Are You Humble?

Are you Humble?                                                          Kelly Durant  7-16-06

 Matt 11:28-12:1

 28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." 

 In an old town a few years ago there was a man that got a horse and buggy ride from his neighbor. He had a sack of potatoes with him to sell in the town.  The driver said, Why don’t you put the sack of potatoes down, you don’t have to have them in your lap.  But the man replied, Well you have been nice enough to carry me in to town and I thought I would be abusive to ask you to carry my potatoes too.”  Actually, this is a good example of the people who do not give all their burdens to their Lord, they think that the are already abusive enough with God to be in His presence, but the problem is they do not let their burdens down to God. Jesus said His yoke is easy.

How many of you have seen a yoke on a farm? It connects 2 cows together so they can plow the field. Just think that Jesus goes with us in the field to plow, he is with us through His Holy Spirit. The great thing is that with Jesus, we learn to be humble, gentle, and we have peace, no matter what comes to us in life. He makes our burdens light. 

We need to be careful that as a culture, and I mean as Christian culture, that we do not lose our values of being humble, gentle, and peaceful! What we just read is that Jesus wants us to learn from Him, that He is gentle, humble, and He gives you rest. Let me repeat humble and gentle and peaceful. Ask yourself right now, am I humble and gentle and full of peace as Jesus teaches us to be?

Repeat with me, “I will be humble, gentle, and peaceful!”

Today, we will cover as we did last week, how we can recognize the false shepherds and pastors, the ones that come to dominate by force and put burdens on you that Jesus warned about not to take. What is the opposite of what we are learning? It is arrogant, aggressive, and conflictive! That describes very well many false movements and teachers!

Let’ begin from the beginning. God is our creator and in one breath he could destroy the entire earth, and the entire universe! But God continues to show his love and mercy through His Son Jesus, giving the people of the world time to repent from their sins so they can be saved. God the Father and Jesus the Son, choose to be humble, gentle, and peaceful. Jesus came into the world in the meekest of circumstances, in a poor manger, and he lived and taught meekness and love. We could define it this way, God chose to limit His power and He in many ways shows himself to us as “powerless” when in reality He has infinite power.

Jesus came to show us how to be living in “powerlessness” too. For Jesus to teach ,“I will be humble, gentle, and peaceful!” He confirmed He was not into power and into making others obey Him by force. He chose to refrain himself, he was not arrogant, rich, nor competitive, he was humble, gentle, loving, and peaceful.

Let me explain. In the world there is high stress, high competition, glory and riches for those who step on others who rise above the crowd and make their selves out to be somebody important. In the world there is a big problem for some people because they are never happy about who has the power because they want the power. Everybody, even amongst yourselves in your homes, I can almost be sure there is a problem with who has the power, and who is in control. In your jobs there is competition and there is stress because always somebody wants to be the next boss controlling everybody. Amongst Hispanics from different countries, amongst the races of black, white and brown, there is the never ending competition of who will be in control and get it by intimidation and aggression.

In this world we see wars, we sees families fight and divide, we see friends become enemies, we see so many things happen and it is all because we all want to have the power.

Jesus was the opposite, he was “powerlessness”; Let’s review one of His first sermons: Matt 5:3-10

3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called sons of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

God must weep when He see everyone so corrupted by their desire for power. Jesus wants us to be the opposite, He wants us to be powerless. He came defenseless and He showed His powerlessness by letting others nail Him to the cross. He chose to not just destroy the entire earth with His angels in that moment for a reason, He was waiting to save people like you and me so we would learn to be like Him and show this beautiful quality of God, the quality of powerlessness. I will be humble, gentle, and peaceful!”

Of course, when Jesus returns He will reveal His powerful side when He makes war on the rebellious people who have not learned nor taught his ways.

Jesus teachings on powerlessness is enlightening and his sole purpose to get us deep into the love of God so we can experience it, receive it, and give it freely

Jesus correctly noticed and wanted to heal our brokenness, limitedness, woundedness, and frailty, which are all intertwined with our inner personal struggling with power, peace, patience for waiting on God, and finally death.

If we can rightly discern from an early age that God is in control, that He has the absolute power, then we can mature and go on to other phases in learning.

It seems that powerlessness has always been inferred in scripture but it is most interestingly revealing to analyze it by observing the actions of God and those of Jesus Christ through this peculiar lens through which he has perceived it.

