Imagination’s Trainer/Exerciser

Though many of us may be out of shape as a result of our indulging lifestyles, we Americans tend to be fascinated with the latest exercise gadgets and equipment.  Could it perhaps be our attraction to technology more than anything else?  Like me, have you also purchased a piece of exercise equipment with good intentions to use it regularly, only to have it join other, previously purchased items over there in a corner or hidden in a closet? Does just looking at your stash of exercise equipment either bring feelings of guilt or perhaps a strange sense of ‘being exercised just from glancing’ at an item??  C'mon now, am I alone here? (Smile) 

Our bodies are made to move -- be exercised.  Elementary, my dear.  But the Bible reveals physical exercise, while necessary, has little benefit.  (Feeling a bit less guilty about your unused equipment stash?) Godliness, which is considered to be good spiritual exercise, however, yields more and longer-term (as in eternal) benefits.  

Unlike us, God is less concerned with the latest exercise technology with which we exercise our bodies, and is more concerned about how we exercise one part of our bodies that we don't hear much about, but is the part that governs our entire being and the quality of our lives. I speak of your imagination.   

Consider this: Your imagination is both the workshop and the exit gateway of your every decision.  It is the workshop of your heart/spirit, where you use your accumulated stash of life tools and skills to "hammer, chisel, saw, sand, tightly screw down, paint and polish" every decision you will ever make.

It is the stash of tools and instruments in this 'workshop', and how we apply them that God is keenly interested in. He refers to this stash and its products as "the imaginations of our hearts".  The problem is that, much like being under-exercised is to our physical bodies, a heart or spirit that is under-exercised in Godliness is spiritually, and also physically unhealthy. A mind and spirit that is under-exercised in Godliness will naturally drift to being exercised in un-loveliness and wickedness. To counter-weigh this problem, He provided His best exercise trainer, an imagination trainer, whose (equivalent) 'technology' is ageless!  It is the: 

B.I.B.L.E

(Believers' Imaginations Being Lovingly Exercised)

Here's an exercise routine/formula that has yielded some fantastic results for me.  See if this will work for you, too. 

‘God in a Book’ (His Word, The Bible)

   + a Regenerated imagination

      + Knowledge of world news and trends

         = Keen spiritual insight/awareness

            X (times/multiply by) 7 -- as in days/week

               ^ (raise to the power of) Rejoicing!

Result: Off the chart real quality of L.I.F.E.

~Life Indescribably Full Everyday~

Happy exercising~

----------

*  For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.  (1 Timothy 4:8)

Our Land-Minded God

Jesus, The Lord God is unequivocally concerned, not only with saving people from eternal damnation, but also with geography. He created Earth with a finite geography, and created mankind with the reproductive potential to fill it FULL. Though it might appear so, this does not necessarily mean He set the stage for eventual scarcity as a result of over-population. Scarcity is a clear product of the endless forms of death that came upon the world and us as a result of our sin.

Here are some key ways that demonstrate His ‘land-mindedness’:

1.  Eden, A Land Garden: After creation, Eden signaled His interest in, and concern about geography. Eden was both a significant geographical and spiritual matter to The Lord, and man’s ability to enjoy Eden was conditioned on his obedience. The deal was simply, obey – enjoy the garden/land; or disobey – be exiled from the garden/land. It should, therefore, be no surprise that this principle carried-over to His ‘chosen people’ and His preferred/chosen land. He promised, throughout their history as a people, the Jews’ relationship (not covenant) with Him would be based on their obedience, and that the state of this relationship would be illustrated/connected in some way to their being in or out of ‘the promised land.’ Obey – enjoy life in the land; disobey – be exiled from (‘vomited out of’) the land.

