BIBLICAL BELIEF IN GOD-DO YOU HAVE IT OR NOT?

Belief in our Creator, his son, Jesus and the Holy Spirit is the critical doctrine of Christianity throughout the ages. Believing that there is a Heavenly Father, Son & Holy Spirit in existence is by no means what the Word of God means under the Old Covenant or the New Covenant. The Hebrew word for believe in the Old Testament is "Aman," and it is used 108 times. The definition is quite different from our use of the word today, so it's worth a look.
"Aman" literally means to build up or support. Figuratively it means to be firm and faithful and to trust permanently. In the New Testament from the Greek, we get still another twist in the definition of believe. "Pisteuo" literally means to be persuaded of or to have complete confidence in someone or something. Figuratively it means, "to have permanent conviction and trust that Jesus or God is capable of delivering on the promise made by his life, death and resurrection."

All of this etymology is a mouthful, but it is paramount that we, as believers, understand this amazing word completely. The information is not to confuse you, but to pique your interest about this key pillar of our faith. By the way, I meant "pique," not peak. So now when you read or recite, "Believe on the Lord, Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved," you learn that it had a very different meaning than just believing that the sun will rise tomorrow. A simple mental acknowledgement of the existence of our Trinity is not what John meant when he penned the verse above. It's meaning is much deeper and contains part of the entire historic use of the word.

Let's site a few examples to help clarify:

1.  Satan believes and knows that our God exists.
2.  Demons believe and know that our God exists.
3.  Nebuchadnezzar believed and knew our God exists.
4.  Pharoah believed and knew our God exists.
5.  The Hebrew nation believes and knows our God exists.
6.  You believe and know that our God exists.
7.  I believe and know that our God exists.

So what's the difference between these 7 examples? There is nothing different! They all believe and know that our God exists, and yet many of the above examples will never see the New Jerusalem or walk the streets of gold. Whether it's OT belief or NT belief, if it is worthy of eternal life, it must be more than a casual, impersonal statement of fact. Many of us have been lulled to sleep, thinking that you "believe" in God. BIBLICAL BELIEF is far from a casual affirmation, and even farther from being impersonal. This is as formal, real, and genuine as it can get in this short life. 

Some like to think a superior being or power created everything on our planet. It has no name, it is not personal. Some like to think we evolved from some impersonal primordial ooze, and that some impersonal galactic explosion created our mountains, lakes, streams, vegetation and populated our planet with all variations of life itself, from the smallest of insects to the largest mammal on earth, the Blue Whale. Trust me our Creator is NOT impersonal.

Whether you like it or not, BIBLICAL BELIEF causes you to study his word, pray in earnest, confess with an open heart, and to use your personal set of God given talents for Him. There is nothing more personal than your relationship with God. He knows how you take your coffee in the morning. He knows when you sin in the light of day or in darkness of night. He knows what goes through your mind. He knows what you feel, see and touch. He knows if you love his creation, and if you love others more than yourself. He knows if you place value on your relationship with Him. He knows if you are stagnant and slothful or vibrant and growing towards Him or away from Him. He knows you inside and out. He knows that He never moves away from you, but you often pretend He is not even there...

When you meet your very, personal Creator one day in the future, you will know that your Belief was complete and Biblical in nature. If you are so caught up in yourself, your job, your money, your car and you try to embrace our Lord with coldness in your heart, you might want to stop and think again. If your are mad, if you are condescending, if your are arrogant and aloof, you might want to stop and think. If you have an uncontrollable ego, if you have an uncontrollable tongue, and if you don't feel His Holy Spirit coursing through your veins, you might want to stop and think of Him. 

My dear friend, it's time you took a good look at your personal belief in the Creator, his Son and his Spirit. If you only go through the motions and have gotten spiritually soft and are stuck at a convenient impasse without love in your heart and God's agenda on your mind, you have a problem. Talk to God multiple times each day. Suck the marrow out of His Word with the help of the Holy Spirit, and you will get the engine started and on the path of righteousness. Thank God for your life, because it was Him that created you personally out of clay, and breathed the breath of life into your lungs. It has always been personal with God. If you make it personal with Him, and it's about time you do, your belief becomes Biblical...

God Bless,

The Digital Disciple

WHAT'S YOUR HANDICAP?

