Progressive Maturation

Progressive maturation in Christ opens the doors to progressive envisioning of God's work in the earth. I see at least three broad categories or levels of such envisioning. What do you see?

1. Basic: Applying our imagination to Bible history, prose and poetry, making them realistically envisioned (e.g., perceiving the peoples and cultures of days long past, and putting ourselves both in the scenes and 'in their shoes', so to speak)

2. Intermediate: Envisioning/perceiving relevant relationships and linkages of Bible history, prose and poetry to current day events in our lives and the world, at large

3. Mature: Applying our cumulative knowledge of God's Word, will and ways to envision/perceive ("see") future events, both long and shortly before they happen -- events foretold in The Bible, and those not specifically mentioned

Ponder this: At which level are you operating currently, if any? Though He gives spiritual skills (giftings) within The Church, God is no respecter of persons. He is, however, very much a respecter or of FAITH and of our WILLS.  So we have a voice in the matter -- a role to play in determining how and at what level we operate.

One Portal, Two Directions

One Portal, Two Directions.

You’d think our world’s system of ‘get for me, myself and mine’

Would have failed by now, having been dis-proven time after time!

Well, it has and it hasn’t, as I shall herein explain.

Sit back, be patient, and it’ll all become plain.

Our world’s financial and economic systems are under the direct influence of two spiritual kingdoms, namely the Kingdom of God, ruled by Jesus, and the kingdom of evil, ruled by satan. Both kingdoms extend their influence through their subjects, through a network of spiritual laws and principles, but each has two kingpin laws by which they operate financially/economically:

• The Kingdom of God uses the laws (or spirits) of giving and receiving
• The kingdom of satan uses the laws (or spirits) of avarice and poverty

Working together, these opposing sets of spirits seek to accomplish the ultimate plan of their opposing team captains, Jesus and satan, namely, to ensure the gradual concentration of the world’s wealth into fewer and fewer hands -- the hands of their followers. You see, wealth, just like everything else on planet Earth, was made for mankind in our righteous state. The world’s wealth was hijacked by satan & company when Adam sinned against God. Jesus’ mission was to initiate a ‘gradual and phased reversal’ of the results/effects of this hijacking.

With that context, here’s what’s going on.

On one hand, satan refuses to accept and accede his defeat so admirably accomplished by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, proving His God-ship authority over life and death. Satan knows in our world, wealth is respected to the degree that it is effectively worshiped! To be worshiped as God is exactly what he has desired from the beginning, and still desires. Having been banned from accomplishing this in Heaven, the Earth realm has become his surrogate kingdom. Wealth and its associated power are the means by which he assures and enjoys direct and indirect human worship. The greater the concentration of this wealth in fewer hands, the easier it will be for him to exercise his direct influence and control over Earth-matters, i.e., everything that really matters on planet Earth. The final anti-Christ, predicted in the Bible (in Daniel, 2 Thessalonians, 1 John, 2 John and Revelation), will be the ultimate symbol of his wealth/power concentration and control. Thus, the spirits of avarice (greed) and poverty have their assignments. Wealth begets wealth, just like a corn seed planted grows a stalk of corn, loaded with ears of corn. Yep, Earth remains faithful in reproducing any seed (good, bad or ugly) ‘after its kind’ (according God’s law initiated in Genesis 1), including your thoughts and actions. The spirit of avarice ensures wealth is concentrated and passed from generation-to-generation. The spirit of poverty becomes the cloak (the poverty cloak) used to quiet the masses of those who are disenfranchised and dispossessed, largely preventing their hopes from being realized. Together, these twin spirits have been very effective, and both will achieve their ultimate goal in preparation for the arrival of the final anti-Christ on the scene … soon, and the return of Jesus The (real!) Christ thereafter. There is one pivotal insight the ungodly who are so captivated do not realize, namely the end result of their captivation, as expressed in 1 Timothy 6:9-10 and Proverbs 11:28:

• But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. 
• Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf.