2.  Land Personified: The Lord’s concern for land is further underscored in the terms of endearment in referring to, and the many promises He makes to the Earth, in general, and in particular to that portion demarcated as ‘the promised land.’ While we refer to the promised land and/or the Earth as ‘it’, He often refers to them as ‘her’, recognizing it as a living organism, sensitive to, and able to respond to both our righteousness (being easily resourceful and flourishing in peace), and to our wickedness (vomiting/spewing out peoples, quaking/shaking, experiencing droughts, etc.). Concerned about the cumulative toll and weight of sin’s effect on the Earth, He promises a total renewal or re-creation, and return to a ‘flat Earth’ (not a disc, but still a sphere, possibly with only ONE mountain or and possibly no oceans since they require huge valleys). This is the incredible image one gets when reading the Earth-reshaping events from the trumpets and bowls judgments shockingly described in chapters 8 - 16 of The Book of Revelation. (See: Revelation - Seven Trumpets Sound (Series) and Revelation - Seven Bowls Poured (Series))

3.  Earth Divided: I have long believed the oceans and seas of today are the waters of the flood in Noah’s day. Here is an article that suggests, if the heights of the Earth’s mountains were leveled to fill the oceans, seas, lakes and rivers, the Earth's surface would be ‘flat’, and, unless it was all evaporated or blown into space, water would again ‘cover the Earth’. (Where Did the Flood Waters Go?) Earth arth was created out from covering waters, above and below a firmament. The waters below were gathered in places on the Earth. Genesis 1 makes no further mention of waters above the heavens, but Genesis 7 says both sets of waters flooded the Earth. Did Earth's land mass separate into continents during the flood, thereby providing places for post-flood waters to flee? I find it insightful that there are 7 continents separating the floodwaters. Biblically, the number, 7, is significant from several perspectives.

4.  The Lord’s Land Demarcated and Divided: The Bible affirms repeatedly The Lord’s affinity for a specific track of land that He ‘desires’, in which He promises to ‘dwell forever’:

For The Lord has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His dwelling place:
“This is My resting place forever;
Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
I will abundantly bless her provision;
I will satisfy her poor with bread.
I will also clothe her priests with salvation,
And her saints shall shout aloud for joy.
There I will make the horn of David grow;
I will prepare a lamp for My Anointed.
His enemies I will clothe with shame,
But upon Himself His crown shall flourish.”

(Psalm 132: 13-18)

This may well be the exact same track of land The Lord promised to give to Abraham and his faithful descendants through the line of Jacob, estimated to be ~600,000 square miles, or about 70 times (another Biblically significant number!) the current geographic area of the current state of Israel today (~8,630 sq. miles, of which 8,367 sq. miles is land area) (Israel, The Land: Geography and Climate). For centuries, this promised land has been divided, and it currently includes major swaths of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria and Egypt, a sliver of Kuwait, and all of Jordan and Lebanon – 7 countries (a Biblically significant number!). This is significant from at least three perspectives, and possibly more. 

a)   First, America's 'far-right Christians' concerned about ‘dividing and sharing God’s land with non-Jews’ should relax and recognize The Lord’s punishment upon nations that have ‘divided up’ His land, goes well beyond the modern day state of Israel, and the current-day so-called ‘two states’ issue weighing heavily upon the world:

I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there on account of My people, My heritage Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; they have also divided up My land. (Joel 3:2)

Ponder this: Who/what actually did the scattering -- The Lord, sinful Jews, invading nations, or the sins Jews committed in the land?? In various parts of The Bible, each of these are blamed for the scatterings! Interesting.

b)   Second, The Lord’s promise to re-gather the Jews back to the land has been unfolding formally since circa May 1948. Since then, a significant percentage of Jews worldwide have migrated to the state of Israel, including many who cannot prove their Jewishness. The majority of those who are outside the land reside comfortably North America and Europe. Ponder this: If all or a significant majority of the world’s Jews outside of Israel were indeed to migrate to Israel immediately, where on Earth (in the land) would they reside? Zechariah 10:10 answers this question! As you take note of world events over the coming years, it is worth pondering this: What on Earth could possibly trigger such a significant migration to, and geographic expansion of Israel? (See: Booty, Pre/Post Millennial Reign (Series) to perceive a possible exciting reason for this regathering.

c)   Third, and potentially most controversial, (i) when and how might The Lord achieve the promised 70-fold increase in Israel’s geographic area (land and seas), and (ii) how might current day terrorist actions to reshape well-established borders in the Middle East possibly facilitate His plan? The Lord has a rich history, so to speak, of using foreign armies to reshape geographic borders.  Consider:

1)  The newly established Israel, fresh out of Egypt, tasked with reshaping borders across the lands of the Amorites (the collective name given to all peoples residing in Canaan) – a foreign army invasion ordained by The Lord.

