DOUBLE EXPOSURE

      the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth. (Genesis 8: 21)
   Whereas, Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. (James 1: 17)


   Go to the toddler and consider his ways, for children learn from their environment. 
   Contrary to private and public opinion, we are born to be bad, not born to be good.  We are born to tear down and destroy, not born to build up.  When a toddler learns to walk, he becomes a soldier of terror.  When he does not get his way, he stomps.  Left alone in his ways and without corrective discipline, he will continue his binge of destruction, for he knows no other way.  He will be mean and nasty, not pleasant and nice.  As he grows older, he will seek people who are like-minded because he identifies with their behavior, and he will seek a brotherhood of his own characteristics.
   Moreover, if the toddler is trained in the school of religion, he will be religious.  If he is taught to worship idols, he will worship idols. If he is taught that a man of the earth can forgive his sin, he will go to that man to have his sin absolved.  If he is taught socialism, he will become a socialist.  In his mind, he will seek others who are like-minded, and he will hate those who are not like him.  For the toddler's knowledge is planted in his mind from people within his own environment.
   On the other hand, a toddler can be taught how to be a good and nice person within a religion.  He can be taught to take baths, comb his hair, wear clean clothes, be a good neighbor to others, get a good education, get a good job, make money, and become a model citizen.  After which he can train his children to do likewise:  to be a good religious person.  Through his goodness, he will believe that he is in good standing with the god of his religion.  That he is a man of peace instead of a man of war. And because he believes that his religion has purified him, he will not believe that he needs Christ for salvation because he found salvation in his religion:  in those rites and rituals that he can see with his eyes and touch with his hands.  This toddler's knowledge has also been planted in his mind from people within his own environment, but because he is good and nice, instead of a terrorist toddler, his life will become a performance of good deeds. 
   Without God, however, the imagination of man is a factory of evil.  He can create things that are evil as well as look evil, but, because of his power to deceive, he can also create evil things that actually look good and sound good.  For example, a Devil's Food cake appears to be a white cake.  Yet only the icing is white, for under the icing the cake is black.  Likewise, a man in a white robe can appear to be a minister of God, yet under the white robe the man's heart is black with evil, for he is only pretending to be a minister of God, and, because of his power to deceive, people will actually believe that he is a minister of God, after which they will bow to him, as if he is a god, and kiss his ring.
   Even before the Great Flood of Noah, God rendered His assessment of man's behavior on the earth by saying:  every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  (Genesis 6: 6)
   Because of this power to deceive that man exercises from his imagination, many people of the earth believe that God is among us in a man on the earth, that he rides on a white horse, in an armored limousine, in a bulletproof chariot, and flies in a sophisticated aircraft surrounded by a squadron of military fighter jets.  If they truly believe that their "god among us" is supernatural, why do they believe they must protect him from being killed, murdered, or assassinated? 
   Throughout human history, men of religion have been the kings of pedophilia---the darkest evil of man's evil imagination.  And though people of religion can know that their "god among us" is a pedophile, that he rapes little boys and girls, they will turn their faces from this truth because they believe that their god can do whatever he wants to do, that he should have whatever he desires to have, because if they deny their god, he will deny them---because he is, after all, a god and not a man.
   And when God saw Nimrod and the people building the tower of Babel, the Lord said: now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.  (Genesis 11: 6)
   In man's imagination, he builds a brick wall that protects him from the knowledge of Almighty God.  In the world that he creates in his own imagination, he feels safe and secure, for it is there that he also believes he has manufactured his own way to step over sin and to reach his imaginary destination, which is his imaginary heaven---a utopia without God.  In his imaginary world, however, Satan has pulled the wool over his eyes and closed the blinds.  And because of the power of man's imagination, he sees his own image in his imaginary heaven, created in his mind from the imaginations of evil men, which is a double exposure:  their minds became his mind.
      But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:  in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.  (2 Corinthians 4: 3-4)


  

SHAKESPEARE'S STAGE

      All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players:  they have their exits and entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
                    ---William Shakespeare


