Never Before, Never Again

There is no drug that can cure the conceit of self-love. Theirs is a man made god. Therein lies the heart of a person who can justify the destruction of another human being by way of revenge. Hate is the shadow of fear and revenge is the mask of cowardice.

Man is not now nor has he ever been the child of the devil. Man is the child of God.

Jesus came to this world to reveal the Father and establish His Kingdom.

The banner of the devil is selfishness, impatience, revenge, hate, and self-glorification.

The banner of Jesus is peace, kindness, unselfish love, forgiveness, compassion, and mercy.

Into the lives of those who do not seek truth, beauty, and goodness, flows raw spiritual sewage. Into their bodies is free to run amok every useless habit and self-centered desire.

Upon the shoulders of those who seek to follow the Golden Rule gently rests protection from disappointment, courage in the face of adversity, calm in the eye of the storm, and love for those who spitefully abuse them.

Within the minds of those, whose impatience creates pain and abuse in the lives of others, is a ship wrecked upon the rocks of anger and shattered by the hopelessness of having no faith. Albeit their faith is self-centered and will not truly serve others, therefore it cannot serve God.

Coursing through the veins of self-satisfied individuals flows the unclean blood of prejudice and bigotry.

All of the before mentioned statements can be heard as shouts being lobbed over a wall of separation by the "good" children. The Christians who preach to the choir find no good thing in the hearts of atheists and agnostics. They are sure that God has no use for them so they rejoice with the saved over their destiny as the "saints".

The atheists who are reviled by the notions of moral and intellectual inferiority of a God with double standards shout back. They refuse to believe in and cannot comprehend worship of a creator who busies himself with the destruction of the wicked and the ignorant as well as allows the lives of innocent children to be snuffed out. If a god has time to destroy the wicked why doesn’t he have time to save the innocent?

Most agnostics and atheists believe that salvation comes from man’s own unaided efforts. I wonder how many decent people have been and will be driven from the hem of God’s garment by Christians? Those who, in the name of God, belittle their agnostic frustrations and questions, attacked their self-esteem, and accused them of sinning for doubting a "cruel" god.

It is easier to attack that which looks, sounds, and behaves different. It is common to attack those ideas and people outside your comfort zone.

We should have compassion, kindness, unselfish love, forgiveness, and mercy on those who are seeking to understand life. After all, we are doing the same. We all struggle with life’s seeming unfairness and coldness.

Even today Christians go on a witch-hunt. They are looking for some group of people to point their finger at. This generation, apparently the devil started the New Age Movement. Music has always been accused of being outside the flock.

Taking baths, using forks, flying airplanes, and dancing have also been accused of partaking in the unsavory nature of evil.

Different factions of Christianity have accused the Catholic Church, the Pope, the Jews, the Muslims, the Buddhists, the Nazis, the Mormons, the Rothschilds, the Hapsburgs, and a host of lesser known groups as being pawns of the devil, if not the Beast and the Antichrist itself.

Speculation as to the evils of all others but us would be the devil’s finest hour. Underestimating your opponent is the weakest part of any defense.

Why do Christians think that the Book of Revelation hasn’t been tampered with? If the devil could interfere with the mission of Adam and Eve, rejoice in the Spanish Inquisition, applaud Abraham’s adultery, work double time on the apostles and succeed with Judas, why is it so hard to believe he wouldn’t and couldn’t seduce some unknown scribe of the Bible to distort and edit the text.

Why is everyone running around in foolish glee as if the devil hasn’t read the end of the book of Revelation? You know, the part where he loses. Trust me, he did more than read it. In fact I would venture to say that he is pleased with how well his plan has worked.

Jesus said that God is a loving and caring Heavenly Father and yet some still believe that he secretly delights in the destruction of innocent blood. Apparently it doesn’t matter whether it is His son’s or the Philistine’s.

Jesus proclaimed faith, the gift of God, as the price of entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. Why then do men still contort their faces to find God? A doctrine here a dogma there, a kneel, a sit, a stand, a bow, holy water, holy cow.

If the Gospel of Jesus were ever truly attempted, atheist, Jew, Muslim, hedonist, and a host of others "ism"s, would be transformed by the simplicity and beauty of the truth. It is untrammeled, it is uncomplicated, it is undefiled. The gospel of Jesus, those things of which Jesus spoke are true.

There are many people who by their unselfish lives appear to be all that we admire as Christians and yet they are not. They are not convinced about God or Jesus because of the church but nevertheless act upon the principles of Jesus and because of their fruit should be called Christians. Likewise, there are many kind and decent Muslims and Buddhists who should not be called demonic.

It is our fear of them that leads us to defile ourselves. Our unwillingness to know another child of God because he is unfamiliar with Jesus is more pleasing to the devil than to God. Our eagerness to point the finger and claim we have found the evil ones suggests our unwillingness to love them as Jesus loves them.

Their inability to embrace Christianity because we are so un-Christ like is a double feature movie with a large popcorn and drink for the devil.

Make no mistake, the devil will sacrifice his own to destroy those who love God.

While Jesus said that God allows the "weeds to grow full alongside the wheat" lest one tender shoot of wheat be destroyed, the devil will sacrifice many of his own for the chance to destroy one of the Sons of God.

Make no mistake, even though we have the power of God within us to withstand the devil, we also have the free will to be proud of it and fall….and how great a fall it could be.

You should make yourself known to others and God by a few living principles.

These principles carry the marks of a high civilization. These principles render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and unto God that which is God’s.

-The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

-Those who seek perfection through service are the true children of God.

-Entrance into the Kingdom of God is not dependant upon marching armies, or any earthly improvement of your life’s condition. The Kingdom is "at hand". It is immediately available to the seeking child willing to risk the joyful experience of faith. John preached repentance as admission to the Kingdom, Jesus taught faith as the price of entrance.

Never before has a man lived with the prerogatives, power, and kindness of Jesus of Nazareth. Never again will a man be born that can be as he was.

Never before Jesus did we know the simple truths about the Kingdom of God.

Never again will those who hear His voice and remember His life and teachings falter in the face of life’s battles.

-Release your need to be right. Release your need to know God better than others.

-Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

-Love God with all your mind, heart, and soul and your neighbor as yourself.

-Believe that you are a child of the Father. Act like it.

-Forgive.

-Learn to become disappointment proof.

-People who lose battles always underestimate their opponent. Take care that you don’t read the end of the Bible smugly. No man is more stupid and easily deceived that he who believes he is one of the elect chosen few.

Pray without ceasing. Worship with a whole heart. Create no secret place where God is not allowed. Love one another with the desire to do good to each other.