                                  Handicaps come in all sizes and shapes


When I was younger, we used some words that were moderately harsh, but extremely accurate when used without prejudice. Take the word, "retarded," as an example. By definition the word is harmless; however, being slow mentally, physically or emotionally is a fact of life for many of us. You can be born this way, be made that way by an accident, by medication anomalies or street drugs, and by allowing your personal world convince you that you are different from everyone else. In today's world, we choose to ignore inflammatory and disparaging words like retarded, psychotic, stupid, touched, imbecile or moronic. The new "politically correct" word is HANDICAPPED and right behind that is CHALLENGED. I even sport a handicap placard in my car window!

In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul, the writer, deals plainly with being handicapped or challenged. It is an emotional chapter, but you miss all the emotion if you only read the KJV version of this letter. Paul, formerly Saul of Tarsus, feels that his ministry is now being viewed by the church in Corinth as tainted, incomplete and in some cases thought to be less than accurate. You know that his feelings have been hurt, because he spends vs.1-6, reminding those in Corinth that he was brought to Jesus on the road to Damascus by none other than Jesus himself. In an effort to re-establish himself and, of course, tame his bruised ego, he resorts to reminding them of his past. We probably would do the same thing in a similar circumstance. Scripture in not clear on why there is controversy; however, it involved the 12 "true" apostles, who were thought to be extra special. All the times I have read this, I truly did not pick up on the fact that Paul carried a chip on his shoulder, because he was not an "original." Here are the original apostles commissioned by Jesus:

1. Peter
2. Andrew, the brother of Peter
3. James
4. John
5. Philip
6. Bartholomew
7. Matthew
8. Thomas
9. James, the son of Alpheus
10. Simon, the Zealot
11. Judas, the son of James
12. Judas Iscariot, the traitor to Jesus

These are the men that dropped everything to follow Jesus without question. They were far from perfect, and in fact, had many of same faults and sinful natures that you or I may have today. Peter for example was impulsive and emotional. One minute he was denying his savior and the next he was walking on water...These traits seem to fit many of us today, which makes the apostles examples that we can relate to on many levels.

                                                                           WOW!

Just like you and me, each of these original followers of Jesus was given a gift, even James, the Less. "Mikros" is an interesting dual meaning word from the Septuagint. It can mean youngest or smallest. If you string them together James was the youngest and the smallest. There was a time in my life when I was the youngest, but never the smallest!

                                            Look at the smile

All of us are aware of individual gifts, given to us by God...Some can preach, some can teach, some can write, and some, like Paul were uniquely saved, so that you could perform a specific function. Who better to evangelize other Jews, steeped in OT law and tradition? Remember he was Jewish in every way, until Jesus, himself, stopped him right in his tracks en route to Damascus.

In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul describes another type of gift from God, but not the ones that we would naturally call a "gift." These special gifts don't even feel or look like gifts. They feel to our selfish and sinful minds like punishment of the worse kind. Paul says clearly that it took him years to understand how gifts like, sickness, disease, death and other "challenges" along each of our paths are nothing but gifts from above from a loving, heavenly father who will use the loss of something or someone special to change ego into humility. Paul says that God knew exactly what would keep him faithful, and each challenge, large or small, was used by God to teach him, to mold him and even protect him from himself or the forces of evil. Paul says that he thanks God for all the good showered on him by God; however, knowing that God loves him enough to mete our punishment and challenges on a personal basis
to each of us, solidifies his faith in God. When he prays he thanks God for these, life lessons, without which he knows that he would be destined to stray.

                                                       No arms, painted with feet...

I suppose we thank God if we win the lottery, inherit money, grow a business, get that promotion you wanted, or the spouse that completes you. Try thanking God for losing your house, losing your job, staying unemployed for months on end. Try thanking God for having to have another hip replacement or knee replacement. Try thanking God for humiliation to reign in your ego, for financial problems that make you more fully trust him, not yourself or anything in this world. Try thanking God for your depression, your anxiety, and your hunger for all those things in this life that can give you temporary respite from the responsibility that comes with truly serving our Master, Jesus Christ. 

When you retire for the evening and communicate with your Creator, you will no doubt pray for your family, families in need, 
our troops overseas, and you will give thanks for the good things happening in your life. If your baby was spared, if you beat cancer, if you made a difference in someone's life by letting God's light shine through you, you will thank Him profusely...