On the other hand, Jesus is patiently working the laws and principles of His Kingdom – giving and receiving. While the growth in numbers of His subjects has been impressive (namely, the real saints of God who were formerly the aint’s of satan), our willingness to embrace and work these principles aggressively has admittedly hit a snag. Our systemic perspectives on finance and economic wealth are so tainted with ‘churchy negativity’ that many shun major aspects of these laws and principles. Many  look with jaundiced eye on the very concept of wealth accumulation, not realizing this view inadvertently reinforces the works of the spirits of avarice and poverty! As a result, Jesus must wait for the next or possibly successive generations of saints who will get it and ‘move forward into the promised land.’ Nevertheless, His ultimate objective shall indeed be accomplished, also. This is affirmed and confirmed in dozens of Scripture verses, e.g.,

1. The wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous. (Proverbs 13:22)
2. For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that he may give to him who is good before God. (Ecclesiastes 2:26)
3. One who increases his possessions by usury and extortion, gathers it for him who will pity the poor. (Proverbs 28:8)
4. Riches and honor are with me (Wisdom), enduring riches and righteousness. (Proverbs 8:18)
5. The blessing of The Lord makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it. (Proverbs 10:22)

The major difference between these two kingdoms in accomplishing their objectives is clear:  The objectives of The Kingdom of God will be eternal, not temporary as with the kingdom and objectives of satan. As with the kingdom of satan, there is one pivotal insight the saints of God either do not know or have not fully embraced across the spectrum of God’s intent, as expressed in 2 Corinthians 8:9:

For you know the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, 

that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, 

that you, through His poverty, might become rich.

The poverty cloak mentioned above has pretty much blinded us of the fuller meaning of this verse. As a result, many of us have been lulled into contentment with a mostly spiritual interpretation of this verse. For them, it would be helpful, as part of a broader meditation on our position ‘in Christ’, to meditate on and muse the many ways in which Jesus was rich and became poor. While meditating, keep in mind Jesus had a full-time treasurer and apparently enough assets for a corrupt disciple to steal and manipulate funds, yet not cripple the countrywide and regional ministry! Moreover, Jesus’ clothes were sufficiently valuable as to attract the desire of Roman soldiers who agreed His robe was too expensive to divide, so they gambled for it! Our adversary, satan, is probably ‘laughing all the way to the bank’, as generation-after-generation of saints decide to embrace only one side (spiritual) of the riches Jesus gave up in order for us to walk in His wealth. Unlike in satan’s kingdom, wealth that Jesus orchestrates and directs will not divert the worship He alone is due, neither will it plunge people into ruin and destruction. Rather, His wealth is a mere by-product of walking in His Spirit, and is used to facilitate His giving/receiving laws and principles for socio-economic justice and harmony in the Earth.

As an international development economist who has a considerable world view (having traveled iteratively to and/or lived in 80 nations/territories, and remaining reasonably au courant on world affairs), one thing seems fairly clear to me. The event(s) that will likely trigger the uncloaking of the final anti-Christ will most likely be the effects of the massive accumulation of wealth into fewer and fewer hands, triggering massive, world-wide revolts. You may disagree and believe some form of politically motivated near-nuclear warfare or massive disease, etc. may be the trigger. Remember, a big (if not the biggest) part of politicized issues are typically financial/economic in nature, and disease pandemics have huge, ultimate financial/economic effects that threaten existing patterns of wealth distribution. From Genesis-to-Revelation, and across all of human history, ask yourself, ‘What role has domination of economic resources played in inter-community and international conflicts?’ Wealth concentration is an issue the rich, by nature, simply are unable/unwilling to resolve, just as the rich young ruler in his encounter with Jesus, as recorded in Mark 10.

We, The Church, need to resist the pulls of the spirits of avarice and poverty, and yield more purposefully to God’s spirits and principles of giving and receiving in order to help usher into being, the more just and humane financial and economic system Christ intended …pending His soon return to planet Earth!

