Reflection 2: God's Mindset…

God and His Mindset

“Happy are you who are hungry now, you shall be satisfied. Fortunate are you who weep, for you shall laugh.” ~ Q10, Lost Gospel Q.

Mindset is everything.  Simple but true.  God’s mind is sharp and focused on one thing, that would be you, me, and all of humanity.  This is evident from the first page of Genesis of the Bible to the last page in Revelations, all 66 books of the standard Christian version and all 81 books of the Catholic Bible, not to mention all 82 scriptures of His son’s teaching which were recorded and passed down to us in the form of The Lost Gospel Q.  God chose to make us in His likeness, He chose to make a place that would support our every need and gave us dominion over the Earth, He chose to love us no matter the cost, and God chose to forgive us and to ultimately save us.  Since these decisions every action God has taken has been to support those specific promises all of which He was so confident in that He had it written so everyone could see for all time His devotion to us.  Because God’s mindset is so focused on us it affects our personal lives and relationship with Him.  It is the primary reason why God also stresses the need for every person to be focused upon Him and His word.  God’s heart is set upon a real lasting personal relationship with you and everyone around you spiraling out to encompass the entire planet.  God wants a relationship so as to build you up and to make you strong.  His grace is focused on your sin and the forgiveness of those sins in such a way that it makes each and everyone of us sinners worthy of God when on our own we could never be truly worthy.  God’s mindset is one of hope and love, you could say that God is the creator and chief among the optimists always seeing to good in everyone and thing always seeing the opportunities through the calamities we face.   God’s mindset is to be there with us through those calamities holding our hand, giving us the strength to make it through to the finish line.  God’s mind sees what we cannot and His spirit is eternally seeking the path that will mould us into a more perfect version of ourselves, individualized personal development plans if you will that only ends with our absolute purification of our heart, mind, and soul.   God’s mindset is set upon giving us the length of years to see the truth, to testify to it, to live by it,  to live a Godly life, and yes to ultimately return to Him and to live with Him in Heaven forever.  So it is that when we are hungry He gives us food, both to nourish our bodies and our spirit. So it is when we cry He wipes away our tears and gives us a reason to smile and laugh.  God’s miracles support His love for us, His words have never been broken, and His mind is filled with thoughts of your eternal happiness.

God’s Mindset vs Our Mindset

8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.” ~ Isaiah 55:8-9

First and foremost there is no comparison between God’s ability to continue to see the positive through the pain and heartache when times get hard verse our ability which is infinitesimally less than, so much so in fact we don’t even rate on the universal scale of positive thinkers or believers.  This was made completely evident in the willingness for God to send Jesus, His only son with one mission and for that mission to have only one out come, Jesus’s death!   For that to even be on the table so to speak was far and beyond anything we humans or even Satan himself could ever comprehend let alone pull off.  With that said,  I can only testify that  it is this one singular thought that converted me as a child and has played a major role in my life ever since.  How could a god, a perfect being, an entity so powerful and magnificent need and love our drama? How could God need our ungratefulness, our sneakiness, our filth of mind and soul, our lack of courage and willpower to always do the right things in life regardless the outcome, and our pride and selfishness which is the root cause to so much chaos in our world?  The short answer is that He does not need us, but rather we need Him.  When a person first realizes this one point it is a transformational thought because what happens is for the first time we become aware of our own mortality and sin.  It brings to mind our unworthiness, it makes us responsible for our sins, and it also reinforces in every-way possible of how blessed we are to have a God who loves us anyway.  Then there is the small idea that comes next, the door opens and we see how many times in our life we have given-up on God, not God giving-up on us.  Millions of years have gone by and yet every action and promise of God has been to make our life and world better day by day, hour by hour,  minute by minute, and it is us who do not have the time to notice or even to say thank you in return.  It is mankind who has often given-up on God, and still our Lord is there loving us and providing for us – despite us.  This makes God’s words real and tangible,  ever lasting,  and never changing,  because they are perfect in every application in every manner and interpretation for God has made known what and who is on His mind, the what and the why that is in His heart, and more importantly the how we fit into His master plan.  For when we apply Gods teachings into our lives we do the right things and in turn those actions glorify God, when we love others it glorifies Him, when we forgive our enemies it glorifies Him, and when we reach out to God it glorifies Him.   God made us, He alone protects us, and provides for us.  It is God who chooses to remember us and to honor us by His grace.  Because these are the truths about God then we as Christians need to filter everything in our lives and thinking through his Holy filter and through His holy words and promises.  Because there is so much immorality in our world due to our imperfect nature we need to cling to the mercy and grace of our loving all powerful God.

 God’s Mindset Equals Strength

“Look at the lilies that grow wild in the fields. They don’t weave clothes for themselves. But I tell you, even King Solomon in all his splendor was not dressed as beautifully as these flowers. If that is how God clothes the grasses, which are green today and burned in the sun tomorrow, how much more will God provide for you. How little faith you have!” ~ Q52, Lost Gospel Q.