Just as Christ became a baby in frail flesh in order to understand us, we too face the realities of our frailness and limitedness in this world, clothed not just in a body prone to sickness and death, but also inhabited by a human spirit with a terrible tendency to be contrary to God’s nature. Pray now to change into what God needs you to be, in Jesus name! Amen!

Men in the World vs Men of God

Men in the World vs Men of God                        By Capt. Kelly Durant 9-15-13

1. I Tim 5: 17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.

2. Have you heard about the woman waiting for the perfect man? She waited and waited and then so much time went by that she just never seemed to find him! (See image of skeleton) Ha!

It is a very complex problem when we want to analyze men being perfect. How can men be perfect in his relationship involving the treatment of the woman and in relation to the treatment of his fellow man?

The real issue of men being perfect is in them being how God wants. This is found in spiritual maturity, wisdom, and a connection to God that provokes a passion to treat everyone with respect, loving and guiding them into God’s truth by his words and deeds. Men must mature, and maturity means learning to be humble and doing God’s will in everything. Altruistic love is the foundation.

3. Men maturing into men of valor as God intended contrasts the opposite image to what the pride of the world projects. There is a glory in men being strong; we all like to see strong soldiers. But consider this, the strongest man who ever lived was Samson, and he killed a lion with his bare hands, but look how the ultimate strongman ended up without faithfulness to God!

The ultimate question is, what does God want from me and you, or man in general? All cultures have different ideas of how the perfect man should be. Usually when you say the word “man”, an image of how a man should dress, talk, and act is usually shaped by the expectancies of that culture and by the standard of the women of that society.

Woman live concerned about what the men do in relationship to them, so they are usually focused on the home and family. Men care for the women but men usually live very concerned about what other men might do to them and they think more about the society at large preparing their selves for survival and making a living within their environment which is often surrounded by hostility.

4. Ever since the murder of Able by Cain men have worried how to protect their selves. They govern the society with police and armies and write laws and carry arms to help protect their selves from their own fellow man, and in particular defend their selves from those of other tribes, gangs, belief systems, or countries. For millennia men have had the tendency to scheme how to conquer and dominate their part of the world and this comes by cruel brute organized force.

I will confess as a man when I go out in the community, I subconsciously put myself on high alert and I focus in on any danger or threat that could be around me either while walking or in the vehicle. It is a natural tendency, right?

The sad reality is men, due to the sin of pride in the world, have failed in their mission to stop all hostility and greed and just love and obey God and enjoy Him! Men were created to love, not fight, kill, and the inflicting of pain and the absorption of pain creates trauma and the results create the broken hostile, sad world of men today.  Why are there so many addicts in the world? Men (and women) are often trying to drown out their pain! Sin either committed or imposed on a person causes pain but Jesus does heal it and take it away!

5. God created men and women to give and receive love through their families and friends and fellow brothers in the faith. Every person in life gets an interest in knowing God usually because someone who loved God was loving, caring, and helpful to them. Doesn’t it seem that way? Love changed them and they gained hope, faith, and a new happy life. But only the Christian faith expresses correctly the most important concept of God that exists: that God is love!

What is the final purpose for man’s existence, anyway? Why am I here on earth we often ask ourselves? Ecclesiastes 12:13 Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. Jesus said to love God with all your heart mind and soul as well! Men analyze: If God made me in the womb, then He is the Father I must obey. Those who hate, steal, and do violence of course hate God even though they know inherently He exists. The demons fear God and tremble! Hell ultimately is a prison for the rebellious souls will not stop at their destruction.

Imagine how perfect, holy, and righteous a man could be if he would just practice the wisdom of God in the Bible! The men who truly understand God’s word always want to live to teach and preach it! It becomes their burning passion!

6. Reviewing the verses of today, a man highly honored by a double portion in God’s view is one who teaches His Word. I Tim 5: 17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. Here is the example; the ideal man is esteemed by God and others when he learns the Holy Scriptures so well he practices them becoming responsible in the church; it is then he becomes qualified to teach.

What God wants from a man, which is his love, service, and obedience transferred into living a life of teaching & preaching, and what about loving your neighbor as yourself? Who is your neighbor closest to you? Usually your wife and family right? How a man treats his wife and family reveals everything about his character!

