, and the Israelites as we sing: “The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation;”(Exodus 15:2, Psalm 118:14, Isaiah 12:2)

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1)

“I have laid up thy word in my heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11)

“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.” Psalm 27:4)

“Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name; worship the Lord in holy array” (Psalm 29:2)

“he said to them, ‘Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength’…And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.” Nehemiah 8:10-12

Listen now to Colossians 1:9-23; “And so, from the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, to lead a life worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:9-14) (we will continue this passage in a moment.)

As a final note of this section, let me challenge you. As you pray for the salvation of your loved ones, do not fear that God might not answer affirmatively; Believe He already did. Go love them and be loved by them in His glorious name! There is much good to be appreciated in all of His children, just look for it and listen to their faith. Its there!

Kingdom of God

“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the lands! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord is God! It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him, bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures for ever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” (Psalm 100)

As I consider sharing with you some thoughts on the Kingdom of God, let me define my parameters as they are continually increasing and I hesitate to speak of their vast scope in the concern that I do not fully understand. I have come to believe that the good news of salvation is for all mankind. However, I am beginning to see it as all of creation! I have seen plenty of hell on earth and weeping and gnashing of teeth as man lives in separation from God. Yet, as we have discussed, He has redeemed all of creation! No longer is there a need to sacrifice animals – indeed this practice has virtually ended in the earth. Psalm 50:9-11 states: “I will accept no bull from your house, nor he-goat from your folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the air, and all that moves in the field is mine.” Remember, brother, we are heirs of all that is.

Let’s return to Paul’s letter to the Colossians where we left off in the last section. Hear the words of Colossians 1:15-23; “He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation; for in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities – all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be pre-eminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

And you, who once were estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him, provided that you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which has been preached to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.”

I feel quite confident in telling you that every part of creation that you hoped would be in heaven – will be! Hallelujah? Amen!

But, I don’t mean to be that broad in discussing the “Kingdom of God” with you now. I also am not in any way thinking of military might – for we have all seen the destructive nature and accusations that type of behavior has brought on our Heavenly Father from all of our earthly kingdoms of religiosity. I am speaking of men and women who recognize the truth and are prepared to go about redeeming our creation and destroying the demons – the spiritual realm – the great spiritual empires representative by the prides of leviathan - the demons of darkness which have caused divisions amongst us and have separated us from our Loving Redeemer – our mutual Loving Heavenly Father for far too long. For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against d’evil’s spiritual realm. Indeed, our final battle shall be held against this army in a final victory below the victory Elijah witnessed against false religions thousands of years ago. For after his victory, Elijah looked into the valley of Jezreel and saw a small cloud rising that became a storm! We too shall fill the valley of Jezreel, the valley of Armageddon as arm in arm we sing the praises of God our Father in a unity of oneness with all of creation looking on as we defeat d’evil’s host once and for all in the true battle which shall end all battles as we are joined with the host of Heaven itself. But understand, that’s just how I see it!

I'm guessing this peace must begin as always, with Israel as they wrestle with the truth, love their neighbors as themselves, and quit coveting everything that is their neighbor's, or indeed, their brother's.

I hope you will join me in claiming the writing of Moses as our own as we set out to reclaim our heritage! Exodus 19:5-6; “if you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my own possession among all peoples; for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”

We are not out to battle against the kingdoms of this world; we are called to reclaim them. We will serve the Lord with gladness by serving our families, our neighborhoods, our cities, villages, states, nations, world, all of creation with praise, thanksgiving, honor, and gladness! Our God reigns and He will make this possible. He will go before us and pave the way. We will only serve to complete the good works that he has prepared beforehand. The world stands ready to accept the Kingdom of God as it has been unable to do until this day. We will accomplish the work of the Lord by following all of the guidelines he has given us from the ancient of days.