Faith in God is at the core of our personal strength in life.  Faith is the bedrock of our actions we take, what we think, how we feel, and how we apply our new and old knowledge no matter the source.  This is proved true every time you debate others, to the side you defend, and to the manner and tone you use when debating.  If a person has no faith in God then their arguments tend to be in the negative excepting modern teachings which are contrary to the Bible and to the will of God thus their personal beliefs tend to be based upon false teachings.  Therefore,  when we compromise on the truth of God, the Bible, and the teachings of Jesus and all his disciples who uniquely owned the moral authority to preach the word of God which has been written down and spread across the world, we fall into the worlds trap of acceptance of unholy beliefs and compromise ourselves in the most unholy of ways.  In this trap we find ideas that degrade our bodies, our minds, and our soul. Within this trap we hear unholy music, unholy words, unholy sounds that invade our personal space and warp our perceptions of the very word of God.  To this end what we allow in unfiltered by the teachings of the Bible, (which are the very words of God), and unfiltered by His moral principals do we then assign ourselves to the notion that it is us who have to become accepting of the world, instead of the world changing to accept God.  The side-affect of this is seen in our societies as we assimilate these false teachings into our beliefs and thus begin to comprise the teachings of God.  It always starts very innocently with a song, or a joke, or a law passed by a government or constitutions written and then changed by governments and like a computer virus working in the background unchecked it begins to change our vocabulary and it warps the very meanings of words we once held as holy and changes them to mean something completely different and unholy.  Thereby the words that you use to placate others so as to fit in or to not offend them, which would have been against your personal beliefs and suddenly now do not reflect God in your words, then you in deed compromised  God, compromised your faith in God, and fallen short and have missed the opportunity to share as a witness for God.  Therefore, faith is a mindset you burn into your every action, into your every words, and within that you share God’s holy message in order to help inspire others to become followers, and eventually for them as they study the Bible to become the children of God as He had intended.  Faith is God’s mindset!

Take this as proof, God created Adam and the garden of Eden so as Adam would be taken care of with more than enough to eat and drink and to be happy. God loved Adam so much that He gave to Adam all the wild animals and plants of the garden so as to fill Adams mind with the love of God expressed through all he saw and heard.  God then created Eve so Adam would not be lonely and feel unloved, thus with each embrace of Eve, Adam felt alive and could feel the love of God in the most holy of ways.  Eve too shared in this experience and was Adams equal sharing in all the fruits and rewards of a life given by God.  These two people knew God in a way we could never experience,  they saw God in a way we can never replicate, and they heard the very voice of God in a manner our ears will never in this life hear.  Though they were not perfect, and made mistakes and fell from grace, God in his punishment of them never stopped loving them and never stopped believing in them nor has He ever stopped believing in us.  God’s Mindset has never attempted to placate Satan, He has never changed His beliefs to become more popular, God is not guilty of adopting a superficial life style that is more in tune with the world and modern dogma.  God did not become more  accepting to sinful acts and more willing to negotiate on holy principals, nor has God  changed the meanings of words to make them mean something completely contrary to their original meanings to suit a new belief so as to entrap us further within our sin.  God has not stopped spreading His divine message nor has He changed the facts or purposes of the events of our history so as to be more easy on our conscience.  God didn’t send Jesus to save humanity and then half way through changed His mind because it was too hard or would hurt to much. Nor did God abandon Job when Satan destroyed His life, or when King David fell to lust and had Bathsheba’s husband killed.   Therefore, we need to adopt God’s mindset and allow Him full access so that our faith in Him will grow and our spirit can bathe in the full glory of the Holy Spirit.  God so wants to dress us up with faith, with love, and arm us with the knowledge of truth so as to protect us  for ever and ever.  The world is very much like grass which is green today and burns in the sun tomorrow, but God’s mindset never changes, never tires, and never turns away or forgets His promises.  For God’s mindset is perfect, strong, and equals strength and wisdom, character, devotion, purpose, courage, and love if you accept God and adopt His word as the truth, the life, the pure and only source for all eternity.

Amen,

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Brian Keith

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Reflection 1- What God's Love is…

7 “The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. 10 But those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction; he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him.” ~ Deuteronomy 7:7-10

This Holiday Season I felt it only proper to call on history and revive some posts written last year and in years prior about love because God is love and he is our God. Let us all make God our center focus in this Holiday season especially on All Souls Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Let this season be one of deep reflection; reflecting on all of Gods goodness which will bring our attention back to God in the Highest. I invite everyone who would like to reflect with me on any post found here at Listening Faithfully Blog. Be sure to send your reflections to me via email at  listeningfaithfullyblog@gmail.com, and I promise to post your thoughts during this holiday season of 2013 in upcoming posts within the this new series of reflections: What God Is… Let’s make this a happy and fruitful holiday season!  

God Is

 God’s love is… pure, absolute, unchanging, unyielding, it does not see color of ones skin, it does not distinguish between people of different beliefs or cultures, it is always at our disposal, for God Himself is always moving among us as is His agape love.  For God’s perfect self-sacrificing love is agape love; “Agape is love which is of and from God, whose very nature is love itself.” ~ http://www.gotquestions.org/agape-love.html.  God loved the Jews so much that He made oaths and convents, He alone made good on all those things which He so promised the Jews.  On a wider scale these promises fulfilled serve as many shinning examples to all of mankind that God loves us so much that He alone made it possible for all of His children to spend the remainder of eternity with Him.  God through Jesus concurred Death, defeated Satan, cast out all the evils in Heaven, destroyed the enemies of His chosen elect, and still from start to finish God moves all around us, protecting us, guiding us, helping us, and – “Yes” – loving us despite our selfishness and sin.  God has never abandoned us, and He is a God of many chances.  Though it is important to point out, God gives back to you what you willing gave to others, be that good or ill, for God is not slow to punish the wicked and all things happen within His chosen time and of His mighty choosing.  Therefore, God never backs down, He never runs away, He never shrinks in the face of evil, and because God is and does all this if you love Him with all your heart and soul, neither should you shrink, run, give up, nor back down to any challenge God saw fit to place before you.  Remember life is a challenge, it is a race that everyone of us who believe can not only finish, but also win.

