JUDGE NOT

                        JUDGE  NOT 

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. (Matthew 7:1-5)

I have heard it said that it is biblical for believers to pass judgment on people.  Not everything in the bible is biblical just because it's mentioned in the bible. The antics of King David alone were very unbiblical, but they are mentioned in the bible and then God says he is a man after God's own heart. Whoa.

There is a difference between judgement as in determining just and unjust, worthy and unworthy versus judgement as in discernment, determining differences. For example I can judge (discern) the difference between counterfeit currency and legal tender or the color red vs purple. Or we can make a judgement call about a job or relationship. So we should be able to judge(discern) the difference between that which is of God and that which is not without judging the value and/worth of a person.

It's tricky I know. I could very easily discern that an out and out murdering, lying, fiend is not of God and I would also want to determine that they are not worth living(being honest). My initial discernment(judgement) would be spot on, but the latter part only God is qualified to judge. Mixing the two "judgements" up can be detrimental to both me and the person being "judged".

For example: The Apostle Paul was totally against God, unbeknownst to him. Killing and imprisoning God's people. Discernment/judgement: Paul is not saved. Judgement/value assessment: Worthy of the Blood of Jesus. So says God. This was put to the test when God commanded the disciples to take this murdering fiend into the company of the very people he had persecuted and take care of him and train him in the very ministry that he was so passionately against. Wow.

Imagine how many people we could run the risk of judging/assessing worthless that God is very much in favor of. Can you imagine going against what God is for? It's frightening. That's the long way of explaining the danger of "inordinate judgement". Man I hope I didn't make this more complicated.

(Excerpt from "Selah:Think"  by Allen D. Edge) All Rights Reserved
Other options? Comments, questions, considerations, ideas? Hit reply or email the author at LeviteToday@yahoo.com.  

 Allen D. Edge is an actor, comedian, professional speaker, performance coach, ordained minister, and author of The Levite Today, The Levite Today uncovers the power of the arts in biblical communications in the past and the present. Allen blogs regularly at his blog site, http://tepinc.blogspot.com/ 

 Copyright @2015: Feel free to share this post with whomever you believe will appreciate it. If you’d like to use any part of it (up to 200 words), please give full attribution and this blog site, http://tepinc.blogspot.com/

For Best Results

For Best Results, Use As Directed

 

"For best results, use as directed" is a phrase that you have probably seen on a prescription bottle, in directions in food preparation, healing or cosmetic ointments, hair products, assembly instructions for electronic devices and the famous Christmas bicycle (Dads).  The phrase does not imply that the product or process will not get results or function. It does, however, say "For Best Results".  You have the option of getting less than the best results, if any.  Regardless of this caution, we still insist on adding an extra ingredient or leaving out a step. After all, we reason, "Do you really need all of those screws?"  "I have never heard of putting that much salt in anything."  "It doesn’t take all of that to do nothing."  "We have never done it that way."  "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden?'?" (Genesis 3:1)  Independence, pride, and rebellion will always suggest that you have a better way than the manufacturer and author.

 

I submit that almost every human being on this planet desires to have freedom, safety, sufficient provision, health and long life for themselves and their loved ones. Mankind has devised a number of ways that he thinks is best. There is the monarchy system, communism, socialism, fascism, democracy, and republics, everything except the kingdom of God. Remember God, the creator of human beings. It is written in Genesis 1:26, "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."   There is something about the human specie that causes them to deviate from the natural order of things.  God gave man his first commandment. "And the Lord God commanded the man, 'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." (Genesis 2:16-17) 

 Mankind insists that they know better than God, their creator. It is written: "When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.  She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.  Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.  Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.  But the Lord God called to the man, "Where are you?"  He answered, 'I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.'" (Genesis 3:6-10)  

Mankind has been hiding from God ever since.  Insulating himself in humanism. Trying to convince himself that there is another way to God other than the way He prescribed.  "Then they said, 'Come, let us build ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.'" (Genesis 11:4)  We see sometimes even in the church today that people try to fashion a God that fits there sensibilities. They create a "Buffet Christianity". Pick what you like and leave the rest.  It is also written: "So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron.  He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool.  Then they said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt .'" (Exodus 32:4)

 

