A journal in the month of August.
Fear and Bitterness keep men from discovering what He has for them.
Courage and Humility take them to the depths of His plans.
I do not think we are crushing our younger generation with our “harshness”; rather with our inattentiveness. We distract ourselves until we cannot see them any longer. Thus, we teach them to look for an identity in a similar location. Our biggest fault as an older generation is that we do not care. And our lack of care is evident in our obsession with families other than our own.
All things become lawful, but not all things are beneficial. In listening to His Spirit, I discover what is right and wrong. Sin isn’t a right that we attain after receiving Christ; it is a right we give up when we find Him. I once sinned because I thought I needed it. I do not sin because I know I only need Him.
There is no holy fear; no matter how sensible.
I heard once that God cared about specific locations in the earth. The truth is that God cares about the place where the Temple resides. In that Old Covenant, it was a location; in the New Covenant, it is mobile in our chests. God does not care for the ground you stand on, except that you are standing on it.
Those who have a hard time understanding God is Father and not Mother are those who would define gender as the greatest significance. When in fact, gender is nothing more than the product of the Spirits of Masculinity and Femininity. God is Masculine and the Spirit of Masculinity rests in Him. The Spirit of Femininity rests upon the earth and in the Bride of Christ. Our Mother Earth is important, but she is subject to our Father; we do not worship the Creation, but the Creator. In the Bride are those Masculine (Men) and those Feminine (Women). Their spirits produced their genders. Even still, some men may appear more Feminine and some women Masculine—but this does not alter their gender, identity, or spirit. And no matter how Feminine God may seem at times (a “hen over her chicks”), it does not change that He is Masculine and Father. Extinguishing the Spirits of Masculinity and Femininity was the first step in exalting gender instead of the lesser gods that it derives from. The last step will be removing the Personality of Christ. In the end, by the work of the Antichrist, Christ’s image will appear as an amorphous hermaphrodite that neither thinks, feels, nor cares and none can rely upon. The Antichrist Spirit wishes to make us forget Christ, or at the very least, misunderstand Him, thus rendering Him ineffectual in our lives. Embrace Masculinity in Men. Embrace Femininity in Women. They are the basis of our empirical Story.
I am afraid to forgive fully, because I fear it will require me to forget fully; and in forgetting, I may stumble upon the same snare that caused my hurt. But I want to forget; and verily I want to forgive. So let go and trust the Maker Who Made to do a good work. This is the “entering happiness” the Master calls us to. You are free and the snares are off of you.
To be healed is to be unaware of health.
Fear will search for warmth in the worldly things, just as Peter searched for a fire among the Praetorian Guard after denying the Christ.
The sinner will try to justify his sin, pass the greater sin to another, and ignore his conscience. The Pharisees knew sin was in their hearts. If they truly believed Christ was a defiler and demon, their law would stand by their killing him. Yet they sent Him to Pilate because their souls told them otherwise.
Humility is not defined as one’s ability to put oneself down. Humility is the pleasure of knowing who you are and letting God boast about you. Let another man’s lips praise thee.
There is no moral ambiguity with Christ. He is the Standard. He is the Truth. Thieving, infidelity, promiscuity, narcotic-use, and lying as a means to find a sense of righteousness is not righteousness. It doesn’t matter how many people you have following you—if you are leading them to Hell, you are no greater than the one ant who brings his colony poison to feast upon.
One of the worst notions a pastor or leader can do is compare their building-plan to that of Nehemiah rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem. Nehemiah built to protect God’s people and let them worship again after three and a half generations of death, rape, and slavery. In this day and age, it’s actually closer akin that of Solomon’s. But neither comparison is preferred; as isn’t any building-plan altogether.
Usefulness. This word is not the worth or value of my life. There was none more capable; yet meek, still, and—by the world’s standards—useless than Christ. The temptation in my heart is that I must accomplish something grand in order to be valuable. But this is not true. I do not look at my children or animals this way. I do not look at my wife this way. Only upon myself for some God-forsaken reason. It is a damnable desire to work toward something for recognition. Conversely, walking in the spirit will yield no visible results.
Obedience may lead you down a life without riches, fame, or material possessions. But it will lead you into the Person He has called you to become. Obedience led Christ to the Cross; and it appeared meaningless. It was His legacy, after come and gone, that was everything. You can obey God, or you can turn out like the majority.
Christ came to bring Holiness. Not happiness nor satisfaction. Holiness is the Person of Christ. Our words and very lives must inspire others to discover the holiness Christ has given them; and further propel ourselves into the holiness already residing in our hearts.
There is no doubt I am a shepherd. My heart is in Faerie-land. Though I appreciate the Philosopher’s point of view, I find much more pleasure in the fields with the livestock and stars.
Keith G. Alderman 