 Those Who Do Not Know God

8 “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” ~ 1 John 4:8

I have known a lot of people from all over the world, I could not pick out those who did not believe from those who did just by first meeting them, nor in the second or third meetings, but I could tell where their priorities were based upon how they dressed and what they surrounded themselves with. Likewise, when the conversation came to religion then did it become crystal clear to whom I was dealing with depending on what they had said to me. I think it is very important to understand that God knows before you are even born, He see’s you as you are and what you could become if you allow Him to mould you into that more perfect version of yourself.  God can tell if you are in doubt, and if you have questions, and He see’s if you are not open minded enough to allow your heart to believe things which are both seen and unseen.  Faith in God is the requirement, it is the singular step everyone who ever saw God had to take.  But if you allow your heart to remain empty and devoid of love then how are you ever going to be able to choose God?  How could you ever see what God has for you in your life if you fill your heart with hate?  Many people have used the words of God to rally the crowd but inside their heart they hate God, they inwardly hate His just and perfect words, and they hate His message; for it is those I pray, I pray for their salvation, I pray that they someday see the light of the most high God. I do so because without God in their life they live their life without purpose or meaning and are truly the living damned, the true walking dead. They do not know God because they choose not to know God, they fear that giving up their hatred would leave them vulnerable and exposed. They live in fear because of fear, they are the eternally fearful, thus they lash-out in anger and in hatred.  We see this very thing played out in our world politics as the worlds politicians seek selfish resolutions, (many of whom are practiced lairs), we see this played out in the Justice System who is crippled and pledged with selfish people seeking selfish judgments while disguising their arguments as being the exact opposite of what they truly are, and we see this played out in our world through our economics which has enslaved the world to living from paycheck – to – paycheck never having enough to be truly free and never seeing an end to the enslavement which lasts a lifetime.  These things are exceptional sin in the eyes of God, for it breaks the first of all commandments:  2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.” ~ Exodus 20:2-3.  In other-words putting wealth before God is a sin, it means your heart is focused on money and it replaces God as it is the only thing which you choose to warship and think about day and night.  Jesus instructed us that; “No one can serve two masters. You will either hate the first and love the second or treat one with respect and the other with scorn. You can not serve God and money.” ~ Q73, Lost Gospel Q.  Mankind has found a million ways to replace God and to warship other things, things of this world and it is to those people who also share in their fruits as being eternally damned, for Jesus also instructed us that; 15 “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” ~ 1 John 2: 15-17. Therefore, It is a choice we all have to make, to choose God or to choose not to believe in God. For those who choose not to believe they have signed their soul to Satan, to everlasting damnation, everlasting torment, they will never know happiness, forgiveness, mercy, nor shall they ever receive the grace of God for those who hate God praise themselves and Jesus instructed us; “Those who praise themselves will be humbled. Those who humble themselves will be praised.” Q67, Lost Gospel Q.  

The Simple Test of Humility

The simple test I love to give is to ask those who have hurt me or offended me in some way, or have hurt my feelings, to simply apologize for their action.  After all it should be the simplest thing in the world to do right, to apologize?  But on the contrary,  you would be surprised to how many people refuse to do so because they believe they did nothing wrong.  When in-fact apologizing is not omission of guilt but rather an act of grace and is viewed in the eyes of God as the main method, or tool of healing a damaged relationship because of the actions taken that caused the damage, whether it be intentional or not. To not apologize is to basically say, “Your relationship with me is worthless and therefore I do not need to fix the damage.”  This statement is one which does not come from God, but rather Satan. To prove this simply ask, “How can I know my actions have offended someone else?” The answer is you may not know until you are confronted, and this confrontation should be done in private, and – “Yes” – some people make it a public seen which is also a sin against God, but this does not negate the responsibility to apologize for the the first offense, nor to hold hostage the apology for the second offense to be dealt with first for; “Jesus explained to His disciples, “If a companion does something wrong to you, go to the person and point this out. But do it privately. If your friend listens and says, ‘I’m sorry,’ forgive and your bond will be strengthened.” “But how often must I forgive the same person?” asked one of his disciples. “Seven Times?” Jesus answered, “Not just seven times, but seventy-seven times.” ~ Q77, Lost Gospel Q.  To not to apologize or to forgive is also a sin against God because it goes against His moral teaching.  Thus not only has the apology not been given out of pride, (the first original sin which is manifest solely by Satan), but you are also unrepentant sinning not just once but three times before God by simply not acknowledging  your transgression against your fellow man, be it your mother, father, brother, sister, wife, husband, offspring, grandparents, neighbors, work mates, who ever it might have been.  In reality what you have done is far worse on a deeply personal and spiritual level as pride takes hold, you take a moral stance and act as if your morally right to not apologize becomes these are the main thoughts which your mind is beginning to believe to be the truth when in-fact you have begun to believe in your own lies.  To those people I ask, “How can you be morally right if you have been instructed by God to apologize, to build not destroy, to forgive, to love, to honor your fellow man, to treat others as you would have them treat you? Where is your justification before God?”  In this we teach others how to treat us, and in that viewpoint it never stops to amaze me how many people become shocked when the other person refuses to talk, or to play nice, or is unwilling to carry on the relationship at any level.  In reality by not apologizing we have destroyed not created, we have sinned not ask for forgiveness, we have become filled with pride and vanity, not bowing on our knees in humility and obedient to the will of God, rather we have done the exact opposite and try to defend an indefensible argument, because we are blinded by self-righteousness and indignation!  “Treat people as you would like them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. If you do good only to those who do good to you, what merit is there in that? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what rewards is there in that? Even sinners lend to sinners. Instead, love your enemies and do good, expecting nothing in return. You will have a great reward, and you will be children of your Father in heaven. He makes the sun rise on the bad and the good. He sends rain to fall on both the just and the unjust.” ~ Q16, Lost Gospel Q.  Indeed, the living dead will never apologize, they will never humble themselves, they will never accept responsibility  nor will they ever see the light of God in the Highest when Jesus returns for the final judgement. Thus, God is the Alpha and Omega, he is the creator with the divine right and sole privileges to be the perfect judge. 

