When you take shots at someone else they will ricochet into your own heart every time.

Oh GOD, polish me with whatever tool You must, no matter how rough or brusk, that I may reflect Your Glory to Your praise.

My Savior is the sweet Superlative of my soul.

A person who thinks someone is not the “right” color is not in his/her “right” mind. #Quote

“We love Him because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

Every time a newborn inhales a first breath it is a reminder of that moment when GOD breathed life into the nostrils of the first human being, Adam. As if receiving Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), humanity was literally inspired by GOD from creation.

But humanity, in their failure, listened to the lies breathed out by the enemy of their souls sucking in his evil to bring death to their hearts, spiritually and physically.

The only way back to life was for GOD Himself to bring His full deity into full humanity in the only expression of full life, JESUS Christ, GOD in flesh. He breathed out His last breath on the cross only by His own will so that we might be filled with the Holy Spirit and eternal life. When JESUS inhaled in the tomb, taking up Life again, He did so at the command of the Father giving us eternal life. Our sinful life ending in a grave became His perfect life as He breathed on our behalf.

But as with CPR, life only comes with response. In the synergy of Salvation, we respond to GOD’s loving us by loving Him in return. He pressures our hearts through circumstances, making us aware of the need of Him. He breathes His Life in us through His Word in flesh, JESUS. He inspires us with His written and preached Word of Scripture. Those who live respond, returning His love by giving Him their lives.

The Holy Spirit, the breath of Christ in those who believe what Christ has done for them, gives Life. And those who live will respond, breathing His praises forever.

1 John 4:19; Genesis 2:7; 1 Corinthians 15:22; John 20:22;
Mark 15:37; John 10:18; John 1:14; 2 Tim 3:16

What a difference if Philippians 4:8 were our diet: savoring what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, good, excellent & praiseworthy

PAThetic Luke 13:1-30

The case of Pat Robertson babbling on again to the media is pathetic on many levels. First, that the business/ministry he founded & which wisely passed the reins away from him still allows him to take buggy rides in traffic, so to speak. Second, that CNN would publicize the statements of an obviously mentally unwell old man, baiting him (and others would pass that on). And third that no one I’ve heard has pointed out that Robertson’s statement is the antithesis of Scripture, both for Judaism (in the Tenach, “Old Testament”) and for Christianity.

JESUS Himself pointed out in Luke 13:1-30 that this kind of superstitious thinking that GOD is Santa Claus & will put death in your stocking if you’re not good little boys & girls is not just wrong but stupid. There ARE NO good little boys or girls. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of GOD” & the same evil that stirs the heart of a Santa Ria Haitian is the same evil that effects Pat Robertson & every other living soul. Nobody gets out alive. Even GOD died. But He, JESUS Christ, came back to life for the express purpose of showing His death was for us, all of us, in order to give us eternal life. It is the only way to Life. There is no other.

The Apostle Paul quotes earlier prophets in saying that Believers seemed to be especially appointed to be “slaughtered all day long.”. The writer of Hebrews (especially chapters 11 and 12) points out that Believers were martyred, not spared, because of their beliefs. The writers of the Psalms pointed out they were constantly suffering as Believers while non-Believers seemed to “grow fat.”

Natural tragedy, from cancer in a baby to an earthquake in Haiti, is part of physical life in a world that is decaying and dying. And it is allowed by GOD to show us that physical death, which He chose to share with us out of love, doesn’t matter. All that matters is eternal life. And that is only available by choosing Him, in Christ, because it acknowledges that the way of JESUS, the words of JESUS, the actions of JESUS on our behalf already freed us from the long-term effects of death. Death for the Believer is not a tomb but a tunnel. Not a hole but a hallway. Because GOD so loved the world, including Haitians & misguided preachers, that He gave His only flesh-born son, that whosoever believes that Son, JESUS, rose from the physical death for them, has eternal Spiritual Life.