7. Expounding more on a women’s definition of a perfect man she might describe him as one that is faithful with no other loves, one that is faithful to provide and protect, who does not lie, kill, abuse, and loves her always, caring to listen to her intimate concerns and communications.

Do not these desires remind you of something? They sound a lot like the list of things included in the 10 commandments, right?

The Mosaic laws set up a good control and in most parts of the world, most of these basic commands are applied in some form because it is justice and righteousness to punishment those that offend God and others. The Law may guide and teach so to deter man’s natural born abusive nature, but only love can transform him into a self-controlled exemplary model for others.

8. Christians in the church, or the body of believers, are compared to being the bride of Christ. In the real world men must submit to other men in their jobs, schools, & etc., Women submit to men as well, but the ultimate submission of everyone must always be to Jesus & God’s will. Submission brings on freedom and protection and in our case with Jesus, eternal life as well!

Romans 7:4  Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

Men were created to live in relationships. God desires a deep connection with each one of us. God also desires that we have a connection with one another and that being one with love. This brings health, happiness and progress.

9. Sadly, a majority of men in the world today are deceived and not being real “men” submitted to God and loving as we have covered so far. The defamation of the character of men in the West (USA) has been happening for decades. It is a Satanic ploy to disintegrate respect one for one another and crumble our society. The media and the dark higher powers promote the feminization of men, the mocking of men’s roles as fathers and authority figures, and music & sports influences the debauchery of men by having them copy the narcissistic arrogant violent stars. The lack of good men role models is devastating communities indiscriminately! Good leaders always come under attack just as Jesus exposed.

Men, nor women, are upholding God’s standard and enforcing laws and responsibilities in society demanding the standards that maintain happiness and peace, so the end product is hate, broken dreams, frustration and violence and perverse sins to deal with it. What ever happened to shotgun weddings?    

10. Another male problem are the undesirable customs of ancient man still influencing modern man today. In 80% of the world with the Arabs, Israelis, Native Americans, Hindus, Asians (past and current), the men are expected to principally be spiritual teachers in the home and community and they are expected to fight and defend, hunt or do commerce. The women are expected to work hard but always in meager domestic chores. This sort of resembles many cultures, even some macho Latino cultures as well, don’t you think?

Some people are happy with this ancient way of life but not many. It seems like a good life for man, but often the women hate it. Willing service and servitude are distinct things. The oppression of men, women, and children today is at an all time high! Look at Africa and the world, look at most governments. Mafias, gangs, slave labor, the sex trade, and abuse of all kinds are on the rise and being ignored, how sad! Don’t forget we have a prayer day soon for the victims of trafficking!

In the West (USA), today, it is expected that men help with the duties of the home in order to share the daily workload. This is love manifested in deeds of service and this is a noble thing to be respected. This shift of men helping at home occurred in part because the women started work in professional jobs and they do not have the time to serve in the home as their grandmothers use to. In today’s modern world, men must also learn professions but also how to be handymen at home because to call a painter, tech man, or plumber over to your house can cost you in a day what you earn in a week!

11. Let’s go back further and look at the position of men for millennia. Men in most cultures in history have not really ever really had the chance to be in the role of being a good fathers, providers, and lovers. Why is that?

The reality is that most men throughout recorded history have been at war defending and building their cities, or fighting to acquire more land and all of their energy is consumed with just basic survival. The training to fight, and the fabrication of war weapons, or the actual engagement in conflict is what most men have been forced into ever since the beginning of time. In the end men have suffered greatly under other men who never learned to submit to God and love!

Consider how it was to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem for Nehemiah. 4:17 They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon.  All of what we enjoy today was defended and built by the blood, sweat, and tears of the ones before us and we should always honor them!

12. All of the former so called “great” world domineering societies, the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans had within their own practices the suppression of other men (slaves),women, and children. Socrates stated “I thank god that I was born Greek & not Barbarian, free man & not slave, man & not woman, but above all, I was born in the age of Socrates”. This arrogant attitude was due to their worship of false cruel Gods.

Only 500 years ago with the Renaissance, which was the product of the Church Reformation under Martin Luther who translated the Bible, was a new light shed and only then did respect and esteem open up to men, women, and families. The Bible clarifies how we are to love God and our neighbor and keep his commandments, but evil men cannot oppress, deceive, and dominate other men who learn these values. God’s word liberates our souls with wisdom and with Jesus and we are appalled by injustices and we are moved to do something about them.