Fruits of God

“What is your price?”

For in every situation there is a price to be paid, there is a positive or negative reputation to every action, to every decision you make, for there is a price to be exacted from you and everyone around you based upon what you think, feel, and what you do because of your emotional responses to those things you experience in this life.  No one escapes without being hurt, humiliated, made fun of, destroyed in some way, and it is very much like how  planet Earth renews itself from the violence of each natural disaster that happens in nature.  For God is also of nature, he is spiritual and natural in every sense of the word.  There is nothing which you cannot see that God first did not have His fingers in the creation of, this would include every human-being ever born, to every animal that ever lived. God is a creator first and foremost, for He is both the most tame and most wild, He is in every thing from the dirt of the Earth to the air we breath, God is everywhere and is in everything.  Thus, His love is the fuel which invented us, His love is the fire that moulded our bodies, mind, heart, and soul; His love gave to us everything in creation and everything in our wildest imagination, for it is the power-planet we use to solve problems or create them for ourselves.  For there is no limit to His divine and holy love, which also saved us.  God is indeed a creator and within that He is very passionate about His creations. For God alone built our world and loved all His creations within it as His first thoughts and actions, we where on His mind before the creation and will be on His mind for the rest of eternity.  God was willing to pay a heavy price for our redemption and if you think about it long enough the question we all ask as we look out into the precipice and magnitude that is the mystery of God that price we have to pay becomes so minuet in the face of His promises, and fruits, so small are we in comparison to Him and yet our price we have to pay is nothing in-comparison to the price God paid to love us, to be with us, and to have a relationship with us.  

“So what price would you pay to be with God?”

 In closer examination of this , God’s wages for sin is death, but on the other hand He also promised His children ever lasting life in His Kingdom. Death then is really nothing to God for He is both life and death, He has power over every aspect of these two opposite and equal states of being, so therefore we die but are reborn if we first believe.  So the real price we have to pay is found with the word, “belief.”  Taking this one step farther, if you believe that God has the power to resurrect or restore your soul and to forgive your sin, and in the face of this awesome creation of planet earth, the universe it sits within as a part of a wider creation that mankind cannot yet completely comprehend, I simply ask, “Is death such a small price to pay for ever lasting life and eternal life with God?”   

 “What is your price you would level against God in order to allow Him access to your heart?”

In retrospect many of us do not see God in this grand scale, we do not connect the dots so to speak nor do some of us even ask any of these questions. For it is far better to be blissfully ignorant of our sinful nature and ignore the wrong doings both we create for others and for ourselves. We are convinced, that this sin [willful ignorance] alone causes the loss of more souls than all the other sins together, because he who is ignorant does not realize the harm he does by his sin, nor the great good he thus forfeits.” ~ St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Cure of Ars.  Thus, it is far better to blame other people for our bad fortune and or level the blame on God, and in doing so we exact an unfair price for God to have to pay, far and above the price He has already paid through His son Jesus Christ.  The repercussion of-course to this action is a life without the fruits of God. So what are these fruits of God anyway… you might ask?  According to Mother Theresa,Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand. Anyone may gather it and no limit is set. Everyone can reach this love through meditation, spirit of prayer, and sacrifice, by an intense inner life.” ~ Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Love is the first of many fruits God gives to every person on earth.  Without love we have nothing, we are as stated above dead in spirit.  Joy is another fruit coming from God, for in joy we find happiness of mind, body, and soul, we find relaxation and rest in the spirit of God. Joy as a fruit is best described as, For one pain endured with joy, we shall love the good God more forever.” ~ St. Therese of Lisieux.  Yet another fruit coming from God is peace, for it is the desire of our soul and is the reward for doing good always, thus, “Let us go forward in peace, our eyes upon heaven, the only one goal of our labors.” -St. Therese of Lisieux. Long-suffering is a fruit deriving from God for, “As iron is fashioned by fire and on the anvil, so in the fire of suffering and under the weight of trials, our souls receive that form which our Lord desires them to have.’ ~ St. Madeline Sophie Barat.  Kindness tops the list of fruits from God, as it from kindness all other goodness is made possible.  Kindness tops the list of fruits from God, as it is from kindness all other goodness is made possible, and, “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”~  Aesop Greece, (c. 620 BC – c. 560 BC)To this collection of fruits we are given again for such a small price of belief, and this belief in God there is no higher rewards in this life and the next.

22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” ~ Galatians 5:22

Amen,

 

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

Brian Keith

Your invited to stay in contact with me!

EMAIL: listeningfaithfullyblog@gmail.com

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Reflection 5: Family of God – Economy of God

“Don’t acquire gold, silver, or copper. Carry no purse, no knapsack, no sandals. Don’t bring a second tunic or a staff. Don’t stop to greet people along the way.” Q29, Lost Gospel Q.