                                      Thanks for my gifts, including my particular handicaps

Tonight try thanking this same Creator for either giving you or allowing you to experience anguish, fear, persecution and hatred. Recognize that everything that happens to God's children is part of a grand plan to nurture you along your path to righteousness. He allows you to be cold, so you will appreciate his warmth, and he allows you to walk in the rain, so that you appreciate his sun. He allows physical pain to make you stronger, he allows depression, so that you will seek him for the cure, and he allows anxiety to teach us all to trust in him, not ourselves.

All gifts from God are positive, you just might not have noticed some of them, just like my favorite writer, Paul.

The Digital Disciple 

                                                             THANK YOU, LORD!

DEBITS AND CREDITS

                                                              DEBITS AND CREDITS


When you keep track of a company's history and future projections of income and losses, you end up scrutinizing two (2) main reporting documents as follows:

1. Profit and Loss Statements referred to in business as P & L's.
2. Balance Sheets referred to in the business as BS. (pun intended)

While there are a host of other documents that give you ROI, ROC, Quick Ratio's, Debt to Equity, Book Value, Shareholder Equity, and so on ad nauseum, all key financial ingredients are in the first two documents. For forty (40) years I have lived by these numbers, and by the way, these are all numbers with no pictures, no video, and no voice-over in sight. 

Underneath these numbers is the area of most importance, and these numbers, yes more numbers, provide the foundation from which accurate information can be derived. They are called the infamous, "DEBITS AND CREDITS." The mathematical skills needed to do thousands of calculations with complete accuracy is what makes a good CPA. The summary reports are the end result of countless hours of copying, checking, re-checking and checking again. 

So why the synopsis of standard accounting you say? What could this have to do with the 7,000 readers of this blog? Plain and simple, Paul (Saul of Tarsus) writes to the church in Rome describing your own personal and divine P&L with an accompanying Balance Sheet. The fundamentals of debits and credits are the same in global, financial record keeping, so it is when God tallies the minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years of your life. Heavenly CPA's are doing the Most High's bean counting, around the clock, concerning your life. 

                                                             SARAH AND ABRAHAM

Romans 4 deals with all of the above right from the third verse. "What does the scripture say?" "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." We all remember Abraham. If you don't, shame on you, because he was and remains one of the great individuals selected by God to father the Jewish race. This man of great faith believed God, and his divine balance sheet was always in the green. Heavenly credit came to him via his what? His belief... As Paul says, it was not by his race, his circumcision, his tests of faith, or by his son, born to him when Sarah was 100 years old and long since "barren." 

Believing God sounds simple, but it is far from it. When a family member or friend tells you something, you have some choices:

1. You can laugh it off publicly or privately.
2. You can pretend to agree, all the while believing something else.
3. You can question what you were told and challenge the thought process.
4. You can get angry and walk away.
5. You can become pugilistic. (punch in the nose)
6. You can take it at face value and store it for future use.

NONE of these describe the belief of Abraham by believing Him and Him alone.

Getting back to belief in the Almighty. Let's start with there is GOD and there are gods. Mankind worships many things, but the Creator is different from anyone or anything that we can conjure in our minds, our songs, our art, or our writing. Knowing that El Shaddai exists is obvious to anyone taking his head out of the sands of time long enough to observe the sun, moon and stars. Then look at the oceans, the mountains, the lakes, and the streams. And finally, look at life on this planet in all its forms with specific functions for each species on land or in the water.

                                                                     BELIEVE HIM

Saying that you "believe" there is a Creator, called God, and Paul says it will never be counted to you for "righteousness." It will never end up on the "credit" side of your divine balance sheet. Belief in God entails trusting him with every facet of your being, inside and out...Ask yourself, "Do you believe in God," or Do you believe God?" It may sound simple or trite, but you must "BELIEVE HIM." If you believe Him, you will desire to  know how to communicate with Him and know what He has said and done in the past. 

I was reading a book the other day, called the Bible...Specifically I was venturing forward in the Book of Romans to see what else Paul had to say. I read chapter 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. When finished I paused to reflect and drew a blank. I read it, I knew it was the Bible, and I knew it was important. Knowing it was the Bible had nothing to do with my retention or comprehension. The same is true for those who know there is a God.