The extent to which we open our giving portal determines the extent to which we receive through that same portal.

Your Heavenly Bank Account (Poem)

If you could check your Heavenly bank account,
would your balance be high or low?
Don't even believe you have one?
Indeed you do, just so you'll know.

God established it when you were born,
but only opened it the day you matured.
Since then, your righteous words and deeds
there are deposited and assured.

If you are old and your balance is low,
more time and grace to you He may extend,
Then wait, see and record when and how
your words and ways you will mend.

If you are wise, you will praise and thank Him
for this tremendous opportunity
To have another chance to avoid paying
Heaven's 'low account balance fee'.

In using your extra time and grace,
will you be demonstrably diligent,
Or toward goodness and righteousness
become even more belligerent?

Before going on an extended trip, like me,
is it your well-established custom
To check account balances to avoid becoming
an "insufficient funds" victim?

Well death is one very l-o-n-g journey
you certainly should not take,
Before making sure your Heavenly account
is in the best possible shape.

We Americans are now acquainted with
the concept of "paying it forward".
Some practice this idea, even with a video
to ensure their good deed is recorded.

So why should the idea of a Heavenly bank account
to our ears sound so strange?
Why should God be less ardent, a record of ALL
our words and deeds to arrange??

Happy New ears

  
'Tis not a typo, as it may seem,

But my sincere wish for you supreme.

For the New Year, may you…

...ASK God for new spiritual ears to hear His still, quiet voice,

and a heart to trust and obey what you hear.

Ask per Isaiah 30:21, Job 33:16, Matthew 13:16

...ASK for an insatiable appetite for Him/everything about Him.

Ask per Deuteronomy 31:12, Matthew 11:29

…RECEIVE a steady supply and variety of good seed for sowing.

Receive per 2 Corinthians 9:10

...LEARN to obey in sowing, not just to consume/hoard your seed.

Learn per 2 Corinthians 9:12-14

…RECEIVE abundant, iterative harvests in their season,

and be diligent to work your harvests.

Receive per Leviticus 23:22, Psalm 107:36-38;

avoiding the shame of Joel 1:11

…DEVELOP skills to practice discipleship,

and seek opportunities to disciple others in His "Love system".

Develop per Proverbs 27:17, Matthew 26:19,

Ephesians 4:11-17, 1 Timothy 4:6, John 13:34-35

...WALK in increasing wisdom, health and wealth

as you diligently learn to live

in His socio-economic system for life on earth.

Walk per 3 John 1:2

In sum, may you 

Ask and Receive (ea. doubly), Learn, Develop, then Walk

May this New Year be your BIGGEST seed sown toward Your New Life.

Hey, it all starts with ... new ears!

So again,  
"Happy New Ears!"

This Christmas Seed (poem)

Cradle Him, Royal Immanuel, Sent To Mankind As Seed

(C.H.R.I.S.T.M.A.S.)

Christmas, God's promised seed planted in the earth per Genesis 3:15 -- the long awaited seed that would:

. Determine to grow God’s Christ, who would 

. Dare to challenge naysayers of His day; would
. Destine Himself to die on a criminal’s cross; who would
. Despise the shame of it all, yet would 
. Dedicate to ‘go through the fire’ (for you and me); to
. Defeat satan's crew on their own turf; then be
. Delivered from the pangs of death and hell, and
. Display Himself as resurrected to over 5,000; then
. Delegate trampling power and authority to us, and finally
. Depart "in a new style" to sit as Heaven's High Priest! 

This same, hard-working Christmas seed, is now:

. Dispatching holy angels to administer His victory
. Defending His legacy as Christ, The Anointed One
. Defeating/destroying the works of satan & company
. Divulging butt-kicking Kingdom laws and principles
. Delivering sin-bound captives the world over
. Developing righteous stewards in the earth
. Diversifying immortal citizens of God's Kingdom
. Despairing forces of evil, destined to eternal flames
. Diverting earthly wealth to Kingdom purposes
. Delivering fruitful worship, praise and adoration

Never doubt the power of a seed unbound,

Especially after it has ‘fallen into the ground’.