There are many people in today’s cynical world who write blogs, magazine articles, report various viewpoints on T.V. and radio, and even some who preach the word of God that would have you believe that God’s economy is the same as man’s economy. There are some who would tell the stories of the bible linking them to our current-fiscal crisis; the political storm which took over the United States Government and  which was successful in closing the Government partially and treating the world economy at large, all while linking these events to God. Some even use the bible to condemn rich people, the wealthy establishment, those who do not have to worry ever of where their next meal is coming from. But I tell you that money which fuels the United States Economy, and the world economy is not and has nothing to do with God’s economy for God has no use for those things of the this world for everything in this world will someday pass away. Jesus did not preach about how to collect wealth, but rather how wealth was to be used in this life to help those in need, for to transfer man’s earthly wealth to heaven cannot be done. Man’s creation or false sense of security we lovingly call our economy is just that a creation of man, not God, therefore nothing we make, build, or invent can be taken with you when you die no matter how hard one tries.  The ultimate example of man trying to take his wealth with him is found throughout the world in the great tombs of long lost Kings and Queens, most notably that of the Egyptian Pharaohs, of which great riches where buried and then later plundered.  But yet the economy of God in this posting refers to your relationship with God, his riches that which he shall bestow upon those who served him in this life and who proclaimed His name to all the Earth  in this life.  For Jesus stated quit clearly do not collect  gold, silver, copper, and in this he was telling those who believed in Him as the son of man that these Earthly things will not be of any value in the world yet to come.

The Command of “Don’t”!

“Don’t be blinded by the pursuit of food, clothing, and possessions. Stop worrying about these things. Only those who lack spirit and soul pursue them. You have a Father who knows what you need. Set your heart on God and these other things will be given to you.” Q53, Lost Gospel Q.

The word, “Don’t” is very clearly a command to “Not Do”, it is very clearly a, “Do Not”,  from the Lord!  He is guarding us from the same sin which took down Eve in the Garden of Eden, He is trying to keep us safe from the sin of Pride which Lucifer had fallen from grace over thus spawning original sin.  It is a sign-post to take exceptional note of and to obey completely and faithfully. Over and over in the Bible one can find the basic story of how mankind is corrupted by jealously, lust, and greed, all of which leads to violence and crime.  “Do Not build your wealth here on Earth”; “Do Not be blinded by money and wealth”; “Do Not acquire gold, silver, or copper”;  All are implicit commands to stay away from this most damning of temptations because those who fall to this sin will not be sharing the riches of Heaven, those people who fall to this sin are in Jesus’s words, “lacking in spirit and soul”.  So, I find it very troubling that man completely and utterly ignored this command from Jesus and instead created great wealth and through that wealth, (which continually grows for a small select few of the world’s population), that we now have great poverty thrust upon those who have not the same resources in-which to compete against a person of means. The sin is not in the act of acquiring  but rather in the larger picture of destruction it reeks upon the world at large; i.e. the rich man who does not spend his money to help the worlds hungry, or to educate the worlds illiterate, and / or the rich man who does not use his money to build homes for the homeless; all of this is in-fact the acts of the rich who are lacking in spirit and soul.  What good is there in giving to those who have while ignoring those who have not? How simple it is to keep building wealth while ignoring the abject poverty their lack of action in helping those lesser off than they creates!  Reaching further into the roots of this sin of wealth building for the sake of building wealth we find this guiding question; “What good would have come if those who are rich in economic resources had helped to build homes, schools, pantries and soup kitchens, and to care for the sick and elderly, what impact would this kindness have brought?”  But rather the sin is in the decision to willfully deny  God’s people by not sharing the wealth but rather using it to buy bigger and better homes for ones-self, to buy outlandish yachts to display ones-own wealth and personal power, to buy businesses for the sole purpose to fueling ones-own greed and to keep the money rolling into a singular coffer so as to be spend on foolish things which do not improve the world or it’s population by any degree of measure.  The sin is profoundly rooted in the question;  “What miracles could have been worked for the benefit of all mankind?”  For the repercussions of greed is rooted in the impoverishment we see worldwide, thus it is not that God hates rich people rather God hates the greed the rich are subjected too, God hates the lust for power that the massively wealth entertains daily!  God hates the politics which rich people endorse that leads to the buying of  a bigger home rather than to help in the purchasing of homes, (plural),  for the thousands who are homeless, the lack in soul which prevents and distorts that beautiful and graceful miracle of helping people of all walks of life to be feed, or educated, and / or to be cured of their life zapping illnesses. God hates the choice some of the most wealthy partake which serves ones-self, (in the singular), interest by commiserating in the blissful spending of wealth on selfish and self-serving things!

 The same is true with great nations like the United States, Great Britain, the former Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, Britannia, Rome, Egypt, and the great Central American empires of the distant past. History records God’s wrath played out upon those people who refused to build better for the common good and defense of all, the sharing of resources and wealth, and who rather played the politics of man rather than to set their eyes upon God.  All these great empires with the exception of the United States lost their position because they rather set their collective sights on the power that their economics brought to them than the good they could have done with it.   Every single empire sought out war to increase their collective wealth, sacrificed millions of their own son’s to secure their dominance over their neighbors and to plunder resources which did not belong to them. The United States in some of these sins share an equal part of the over all punishment and damnation which all other nations have been burned by, and yet there is one specific sin which the United States vastly out weights every other nation on earth for, that sin is PRIDE!

