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God Bless,

Brian Keith

Special Post: Congradulations My Ascension Students!

24 “Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.” ~ Psalm 31:24

My heart was taken up in joy this week as two awesome events took place, for two sets of my children; one set I have taught for four years and the other set not yet but I soon, all graduated. One set became Alumni of our school headed to High School and the other passed the threshold from Pre-K to Kinder. Each year that goes by I have wanted to capture the moment in the best way possible so this year I had an Alumni come back and help finish off the Digital Year Book and create two special movies… I hope you all enjoy them as much as I do. This is a small window into the world I live and enjoy as an educator.

To the Class of 2013

I will miss all of you very much and I hope you take with you good courage in the Lord, for He is always with you.

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To the Class of 2022

Though I am not your teacher yet, to many of your brothers and sisters I have been. I want to impart with you the courage to always do good, to always do your best, and to always look to God for salvation. This unfinished movie is symbolic of your unfinished journey through your life and life-long education.

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13 “And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.” ~ Isaiah 54:13

I end this message with a challenge for all people to raise their children knowing the Lord, for all parents to work their differences out, and for all children to love both of your parents equally and to forgive them their many mistakes as your children shall also do because you found forgiveness first.

Amen

Your invited to stay in contact with me!

EMAIL: listeningfaithfullyblog@gmail.com

God Bless,

Brian Keith

Reflection 12: What You Can Expect From Life: According to MARRIAGE

18 “May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. 19 A loving doe, a graceful deer— may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be intoxicated with her love.” ~ Proverbs 5:8-19

What Marriage is Not

18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. 26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet. 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” ~ Romans 1:18-32

In our modern society today a raging debate of what lawful marriage is verse what spiritual marriage is and in this debate there is lost to man the perspective and vision of God and what he intended it to be. I say this because I feel it is important to not ignore the oldest book in human history which discribes in detail our creators intent and to simply ignore God’s intension is simply the act of fools. With that said, I do not support nor condone same sex marriage, but I will concede that man’s law not only has condoned it in most places, but also openly accepts it as an alternative to traditional, (natural), marriage. Though I stand apposed to man’s law, I am not and will not single any person out or be superficial with their beliefs or make fun of those who chose this alternative life style. Thus, the first point I want to make on this topic of Marriage can be summed up by calling it first and foremost a relationship, one that should last for a lifetime. I can love a person but never be married to them, I can share the important parts of my friends life’s again without being married to them, I can be loyal and trustworthy without being married, and I can inherit possessions from those who have past on without being married to them. For marriage is a biblical practice between one man and one women, for that is what God so intended for mankind. All the laws of man that support same sex marriage is an abomination in the eyes of God, you only have to look it up in Genesis 2:24, Leviticus 18:22, Romans 1:20-27, 1 Corinthians 6:3-10, 1 Corinthians 7:2–16, and Ephesians 5:23–33, to mention just a few, and to ignore these holy teachings is not forward thinking, or out of the box, or advancements on God’s intent, rather contrary to popular belief it is very much mocking, disrespectful, is openly rebellious, and flat out heresy to God! The acts of the foolish will be punished accordingly by God, and it is not for me or anyone else to judge but rather state the facts as they have been presented and known since the dawn of mankind on planet Earth.

What Marriage Is

3 “Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.” ~ 1 Corinthians 7:3

Therefore, “MARRIAGE”, as God intended it to be is observed between one man and one women and they together make one flesh. But, how do we make this relationship last? It starts by knowing exactly what “Holy Matrimony” is verse what it is not. As stated above it is not a union between couples of the same sex. Real marriage that is blessed by God begins with respect for the laws of God because we are first married to God, we are to submit to God, live our life for God. Therefore, if you honor and obey the teachings of the Holy Bible then you will begin to lay a foundation that will last a life time in not just your future marriage, but for all other relationships that which you shall have in your life and all those relationships will if laid appropriately bring you peace and love all the days of your life. Marriage is a sacred covenant between you and God, it is a promise to always be open, always be respectful, always be loving and kind, always be forgiving and gentle, and always be faithfully and loyal to God first. Most marriages do not last because most people are fake in their practice of prayer, they are lazy in their devotion to God, and are selfish within their own heart and in their desires. I say this to shame you and to make you mad, I say this to shake you out of your complacency and to bring you to God so you may find love, peace, and be able to build from the rubble and lay a foundation that will last a lifetime. Thus, to have a marriage with another human-being then you must first exhibit a life filled with God and be faithful to His word alone.

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The Earthy Distractions

15 “Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well.” ~ Proverbs 5:15

Same sex marriage is nothing more than a destructive distraction to the populous, so is sex before marriage, adultery, rape, pornography, prostitution, sex with animal, and pedophilia, again to just name a few. All these immoral acts have been called in the bible an abomination to God. Those who practice these immoral acts have in their minds an intolerance to the will of God, in fact they are in rebellion against God. However, I do refrain from advocating that they are evil because we are all mortal and we all are sinners, I point this out in remembrance of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for mankind and the possibility to be redeemed. For never before in the history of mankind has there been more people living on earth. Never before in the history of mankind has there ever been more sexual distractions. God has so perfected the shape and build of the human body and this has in and of itself presented mortals with a paradox. For all these facts bring forward the idea of multiple choices, and has increased to possibility of having more than just one sexual partner. Because of this distraction there is more divorces than ever before, there is more families being torn asunder and there is more division in our thinking and beliefs which are being reflected in our laws. I do believe that this strife is the root cause to a world-wide panic to appease the most powerful groups even if their ideas and dogma are contrary to our own, and in some arenas this has proven to be something that forces Presidents and Governments to turn the other cheek just to retain their own power base and popularity. These earthly distractions warp our children’s minds in such a way as to allow them to believe that same sex marriage, adultery, sex before marriage, pornography, and prostitution is the natural normal conditions of life and should be accepted when in fact they are not. Think of this indoctrination as just one tool Satan has at his disposal to destroy mankind, just one avenue he has to trick us into believing something which is against God just as he had done to Eve in the Garden of Eden. All of these facts point to one simple truth about our modern society, and that truth is simply revealed in the number of seats that go empty every Sunday in church. We are slowly becoming numb to perversion and thus simply accept it, and what was once considered controversial is now viewed as the new normal. How far have we sunk into the quagmire of Satan’s sin and perversions and allow our children to continue even further down into this pit of sin. The few who escape I tell you are those who first believed and honored God and all His teachings and who first build a solid foundation which guards against these evils which attack us spiritually and which convict us heart, mind, and soul.

The Marriage Foundation

27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. 29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: 30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband. ~ Ephesians 5:27-33

The need to pour the foundation thick I hope I have imparted to you. The need to have an active spiritual life with God I hope I have illustrated and made perfectly clear, for there is no room for mistakes and there is no room for perversions in the marriage between you and God. Likewise, there is no room for selfish desires in a marriage between you and your husband or wife. Simply put what you can expect form life in accordance to marriage if done right is a life filled with God, a life filled with joy and happiness which brings peace of mind, heart, and soul, and allows your time here on earth to be truly blest by God. Marriage can be the most rewarding, most satisfying, most intoxicating experience you will ever have with your partner, (of the opposite sex), whom God has allowed to come into your life. Thus, from God where then does it go naturally and how do we make it last? To answer this question I will continue with the analogy of the foundation and the construction of a blest house. From the foundation which is God, the preparation for marriage between two people, male and female, then must be that of building the framework which outlines the house and is what makes it stronger and will make it last. This framework is in simple terms the ability for both people to show and believe in mutual respect for each other. Respect in all areas of life from the most exciting to most boring, everyday and every night. Respect is a process which dictates both people get to know each other, which often times places an expectation of exclusivity. It is in this process where most of our children make the first of many mistakes in that of wanting sex before marriage. This simple desire can burn not just the framework but also the foundation, it can destroy rather than build, and it can lead to more strife than what it is worth. Respect begins at respecting the law of God first and waiting until marriage to have sex. In this the message that will be sent is a moral one, it is a life changing one, it is speaking to the heart and soul of the other person which should allow them if they are also following God to respect you even more and visa-versa. Respect, which equals the, (framework of the marriage), then begins to build an intoxicating love which equals the, (sheetrock and plywood for both the interior and exterior), of the house which is blest by God. There is nothing stronger than this intoxicating love, for it allows to be present in both people that firm reassurance of a relationship where anything can be shared and accepted and or forgiven. It allows their two hearts to beat as one and lites a fire which burns hot and will keep them warm in the coldest of times they shall face. Intoxicating love is what every single man and women has described when asked what made their marriages last fifty, sixty, seventy years and beyond and it is what transcends these mortal bonds into that of the spiritual world of God. To love in this manner is second only to the love that which God freely gives to every human-being ever born form the beginning to the end of all time. From mutual respect to intoxicating love a bond is build that is not easily broken, and if left intact will undoubtedly build what can only be described as the fruits of your marriage. This fruit is equal to the, (paint on the walls, the carpet and hardwood on the floors, and lighting and electricity in every room, and even the appliances that are found in the kitchen, bathroom, and laundry rooms), for this is the heart and soul of your marriage, this is the symbol of your devotion to one another. For to truly be in-love in this manner there is promised a house blest by God, and in this analogy there is a complete oneness that is unmistakable, beautiful, attractive, and it is this which God intended for every human-being who avoids the distractions.

