Author: terry.a.lindsey@charter.net

“Watch out! Guard yourself against all kinds of greed. After all, one’s life isn’t determined by one’s possessions, even when someone is very wealthy.” This is a quiz. Who said that quote? Was it, a) Trump, b) Obama, c) Biden, d) AOC, e) none of the above? Greed can take on all forms of possessions. In fact, we can be so obsessed by our possessions to the point of becoming possessed. A possessed person has an evil spirit. Yes, you can possess a valuable object or possess a quality that makes you special. You can own something that if not careful becomes idolatry. If we say a person is possessed, it usually implies a negative demonic power having complete power over them. We can own property or something precious to us and that may define our possession or state of mind that we are in control of something. We are not in control when we have that state of mind, in my opinion. I have heard of many highly talented, wealthy, possessive people ending their lives too soon because they could not cope. Why? I believe they thought about the things on earth instead of thinking about the things above. “So, put to death the parts of your life that belong to the earth, such as sexual immorality, moral corruption, lust, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry).” (Colossians 3:2-5) We cannot control ourselves unless we are obedient and “set aside these things, such as anger, rage, malice, slander, and obscene language…and put on the new nature…as Christ is all things and in all people.” (Colossians, 3:8-11)

We are in danger of being possessed by our possessions. We can see it in all parts of our lives. Even if we are totally aligned with a higher power that allows us to let go of our earthly possessions, we are subject to all sorts of schemes or miscommunications to influence our thoughts to make illogical decisions. We may find ourselves reacting to a situation unaware of the risk of fraud. How many of you get at least one or two robocalls per day? What about deceptive contractors or exorbitant insurance premiums that when a file is claimed reveals a no coverage clause. How about all the “breaking news” that is just a ploy to keep you watching. I can go on, but I think you get the picture. Back to my initial quiz to watch out and guard ourselves against all kinds of greed. Who said it? The answer is e) none of the above. The real answer is Jesus. (Luke 12:15)

T

To be enslaved, is past tense of enslave, meaning that we have our human rights taken away from us. We have been made into a slave. Long ago people were contracted, in some cases, or condemned most times, into servitude. I think being enslaved is a modern problem that should have been resolved a long time ago. How can we resolve the problem if we do not even recognize it as a problem? I am excited to announce that my book “Sticks and Stones” will be listed in the Sci Fi Magazine December issue due to hit the magazine racks all over the world on August 20^th. The book has also been converted into an Audible version due to be released about the same time in August. Finally, I will be an exhibitor at the Louisiana Book Festival on November 2^nd,2019. My book offers a warning to the dangers of being enslaved.

In a previous post labeled “GDLW” posted July 2016 and mentioned again a few weeks ago, my question is what is the true message? Amos forecasted doom when he saw in a vision a Plumb Line measuring Israel’s deviation from the true message. Are we in danger drifting away from the truth? May we straighten up and get back to the true message! Go and Do Likewise (GDLW) was the advice given to us.

Last week I posted that we must choose wisely. We can get hung up on junk for our bodies or junk for our souls and choose badly. We should consider our decisions carefully and make the better choice.

When we consider living according to the true message, GDLW, and make good choices, we may find ourselves still struggling with being enslaved. “See to it that nobody enslaves you with philosophy and foolish deception, which conforms to human traditions and the way the world thinks and acts rather than Christ.” (Colossians 2:8) That is clear to me that even though we may have our faults because of our human traits, we should not find ourselves in slavery but to Christ. We are the body and he is the head. “So, don’t let anyone judge you about eating or drinking or about a festival, a new moon observance, or sabbaths. These religious practices are only a shadow of what was coming—the body that cast the shadow is Christ.” (Colossians 2:16,17) We can become just like them enslaved. We let our guard down and become just like those we choose to avoid. We eat or drink what is not healthy to our bodies and souls. But, nobody has the right to judge us especially those not attached to the head. (vs 19) The only way we can become a better person not enslaved to anything or anyone is to stay connected to the real truth and that will set us free.