There is also a need to get along with the world.  We don't want to seem weird or outdated.  We want to be hip and current. "They said to him, 'You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.  But when they said, 'Give us a king to lead us,' this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord.  And the Lord told him: Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.  As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you." (1st Samuel 8:5-8)  

 The irony is that the very world that we are trying to assimilate with is starving for the assurance, the power, and life giving structure given in the word and will of God.  Saul was commanded to destroy every Amalekite and their animals, but Saul decided to keep some stuff for himself and his men (1st Samuel 15:2-15)   Samuel the prophet replied: "Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord?  To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.  For rebellion is like the evil of idolatry.  Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king." (1st Samuel 15:22-23)  

The scriptures show that Saul did not lose his position immediately.  He ruled for some years after his disobedience. However, his end did arrive and his time as king was filled with fear, insecurities, and dread.  People are deceived into believing that deviating from God's way is not so bad and that they can still prosper. It is written: "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.  Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret? It leads only to evil.  For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land." (Psalm 37:7-9)  It is written: "For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.  Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.  Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.  They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator? Who is forever praised. Amen.  Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts.  Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.  In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another.  Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion." (Romans 1:21-27) 

While there are people today who will say that the lifestyle mentioned above is not wrong and they can testify of the prosperity and happiness that they enjoy despite the warnings of God's word, the story is not over yet.  You can get by, but you can't get away.

 

 It is written: "All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not."  (1st Corinthians 10:23)  Smoking cigarettes, marijuana, cocaine and/or drinking alcohol are not specifically listed as sins, however as far as living healthy and long, use as directed. God has given mankind His word and His way for a prosperous life on earth and life eternal with Him.  However, God will not force us to follow His instructions.  Jesus said, "Let them who have ears hear."  God does not punish us when we deviate.  The natural order established from the beginning punishes us.  Our bodies are designed to function at optimum when we nourish and exercise it according to the directions given. 

 When we decide to make up our own way of taking care of ourselves, we get mixed results. For best results, use as directed.  It is written: "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.  But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.  He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.  Whatever he does prospers." (Psalm 1:1-3)  For a fulfilled life, for best results, live as directed by God's word.  Selah.

(Excerpt from "Selah:Think"  by Allen D. Edge) All Rights Reserved
Other options? Comments, questions, considerations, ideas? Hit reply or email the author at
LeviteToday@yahoo.com.  

 Allen D. Edge is an actor, comedian, professional speaker, performance coach, ordained minister, and author of The Levite Today, The Levite Today uncovers the power of the arts in biblical communications in the past and the present. Allen blogs regularly at his blog site, http://tepinc.blogspot.com/ 

 Copyright @2015: Feel free to share this post with whomever you believe will appreciate it. If you’d like to use any part of it (up to 200 words), please give full attribution and this blog site, http://tepinc.blogspot.com/

Know God  

"God's voice thunders in marvelous ways: 
He does great things beyond our understanding."
(Job 37:5)

SALVATION: WHAT IS IT?

Have you ever discovered that there were some words or terms that you have heard and used without really knowing what they meant?  You thought you knew, as a matter of fact, you knew you knew!  Only to find out later that you were totally off.  That can be very embarrassing, especially when you are supposed to be an authority in the area in which this term or word is used.  It’s even sadder when ignorance has caused you to live life in error.  What you don’t know will hurt you. 

Let’s examine a word that is bandied about in the church world and even in the secular world.  The word for today is “Salvation”.  Turn to three people and say “Salvation”.  Do it!  Now if you’re honest with yourself, you’ll admit that when you hear the word “Salvation” you think about being saved and/or that which is necessary to obtain heaven and avoid hell.  The so-called Gospel message is generally thought to be a message of deliverance from hell and entrance into heaven after life ends on earth.  While heaven and hell in the afterlife are a by-product of “Salvation” or the lack thereof, I believe that there is something more fundamental and glorious in the true meaning of “Salvation”.

The Hebrew translation of Salvation is: Deliverance, Safety, Favor, Grace, Prosperity, Health, Liberty , Rescue, Defend, Avenging, and Preserve. (Strong’s Concordance)  If Salvation has only a heavenly purpose and meaning, one has to wonder why would you need Deliverance, Safety, Avenging, and Grace in heaven?  Obviously there is no need for healing and no lack of safety in heaven.