Attributes of a Strong Marriage

23 “And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” ~ Genesis 2:23

The first attribute of a strong marriage is friendship, though you may have other friends your husband or wife should be your best friend for life and there should never be any cause to keep secrets from one to another. People who are in love and who have lasted for decades have done so because first they were friends. The glue which bonded them most assuredly sprang from friendship, which allowed common respect to flourish. The foundation as stated before is that of God, but it is possible for people from completely different religious backgrounds to become friends and to eventually marry, but I say to you everyone begins with friendship and that friendship at some point turns into respect for each other. Another attribute of a strong marriage is found in a mutual want to please the other and in this couples must also learn to sacrifice and compromise. This attribute is linked closely with tolerance of one another’s weakness and or strengths, it is exhibited by the ability for the other person to overlook and in some instances over come imperfections that in any other instance would have destroyed the relationship. Just because you love someone does not make them want the same things or desire the exact goals. Therefore, marriages that last are filled with sacrifices and compromises in every area of your life. One persons strengths should illuminate the other, and one persons weakness should allow the other person to shine for the both of them. All of these attributes lead to an intoxicating love, one that can never be extinguished, for the flame burns in all conditions whether it be clear or overcast and rainy, boiling or freezing, in all conditions and climates of life there is this unending love.

Disclaimer: Though there many be successful marriages that at the surface do not appear to have these attributes nor is there any indication of a real bond, marriage is based on these attributes and cannot survive without them. In most marriages there is anger, arguing, misunderstandings, words spoken that later are regretted from ever having been said, but if the foundation is of God, and both people are dedicated to God and the success of the marriage first then there will be nothing that cannot be overcome. I say this only in observation for my marriage was unsuccessful, but what drives me to believe so much in the institution of marriage is simple, for last Sunday I went to a San Diego Baseball Game and in the seats below me sat two people who had been married for seventy years, I was later told by those people who have known them by virtue of seeing them over the past two years at the San Diego Ball Park that in fact the wife makes their meals and packs their lunch and dinner, the man drives and helps hers up and down the stairs and during the game the hold hands as if they where teenagers. It brought me back to a time when this was the norm instead of the exception and to them I tip my hat, I solute them with all my heart and soul as they have shown me the true meaning of beautiful, awesome, captivating marriage that spans the ages.

Marriage Challenge: Knowing that this idea marriage is possible I challenge every married couple to sit down and hear their feelings, work on all their problems and dare to be like that couple I saw at the San Diego Padres Ball Park. You start by becoming friends… finding God together… by not being afraid or judgmental and by asking your partner for absolute trust and to honor your feelings… and by returning these gifts of the heart back to your spouse in abundance. I challenge you to fulfill this one commandment:

34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” ~ John 13:34-35

Amen

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God Bless,

Brian Keith

Reflection 11: What You Can Expect From Life: According to LAZINESS

12 “The hearing ear and the seeing eye, The Lord has made them both. 13 Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty; Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with bread. 14 ‘It is good for nothing,’ cries the buyer; But when he has gone his way, then he boasts. 15 There is gold and a multitude of rubies, But the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.” ~ Proverbs 20: 12-15

The Level of Laziness

It is truly amazing how many people disassociate themselves from the word, “LAZINESS”, and instead use excuses to mask their behavior with the words, “Relaxation or Freedom”. People in the Western World cling to their freedoms and in many instances forget that those freedoms are not free but binding and carry a heavy cost. We have the idea that relaxation is freedom, freedom from responsibility, freedom from work, freedom from life and reality. There is the real threat that though we all need to unwind, it becomes a habit and laziness takes root and takes over your life. Many people fall asleep in there life both personal and spiritual. The truth is if you are lazy in your personal relationships; be it with your parents, friends, siblings, relatives, spouse, children, or in your professional life; with your co-workers, boss, or your career opportunities, then your also lazy in your spiritual life with God. Ask yourself this one question and depending upon the answer you will see clearly your level of laziness, “Would you die for Jesus?” I know… I know… many will use the argument that this is not necessary. There is no reason to lay your life down for God. But is that the truth or is it the deception? Think about it from the view point of God; He made humanity, he made the Earth, the stars, the universes, He alone made everything we know and do not yet know of, and seeing that God was this proactive to send His only son to die for you and me, then shouldn’t we return the favor and live for Him? Shouldn’t we then defend His word, His promises, and teach others to live as God would have us all live? Is it not to much to expect that we become just as proactive in spreading the, “Good News”, as He was in our salvation? See many people refuse to do the right thing out of laziness and use the excuse that it wasn’t their fault, they refuse to do simple tasks and use the excuse that it wasn’t their turn, and when the mayhem and destruction rains down they again refuse to see the signs plainly written upon the wall and go into full fledged denial and say, it wasn’t their idea to do this or that. Wouldn’t it be easier to say, “Damn, I was lazy in that instance.”? But instead of accepting the responsibility for their part, they refuse and in that refusal is found the roots of laziness. It is easier to deny the obvious truth, because then you don’t have to take action which in many instances could become labor intensive; but yet would be the right thing to do. It is easier to fall asleep in your life and close the door and ignore the hurt and bad feelings you personally have caused rather than to keep the door open to those you love and say instead, “I am sorry for my actions. How can we fix this?” It is easier to wallow in our poverty of spirit than it is to stand up and help those around us and climb out of the denial which binds our hands and feet and profess the words of God. By opening your eyes you are also opening your heart and through this process you begin the awesome journey of destroying laziness in your life and living for God. I say to you do not be deceived and cling to your freedoms as if were gold or jewels, because the question God will ask you upon the “Day of Judgement” is extraordinarily simple, “Did you live for me or did you instead live for yourself?”

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Laziness Equals Cutting Corners

19 “The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain.” ~ Proverbs 15:19

I see this with my students when it comes to studying for their test; often they will take the notes but forget the notebook. I see this with my adult friends as they will talk a good game but then take no actions they had promised. It seems in both instances that the taking action is harder than the task, but the task is made out to be impossible or to stressful and so the first response is to quit before they start, or to cheat and cut corners. “Yes” the task may have been accomplished but it was not done to its fullest extent so it’s foundations therefore were laid upon sand rather than bedrock. This obvious laziness is very much like a hedge of thorns because it pricks the skin of all those who come in contact, and it often times is the cause to so much strife. It is more rewarding to to have studied then take the test confidently knowing you will pass with flying colors then it is to fret and feel defeated before and after the test. Remember that God is constantly testing us, testing our character, testing our loyalty, testing our love, and testing our fortitude by allowing certain problems to take place within our lives. God is molding us into a more perfect version of ourselves, but this process will never take root if you fall into denial and practice the art of refusal, because eventually you will have been given more than your fair share of chances and the door will close and you will pay for your sins and your many refusals. Doing things half-way is like not doing them at all. Part of your mind and spirit is in refusal to the full way, the right way, and rebellion takes over in your heart. Remember also that, “Laziness”, is another word for, “Slothfulness”, and slothfulness is one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Laziness detracts from your efforts, keeps you prisoner, and keeps you complacent. But on the other hand those who are not lazy, who take action, who face their fears, and those who make bold moves in the name of God are counted among the wisest of the wise. Their actions are plain, easy to see, noticeable because of their fortitude, and they are seen for their strength of character, and are unshakable in their faith. These wise people are Gods righteous disciples and they hold the word of God in their hearts, minds, and soul. God’s righteous people do not worry about the task at hand, even though it may seem impossible, they know it is not. It is an inner knowledge, (comfort), given them by their faith in God. In truth many stray from God and become lazy in their spiritual life because they claim it’s borring to go to church weekly, or they develop a disconnect with the other worshipers in that church, and they use these excuses to stop going completely. When this happens the faith they once held within God is broken and laziness takes root. But the wise and righteous fill this time with God, whether in church or on the street or in their houses alone, every moment is filled with God. Again the task of being active should envelop every aspect of your life, it should melt seamlessly in and become singular actions that happen without thought or concentration on your part. Saint Peter did not think about his death, rather than His example of living for Jesus. The last thoughts of James, Son of Alphaeus was not of the stones being thrown that would end his life, but the fire for Christ he was lighting with his death. In every instance the disciples who died for their faith by the brutal actions of the non-believers they were preaching too was not of themselves or else they would never have gone so willingly to their deaths. In all the instances of those disciples who fell asleep in peaceful places, died after giving their entire life over to Jesus and spent every waking moment preaching the Word of God. Here is the description of “WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DISCIPLES OF JESUS” presented by Ichthus.

Plenteousness vs Hastiness

5 “The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty lead only to want.” ~ Proverbs 21:5

Those who rush through their lives, or give bad advise hoping to manipulate others thus wasting those peoples time and energy lead only to despair and wanting. Ironically all those who are affected by these manipulators also find nothing but wanting. In part it was the act of laziness which provoked this vicious cycle of hastiness and manipulations because it would have been harder to have been diligent and followed the ways of God. I say to you those who rush through activities also rush through everything giving no thought or concern for others in all areas of their life. Some will claim that they just wanted to get it over, some will claim that it didn’t matter any way, and still others will claim the experience would not have had any other conclusion, but I tell you these claims are false before the eyes of God. These people cut corners, cheat, lie, scheme, and do not care who they hurt. To see through this deception the simple test is to ask yourself if they saved any time by their hasty actions? Was there anyone hurt by what they did or was there anyone not accounted for in their hasty plans? Odds are someone was forgotten, someone was hurt, someone was cut off. In many instances there will be many people affected indirectly and wether they realize it or not, their time has been stolen by the lazy selfishness of another. Whereby the exact opposite of hastiness and manipulation is that of living in plenty, living within the rules given by God and always doing your do diligence. When you meet a person who carries these attributes their goals and careful thought of others is easy to see. They do not rush into action, they instead take their time to consider all outcomes and to be frank, this takes time and effort. Some of us would say that we fit safely into this category, but truth be told many do not. It takes a certain level of maturity, wisdom, and love for your fellow man to be put within this very small group of people. These people of plenty are again ruled by the laws of God, and they do what is right, not what is convenient or fun. They keep the focus on God and give God all the glory when miracles happen in their lives. They are the most happy people you could ever hope to meet because they indure regardless of the hostility of others towards them and or harshness of their environment. They convert the non-believers and are methodical in action always persevering when others say it’s impossible. The people of plenty are the jewels of God, they are His most honored and the richest in the world as their hearts are filled with perpetual happiness and love from God. In the end we all have a choice, to be filled with plenty every day for the rest of our lives or to cheat and steel, making everyone around us miserable and accomplishing only despair for ourselves and others. We can take our time and smell the roses God has for us in His garden (so to speak) or we can rush through life chopping down every opportunity that could have been that singular flower that changed your life and way of thinking for ever. You can be diligent and patient or you can be rude and hasty, the choice is yours alone to make.