T

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I believe all the world should take a moment to reflect on the tremendous accomplishment 50 years ago to put not just one man but two on the moon. As a national challenge our president chose to lay down a ten year marker. The brave men and women did it! I remember that day so well and remember the pride my Dad possessed as being a part of the effort. It was one of his greatest accomplishments as he told our family often to be part of the team that made it happen. I believe we can choose to focus on a greater goal today or we can choose to live as victims of our own making. It is our choice. We all have to choose our path in life. Paul became a servant of the good news and revealed a secret plan. He then preached it in the hopes all would choose the right path. (Colossians 1:23-28)

We can be distracted by stuff that in the scheme of things means little. We can choose to abuse our bodies with junk food or our minds with junk news. We can make a daily routine become so important that we miss an opportunity to grow into a better person. We can choose to be a bystander or we can choose to become part of the team. Martha and Mary were sisters. Martha chose to prepare the table for a meal and was annoyed when her sister did not make the same choice. Mary chose to prepare herself for eternity. Which one chose correctly? We can get so hung up on living that we forget to live with a purpose. We can miss opportunities to grow while trying to choose what we think is correct. Instead, perhaps we should look at every situation with a new set of eyes and ask ourselves what is the better choice. (Luke 10:38-42)

To choose is to select the best or most appropriate alternative. The word choice is the act of selecting. I have used these words in some form or the other 32 times on previous blog posts. That indicates to me a pattern. I recorded a sermon back in October 2015 about choices then posted in a blog labeled “Choice”. You can click onto to the link here to read more. http://alookintot.com/2018/10/27/choice/

As individuals, we can choose a path that leads us to ultimate victory. As a team focused on a near impossible goal, we can choose to win at all cost. They said it was impossible to put a man on the moon 50 years ago but they were wrong. Can we accomplish other supposedly impossible goals if we choose? I say yes. See you on Mars. T

Winter has come! Wait, isn’t it summer time? Yes, but if you were a Game of Thrones fan, winter came and was defeated. Maybe, the ending did not meet your expectations, but it still ended. The victory was through one girl with the skill needed to make the final defeating blow. Then she hardly got the credit when the dragon lady went on a rampage. You may have hated the ending of this series, but winter did come and so did the end. Game of Thrones fan or not, the symbolism and creativity of the makers of this series, needs to be applauded. In my opinion, winter represented evil. Winter needed to be defeated similar to the demons that we may possess. How do we defeat winter? Well, perhaps we rely on someone riding on a huge dragon blowing fire to burn our enemies. Perhaps, we rely on one person with a vision to see the future where winter has been defeated and we all live in peace forever and ever. Read on about victory over the demons within and around us.

Winter is like fear. Our demons have a tight grip on us and we may act like a crazy person. You may have heard many times on the news how some person in a rage takes the life of another. We can only ask why? There was a person called “Legion” meaning many demons had entered his body. Legion was a crazy person who had to be restrained for fear of hurting others or himself. No one knew how else to handle this crazy person. In their eyes, he was a lost cause. They just went about their busy lives as usual tending herds of pigs and conducting commerce in the towns. Then one day a person with a vision of the end of the story encountered Legion and his demons. He ordered the demons out of the man’s body and into a herd of pigs who ran off a cliff into the lake and drowned. That ending was not appreciated by those whose commerce was destroyed. The man’s winter came and was defeated. His fear was replaced with faith for a bright future. “He went throughout the city proclaiming what Jesus had done for him.” (Luke 8:39b) Like winter which came and went, fear will come but can be defeated by faith. We should not be controlled by human laws that keep us locked up. The law became our custodian, until Christ, so that we might be made righteous by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no long under a custodian. (Galatians 3:24-25) Winter is gone. Faith has come.

