A Confession

It is not with reluctance but with a serious level of shame that I have a confession to make.  During Barak Obamas 8-year tenure in the White House I could count the times I prayed for him on one hand if I ever prayed for him at all.

Whether Mr. Obama believes the things he says, or not, only he knows. 

Whether Mr. Obama’s motives are altruistic or intentionally sinister, I believe only God knows.

Personally, and I believe that there’s evidence as far as the eye can see, I would argue that he’s a member of a cabal committed to the destruction of the United States as a major part of an effort to institute a one world government run by self-appointed elitists who’ve already shown themselves to be murderers and liars.

But that does not excuse me from praying for him. 

Hell is a very hot place, it is an understatement to say that those destined to reside there reside there for a very long time, and I shouldn’t wish it on anybody which is perhaps why Paul said to Timothy…

First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

1 Timothy 2:1-3

In fact, it is the very reason why Paul inserted the words “…who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”  He also implied that there are consequences for not praying for “kings and all who are in authority”.  The implication is that if we fail to pray for them we will NOT lead tranquil and quiet lives!

And so, for 8 years I conducted a wrestling match with the Holy Spirit…

Me: “But he promised shovel-ready jobs and he knew there were none.”

God: “My Word is a lamp unto thy feet and a light unto thy path. Oh, by the way… 1 Tim. 2:1”

Me: “But God… Look what he did with Fast & Furious, smuggling guns into Mexico, resulting in the death of Brian Terry and he lied about Benghazzi, promoted anarchy, sexual immorality and contempt for police.”

God: “I have ordained My precepts so that you might keep them diligently. Oh by the way… 1 Tim. 2:1.  That’s one of them”.

Me: “But God… his foreign policy has resulted in the deaths and rapes of hundreds of thousands of Christians and Yazids throughout the middle East and North Africa and I have prayed for these people and supported causes to rescue and shelter them”.

God: “Have you not read ‘Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your Name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’ Oh by the way… 1 Tim. 2:1”

Do you get the picture?  In one very teeny but important manner, let alone many others I’m sure, I have refused to heed the Word of the God who is the judge of the whole earth.  I can rail against Mr. Obamas policies.  I can be angry at him and I’m allowed to be angry, but as the text says… “be angry but sin not”. And how am I sinning? I sin and have sinned by being so angry with the man that I subconsciously attempt to usurp Gods place as his judge and refuse to pray for the mans’ repentance and salvation.  To be honest, I am caught up in my own self-righteousness.  And I did not come to trust in Jesus because I was so smart or so talented or such a fantastically good person.  I came to trust in Jesus because I knew that I was a sinner and I needed His atonement for my salvation before a holy and just God.   

And the mighty King… the ruler of the universe… the one who holds the key to death and hades in His hands, because His Word is unquestionably true, wins the wrestling match.  “You’ve not prayed for kings and all in authority?  I will send you civil war so that you will not have a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity”.

And I assure you, rumblings of civil war are on the horizon.  The future of the United States from one threat or another seems ominous.

I will make a pledge to you.  Yes, I will continue to hate and oppose the agenda of Mr. Obama and his cabal, but I will begin praying for the man and his salvation in the hopes that he might repent and seek the will of God.  Yes… his repentance seems, to me, unlikely, but I’m still commanded to pray for him knowing that God does hear prayer and knowing that God, “not willing for any to perish but for all to come to the knowledge of the truth”, will honor those prayers one way or another.

I also ask a difficult thing of you. If you are an “anti-Trump” kind of guy or gal, you may believe that you have every reason to hate the man and even his policies, but I beg of you to begin praying for him, for wisdom and repentance so that he seeks God’s will and desires His salvation more than anything else. Just maybe God will be gracious and we can avert a civil war. But I dare say… God’s Word is sure and true and sharper than a two-edged sword. Yes, providence is providence, and God’s will will be carried out regardless of what we necessarily want, but failure to play our respective roles not as I, but the Apostle Paul himself, has outlined, and pray for our leaders will only result in disaster.

Oh, by the way, I’ll also be praying for Bill and Hillary.

Thank you for “lending me your ears”.

HATE = MURDER

Some of us tend to be critical of God for sending a flood to destroy the earth and kill all the people on it.  Of course, some people don’t necessarily believe in that God but would nevertheless argue that if He did exist, they would still be critical of Him for sending that flood.  But, to be honest, what’s there to be critical about?  As an introduction to the “story” of Noah and the ark, there was a small phrase inserted… “and the earth was filled with violence”.  To put it another way, people were killing each other.  What God did by causing a flood was to simply speed up the process of what mankind was already doing to himself, yet in the meantime, rescue one family that was not party to all the violence so that they would not also fall victim to the carnage that was going on at that time.

