Soul for Sale

For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Matthew 16:26

Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

1 Corinthians 1:20

Real slavery is attempting to live your life from the approval of others.

"But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions;"

-Hebrews 10:32

Too many of us including this writer, has tried to live life dancing to the music that Satan and other unbelievers played. We did not have the confidence to trust God and instead, tried to "live by sight instead of faith;" 2 Corinthians 5:7. It was after this writer became a blind man, that he had the confidence to walk by faith, depending on the creator of the universe.

What do you do when God's promises fail? We live in a world of "quick fixes." We live in a world of fast food, fast prescription pill for any sickness. Nationwide, the average time in your doctors office is 7 minutes. Your oncologist considers you cured of cancer if you have survived cancer for five years. God does not wear a watch, he takes his own good time in resolving our problems, keeping his promises. We must have the confidence to trust him, all he requires is trust. 

Faith is a verb, action, based on belief, sustained by confidence. We must have the confidence to believe him. It was after I became blind, sightless, that I could trust, that I had the confidence to wait for answered prayer. 

I can well understand why the new Christian loses confidence so quickly when his prayers are not answered. Financially, the past year was one of the worst years of my life. I had more empty rental property, less sales in my business, than ever before. I have always had trouble in business with dishonest employees... people who work for me. I sometimes believe that more of my things have walked out of my business than what I have sold in my business. Yet, everyday without fail, I tell God that I am depending on him to help me with my life. He knows how hard it is for me to do anything. He knows how hard it is for me to depend on people I pay to work for me, even associates, long time friends, even family members. Most people simply do not care. Most of the professionals, businesses, certainly the government, with whom you come in contact with do not care. This is a world of me-ism. Everyone simply going through the motions. I can certainly understand why the new Christian and even seasoned Christians have trouble understanding why God is always late on the scene. After many years, we always find through stress and tears that he is standing at the crossroads of our lives before we get there. Don't throw away your confidence because of the failures of other Christians, don't throw away your confidence because of disappointment, despair.

This writer was born and raised on a dirt road, no power, phone or water lines. Nothing but hard work and hard times. To this day, I cannot understand how my parents, grandparents and the many other people surviving in the poverty of eastern North Carolina had the confidence to keep going. But they did. My heart is still filled with hatred, so much resentment when I consider how my parents were treated in town by people of wealth. I still remember the junk that was sold to them, they wanted us to have a typewriter and a supposedly responsible man, sold them a  piece of junk. But, they had the money to go to town and buy things, they could use the restrooms in the stores - think of our black neighbors, hard working-god fearing-tax paying citizens who were never able to buy store bought things (clothing, food, furniture) simply because their skin was black. Yet, these black citizens too, had the confidence to keep living, trusting, believing in a better place.

I did not realize the "soullessness" of people; both students and professors until I entered the University. Graduating from a poor, small country school (thirteen in my graduating class), I was not prepared to enter any college. In addition to lack of preparation, it was necessary for me to work my way through. At the same time, competing with the elitist sons of wealth and power that had been prepared for university education at preparatory schools. The sons of legislators, judges, wealthy alumni, were treated well. I will never forget the day I came in to full conflict with my creator. It was sitting on a stone fence at the rear of Wilson Library. I quoted a scripture to my Lord, from the book of Jobs; "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him..." Jobs 13:15.

After eight years of frugal living, hard work, jumping through every hoop educators and governments demanded, I had letters before and after my name. Then, as during the Korean War when all doctors must serve, I became an army medical officer. All this has been written about previously, now, totally blind, 100% disabled, service connected 85 year old Veteran. 

Perhaps, next to the stress and unfairness of education was my military service. Right away, still in medical officer training internship at Brook Army Medical Center, a much better looking, more articulate officer (one who to this day I believe was gay) put a move on someone, and got my orders replaced by his. His orders sent him to New York City, mine to wherever.