Laziness is Self-Limiting

7 “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” ~ John 15:7

Many people use excuses that blame Jesus for their own laziness. According to Dan Waldschmidt’s blog posting tilted, “Jesus Doesn’t Do Lazy”, he points out that waving religion around as an excuse to not doing what it takes to succeed is not going to get you anywhere in life. Waldschmidt plainly states, “No amount of religion or spirituality can replace good old fashioned hard work. There are a lot of excuses that we use to justify not working as hard as we should. One of the most deceptive excuses is religion. Instead of getting back up after a failure or trying a little bit harder along the way, we use the excuse that “if it was supposed to happen it would have happened” — inferring that some Higher Being controls how hard we try or not. Which is just silly. And self-limiting.” ~ Waldschmidt, Dan (Jan.23, 2013) Found online at: http://danwaldschmidt.com/2013/01/attitude/jesus-doesnt-do-lazy. Waldschmidt has a point, for the Lord helps those who helps themselves. God rewards good behavior, not bad behavior. To many people assume because they pray, (sometimes), or look religious to others they will be rewarded. This is not the case. Praying is an activity you should be doing anyway, religion should be a personal matter between you and God and not used to impress others. Your walk with God is a special relationship that is between you and God, and if someone asks and you share then let Gods words do all the talking. One does not need to push religion to win an argument or make appoint rather God is way to sophisticated for his words and promises to be used in a cat-fight. We share our faith to enhance our brethren’s faith, not to force your thoughts, beliefs, and ideas upon them. Truth is that, “There’s a direct connection between how hard you work the success that you achieve. It has always been that way and it will always be that way. Hard work always gets you better results. Laziness always ends up in failure.” ~ Waldschmidt, (2013). Laziness is self-limiting because you place an artificial cap on your own efforts expecting to fail, coupled by blaming God for the failure you have placed a mark of failure upon your heart. Failure can drive many people to laziness, to blame others, to ignore the obvious truth of the lack of their own efforts. Case in point: The Listening Faithfully Blog was not a popular blog in the beginning, but over time and writing many posts there came a point when people came, read, and came back week after week. 98% of all the comments I have received over the past five years has been positive and encouraging. In this time Listening Faithfully went from last page of the Google search results to number one. There are thousands of people around the world in almost every country that has logged in and visited many of our posts. Now imagine had I stopped after a January 2010 when I only received one view, or after the entire year of 2010 where I only received 1,090 views. In that case Listening Faithfully would never have grown into the success it is today tripling those stats every single month and gaining more and more follower, readers, and friends worldwide and changing lives in the process. Now, do I boast about this success, No, rather I thank God for His kindness and grace, and tell everyone who reads this blog to thank God for all the awesome blessings He has bestowed in your lives. In this action, when the miracles happen, you are proactive enough to thank God immediately more blessing are sure to come your way. But if laziness takes root, those blessing will never come, then the blaming and finger pointing begins, and your efforts will seem to have no effect. Hard work is the key, diligence is the key, belief in your future accomplishments is the key that lazy people are missing. Don’t falling to false teaching, not looking for a shortcut, not forcing others into misery, not being lazy is also the keys to defeating laziness and banishing it from your life forever.

Amen

If you liked this Reflection on LAZINESS please leave a comment. Also please “LIKE” and “SHARE” this post with others.

Your invited to stay in contact with me!

EMAIL: listeningfaithfullyblog@gmail.com

God Bless,

Brian Keith

Reflection 10: What You Can Expect From Life: According to JOY

GOD OF JOY

¹⁶“Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.” ~ Luke 10:16

Imagine if you will the light of Heaven raining down upon your face. Feel the warmth and love as it cascades through your body tingling every part of you. Let the love turn into absolute joy in your heart, mind, and soul. This is what God feels like when you meet him, this is Jesus as He stared into the eyes of His disciples and accusers all the same. Joy and love is God, and is in all of us even though we are all sinners. In this light there is only one truth, one happiness, one reason for living and it has nothing to do with our own ambitions or selfish motives for all that in this light has died and past away. In this light God is the reason, the source, and His power and glory is yours freely because number one you accepted Him and in turn He accepts you just as you are. Imagine for a moment if everyone knew this, accepted this, and practiced this in every aspect of their lives, in how they spoke to friends, family, and strangers alike. Going farther imagine this governed our actions, in how we treated our neighbors, children, and strangers alike, doing random acts of kindness daily. The people in this world would have no need for money, carnal pleasures, or even grandiose possessions because they would have God. There would be no war, hunger, no need for lawyers, judges, Presidents, or governments because all men no matter their race or color would love one-another as they had been commanded to do by God. Imagine a world that believed in God so much that everyone put down their wants and desires and felt love, really experienced true love, unconditional, open, free, unrestrained love and joy. In this paradise men and women would marry and never forget their love, families would never fight among themselves, and children would grow up with two parents and a village full of love. This is our God, our wondrous forgiving, patient, kind, considerate, all powerful God of Joy. This far off place in our imagination was one possibility in the beginning, one fork in the road we could have chosen but did not because of Satan. As a singular race we all have been robbed the bounty of God, we have been cheated and sold a bill of goods by Satan. This reality we live in today is from Satan’s imagination and his plotting, scheming, selfish battle with God for absolute control, dominance, and power over everything in existence. Satan wants so desperately to destroy joy, peace, tranquility, and even love that his cruelty knows no bounds, for there is no respect for creation and life within Satan. For his hate has fueled this battle or rejection of God and for Satan this is a war he will loose for he cannot conquer God, and all who believed in him will parish with him. This is the good news, the Gospel of God, for this dream we could have had we still can if we chose Him. In doing so God will rejoice in your name; He will count you as one of His many children whom was lost and now is found. God will throw a feast in your honor and your soul will be filled with such abundance like nothing else you have ever experienced in your life, for God will hold you tight to His bosom and love you for all eternity.

Our Mission of Joy

^{17 “}The seventy-two returned with joy and said, ‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.’ ¹⁸He replied, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. ²⁰However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’” ~ Luke 10:17-20

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In Luke we find that Jesus appointed seventy-two people to go before Him with specific instructions which included, to not greet anyone on the open road, and when entering a house say, “Peace to this house”, they were to eat and drink what ever was given them, and they were to stay there not skipping from house to house. Jesus knew he was sending these people out into the world of wolves and sin, He knew they would be rejected, and in some instances humiliated for their belief in Him. But upon their return to Him they reported with great excitement of their adventures and in truth all where turned into disciples of Jesus all spreading the word of God. Jesus however did not stop there, He has sent millions of us out into this world of wolves just as He did then, He still does to this very day. The rules have never changed, the servants of God are always blest and rewarded, and His love and grace is upon all who really commit to His will. Little by little God is transforming the face of the Earth back into this paradise lost, and will in His absolute grandest style pull all His children to Him and rejoice in their stories and experiences as Jesus had done two thousand years ago.

The Expectation of Joy

12 “For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” ~ Isaiah 55:12

What we can expect from life according to joy is much like what Isaiah described, for when your heart is filled with the Holy Spirit nothing is to big, nothing is to hard, nothing is impossible, and your heart sings the songs of laminations to God the Father. In turn everyone and thing who crosses your path also fills with your love and joy, this in-turn creates a spontaneous reaction of harmonious singing within every fiber and adam in every organism which was blest enough to be present when you passed by. Think for a second how many people you see and meet in your lifetime, and who talk with you, or who really get to know you. In each of these instances you are presented with the opportunity to bring joy into the other persons life. How effective is this joy when this opportunity is embraced, is recognized for what it is, and is celebrated and freely given to everyone. Sadly all to often we allow our life to get in the way. We allow our anger, frustration, hatred, ambition, selfishness, and even monthly, weekly, daily mood-swings determine our level of joy and the spreading of Gods joy to others. When we do this we act in a childish manner, not fully grown in the ways of God, and thus we are left in our squaller. In all my life that I have known and loved God I can honestly say that He has never left me or let me down in any way shape or form. I have been presented with many chances to make things right and in many of these instances I have failed, but I never blamed God, rather I have done the opposite. In each moment of failure I have asked God to forgive me and to make me better and more useful and to help me learn and grow in His will. I accepted what He allows or does not allow in my life, because the people I have impacted with God’s Joy out weighs the many failures of my own efforts. Time tested and proven is the will of God, is His promise, is His forgiveness, is His joy. I have found more success in this life when I have accepted this one basic truth, share God’s joy and He rewards this with His unending love. It is a radical shift within our mind that has to take place because of how we as carnal sinners are wired from birth, but if we alter our mind we can unlock Gods power, truth, might, and His joy, in essence we unlock His promised bounty. Again, I have found more success when I allow God’s joy to radiate through me and into others. I have inspired more people by sharing with them God’s message, His promise, His love. It is true what is said about the force of action, (for ever action there is a reaction), if given freely it is of God, if forced it is not of God.

