Month: May 2019

Have you ever told a little white lie and then have it snowball into a continuing fabrication that can last the rest of your life?

It’s hard once you have told a lie to backtrack from it. It may be possible if you do so soon and just say you were mistaken. If you wait too long, the loss of face that could ensue by telling the truth would be very difficult for most individuals to deal with. You would be telling everyone that you were a bald-faced liar.

When you lie and people find out about it, you lose the trust of those individuals. Frankly, no one likes a liar and, certainly, everything a proven liar says thereafter becomes suspect.

There is a case that has been covered extensively in the popular media where a celebrity was given a pass by the prosecution and had their record sealed. That should have been the end of it but, instead, the individual and lawyers went on media afterwards to give their version of the case at hand.

Their statement flies in the face of everything that is known about it. The problem is, by continuing to talk about it, the individual has lost their position of wanting to keep the record and information sealed from the general public. A judge has just ruled that on that basis, the records should be unsealed and made public.

Who knows what the record will show? It may completely exonerate the celebrity or, it may show that person to be a liar.

If the former, the individual will be vindicated. If the latter, the individual will be shown to be a liar. Will there be repercussions? We may soon find out.

In life, when you tell a lie or a fib and continue to do so, what you are really doing is sinning. You might say, but my lie is only a little white one! I fudged my grade average on my resume. I claimed minority status based on a ridiculously small amount of minority blood or, simply none at all. Who is getting hurt by this? Why would God even care about something that doesn’t hurt anyone at all.

Well, it hurts you. Once you start lying, it becomes easier and easier to continue to lie. Your lies can grow until it is difficult for even you to know what is true and what is not true.

With God, all things we do to break his rules are equal in terms of sin. Telling the truth was so important, God included it in the Ten Commandments. There is no little white lie with God. False witness (or lying) is a sin. A sin is a sin is a sin. All sins are punishable by eternal separation from God.

God is holy, just and true. He cannot have sin in his presence. It just simply cannot be allowed. The original sin by Adam, in the Garden of Eden, broke mankind’s relationship with God. If you think that somehow, you have never sinned and you are somehow better than Adam was, think again. By that very thought, you are lying and, therefore, sinning.

If we are all broken and sinners and doomed to eternal separation from God and to spend eternity in Hell, what in the world can we do to fix this?

There is nothing you, by your own efforts, can say or do that will remedy and repair your relationship with God. There are no good works, there are no amount of repetitious prayers, there is simply nothing we can do on our own that will even allow us to enter any sort of relationship with God. We are doomed to be under bondage to Satan, the author of lies, death and destruction.

However, the good news is that there is a way to fix this. Jesus, the son of God, came to earth to live a sinless life, to give us lessons on how we are to live, to give up his life as a sacrifice to cover all of mankind’s sins, and finally, to rise again after death, showing that God is more powerful than Satan.

By his own power as the Son of God, Jesus resurrected himself. He conquered sin and death by his freely given death on the cross and his rise from death. He did so for each of us. It is his free gift to each of us.

All you have to do is accept his gift, which is a pardon for all of your sins. Acknowledge him as God and ask him to direct your life through the Holy Spirit. Ask him to help you live the type of life that he wanted and told us to do.

He knows we will fail from time to time. Repent and, once again, begin to live for God. All Christians have doubts about God from time to time. It is Satan whispering in your ear and filling your mind with his lies. When that happens, ask God to push those thoughts away and ask him to help you with your doubts and disbelief.

Lies are sins and are no better or worse than any other sin in God’s eyes. Sins are where your separation from God stems from. If you want to live for God, confess those sins and ask Jesus to help you.

Exodus 20:1-17

And God spoke all these words: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

“You shall have no other gods before me.

“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.

You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand [generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments.

“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.

For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

“You shall not murder.

“You shall not commit adultery.

“You shall not steal.

“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Our church members were asked what question they would ask of God, if they could speak with him directly and get an answer. The overwhelming first choice of questions was a variation on theme. Essentially, the question was, “Why do bad things happen in this world.”

This is a stumbling block for people who are seeking to know God. They have problems believing in a God who allows things such as hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, and any other sort of natural disaster. They also have issues with why God would allow individuals to hurt or kill innocent people and animals.