Belief in God is personal, not public. It is singular, not plural. It is innate, not ornate. It is special, not ordinary. It is the most important thing that can happen to you during your tenure here on earth. If you believe Him like Abraham, Noah, Moses, David, Solomon, Jonah, and Isaiah did in the past, you have been divinely metamorphosized (my word) now and forever. This experience changes you permanently. This experience provides you with true faith, not blind faith. It provides you with power. You are plugged into the Divine, and He provides you with purpose in this life. He provides you with a profound, personal, spiritual experience that you will radiate in this life. It was given to you the day you decided to "BELIEVE HIM by taking HIM at HIS WORD.

                                     FROM ONE LIFE TO THE OTHER

With Him you can find the strength and the power to untangle yourself from sin everyday. This is a never ending battle in this life. Expect it, understand it and then crush it by believing HIM, not in Him. Give your issues to God through prayer everyday and search "HIS WORD" to find the answers. If you give HIM a little, you will get back more than you can imagine. He granted you life at birth in this world. He provided Jesus to cover all of the "DEBITS" in this life, so that God the Father will only see your "CREDITS" for the next life.

I trust Him, I believe Him, and over time I am learning what it means to love Him. Please do the same in your life. God considers you "precious cargo," and don't forget it, be ashamed of it, or hide it. You are an extraordinary piece of God's plan, so act that way.

Even if this personal evaluation is painful, it is worth making an honest introspection now so we can be absolutely certain to be counted as a true believer at the day of Christ's return.

           With love and respect for those PRICELESS ones called of God,

                                              JON BRISBY

Live like you are priceless, because you are...

The Digital Disciple

                                        PRICELESS

DO YOU HAVE THE STOMACH FOR IT??

                                  Ancient Sepulchre in France
If Romans 3 doesn't make you queasy, then nothing will...The following translation is from the KJV, and it is quite similar to the NIV as follows, "Their throats are an open sepulchre." Either version gives you the same picture of a grave/sepulchre having been opened. Most of us run right by this tiny passage, like I have done for many years, missing the significant metaphor being used by Paul...

The entire quotation from Romans 3:13 reads like this from the NIV, "Their throats are an open grave; their tongues practice deceit." This is an amazing verse and is worth the time to ponder, if you have the stomach for it...If you do, read on. If not, pass on this post. This one verse has some of the most descriptive language, I know of in Scripture. Usually this metaphoric play on words is saved for specialized poetry like Haiku. All Japanese Haiku includes various elements. Brevity is one, since they are incredibly short, and, of course, the all important "Kireji." The literal translation of this is "cutting word," from the verb "Kiru," meaning to cut...

Paul gives us 9 Haiku poems in a row, beginning with verse 3...As in the "Kireji," each word is carefully selected and even measured to deliver the maximum power in the most minimal of space. Good Haiku captures the essence of being Japanese: small but mighty.

The church at Rome was sliced and diced by these 9 verses, as are we who are reading and studying them, some 1,980 years later. Imagine your own throat being an open grave or sepulchre from long ago as these depict: 

1. Final resting places for those who have died are not where we choose to spend much time, other than to the occasional change in floral arrangement.
2. If a grave is dug up, what do you get? Too soon and you get decaying flesh and insects that enjoy eating and nesting there, while an aged friend or relative literally rots away to nothing, mostly ingested by the parasites and their offspring. (I told you that a strong stomach was required)
3. If the grave is not in the ground, but in a sepulchre, then you have all of the above, plus an open space for the gathering of all the putrefying odors related to natural desiccation.

So throats that we all have are metaphorically transformed into one or both of the above. If your throat is rotting or dying in some way, what happens when air passes from your lungs when you exhale? What happens when you speak? Their is a stench following your breathe in either case that has a pungency off the Richter scale. It stinks so bad that it makes your eyes water. The only relief is to step back or turn away. In Paul's inimitable way, he "Kireji'd" them with some powerful Haiku that he borrowed from the Book of Psalms.