The Difference Between Joy ans Sorrow

15 “Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance. 16 In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.” ~ Psalm 89:15-16

To often people mistake the sounds of joy to be something other than what it truly is. Just a few of us hear it and recognize it when it comes along. To often do we replace this sound of joy in our minds to comfort us, to console us when we have done bad to others. We lie to ourselves when the true sounds of joy ar replaced in our lives, and it is very obvious the problem but the solution eludes us because the stain of the lie is so great and we are so fearful the effort to fix the problems have become like climbing Mount Everest, it becomes to tiresome: to heavy to bare. Those people are easy to spot in a crowd for they talk a good talk, but refuse to walk the walk, they do not sing the joyful songs of God in their hearts and they do not seek Gods countenance. Likewise, these people do not rejoice in the things that bring joy to others and to God, instead they hide from it. In all its totality righteousness is not within them because they do not know God. There is a stark difference between these people and those of us who call ourselves Christians and actually practice our faith daily. What makes a person of faith loyal to God is His joy that we experience with each good deed privately done for others, with each loving act randomly done for a stranger, in every kind word that inspires others to be better than they currently are, and in the awesome love given freely to Gods children who are so full of joy its contagious. In everyone of these things joy is at the root, it exalts God, and it is righteous.

A perfect example of what I am talking about can be found in my own life’s experiences here in California. The kind of person I am is known by what I do and say to other people who are around me; as this general rule holds true for everyone of us in this life. I choose to help others, I choose to teach, I choose to write, and I choose to share the message of God’s word for no monetary reward, as I do not earn money for this blog, or any other writing I do that are published online or in print. It is true I have published a book that costs money to buy it, but the money earned goes back into all my activities that help the children I teach at school, so there is no real impact on my financial gains, instead its a write off as donations. In my professional life I earn money for my efforts but it is so far below the national average it really cannot be called a pay-check. In addition to this my ex-wife has chosen to steal from my little amount in my bank account, she has chosen to force me into poverty as the Family Court System is mandated by California law to enforce child-support, by way of reducing my time to the point I would owe money where before I would not have based upon the timeshared agreed upon in 2003, (even though we had previously chosen not to partake in this and to support our child by giving her an education and food, clothes, and presents, ect. on our own custodial time), thus decreasing the little I earn by 50% of my total earnings. Yet in comparison she earns over $100,000.00 a year, thus her actions are ones taken by a person who does not know God. Her actions does not bring joy to our daughter, nor anyone involved except for herself. I write this to show how cruel people are and how money has corrupted their eternal soul. I would rather live in poverty, suffer daily without food or a shower, I would rather live in a hole in the earth than to bring such suffering to another human-being, to be so unfair to my fellow man. I do not see my daughter because my ex-wife has chosen to move her 800 miles away, and has placed in her heart all the wrong things, involving her in all the court action, forcing her to say the most cruel and hurtful things which do not honor anyone other than herself. All of this was done for monetary gain on behalf of my ex-wife, as she took advantage of California State Law. No court in the land will stop her, no one on this earth could bring an end to this suffering but her, and she refuses to do so. I do not write this to bring shame or to make anyone feel guilty, rather I write this as an example of how people have chosen to believe in the ways of Satan, in the lie he spread that made man sin and to separate us from our God. I am not the only one by far who has suffered in these ways, and I will unfortunately not be the last. There is sin and corruption in our laws, in our courts, in our hearts which make such things possible. It is important to call everyone out into the light of God to make it visible before the world to end it before it harms others. Forgiveness can be granted if only the wounds would be left to heal, if only my child would be allowed to have that time given by the Courts, that ironically the courts themselves refuse to enforce. Forgiveness can be granted if only a sincere apology could be given in its stead. But forgiveness starts with the one who committed the affliction, and it is between them and God first. Therefore, I say to you these things bring no joy, only pain, and is abomination in the eyes of God. Remember I said to you that true Christians bring joy to others selflessly, true people of God bring joy to those who are in pain, mercy to those who cannot help themselves, and they do not ask for monetary reward for doing the work of God. Everyday I get up I try to help others and this is my true mission with or without money being earned because God always provides and I will not lie that this has been a hard path to follow. But my God is so great that He shows me everyday that He is with me because I chose Him, and there is nothing more joyful to God than one of his lost sheep coming home for good. In truth I hope all those who suffer in these ways and for those who seek this manner to force the other biological parent into poverty that the light of God be shown to you to both give you mercy, to help you forgive, to force your heart to sing the laminations of God so as the pain is lifted forever from your collective hearts for your children’s sake. Again, we fool our selves and commit such depravity and hurt upon our children when we as adults act like children and do things in such a selfish way. I say to you all… STOP IT! Allow God’s joy to penetrate your heart, mind, and soul: do His will and your life and relationships will be forever altered into what God originally intended them to be.

The Joy of Jesus

11″These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” ~ John 15:11

Remember Jesus loved us so much that He willingly died upon the cross for our sins. God loved us so much that He sent Jesus to accomplish salvation. In this is the ultimate message of joy, which is linked to love. To truly love another person is to also find joy in them, joy in their actions, joy in their thoughts, joy in their very presence. God finds joy in everyone last human being in this manner and thus loves us more than our own hearts could every possibly understand or comprehend. In it’s totality God is Love, He is Joy, He is all that we truly need. With this truth know it is not hard then to understand why God wanted a paradise full of joy for us, he wanted mankind to live in peace and harmony. God wanted something that man could never attain on his own and our world would be so much more blest with His bounty ever present, His love raining down upon our faces, His joy filling our hearts, His peace upon our souls. God’s promise can be granted by choosing Him, believing in HIm, by trusting in His wisdom, love, joy, peace, and mercy. Jesus left our world better than when he found it, He lived, so we could also live, He did so we would not have too, He rose so we could be with Him forever.

THE CHALLENGE

To spread joy is to spread hope and love to everyone and in this we are commanded to freely give these things to others on behalf of God. Therefore I challenge you spend every day of the rest of your life doing spontaneous acts of kindness that bring joy to others. It doesn’t have to cost you money, but it does have to bring joy to a stranger. As Jesus once said what good is it to be kind to those you know, where is the good in that? So you must do something for a complete stranger which brings joy to their heart. It could be something as simple as listening to them, helping them across the road, buying them dinner, or even opening the door for them. Remember it must be random and it must be joyful and you must not boast about what you have done because this act of kindness is between you and God.

Amen

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Your invited to stay in contact with me!

EMAIL: listeningfaithfullyblog@gmail.com

God Bless,

Brian Keith

Reflection 9: What You Can Expect From Life: According to HONESTY

¹¹“‘Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another.” ~ Leviticus 19:11

Honesty

When confronted with this word, I think deep down inside we all want to be honest, but yet we are still very much intimidated by it. Honesty carries with it some very rigorous implications, like a two edged sword that could just as easily cut the wielder as the opponent. As imperfect human-beings this word, “HONESTY” scares us just a little because we all know this is the ideal we sinners can never live up too. For the majority of people however, this ideal is very much ever-present in our minds, hearts, and souls as it is the one aspiration which can revolutionize how we think, feel, and operate on a daily basis and again that notion is a bit scary. So, with this firmly stated and excepted as the truth, no one is perfect, thus when we reflect upon this word there should be no one who takes offense of the remainder of this blog. Rather when reading the contents I ask that you reflect deeply upon your own life and experiences and ask yourself how honest have you truly been to your loved ones, friends, and of course yourself? How honest have you been with God? Also as a disclaimer I want everyone to know I am not perfect and I too struggle with this word everyday. But it also should be known that when we are not honest we are breaking a covenant with God, as mentioned above, God did ordain it to be so for all mankind to be honest with each other, to not steal lie, or deceive. Because when we are not honest with one another then we separate ourselves just that much more from Him. We destroy what should have been and allow an abomination to take its place.

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^{35 “}You shall do no injustice in judgment, in measurement of length, weight, or volume.” ~Leviticus 19:35

It’s interesting that God chose the word, “INJUSTICE”, when warning us about our sense of judgement. I feel He saw our civilization coming and knew we would be a people of great laws, and even greater hypocrisy and corruption within those laws. I think He knew we could not live up to the ideal He set forth so we would try and replace His perfect laws with ones of our own, ones less perfect in nature more befitting mankind. Laws riddled with loopholes that would allow Judges from all branches of our Justice System to skip happily through rules they feel strongly about but while ignoring the words “Shall Do”, ignoring the laws in-favor of making a point or changing how people perceive specific guidelines and policies. I think God saw our lawyers who argue their cases based upon lies and misdirection, never caring who they hurt but instead whether or not they win their case. Justice goes hand in hand with ethics, but our civilization too is so far removed from this our most honest of men sit and let immoral people change the definitions of words like, “Marriage” to include two people of the same sex, which again is clearly an abomination to God. I am still waiting for people to protest scenes in our T.V. shows who have snuck in under the radar that depict two men kissing, or two women making out. For these perverse things our children are being desensitized too and will someday be voting adults. This is how perversion is first spread and rots out the core of a nation. The older I get the more my students become accepting and down right argumentative to what it means to them to be married, what it means to not have pre-marital sex, and even more shocking how they feel violence is acceptable behavior when someone disagrees with them. But, this of course is the final result of our long lived policies of stripping our public schools from saying prayers in their classrooms, prohibiting our children to engage in their faith on public property and to keep our children from having pride in our country by abolishing the national anthem in school for the fear it might hurt a specific groups sensibilities. It’s interesting how far we have slid since those policies where adopted over thirty years ago, and I must now stand up and forewarn you all that God will turn His back on us as surely as we have turned our backs on Him. Our judgments on issues of morality are the cause to our grief as a country, because they are filled with injustice of both measure, weight, and volume. The days of honesty in Government is over, honesty in our courts is over, honesty in our media has become a thing of the past as well.