The American Pride is exceptional in all the Earth, it fuels the American erogance which has brought low the economic worth of the dollar to the point which the United States Government shows off its complete and utter futility to fight against it’s self, to guard against it’s own self interest, and too in the greatest of political struggles manage to boast of how the world needs it’s security when in fact it was the security of the American Dollar that the American Government came so close to devaluing for a second time in the course of the past three years of infighting!   No other country would have allowed its currency to be devalued through it’s own governmental system or construct, for no other country is as erogant as the United States!  The American sin is illustrated in no greater way than the political hemorrhaging of the Republican Party from 2009-to  the current date due largely to an inflated ego that allows the American Federal Legislature to exhibit over confidence, the sin of wealth has produced unrivaled political brinkmanship, and all this has put on display before God and the world something which God does not tolerate, hypocrisy!  How can representatives spout that America spends to much if their own strategy spends more money in a 16 day period than the law it was trying to unfunded will spend in 10 years? How can representatives vote to destroy an economy their constituents voted them in to save? How can representatives justify putting millions out of work, keeping them from paying their bills and yet receive a pay check to do the same thing they have keep millions from doing and which by virtue of their actions prevented the nation from doing? This American hypocrisy runs so deep that it even allowed a small fraction of the House of Representatives, (The Peoples House), to take hostage the entire Federal Government, paralyzing the nation and the world, forcing millions to go without food, housing, education, medical care, and it was the sole cause of the shut down! Yet these 144 members blame the President who refused to allow them to continue playing this game, refused them from hurting more Americans, and possible the world economy!  In doing further investigations it is apparent their own hypocrisy spilleth over, for many use the government resources they fought to shut down for the masses, many of them have taken from the purse of the nation in support for their own families and constituents, while spouting the evils of big government!  It would seem that the Peoples House no longer serves all the people, it is in these deeds of man that God said to “Not Do”!

The 144 Hypocrites 

Aderholt, Amash, Amodei, Bachmann, Barr, Barton, Bentivolio, Bishop (UT), Black, Blackburn, Brady (TX), Bridenstine, Brooks (AL), Broun (GA), Bucshon, Burgess, Campbell, Carter, Cassidy, Chabot, Chaffetz, Collins (GA), Collins (NY), Conaway, Culberson, Denham, DeSantis, DesJarlais, Duffy, Duncan (SC), Duncan (TN), Ellmers, Farenthold, Fincher, Fleischmann, Fleming, Flores, Forbes, Foxx, Franks (AZ), Garrett, Gibbs, Gingrey (GA), Gohmert, Goodlatte, Gosar, Gowdy, Granger, Graves (GA), Graves (MO), Griffith (VA), Hall, Harris, Hartzler, Hensarling, Holding, Hudson, Huelskamp, Huizenga (MI), Hultgren, Hunter, Hurt, Johnson (OH) Johnson, Sam, Jones, Jordan, King (IA), Kingston, Labrador, LaMalfa, Lamborn, Lankford, Latta, Long, Lucas, Luetkemeyer, Lummis, Marchant, Marino, Massie, McCaul, McClintock, Meadows, Messer, Mica, Miller (FL), Miller (MI), Mullin, Mulvaney, Neugebauer, Noem, Nugent, Nunnelee, Olson, Palazzo, Pearce, Perry, Petri, Pitts, Poe (TX), Pompeo, Posey, Price (GA), Radel, Reed, Renacci, Rice (SC), Roby, Roe (TN), Rogers (AL), Rohrabacher, Rokita, Rooney, Ross, Rothfus, Royce, Ryan (WI), Salmon, Sanford, Scalise, Schweikert, Scott, Austin, Sensenbrenner, Sessions, Smith (MO), Smith (TX), Southerland, Stewart, Stockman, Stutzman, Thornberry, Turner, Wagner, Walberg, Walden, Walorski, Weber (TX), Wenstrup, Westmoreland, Williams, Wilson (SC), Woodall, Yoder, & Yoho

God’s Currency

“Don’t pile up your treasures here on earth. They will be destroyed by moths and rust and stolen by thieves. Store your riches in heaven where moths and rust are powerless and thieves cannot break in. Wherever your treasures is, your heart will also be.” Q 54, Lost Gospel Q.