                                                Open Sepulchre practicing deceit
                     

Lastly, "their tongues practice deceit." Continuing on the metaphor of the moldy mouth, Paul adds the tongue. It does all the tasting for us, but most importantly, it allows us to speak with clarity. The Bible tells us a lot about the tongue, usually teaching us that it can be an instrument for good, but often, we, like those in Rome in 33 AD, use it for evil. We lie, we steal, we cheat. We don't intentionally lie, you say; we just fib a bit. We don't steal, we borrow. We don't cheat, we creatively help ourselves to someone else's work, and besides, everyone does it!

Now here's the kicker, the Scripture says, "we practice deceit." If you want to get better at playing the piano, you practice. If you want to get better at playing baseball, you practice. If you want to get better at pleasing your wife, you practice, "Yes dear and I'm sorry." You all have heard of "Practice makes Perfect!" Scripture says, we "practice deceit" over and over again, on our way to perfect deception and deceit." Are you practicing in the wrong game? Are you practicing for the wrong reasons? Do you have the breathe of death and decay? Do your words have the stench of an open grave? Paul pulls no punches! 

Haiku Paul hits you upside the head, just about every time he writes...Must have been great to hear him speak with the enthusiasm and authority gained from his private meeting with Jesus on the way to Damascus. You can have your own private meeting with Jesus, just like Paul. He said that your life can be changed forever, like his, if you have faith in our Lord and Savior...We are justified by our faith in Him and redeemed by His blood. Knock on His door through prayer. He will never leave you out in the cold, harm you or trade you in for a newer model. He, with His Father and the Holy Spirit are the epitome of what we call family. Your family whether loving and whole or broken and in pieces was meant to provide you will a temporal foundation for this lifetime. The family of the Almighty changes the temporal family of flesh and bone into the infinite family for eternity. 

You cannot lie your way in, you cannot steal a spot, and you cannot cheat the process of life and death. If you are practising deception, please realize that the worst kind of deception is deceiving yourself. I know from years of practicing deception on a regular basis to get through another day, week or month. Jesus actually changes lives in this world, in all time zones and in all languages. Please invite him in and join His family.

The Digital Disciple

                                                              Meet The Family

ARE YOU AN ANTINOMIAN?

If you recall, the Saul of Tarsus, the Pharisee, was a high ranking Hebrew whose job it was track down early Christians, 99.9% of which were Gentiles, and take them back to Jerusalem for trial in shackles. Saul was not only a Pharisee, but also a member of the "Zealots for Judaism" according to one source. This means he believed he was on a mission to eradicate this infection called Christianity. Somewhere on a road to the capital of Syria, which is Damascus, in approximately 33AD, Saul was knocked off of his horse, when a sudden blinding light shone on him and his horse. The pure white light of Jesus most probably burned the retina's in his eyes. Do you remember when God told Moses not to look directly at Him? Probably the same thing...However, blinded and of falling off the horse, Lord Jesus spoke directly to him saying, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?"

I am certain that he was in, "Pharisaical Shock."This is a new term, and it's all mine, I think. Saul was completely blown away in modern terminology. The man was overwhelmed, overcome and overpowered by the Son of God in person and in all His glory. I am certain that he was stunned in every way possible when Jesus began talking directly to him...Jesus knew that this is exactly what it would take to turn a persecutor of all things Christian into a purveyor and protector of the true gospel of Jesus Christ. How often does God take the worst and make them the best? That message is loud and clear to all of us...God can use anyone, anywhere, anytime, and He knows exactly what you will need for conversion, just like He knew for me.

How long was he stunned? Well, imagine being face to face with Jesus. You are immediately blinded, and then asked a question. It had to be rhetorical, because I am sure that he was speechless during this entire process. We know he was blinded for three days. This proud Jew had to be knocked down hard and kept there in order for this hardened heart to be melted and filled with the Holy Spirit. When a combination or key to a safe is lost, you have to break it at the hinges to gain access. The vessel, called Saul, had to be broken at the hinges, much the same way. 

God sent Ananias to cure his blindness, but when asked to do so, he flinched because of the reputation of this well known Pharisee. I am sure Ananias thought he would end up in shackles like many of his brethren, but he trusted and then obeyed God. There my friend is true faith at work. The early church never wasted time worrying about faith versus works, or all of the components of salvation that men have put in place through the ages. Pure and simple Ananias believed His God. As a result of Jesus and Ananias, miraculously, Saul the Pharisee zealot became Paul, not one of the original 12, but a powerful voice, none the less, especially for his fellow Jews still caught up in OT legalism and waiting for the Messiah. Imagine never realizing that they had persecuted and killed the Messiah that they were and still are waiting for to this day.