Let’s examine the word of God in the book of Genesis and get a clearer understanding of the purpose and the power of Salvation.  In the beginning man was given absolute authority in the earth.  It is written: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." (Genesis 1:27-28)  God was man’s provider.  It is written: “Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.” (Genesis 1:29)  

However, man’s pride and unbelief has separated him from his God given authority and God’s provision.  It is written: “To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you;  through painful toil you will eat of it  all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.  By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."(Genesis 3:17-19)

Now man must provide for himself and his eternal state has now become finite.  In this hostile environment there is a need for Safety, Deliverance, Rescue, and Preservation.  This corrupt and terminal condition was passed on to all mankind from the first Adam.  The penalty for sin is death, eternal separation from God and Godliness.  That law is irrefutable and certain.  Since we are the descendants of Adam we will inherit the sin and the penalty.  However, the Lord God Almighty is Holy, Perfect, and Excellent.  His mercy endures forever.  God does not have a plan ‘B’.  God’s will shall be done.  Enter Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God slain before the foundations of the world.  It is written: "I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.” 
(Malachi 3:6)    It is also written: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” (Ephesians 1:3-6)

God loved mankind so much that He made provision for our Salvation.  We must realize, however, that this provision for Salvation was made so that man would rule and have dominion over the earth as God intended from the beginning. It is written: “Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.” 
(Romans 5:18-19)

Those who believe on the name of Jesus will become inheritors of Safety, Prosperity, Favor, Grace, Health, Liberty , Defense, and Preservation.  It is written:“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.” (John 1:12-13)

There is a difference in having Salvation and experiencing Salvation.  God is glorified when His children walk in Salvation.  It is written: “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:31-32)  It is also written: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

(Matthew 7:21) 

Walking and living in the Favor and Liberty of God is the most powerful witness of God to an unbelieving world.  I’m not just talking about a problem free life with plenty of plenty, but carrying yourself as the favored in an unfavorable position.  Having a lifestyle that is free from the dictates of this world system.  Free from the fear of death.  It is written:  “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” (Hebrews 2:14-15)  It is also written: “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
   "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” 
(Revelation 12:10-11)

Salvation: Deliverance, Safety, Favor, Grace, Prosperity, Health, Liberty , Rescue, Defend, Avenging, Preservation.

No Salvation: No Deliverance, No Safety, No Favor, No Grace, No Prosperity, No Health, No Liberty , No Rescue, No Defense, No Avenging, No Preservation.

The choice is yours.  Man was created in God’s image of authority and dominion.  When man experiences Salvation, man will enter into God’s rest.  It is written: “For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: "And on the seventh day God rested from all his work…

There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.” (Hebrews 4:4, 9-11)

You don’t have to produce by the sweat of your brow anymore.  It is written:“Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” (John 6:29)  Believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ today, live according to his teachings, and give up the fight, because the battle is the Lord’s.   Selah(pause and think)

(Excerpt from "Selah:Think"  by Allen D. Edge) All Rights Reserved
Other options? Comments, questions, considerations, ideas? Hit reply or email the author at
LeviteToday@yahoo.com. 

 Allen D. Edge is an actor, comedian, professional speaker, performance coach, ordained minister, and author of The Levite Today, The Levite Today uncovers the power of the arts in biblical communications in the past and the present. Allen blogs regularly at his blog site, http://tepinc.blogspot.com/ 

 Copyright @2015: Feel free to share this post with whomever you believe will appreciate it. If you’d like to use any part of it (up to 200 words), please give full attribution and this blog site, http://tepinc.blogspot.com/

PROPHETIC LOGIC

A friend asked does God know the future and if He does, why should we even try to make a difference in life. Here's my response.


Yes God is all knowing. The last chapter of Revelations says that He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Genesis and the 1st chapter of John (the gospel) says that there is nothing created that He didn't create. There are many more scriptures that speak of His all knowing nature. God knows what's going to happen, but our relationship with Him is established in our day to day decisions to come into alignment with His will or not. Our decisions accumulatively form us into the image of Christ or not. That's the purpose of our involvement in life decisions. A little over simplified, I must admit, but that's the basic idea.