^{17 “}Therefore you shall not oppress one another, but you shall fear your God; for I am theLord your God.” ~ Leviticus 25:17

Ironically, the injustice in our country is primarily a symptom of our rotting souls as we seek to oppress instead of find common ground and common respect. Our fear of God sadly too has become a thing of the past as to many of our evangelists preach about a loving, tender, forgiving God that is no-longer vengeful, no longer judgmental, or temperamental as found in the Old Testament. To many feel what was then does not apply to us today, thus removing ourselves from under the harder aspects of what God really expects from us as His people. At this juncture I would like to point out the only being that which was the same a million years ago is still unchanged and perfect. Therefore, God is unchanged since the beginning and His views, wants, desires, hopes, and aspirations for mankind is also unchanged. We have become spiritually soft and I would hazard a guess this is because no one or collective group of thousands or tens of thousands of people all in unison have not heard from God lately. To even admit you hear God’s voice in your heart and mind in today’s world is looked at as strange. But, yet two men or women kissing each other isn’t strange? This perversion is truly the hallmark of the days Jesus predicted would come. Oppression is found in every avenue of our great society from how we oppress men’s and fathers rights, to how we oppress other people from other countries when their land holds something of value we prize and want to control it based upon the, “Holy Grail”, of excuses called “National Security”. We oppress people with our hypocritical view of the 1%ers to how we tax those who can no-longer pay taxes nor catchup in what they owe because of the meager wages they earn. Again, we have forgotten honesty, integrity, and hard-work and have replaced it with a dollar sign and loophole in the tax code called shelters. Who would have ever thought our money would need a shelter?

HONESTY VRS THE FALSE BALANCE

11 “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight.” ~ Proverbs 11:1

All the above indeed has caused a false balance, one so greatly exacerbated that our very economic system will implode its just a matter of when. Largely this problem of economics is based upon a decision made when our country was still very young and it was made through weakness of the President of the time and Greed from the banking institutions. This of course of which I speak gave rise to the modern money system we enjoy today, one based upon credit and interest. A system we force feed the rest of the world and yet we are surprised upon the eve of its failure of why the world hates us? I say what a short memory we have and what a wonderful ability to spin the truth we have developed. A false balance created through lies, manipulation, and dishonest behavior. As with our nation so too many people around the world have fallen into this greed and sin as their personal lives spin out of control spiraling downward from the lavish spending and while spouting aloud that this looming doom will never happen, turning a blind eye to the obvious as well as turning a blind eye to God. Simple truth is when we as mortals feel we are more powerful than the most powerful being in existence. When we examine this in full detail it seems to me to be something seriously wrong with how we view ourselves, and how unbalanced we have as people, as well as, a nation have we become.

^{27 “}Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.” ~ Proverbs 3:27

Again “HONESTY” is the ability to recognize the truth, to tell the truth even when it is not in ones best interest, and it is our obligation as believers to keep our brethren from lying, cheating, and stealing from others. But the sin which is greater than the total sum is when a person in their own heart and mind willfully ignores the truth, ignores honesty, and withholds an honest man his due. In this any victory is hollow, any triumph is rendered meaningless, and all effort to that end have thus become futile. When we are given the opportunity to tell the truth and we ignore that obligation we then are turning our backs on what God wants, we thus change the circumstances to fit our own personal wants, stopping what was supposed to come into fruition and instead allowing an abomination. Everyone of us is guilty of everything thus far mentioned, but some of us more so than others. It is a hard reality when we wake and see ourselves in such a stark light, but nevertheless something we all must eventually do if we want God’s grace to shine upon us.

^{8 “}Better is a little with righteousness, than great revenues with injustice.” ~ Proverbs 16:8

Profit over righteousness? This has become the true question. Who should we be loyal to? Which master will be more forgiving in the end? Which side should we be on in these days of such turmoil? Jesus professed there would be such days where we would be blinded to what was real, man would sircome to evil and nations would crumble and fall because of their greed. The depiction of the end by John of Patmos is truly horrifying to say the least, but how much more bizarre and alarming was it to the disciples when Jesus spoke of those days. In fact Jesus was more in line with the idea that even the smallest amount of righteousness was better than none. It’s funny how people of those times mirrored those of us today who still clammer and bicker about who should or should not, ignoring that it would be righteous to find peace and accomplish the task together for the benefit of all. Both time periods are largely incased in vast greed, and the pursuit of happiness and truth through money and possessions again something Jesus emphatically instructed not to do. I would hazard a guess that Jesus was talking to them and us and our children, and all people until His glorious return.

THE CHALLENGE OF HONESTY

^{9 “}Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices ¹⁰andhave put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” ~ Colossians 3:9-10

Therefore, in what has been thus written a collection of mankind’s collective sins against God. Here before everyone of us is the sin of dishonesty and the challenge to reverse or at least atone for our ignorance. For God has so declared for all mankind to be honest, to not lie, to not steal, to not manipulate, and to never pervert the truth in anyway. God commanded us to not bare falsely against thy neighbor and to love one another as you love yourself. The challenge before all of us as sinners is to change and be more honest with God, with ourselves, and with our loved ones. To cast off our old sinful ways, and cling to our new more incorruptible selves. The challenge of honesty is real, it is ever present, it does not ever go away, and it above all it is absolutely, brutally honest. As I have stated before, a lie is a lie and will always be a lie, but the truth is the most honest things we could ever possess in this life. It is the ideal we should all strive for, we should all help each other stay devoted too, and it is that goal we can taste but never truly own.

Amen

If you liked this Reflection on HONESTY please leave a comment. Also please LIKE and SHARE this post with others.

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EMAIL: listeningfaithfullyblog@gmail.com

God Bless,

Brian Keith

Reflection 8: What You Can Expect From Life: According to GUILT

14 “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. 16 See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.17 Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.” ~ Hebrew 12:12-17

WHAT IS GUILT?

The definition of guilt according to the Merriam-Webster Online dictionary is: “1: the fact of having committed a breach of conduct especially violating law and involving a penalty; broadly : guilty conduct. 2 a : the state of one who has committed an offense especially consciously, b : feelings of culpability especially for imagined offenses or from a sense of inadequacy : self-reproach. 3: a feeling of culpability for offenses.” (found on line:http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/guilt)

Taking form the non-biblical view first guilt is the knowledge that you have committed some grievous act against another person and your conscience will not let you alone, it eats away at you and these emotions drag you down and weigh heavily upon you. Mans law assigns guilt, and then attempts to punish the guilty which it often fails miserably at doing. But the feelings of culpability is the true and right punishment for the guilty, and it is through this method which proves to be more superior than that of any law of man. Therefore, true guilt is not the realm of man, but that of God. No one on earth has the knowledge and truth and perfect wisdom to know exactly how much guilt to assign nor could they ever assign the proper punishment, but God can because He alone see’s your heart. Thus, from here on we shall talk about true guilt in its purest form, that of spiritual punishment.

TRUE GUILT

Some people don’t really feel guilt right away, then others are so incased in it they can hardly breath. The difference in these two types of people; who feel guilt and those who seemingly do not is simply a consequence of the life they have lead, but surely I tell you everyone at some level feels God’s love as surely as they feel His scorn. God assigns the proper amount of guilt, and He alone can take it away. God is the perfect judge, and He is perfect in all of His judgements. Because of this those who are closer to God feel the guilt in a different way than that of a non-believer. A Godly person allows the guilt to bring them closer to God and to repent instantly, where as the non-believer allows the guilt to push them farther away from God, sinks further into the hole they themselves created and cannot climb out of and ultimately will did a sinner unforgiven and convicted of their transgressions with no hope of redemption. The unbeliever though it might not seem to affect them, will suffer greater than any believer, including Jesus who died for our sins. Satan through his masterful tongue lead one third of all the angels into sin, and is solely responsible for separating the unbelievers from God as well. So, in the purest form guilt is the wall that we all hit when we have sinned against God, and if not dealt with it will dispose of you. Guilt can be hell on earth, it can be debilitating, it can destroy relationships, and cause strife between husbands and wives, mothers from her children and fathers from their children, it separates and conquers like a well seasoned army unleashed without equal, and will kill the person it has infected if they do not repent and remain Godless. So you might ask why did God create such a formitable method of punishment? Simple, because God did not want man to be separated and He wanted man to walk with Him as His children, not be filled with pride and thus stubborn like Satan. But like everything else Satan uses guilt to beat you over the head, to remind you of how much of a sinner you are, he wears you down with it, shakes you with it, and he convicts you of all your guilt unjustly even after God has forgiven you. Though, ironically the worst case of guilt is not felt by any mortal, but yet by that of Satan himself, for he is now locked into this struggle with God knowing that he has sinned greater than any being in existence and thus, it is through guilt Satan strives so hard to eliminate God, and separate and divide the children of God. It is through Satan’s guilt do we make war against our brethren, do we harbor ill feelings for those who have wronged us, it is through Satan’s guilt that we sin, and it is through guilt that God assigns that which can if allowed bring us closer to God, because God still loves us, still forgives us, and we are still His alone.

GUILT FREE

^{9 “}If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” ~ 1 John 1:9

It is promised in almost every book of the Bible that God will forgive us our sins, yet so many people don’t believe in that, thus their faith has abandoned them. In this these people blame God of their circumstances and blame God for not intervening when it is their own fault due to lack of faith. These people are hypocrites and say they love God, but do not practice what they preach, thus they act within the same manner as Satan, as they assign guilt upon others and give no mercy, even when God has given His divine forgiveness and mercy. These people do these things because like Satan they have been found guilty by God and thus refuse to seek His forgiveness instead they bolt and run away consumed with guilt, letting it fester and take root, in the end they through their own guilt become bitter and seek to make other bitter as well. In saying this I first want to remind everyone that guilt is given by God in the perfect amount for the sin you have committed against Him. Secondly, you cannot escape it and therefore it makes no sense to run and hide, but rather ask for God’s forgiveness. When you ask God of His forgiveness then He upholds all of His promises and will give it remembering your sin no more.

