A BLOOD WAR

   Controlling and domineering people use ANGER as their weapon of warfare to keep their subjects in line and in obedience to their commands.  They are like toddlers, always wanting their own way and always wanting others to do as they say.  When there is disobedience in the camp, they throw temper tantrums and stomp.  Their words come out of their mouths as flaming darts.  Those in obedience to their commands buckle at the knees:  they do not resist, and, like trained puppy dogs, they heel, for they are always on a leash. 
   In families, they are the keeper of the clock, for they control work time, play time, rest time, chow time, and also church time. 
   Controlling and domineering people are PRIDEFUL.  They are selfish, always wanting their own way as well as the way of others within their command.  They are also envious and jealous.  In their own minds, no one else is better than themselves.  They are proud of themselves, proud of their homes, proud of their possessions, and most proud of their religion or church. They have no praise for others for that would rob them of the shine of their own halo.  If they do something for others, they expect a "thank you" card to arrive in the mail.  Disagree with them, and their fury will come out of their eyes and mouths like fire-breathing dragons.  And they will stomp.
   Controlling and domineering governments are also prideful, for they are managed by prideful people; and the personality characteristics of a controlling and domineering government are the same as prideful individuals.  If people do not buckle at the knees, they will employ ANGER to get people to toe the line.  This is when the government will send soldiers to capture, imprison, or even kill disobedient citizens.
   But beyond individuals and governments, religion also controls and dominates people; and religion will use ANGER if it does not get its way; and religion will send its soldiers to capture, imprison, or even kill disobedient people within its command.
   Jesus was killed by angry people.  They were prideful, wanting their own way, and thus they killed the Son of God, believing that they could continue living without the interference of Almighty God.
   The people who killed Jesus were also religious as well as members of government. 
   As for the millions of martyrs of Jesus, they were also killed by angry people---members of religion, which was also the government, for religion and government had merged as one body.  Thus,  religion sent its soldiers to capture, imprison, and to murder the people who believed in Christ.
   Therefore we are engaged in spiritual warfare, which is A BLOOD WAR.  This war features the soldiers of Satan against the soldiers of Christ, which is a war that began with the crucifixion of Christ as well as a war that is not yet finished; for in the future, when government and religion become one, Christians will be captured, imprisoned, and killed by the prideful people of government and the prideful people of religion. 
   As Christians, this is our future.  What we have, however, is what the world is missing:
      But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.  For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.  (Hebrews 2: 9-10)

GRACE

   Grace is unmerited favor from God.  It is receiving something from God that we have not earned, nor can we work to achieve this favor from God.  For grace is a gift from God, and, as a gift, it is absolutely free.
   Salvation also is a gift from God.  It is something from God that we have not earned, nor can we work to achieve this favor from God.  Like grace, it is a gift from God, and, as a gift, it is absolutely free.
   Grace, however, comes first.  And to receive grace, we must become humble, for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.  (James 4: 6)
   In the game of life, God reveals Christ to us, knowing that Christ will help us in our game of life.  If we are proud, however, we will resist Christ, which means we will not receive grace, which means we will not receive salvation.
   In our pride, we will continue to believe that whatever we believe is better than Christ. 
   In our pride, we will continue to believe that we know a way to heaven that does not include Christ. 
   And in our pride, we will continue to believe that our religious system has cleansed us from our sins, such as rites and rituals, but also from water baptism. 
   Because God loves us, He keeps coming back to us as He continues to point our minds toward Christ.   
   God knows that we are prideful, and, as disobedient children, God the Father continues to love us, even in our sin, just as a shepherd goes in search of his missing sheep.
   To God, we are the sheep of His pasture.  And when sheep hear the voice of the Shepherd, they follow. 
   When you hear the voice of Christ, the Lord is speaking to you as one of His sheep.  This means it is time to come home.  It is time to stop living as a lost sheep away from the fold.  For a sheep out of the fold will become food for the wolves. 
  Wolves are prideful, and the wolves are Satan's ministers and priests who are working to keep you in captivity, to lead you to the slaughter.  If you do not turn around and follow the voice of the Shepherd, you will die there with the other little lost lambs. 
   When I heard the voice of Christ speaking to me for the first time, I resisted.  I resisted many times, in fact. Like a loving father, the voice of Christ kept coming back to me.  But when I humbled myself at the feet of God, I received grace; and after receiving grace, I asked for and received salvation---free and clear!   And my life has never been better!  I have never known the peace that I have known since the day of my salvation.
     