I think prophetic mindset is sort of like a computer. It functions on logic. If A is true and B is true then A + B will equal C. Example: If humans are selfish(A) and love of riches is destructive(B), then (A)selfish humans + (B)love of riches equals (C)war, murder, disharmony with nature and the consequences that go with that, etc.  It is written: "What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."(James 4:1-3). Since the human experience without the born again factor is predictable and constant, not only can God know the end from the beginning, but you and I, if we're honest with ourselves, can predict many outcomes. The details of how the end will manifest are irrelevant to the bottom line.

God offers mankind alternative endings through Jesus Christ. If, through the born again experience, (A) is a selfless human and (B )is the unconditional love of God and mankind, then (A) + (B) will equal the kingdom of God in the Earth realm. It is written: "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." (John 15:7-8) Godly logic.

 If you are born again into the family of God, then the Father will make known to you the future through His word and spiritual insight. It is written: "I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." (John 15:15)

People are very predictable. History is proof of that. The same stuff recycled. That's why satan is able to play us so easily. He's been studying us for thousands of years. People who are not born again are walking through life as if walking through a mine field. It is by God's grace that we are not all consumed. Prophecy is not "fortune telling" it is supernatural logic. Selah
(Excerpt from "Selah:Think"  by Allen D. Edge) All Rights Reserved


Other options? Comments, questions, considerations, ideas? Hit reply or email the author at LeviteToday@yahoo.com. 


 Allen D. Edge is an actor, comedian, professional speaker, performance coach, ordained minister, and author of The Levite Today, The Levite Today uncovers the power of the arts in biblical communications in the past and the present. Allen blogs regularly at his blog site, http://tepinc.blogspot.com/ 

 Copyright @2015: Feel free to share this post with whomever you believe will appreciate it. If you’d like to use any part of it (up to 200 words), please give full attribution and this blog site, http://tepinc.blogspot.com/

THE NEW MATH

The New Math

LESS >MORE

 

When I was in elementary school, I had a reputation of being a better than average student. Getting A’s and B’s were common.  The only subject that threatened an otherwise stellar record was MATH. Math or Arithmetic as it was also called, was the bane of my existence.  I rarely got more than a C’ in math. I was able to get by from kindergarten to second grade and then came the third grade. I was then beset by the dreaded “Division” and the formidable “Fractions”.  Fourth and fifth grade got even worse with the introduction of “Decimals”.  To make matters worse, these war criminals disguised as teachers decided to mix them altogether.  They actually wanted me to combine and translate Fractions into Decimals and Divide six digit numbers and then multiply them back into their original form and then translate that into decimals.  Where was the Department of Children and Family Services when you needed them?! 

It gets worse.  In the eighth grade (circa 1966-67), some mad scientist came up with “The New Math”.  It wasn’t bad enough that I couldn’t handle real numbers, but now we were asked to interpret “Integers”.  Integers were not real numbers.  They merely represented real numbers. To me they merely represented my very first “F” in nine years of an otherwise unblemished scholastic career.  I imagine there are some reading this now who are experiencing flash backs.  Years of therapy out of the window. I apologize.

 

It wasn’t until my first year in college that any of this stuff made any sense.  It just all of a sudden cleared up.  It’s amazing what paying college tuition can do to the powers of understanding.  I imagine maturity and not caring what my fellow students thought of my grades made a difference.  Also, the instructors in college would demonstrate practical applications of math such as a 50% off sale or 10% deduction from your pay check. Ding, Ding, Ding a winner!  I see the light Hallelujah!  Math became abundantly clear. 

The Kingdom of God operates by a New Math that worldly perception or elementary school maturity is unable to grasp.  The world’s math says that adding to oneself produces more and subtracting from ones possessions produces less. The world’s math says that the more you have the better off you are and the less you have, the less you are able to do.  However, God’s “New Math” is somewhat different. Let us examine the scriptures for a college level math course in the Kingdom of God .

