TIME

   God is eternal, and so is time.
   Time has no beginning, and time has no ending.
   Because time is eternal, people do not grow older:  we simply age as we live within time.
   God gave us a simple way to understand time when He gave us ways to count the days of our lives with days, weeks, months, and years; and without the knowledge of days, weeks, months, and years, all of our days upon the earth would be as one day.
   Neither would there be a difference in the days of our lives without the rising and the setting of the sun, which is the division of day and night; and without the changing of the seasons and the change of daytime and nighttime, all of our days upon the earth would be as one day.
   God created sleep for us so that we can work in the daylight and sleep in the darkness; for if there was no night and if we never slept, all of our days upon the earth would be as one day.
   At death, time does not end:  we simply move from the physical arena of time to the spiritual arena of time:  from the visible to the invisible:  at which time that which is invisible to us now will become visible.
   Beyond death, however, we take our minds with us as we leave our bodies behind; and in the spiritual visible of time, people will know that they are in heaven with God, just as people will know that they are in hell without Him.
   Heaven is the place for everlasting life while hell is the place for everlasting death; for in hell people will be continuing to die even though they will never die.
   Heaven is the place for eternal light, while hell is the place for eternal darkness.
   Heaven is the place for eternal happiness with God, where time will never end, while hell is the place for eternal punishment, where time will never end.
   As we die, time becomes ever-present.  People in heaven will never age while people in hell will be suffering forever, and the forever never ends.
   God is infinite, and time is also infinite.  Time can only be measured as we understand time to be as time fits human history; and from the time of Adam and Eve until this day is the length of time of human history upon the earth.
   The knowledge of God is infinite, and the love of God is also infinite.
   In conclusion, time cannot be measured in days, weeks, months, or years, and I suppose that the universe itself is both infinite and timeless.  And when God created the universe, the universe was dark---until God said, Let there be light:  and there was light. (Genesis 1: 3) 
   For God turned on the light so that people can see His wonderful, colorful world of creation!
  
  

GRAND ILLUSIONS

   Around the world, people are living under a grand illusion:  that life upon earth is going to get better because of the goodness of people; yet evil is destroying all of the good that people accomplish upon the earth.
   In government, people believe that their government is going to make their lives better, which is also an illusion.
   In the United States, people are living under the illusion that life in America will get better under the leadership of Barack Obama; yet, for five years, Obama's policies and programs have been no better than the policies and programs of previous presidential administrations.
   In Europe, people are living under the illusion that life in Europe will get better because of the European Union; yet nations, all across Europe, are having continuous problems.
   In any nation in the world, people are continuing to suffer because of continuous problems that governments do not fix.
   In religion, too, people believe that their religion is going to make their lives better, which is also an illusion; for religion can do no more for people today than what religion has done for people for thousands of years.
    Poverty, sickness, starvation, and disease prevail throughout the world while the leaders of religion and governments keep the money that could be used to help needy people.
   A false church has several illusions:
      1.  the illusion that a priest is a god, who has the power to forgive sin:  when only Almighty God can forgive sin.
      2.  the illusion that water baptism can wash away sins:  when only the blood of Christ has the power to wash away sins.
      3.  the illusion that infant baptism washes the sins of babies; and when babies become adults, they live under the illusion that water has saved their souls for heaven ever since their days of infancy.
      4.  the illusion of purgatory, in which people believe that they can ride an elevator out of hell and reach heaven.
   Because of these illusions that reign in the imaginations of people in false churches, they do not believe that Christ is sufficient for salvation because Christ is presented as a graven image, or an idol, who does not possess the power of their human priesthood.
   The only way out of grand illusions is to have faith in Christ for salvation.  When this happens, we cease to have faith in politicians, we cease to have faith in religion, and we cease to have faith in false priesthoods for our faith is in Christ the Lord.  For this purpose Christ was born.
      For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.  (Luke 2: 11)

SALVATION BY PERCEPTION

   The storybook of false churches can easily be called, Salvation by Perception.
   For thousands of years, this has been the program of man's religions, which became the program of false churches after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
   Jesus said, Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. (Matthew 7: 15)
   For nearly two thousand years, false churches have been spinning the same yarn that has been spun by pagan religions---luring people in their webs with doctrines and dogmas that appear to be real; for it is in imagination where deception abides:  and people, as innocent lambs, have been tricked by cunning wolves.  Therefore the wolves, dressed in priestly garments, are in the sheepfold shearing the sheep in false churches, and because of deception, the people do not know that the wolves are even there!
   To begin, the people have been tricked to believe that the priests of false churches have the power of God to forgive sin---so much so, in fact---that the people call them Father, and the High Priest they call Holy Father.  The people bow to them and submit to them as if they are God Almighty. 
   They further perceive that these humans possess the power to wash their sins with water as well as to secure the eternal future of their little ones by submitting their babies for infant baptism. 
   Furthermore, because of deception by perception that reigns in the minds of the people, Easter and Christmas are of equal value to the pagan festivals of Fat Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, and Mardi Gras; and they eat fish on Fridays as the feast of Dagon, the half-man/half-fish deity of ancient Babylon.  Christmas and Easter are simply part of the total religious package, which means that the birth and resurrection of Christ means no more than rubbing ashes on their foreheads on Ash Wednesday, and that Christ means no more than Dagon.  Jesus is part of the package, the religious experience, or a baby idol.  Instead of looking to Jesus for salvation, they look to their human priests!
   The founding fathers of false churches embraced the rites and rituals of pagan religions and their flocks do the same because of the perception of their minds.  They have never heard the truth about God, about Jesus Christ, nor the truth that is contained in the Holy Bible, and the people still live in fear today just as their families have lived in fear for hundreds of years; for many of the people in false churches believe they have received a religion by inheritance:  they perceive that they were born to believe this way.
   Salvation by Perception is a sad story, but it is also a tragedy.  For people all over the world, from the poorest to the richest, from the uneducated to the educated, still believe in this ancient paganism as if it is as fresh and new as the morning dew.
   May God give them the grace to know and to accept the truth that is in Christ Jesus.
   Amen.