Apparently, it is a big issue with Christians as well. I never knew that before. I came to terms with this issue when I accepted Jesus and started reading the Bible. The explanation is there but it is one that most people do not want to accept.

Such individuals remind me of my children when they were young. I would make a statement, such as you cannot do this or go there. They would ask “Why?” I would attempt to give the answer and when I was done, they would ask “Why?” once again. It could go on for what seemed like forever and finally, I did what my mother did and answered, “Because I said so.”

God is like that. He has given answers to this question and still we ask why. The ultimate answer is because he said so. He says it in his Word to us, which is the Bible.

So, back to the issue. Why? Simply put, because mankind sinned. Man was given a wonderful and perfect world and was given one rule to obey. He was told that if he broke that rule, he would die. He broke the rule and not only did he die spiritually, physical death entered the world. It entered it for mankind and for the rest of the planet.

I suspect that the entire universe is falling apart because of our sin. Scientists talk about the universe expanding at a faster and faster rate. It seems like it is coming apart at the seams. Here on this planet, disasters and evil doings are happening with more and more frequency. While there are some who are still in denial, many individuals are beginning to feel that the destruction of the planet is within the grasp of mankind.

However, when you give this explanation to people who are asking the question, most will come back with, then why are the innocents suffering? They didn’t do anything to deserve what has happened to them. Sadly, that is true. However, the destruction of this world is not in the hands of God.

Man was given dominion over the world and everything else. When he broke the one rule, he choose Satan over God and, in doing so, gave his rule of this world over to Satan. Satan is evil, he is the one who is bent upon bringing destruction, pestilence and all kinds of evil to this world.

Satan knows that Jesus defeated him on the cross and conquered death when he rose to life again. He knows that his time is limited, though like us, he doesn’t know the day or the hour when Jesus is going to return and rule over the planet as King. Only God, the father, knows when that will happen.

However, like us, Satan also can sense that that day is coming closer. Because of that, he is stepping up his evil plan to destroy mankind and the rest of creation in an effort to show God how powerful he is and to drag as much of mankind with him down into the pits of hell.

Because of Satan’s knowledge, we see more and more evil and destructive natural disasters. We also see fewer and fewer people caring about one another. They are becoming less and less like Jesus and more and more like Satan. They are caring for themselves first without regard to people or society. It is like we are breeding more and more sociopaths daily. As long as they themselves are happy, who cares about anyone else?

In the end, the answer to the question of “Why do bad things happen?” is that man sinned. With that sin, everything evil began and continues and will do so until God creates a new heaven and new earth. The old one is broken and rather than leave us in brokenness, God will create Earth again as pristine.

Just like in the Garden of Eden, with one major difference. This time, the people who will live there will have chosen to follow Jesus. They will have repented of their sins and tried to live as he wanted them to live.

At that time, there will be no more pain, no more suffering, and no more sin. It is a wonderful future to look forward to. However, we live in the here and now. While we cannot stop disasters from happening, we can step forward and help those who have been hurt and who are suffering.

Jesus called us to love our neighbors and to help those who are in need of help. Look to the future but remember to help and pray for others in the present. Also, in showing your love, be sure to share of love of Jesus if the individual(s) are open to hearing about his love and sacrifice.

Revelation 21:1-4

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

I wonder how many of us really know our neighbors. Certainly not me. When we lived in LA, I didn’t know any one else except for those who rented units in our triplex. Even at that, I had only become friendly with just one family. The last I had seen of them was back in the early 1980s. Other than that family, I spoke with others only casually in passing or when an issue arose.

My neighbors to either side? On one side was an apartment building and the renters came and went. On the other side was an elderly lady who only rarely spoke to us and when she did, it was to complain about this or that, including the feral cats that lived close by. She was convinced that as we had cats, it was somehow our fault when the feral ones arrived.

That was pretty much it. Mind you, I lived in this building for close to thirty years. That’s a long time to go without being neighborly.

When we moved to Texas, I figured that neighbors would be friendly. In Austin, that turned out to not be the case. Of course, we gained a bad reputation by doing fairly extensive renovations (repairs really) to the house that we had just purchased. That, plus the fact that we were from California, put us on the outside looking in.