That is the Gospel that no deal with the devil, no earthquake, no ramblings and nothing else can change. In the world you, and I, will have troubles, sickness, death by earhquake, AIDS, car accidents, whatever. But JESUS has overcome the world. And He wants us to follow Him out of it, if we only will

CERTIFIABLY SUCCESSFUL

Say what you will about the military (on second thought…don’t say
THAT…), they got one thing right over the millennia…”tagging”, or
“badging.” That is, they identify Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) by
observed achievement not by hearsay or simple exposure to the knowledge
of others as noted on a piece of paper.

Whether by blood marks, feathers, medallions, patches, or pins, over the
ages those professionals entrusted to keeping the lives of the masses
peaceful through ending the lives of enemies showed their achieved
expertise literally on their persons.
And “everything old is new again” as civilians have, through social
media, discovered virtual tagging or badging works the same way. They
mark those chieftains of content, those leaders of learning, not based
on exposure to schooling but on actual expertise that was proven useful
to the person doing the “grading.” These are the diplomas of the doers,
the certifiably successful who have proven to actually have said or done
something that made an impact on the life of another.

Because of the filtering phenomenon I mentioned earlier (“Filtering, the
Other ‘F’ Word”) it is impossible to adapt any other method. We must
find a way to make connections to those who have demonstrated what we
need, who have achieved what is wanting in a specific situation and time
that impacts our situation. We do not have the time or means to do
anything else. And the best method to do that is through “badging” or
“tagging” one another not based in position or paperwork, but on done
deeds (or spoken/written words) of impact.

Like confirmed kills on the sides of bombers during World War II, we
must identify those who have achieved what needs to be done, or is
reasonably similar to what needs to be done in a way easily identifiable
to us so that we can expose them to a whole new set of connections and
paradigms.

But we must do more. Having identified those people we must connect them to what neither they nor we may realize could be helpful. We must ensure they have access to new methods and information and those people with them to spark innovation.

The result is a constellation, learning networks made up of those
certified to have been successful in a similar endeavor in the inner
solar system whose gravitational pull forms connections with each other
and with new knowledge (workers) outside their ken.

The battle cry of these new Warriors of Wisdom is “This worked for me!”,
brandishing their badges of a lesson learned, an action completed, a
mind sewn, a heart stirred, a life changed…not a seat warmed.
Because of the connections between those who know through doing and
those who may if exposed to new experiences, the possibilities will be
open to no longer allow the answer “We can’t”, but rather ask “How could
we?”

Checks and balances must be in place to prevent the kind of ratings we
sometimes see on Ebay and the App Store where folks give themselves (or
have their friends give them) high rankings. But that is for a posting
of another day when we can discuss how to most safely, clearly,
correctly and fairly say “Tag! You’re It!” in identifying Subject Matter Experts.

The end result, however, is that the Subject Matter Expert must be
identified by the medallion won in the hearts and minds of others. The
new SME badge must be having made an improvement in another human life.

Filtering: The Other “F” Word

Someone better at math than I will have to figure out the mathematical
equation of allowing the greatest number of minds access to the greatest
amount of information with the least amount of confusion and the result
of relevant, useable knowledge. Filtering. That’s the key to most if
not all issues today.

As an old TV show used to say, “the answer (to every problem humanity
has) “is out there.” It’s “just” a matter of the right mind finding the
right connections to the right information while filtering out what’s
not. And “right” itself is contextual.

Whether it’s screening for terrorists or just arranging your “to do”
list, filtering is the primary function our minds need to do. In order
to find a new answer to a problem, new or old, we need either new
information, a new way of thinking, or someone else with a whole
different set of connections, experiences & perceptions with that
information in order for innovation to occur. All plus or multiplication
signs.

Yet the information must be somehow redacted (minus and division signs)
by the mind to only deal with what’s relevant. Filtering. But the
connection to (or the person with the insight to what is) most relevant
is probably unkown, especially to get a new solution. Which calls for
more information/experience (or a person with same). And the cycle
continues.

And in order to happen within a useful timeframe all of this should
happen as naturally as possible, like an ionizing filter only trapping
one type of particle while releasing others.

The very name “moderator”, from moderation, is about lessening the flow
of information. But the person you are keeping the information from may
be the very one who would have had the spark from that information to
find a solution. (And, just to add another “wrinkle”, the solution may
be one the world needs but unrelated to the question being asked.)