^{12 “}For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” ~ Hebrew 8:12

Therefore, if God forgives you there is no man who can condemn you, there is no other guilt which your soul can be held accountable for and within the eyes of God you have been washed clean. The trap so many of us fall into is that part of us knows we have been forgiven, but the lies of Satan are so strong our hearts are still heavy. The flip side to this is we have asked God and do not feel any better, and the lies of Satan are so powerful we allow his guilt to penetrate our hearts and thus we become miserable within it. But in either case, know that God will do what he has promised, for forgiveness and mercy is His specialty. Only God can forgive sin, only God has promised forgiveness and mercy, and has delivered it through Jesus Christ, only God has the power to absolve your sin and forgive your guilt, for when He does this then you are truly guilt free.

^{12 “}as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” ~ Psalm 103:12

So with these truths what do you do if someone refuses to forgive you of the sin you committed against them even when God has forgiven you? Truly I say to you people can be cruel, people can be mean. If your brethren harbors ill for you then their sin is rife with God, for God has commanded all of us to be as Jesus and forgive. God has commanded us all to be merciful to each other, to love one-another, to be understand, patient, and kind. There simply is no room in Heaven for lack of forgiveness, for spitefulness for cruelty of any kind, and there is no room in God’s heart for these sins. If they refuse to forgive you, then they are not of God. More to the point as human beings the only true thing you can do is to try and never give up, never walk away, and fill your heart with forgiveness for their hardness of heart. (The only time this does not apply is if your sin was of such a destructive nature, i.e. sexual molestation, murder, mental or physical ect., where by your very presence is destructive to the other person who you wish to forgive you. In this God may have forgiven you, but victims of certain crimes have been placed in such turmoil that true forgiveness may take many years to achieve and its best to leave your request in Gods hands.) In specific cases where children have become estranged to one of their parents because of the nature of a divorce there may be hard feelings, especially if the child was forced to choose one parent over the other,. The parent who is left without anything goes through an-array of emotions which starts with guilt and ends with empathy. The loss of a child in this manner is worse than loosing them to death, because there is no closure, no burial, no manner in-which to say goodbye, and no absolution, no means of contact, no hope for a relationship which is ingrained into our every fiber of our beings by God, and it goes against the very nature of parenthood. There is only long suffering and for the weak of heart many end this agonizing pain with the absolute sin, that of suicide. The hatred which envelops a parent to rip the child away from an ex-spouse is child abuse, it is self serving as the aim is to make the parents life easier by not having to deal with the unwanted ex-spouse. It is supremely selfish and it is not of God and it boggles my mind why the courts allow this behavior, why they enable this behavior. In manny case the lawyers insight it, and the courts go along with it and the children suffer because of it. So in this case the child must try harder to make a mends, to stand up and be strong and fight to have that relationship which one parent has sought to destroy, and in to many cases children fail to do this because they do not have the life experience to understand nor comprehend what is going on in the first place. Instead the children internalize it, they become racked with guilt, and begin to believe the situation is their fault, and thus act harshly without wisdom, or common sense ending up doing more harm than good, which causes more guilt. As this situation is protracted by the court without fairness which is often the case, then the parent who is asked to sacrifice everything and left with nothing is in the end completely and utterly destroyed. Guilt in this belongs to the parent who cause this to happen, because they planned and executed it and the guilt is also upon the court for allowing it for in-sighting it, guilt is upon the lawyers who ushered in this destruction through their warped sense of justice, and in the end guilt of having this blood upon the hands of the guilty cannot be of God but that of Satan. I write about this in order to bring attention to the situations that millions of men and thier children are being subjected to through Parental Alienation, and we as Godly people cannot allow our courts to have such over arching power as to allow one parent absolute domination in a child’s life, because again this is child abuse!

GUILT vs. FORGIVENESS

^{7 “}Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.” ~ Isaiah 55:7

Children forgive your parents, parents forgive your children, husbands pardon your wives, wives pardon your husbands. If you are at war with your brethren end it for it is unGodly, leave the wickedness behind and move into the mindset of God for your own sake! Love and be loved freely. This I say to you, for this is the only right path as you move forward within your walk with God. Never give into the lies of Satan who will attempt to convinced you that you are guilty even after God has forgiven you. Never become the slave to guilt which is so easily prevented by asking God to forgive you. Never walk away from your father who Loves you more than any one could, for it was He who granted you life, who is molding you into a better person, and who send His only son so that you may be saved. God’s love is greater than your guilty heart, greater than your guilty conscience, even greater than your sin.

^{17 “}Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are past away; behold, all things have become new!” ~ 2 Corinthians 5:17

Amen

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Brian Keith

Reflection 7: What You Can Expect From Life: According to Gossip

^{13 “}Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.”

~ Psalm 34:13

“He said”, “She said”, “They said”, “No one said that!”, “Everyone was saying…!”, “Hey, don’t tell him but…!”

There is nothing anymore disgusting to the Lords ears and heart than that of GOSSIP! There is no other form of speech which is more misleading, and it is so on purpose with malicious intent or else it would not be called GOSSIP! This is the idle chatter in the break-room, or between friends over the phone, or housewives as they sip tea in the afternoon. It is an action that demands a reaction, and the small pebble thrown into the lake does not cause a small ripple, but a tsunami of destruction once it lands upon the ears of its target. It is an action mostly done in secret under the veil of good intent or innocent fun that could in the hands of the wrong people destroy the life of the one whom is being spoken about – behind their back. Key word here is “behind-ones-back”, (adverb: deceitfully: Synonyms; covertly, secretly, sneakily, sub-rose, surreptitiously), and it is all these things, (though you might want to argue the point out of guilt for being caught), because as children we all taught through watching our parents that this thing called GOSSIP is rude and therefore we don’t speak about peoples’ private business to others. Well, perhaps in todays day-and-age we have become more sophisticated and have become masters at keeping it out of view. On the other hand had we done what our grandparents thought when dealing with conflict when problems arise by taking it to that person privately. But this takes to much courage and honesty to confront them. “YES!”, to say your peace to their face and not behind their back is less fun indeed! This one word; or more to the point this one “action”; that which is especially troublesome because it goes against everything the Bible teaches, for it was an “action” thought about before being perpetrated which gives away the fact that there was a choice to take part at some point that was made whether indirectly or directly. A small choice that which carries with it such harm, a small action that reveals a much deeper plot, for there had to have been a plan set into motion, a road map followed, and the fault in character exploited to carry it out, indeed a choice was give, received and made. For I tell you there is no worse a crime in the eyes of God than this idle chatter disguised as innocent behavior, one seen from afar coming. All while in your heart knowing it to be wrong, but instead of subverting the notion the choice to do it anyway; ignoring the repercussions at someone-else’s expense! For I say to you, “GOSSIP”, is not harmless chatter, but yet the Devils tool to separate and divide, it is an evil tool to isolate people from the crowd, and it is a vile way to conduct business of any-kind! Gossip is evil and if you think for one moment you can contain it then you my friend are sadly mistaken!

THE GOSSIP LIBRARY

^{16 “}Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour; I am the Lord.” ~ Leviticus 19:16

A simple play on words with the word “GOSSIP”: For it sounds like SURIP, running thick and hot, so sweet and delightful, thus it is slow and deadly for if swallow whole or gobbled up instead of SIPED and over time savoring the taste, thus to much your stomach will ache. It is one of the greatest temptations known to man-kind, one that which many fall into, and many become addicted too. Evidence of this is found in the first two links above in the pervious paragraph of websites that which at their very core is based upon spreading rumors and falsehoods, causing mischief in such a sublime way that we take it for granted and easily dismiss the evil veiled within. Evidence of the acceptances of GOSSIP in our modern lives is found in our magazines which peddle stories like, “ELVIS IS STILL ALIVE”, or “Emily Maynard; FURIOUS OVER JEF’S TELL-ALL.” More sicking than ever is the Kardashian Sisters take over of US Weekly as they, “DEFEND THEIR MEN”, when there is so many stories of these three destroying countless mens lives and fooling the public all for the sake of money! How much does Kim make? “CLICK HERE!” Well according to, Wetpaint Entertainment Staff, who wrote in an online article this past February, “The über-driven reality queen makes an estimated $40,000 per episode of the Kardashian spin-offs.” Wetpaint also reported, “E! recently revealed that Ms. Kardashian rakes in a whopping $5.45 million a year. According to The Daily Beast, which dubbed her the highest-earning reality TV star, Kim took in $6 million in 2010. And that, they point out, is a conservative estimate.” In this reporting of Kim’s earnings do we find the key or give away and is the shining example I have thus far warned you about when describing the allure of GOSSIP! For in the very last quote from Wetpaint’s article; “How Much Money Does Kim Kardashian Make?”, that which was published in the online Magazine appropriately named, “THE KARDASHIANS”, is the word, “Estimate”! They use this word for legal purposes, but in truth they also use it because they don’t know so in truth they are “GUESSING!” Here’s some food-for-thought; wouldn’t it be more ethical to write something that was going to be absorbed by the masses that which was proven to be the truth? “Oh…I forgot”, the truth doesn’t sell well in the realm of “Reality-TV”, which in and of itself is an oxymoron! Why write about something common, something provable when speculation is more palatable? The other question which might make you think is,”Why does WETPAINT,E!,US WEEKLY, or any other T.V show or MAgazine care so much about how much Kim Kardashian or her sisters make or what they do?” Simply put, they care because you care, the masses, the sheep being lead to the slaughter care, and that kind of mischief sells articles! Kim and her sisters are just as guilty of the crime of sensationalism; which,” is a type of editorial bias in mass media in which events and topics in news stories and pieces are over-hyped to increase viewership or readership numbers” (“Issue Area: Sensationalism.” Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting). So the money is found in the numbers, and in droves does so many people eat this useless noise up, sipping on it as if it was honey, waiting for the next weekly broadcast of the rich and famous, as these magazines peddle the promise of a moments escape form a perceived boring life lived in the boring areas of our country known to everyone as the “suburban sprawl.” The concept of a boring life is what they sell to you through broadcasting a famous persons fabulous life as they burn through money as if it was water! “Man… what I would do with all that money or fame…”, this illusion is their empire built from your back! It is you the readers and watchers of this garbage that allow the lavish life style of people like Kim as Hollywood pebbles the lives of the famous, attention getters, and setters, before you calling it real when in fact what they do is for the numbers, and in reality they all, everyone of them have sold their soul and become slave to their viewers because of the numbers.