MANNEQUINS & MASQUERADES

   The most beautiful part about knowing God is in knowing that I know Him without a building; for if God is not the Lord of my life in my present location, He will not be the Lord of my life when I enter a building. 
   God is not my idol because idols never leave the buildings; for idols remain there, in stone-cold silence, having no eyes or ears, never breathing. 
   Neither are dead people my idols because necromancy is the worship of the dead, which is man's way of promoting dead people to the position of gods; and like physical idols, they have no eyes or ears, and they are never breathing. 
   Knowing God also means that I can pray to God at any time, no matter where my location may be.  With idols, this is not so:  for people must enter buildings to pray to their idols, which have no eyes or ears, and are never breathing.
   With God, I can ask for forgiveness for my sins at any time of day, no matter where my physical location may be.  With idols, this is not so:  for people must be in the presence of idols to ask for forgiveness:  from gods that have no eyes or ears, never breathing.
   God created the universe, but people have created idols out of God's created universe.  Such people are the same as thieves and robbers:  they have stolen the identity of God and given it to idols, or things that God created. 
   Idols are like the mannequins you see in department stores.  They are not real people.  Neither do they move unless living people move them from place to place. 
   Mannequins are masquerades:  they are dressed to look like real people even though they are lifeless.
   Idols are also masquerades:  dressed to look like real gods even though they are lifeless.
   False apostles, ministers, and priests are also like mannequins, and they are masquerades:  they are dressed to look like ministers and priests of God, when they are actually ministers and priests of Satan; for they do not teach people that Christ is alive!
   If I did not believe that Christ is alive, I would not believe in Him for my salvation; neither would I waste my time writing about Him.  At which time I would be no more than people who enter buildings to worship idols, and I would be like a mannequin, dressed as a masquerade.
   For nearly two thousand years, the false apostles, ministers, and priests of false churches have tried to change Christ to a mannequin and to dress Him as a masquerade:  to keep Him dead and not living; to keep Him as an idol of worship as having no eyes or ears and never breathing. 
   But when Christ returns, such people will fear Him:
      Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him:  and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.  Even so, Amen.  (Revelation 1:7)
  

BEHIND THE CURTAIN

   Snakes do not want their presence known; therefore, they are sneaky, sly, silent, and secretive.       
   Hypocrites exhibit the same behavioral characteristics of snakes:  sneaky, sly, silent, and secretive.
   A false church is the same as a pagan religion, and a pagan religion is a serpent religion because Almighty God is not the god of a false church. 
   Satan is the lord of false churches, and not Jesus Christ. 
   The identity of Satan is hidden within false churches because the ministers and priests of Satan do not want the people to know that they are worshipping the devil.
   The ministers and priests of Satan are deceivers, liars, and the truth is not in them, yet they appear to be ministers of God.  Their work is to keep the eyes of their members focused on the idols within their church, or pagan religion:  to keep the eyes of people looking down and not up.
   When people of false churches know that Christ is the Son of God, yet refusing to acknowledge Christ for salvation, they become hypocrites.  They do not want their true identity to be known, so they become as snakes:  sneaky, sly, silent, and secretive.  They want others to believe that they are Christians, yet they have nothing to say about Christ.  Their ministers and priests have deceived them to believe that they are Christians from their relationship with their church. 
   Hypocrites know that Christ is the Lord, just as the people who killed Christ knew that Jesus is the Son of God.  This is the reason hypocrites hide themselves within the identity of their false churches because they do not want others to know that they are against Christ:  for they have become children of the devil. They prefer to worship the god of their church, or religion, instead of worshipping at the feet of Jesus.
   Hypocrites are proud people.  They are proud of their establishments, proud of the buildings, proud of the programs, the rites and rituals, and they are proud of their ministers and priests.  Above that, they are proud of themselves because Satan has deceived them to believe that they have a way to heaven that does not include faith in Christ.  As such, they are now thieves, just as the devil is a thief, and, as thieves think, they believe they are getting away with something.
   As children of darkness, hypocrites do no have true feelings, or emotions.  They have no true joy of life, and even their laughter is phony.  Above this, they have no tears because they have no humility.  They have no true interest in other people, nor in the success of others.  They are quick to judge others, to point out the flaws in others, because they see themselves as perfect in all of their ways:  and that their religion---or false church---is the only place for true Christians. 
   Like Satan, or the serpent, hypocrites are sneaky, sly, silent, and secretive; for their personalities have conformed with the personality characteristics of their father, Satan.
   Satan has always been the god behind the curtain of false churches as he is now; for the profile of a snake never changes.
      And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end will be according to their works.  For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.  (II Corinthians 11: 13-15)
  