The key to filtering may be “tagging.” Labels to identify information or
(through
badges, medals, etc) a person with that information or experience.
Yet that depends on another entire field, Ontology (agreeing on what
those tags mean).

There are no easy answers. And thinking about it for any length of time
will have you saying the first “F” word you thought of.

A Degree of Deliverance

Printable version: http://www.arielion.com/degree.pdf

“And do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil.”
Matthew 6:13

I’m not smart. That’s why when I heard my favorite preacher speak on this passage a short time ago, I heard him give a great explanation of how the LORD allows temptation in our lives, even as Believers. He even leads us into it. And that this is a good thing. But I never heard (or understood him to say) why this passage speaks AGAINST GOD leading us into temptation. And so I had to study and pray about it some more for myself (and hopefully you’ll get something from it, too).

If we believe Scripture when it says that “with GOD nothing is impossible”, and that He “shuts and no one opens and opens and no one shuts”, then we must accept that He allows the opening of temptation into our lives, even as Believers. Although He does not tempt anyone, GOD does allow temptation. Just as, although He does not deceive anyone, He is in control of even the evil spirits who do. As we see from Job 1, even Satan must have permission from GOD before he makes a move, much more so the demons (fallen angels) that followed him.

The clearest Scripture (as the speaker I mentioned earlier mentioned) that GOD allows temptation is Mark 1:12 which says that the Holy Spirit “drove” JESUS into the Wilderness with the express intention for JESUS to be tempted by the devil. GOD was not doing the tempting, but GOD the Father was allowing the humanity of GOD the Son to be put to the test.

And that’s the key. which I did not hear in the other preacher’s sermon: being put to the test. Although it is a different Greek word, they are closely related. The same fire that can warm you to keep you from freezing to death can burn you to death.
The same Spirit that is the scent of perfume to those chosen for Life is the stench of death to those who are perishing. Temptation is used to reveal the character of those who are undergoing it, whether to show their need for a Savior for non-Believers, or to remove the filth of the world, layer by layer through testing, to reveal more of the Spirit of Christ within Believers.

There will always be temptation. Because we are surrounded by non-Believers influenced by the enemy and his agents and Believers who still fail because they’re still in flesh. Believers pray that the LORD would keep them from temptation because temptation is a test for a Believer who is struggling in some area to be strengthened against it. To say “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” is to ask that we not be misled through dealing with other human beings, but also that we not have to take a “redo” in an exam we have already taken.

Make me strong enough that I don’t need to take that exam again but deliver me from evil by making me strong enough not to even consider that way again.

GOD Himself came to earth in the Person of JESUS Christ. He experienced all temptations we humans do, because He was also fully human. But He came through all of them without sin. When He died, it was not to pay for His own sins but for ours, and His resurrection sealed our eternal life and assurance to a way back Home with Him to the Father. When He grew in grace with GOD and man, He passed each exam, one by one.

Believers who are in flesh will sin daily, but we should have some record of progress and maturity as Believers as well. When we pray to lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil we’re asking not to have to graduate High School again when we should be getting our Masters Degree by now. We’re asking not to be college students still sitting at kindergarten desks struggling with the same Spiritual issues we should have outgrown through spending time with the LORD in prayer, exposure to Scripture, and counsel of other Believers (including paying better attention to sermons than I did).

We will never be fully sanctified in this life. We will sin in thought, word or deed in some way to the moment of our last breath. But we can still live a life of victory in Christ, because we are wrapped in His robes of Righteousness, not ours. And in our prayers, we will get a degree of deliverance, hopefully at higher and higher levels throughout life, every day, until we stand as graduates “with great honors” (Magna Cum Laude) in Glory by GOD’s grace in JESUS Christ, who is worthy of “greatest honors” (Summa Cum Laude).

Scriptures used in this message:

Luke 1:37, Matthew 19:26, Isaiah 22:22, Revelation 3:8, James 1:13; 2 Chronicles 18:22; James 1:12; 1 Peter 1:6; 2 Corinthians 2:16; 1 Corinthians 3:2; Proverbs 4:18; Luke 2:40; Luke 17:1; Ephesians 6:12; Hebrews 4:15