RULERS OF DARKNESS

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  (Ephesians 6: 12)

   Who are these rulers of the darkness of this world?
   To begin, Satan and his demons are the rulers of this darkness of this world.  They exist in the invisible realm of this world, unseen by human eyes.  They are not in hell, bound in chains.  That will come later, at the appearing of Jesus Christ, but now they are free from their eternal judgment in hell.
   Satan and his demons are likened unto computer hackers:  they are invisible thieves, trolling the internet in search of an open window through which they will steal vital information and destroy the lives of people with identity theft and empty bank accounts.
   Satan and his demons have the power of spiritual influence in the minds of people:  directing people to choose evil instead of choosing good; influencing people to use their creative imaginations in order to create things that are evil:  to produce evil images, such as the images of pornography and sexual visuals for television programs and movies; to create evil music; and also to produce images of gods and goddesses, or idols that people worship as gods.
   Secondly, Satan's ministers and priests of religions are also rulers of the darkness of this world.  Their duty is to keep the minds of people focused within their religions and not to look for Almighty God, and to keep them focused on their gods and goddesses, or idols, whom they worship.
   Thirdly, the ministers and priests of false churches are rulers of the darkness of this world.  Their duty is to keep Christ hidden, to keep the Bible hidden, and to keep people focused on the programs of their churches, on the rites and rituals, and on the dogmas and doctrines that govern their lives, and to keep focused on their priesthoods.
   Moreover, the priests of false churches have created images of gods in the imaginations of their congregations and the people worship those images.  By keeping Christ in the image of a baby, the resurrection of Christ is less important.  By keeping Mary, the mother of Jesus, in an image as the Mother of God and Queen of Heaven, people worship her image as a goddess.  By promoting people to the position of saints, the images of these dead people are worshipped as gods and capable of answering prayers.  And by removing the Bible from the hands of the people, the people consider the Bible as an image of forbidden fruit within their church system.  Overall, the truth of Christ is not taught in false churches.
   The ministers and priests of both religion and false churches also keep Satan hidden.  They do not want their congregations to believe that Satan is a real creature---while, at the same time, the ministers and priests worship Satan in their secret chambers of darkness.
   Fourthly, the people of secret societies are rulers of the darkness of this world; for within these societies, they have a secret or mystery religion, which is the worship of Satan in their tunnels and secret chambers that are underground, hidden from public view.
   The ministers and priests of both religion and false churches are also members of secret societies.
   Secret societies are represented by armies of people, highly organized and highly efficient, in an effort to cloak themselves in the secrecy of Satanic worship, but to also appear as normal people within their societies wherever they live.  They are deceivers and masters of deception and illusion, highly educated, and wealthy with the world's money. 
   Together, the ministers and priests of religion, false churches, and secret societies control the world by controlling the governments of all nations.  They control the money, and, by controlling the world's money supply, they control every other entity of evil throughout the world.  Their ultimate goal is to control the world with a false church and to raise up a false messiah. 
   The rulers of the darkness of this world are all over planet earth, including the communities and neighborhoods where you live.  Some are your neighbors, some are people with whom you see at church, and some could also be within your own family.  They are deceivers, liars, and the truth is not in them.
   All of the rulers of the darkness of this world are against Christ, and their system of deception is working by keeping millions of people chained in the darkness of images of their imaginations.
   Please remember:  Jesus is alive!  And the only purpose for religions and false churches is to keep the knowledge of Christ hidden, which is the purpose of the rulers of darkness.