I pretty much sealed our doom as neighbors when I took exception to the neighborhood children using the front of our yard to use skateboards to leap multiple yards out into the street. Our front yard was raised three and a half feet above the sidewalk with a stone retaining wall. All I could think of was that the children would get hurt. They would jump high and then far out into the street and into the path of cars.

So I asked them to stop. When they didn’t, my husband asked. They still did not. So he took pictures of the children so we could find their parents and tell them what was happening.

As it happens, that did stop them. However, the next time I was out tending my yard, a neighbor pulled up and started berating me for invasion of privacy, stalking children and generally being means spirited as the woman who had owned our house previously had let the neighborhood children run wild on her property.

I then asked which of the children were hers. She told me none of them were. So, I asked, why am I wasting my time talking to you when I want to talk to the parents who were going to have to take care of their children when they got hurt? Then I walked away from her and her arguments.

The kids never came back to leap into the street from our lawn. But by the same token, apart from the neighbors to either side, we never got to know any of our other neighbors. I think we had the reputation of being the older folk who would yell at the kids to stay off of their lawn, which of course, had nothing to do with our concerns at all. We lived there for almost seven years.

Then we moved to our present home. We have been living here almost seven years as well. Our reputation is that we are quiet and that we give out full size candy bars on Halloween (that is, until this year when due to my illness, we could not open the door at all.) We have still only talked to a couple of neighbors.

In my heart of hearts, I think I wanted a neighborhood where people were welcoming and kind. Where people went out of their way to meet and talk to new people in the neighborhood.

My guess is that, with the exception of one neighbor, none of them even know that I have been ill. She only found out when she came to tell us that one of our neighbors on the other side had passed away. That was more than a year after my serious illness began.

I’ve checked with several members of our church and they don’t know their neighbors either. They live in very different neighborhoods than we do, so it seems like this might be something that is true in many places.

I guess, these days, it is more likely that individuals do not know their neighbors that well. If they do, it is a very limited number. It’s possible that in smaller towns this is not the case at all. After all, there are only limited grocery stores, churches and schools in a small town.

This has been on my mind recently, as our church has been talking for weeks about our need to love our neighbors, regardless of who they are. I don’t think our problem is with anything personal about our neighbors, it is merely that no one is interested in knowing their neighbors that well.

They want to hunker down and have quiet time at the end of the day. Things are so busy and hectic that many probably view their alone time at home as a respite in a crazy world that seems to be getting more crazy and hateful every day.

One of the things that our church is doing, which I really think is great, is that they are getting together on weekends and going to people’s homes and helping them with chores and repairs. The recipients are either physically or financially unable to do these on their own. For individuals to come and do this for them is not only neighborly but truly shows the love of God.

Unfortunately, due to my illness, I cannot currently be part of this effort. My husband and I have found various other ways to show our love to those who are in need. For us, that is the way we are being neighborly though it is not for people who live in our specific neighborhood.

I’m sure that the majority of those who read this will also have few relationships in their neighborhoods. Still, God has told us to love our neighbors and we need to find ways to show people who live around us that God loves them.

If you look at it in the right way, everyone in the world is your neighbor because, to some degree, everyone in the world lives around you.

Think about it, I’m sure that, if you ask, God will open your eyes to ways to show others that you care. That you care about them because God cares for you.

Mark 12:28-34

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

I received news today of something that most people would consider something of a let-down, perhaps even a serious item of depression. I considered it to be a glorious thing. Something that I had strived for, in my own flesh, (and had achieved) was an area where I was finally surpassed by someone else.

I’m thrilled. It was a daily reminder of a time when I was not following the will of God in my life. The time that I spent, the hours upon hours and days upon days were not put to use in anyway that would show the light of Jesus to the world.

What it showed was me. It lifted me up and got others to either want to be for me or against me. But it was all about me.

Those days are now over and the last remaining reminder of that time is now behind me. I had, well over a year ago, asked God to forgive me, to put me on his path, and to put me to work on things that he wanted me to do.

It’s interesting how we can strive for something and even achieve it. If it is of the flesh, it all falls short and leaves us desiring something more, something different, something that will fill the yearnings of our hearts.