Even that one family that survived the flood had some make-up within its spiritual DNA that aroused a tendency toward evil.  The descendants from that one family still were prone to selfishness, anger, defensiveness, lack of forgiveness and all those elements that make us prone to violence.  But one might say “I’ve never practiced violence.  I’ve never felt hatred towards anyone.”  I ask rhetorically, “what if you had no police or army to keep you from being exposed to that violence?  Would you still have a heart filled with pure benevolence towards those who’d harm you because of the absence of military or police protections? Can you guarantee that you would have no feelings of revenge in your soul?”

Jesus said:

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

 (Matthew 5:21-22)

Simply put, Jesus said, “if you hate others, or think even so much as to have an attitude of dismissiveness towards others as (thus, in disdain calling them a fool), you’re guilty enough to go to hell”.

What Jesus said is not anything new.  God, through Moses, said:

“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people (members of your nation), but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”

(Leviticus 19:19)

The importance of this law is punctuated with God’s declaration… “Ani YHVH”  (I Am… the ineffable Name of God… poorly translated as Lord and often somewhat flippantly mispronounced in many circles).  Putting God’s Name on this law is a declaration as to how utterly important it is to not even bear a grudge but to love instead.

As I’d written here, http://onlyholybook.blogspot.com/2017/05/liberal-guilt-moral-relativism-and.html God had intended for Israel to be a model nation characterized by such a level of peace and prosperity that the other nations could not help but emulate it and, by so doing, discover that there was indeed a God who was worthy of universal worship.  After all, it was this God who himself, had written the constitution for that nation.  This constitution not only had specific verifiable laws such as “leave some of the grain on the fringes of your fields behind after harvesting so that the poor and needy will always have food available to guarantee their well-being” (Leviticus 19:9-10) and “build a fence around the roof of your house so that no one whom you are entertaining will fall off” (Deuteronomy 22:8) but it also had less verifiable laws such as “don’t harbor hate”.

The United States Constitution has no such unverifiable law… “don’t harbor hate”, but the Mosaic law presumed that the author of their constitution, God Himself, being all knowing, also knew the thoughts and intentions of every human heart.  Where the enforcers of law could not accuse an individual of hating for lack of evidence, the omniscient God could and was capable of discerning whether an individual harbored hatred.  And thus, a fearful awe of this God would hopefully inspire the one who’s doing the hating to repent, ask God for forgiveness and seek to rationally, dispassionately and in a non-accusatory manner, seek reconciliation with the one who is the object of his hatred. 

And why would this law against hate (which cannot be perceived by the senses) be inserted as part of ancient Israel’s constitution which we call the Torah?  Because ultimately hate cannot be hidden.  It does manifest itself tangibly eventually in one way or another.  It manifests itself in the form of violence whether it be the result of the hater murdering the object of the hatred directly, or the result of a chain reaction of people taking their aggressions and frustrations out on one another.  It tears people apart, forces people to take sides and ultimately creates unrest, dissention and chaos.  And hate which pervades among the citizens of a nation ultimately results in the nations demise. 

The Law of God given to Israel and reiterated through Jesus is a universal law.  It is applicable regardless of geography, background or time in history.  Hate yields death and seems to be the element that is dividing the world.  And so, allow me, if you will, to ask some rhetorical questions.

Do you hate black people?  If so you’re a murderer in the eyes of God.

Do you hate white people? If so you’re a murderer in the eyes of God.

Do you hate Hispanics or Asians or Jews?  If so you’re a murderer in the eyes of God.

Let’s say there’s a more tangible reason for hatred…

Do you hate conservatives? If so you’re a murderer in the eyes of God.

Do you hate liberals? If so you’re a murderer in the eyes of God.

Are you black and never experienced slavery but hate whites who’ve not only never owned

            slaves but whose ancestors never owned slaves either? If so you’re a murderer in the

            eyes of God.

Are you black and hate whites because they have “white privilege”?  If so you’re a murderer in

            the eyes of God.  The likes of Clarence Thomas, Ben Carson, Thurgood Marshall and

            Condalisa Rice may just bear witness to the fact that your failure is not because of

            white privilege but the fact that you’d never applied yourself.

Are you Jewish and hate Nazis? If so you’re a murderer in the eyes of God.

Do you hate Muslims? If so you’re a murderer in the eyes of God.  (I would hold that they are

            deceived by an erroneous world view but it is the world view that I’m obligated to hate…

            not it’s adherents.)

Let’s get even more personal…

Do you hate your former spouse because he or she was abusive or a druggie or alcoholic or

            even beat your children?  If so you’re still a murderer in the eyes of God.

No doubt, wrongs done to you can create deep wounds and may make it very easy to harbor hate.  But there is absolutely no justifiable reason for harboring hate.  Hatred has no place in the human heart.  Hate is man’s natural way of responding to being offended.  But God does not want people to react to being offended as they normally do but as they are supposed to react.  And just suppose you were very deeply hurt, you do have a choice… to take it personally and harbor hatred or regard it as a test to see just how much you love God.