 

It is written: “Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. The LORD said to Gideon, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, announce now to the people, 'Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead .' “So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained. But the LORD said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go; but if I say, 'This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go." So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the LORD told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink." Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink. The LORD said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place."  So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.” (Judges 7:1-8) 

God is more interested in your godly character than your worldly acquisitions.  God knows the sin nature of mankind. He knows the pride that is always hovering in their hearts.  Therefore, God had Gideon create a situation that would undeniably point to God for the victory.  God subtracted to add glory to Himself.  This very valuable math lesson would help to establish a motis operandi for every challenge that would come to Gideon and God’s people.  You can do more with less when God is with you. This is also a very valuable lesson to those in leadership.  You must be honest with yourself and do an inventory of your assets to determine what you really have that will work for you. While large numbers may be encouraging, they can be deceitful.

 

That’s why it is so important that those called to speak the inerrant word of God speak it without leaven or add mixture.  People pleasing may fill up your pews, but the glory of God is not there and you will deceive yourself into thinking you have a large number of Godly soldiers ready to do battle with the enemy, but when the pressure comes (and it will) the multitudes will scatter and may even turn against you. Jesus did not come to please people, but to please His Father.  It is written:“I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed! Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law." (Luke 12:49-53)  The Kingdom of God is multiplied by division. This is “The New Math”.

 

The New Math in the Kingdom of God requires one to die to live. It is written: “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” (John 12:24)  It requires one to give to receive. It is written: “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (Luke 6:38)  This mathematical equation applies to any life situation, positive or negative.  You can stick any “integer” you want in the equation and the results will be the same.  Give love, you receive love.  Give hate, you receive hate multiplied, press down, running over will men give unto you. Selah. 

 

It is impossible to out give God because of the mathematical certainty of His New Math. Now I am not talking about some kind of give to get, spiritual hustle.  God is not stupid nor is He a doddering old grandfather sitting on the porch doling out sweets indiscriminately.  Nor can His system be hacked.  It is written: “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” (James 4:1-3)  God knows our hearts better than we do. 

Do all as unto the Lord. It is written: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” (1^st John 5:14-15)

 

Selfless servants of God be encouraged.  Your efforts are not in vain. The sacrifices that you have made for the Kingdom of God that the world system has categorized as loss is the most significant investment you have ever made and according to God’s New Math, you will reap a return above and beyond anything you can imagine. It is written: "I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or  father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first." (Mark 10:29-31)  Selah.


Other options? Comments, questions, considerations, ideas? Hit reply or email the author at LeviteToday@yahoo.com. 


 Allen D. Edge is an actor, comedian, professional speaker, performance coach, ordained minister, and author of The Levite Today, The Levite Today uncovers the power of the arts in biblical communications in the past and the present. Allen blogs regularly at his blog site, http://tepinc.blogspot.com/ 

 Copyright @2015: Feel free to share this post with whomever you believe will appreciate it. If you’d like to use any part of it (up to 200 words), please give full attribution and this blog site, http://tepinc.blogspot.com/

LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT

LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT
 From
Allen D. Edge


Dear Mr. President,
Congratulations on your achievement. I know this is a very heady time for you. Any new job can be a little challenging. However, being President of the USA is beyond the imagination. I know a lot is coming at you real fast and you must have a hundred “number one priorities”. So I won’t waste your time.

I have recently watched a film entitled “Hidden Figures”. It is a bio pic about three remarkable African American women who were essential to the USA victories in the space race of the sixties. Below you’ll find a summary of their contributions.


Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson (born August 26, 1918) is an African American physicist and mathematician who made contributions to the United States' aeronautics and space programs with the early application of digital electronic computers at NASA. Known for accuracy in computerized celestial navigation, she conducted technical work at NASA that spanned decades. During this time, she calculated the trajectories, launch windows, and emergency back-up return paths for many flights from Project Mercury, including the early NASA missions of John Glenn and Alan Shepard, and the 1969 Apollo 11 flight to the Moon, through the Space Shuttle program.[1][2] Her calculations were critical to the success of these missions.[1] Johnson also did calculations for plans for a mission to Mars


Dorothy Vaughn an African-American mathematician who worked for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), and NASA, at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. In 1949, she became acting supervisor of the West Area Computers, the first African-American woman to supervise a staff at the center.
She later was promoted officially to this position. During her 28-year career, Vaughan prepared for the introduction of machine computers in the early 1960s by teaching herself and her staff the programming language of FORTRAN; she later headed the programming section of the Analysis and Computation Division (ACD) at Langley.