A dedicated and educated Jew needed to have Jesus come down and handle his conversion personally. No angels, no other Christians, JUST JESUS...You see our Lord needed a quarterback for the early church. He needed someone to throw some passes, like the Book of Acts and 8 other letters to the early churches. He has 9 separate books in Canon that we call our Bible today. He was the first example of traditional Jews joining hands and hearts in Christ...The Jews and the Gentiles were the first racists. The Jews always felt superior because they were the "chosen." Only the gospel of Jesus Christ could smash the walls of hate from 3500 years of history. Only Jesus could take polar opposites buried in sin and segregation, and synthesize them into saints for his honor and glory. Divine Alchemy breaks down the highest walls of race, color and creed, changing Saul into Paul forever, just like changing lead in gold. Are you soft and malleable like pure gold or are you still heavy with sin and hardened on the inside, all the while remaining impermeable like lead? Open your arms and your heart, like Saul below...

The Digital Disciple

I purposely did not define Antinomianism in this post. Those of you who googled it, great...Those that did not, you now know.

THE SPINNING TOP

Life seems to be going by at an incredibly fast pace these days...Ask anyone over 60 years of age, and you will no doubt get the same answer. When I was a "wee bairn" I used to play with a spinning top and loved it, but when I reminisce I remember that it was wide at the bottom and narrow at the top. You would push down on a wooden knob to make it go faster and faster. So here's the thing...No matter how hard I pushed down or how often, it eventually slowed down and fell on its side. 

As all mankind ages each of their respective spinning tops slow and stop at an average of 75 years, give or take. So here is the irony...When you are young, you want to go faster and faster, while nothing gets done fast enough for you. Over time, your pace slows allowing the most cynical of us to really see life for the first time. Youth can't go fast enough from point A to point B. Middle-Agers step back from the torrid pace of youth, but finally old age kicks in allowing you to suck the marrow out of everything you see, feel or touch, while you wonder how you could have missed all of this in your youth. Some call this process, "earning your stripes," some call it, "maturation," and I like to call the aging process the path to wisdom. "Too soon old and too late smart," is how one dear friend put it, and we often hear the phrase, "If I only knew then, what I know now." 

The balance of Romans 2 is centered around what we are on the outside versus the inside. Consider these options:

• Internal vs. external
• Inside vs. Outside
• Interior vs. Exterior
• Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic

God says clearly through the Apostle Paul that it does not matter what you do in this world, except what you do for Him, and it must genuinely come from within. The Almighty contrasts Jews and the Mosaic Law with Gentiles and no law. Here is our "Lord's Logic," (my term), sent through Paul, the Apostle:

• The Jewish nation has a rich history, including the writing of the their code of conduct, commonly referred to as Mosaic Law.
• The Gentiles, who are most of us reading this, were thought to be barbarians at the best, criminals at the worst. We worshipped the sun, the moon and the stars, plus a host of other idols over centuries.
• Externally the Jews knew the Law and, they knew of the one true God. They knew what to eat, how to live and those things that God favored, as well as those that were forbidden. In a manner of speaking, they had it all set up for them, including how to receive forgiveness of sin.
• Externally the Gentiles made life up over the years, based on who was in power. They made their own rules and regulations, because even they needed some order amidst the chaos.

Reading the Law, hearing the Law, and recognizing that God exists is not enough for the Jews or the Gentiles. God says that even though the Gentiles did not have His formal law, they made law of their own, "by their nature." In other words, they already knew to some degree the difference between right and wrong.

Then Paul goes to great lengths to let those in Rome know that it only matters, "if the requirements of either legalistic system was written on their hearts," seared forever on the inside, specifically your heart and soul. Even if you are a light to the blind, an instructor to the foolish, and a teacher of little children, you must walk the walk everyday in your life, using what you have been taught by God as your personal compass.

And finally, if you are circumcised and/or baptized, you have no claim on eternal life. These are extrinsic examples of the intrinsic
change in your life to follow our Lord. Being circumcised is very important according to Mosaic Law, just as being baptized is in the New Testament; however, there is no external justification for salvation. It is only the internal, permanent change in your heart that makes either Jew or Gentile acceptable to El Shaddai, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. 