Because this seed was born to die,

And then live again forever, so will I.

If desired, my reader, you can live, too

By embracing “The Life” He offers you.

~o~

Most assuredly, I say to you,

unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies,

it remains alone; but if it dies,

it produces much grain. (John 12:24)

Merry Christmas to All

For more on Christmas, please see:
Christmas Reflections

---------- 

Jesus became a seed, planted in Mary's womb

A Good Black Hole?

God created all things as good. So what’s good about a black hole?

A popular book suggests God, and ergo his man, is Wild At Heart (by John Eldredge). This concept really goes against everything I know and understand about God. I wonder whether it may actually confuse who God is, versus what God allows in order to accomplish His highly strategic, principled plan for life? God is a Father of peace, harmony, unity and life. All that He ‘is’ is reflected in the insights we have been given in The Bible regarding Heaven and eternity. This must be recognized as necessarily and distinctly different from what God allows on Earth and in His broader creation in order to facilitate His plans. What we see and experience on Earth is not who He is. It does illustrate the application of some of His precepts and principles, especially GRACE. But these are done within a confined context of ‘tension and resistance’. God is unlike mankind, we who demonstrate our real character under tension, pressure and resistance. His perfect character is revealed in His highest Heaven where there is no resistance, pressure or tension. There, He rules, perfectly.

Jesus said, ‘I beheld satan fall from heaven like lightening’. (Luke 10 and Isaiah 14) Satan fell along with his entourage of one-third of God’s angels who had mounted an unsuccessful coup d’état against God. Talk about tension! God would have nothing of it in His heaven, so ‘out you go!’ Everything they represent is anti-God and anti-life.

Thus, sin occurred first in Heaven, before on Earth. This sin apparently stained certain ‘things/articles’ in Heaven, requiring eventual cleansing by Jesus’ blood (Hebrews 9:23) If sin stained things in Heaven, could the fall of sinful angels from Heaven also have stained the physical creation (under Heaven) with death (anti-life) and darkness? This is the view of the so-called ‘Gap Theory’ that speculates chaos (whether universal or just on Earth) may have occurred between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, and the likely source of such was the fall of sinful angels. Another view is that the fall occurred toward the end of Genesis chapter 1.

Could a ‘death-stained universe’ mean even planets, moons, suns, solar systems and even galaxies, all died? Could kicking satan & co. out of Heaven have automatically meant subjecting all of creation to sin and death, its penalty? Yet, Romans 5:12 says, ‘Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned…’ Does this refute the Gap Theory’s notion that the angelic fall brought sin and death upon the Earth, or does it support the Gap Theory’s notion that Genesis chapter 1 summarizes God’s re-creation of earth following this angelic fall?

Either way, whether in response to the angelic sinful fall or not, God had a plan to establish a perfect world (Earth); create and install mankind as His Earth steward, answerable to Heaven -- right under the noses of fallen angels according to Psalm 8:4 and 144:3; and then, once even mankind was stained with sinful death, to activate His long-term plan to redeem both mankind and all of creation.

God knew sin and death would eventually stain even mankind via satan’s jealous deceptive plot to entice man to join in their God-challenge. And we fell for it, hook, line and stinker!

Thus, it appears the fall of satan and his cohorts may have ignited the engine of death, initially manifested by their separation from God, and subsequently manifested by the ‘dog-eat-dog’ principle at work in all creation under Heaven, and on Earth. This includes death and all things pertaining thereto, for mankind, animals, plants, and also for the suns, planets, moons, solar systems and galaxies flung across the universe: sickness, disease, poverty, lack, disobedience, lying, murder, selfishness, greed, rebellion, indiscipline, the stresses of attacks from insects, microscopic organisms, pollution and climates gone wild, super nova implosions and death to orbiting planets and moons, black holes, and much, much more -- all because of satan’s prideful desire to be God!