Mary Winston Jackson (April 9, 1921 – February 11, 2005) was an American mathematician and aerospace engineer at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), which in 1958 was succeeded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). She worked at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia for most of her career. She started as a computer at the segregated West Area Computing division. She took advanced engineering classes and in 1958 became NASA's first black female engineer.


Their contributions were made despite the resistance due to racism and bigotry. I couldn’t help but think about the millions of Katherine Johnsons and Dorothy Vaughns who were denied the opportunity to contribute to the progress of our nation. Racism and Bigotry is a cancer that has eaten away at this nation’s potential from its inception. Soviet Russia was kicking our behind in the space race because we had our best and brightest talent benched for no other reason than Racism and Bigotry. That is still true today.


Mr. President I know that making our nation great is your number one, number one priority. If that’s true, then your number one, number one, number one priority must be the elimination of institutional Racism and Bigotry from every aspect of government and national policy. America will never be great as long as our incredibly gifted citizens are intentionally restricted from being all that they can be.


Sincerely Yours,
Allen D. Edge

A Choke Hold

A Choke Hold
By
Allen D. Edge

Worry

1dialect British : choke, strangle2 a: to harass by tearing, biting, or snapping especially at the throat b: to shake or pull at with the teeth <a terrier worrying a rat> c: to touch or disturb something repeatedly d: to change the position of or adjust by repeated pushing or hauling3 a: to assail with rough or aggressive attack or treatment : torment b: to subject to persistent or nagging attention or effort4: to afflict with mental distress or agitation : make anxious
                                                (Webster Dictionary)

I am not a fan of the WWF (World Wrestling Federation), nor am I an expert in the fine art of wrestling.  However, in my youth I used to look at the Saturday Afternoon wrestling and, of course, my older brother and I would wrestle for hours sometimes.  The object of wrestling is to bring your opponent to a point of submission.  The beaten adversary would have to slap on the floor or make some vocal affirmation of submission to get released from the extremely uncomfortable and painful position that their adversary has managed to get them in.  One of the more effective holds or moves that can bring an opponent to submission is the “Choke Hold”.  If a wrestler can put their opponent in a position that restricts their ability to breath, their opponent will have to either “tap out” or pass out from lack of oxygen.

Worry is one of the most effective moves that we can make against ourselves to choke the life out of our progress, dreams, and our health (literally).

It is a scientific fact that worry and unforgiveness can alter cellular structure in the human body. This cellular alteration is commonly known as cancer.  Worry causes the secretion of acidic fluids in the digestive tract that causes ulcers.  Excessive worry can even cause strokes.  There is even a new slang expression that cautions “don’t stroke out about it”.  Jesus also cautions us in His word.

It is written: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?  Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?  "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:25-34)

 Jesus says “do not worry” three times in this passage.  He does not offer it up as a suggestion.  He flat out tells us “do not worry”.  It is also written: “Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, "Don't be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed." (Luke 8:50)   Therefore, if Jesus says do something and we refuse to do it, then we are in disobedience.  Regardless of the circumstances, rationalizations, and/or excuses, disobedience is disobedience and its consequences are sure to follow.  It is written: “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.” (John 15:10)


While worrying is not productive, it is a scientific fact that it is destructive.

Jesus speaks to the ineffectiveness of worry in verse 27 (Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?)  While worrying is not productive, it is a scientific fact that it is destructive.  The very definition or worry is “strangle”.  When the brain is deprived of oxygen for a short period of time, you lose consciousness and you may even experience irreversible brain damage.  Worry chokes off the creative power of your mind. The creative solutions and answers to plaguing questions are probably right there in your mind, but worry has choked off the life flow.

Well let’s be realistic.  How do you shut off fearful stimuli such as threatening bills, health challenges, family challenges, and other challenges that you perceive to be insurmountable? One of the most effective methods of relief is displacement.  Reciting your concerns over and over does not bring about a solution.  It does not mean you are being conscientious.  You are only magnifying the problem.  However, if you displace the concern with other productive thoughts, you not only have a respite from worry, but you are now releasing the flow of creativity that can solve problems and/or even put concerns in their proper perspective.