   What is the meaning of life, and how much is your life worth in your own eyes as well as in the eyes of others?
   According to William Shakespeare's seven ages, your latter years will be no more than the days of your infancy because you will return to a second childhood, at which time you will depend on others to take care of you, to feed you, to read bedtime stories to you, and to clean up after you.
   Shakespeare's assessment does not give us much hope, does it? 
   Do you think of yourself as no more than an actor on a stage, playing your role in the play, and the clothes you wear is the uniform of your character?  Is that all there is to your life? 
   In two or perhaps in no more than three generations from now, people in your own family line will know no more about you than a name etched on a tombstone.  Unless you leave a written record of your life, people will have blank faces when they hear or read your name.  They will never know about your dreams, your accomplishments, nor possess any of the things you leave behind.  Were you no more than an actor, or a character, on Shakespeare's stage of life?  Did you play your bit part, only to disappear behind the curtain and be seen no more?
   In the eyes of the world, we are no more than Shakespeare's description:  actors on the stage of life, living the seven ages of man in a lifetime, only to die, return to dust, and never to be known thereafter.  So much for the inscription, "GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN".
   For as we look at the world as Shakespeare's stage of life, we see two groups of men as the stars of the show, the dominate players, the ones at center stage, and constantly in the spotlight.  Their names are in newspaper headlines, and their images are ever-constant on magazines, tabloids, and television.  These are the men of politics and the men of religion, and people all over the world follow them as minor characters in the play, bowing at their feet as gods, feasting from their words, and believing that they are leading us to a new frontier, or to a promised land flowing with milk and honey, and that we are to keep the dream alive in the minds of children, the future generations of fantasy and make-believe.
   Over the past two thousand years, such men have been actors of the same role, spinning the same yarn, and people have been living the same script that they have written; for on Shakespeare's stage of life and seven ages, there is no room for God, nor for Christ, nor for the Bible. 
   When God is not included in the lives of people, they are no more than puppets on the strings of their masters.  For across the world today, the knowledge of God is becoming less and less known, and Jesus, in the minds of many, many people, is no more than a imaginary character for Christmas and Easter.
   While millions of people, however, believe in God, believe in Christ, and believe in the Bible, our roles are not important on the stage of this world, for we are outcasts, unimportant, and not wanted.
   On Shakespeare's stage, we are no more than characters in a play, performing our parts, and, after we die, another person picks up our script, takes our clothes, and follows the same performance as servants and slaves to the men of politics and the men of religion.
   Jesus said, For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?  (Mark 8: 36-37)
   So then, what do we profit if we follow the men of politics and the men of religion who have gained the whole world, but have lost their souls?

BE WISE

      Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.  (1 Corinthians 2: 9)
     For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.  (Jeremiah 29: 11)
    For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.  (Isaiah 55: 8-9)
    Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he:  before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.  (Isaiah 43: 10)


   Have you ever thought that God has plans for you?  That not only does God have plans for you in life beyond the grave, but that He also has plans for you in this life, in this present here and now?
   Have you ever thought that He, who created the universe, has plans for you as a human among humans?
   Have you ever thought that you, even now and wherever you live, could be a servant of the Most High God, who abides in heaven?
    When God revealed His plan for the life of Noah, he believed in God by faith and built an ark on dry land. 
   Abraham was 75 years old when God revealed His plan for his life, and Abraham believed in God by faith and became the father of a new nation, a nation that had previously never existed on the earth.
   Fanny Crosby is one of the pioneers of Christian music.  Before her death in 1915, she composed more than 8000 Christian hymns and Gospel songs, and Fanny Crosby was blind!
   In 1866, a 19-year-old man in North Carolina, named Calloway Blevins, believed that God called him to be a preacher---even before he knew how to read!---and he became a church pastor for more than fifty years.
   Therefore, come before God with all humility, and ask:  What plans do you have for me?
   The world sees Noah, Abraham, Fanny Crosby, and Calloway Blevins for acting in foolishness, yet they were wise in the eyes of God.
      Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.  For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called:  But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.  (1 Corinthians 1: 25-27)
   For it is better to be wise in the eyes of God than to be foolish in the eyes of the world.
  


 
  


     