I have referred to the children of God as CoGs. and it is time to explain this vision (my idea, mind you for which I am sure to be chastised) from Ezekiel: I am expecting CoGs to come from the four corners of the earth. From Christianity, From Judaism, From Islam, From Hinduism and all others through association. If you will, consider this picture of the Children of God as we work with the heavenly realm in reclaiming God’s creation: Ezekiel 1:15-28; Whatever branch of the Kingdom of God you come from, please be willing to listen to one another and allow Our Creator's Spirit to touch each one of our lives through a greater understanding of one another with the faith that there are not competing gods, only competing religions.  It is my firm belief that there is One God and Father of us all - and if we seek Him through loving one another, He promises that we will find Him.  Learning to Love is our mission on earth to prepare for Heaven. This seems to be a current theme in all of our faiths, doesn't it?

“Now as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel upon the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them. As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of a chrysolite; and the four had the same likeness, their construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel. When they went, they went in any of their four directions without turning as they went. The four wheels had rims and they had spokes; and their rims were full of eyes round about. And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. Wherever the spirit would go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

Over the heads of the living creatures there was the likeness of a firmament, shining like crystal, spread out above their heads. And under the firmament their wings were stretched out straight, one toward another; and each creature had two wings covering their body. And when they went, I heard the sound of their wings like the sound of many waters, like the thunder of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of a host; when they stood still, they let down their wings. And there came a voice from above the firmament over their heads; when they stood still, they let down their wings.

And above the firmament over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness as it were of a human form. And upward from what had the appearance of his loins I saw as it were gleaming bronze, like the appearance of fire enclosed round about; and downward from what had the appearance of his loins I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness round about him. Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of brightness round about.

Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.” (Ezekiel 1:15-28)

So, what does that mean? I am not prepared to tell you, but faith tells me that our next steps will be given us clearly by our Heavenly Father. I intend to follow that lead by staying in tune with His Spirit! Seeking Him where He may be found and inviting all those whom the Lord brings before me to become His hands and feet - CoGs in the wheels – eyes from our vision. Keep alert – Keep focused – Keep your eyes and ears in tune with the will of God the Father and test insights for yourselves through the most ancient of Human documents which was handed down by God our Father. Continue to honor him with singing and worship in the Joy of your Salvation. Continually come before His throne with praise and thanksgiving and seek His blessing upon you. You will receive it.

Let me share a few words of caution as we set out to change the world to refocus us on following the will of the Father – these also give us a great place to start changing our world.

James 3:13-18; (James was a leader in the first church in Jerusalem) “Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good life let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This wisdom is not such as comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, and devilish. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without uncertainty or insincerity. And the harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

James 1:26; “If any one thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this man’s religion is vain. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world." I have considered orphans and widows in this spiritual context to be those who do not know the Love available from our Father. Share with and care for them, feed them.

Micah 6:8 “He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God”

Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew 6:9-13 saying something like this – read it for yourself from your own translation

“Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name! Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven! Give us this day our daily Bread and forgive us our sins as we have forgiven others. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from d’evil! For Thine is the Kingdom! And Thine is the Power! And Thine is the Glory! Forever and Ever! Amen!

I call on all who are guilty of killing - abortion - war - neglect - hate. I tell you that you are blessed in the Name of the Father who Loves you - and in the name of the Son who is this same God who gave his life for you - and in the name of the Holy Spirit who is this same God who is with you even now and shall be with you till the end of the age. He has forgiven your sins and you have been washed as white as snow through the blood of this God with whom you have been in communion. Now, go in His Love and sin no more. Learn from Him this power of the gospel of redemption and peace and spread His word to the ends of the earth. He shall go with you as we redeem all of our creation together and bring it into His light.

In gratitude for His Greatest Gift of your Salvation, doesn’t it just feel right to Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with your entire mind? This indeed was His first and greatest commandment. Perhaps through this reading, you have found that it is also ok to love yourself as He loves you and work at redemption in your own life. The second commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself.

Are you motivated? Don’t forget to take your daily vitamins (read, pray, listen). Through our Father’s leading, let’s work together and go and change our world!

For further reading: Deuteronomy 6:1-25, Ephesians 2, The Holy Word of God.

You may also witness more of my personal Bible Study and thoughts through the following links;

http://www.facebook.com/pages/One-Year-Bible-Blogging/322591628956?ref=ts

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1074381442

You can also research my Bible Commentaries in the archives of this blogsite. As yet, Our Father has not granted that I be published in print. Allow me to refer you back to His book! It's so much better.