Incomprehensible, one Army Hospital where I was on staff, the hospital nearest Huntsville, Alabama where Redstone Arsenal was located, and Hitlers boys were perfecting the missiles, the hospital was staffed by German Nazi Doctors brought over after WWII. From the hospital commander Colonel Marx on down, doctors and nurses... all former Nazi troops. I will never forget the day I arrived there, the doctor I was replacing said to me, "I don't know what goes on in this place,  but it is straight from Hell and I am glad to escape." Of course, with me as with anyone else seeking military advancement, you have that constant rivalry between the forces of Satan and those of God... A matter of warfare in the soul. 

In my lifetime, what has happened to my country? There was a time when inquiring, investigating, reporters would have taken apart the decadents of this nation. I can well imagine my friend Walter Spearman, school of Journalism UNCCH, saying to students "Stay honest, report the truth." The American people will swallow anything, hook, line and sinker. Seeing the sight of the plane explosion in Switzerland, would anyone believe that it was anything other than an explosion? Studying what happened on 9-11 in Manhattan, would anyone swallow the Government's explanation? Only 1% of the American population still does. In my world travels, I've spoken with men in such communist cesspools such as Yugoslavia, Burma, China and Russia. They all said the same thing: "We learned the truth when it was too late." Perhaps an EMP attack, throwing America back to the stone age will tell us that we should have been more alert to the degradation and broken culture of our society.

In my long life, I have never known a man in politics who did not give up his soul. The soullessness of Government is beyond compare. When I was a child in democrat controlled North Carolina (my family on both sides Republican), you could not get a job at any state agency (highways, hospitals, even teaching school) unless you were a proven and approved democrat. Confidence in our nation, its schools,  its churches, must be restored if America is to survive. 

#1720

Fairness

Born in Seattle, Washington in 1955, Bill Gates, since 1995 has been at the top of the world's richest men. Co-founder of Microsoft, philanthropist, writer of several books, he has given us his ten rules for success in business: his first rule: life is not fair, get used to it.

Don't confuse success with celebrity, think of Bill Gates and Helen Keller, or Madonna with Joni Eareckson Tada. Think of the thousands of our finest who lie buried in military cemeteries around the world and the Bernie Madoff, Ken Lay, Harvey Milk, Charles Wrangle or the thousands filling America's prisons who have chosen the low road rather than the high road of life. Their vote in an election counts just as much as yours. Prisoners eat better than most disabled veterans.

Studying history, we know what happened to most of the corrupt historical figures in the world. Not only did most of them suffer here on earth, but if everything we believe to be true about eternity, they will suffer forever. One of the most revered men in history is King David, although a first class sinner, spending his live in many psalms in repentance, was a man after God's own heart (Acts 13:22). David's son, King Solomon, world's wisest and richest man, 300 wives, 700 concubines, builder of the great temple, wonder of the world, still richest building ever built (est. 14 billion dollars), bowed when his mother Bathsheba came into the room. King's fathers were never mentioned, except in this case, but their mothers were always given prominence.

You may not be a king or even related to royalty, but it is a sorry man who does not honor his mother, the fairness involved in what she went through to give you birth and to raise you. I like to see a boy pull out a chair for his mother at a table in a restaurant. Abortion is still inconceivable to the hearts and minds of most people. We are only responsible for sin, but ours is a destiny of sacrifice (Romans 1). The person who deserves the most is always the weakest, the person who deserves the least is always the greatest. A group of university seniors were asked to put the ten commandments in the order in which they considered their importance. Of course, as expected they put #1. Not to murder, #2 Not to steal, these are laws in every civilization, religious or not. Their ninth commandment was honoring father and mother, and their tenth commandment, a total reversal of the commandments which God Himself had given, honoring God and having no idols before Him.

There is a joy in goodness, a satisfaction in fairness. We like to see the criminal punished, justice rewarded. I said to a detective recently, having reported things taken from a house by a tenant, “this boy is not the criminal type, he is just young and dumb.” It is not always the monetary value of a theft with vacating tenants, (towels, bathroom rugs, kitchenware, wastebaskets, trashcans, shower curtains, curtain rods, brooms, chairs) but it is the aggravation of having to replace these things, the time and money involved. Careless driving in a parking lot, when you slightly damage anothers' car, is not a matter of vehicular accident, but it ruins the aesthetic, psychological enjoyment of your car as well as the time and expense in returning it to it's undamaged condition.