13. So where do we stand today with men in our corrupt societies of the world today? Most men today have never been taught to, “Fear God and keep his commandments… the duty of all mankind”. Men today have lost their role as loving defenders and providers following the lies of the world. Men today still have an innate desire to conquer and govern, but the problem is when they obtain a high position without a fear of God, they rapidly fall into corruption keeping the cycle of oppression and destruction alive. Laziness and idle time is becoming the enemy of many souls of men as well due to the slow economy.

Today, men, I challenge you, will you be thankful you have the freedom to love and serve God and also to love and serve your families and help in the community? The world history of mankind is dark, cruel, and bloody, and it can only change when we, as illuminated Christians who know the “duty of man” take a stand in wisdom against our own pride and then take a stand in the community against the injustice of man to man and against women and children.  

Instead of Socrates statement, we as men of God could state, “I thank God that I was born to be in Christ & not continue as a Barbarian, a free man & not a slave to sin anymore; born a man, woman I will love as equal to my own self; but above all, I am glad that I was born in the age of Christianity”. The world is suffering because too few men teach God’s wisdom! Souls are being lost because people have not accepted Jesus love because no one shared it! Be ready at all times as honorable men to teach and preach the word of God to your families and friends!   

Grandparents/ Forefathers Appreciation Day! By Kelly Durant

Grandparents/ Forefathers Appreciation Day   By Capt. Kelly Durant   9-8-13

Gen. 47: 9 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.11 And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.12 And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father's household, with bread, according to their families.

2. No wise person ever wanted to be any younger than what they are now, so we must be happier when we get older, boast of our families behind us and before us, and especially show off our grandchildren. Want to know the difference between young and old? Listen to this story…

A lady noticed an old happy man sitting on his porch. “Excuse me” she said “I just couldn’t help noticing how happy you look. Tell me, what is the secret to your long happy life.” “Well, the man responded, “I eat fatty foods, never exercise. I also smoke packs of cigarettes a day, and drink about a bottle of whiskey a day”. “Oh my!” the women said “and how old are you?” Twenty eight, he said!

Do you want to hear something even more shocking? Years ago this was the age that most people became grandparents! In almost all the cultures people married and reproduced by age 14, so their children marrying at the same time means they could be a grandparent at age 28! In Roman times and for millennia to live past 30 meant you were old, but it wasn’t always that way.

3. Who do you think of as the father of fathers in history that everyone respects? When you consider the ultimate grandfather of all time Abraham, the father of faith, comes to mind, right? In the history of all of our families usually we all can name a forefather that was outstanding in his influence, wisdom, and skills bearing the family name. Who comes to your mind from your family? You recall good things about them, but you too will leave a legacy to those after you.

Did you know most of today’s religions claim Abraham as a forefather? Here is a chart that shows this. Fascinating, right? …that half of the world’s people claim him? He is a major part of our Christian family and heritage as well.

4. All of us must look to those forefathers who have gone before us. Christianity has a great heritage and history of the great people who founded it with their own suffering and blood. Jesus chose the 12 disciples, and going back further to when God chose his people in the Old Testament, we have the 12 tribes, all sons of Jacob who had Abraham as his grandfather.

In heaven, the 24 elders we deduct are comprised of these ‘old and new’ contributions as described in Revelation 5:14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever. The founders honored God, and their place in heaven is forever.

Respect for the ones that were before us in all cultures has always been foundational. They worshiped God, worked, learned, and sacrificed all and prepared a better piece of the world for us by their radical deeds and deep wisdom and for that we can be eternally thankful! I can’t imagine how lost you and I would be in life without having read the wisdom of the great holy men of God who produced it for us for generations comprising the divine scriptures of the Bible!

5. When we consider the relationship of young people with the elders or their grandparents, many of them respect them as they know they held the keys of knowledge to a better way of life by their experience and maturity. Consider what Timothy, who was young, wrote: 2 Timothy 1:3a I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; 

God created families and the respected positions within the family bloodlines and over time the ones that chose to be closest to God end up as the heroes. The Bible is full of examples of this pattern that if you honor, you will be honored.

