Spiritual Things

I am taking on a difficult task this morning. I am going to attempt to explain some spiritual truths as clearly as I know how in the confining medium of a blog post. My sources of information are the Bible, my own personal experience and study. This is a lattice work to be filled in by the reader. I am tempted to suspend the comments section, for this post only, because I am not seeking affirmation or argument. I am posting my beliefs. If everything were explainable or provable we would not have a faith based belief system.

God is the creator of all things.
God created man with a spiritual component that makes him different from all other created beings.
God wants to fellowship with man.
Man was created with his spiritual component in tact and placed in an idyllic setting.
Man was also created with a physical component and a free will.
Adam (the first man) chose to yield to his physical (carnal) yearnings in an attempt to gain equality with God.
Adam's selfish behavior fell short of God's plan and made it impossible for God to have fellowship with him.
Sin is best defined as falling short of the mark.
God cursed the rest of mankind (Adam's seed) with a spiritual death penalty.
God provided the Ten Commandments to define the mark for man.
God had a plan in place to redeem his creation in the person of Jesus Christ.
The time was not right for the redemptive work of Jesus to take place and the Old Testament is an account of how God confounded the world with unlikely servants who made it possible to bridge the gap between creation and the coming of Jesus. Old Testament prophesy is right on the mark.
When the time was right God sent Jesus Christ to be born of a woman. He was not of Adam's seed, but of God's seed.
Jesus Christ did not fall under the curse of Adam's seed and therefore was the perfect man necessary to pay the penalty for that curse. He was God and man together.
Jesus Christ willingly fulfilled his role as the sacrifice for Adam's (and all mankind's) original sin.
Jesus lived, ministered, was crucified, died and rose again.
Once again man could have fellowship with God directly by accepting the sacrifice provided by his Son, Jesus Christ.
All human beings are under the curse and therefore in need of accepting the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We are saved from the curse and not our individual sins, so no matter how perfectly we may see our lives, we are still in need of redemption.
Once we've accepted the gift of grace from God in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ then our relationship with God is restored. No one can end this relationship.
However, we still have our physical/carnal component in tact and can choose to ignore God's direct influence through our spiritual side and fall short of the mark. This does not destroy the relationship, but it can ruin the fellowship. Just as a child stays well away from a parent when he has done something he knows is wrong, so we feel ashamed and want to hide from God when we miss the mark. When Christians choose to follow their carnal leanings, they can behave just like non-Christians and subject themselves and other believers to ridicule by those who don't believe.
Hell is eternity outside God's presence.
God provided the sacrifice and he gives us the simple faith necessary to believe things that seem unbelievable.
I accepted God's gift in Jesus Christ when I was ten years old. I received God's assurance and peace that it was real at that time and I still feel that assurance.
Life's experiences can make us bitter and leave us feeling unworthy, but remember God doesn't see things the way we do. We can't explain God.
He is the Creator and he deals with His creation as He sees fit. He just asks us to trust him and come in simple faith to accept His gift of grace. He even provides the faith we need when we give up on trying to do things our way. If you feel there has to be more to life than what you've experienced so far, that's God gently telling you to look up.

What Track are You Taking?

I read a lot in the media and in other opinion venues about Bush's war and the men he's putting in harms way, but I can't help but recall the day in September when our lives changed forever. Songs were written, people of all political parties pulled together, and law enforcement agencies laid aside professional jealousies to find the answers to the question of who was responsible. For years before the attacks the Democrats, who were in power, talked of the weapons of mass destruction possessed by Sadam Hussein and what a danger Osama Bin Laden was to our country, but they never lifted one finger to do anything about it. If you are a Democrat, look at the taped interviews with the leaders of your party. It happened on your watch. President George Bush with all his warts and flaws (nothing uncommon to the rest of us) took over the reins of government after one of the most corrupt and shameful presidencies of all time, the Bill and Hillary Clinton debacle. He took immediate action with the blessing of both parties and struck at one of the strong holds of Muslim radicalism, the country of Iraq. As I recall it everyone cheered him. The only problem he encountered was that the war effort did not end in the time it would take for a T.V. series to run, and the Democrats saw an opportunity to make political hay. These obstructionist are the greatest danger to Democracy we face today. I do not whole heartedly support every thing the Republicans do, but we are in trouble largely because of the Democrats who are in control of our legislature. We need to make sure we do not listen to the cowardly voice of the Democratic Party or any of its candidates and remember that we are not experiencing terrorist attacks today because of the decisive action of a Republican President who had the guts to do what needed to be done at the time. Instead of criticizing for political advantage, pray for the man who is running our country. He is not perfect, but he is our leader and we should respect that. I am going to print a letter I sent to the Republican leadership to express my displeasure with how things are going, but I am going to pray for God's divine leadership and assistance to our president. I do not hate all Democrats, but I do despise the party you have chosen to support.