God’s economy is vastly different than the examples of the economy of man above.  God’s economy is anchored upon principals that build faith in God.  This economy is in general one of faith, obedience, loyalty, love, forgiveness, mercy, and is secured upon the corner stone of  God’s grace.  Therefore, Jesus instructs us to not build up treasures hear on earth, rather store your riches in heaven. The riches Jesus is talking about is not currency that comes from earthly materials but rather the love and grace you bestow upon those less fortunate than yourself.  God’s currency is your obedience, your willingness to set your sights on Him alone.  Through this Jesus also uncovers a mystery of how God measures this obedience for Our Lord states quit clearly, “For wherever your treasure are, there to is your heart”, and God lives within your heart, He breaths in the same air you breath if you willing accept His presence in your life.   God promises to never let you down, to always be with you and to guide you, and most importantly to love you no matter what.  This does not mean that He agrees with everything you do, or endorses everything you endorse, but He promises to mold you into a more perfect person if you allow Him too.  Thus, the 144 Congressman who voted to keep the United States Government shut down and to ruin the economic power of the United States and to destabilize the world economy, God does not endorse their politics or political brinkmanship, but God still loves them and is open to forgiveness  even though the vast majority of Americans will not.  That in and of its-self is the best example of Gods grace in action.  In this Jesus is also adamantly expressing the totality of treasures awaiting us in heaven, for it is better to be loved by family than to have a million dollars of man’s gold, silver, platinum, or a million acres  of prosperous crops, for the real reward is rooted in the deep love of family and this love is eternal even during periods of fighting and name calling.  In this way to be called a son of God, a brother or sister of Jesus Christ is ultimately the best treasure anyone could ever hope for because this at its core means God so loves you that he sees you as one of His sons or daughters, and this implies by all of God’s promises that you shall eat from the table of the Most High God. This treasure cannot be destroyed by moths or rust, nor stolen by thieves, and God never takes back something which he has given in good faith. The attainment of Heaven is in and of it’s self the full embodiment of the victory of the cross, for even death cannot permanently take away what God has blessed you with.  The economy of God is not fickle and never will it sway in the wind.  God knows every one of your needs and he places those needs above your wants, taking good care to love you and to provide for you those things that will sustain you.  The treasure of God’s love exceeds all known currency of man, it is priceless among the measures of men, it over shadows all nations wealth and power by such an amount there is no way for man to completely comprehend what is truly gained for such a small act of faith in God.   All of this might sound lofty but the proof has already been shown within the life and times of Our Lord Jesus Christ, proof has been exhibited by the conversion of the Roman empire to Christianity by a small group of believers.  The word of God is the expenditures Our divine Lord has made on our behalf, it is the greatest of purchases for it redeemed the entire world forever and ever.   By stark contrast one cannot be a true believer if one votes to destroy something which God has granted, or to act for the benefit of a small group who wants to enrich themselves and impoverish the entire world within the same selfish act.   Jesus called these people lacking is spirit and soul, and His proof is found within His own deeds and beliefs as He took on the sin of the world.  For I shall argue that there could not have been salvation without the obedience of Jesus Christ, there could have been no salvation if Jesus had not been willing to die for it.  Likewise, Jesus was not dying to save man so that man could boast, or quibble about silly power which in and of it’s self is an illusion cast over mankind’s eyes by Satan, but rather Jesus saw the fruits of His efforts in their full and absolute entirety which is something that Satan nor man could ever do.  God’s currency freed us, helps and guides us, and is ever present in every action we take when we accept His will in our own lives, just like Jesus did.

The Importance of Being On Guard

“If the owner of a house knows when a thief is coming, he will be on guard and not let anyone break into the house. You too must be prepared -the son of man will arrive when you least expect him.” Q55, Lost Gospel Q.

The mere fact that the United States Government could be brought low by a handful of Republicans is a sign that the House of the People is not on guard, that its eyes are not set upon God!  In fact this could easily be said about every government in the world who has succumb to such faithlessness that it would allow it’s actions to bring such harm to it’s population.  The same can be said of individual people who have allowed their lives to be controlled by a radical family member, or the harlot who allows her body to be defiled every night by different men in the pursuit  of money or pleasure, or the greedy man who has allowed his heart to be hardened so that his mind can be eased by the deceitful act of murder, theft, or slander for the pursuit of personal gain. The powerful among us have available to them many pleasures, but they like the poor shall be judged by God’s perfect measure of the heart.  The faithful man or women will be ready as their house will be in order, all things in it’s proper place ready for the Son of Man.   There will be no thief that will be able to break in the house of the person devout in spirit and of soul, for there is no rule of law that could take their children away, no spouse that could take away the responsibility to always love and to forgive, and there is no child that could hate their own parents so completely they would through their parents to the wolves.   For those who practice such evils are not the children of God, but the devils belonging to Satan.  For being ready means to never give evil an foothold, to never turn the blind eye to evil deeds, and to always stand up for truth and justice even at the risk of a high personal cost or damage to personal reputation and popularity.  For surely God does not reward the unrepentant, the unloving, the unfaithful, nor will he condemn the repentant heart who openly accepts the responsibility of their own sins.  God is just in all measure and shall use your own methodology you use to judge others on yourself justly so.  For in this is a sinful heart never taken nor be unprepared and not ready for the Son of Man when he knocks at the front door.   For the wise would argue emphatically  “Yes”, and so the wise never ignore, never close and eye, never loose faith, never spreads misinformation or bolsters lies. No the wise are the children of God who are always ready to do good, never tiring, never running away, never handing out false hope, but rather giving love and spreading mercy everywhere they go.  This too is the currency of God exhibited through mankind in all the deeds God works through those who are faithful and who are on guard.

Amen

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Brian Keith

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Special Thanksgiving Message 2010: The Gospel of Giving

“If a woman has ten silver coins, what will she do if she loses one? She’ll light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully. When she finds it, she will call her friends and neighbors and say to them, ‘Let’s celebrate! I’ve found the coin that was lost” (The Lost Gospel Q, Q72, Pp. 107).

This morning when I awoke, I took a drive early in the morning. I saw the streets where empty and few cars on the road. It was as if everyone was still asleep and or already at their relatives houses where they were to spend this most special of days we call Thanksgiving. As I drove I remembered how I used to get up early and would make my way into the kitchen, letting my noise lead the way. Upon arriving there I would find my mother and grandma preparing the day’s feast. Their warm smiles as they looked down at me filled my heart with love. I remember being greeted with a tight, good-morning hug and wonderful smells of delicious foods. My grandmother would offer me some of her prized rolls she had just finished cooking and they were piping hot and the heat would instantly melt the butter she would spread on top of them. For most Americans Thanksgiving is about delicious foods, carefully prepared, served with love. But most of all Thanksgiving boils down to time spent with one’s family. Spending time with those whom we hold most dear. In the years following as I grew older and family either moved, or went to meet God, Thanksgiving was never really the same. As time passed I guess I have been searching for a place, a smell, and hug, even the warmth I had felt when I was a boy. In the many Thanksgivings since, I have spent many of them alone, far away from family, at first because I was serving my country in the United States Navy, then because I was married and lived to far away to be present with my parents and sisters. Then in the many years after my divorce I would spent time with my daughter and never had much money to make Thanksgiving as special for her as it had been for me. In this past year and a half of strife with my ex-wife the time with my daughter became nonexistent, which was all very unnecessary. I allow you to see my life through a window, not to gain sympathy, but rather to illustrate my search, this journey I put myself on, one which left me longing for that one most basic of human needs throughout the holidays. A search which has left me more alone than words can express. It was as if I had ten silver coins and had lost one.