2)  The Assyria invasion of the 10 northern tribes of Israel – a foreign army invasion ordained by The Lord.

3)  The Chaldean/Babylonian invasion of the 2 southern tribes of Judah -- a foreign army invasion ordained by The Lord.

4)  Rome’s (Titus’) invasion of Jerusalem – a foreign army invasion ordained by The Lord (and forewarned when He was the man, Jesus).

5)  Many, many other cases across human history in which foreign armies (irrespective of their faith/beliefs!) were used by The Lord to punish sin, reshape borders and destroy nations.

6)  Zechariah 14 paints an extremely vivid picture of a foreign/alien invasion of Earth by The Lord Jesus and His entourage of then immortal, resurrected saints from across the ages of human history. Matthew 24:29-31 states His angels will also accompany Him. This invading army of aliens will establish it’s headquarters in the substantially reshaped and highly raised Jerusalem, and will totally reshape not only Israel’s borders, but the entirety of Earth’s geography!!! How’s that for being ‘land-minded’?! 

Irrespective of whether Israel’s borders may be substantially expanded on this side of the Millennial Reign of Jesus on Earth, or just prior to, or during His reign, they will eventually be expanded. Until they are, it is definitely worth pondering considering all world events, especially in the Middle East, in the light of God’s promises and plan.

5.  God’s Land, Bigger Still! The Lord promised establishment of a New Jerusalem, whose dimensions are given as a perfect cube of ~1,363 miles on each side. This outlines a land area of ~1,857,769 or ~1.9 million sq. miles, which is over 3 times (over 300 percent) the estimated size of the track of land promised to Abraham and his faithful descendants! This New Jerusalem will not be on the current version of Earth, but on a BRAND NEW Earth The Lord promised Isaiah He would create. (Isaiah 65 and 66). I suspect this new Earth had long been created prior to the first phase of 'The First Resurrection, to eternal life', hinted in Matthew 27:51-53. It is very likely the abode of all 1st and 2nd age saints who were resurrected and raptured when Jesus was raised from the dead! (See: For You, Which Resurrection? (Poem))

Ponder this: Scientists and mathematicians conclude a cubed city of the size of the New Jerusalem could never fit on the current Earth!!! Since Revelation 22 states this city will be on a HIGH (the highest, or only) mountain on the new Earth, just imagine the implications for the sheer SIZE of that new planet, in a brand new universe!!!!!!! Mind blown??  Mine is.

Conclusion: Yep, The Lord is very much a ‘land-minded’ God. Land is very much on His mind, and land issues within His particular region of concern have been very much like an explosive land mine in human history.  Unfortunately, much more blood and treasure will be spilled and destroyed over and around this land before His ordained eternal peace rests upon the land, in particular, and the Earth, in general.  So brace yourselves, things are about to get rougher.  Nevertheless, there will be a brief 3-½ year period of peace somewhere in the mix (the first half of the 4th age of history (the tribulation age), before the predicted Great Tribulation apocalypse nations of the Earth will have well earned. This time, the ‘foreign army’ will be literally from out of this world! ;o)

No Devil, No Sin, Right?

Wrong!  Dead wrong! 

For decades, I blamed all sin in the world, and in my life, on the presence of a devil and his cohorts operating in the earth – steadfastly resisting every good thing of, and from God, and desperately hateful of mankind whom God loves. After all, I understood the message of the original sin, and clearly saw the role satan played in tempting and deceiving Eve. Yes, The Bible clearly says Adam was not deceived, yet he sinned anyway.  And yes, it also says:

Then the The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5)    

Honestly, it just felt, and still feels good to blame the devil.  No doubt this is the ‘Adamic’ nature within me that seeks a scapegoat for my own sin. How about you? Perhaps, like me, you may also be snuggled up closely to the ageless excuse that says:

“the devil made me do it!”