To: Robert M. “Mike” Duncan, Chairman RNC
Senator Mitch McConnell, Senate Republican Leader
Congressman John Boehner, House Republican Leader

From Wednesday, February 27, 2008
: Dennis Price


Dear Sirs,

First of all I am ashamed to be called a “Fellow Republican”. As an ordinary citizen and not a Super Delegate I am never regarded until it comes time to fork over my hard earned and heavily taxed money so people like you can vote yourselves some sweet deal like your retirement, or exempt yourselves from some other burdensome requirement which you and your twins, the Democrats have imposed on the rest of us. Don’t come at me with this us and them thing. Do you remember seven years ago when we gave you the majority and the Presidency? What did you do? Let me put it in plain English and not that circuitous crap I get back in my letters from you – You pissed it away. Take a lesson from Ron Paul. I don’t fully agree with his total political package, but he is at least putting his wallet where his mouth is. In case this message has not reached that cloistered stink hole where you live and work, I’m not in a minority. We are sick and tired of your pansy activities in regard to Democrats. You had the upper hand and refused to jerk a knot in their forked tails every time they stood up to say something. You allowed personal scandal in your ranks to weaken our position of power, and you permitted good nominees for several important positions to be walked over by the likes of Ted Kennedy and others who shouldn’t even be allowed access to once honored chambers. I’m not voting Republican this year, I am voting anti-Democrat. Even our President, who for the most part has carried his part of the load, has turned to spouting the globalist creed of his father.

I don’t like John McCain, war record aside, because you can’t tell what he is. He is the perfect poster boy for what Republicans have become – nothing. I almost got sick reading your questionnaire because we could have already had most of what you talk about achieving. You dropped the ball. You have over-spent and compromised on things over which you had no jurisdiction at all. Oh, I understand nexus but, I also know it can be and is misused. Our Constitution allows you to legislate in the following areas: Taxation (you have covered most of the bases there), Interstate commerce, National Security, and Manufacture of currency. Get rid of the rest and you can save a ton of borrowed money. I’m not giving you anymore money because I have yet to see what you did with the last money I gave you. I envision that it went from war chest to cedar chest in the house of some rich politician. I will supply the stamp you requested because I don’t want to be beholding to you. Let me give you a few suggestions from the top of my head; (this list is not all inclusive)

Leave Pro Sports alone. It may be broken, but it’s none of your business.

Get out of the United Nations – Get it out of the United States of America.

Get out of and stay out of Health Care.

Get out of and stay out of Education.

Get out of and stay out of the Arts.

Quit manipulating the economy.

Quit giving aid to foreign nations who are our enemies, or who openly support our enemies.

Quit giving aid to dictators. It doesn’t go to the people.

Quit shoring up losing businesses. Let them fail – new more efficient ones will take their place.

Lose the Income Tax and go to a National Sales Tax.

Drop any incentives to non-citizens. Get rid of all illegal aliens currently in this country. No extensions on overstays and students who never attend school. No more Muslim visas regardless of Country of Origin.

I’m writing this with the knowledge it will probably end up in some gray metal waste basket that cost the government two hundred dollars, but I’m writing it anyway.

I’m not alone. Old and young alike who once were proud to be called Republicans are sick of most of our current delegation. We may win this year, and I hope we do, but it won’t be because of anything you did to merit it. It will be because the other side is so unacceptable we can’t imagine them being in the White House again.

Sincerely,


Dennis E. Price

Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river. - Nikita Khrushchev