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For I say to you people, wake-up from your GOSSIP DRUG! Here before you are people whom most of the population will never truly meet or know and who’s lives are no better than the ones we, (the common people), are forced to live. It is all to easy to dismiss the veiled implication of GOSSIP columnists, and their talebearing, but evil is evil no matter the form! For I say to you, if you are faithfully to God, the only news you need is that which comes from God Himself, and His news is the most righteous and most high in all the world! For it is not talebearing, but truth telling!

I personally challenge Kim and her sisters, which I have no bias against, nor ill will, but to do for them as I do for everyone and that is to set straight the ways of God, spreading His will to your heart through the telling of truth; that if they indeed want to make a difference then help those in need. I say to you I would love to see Kim feeding the homeless, shooting her show in the gutters of America and spend her money building households of love than to spend it on a fake marriage and rapid retreat to the man she had left only now to defend. I invite her to come to my school in Los Angeles, it’s just a short hop on her private plane if she was in New York, or a limousine ride form her home in L.A. All my kids would love to meet her, support a couple a hundred beautiful children’s education for a year or two, for this would be just a drop in the bucket for her GOSSIP EMPIRE and go to prove me wrong. I hope that she does for her own sake.

“⁶We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” ~ 1 John 4:6

The origin of GOSSIP; is roughly 3,500 years old, according to Ben Widdicombe, online columnist for Time Magazine, as he wrote, “according to the author Roger Wilkes. ‘Cuneiform tablets dating from 1500 B.C. chronicle a Mesopotamian mayor having an affair with a married woman,’ he wrote in a 2002 book, ‘Scandal: A Scurrilous History of Gossip.'” In retrospect I find his article very well written. The awesome thing about his article is found within the title, “Poparazzi | A History of Gossip”, a title which is clearly attention getting, not just to a readers eyes, but to that of the search engines of our modern web, or better known as S.E.O., and he clearly states this as his first order of business. So we can deduce from this that we are not dealing with a new phenomena rather an old evil, and I hazard to guess the notion of telling-tall-tales to grab peoples attention goes farther back than just a messly 3,500 years. In our modern era “GOSSIP” is forever linked with the word, “POPARAZZI”, which has only both furthered the down slide of the word GOSSIP, but has also sensationalized it. Thus, propagating a veil practice of snippy articles and scandalous pictures which go to fuel the imagination for the soul purpose to make money.

^{5 “}So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! ⁶And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.” ~ James 3:5-6

As James did not mince words neither have I in this harsh reflection of mans actions, but for the sake of a few to profit. My harsh words and disposition is not to be taken as a means to make famous the very message I write or to rank high in SEO web searches, but again to inform and to explain the evil that which is among us. The very evil which uses our tongue to cause mischief, destruction, and the very flame of hell it’s self. I would thus be remis if I took calmed my words and did not teach what is the message found in the Bible. For James so rightfully pointed out that,

3 “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. ²For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.” ~ James 3:1-2

For indeed not all of us was given the same talents, an yet we all stumble and fall. We all have hardships and in the eyes of God we are all the same, His children. But to the teachers, I must confess the sin of talebearing is a mortal mistake, thus I bring to you the truth of the matter. In this way too isn’t the famous the story’s they teach through their examples so sensationalized a form of teaching, and if so then the gossip they spread is their undoing. For the things of this world is not forever, and it all will pass away.

^{20 “}For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases. ²¹As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife. ²²The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body.” ~ Proverbs 26:20-22

Is it not also true that if teachers stop teaching the flame of imagination is extinguished from their students hearts. It is not the distraction of things are the attentions of those less in knowledge taken with no hope of reproach, no way to thus defend their weaker state of mind? What a state of disrepute and disrepair have thus we fallen so far? What then do they learn or glean from life with no more will to learn but rather a lackluster manner of viewing the world they inhabit through the glow of those who do not represent the truth, rather a fantasy. I tell you now, no teacher has the right to extinguish this flame from their students hearts nor stand idly by and say or do nothing while ever watching their beloved children sink into an endless quagmire of sin. Nor does any origination, corporation, or GOSSIP Empire have the right to misslead our children with their illusions and promises of a momentary escape upon such fanciful lies! To these people I write; our children are watching! Be mindful of the things that which you love to spread, for our children, your children are watching! But it is also true that those who are talebearers love to spin mischief, spreading it upon the wind, allowing it to fall upon the masses like rain drops from a gentle storm. But it is also true that in the same manner is pestilence spread and from this does sickness take root, and from that does the multitude die; withering away in the tale winds which blow from an unknown decease, liken to GOSSIP! Be weary I say to you, for God is watching! For these illusions of grandeur and fake pretenses are the sum of mans total sin. There will be no mercy given to those who spread rumors, and tall tales, there is no place in Heaven for those who weave lies for the sake of personal gain, and for those who love to watch a persons life sink into the flames of hell due to untruths and the bearing of false witness. The greatest of examples in this GOSSIP SIN is non-other than Lucifer himself, the most beautiful, the morning star turned the great tempter, first angel turned master of SIN, turned into Satan, the great devil despised by God and by the world!

Amen

If you liked this Reflection on HONESTY please leave a comment. Also please LIKE and SHARE this post with others.

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God Bless,

Brian Keith

Special Easter Post 2013

^{9 “}Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. ¹⁰She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. ¹¹And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.” ~ Mark 16:9-11

THE RISEN CHRIST

Faith in God; faith in Jesus is all to often determined by what we see, instead of what we do not see. Blind faith is often ridiculed and is put down as something we should never do, but it is exactly that which our Lord Jesus Christ asks us to have and to exhibit in accordance to Him. Faith, absolute, unshakable, undaunted faith is what God bestowed upon Jesus and Jesus taught to all of us. I find it very interesting and revealing of Jesus how he places this faith into Mary Magdalene and how she returns this with her instant obedience and belief in the idea that our Lord had risen. After all Mary was present at the trial of Jesus, she saw first hand the brutality bestowed upon Him, she watched him suffer while being led up the vast hill to Golgotha, she watched him be nailed to the cross, heard his cries of pain and anguish as they lifted him up to be displayed only to suffer more while trying to breathe. Mary saw her beloved teacher forgive those who taunted Him and even witnessed the promise of salvation to one of the criminals guilty of his crimes but confessed to Jesus His faith. In fact Mary watched in horror as Jesus breathed his last, she watched as the soldiers pierced his side, and she was there when they laid him in the tomb. Out of everyone Mary Magdalene had even less of a reason to believe Jesus could have survived such a punishing death. Yet she was the first to proclaim Jesus had risen despite the fear that had gripped everyone around her and which pierced her very heart!

^{12 “}After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country. ¹³And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.” ~ Mark 16: 12-13

The question that Mark brings to the table in this telling of Easter is simple, “How do you believe when faced with such overwhelming evidence that something isn’t true but in reality it is true… how do you have faith in the impossible?” Thus, to not have such faith as described by Jesus is to be condemned with sin. No one had faith because the scourging of Jesus was so replete that no one could have survived it. No man could have ever beared such a punishment and not confess even if they where innocent, just like Jesus. The pain of each individual steel ball at the end of each leather strap would have forced anyone to surrender within the first strike, but Jesus took twenty lashes times two. Two soldiers or lectors, (as they where known then), adept at this kind of torture, each man had one cat-of-nine-tails, and each ball had tiny spikes at its ends. The lectors stripped Jesus nude, tide his hands to an upright post exposing his bare back, buttocks, and legs. Each lector took turns as they swung the cat-of-nine-tails as hard as they could, striking Jesus all up and down his body taking pleasure with each ounce of pain they delivered. Blood and bone, clung to the ends of the balls, some flesh fell to the ground while other bits and pieces of tiny tissue was slung all about the area of this horrific scourging. From a biblical sense forty lashes is all a mortal man can take before collapsing in shock and then later dying of his wounds, so the sentence would be thirty nine lashes. In truth the severity of the scourging depended upon the disposition of those who where delivering it, so with Jesus they made him an example, thus it would be fair to say that his lashing was harsher, with more cruelty than what would be given to the run-of-the-mill criminal. So this question of Mark, “How do you believe in the face of such evidence?” is truly the question at the core of our faith, it is at the center of everyones heart and mind who has ever lived, who witnessed the birth, life, and death of Christ. How to believe in something so impossible and yet unseen is what we all wrestle with when building our faith, our believing in Jesus Christ, and when we read about His resurrection and His ascension. Blind faith is at the very core of Christ from start to finish. For Mary Magdalene there was no question because she instantly believed.