News flash: The devil & co. cannot make you or me commit sinful disobedience against the immutable laws of God, any more than they can make us drink sea water when we are desperately thirsty. They can and do, however, do their level best to tempt you and me to the point that committing sin seems like 'the best thing since sliced bread', and to have a glass of cool (sea)water to wash it all down our dry, thirsty throats!

Not yet convinced that the title of this post is wrong, dead wrong? Consider this little recognized connection between two prophecies tucked in the back of the Books of Zechariah and Revelation:

• Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the devil and satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years [Millennial Reign of Jesus] were finished. (Revelation 20:2-3)
• And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem [in the 1st War of Gog and Magog, per Ezekiel 38] shall go up from year-to-year to worship the King, The Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. And it shall be that whichever of the families of the Earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, The Lord, on them there will be no rain. If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which The Lord strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. (Zechariah 14:16-19)

Do you see what I see?! 

These passages outline key parts of the Millennial Reign of Jesus on Earth, following the incredibly destructive Great Tribulation period, and His rather dramatic end to the War of Armageddon (possibly as noted in Zechariah 14:12 and Revelation 19). As with every period of God’s punishment of persistent, unrepentant sin on Earth, there will be a remnant of mortal humanity across the world to survive this horrible punishment. They and their descendants will repopulate Earth, and will exist along with the resurrected immortal saints who will have returned to Earth with Christ (following our 7 year absence during the predicted Tribulation and Great Tribulation periods). Ponder that– both mortals and immortals  simultaneously residing on Earth. Even though satan and co. will be bound, locked up for the thousand years of Jesus’ reign, the mortals will still be capable of sin -- disobeying His requirement for people (individuals or family reps?) from nations to travel annually to the new world capital, The New Jerusalem, to worship Him as King of the world, and to keep His Feast of Tabernacles! This includes the small remnants in nations that engaged in the 1st War of Gog and Magog,  nations The Lord will have ‘sought to destroy’. (See: Ezekiel 38 and likely Zechariah 12:9)

wOw, you would think with no devils around anywhere on Earth to tempt people into sinful disobedience, the natural result would be joyful obedience in doing what is right, right?  

Wrong!  Dead wrong!

If there was to be blissful obedience, there would be no need to make reference to a potential punishment for disobedience during that period. Mind you, this thousand year period is not that period which The Bible refers to as eternity, as hinted in The Book of Revelation 21:1-8, and in Daniel 12:3. The Millennial Reign, if you will, is pre-eternity. At its end, the devil & co. will be released for a while to tempt the nations, again!, drawing out what is tucked away in of the hearts of mortals on Earth, namely their will to disobey/sin against God, and receiving due punishment. After all, our incessant will to sin is exactly why The Lord’s reign is referred to In The Bible as His iron rod reign!

I hope this note really upsets your applecart if you, like me, may feel comfortable blaming the devil and his crew for your willful, sinful disobedience against God’s immutable laws. Perhaps you may owe the devil an apology, but don’t even bother! Rather, apologize (repent) to God for the evil intent and motives of the thoughts and deeds that proceed from your heart (your spirit), and then enthusiastically accept His loving forgiveness, graciously made available for you personally through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ as payment for your personal sin. Once you do, daily get into His love letter, His multi-millennial strategic plan for humanity, The Bible, and allow the Spirit of God to enlighten, encourage and equip you to live a life that is both pleasing to Him and worthy of His calling.

Search this blog for much more on The Millennial Reign.

Alas, Salt Fails

Christian believers and practitioners are both designed and designated to be like salt in a world in need of preservation from the rotten influences of wickedness and evil. And it is true, practicing Christ-followers who speak out and act contrary to declining socio-moral trends do have varying degrees of influence in retarding the decay of a society's moral fabric.

In the face of increasing moral decay in America and the world, we hear an increasing number of sermons that seem to blame non-practicing Christian believers, in part, for this decay. No doubt, this is an important factor. However, salt's influence is only designed for a (limited) time. No amount of salt, irrespective of its quality, can preserve a slab or meat....forever!  Eventually, decay will win the day, so to speak, and that slab of meat will/will stink and return to the base elements of ... dirt, facilitated by worms.  