The following is a personal reflection about the love of my father to protect me when I did not even know I was in danger. I believe none of us humans are in a position to judge.

I loved my Uncle who was openly practicing homosexual acts. I was a young boy when my Uncle wanted to cut my hair. I did not know anything about homosexuality at the time, but my Father understood the dangers. He loved his older brother but clearly saw possible intentions beyond a normal relationship between an Uncle and Nephew. Did anything happen? NO! Could it have happened? I will never know as my Father protected me well before there could have been a problem. I loved my Uncle all his life though, I never understood or cared for his life choices. I believe we should love people unconditionally and leave the judgement to God. I loved my Father even more for protecting me when I did not know I needed protection. To this day, I thank God that he used my Father to intervene on my behalf. God guided my Father during those early formative years. God also molded me into the person I am today. I will never know what could have happened, but I can only imagine the possibilities. As I hear of events of abused young boys or girls in the past, were their lives impacted? Absolutely, they have been profoundly affected even with some of them going to their graves with the darkness unrevealed. My prayer is that God made them whole again. I also pray for the innocent victims being impacted now when they are too young to understand the difference between affection and lust.

I encourage you all to take a stand for what is right and prepare for the battles to come. Romans 5:2-4 states, “We have access by faith into this grace in which we stand through him, and we boast in the hope of God’s glory. But not only that! We even take pride in our problems, because we know that trouble produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” May we endure the problems we face today until we have enough character to produce hope of God’s glory which will overcome all.

As we celebrate our Fathers and Mothers whether still living or passed, let us be strengthened in our prayers to God. May we all be led by the power of the Holy Spirit to resist evil or the temptations evil provides. May we all live Holy lives according to the Truth of Jesus Christ. Faith has indeed come.

T

In an earlier post labeled “Two” sent out on July 28^th, 2018, I wrote, “One is a lonely number. Two is not much better, but when coupled as one, becomes so much stronger”. I wrote about Saint Patrick who single handedly converted his home country of Ireland from paganism into Christianity. Did he really act as one?

To become one in the secular world means we don’t withdraw sex or anything else in a relationship in order to punish or control. You can search the web yourself as there are a lot of marriage relation discussions available. I would like to focus on a more biblical relation. John 10:30 says, “I (Jesus) and the Father are one.” Is that a marriage situation? Well, if you search further, you discover that Jesus presents himself as the Good Shepherd to the Jewish leaders. By saying he was one with God, put him equal to God. This enraged the leaders as they did not believe him so would never become one of his sheep. What are the characteristics of sheep?

Sheep cannot defend themselves, have an endless amount of wool, do not eat junk food, and hear only their shepherd’s voice. When sheep die, they seem to go in peace. (Source: Bishop Edir Macedo blogs.universal.org) If you look at these characteristics, we may see no comparison. We can be defiant in our comparison argument. Yes, we can defend ourselves, but where does defense become offense? Can we really defend ourselves without divine intervention? Something to consider. No, we cannot produce an endless amount of wool, but we can provide an endless amount of our gifts and talents. Yes, most of us eat junk food. Should we learn how to curb our craving to stay healthy? Finally, can we control our ability to hear our shepherd’s voice? Yes, we can, with much practice and determination, hear what others will not.

The Sheep and Shepherd relationship is a fascinating concept. It is hard to grasp this concept. Just like a good marriage is hard to maintain, we also need a good spiritual relationship. A good marriage is when two become one. A bad marriage is when one controls another. A good spiritual relationship is when we, though many, become one. A bad relationship is when we try to control the situation on our own. Sheep who get lost can be found if they stop to listen. They remain lost if unwilling to listen. The Jewish leaders of Jesus’ time refused to listen and believe. They considered Jesus as a test of their patience. (John 10:24) All too often we are guilty of hearing noise around us instead of listening for the master’s voice. May we listen to only his voice and follow him.

T

Note: To read other blogs and excerpts of my sermon audios, go to www.alookintot.com