It is vital that we displace the world’s message with the Gospel every chance we get.


It is written: “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.”
(Psalms 1:1-3)

From this scripture we see the result benefit of protecting our “sense gates”, our eyes, ears, and mental stimuli.  It is difficult to distance yourself from negative people and their input when you live with them, but as much as humanly possible we should surround ourselves with positive affirming input.  That’s why it so important that we do not forsake the assembling of ourselves with other believers.  We are bombarded by the world’s message everyday. Therefore, it is vital that we displace the world’s message with the Gospel every chance we get.

There is power in humility.

Worry can also come from pride.  We must admit that sometimes we have a high regard for our intelligence and experience.  We feel if we can’t figure it out it can’t be done.  We only pray as a last resort and even then we pray that God cosigns our great idea.  There is power in humility.  You can’t put water in a bucket that’s already filled to the brim. Only when we empty ourselves and admit our weakness is God’s strength realized. It is written: “O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you." All the men of Judah , with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the LORD. Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly. He said: "Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem ! This is what the LORD says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's.” (2nd Chronicles 20:12-15)

When we decrease God increases.

 The most significant and wisest thing that King Jehoshaphat did was admit his limitations.  Subsequently we see “Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah”.  Even more significant in this passage is the statement “For the battle is not yours, but God's.”   The prophet of God reminded the chosen people of the covenant relationship that they had with God.   When you are in covenant with God, your problems are God’s problems.  Your enemies are God’s enemies.  Hallelujah!  When we decrease God increases.

It is written:  “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.” (Proverbs 3: 5-8)

This is wisdom. Like King Jehoshaphat, submit all to God, trust Him and cease from depending on your own limited and flawed thought processes and even your physical body will be made well. Unchecked worry can put a “Choke Hold” on a person that will cause them to “tap out” submission of a final nature, suicide. We, as believers, must make the decision to be “believers” or not.  Rick Warren teaches in his book “Purpose Driven Life” that those who have God as the center of their life, worship and those who do not, worry.  Let’s come into agreement now to trust in God and His covenant promises and throw off the choke hold of worry and breathe.  Selah.

Other options? Comments, questions, considerations, ideas? Hit reply or email the author at LeviteToday@yahoo.com.  

Allen D. Edge is an actor, comedian, professional speaker, performance coach, ordained minister, and author of The Levite Today, The Levite Today uncovers the power of the arts in biblical communications in the past and the present. Allen blogs regularly at his blog site, http://tepinc.blogspot.com/ 

 Copyright @2016: Feel free to share this post with whomever you believe will appreciate it. If you’d like to use any part of it (up to 200 words), please give full attribution and this blog site, http://tepinc.blogspot.com/

Does God Exist?

Things The Bible Got Right



Does God Exist?




The existence of God and/or His authority in the universe and the lives of humans is an on-going, raging debate. Even Jesus, the Christ said that even if He were raised from the dead there would be those who would not believe. We are humans and have the gift of choice. We can choose to believe or not regardless of any proof offered. I will, therefore, for go any attempt to convince or convert. I will, however, offer up scripture that points to the existence of a Divine Intelligence and Sovereign Power.






It is written: “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.” (Job 12:7-10)






 Consider the magnificent creature called human.



Take the time to contemplate the world around you. Consider the magnificent creature called human. Two cells split in the womb of a female and a heart forms and starts beating without ceasing for upwards of 80 to 100 years all by itself. A brain forms that can not only perform rudimentary calculations, but imagines and projects concepts from nothingness and brings them into physical manifestation. How does this happen? What is its origin? Why does it happen? Consider these ponderings and more and then say with a resolute certainty that there is no God.






My statement of truth.



That being said, I offer up full disclosure so that you will know, if you haven’t guessed, where I stand in this conversation. The following is my statement of truth. I believe that God exists and that He is manifested in three distinct personages; God the Father, Jesus, the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit. This God head is also referred to as the “Trinity”.






 I believe that God created all that was created. God created mankind (Adam). I believe that Adam was separated from God as a result of his rebellion and that his once perfect state (physically and spiritually) became flawed and terminal. As a result, Adam went from immortal to mortal and all that was under his authority (creation) went into chaos.