^{14 “}Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. ¹⁵And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.¹⁶He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; ¹⁸they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” ~ Mark 16: 14-18

Imagine if you will, the shock upon their faces, the absolute stupor they all where in. They had been told to assemble but for what reason? They where told Christ had risen but yet they did not believe for they had not seen him nor would have recognized him if they had. In fact the bible tells us that they did not believe partly out of fear, but mainly they had dismissed what He told them before His death. Had they truly believed Jesus was the son of man, to which He had openly claimed in their hearing many times perhaps their fear would have turned to wonder and excitement in the possibility that he could have been a live just as they where being told. To some degree for Peter, James, and John it was their actions after witnessing the death of Christ that is most telling, for it was these three who had more of a cause to believe than all the the rest, Mary included. For Peter, James, and John had witnessed Jesus transfigured before their very eyes and had they understood what they saw they all three would have instantly believed in what Mary was telling them. Ironically, none of the chosen disciples believed in Jesus’s resurrection because of the circumstances and fear surrounding His death especially Peter, James, and John. Moreover, Peter, James, and John had a second reason to have had more faith than what they were exhibiting because after the transfiguration Jesus told them to not to tell anyone about this until after He had risen from the dead, but they all three had failed to do this, they all three failed to have absolute, unshakeable faith in the power and might of Jesus. Instead they all chose to cower in their fear and be caught up in their grief and so Mary’s words made no sense to them. Their disbelief was so great because logically it was impossible. Their viewpoint was based upon a limited frame of reference which dictated that after the brutal death Jesus had suffered His mortal body was to damaged, beaten, and torn that He could not have been resurrected. Therefore, to look for Him ran counter to what was physically possible, (once discounting the transfiguration and after inputting the type of resurrection others like Lazarus experienced at the hand of Jesus), so what Mary was telling them they took as being absolute nonsense;

11 “But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.” ~ Luke 24:11

This element of fear was so great and had penetrated their hearts to the degree over the course of the three days after Jesus had passed that each one of them was ready and willing to give up on what Jesus had taught them and disassemble as the Romans and Pharisees had hoped. Fear had gripped them so completely they even locked the door to their dwelling for safety and rarely ventured out. They all thought the world would hate them, so the hid. The fear was real and each one of them had cause to be afraid for Jesus had warned them what their plight would be if they followed in his footsteps and it became even more real once seeing it for themselves up-close and personal;

¹⁸“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. ¹⁹The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. ²⁰Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you. ²¹They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the one who sent me. ²²They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them. But now they have no excuse for their sin. ²³Anyone who hates me also hates my Father. ²⁴If I hadn’t done such miraculous signs among them that no one else could do, they would not be guilty. But as it is, they have seen everything I did, yet they still hate me and my Father. ²⁵This fulfills what is written in their Scriptures: ‘They hated me without cause.” ~ John 15:18-25

Therefore, the disbelief was based upon facts of the world, and not of the spirit. With God anything is possible and everything is in your reach. Mary’s belief was in some regard based upon her personal experience as a witness to Jesus’s resurrection, and it was her ears in hearing his voice that convinced her that her teacher was indeed alive. It would be this same personal experience that would finally convince a group of scared, timid, bewildered, and even frightened men to become the great men of faith they would later become. It would take the voice of Jesus to bring them out of their collective shell’s and build them up into an unstoppable force for Christ.

HAPPY EASTER… AND GO AND SPREAD THE WORD… OUR LORD AND SAVIOR LIVES!

*For a wonderfully article of events that happened on EASTER click here: EASTER BIBLE VERSES by PAMELA ROSE WILLIAMS

God Bless and have a wonderful Easter,

Brian Keith,
Founder of Listening Faithfully

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ANNOUNCING LISTENING FAITHFULLY ORIGINAL BOOKS!

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Listening Faithfully: The Sin Series

THIS EASTER take some time to truly understand the stakes that fueled the mission of Jesus Christ. Step outside your comfort zone for a minute and really contemplate the gravity of Jesus Christ’s actions two thousand years ago and reflect why these actions still affect us so profoundly today. Asked your self, ” Why was Jesus in a rush to die? “Why did He put Himself in such a horrible position and then refuse to defend Himself only to end up on the cross?” Ask yourself, “What was so special about humanity that God would sacrifice His only son for us?” In these questions we have our answer in the miracle we call Christ. It is this which THE SIN SERIES delves to give a complete understanding from scripture the nature of SIN and from where it originated. We explore why Lucifer became Satan and we answer all the above questions in grant detail. Gain a real understand of our loving and magnificent God who and what sacrifice God made for everyone of us because of sin. For over three years running these series of blogs have intrigued and mystified all who have read them and now they can truly be yours in kindle format for the special Easter Price of $8.39.

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Reflection 6: What You Can Expect From Life: According to Faith; pt 6

²⁰He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” ~ Matthew 17:20

Faith in most of our minds is this mystical, magical, and even almost other worldly supernatural power that only certain people have in abundance. We read about awesome acts of faith helping the condemned to survive when anyone else would have perished. We find stories of people who thank God for their recovery claiming it was their faith that pulled them through and we feel they are out of our league. We in our minds dismiss these people and their stories because we feel that, “we the normal person” is not somehow worthy of this high honor bestowed on just a select few. Well, the truth is that “Yes”, there are some of us who hold onto faith in every aspects of their lives and “Yes”, faith is ingrained into their DNA. “YES”, miracles do happen to some of us because of their faith in God but, “NO!” they are not magically blessed and the rest of humanity is less fortunate. The truth is God gave all of us the power to believe, and it is this power which we must surrender too in order to have true faith in God. Faith equals trust, trust equals belief, and like a circle bending back upon itself belief equals love. Because “Love” is “God” and those who love God also trust God, again, we find that this equals faith which equals trust. People who choose to live their lives in this manner exhibit characteristics that scare the rest of us because they seemingly have something that we don’t. People of faith seem to possess absolute resolve in all the trials and tribulations that is placed in their way on a daily basis and seem to handle it better with more fortitude and with greater grace than the normal person could ever muster. But this I tell you is also an illusion, because even though we see something on the out side, the pain and turmoil still has its grip on the inside. We all have the same weakness that which is sin. We all sin, we all fall to sin in our daily lives, it’s just that some of us handle sin better because of their faith, because they trust in God for his promise of forgiveness of their sins. If there was anything which took root in the Roman world after the death and resurrection of Jesus it would have to be this one simple fact that more Romans needed faith in something more real than what they where being offered and Christianity gave them this anchor as it still does for all of us today. So the simple fact is as Jesus had stated so brilliantly, faith is so powerful because it is show in your actions trust in the word of God. This builds belief in God and in that there is nothing which you cannot do or accomplish even move mountains.

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7

How many times have you been told to, “Have Faith.” ? What does this really mean? I had one of my students tell me flat out when I told him to have faith, “Why should we have faith?” Obviously this was coming from frustration, but I assured him it will all work in the end. Did it? “Yes! it did.” It always works out in the end. God makes sure things that go wrong in our lives according to us, He can and will fix. But how do we have faith when we don’t know the plan? This and so many other questions rest assured will be the road block to your faith if you let it. But, if you don’t and you let go and let God then your faith is multiplied by infinity and with that kind of faith there is nothing you cannot do.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:8

Faith is a journey, it is a real hand-in-hand walk with our creator. It is the constant listening, or listening faithfully in faith that we all share in common as we only have one God. No one can ignore the sin in our heart as surely as we cannot ignore the path we are all called to take, the journey called faith in God.

My faith journey has been one built up over forty years of constant reading and asking questions to clergy and people I loved and respected. I finally came face-to-face with all my sin and troubles which had broken me to the point I could n’t stand myself and it was then I saw the clearest I saw the path and heard, really heard God calling my name to walk hand-in-hand with him. I had to hit the bottom of the barrel to find God, to find His mercy, His love, and His devotion that He so freely had given to me which had been before me for ever in plan view. It was that I simply could not see past myself, I was blind with pride, drunk with lust of this world I could not see God. I will not lie, my faith journey has been the hardest journey I have ever had to endure. I have been tested in every way, shape, and form, every obstacle has been planted with deep roots in front of me, it seems that once I over come the obstacle another is already in the first ones place. Each new test become harder to beat, testing me in new more uncomfortable ways always forcing me to step outside my comfort zone and think outside of the box. But in all these trials and tribulations God has allowed to happen in my life, I have never wavered and in my faith has become stronger and stronger just like Jesus promised. “HAVE FAITH.” Is more than just a saying that makes most people cringe with fear and anxiety, it is the calling card of love sent straight to you from God himself. It is a commandment for the faithful to uphold, always and forever. The best part about it is I know I am never alone in my trials and tribulations that life beats me down with. Because I am on this journey, I am assured that God is with me, right beside me, holding my hand through every part especially the worst parts always giving me strength and resolve.

Without faith there is no hope, and without hope their is only depression and despair. You can expect to fail for sure with that formula. Added to that you are not pleasing God. The actions of those who feel no hope is to rob others of their hope, to pull others down into their sorrow and pity. All of which is against God and against what He has commanded. God does not reward bad behavior, but rather there is hope in the reward of trust and love He holds for us for he gave his only son.

The one question that always comes to my mind at Easter is really when you thinking about it, when you remember the love of God; His grace that He so freely gives to all man kind is simple in retrospect, “How much more faith in God did Jesus exhibit in His last hour here on Earth as He suffered and died on the cross? How much more faith did Jesus demonstrate than anyone of us in any hour of trouble we face in comparison to being crucified ” Jesus’s stated mission according to the four Gospels of the New Testament was that He had to die for our sins. Jesus had told the Pharisees that He would be seated at the right hand of God. Clearly this was the reward for sacrificing himself for all mankind? But what if Jesus had misplaced His faith in God, what then? Certainly Jesus had thought this in the garden as he prayed before His arrest. Surely Satan had tempted Jesus with this doubt in the Desert. Had it not been for Jesus’s resurrection on the third day we all would be left without faith, without hope, without the trust in God we all so desperately need. We know Jesus was who he said He was, His father is God, and we know beyond doubt the power of Faith by His example and obedience which “Yes” pleased God immensely. Jesus’s faith in God was absolute, unwavering, and never ending. It is this we celebrate at Easter, and it is this truly gives man hope, faith, and love.

“And Jesus answered saith unto them, ‘Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in hid heart , but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.” Mark 11:22-23

Happy Easter Everyone.

Amen

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