If there was one person who deserved to or had an excuse for hating it was Jesus.  He did nothing but good for everyone, yet He was unjustly accused as being evil.  He was whipped so that his raw flesh was exposed.  He was mocked, crucified and mocked some more.  Yet, while dying, He cried out to God “Father forgive them for they don’t know what they’re doing”. 

You may have experienced terrible persecution or pain of some sort at the hands of others.  But don’t hate!  You will only accumulate the guilt of murder to your own soul.  There is such a thing as justice.  If you can, pursue justice in a rational and just manner, but without the attitude of pursuing vengeance or vindication.  Ultimately, though, trust that God will mete out perfect justice in His time.  And remember.  You’ve never been as innocent as Jesus.  Neither have you ever endured more than Jesus who nevertheless was quick to forgive.

Do not hate.  Love.  And if you discover that you can’t love, ask Jesus to love for you. As you trust Him, He will.  Your soul depends on it.

You Can’t Impress God. Jesus Set the Bar Too High

Actually, in a very real sense, it was Moses who set the bar too high.  Even to be more precise, it was God, through Moses who set the bar too high.

Do you remember those ten Commandments which the Bible says were written in stone by the finger of God?” Remember that seventh commandment?  You shall not commit adultery?  Jesus said that you not only commit adultery by messing around with someone else’ wife, you commit adultery when you even look with lust at another woman.  Moses really said the same thing.  That tenth commandment the one that says, “you shall not covet”, it basically says “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”  Put another way, “you’re not to want anything that belongs to anyone else, including another man’s wife”.  So, I rhetorically ask “Men: how many times a day have you coveted”?  The same goes for women… “how many times a day have you coveted”?

Jesus also equated murder to mere hate.  He said, “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’” But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.” (Mt. 5:17-18).  God, through Moses, similarly said “‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.” (Lev. 19:17-18)

The above Leviticus reference is particularly difficult for most people.  The text points out that, to avoid ‘hating’, the offended individual must communicate to the offending individual what it was that was offensive.  Obviously, the offending person can respond to the criticism in one of two ways.  He can, in turn, be offended by having been corrected, likely causing the honest person to recoil, or he can receive the criticism graciously using it as a learning experience by which he can improve his character.  Either way, the offended person is required to be honest whatever the outcome.  If he is not honest, and internalizes his grievance, he loses the opportunity to aid in improving the character of his ‘neighbor’, thus leaving his neighbor in a state of sin and he, by internalizing the offense, causes himself to ‘stew’ over the issue, carrying bitterness around with him which, also is sin.

I would posit that Jesus not only taught these principles but practiced them to perfection.  I would also suggest that Jesus, being perfectly honest, offended a lot of the ‘offenders’ whom He corrected and He corrected them precisely because He loved them, love being the ultimate basis for this law.  Consequently, those who were offended by Him harbored hate for Him and ultimately sought His demise which He, in contrast to any other person who ever set foot on the world stage, accepted graciously and with an air of total love and forgiveness towards His accusers.

I would also argue that this one Mosaic law is just one example in which Jesus perfectly practiced every aspect of the Torah, the Torah outlining what was required of the truly righteous man.  For that reason, I like to call him THE Tsaddik... THE righteous man.  In a world, devoid of tsaddikim (righteous men) because as ye ole’ adage goes ‘nobody’s perfect’, There’s one man that stands out as an ensign to the nations (goyim).  As Isaiah said…

“It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also make You a light of the nations
So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.

                                                                                                     (Isaiah 49:6)                 

Even as DNA takes random chemicals and elements and, like a template, uses them to replicate itself, so Jesus takes sinful, depraved, proud and self-willed human beings with selfish motives and by, metaphorically speaking, attaching them to Himself, makes them, over time, into a duplicate of His righteousness.  The only caveat to this is that being attached to Jesus must not be superficial but genuine.

In the world we live in today, where people are offended easily, the consequence of all these people being slighted is nothing but anger and strife.  Imagine, if you will however, a world where people know that the bar for righteousness is too high for them to attain God’s acceptance on their own.  What we would have is a world filled with humble people who, if corrected, do not retort with belligerence but respond with thankfulness for having been corrected because it makes them better people.  Relationships between people would be devoid of jealousy and bitterness and filled with acceptance and mutual appreciation.  That is the world that God ultimately wants and will ultimately achieve one day.  And those who throughout history have acquiesced to the knowledge that precisely because the bar is too high, they know that their self-effort at striving after righteousness is therefore futile.  Hence, if they’ve recognized that trusting only in the atoning death of Jesus for His righteousness to be imputed to them, they can be rescued from the wrath of God to one-day experience that world.