Could black holes, thus, be a part of this system of death at work in the universe, e.g., a type of exhaust system. (See: Life Cycle of Circumstances)

But take hope. God’s unfolding redemptive plan includes two additional restorations or recreations of Earth, which will become His home -- Heaven on earth, literally! First, following the tremendous destruction of a large percentage of men and earth’s environment during the predicted seven-year tribulation period (see The Book of Revelation), Jesus will restore Earth’s environment and for a thousand years (a millennium) He and His then im-mortal, human saints (born again believers in Christ) will reign over mortals who will survive the tribulation plagues, and their off-spring born in the millennium. Sometime afterward, He will create new heavens and earth that will last eternally. (Revelation 20 – 21) (Heavens here refer not to the third Heaven, but to universal bodies under the third Heaven.)

Thus, every stain from satan’s fall and man’s sins will be sequentially wiped away - a grand re-set, if you will. satan, his crew, and the death they are and represent will be forever confined to a merciless, hot hell, along with the eternal, im-mortal bodies (not just spirits!) of sinful people who served them as their ‘god replacement’.

During Christ’s Millennial Reign, The Bible hints both people and animals may return to being herbivores, as we were originally. (Genesis 1:29-30) Here’s how and why: 

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea…  For the child shall die one hundred years old… (Isaiah 11:6 – 9, 65:20, 25)

Question: Does this sound like a wild God? Hardly!

Satan’s Preliminary Acts (Poem)

There's a jealous tirade going on, haven't you heard? 

Satan can't stand Jesus, born of God's Genesis Word!
Because God so loved the world, per John 3:16,
He promised us a Redeemer, in Genesis 3:15.

Ever since His arrival, satan’s been 'pitching a fit'.
Things got worse after losing a battle down in his pit.
See, after He was crucified, Jesus went deep into hell.
There He defeated all evil, and satan's kingdom fell.

Though his kingdom fell, satan knows we don't believe,
So he’s still sets traps to see whom he can deceive.
From his name, to his game, it's always the same,
So he tries to trick us to join in all his shame.

And fall for his game WE DO -- hook, line and sinker,
As he turns our lives and world into one really big stinker!
His game is “Jesus' Name and fame to supplant”,
So wherever he can, a tiny seed he will plant.

His seeds have been very fruitful in our world, I see,
Especially at holiday time, so please listen to my plea.
Jesus was transfigured and became glowing light.
Ole satan was jealous, so he picked a big fight.

His strategy wasn't grand; nope, it didn't take that.
He started with something as normal as a tiny alphabet.
He transformed his name from satan to santa,
By simply transposing the 'N'. Bravo! Ta-daaa!

Then he erased 'Christ' from Christmas; it only took an 'X'.
Thus he laid claim to Christmas, now how easy was that?
Uhmm, so what would he do to supplant the resurrection?  
A ‘bunny from an egg’ would answer that question.

As God sent Jesus, Savior of this ole world,
Satan will send his anti-Christ his plan to unfurl.
Though many still reject God's extended hand of Love,
They'll embrace this fool as a gift from above!

My faith releaser:
As our world continues to descend into satan’s deepening darkness,
May the eyes of millions be opened to God’s Light of Christmas.
May they see it is this Christ whom they and others lack, 
 And install Him in their hearts, in place of satan’s “X”

For more on Christmas, please see:
Christmas Reflections

Let's Test the Tester

It’s pretty near impossible to tune into most TV program, movie or other so-called entertainment events these days without encountering, in some form or another, the rot, decay and filth of our deteriorating social fabric. We either seem to be screaming, ‘I don’t care if this and that violate God’s laws and principles, as long as it makes money for me!’, or perhaps we genuinely do not understand and cannot, therefore, appreciate the benefits of these laws and principles. Maybe it’s a mix.