Human nature drives us to look more closely at what we are missing than to be thankful for what we have. As hard as it is to admit my lonely holidays where spent searching for the love I still had, but I was more concerned about the physical celebration of that which I perceived I was missing out on. In truth I have become spiritually blind to the presents of God in my life during the holidays. I put way to much importance on this notion that the room was empty, the morning smells of food being prepared was not there anymore. My house was devoid of laughter and good cheer, when in fact God was calling my name, to which I never responded, partly out of anger for God allowing me to be so alone at such a joyous time of the year. I now can see how mistaken I was.

I write this because I know there are many people who are not going to spend the holidays with their loved ones, for a myriad of different reasons. I know your pain; I know what you are thinking and what you are feeling. Know I have been there, to that dark place of emptiness and despair. So the first part of this message is for you. God is calling you, he is reaching out to you, and it does not matter where in the world that you are, God loves you, cares for you, and wants to comfort you. Don’t make my mistake and reject his call this Thanksgiving or holiday season. Don’t allow yourself to fall into that great temptation that everyone should be together before you feel that holiday spirit. Because in truth no matter who is with you, be them friend, co-worker, or stranger, lift up your head as if you found that missing silver coin. Celebrate and rejoice in what you have, and God will fill your spirit, he will lift you up and give you that warmth you crave.

“Give, and there will be gifts for you. A full measure of grain, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap; because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given back” (Lost Gospel Q, Q18, Pp. 51).

As I drove this morning another thought came to me, one of the history of Thanksgiving. Each year I take great joy in teaching this to the student at my school. I love showing them websites and videos that illustrate the giving spirit that allowed enemies to become vast allies. In truth, as I say to my many students, “The American Indians did not have to take pity upon the pilgrims.  They did not have to show them any kind of mercy what so ever. After all it was the pilgrims that was invading their land, there sacred space, but the natives did anyway.” I think in the back of my mind for as educated as the pilgrims thought they were they had no clue how to survive in the wild places of the Earth. They left Europe because of religious principals, but when their stomachs grew hungry, the many diseases set in, and the chill of the long winter nights began to claim lives, it was the Indians who showed more christian attributes than did the pilgrims. How strange I think for a native people who had never been thought the word of God, to be more christianly than those who fleet their own country because they felt others were not being christianly towards them. But it was through the hardship, God worked out a wonderful miracle, for as one people reached out to another a bond was formed and a nation grew out of that bond. God truly blessed it, and Thanksgiving is that great celebration we all hold dear in remembrance of that bond of charity. It is very true, what you give to others in need you will be given back a thousand fold.

If you are a follower of Listening Faithfully you know I normally don’t endorse websites, or ask for money or donations. I try very hard to stay away from that on this site. However, in the spirit of this Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday I would like everyone to simply go to a new blog I am writing, one that is very much in the spirit of giving to those who have not or less than. This new blog is called, The Gospel of Giving, and can be found @ http://gospelofgiving.wordpress.com/. This blog is dedicated to raising money for special causes and I pray that these are shared with everyone whom you know, and that if there is something extra you can give you take the time and give in remembrance of these two special sayings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I also simply ask that if you have a cause that will greatly impact the lives of children, the elderly, or any persons who are in need of relief from tyranny or abuse to please feel free to email me @ listeningfaithfullyblog@gmail.com. Also stay in touch with Listening Faithfully and The Gospel of Giving through Twitter @ http://twitter.com/Listeninfaith.

Happy Thanksgiving to all whom have been present in my life over the years and to my daughter to which I love and miss greatly. I want to take special note and thank those at my College whom have held my hand through all my strife and misfortune. Thank you for never giving up, never wavering, even for a moment. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the many words of encouragement and for constantly finding radical new was to support me throughout my journey through the vast world of Higher Education. I also want to thank all those whom are already giving to the private elementary school in which I have so faithfully served for over four years of my life. I think you all know that we serve through good times and bad not for the monetary reward, but for the many tiny blessings bestowed upon us each time one of our children smiles in recognition of the lessons we spend so much time in trying so desperately to teach them.  A special blessing goes out to all those teachers whom I have worked so closely with over my entire professional career in education in all three elementary schools to which I have poured out my heart for. Last but not least, to my mother, father, sisters and nieces and nephew, and to my most special new found love and her family, there is no greater joy than to see each one of you, to hear your laugh, to see your smiles, and to feel your love through each warm embrace. You all have helped to shape me into the man I am today, and I thank you for all the time it took. I also want to call attention to my closed of friends whom are within my inner most circle that which has bestowed upon me great joy, I thank you for being there through thick and thin, for making me smile when I was sad, for being taught with me when I wanted nothing more than to give up. It is these bonds which I cherish more than any of you shall ever know. I also want to thank each and every follower of this blog, I put so much time and energy into it, and hope you gain from my labor of love. We all have many things to be thankful for in this life, but mainly for having each other.

May God bless you all and keep you safe this holiday season.

Amen