With a rapidly growing world population and proportionately fewer practicing Christ-followers, the 'writing is on the wall', or rather 'in the Book'. Rather than pointing a finger of blame, or cursing the increasing darkness all around us, of course, we should enhance and share our saltiness and ignite a light where ever we can, but more importantly, we need to recognize the world is simply following the script and pre-determinations of our Creator.

Here is an interesting perspective on what could be called the 'Iterative Right-ness/Rottenness Syndrome': 

·      God established His Heaven, and eventually rebellious rottenness was found among a significant cohort of angels. He excommunicated the rottenness, saved a remnant of angels, and restored full right-ness in Heaven. 

·      God established earth in right-ness, and eventually, rebellious rottenness was found therein. He excommunicated mankind and his sinful rottenness from His Garden of Eden, and promised to restore right-ness on the earth, saving a remnant in the process. This restoration promise and process is being fulfilled iteratively via the right-ness/rottenness cycle. 

·      As you quickly scan human history, consider the many, many times and ways in which right-ness was re-established, only to succumb to eventual rottenness, triggering some form of excommunication of the rottenness and salvation of a remnant, only to have the cycle repeat iteratively.

This cycle is reflected, not only in human history, but also in nearly every aspect of physical life and existence across the universe. Though it is an iterative, reflective cycle, it does have a culmination, as briefly described in the last two chapters of The Book of Revelation. Read ‘em and re-Joy-ce!  Righteousness wins, and will be permanently established, un-shakably.

So of course, endeavor to enhance your saltiness, ignite a light wherever you can, and don’t overly criticize the available amount and distribution of ‘right-ness salt’ in our world.  It’s doing its assigned job – for a (limited) time.    

Does this help to put in a clearer light "What's (really) Going On?" in our world?   

Our Tongue: Axe and Revealer (Poem)

Our tongue may very likely be

The ‘axe’ that both felled the tree

Of that we say we really believe,

And also the ‘revealer’ absolute,

Of the real and convincing fruit,

Of seed in our hearts that’s taken root.

Behind Your Teeth 'n Lip (Poem)

Here are some reminders 'n tips

 of the powerful tool 'n wonder

 hidden behind your teeth 'n lips.

~~~

As thoughts flood your mind of the challenges you must daily negotiate,

And circumstances do their best God's Word to miniaturize and negate,

Just remember your VICTORY is assured, and your FREEDOM Jesus bought.

And remember, it only takes a "spoken" Word to trump a contrary "thought".

With God's Word, contrary thoughts have their way to manipulate and tinker,

But a spoken Word cancels them all, then in the air and your mind it'll 

linger......linger.....linger.

So when negative circumstances in your life begin to scream,

Open your mouth, Friend, let His Word from your lips stream.

Hidden in the dark, tucked behind your teeth 'n lip

Is your ladle, designed in God's Word daily to dip.

T'will get you deeper in or out of any contrary situation,

'Cause it's connected to your heart via your imagination.

God's Word kept in your mouth and powerful imagination

Is His design to get you through any devilish situation.

By this, His angels are both authorized and activated,

Assuring His VICTORY into your life is fully translated.

Mid-Year Reminder: ReJOYce (Poem)

 

Here's a friendly mid-year reminder,

Just for you, my most loyal reader.

ReJOYce!  It's my theme for 2015

As I negotiate trials unforseen.

ReJOYcing is not only a holiday thing.

Any time, all year, let your reJOYcing bells ring! 

 ReJOYce I say!

Again I say ReJOYce!

ReJOYce! rather than nag

ReJOYce! rather than worry

ReJOYce! rather than meddle

ReJOYce! rather than analyze

ReJOYce! rather than toss and turn

ReJOYce! rather than wring your hands

ReJOYce! rather than tell friends about problems

ReJOYce! rather than think about your ex- 'n family

ReJOYce! rather than pray over and over about problems

Again

 I say,

Re-JOYce!