Numerous Scriptures affirm God is testing each of us, individually and collectively. That’s an inescapable fact of life on this plane. For example, see:

Genesis 22:1          Exodus 15:25, 16:4, 20:20        Deuteronomy 8:2
Judges 2:21-22 2    Chronicles 32:31                      Job 7:17-18
Acts 17:11             Ecclesiastes 3:18                      Psalm 66:10, 81:7
James 1:2             1 Thessalonians 2:4                   Hebrews 3:8,17:11

The tests are structured to uncloak and reveal to us (since God already knows), both personally and collectively, the contents of our heart/our spirit. These contents are fed by the continuous, drip, drip thoughts and imaginations of our mind and heart, and our focus on, and reactions to the evolving circumstances of life. As in school, passing the tests qualifies us to move onward and upward into higher levels of blessings for us and through us to others. Moreover, passing the tests qualifies us for yet unimagined roles and functions in the millennial age God promised would follow this age. This point is worth some serious meditation and musing time.

Mass student test failures in our schools typically trigger social outcries, and may lead to teacher firings, school board shake-ups, and school shutdowns. Reading and listening to news reports across our world, it sure seems like there is a whole lot of mass failures of God’s tests going on, yet no commensurate outcries! 

Failing God’s tests seems to be socially acceptable and even rewarding on the surface! ‘So what?’, you ask. ‘Who cares, and why should we care?’ These surface rewards are only temporary, and the real rewards will be one form or another of grotesque punishment. Failure not only impacts and determines the quality of our individual lives; it also influences and shapes the general context of life on Earth. A pertinent question is what kind of world do you want to live in, and for your posterity (grand children and their grand children) to live in? Believe it or not, your personal lifestyle is a tiny, yet important seed to the kind of world they will someday reap! Ponder that, if you will.

Currently, our world is becoming increasingly stinky with the results of sinful pride, injustice, selfishness, greed, etc. To God, it’s like trash smoke in His (spiritual) nostrils. (Isaiah 65:5) So here’s a radical idea:  

Don’t like the Tester or His tests?

Let’s turn-the-tables on God!

Let’s ‘Test the Tester!’
 

What an empowering thought! Where is it written this testing thing must necessarily be a one-way street? Since God tests us to uncloak and reveal to us and others the ‘thoughts-fed contents’ of our hearts, let’s flip this same switch. Let’s find creative ways to reveal back to Him and to others the real contents of His own heart, and see whether He lives up to them, as He expects us to do. Let’s dig and dig into His professed ‘Word’, find those so-called ‘promises’ – explicit and implicit, and put both Him and them to our test! In this, we won’t necessarily be escaping His own tests, but maybe, in some small way, we will be leveling the playing field, so to speak.

Do you find this notion to be radical, and perhaps even a bit empowering? I do, and sure hope you do, as well.

Upon reflection, it may not be so radical after all. This God of The Bible, who claims to be the only true and real God, above all other gods, is so powerful, yet loving and graceful, so confident in who He is, He actually INVITES us to put Him to the test! How about that for confidence? In fact, every promise – explicit and implicit, is a tailor-made invitation to us individually and collectively, to ‘Try Me; try My way’. So let’s take Him up on His extended invitation.

Warning: Just like on most of our processed foods, drugs and medicines, God’s promises to you and me have the equivalent of both a ‘Manufactured/Effective’ date, and a ‘Use by’ date. Unlike our warnings that are stamped on items manufactured in a ‘lot’, His warning dates are personalized to us individually, and only one of these dates is explicitly revealed to us -- our birth date! The ‘Use by’ date is the date of our physical death, which none of us can know (unless revealed in a vision). Also, it is worth noting, other people who have taken up the invitation to ‘Test the Tester’, have discovered how remarkably TRUE His promises are; and how these promises have dramatically transformed the quality of their lives and their personal worlds. I, one among many, have made this discovery for myself. Hence my invitation to you to join me in daily…

Testing the Tester!