AN EVIL DISEASE

      There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men:  A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honor, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it:  this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.  (Ecclesiastes 6: 1-2)
   There is an evil that I, too, have seen under the sun, and it is the evil of man's invention of religion.  This is common among men, women, and children, and it is an evil disease, a disease of the mind, which corrupts the souls of people all over the earth.  For religion enables people to remain separated from Almighty God.
   To know God is to know the love of God because God and His love are inseparable, and God cannot separate Himself from His love.
   To know Christ is to know God because Christ and His heavenly Father are one, and they are inseparable. 
   To reject Christ is to reject God, which is also a rejection of the love of God.
   As humans, we are the children of God because God, our heavenly Father, created us.  But because our sins have separated us from God, we do not know God, which means that we do not know our heavenly Father, which also means that God is a stranger to us. 
   Because religion is a creation from the imaginations of men, people enter religion to find a false heavenly father, which is a father that does not exist, and which is also a father that is not living.
   In religion, people worship a false god, a god from the imaginations of men.  And in their imaginations, they believe that this god exists, that he is living, and that he will answer their prayers as well as provide them a way to enter a heaven, or a paradise, after they die.  Yet this heaven, or paradise, is also an invention from the imaginations of men.
   Moreover, religion can have several gods and goddesses, which can include the sun, the moon, stars and planets---none of which are living, but are assumed to be living by the power of deception in the minds of people.  And because none of these gods and goddesses are living, none of them has love. 
   Religion reveals to us the power of an imagined father god.  But because people have rejected God and His love, they will believe that their imagined father god loves and cares for them---even though he is not living.  Thereafter, such people will believe that the image of their father god, as seen by photographs, paintings, and portraits has power, and they will worship the image.
   Furthermore, religion has the power to persuade people to believe that a man of the earth can also be their father god, and that other people, in other religions, should convert from their evil ways and believe in their father god, whom they can see with their eyes and touch with their hands.
   But because God is not in man's religions, neither does the love of God abide in man's religions, which means that the people are believing in a false love, or an imagined love.
   Religion, therefore, is not a house of love, but a house of anger, for its people will rise up in anger in defense of their religion, in defense of their god and gods, and also in defense of their human father gods, whom they believe are gods on earth.  More evidence exists in the fact that they will kill fellow humans in defense of their false god and gods as well as in defense of their earthly father gods.  So then, is this how they express love by murdering fellow humans, whom God created?
   Therefore, to know God and to experience His wonderful love, come out of religion and come to Christ.  Wherever you are today, come out of religion and out of this evil disease that is common among men. 
      Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.  (2 Corinthians 6: 17)
     
     

A WINK IN THE MIRROR

   How can people say they are Christians, yet they deny the Word of the Lord, which is the Bible?
   And how can people say they are Christians, yet they do not believe in the words of Christ as written in the Bible?
   The answer to these questions is easily understood. 
   Many people have been deceived by the leadership of a Christian church, or by a Christian religion, and their salvation is a perception in their minds; after which they see an image of themselves in their imaginations.  After that, they fashion their lives in accordance to the image they see in their imaginations, after which they present themselves to others according to the image that has been framed in their own minds; for their belief is in the words of people, and not from the Word of the Lord.  Which means that their faith is in the words of people, and not in the Word of the Lord.  Which also means that their trust is in people, and not in God.
   Thereafter, they live their lives according to a false image they have of themselves, for their belief, their faith, and their trust is in the people they can see with their eyes and touch with their hands. 
   They become devoutly religious and devoutly devoted to protect and defend the image they have of themselves, always desiring that others will see them as they see themselves:  high and lifted up.
   To them, appearance is everything, for they seek the attention and praise of others. 
   They like for all eyes to be upon them, to see their good deeds, to see them as helpful neighbors, and as pillars of the community. 
   They willing hold positions of leadership, such as in churches, in religion, and in civic organizations, for this also helps them to keep their image buffed and polished:  for what others think about them is of utmost importance to them, and they will continually strive to have others say some nice words about them. 
   Devoutly religious people are devoutly devoted to their religion as well as devoutly devoted to the image they hold of themselves in their imaginations:  perfect in all of their ways, high and lifted up, and above other people.  They consider themselves to be models for others:  model citizens, model parents, model civic leaders, and models of what others can be if they can be like them.
   If people do not believe that God is living, however, neither will they believe that God can speak.  And if people do not believe in the resurrection of Christ, neither will they desire Christ for salvation.  Thus they will trust in their religion to save them from their sins, which compels them to believe that their religion is more powerful than Christ, for Christ, like themselves, is only an image in their own imaginations; and because they believe they are perfect in all of their ways, they actually worship the image they hold of themselves as they will also worship the image of the god of their religion.  For when they look in the mirror, the face winks.
      Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of a cross.  Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  (Philippians 2: 5-11)