I remember arriving in the country of Togo, the customs officer let me know real quick that he expected a five-dollar tip in order for me to get my suitcase. Going into India, my guide went to the duty-free shop to get gifts for the customs officers. It ruins your trips to these places to know you are exploited at the very doorway of the country.

If every person were born the right color skin, the right hair color, eye color, healthy, wealthy, wise. All the genetic code that makes life fair, then we would have nothing for which to wish or want, pray or work and we would get very tired of one another.

It took me a long time to get over the unfairness of blindness. But, it is only when we are down that we can look up. Christ told us that we must die in order to live, this is the advantage of farm life, only through seed do you have harvest. Only by giving to do you get. Only though death do you live.

Fairness

Bill Gates, one of the world's richest men said, “life is not fair, get used to it.” The average teenager uses the phrase “it's not fair” 8.6 times a day. You got it from your parents, who said it so often you decided they must be the most idealistic generation ever. When they started hearing it from their own kids, they realized Rule Number 1. Search the scriptures and you will not find the word fairness. But, 365 times in God's Word, He tells us not to be afraid.

Think what you will of him, but I happen to agree with this quote by Alex Jones: “The Obama Deception completely destroys the myth that Barack Obama is working for the best interests of the American people. The Obama phenomenon is a hoax carefully crafted by the captains of the New World Order. He is being pushed as savior in an attempt to con the American people into accepting global slavery. We have reached a critical juncture in the New World Order's plans. and only by exposing the con can we help to save freedom in America.”

Sinclair Lewis, one of America's greatest writers, wrote the book It Can't Happen Here, in which he described in detail the exact situation in which we find ourselves today in this Obama treason. I predict now as rapidly as this country is being destroyed in just the six months he has been in office, President Obama will be impeached.

History books have been sanitized, but history has been sufficiently preserved for us to know that “God is Boss.” Only the humble can be taught, and when pride gets too great God has a way of straightening us out. The children of Israel, were within three week's walking distance of the Promised Land but God had them (in basic training) in the wilderness desert for forty years as a lesson to them and to us. Even to this day, the medical caduceus worn by every military medical officer shows a serpent on a pole. In the wilderness, Moses was instructed by God to put a brass serpent on a pole so that those who were “unfairly” bitten by the vipers which invaded the desert would be healed.

John the Baptist said, “behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29. Just as in the Passover, He was a “lamb without blemish.” (I Peter 1:19) “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, Christ told us that if He were lifted up He would “draw all men unto Him.” (John 12:13) Specifying His being lifted up on the cross, and by His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 52).

We cheat ourselves by not participating in this one act of remembrance at His table. I have actually heard of someone who believed in Christ as Savior, baptized in the initial ordnance of the Christian church, never having participated in the recurrent ordinance of the New Testament church to worship at the communion table with the bread and wine, in full atonement of His power of healing and forgiveness. Communion with our Savior; the symbols of His broken body and shed blood, the bread and wine, the most precious act of worship, the joy of Christianity. He did not say anything about how seldom you should do it, but reminded us to do it often. “This do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:25).

When I looked at the painting of the Last Supper in Milan, Italy I thought of the consternation as well as the joy as these twelve, rather insignificant, average men must have experienced. Did they ever realize their place in the history of the world? Moses was held up as an example of faithfulness throughout the New Testament. Christ's last miracle, the restoration of the ear of one of His captures would have astonished many in that act of fairness. God, only to give the signal for the millions of angels who heralded His birth could have rescued His only Son from earth's heathen. When one thinks of fairness, you consider the crucifixion of Christ but you consider the offering of the only son of the world's richest man, Abraham, who having waited almost 100 years for this beloved son, did not offer any excuse for fairness.

We worship a God of justice and so will He deal with us, individually and as a nation. Is this fairness?

“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not.” (1 John 3:1)