Today, sadly, many foolish people young and old, influenced by Satan through destructive media and music, boast that they can’t change their ways, that you can’t touch their lifestyle, and if you have a problem with their sins then, to speak up means you get crucified as an old fogy irrelevant racist, bigot, judgmental –fill-in-the-blank-phobe, that deserves hell and harassment to make you shut up! Such disrespect to the wise aged elders reveals that are very far away from practicing the honor the forefathers taught us. (which was Biblically inspired)

6. Whether we like it or not, the world keeps progressing into further degeneration, physically, mentally, and spiritually. It all started back in Genesis, and imagine, reflecting on verse 9 of today, Jacob expresses his disdain that he was old at 130, and that his life is not near as good as his past forefathers who lived a lot longer.

God created man to live for a millennium, and when you look at the years of the first descendants of Adam they lived up to 900 years plus. (Methuselah, 969 years!) After the great flood is when the radiation of the sun arrived in full force, or some change occurred, and man’s years were shortened to what they are today.

The irony of today is many young people never even reach old age due to their lack of seeking wisdom and out-of-control lifestyle. You should “google” how many singers and actors died at age 27 in the recent years, and if not in their 20s, not many years afterward. Imagine, the complexity and amazing bodies and minds we are given at birth by our Father, and then the bodies get destroyed before their time due to pride and sin, won’t God the creator Father be angry?

It’s like giving a son or daughter a brand new car but he/she is unthankful, dishonoring, and careless and crashes it and then doesn’t care! I fear for the punishment of the souls of those who answer to God for their foolish premature destructions and short years on earth because they chose it willfully and spitefully in rebellion. Satan reaps souls into hell forever, but Jesus frees them in heaven forever!

7. Back to verse 10 where Jacob blessed Pharaoh? Wait, stop! Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, the one who worshipped the One and only true God Jehovah, is blessing a pagan king that worships Ra, the sun God along with dozens of other deities? How does this happen?

Here you can see the wisdom of Jacob, Joseph’s father, who really is at his mercy for survival. God’s children can recognize the good in others in the world and because this particular pharaoh honored Joseph, we can conclude he was not a fully corrupted polytheistic zealot at heart, but rather one who deep inside respected the true God of Joseph. We all need more wisdom dealing with others.

The strange part is Jacob gave honor, and honor was returned back to him exponentially in the form of protection, provisions, and position. To be wise in this life, you must discern who to honor, and most of all submit to the God of your forefathers and his son Jesus Christ in order to be honored forever in return.   

8. The fathers of heritage and grandfathers leave us spiritual wisdom but also they may leave physical things as well. Proverbs 13:22 A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.

The first part of this verse implies it is important to leave your children with a way to get a head start in life and an inheritance but not everyone has that to give. In the case of Jacob, he had nothing to give as he was discouraged and impoverished becoming an immigrant leaving behind the land where he once was since it became a dessert and there was severe famine. Egypt was his new home.

So it was Joseph, the son, the immigrant son that rose from slave to ruler that brought blessing and honor to the family despite the horrific treatment and dishonor he received from his brothers as a youth. Out of the 12 sons, he was the most spoiled and most persecuted by his brethren, but he did not let that defeat him, he worked so hard and pleased pharaoh so much as a slave that he was honored to becoming his right hand man. He was the governor of Egypt during a famine: he was in essence the most powerful man in that whole region!

Wise young men should learn from this, no matter the home you come from, no matter if your parents were immigrants, no matter if you as a youth had to fend for yourself with others against you, you can make the right choices to honor God and the right people! If you do you will experience seeing doors open to you to have a honorable and blessed life.

9. Today we have focused in on the honor that should be given to the elders, fathers and grandfathers. Leviticus 19:32 Thou shalt rise up before the hoary (grey) head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the Lord. Don’t forget that in the Old Testament to dishonor your father, or to curse him, meant that you should be stoned to death!

Lev. 20: 12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

It is interesting that this verse of a “thou shalt not” has a promise attached to it, that “that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” This implies that people who honor their parents, those that follow in the ways of God copying their forefathers, will live long. This is synonymous to many years of blessings in a secure place. We all want that, right?

10. The forefathers in the Bible, plus the ones of your family who have honored God and passed down a heritage of discerning right from wrong with wisdom, are the ones we must continue to honor. The culture of today mocks the elderly, treats them terribly in rest homes, and tries to shut them up when they impart Biblical knowledge contradicting their lifestyle. As a Christian you and I must fight to uphold the moral standards passed down from millennium from our forefathers who loved and honored God.  