ANGRY LIONS

   Anger is the evidence of pride, and pride is the evidence of domination and control.
   Pride is the absence of love; therefore, prideful people cannot truly love others because they are in love with themselves:  they are selfish and self-centered; they are takers and not givers.
   An angry woman or an angry man seeks to dominate and control the home.
   The gait (or walk) of an angry person is not normal:  they stomp.  Even when not exhibiting tirades of anger, they stomp when they walk.  They stomp through the house, they stomp at work, they stomp on sidewalks, and they stomp wherever they go. 
   The gait of an angry woman is not the normal gait of a woman without anger.  She does not have a feminine walk.  She stomps.  She stomps through the house, at work, at play, on sidewalks, and wherever she goes.  There is nothing feminine about the gait of an angry woman.
   An angry person is arrogant.  Their opinion is the only opinion that matters, and they want their opinions to dominate and control conversations.  Disagree with them and their anger will stand up within themselves for they cannot be wrong.  Neither do they like being corrected, or challenged; for statements they make are statements others should accept---with no questions asked. 
   Arrogant people like to give orders, not make requests.  And they do not like for their requests (orders) to be rejected; for they fully expect people to follow their orders, to do as they say.
   They can be subtle; they can be crafty:  for the heart of the angry is to be the master.
   An angry person has no humility.  They are not truly interested in the lives of others.  They rarely ask how you are doing, for they do not truly care.  They rarely ask about your interests and accomplishments, for they do not truly care.  When they arrive at your house, they are there to be seen and heard, not you.  If you have a spot of grease on the wall, they will point it out, so that you will know that they know it. 
   When two prideful people marry, they become co-dependent---like two hands in the same glove.  Yet one will dominate the relationship and the other will be submissive, for there can be only one boss; and the submissive one will live in fear of the boss.
   Dictators are prideful, they are angry, and they seek to dominate and control other people.  They have no love for others because they love themselves. 
  As dictators, they roar as the roar of a lion.  They roar to inject fear in the minds of others.  They roar to subdue their prey.  They roar to bring others under their control and domination.  They roar to be heard above all others.  They roar, but also they stomp:  to crush their enemy.
   Above all else, prideful people do not know God, nor Christ, because they have no humility:  and without humility, their lives are absent of the love of God.  They reject Christ, and because they have rejected Christ, they have rejected the love of God.
      God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.  (James 4: 6)

BLOOD KIN

   Throughout human history, thousands and thousands and thousands of people, men and women, have been crucified on crosses and on trees across many nations.
   Their names are not recorded, mentioned in history books, nor even known by people living today.  Many had wives and husbands, children and grandparents. They had dreams and goals of their own, but their lives were taken from them, for they were robbed of their right to live by cold-bloodied killers.
   Like us, they wanted to live, build homes, be happy, and perhaps travel from place to place, or to see the world. 
   Like us, they wanted to be free:  free to stay, free to go, free to explore, and free to invent and be creative, to write poetry or songs or paint portraits.
   Like us, many of them did not want to harm other people.  Perhaps many of them were not thieves and bandits. 
   Like us, they wanted to live.
   Looking back, and from the lack of information, it is as if they never lived at all, for the stories of their lives and names have vanished from the face of the earth.
   Over these thousands of years of human crucifixions, do you think it is an accident that the name of only one person in the world is remembered for His death by crucifixion?
   Unlike all the others, the story of Jesus is recorded.  We know about His birth, we know about His parents, and we know about His travels and relationships with people.  We know about the stories He told. We know about the people who liked Him, and we know about the people who wanted Him to die, even though He never did anything worthy for death by crucifixion.  Is this knowledge to us simply an accident?
   Over the past two thousands years, Jesus has been talked about more than any person who has ever lived.  Is this, also, simply an accident?
   Is it an accident that you can go on the internet and read about Jesus more than any other person?
   It is not an accident that God reveals the name of Jesus to the minds of people and more than any other person.
   Since Christ is not an accident, it would be wise to pay attention. 
   God's revelation of Jesus Christ is a message from Heaven.  God wants you to know His only begotten Son.
   If you study your genealogy, it is possible that people in your family tree were killed by crucifixion?  These would haven been your blood kin.
   Is it also possible that people in your family tree were martyrs for Jesus Christ?  These, too, would have been your blood kin, dying for Christ.

THINGS REMEMBERED

It is easier to remember
   the things we do wrong
 than to remember
   the things we do well.

   When I was in the third grade in elementary school, I stole a boy's new pencil from the top of his desk when he walked away. I did that.  Upon returning to his desk, he challenged me in the case of the missing pencil, and I lied.  Then he marched to the front of the class to get the teacher to divide the stories, and I continued to lie.  I told a story that could fill the pages of a little book, but the teacher was not buying it.  Finally, I confessed my wrong, returned the pencil to the boy, and he and I remained friends throughout high school.  On top of this, the teacher issued no punishment, and this incident was never mentioned again.
   That event happened nearly sixty years ago, and I have remembered it all these many years---detail by detail, lie upon lie---and today is the first time I have ever told this story. 
   In like manner, when we confess our sins to Christ---just as I confessed my wrong to the teacher---there is no punishment, and the Lord erases our wrongs from His mind.
   For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.  (Hebrews 8: 12)