GOOD OL' DAYS

   Let me tell you about the good ol' days in America when there was genuine happiness across the land, when there was abundant peace and prosperity from sea to shining sea. 
   Let me tell you about the good ol' days when children could walk to school without the fear of being kidnapped, when churches had no locks, and when we could leave the keys to our cars in our cars.
   Let me tell you about the good ol' days when homes were happy homes, when the family meal was a time of gladness, when we were thrilled to see the rising of the sun, and when we found comfort in sitting on the porch at evening to see the stars appear in the night.
   But take a look at us now. 
   ---We lock our homes, lock churches, lock cars---and take the keys with us.
   ---Our nation's debt is over $17,000,000,000 and climbing daily. 
   ---Cities are going bankrupt. 
   ---Companies are going out of business.
   ---Manufacturing is at its lowest level since the Great Depression years of the 1930s.
   ---Unemployment is at all-time high and climbing daily, it is virtually impossible for a person to launch a new company, and children are confused about the definition of "family". 
   The wounds of our nation are self-inflicted, and it would be wise if Americans stopped living in the delusion that our nation is going to heal itself.  While our nation's leaders constantly strive for peace in the Middle East, there is little peace here at home as families are struggling to survive.  And while our nation's leaders are unable to fix our own problems, they offer solutions to lands across oceans as if the whole world needs our leadership.
      Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews?  for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. (Matthew 2: 1-2)
   In the good ol' days, people came to America to be able to worship God freely.
   In the good ol' days, "IN GOD WE TRUST" to Americans meant what it said.  Today, however, who is the god that Americans trust?
   Has our nation become as it was in the days of Herod the king?
   Do the days of our past look better than the days of our future?
  

A MAN WITHOUT GOD

   Without the knowledge of God, the behavior of a man will be no more than a wild animal, or a beast of the field.
   Without the knowledge of God, a man will become a devil with the character of Satan:  a master of lies, a master of deception, and a master of hypocrisy.
   Without the knowledge of God, a man will believe that he is a god on earth:  believing he has the authority to forgive sin, the provision for people to go to heaven, and a way to avoid hell.
   When people abide without the knowledge of God, they will follow the man they believe is god, and they will become like him:  masters of lies, masters of deception, and masters of hypocrisy.
   A man without God believes in the god of his religion, which, to him, is God. 
   A man without God will also believe that the god of his religion abides in a man of the earth, which, to him, is God in the flesh.  Thereafter, he will live in total obedience to that man, bow to him and kiss his ring, do as that man says, go where he says go, and even give his own life as a sacrifice unto his God in the flesh.
   A man without God will only believe in those things that he is told to believe.  He will not question, he will not doubt, and he will not turn his face to the left, nor to the right, for his mind and his heart will always focus on the man whom he believes is God. 
   Satan is the father of lies, the father of deception, and the father of hypocrisy, and a man without God inherits the characteristics of his father, the devil, for he becomes a master of lies, a master of deception, and a master of hypocrisy. 
   A man without God creates an image of himself in his own imagination, and he presents himself to others according to the image he has of himself, for he wants others to believe in the image that he appears to be.
   In truth, however, he is the opposite of the image he appears to be.  Because he has been deceived to believe in a god, he becomes a deceiver, and, operating through his personality, he appears to be a man who believes in God.  This man is a servant of Satan, and, like Satan, he does not want others to know his heart, for he is a man of secrets.
   Just as Satan convinces people that he does not exist, a man without God does not want others to know that he worships Satan in secrecy.  Therefore, the less others know about him, the more he can conceal his own identity with the devil and thereby operate as a secret agent for the god of his religion.
   And just as Satan believes he is perfect in all of his ways, a man without God will also think that he is perfect in all of his ways, which is the image he presents in the presence of others:  the perfect husband, the perfect father, the perfect employee, the perfect citizen of his community, and perfectly sinless because he believes his religion has cleansed him from his sins:  by his participation in rites and rituals, or from water baptism, or from absolution by a man who pretends to be a god.
   A man without God does not believe in Almighty God, Creator of the universe, for his faith is in the god of his religion.
   A man without God does not believe in Christ, for Jesus, to him, is only an image in his imagination, and the god of his religion has more power than Christ the Lord.
   Neither does a man without God believe in the Bible, for the Bible, to him, is forbidden knowledge.
      When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understand as a child, I thought as a child:  but when I became a man, I put away childish things.  (I Corinthians 13: 11)
   A man without God still speaks as a child, he understands as a child, and he thinks as a child.  Because his faith is in a god of his imagination, he has surrendered his mind, his way, his thoughts, and his will; and, like a toddler, he follows the daddy of his religion, for he is unable to think for himself and he is not free to make independent decisions, for he is a prisoner of his religion and still living in chains as a spiritual slave.  And unless he submits himself to Christ for salvation, he will never put away childish things.