You and I must learn from the recorded lessons of history of the consequences that result from dishonoring the fathers, how death and short years are reaped by those who disrespect. The Bible is full of lessons of disobedient kings that did not honor God and their families were destroyed, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, are just a few that were idol worshippers, and terrible destroyers.

I hope today that you will start a new life honoring your father and mother and your grandparents if they are still alive. It is for you own good in obedience to the scriptures to do so loving them as well. The wisdom they share is invaluable because they know of things you and I may never experience. Today, love your parents, grandparents, and Godly forefathers with a new respect! Pray for those who are raising their grandchildren as well! Prayer…

How To Live Unhappy! Or happy! You Choose!

How To Live Unhappy! Or happy!                            Capt. Kelly Durant  9-1-13

1.John 10:9-11  I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.[a] They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

2. It may sound crazy to you, but there are people in parts of the world who will argue that giraffes do not exist. Did a grandparent ever tell you crazy stories about ignorant people?  If this person lives geographically landlocked, or in a poor village, they have never seen one and if they have never been to the zoo or they have no trust in outsiders who  tell things contrary to their ideas, then to claim there is an animal like a giraffe is just too crazy for them.

For many people, a person with a new concept, a new discovery (remember Galileo?) becomes stupid in their view and discredited in their society for claiming something they never heard of really exists! How many of you here have seen a real live giraffe anyway? If you haven’t you do trust they exist because others have seen them, or because they are in books or film, right?

How many of you know people that are not happy in life? Usually they have never seen, or refuse to admit happy people exist. These are the non-believers, the people who do not believe in giraffes because they have not seen one.

Discontentment is the curse on humanity in all cultures in all classes today! The people of the world deny that God’s love exists and that happiness is real! The unbelievers have never experienced the overflowing of the joy of the Holy Spirit! Just because they are miserable doesn’t mean the rest of us are, but they really think that! In their darkened minds they cannot understand it and happiness is foolish to them! Everyone is a hypocrite to be happy in their mind because they fake happiness!

3. All people everywhere are always limited to judge others and their selves only by their own experiences and knowledge in life, and most of the time this is very narrow scope! Most people copy others, and if the norm in a culture is always to complain, always to blame others, and always to be unhappy about something, then for them that is just life. And if you are happy with the little that you have and different, then you are taken as a traitor to their culture, race, or social class!

Think of it this way, when I say the word light, what comes to mind? The sun, light bulbs, and the colors we see from sight, right?  Actually this part of light is only a tiny fraction of what light really is! There exists infrared light, x-rays, and a whole spectrum of light that we do not perceive unless we study about it and observe the effects of it. This is the same with our minds and hearts, our fallen human brains exist in a darkened deceived state unless we bring clarity to them with Jesus teachings and way of life about being free from evil deeds and being happy.    

Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

4. Today my point is actually how to live happy, not unhappy! To be unhappy just comes by default in our human nature! Jesus came to save us from those who steal and kill and Satan knows how to steal and kill your dreams and happiness in your mind and heart whether it happens in a body experience from outside sources or not.

Jesus solution is to give life abundantly, and how you interpret abundant, or life to the full determines whether you will experience it or not! What is Jesus’ life to the full?  I cannot explain it but when I take time to pray and read God’s word I feel like I am alive and full of life and I am rejuvenated. Feeling good about life does not come from some momentary stimulation and excitement: life comes from life and the source of that is God’s Holy Spirit!

John 6:63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. Basically, people who live in, for, and with Jesus moment by moment are people full of life and happiness and peace despite the conditions around them.

5. If you want to know how people full of life with Jesus can have a supernaturally strange happiness and peace consider the martyrs. It is recorded that while waiting to be fed to the lions or burned at the stake, they would sing hymns. So impacting was their love for each other, and joy to die for God to the Romans that they actually lost their appetite to see them be killed in these horrific manners! Remember Rome converted but it took almost 300 years!

In The Salvation Army we don’t drink, but most of you have at some time or another had a few, or you have been around relatives that have had and they are loud and laughing and appear happy, right? That is how the disciples were described to be when they were full of the Holy Spirit!

Acts 2: 14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: 15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.