BATTLESTATION ONE

   Even though we can be humble and exhibit the behavior of humility, be not deceived:  for pride never completely leaves us, nor forsakes us, nor goes away.
   Pride is like a snake in the grass.  We do not see the snake, but he is there, hiding and concealing himself in total silence, in shadows of darkness.  He is sneaky, he is sly, and, in moment when least expected, he strikes:  at which time we can exhibit the behavior of a prideful person.
   Therefore, it is important that we guard our minds: guard how and what we think about; for the devil looks for opportunities to strike in our minds; and if our minds absorb his venom, we will strike at others. 
   It is important to remember that we are human and not gods. 
   We must be aware of our thinking at all times, not merely some of the time. 
   We must remember that we are flesh and not spirits. 
   As Christians, the devil wants to destroy us.  The devil wants to bring us down.  The devil wants to tear down that which has been built up. 
   As for the ministers of Christ, the devil wants to entice them to engage in sinful activity in order to knock them out of pulpits.  To do so, he will attack their minds with a seductive woman and the man's mind will do that which is natural:  he will think about sex with her, and, if he is unable to change his mind, he will follow his thoughts that will lead him to her door.
   The same is true for a Christian woman.  The devil will hang a carrot on a stick and she will fall to a seductive man if she is unable to change her mind.
   The human mind is a place of warfare, the battleground where we must choose between good and evil.  These two choices will never go away, and these two choices never change.  They are always there in the present tense.
   The mind is our Oval Office, and we are the Presidents and Chief Executive Officers of our decisions.  The decisions we make impact the way we live each moment of each day, but our decisions also impact the lives of other people.  Therefore it is important to remember that, before we exercise a decision, think about the consequences for ourselves but also the impact of our decisions in the lives of others.  This is not always easy, and, it can be quite difficult.  For at first we want to please self, which is prideful.  And if we can resist that which is prideful we have made the correct choice.  But, without a moment's notice, we can again be in the position to make an executive decision, which can become an executive order. 
  And we have this power.  If we can submit this power and allow God to govern our minds, we will make good choices; but if we submit this power to the governance of our own pride, we will make bad choices. 
   The human mind is therefore BATTLESTATION ONE.  It is the place of continuous warfare, and this warfare is spiritual:  the battle between good and evil.
      For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  (Ephesians 6: 12)
  

THE TEMPLE OF SATAN

   A religious mind is a prideful mind.
   As such, a religious mind is not concerned with anything new or anything different.
   A religious mind controls and dominates a person's life and all of his or her activities; therefore, they are unwilling to learn anything new or anything different because they believe they know everything. 
   In athletics, for example, a prideful mind is impossible to teach; for the person is unwilling to learn the fundamentals of a sport because he or she believes they know everything.  Consequently, they will not submit themselves to a coach because they know more than the coach, and thus unwilling to become a student and allow the coach to be the master.  Because they are prideful and unwilling to learn the fundamentals of a sport, they will likely never be much better than they are today.  But in their own minds they want others to believe that they are good at what they do.
   A prideful mind is not interested in seeing others, but its interest is in being seen by others.  Watch me.  See me.  Hear me. 
   A mind that is consumed by religion has no concern for others, for its interest is in itself.
   A person with a prideful, religious mind is co-dependent with his or her religion; and it is from the belly of the religion that feeds the person all of his or her nutrients of life.  As such, they cannot think outside of themselves because their focus in on themselves.  Watch me.  See me.  Hear me.
   Religion is a consuming fire, burning in the minds of prideful people.  It controls and dominates their lives because the religion owns their minds. 
   A religious mind, therefore, is the temple of Satan because religion is from the mind of Satan.
   As such, a religious mind is co-dependent with Satan and the two hands are in one glove.
   The god of a religious-prideful mind is the person's religion, and people consumed by their religion live and act like gods; and they will destroy the relationships of other people because they want their own way.  Watch me.  See me.  Hear me.
   If you recall, it was the religious-prideful people of Jerusalem who killed Jesus; therefore people, who are consumed by religion, are as much against Christ today as the people who crucified the Lord; for their spiritual daddy is Satan, and he abides in their minds.  So wherever they go they take Satan with them because their mind is Satan's temple.
   As it is written, Be not conformed to this world:  but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.  (Romans 12: 2)  Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. (II Corinthians 10: 5)
   As it is also written, The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all.  Amen.  (II Corinthians 13: 14)
  
  

HE RESTORETH MY SOUL

   Sheep are led and cattle are driven.
   Shepherds are leaders while ranchers are drivers.
   Shepherds lead their sheep while ranchers drive their cattle.
   Shepherds lead their sheep home while ranchers drive their cattle to the slaughter.
   Sheep live long lives, producing wool, year after year after year; while cattle are raised for immediate consumption.
   Jesus is the Good Shepherd and He leads His sheep; and the sheep hear His voice and follow.
   Leaders of religion, however, are ranchers---and they drive their cattle to the slaughter.  They are not shepherds, and they care not for their herds. 
   The Good Shepherd gave His life for His sheep while the ranchers of religion die for no one, not even their baby calves. 
   The Good Shepherd leaves the flock to find lost sheep; while ranchers of religion search for strays  on the way to the slaughter.
   A shepherd will carry his wounded sheep; but a rancher will let his sick cattle die on the prairie.
   A shepherd leads his flock to water and green pasture; while a rancher leads his herd on the prairie:  amid the dust, rocks, and dry bones.
   A shepherd is interested in his flock; but the rancher is only interested in money.
   A shepherd sells the wool; but a rancher sells his herd at the slaughterhouse.
      The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:  he leadeth me beside the still waters.  He restoreth my soul.  (Psalm 23: 1-2)