THE PRISONER OF CHRIST

 

 

Since being called by God through the spirit of an angel who came during a time of prayer reducing me to a crying wonder struck state convinced forever about the reality of God, I have wondered about Paul the great apostle.  He was a Hebrew among Hebrews, far advanced in the things of God under the law. A persecutor of those who practiced unlawfully in a world ruled by the law of Moses inspired by the life work and testimony of another Hebrew, Jesus of Nazareth.

Paul’s words and thoughts inspired by God speak not of how to live, though they speak about that, he speaks more about how to be taught by God a he was. He sought to explain in answer to letters from those who were seeking God the meaning behind the many rights and rituals of Hebrew life and how Jesus fulfilled those laws not by human rituals but by a surrendering of HIS body and life.

Paul speaks not of laws but an understanding of the law and why it was needed to journey to God as Jesus did and as Paul did and as I have done. There is a scripture. It reads; all things are permissible not all things are beneficial. All things are lawful not all things are helpful.

When you hear the voice of God do not harden your hearts. Jesus heard the voice of God and the scripture says; he was immediately driven to the desert. Paul heard the voice of God and experienced a vision of light so bright it left him blind for three days. During my time in seclusion, I was blinded by an infection for three days after experiencing several unexplainable events during prayer. I often think of that time and the helplessness I felt. I could do nothing nor could I find relief. To those around me, it was a sickness. They did not, nor could they really, understand the fullness of my experience. In fact, those who practice what is now called Christianity as a collection of laws and requirements rather than a dying to the things which we normally associate with living a normal life, they had no idea nor could they see the hand of God in my experience.

I can only think of how difficult it must have been for Paul and certainly Jesus in a time when the trespassing of the law led to death. The cries of blasphemy and pride directed at Paul must have been overwhelming. His anguish and doubt could only be mitigated by his experience which convinced him, in the way a man is convinced, of the certainty of what Christ spoke of as the way to God.

Until what is called the church comes to understand that the calling to stand before people in the name of God is born of a supernatural experience and not the study of the Bible but rather the Bible as a book of confirmation, it will continue to be a business for making the world feel good rather than understanding the purpose of suffering, persecution and affliction.

This is what Paul taught and what his doctrine was. He called people out of the world of experience and use, out of behaving based upon feelings and limited thoughts to create anything lasting and good without oneness with God who is the creator of everything. This is the teaching of Christ, denying yourself life as you would have it so that the eternal life of God maybe revealed in you. Then Paul says, return to you from where you came and if you are able to alter your life do so with a renewed mind which is sensitive to the will of God.

THE DIVINE AND BARACK OBAMA

 

 

In recent days, I have heard mention of President Barak Obama being the realization of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream and a work of divine providence. I offer that it could not be otherwise. It is as miraculous as it is inconceivable that a little known man in 5 short years could go from community organizer to senator to President of the United States. Some might look to a staggering internet campaign flawlessly conceived and executed overcoming all financial odds and powerful political machines to turn the minds of the electorate to cast their vote for now President Barack Obama. Scripture tells us; the old has passed, the new has come,  NOW ALL THINGS ARE OF GOD.

The issue is not if God has inspired this moment as HE has inspired all moments and events that we term good and amazing. From eyesight to hearing and mind blowing technology, there is nothing lasting and good that is not ordained by God through the minds, spirits, hearts and efforts of men. The question is why does God inspire, at this time, such an extraordinary event as the raising up of a mixed race young intelligent, attractive, articulate, bright man to the highest office of the most powerful affluent nation in the world? The human answer is; for the common good. The promise of equality and a better life is not a promise of God but a dream of man.

God’s reasons are different. We do not understand His ways and cannot comprehend HIS thoughts unless we have suffered the persecution and indignity of this life to realize the spirit and mind of The Christ which was most luminous in Jesus of Nazareth and the prophets. Barack Obama is a work of God, a sign to inspire faith, the ability to recognize the signs of God as is common to men to recognize the signs of God in this life in spirit and truth so that you may recognize them in the life after death to this world.

The presidency of Obama if misunderstood by blacks will cause excessive hope and joy. Misunderstood by whites and it will cause excessive fear and sorrow. This excess of passions, common to men, will be the source of great distress. The point is why Obama. This is the question Mr. Obama ought to ask himself each day. As a masterwork of God, commonly known as a miracle, Obama needs to understand the source of his authority at this time. All authority has its source in God especially at the level of Kings and rulers. To forget this will obliterate the grace of God that has brought him to this place and time as it did Moses and Dr. King who were both denied the Promised Land. The Promised Land is less a place of milk and honey than it is a spiritual reality which allows one to be sensitive to the will of God.

The message of Obama is not different than Ghandi, Kennedy and Dr. King. To call people to believe in themselves and the realization of their dreams of success in the form of prosperity is not the will of God. The will of God is that you be one with HIM by giving up your life in this life so that you may have life more abundantly, meaning eternally. To not recognize this will leave man devoid of the grace of God regardless of how often we intone; God bless America. Without the grace of God, represented by a new mind and spirit, man can do nothing. In the mind and spirit which was Jesus of Nazareth and the Holy prophets all things are possible.

“The fierce urgency of now” proclaimed by Dr. King is an urgency to gain this spirit, the Kingdom of God, a supernatural kingdom of power to realize God within you creating a nature that is made in the image and likeness of God.

Be fearful America……..fearful unto caution not terror.