I believe that through God’s mercy, Jesus, the Son of God gave Himself as the perfect sacrifice to pay the price for man’s rebellion, take man’s sins onto Himself and thereby reconciling mankind back to God, the Father. I believe that whoever believes in their heart that Jesus is the Son of God, that He is equal with God, and that His shed blood on the cross has adopted them into the family of God, shall have the ability to experience the power, favor, and authority of an heir of God in the earth realm.





I believe that whoever believes that Jesus died and rose for them will live forever with their Father, God and that they have the ability to bring creation back into an order referred to as the Kingdom of God. I believe that accepting Jesus Christ and His redemptive act is the only way into the family of God with all of the rights, responsibilities, and privileges of blood kinship. Reconciliation. Salvation.


Something that the Bible Got Right. (more to come)






Other options? Comments, questions, considerations, ideas? Hit reply or email the author at LeviteToday@yahoo.com. 


 Allen D. Edge is an actor, comedian, professional speaker, performance coach, ordained minister, and author of The Levite Today, The Levite Today uncovers the power of the arts in biblical communications in the past and the present. Allen blogs regularly at his blog site, http://tepinc.blogspot.com/ 

 Copyright @2015: Feel free to share this post with whomever you believe will appreciate it. If you’d like to use any part of it (up to 200 words), please give full attribution and this blog site, http://tepinc.blogspot.com/

Things The Bible Got Right

Things The Bible Got Right

By

Allen D. Edge

 

The Holy Bible is a book that expresses the mind and heart of God as God is known in the Judeo Christian Faith.  It is the foundation of the Judeo Christian Faith. 

The Holy Bible was written by the prophets and apostles who were inspired by the Holy Spirit. "Above all," says Peter in 2 Peter 1:20,21 "you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." (NIV). The Bible was written by many men. The 39 books of the Old Testament were written in the Hebrew language. The first five books, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, were written by Moses who lived about 1,500 B.C. As other men were inspired by God, they gave their special messages. The last book of the Old Testament was written about 400 B.C. by Malachi.

 

The 27 books of the New Testament were written in the Greek language. Matthew, John and Peter were members of the special group of twelve disciples who followed Jesus for the 32 years of His ministry. They wrote eight of the New Testament books.

 

The other authors were: Mark, a young man, probably no older than a teenager at the time of Jesus' ministry, and was a son of an early Christian family. Luke wrote two books, Luke and Acts, was a Christian physician, and was probably the only Gentile author of any of the books of the Bible. The others were all Jews.

 

Two of the authors in the New Testament, James and Jude, were brothers of Jesus (either half-brothers or foster brothers). The apostle Paul wrote thirteen, some think fourteen, of the New Testament books.

 

The Bible has been translated many times into many languages. One of the first translations was from the Hebrew of the Old Testament into Greek two or three centuries before the Christian era, and was for Jews who lived in Greek speaking lands. This translation was called the Septuagint. Later the Bible has been translated into nearly every language spoken.

 

The first English translation was made in about A.D. 1388 by an English scholar named John Wycliffe. The most popular English translation for centuries was the King James Version, authorized by King James I of England in 1611. In the last century, many translations have been made into more contemporary English.   Source: http://www.biblebay.org/article.php?id=2

 

The Bible is the Word of God.  It is the manual for all creation. The Bible gives specific guidelines on how to get the optimum results out of life. This treatment of “Things The Bible Got Right” will reveal truths that are apparent and truths that have been hidden. 

 

We live in a world, not so unlike the ancient world, where man’s intellect is worshipped above spirituality.  Today there are countless detractors of the Bible.  They have spent millions of dollars producing movies to debunk the relevance and accuracy of the Bible. There are on-going debates over the origin of mankind and life itself. Yet, an even cursory examination of the Holy Scriptures will demonstrate that God’s Word is the set and man’s intellect is the subset.

 

We’ll cover issues such as the origin of life, the existence of God, Himself, Jesus, the Christ, physical, emotional, and spiritual health, sexuality, the function of art, the purpose of prayer, inescapable laws such as reciprocity, attraction, association, and much more.  You have heard and hear so much about the problems and errors with the scriptures.  Now let’s examine and celebrate “The Things The Bible Got Right”.

 

(more to come)