I wish all of us could be as carefree as the drunken! Wouldn’t it be great if everyone before coming to church would be all prayed up, full of God’s word, and spirit to the point that each of us would appear happy as if from strong drink? I long for the day that all believers will live happy, and shine their smile and laughter to everyone around them instead of the typical serious dry faces that wants it known they have an issue over something.

6. The formula for unhappiness is the same as it has always been, the focusing on the getting of ones’ own needs met above the priority of taking in and living of God’s words that give life. James 4:1-3 4 From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? 2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.3  Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.  God answers prayer but not for greedy, only the needy!

Unhappy people are discontent because they want more out of life than what they should have because they compare their lives to the people of the world. They want the pride of having more money or fame or power than others, and they are so selfish and lust driven that they do any and all business and transactions in a self-centered manner trying to fill the void in their empty souls with some momentary gain or stimulation.  

7. Reserved, or introverted people who seek illusive happiness usually work within systems that permit rewards and promotions but they often are so competitive they become miserable because someone else in that corporation or institution got something that they didn’t.  In the end, it is a lust or greed for the pride of recognition that eats at people’s souls for an authoritative position, be it in a job, sports team, political party, school, or even a church.

Other more extrovert personalities with the adventure gene may revert to illicit sex or illegal drugs to try and stimulate their way to happiness. This path never works as it leads to guilt, depression, and hopelessness. Sad to say, I know this from personal experience! The big lie from all the glamourized life-styles of the rich and famous is that they are happier than the rest of us! But the contrary is reality!

When they asked Howard Hughes (the former billionaire a few decades ago owned American Airlines, Hollywood film companies, and many things if he was happy with his millions.  He replied, well a million is not worth what it use to be! In other words, the wealthiest man on the planet who led an extravagant lifestyle like no one had ever done before him was very unhappy because he wanted more! He actually developed an obsessive–compulsive disorder and lived as a recluse suffering in pain.

8. So in life everyone pursues happiness, right? It is in fabric of the American expectation. "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" is a well-known phrase in the United States Declaration of Independence. These are "unalienable rights" that all human beings have been given by their Creator. A true statement, but only walking through Jesus’ gate will get you there!

The problem with the illusion of happiness is so many people commit atrocities seeking it disregarding the damage done to those around them. The imbalance of wealth and poverty today is horrific with multi-billionaires hoarding their money while 1/3 of the people of the world suffer hunger.  So many divorces happen because someone demanded the ‘right to be happy’ (but they were the problem!). Sexual freedom for the pursuit of happiness has prompted not just divorces but the spread of HIV and other STDs to the point that 50% of the populous in some countries in Africa are affected!  Happiness was the pursuit of power for Hitler, Lenin, Mao, and other dictators who combined killed well over 100 million people in the past 100 years! The pride of power is extremely cruel!

The personal pursuit of happiness has no limits to its deception and damage so it is inherently Satanic as Jesus points out in the verses of John 10:10. According to the world’s standard, happiness will involve doing something criminal and illicit such as stealing and killing in order to get ahead in wealth or power.

9. What do people in power do for their happiness?  They mismanage other people’s money for personal gain (corruption), and they eliminate the competition by character assassination, (if not by actual murder). Sound like the mafia? It is the philosophy of life for those without Jesus!

Jesus answer is profound and amazing, the anecdote to this destructive behavior is the pursuit of Jesus way of life which brings real happiness and it involves doing the diametrically opposed action, that of loving God and your neighbor as yourself!

There have been times when I have prayed with someone to accept Jesus and I have felt so happy that I thought I was drugged, and it was like a shot of endorphins to the brain, and I just wanted to explode with good feelings laughter! They other person as well! Have you ever felt so happy that you have felt your entire body, your chest and brain feel like they going to overflow? That is the Holy Spirit! Some people get the Holy Spirit bumps (chicken skin) too!