Nothing in or of this world will ever do so. The richest people in the world (who are not Christ-followers) are ever-striving to attain more wealth and thus, in their minds, happiness at last. They venture into areas that are different from the places where they have made their billions.

My guess is that they are still looking for something to satisfy their souls. A number of them are looking towards the heavens in an attempt to reach high above this life and this planet. Something in them knows that they will never be satisfied with anything in this world.

Their answer is to use their own minds and hands (and those of their workers) to reach up and try to capture and control heaven. This is no different from when in ancient times, King Nimrod decided to build the Tower of Babel. According to the Bible, all of the people of the world were in his kingdom. They were his hands and feet in this endeavor. They were trying to reach heaven and become their own God.

God saw this and decided that when people could congregate and could communicate with one language, that they would turn their thoughts and minds towards evil purposes and be able to achieve their vile plans. To stop this, because the time was not yet come for man to reach this pinnacle of evil, God separated the people and gave them different languages so that only a few others could understand them.

The people were scattered over the face of the earth, each by their then-common language. Until recently, there were barriers of language and distance that kept man from gathering again as they did in those ancient days.

However, today, we have fast methods of physical travel and, more importantly, we can communicate with one another in split seconds over the Internet. The barriers of language are behind us as most people can speak English. For those who cannot, there are almost instantaneous translation programs available at the click of a button.

So, here we are once again. People are congregating and coming up with evil. They are finding ways to destroy one another. Not only with weapons but also by giving leeway to do things that, at most times in the past, were considered evil.

We are killing babies before they are born. We are considering allowing mothers to put their children to death after they are born. We are drugging our children. We are telling them that they can choose their own sex. We lie and we cheat. We do all sorts of things that we justify as acceptable when, in our hearts, we know that none of it is acceptable to God.

So, many of us, rather than change our ways, simply deny that God exists. We can deny all we want but that does not change reality. God is the creator of the universe. He was before and is throughout eternity. He is the great I AM. Nothing was made that he did not make.

He even created Lucifer, who was so beautiful his name meant morning star. Lucifer was the highest ranking angel who rebelled against God and tried to become God himself. He led a full third of the angels of heaven in this battle. God won, of course, and sentenced Lucifer, or as we now refer to him as Satan, to eternity in Hell.

God then created the world and mankind to show Lucifer that beings that were created lower than angels, when given free will, would eventually turn back to God, repent of their evil ways and be able to spend eternity with God.

That is where we stand today. Jesus provided the sacrifice that mankind could never provide on their own which could reconcile us with God. With our free will, we choose sin. With Jesus, we were given a way to repent, have our sins paid for by a sinless man (who was also God at the same time), and to accept him as our savior and King.

We also learn to try to live the life that God has called us to live. We make mistakes from time to time (who am I kidding? We make mistakes all the time.) We can repent and ask God to help us find his path and his way once again.

As I started this article today, I talked about one of the ways in which I strayed away from God’s will in my life. I have certainly long repented of it and God has forgiven me as he promised he would do.

Recently, I have been praying daily for him to move me away from the spot that I had worked so hard to be placed in. When my prayers were answered today, it was a wonderful feeling and I am ever grateful that God will answer even such a seemingly silly request from one of his children.

If you are straying from the path that God has chosen for you, repent and ask him to set your way straight once again. If you are a Christ-follower and have not yet found the path that God has for you, ask him to show you what he wants you to do which is pleasing in his eyes rather than in your own.

If you have not yet accepted Jesus as your savior, you are probably still searching for something to fill your soul and provide the sense of fulfillment that we are all born looking for. Look to God and look to Jesus. Ask him to reveal himself to you. If you ask with sincere desire, he will absolutely answer your prayer. It is up to you. Accept Jesus and find the answer that will fill the deep desires of your heart.

If you do not accept Jesus, you will continue to search for something or someone to satisfy you until you die. Nothing in this world, or even in the heavens, that we physically reach out to grab will be able to fill your soul or bring to life your spirit which died when man first sinned in the Garden of Eden.

Isaiah 14:12-15

How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!

You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.

I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”

But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.