The Digital Disciple

COURTROOMS, RACISM & GOD

Since the world has been spellbound with the trial of George Zimmerman, I thought I would take a moment to use this trial or any public trial for that matter, as an analogy for Romans Chap 2, so that we can have a current example of what's coming in our future. Usually I write about what was done or said in the past and try to make it pertinent for the 21st century. So Post #50 (L), is looking towards what will happen, instead of what happened. 

Courtroom drama has been a big draw for all forms of media in our lifespan. Every channel now has at least an hour of daily courtroom antics, that get watched by multi-millions of people. High visibility cases, like OJ Simpson, Michael Jackson, and now, George Zimmerman involve tens of million viewers from all parts of the globe. Some are left-wing, right-wing, centrists, libertarians, black, white, Hispanic and on ad nauseum. Just as importantly any country with TV, radio, the Internet, or a local newspaper gets bombarded with good old US of A news, especially something of such importance as our criminal justice system.

In the future there will be one, final courtroom drama! It's kind of like the Supreme Court on steroids...God himself will be the JUDGE of all mankind. The Bible is clear that he will sit on his throne (judgement seat), and review the facts of each, individual life from the beginning of mankind until the Day of Judgement. Today witnesses, proof and prior acts get tossed out of court all the time, weakening the judicial process and making the criminal into a victim all too often. Over time incredibly smart attorney's have virtually turned the courtroom into a circus by dismissing evidence and the best one ever devised is calling for an insanity plea. Undeniable proof has been denigrated to the point of switching the roles of criminal and victim. Certainly this is a sad state of affairs, but it's what we have evolved into during this century. Judicial law has been loop holed to death, giving a pass to the rich, and ridiculous sentences to the poor, all in the name of the DOJ.

It's always been a question of mine, and simply put, "How does God remember billions of lives from our planet, when He dispenses individual judgement." I stumbled upon what I believe is the answer to that question from my own personal experience. I have spent literally years of my life in pain. One time during the pain relief process of drugs and rehab, I had hallucinations that were as real to me as could be imagined, from seeing people, places and things, to being visited by Satan himself. Post hallucinogenic experience, I was told by my psychiatrist what happened. Hidden in your gray matter and mine is an electronic/digital  memory system that functions behind a thin vale recording every day of your life. It's kind of like the "Wizard of 
Oz,"when the man behind the curtain is revealed to the dismay of Dorothy, the Lion, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow. Finally the Wizard tells them that they always had exactly what they needed already inside them.

It is much the same with our life history. It has been organized and kept in a small section of your brain. When hallucinating, I am told, the thin vale that hides all of your data history gets pierced, and once in a while, something goes through, from the subconscious to your conscious mind. Point being that God does not have to remember your past, you have it on the inside already. So everything that you have ever thought or done in this life has been recorded and is available to Him whenever or wherever. 

The Apostle Paul says in Romans 2 that if you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you have most likely done the same thing in secret. "God's judgement will be based on truth." When we sin "in the dark," God says we are in "contempt," of His kindness, forbearance and patience. Ever seen an attorney get charged with contempt of court? Not a pretty sight and usually the attorney spends the night in jail, so that the judge can make his point. We live in contempt of the Most High Court of God Almighty every day we breathe His air, drink His water and feel the warmth of His sun. 

We will all die in a short period of time, some shorter than others, and some much longer than they seem to deserve. Only two men did not die in the history of the Bible, Enoch and Elijah. Enoch was faithful and obedient to the bone, and Elijah was an amazing prophet, who stood with God in good times and bad. Imagine a life so pure, so dedicated, so loyal, and so devoted to our God. Now look at your life, and all those things you have done in supposed darkness, where no one will see or know. God says you and I are in CONTEMPT! There will be no attorney's, there will be no loop holes, their will be no sin that you can wiggle out of before Him...There is only one, singular path to make it through the Day of Judgement, and that is to have Jesus Christ take your place. He has and will step in for you. He will "bear your stripes!" He will provide mercy from this courtroom and your sentencing. 

If these facts from Roman 2 don't make you delight in your God, please check your pulse. You may be alive, but you are dead to God.

THE DIGITAL DISCIPLE