10. Let’s review what kills our happiness. How does Satan ensnare with his thievery and murder? 1. Comparing yourself to the wealthy (privileged class) people of the world. (Some of which have gained wealth by illegitimate means and exploitation so they are guilty of stealing before God and men) 2. Desiring more than what you need (Jealous and greedy people cause others to suffer as they try to get something by abusing you, they are guilty of coveting) 3. Pursuing destructive and addictive passions (this includes the bottomless pit of the consumption of drugs, alcohol, illegitimate sex, etc.) 4. The lust for power (Power usually involves war and maybe murder so the positions in high places can be available for the a new set of prideful ambitious ones) 5. Pride: Demanding worship of yourself and demanding your way only (This leads to many sins being committed to protect a person’s image, and the manipulation of others with much abuse, humiliation, and cruelty taking place)

Take note that people who commit grave sins against God and humanity pursuing their own joys and passions suffer from fear and guilt, whether they will admit it or not. To cover up their immature actions they destroy others around them. And they destroy their selves as their guilt leads to paranoia and depression which usually leads to pill or drug addictions, and then physical illness from bodily abuses takes hold.   

11. Don’t let Satan rob your joy! People who live with demons that have moved in while they keep pushing the limit of what they will try to obtain some satisfaction in life are fatally sick! Have you ever walked into a room where a sick person is and then you start feeling sick as well? This is how Satan spreads his discontentment, through the deception of others who are embedded with his devices. We as Christians do not go with the flow, we go against the current, the culture, and the trend to be full of your own self and self- pity because we have the victory in Jesus! 

Some person not protected by God’s word who idolizes a star with fame and wealth who goes in and out of rehab centers, and in and out of prisons, could get the idea that to be cool on their level , and one has to imitate their depression as well! Like with the music industry, you’re cool if you self-destruct.  Absurd right, but people worship it and imitate it! Corruption of the soul is a disease that rapidly spreads, just look at most singers and movie stars who degenerate into pathetic hedonism in just a few years! We have recently seen a case on this matter!

Don’t let anyone in your family, in your job, or in your world steal the joy of the Holy Spirit that God wants to give you day by day! You will have happiness if you live in God’s word, and obey his words knowing that your reward is in heaven for resisting temptations and living totally free from the snares and chains of our enemy! A Holy life lived within the Holy Spirit is a life vibrating with the joy of the Lord and that is a strength that can even face death and die happy!

Selfishness…The Current World Trend Killing Love

Selfishness…The Current World Trend Killing Love            Kelly Durant 8-28-13

1 John 3:17 But whoso hath this world's good, and sees his brother have need, and shuts up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwells the love of God in him?

2., 3. (Picture of the 2 tied horses trying to eat 2 piles of hay) Each one is pulling the rope to his side but they cannot reach it to eat until finally they agree to eat together on one side at a time, then they can eat both piles.

Selfishness is placing concern with one’s self or one’s own self-interests above the well-being or interests of others. Doesn’t that describe many people you and I know! The goal of the Christian is to die to our own flesh and from the death of our ego and self, allow Christ to live in you (and me!) As described by C.S. Lewis, one of the greatest Christian apologists and former atheist of our modern day, “Selfishness is the opposite of altruism or selflessness”. Our goal is to have a love that is so sacrificial, so dedicated, that it has no limits to what it will give for the good of others in our community.

To define selfishness in psychological terms, it points to a lack of empathy. People who don’t care for others well-being or feelings are capable of manipulation and they might even be a psychopath who have no behavioral controls, empathy, or remorse, and these anti-social behaviors are very damaging to family and social relations. 

I researched in Wikipedia and found the “Game Theory” outcome of social interaction. “Given two actors, oneself and someone else, there are four types of possible behavior directly impacting the welfare of the actors: selfishness, altruism, spite, and cooperation. Selfishness is harming someone else in order to help oneself; altruism is harming oneself in order to help someone else; spite is harming oneself in order to harm someone else; cooperation is helping someone else and also helping oneself.”

We conclude in the cartoon picture that our horses learned cooperation, are we any smarter than horses? Some people are, yet some are stubbornly selfish!

4. Today in the entire world we in observe governments, religions, and authorities in community clubs, sports teams, and all groups plagued by a small select group of callus and calculating people who are prideful and corrupt. They are participating in the group functions but not for the common good of all, which is the premise of the existence of the group, but they are participating in the community entity for their own personal selfish interests. In the press we hear about the scandals daily!

The current unprecedented corruption, which is pure selfishness, is at an all-time high in all sectors of the community in all countries. Selfishness foments hate and division in communities and in relationships of any kind. Selfishness is an abomination to God because it is an indifference to the suffering and destruction of our fellow human beings. It is in the end selfishness is the absence of love which is an absence of God, for God is love! (I John 4: 8) We live in a world headed for the apocalypse due to the absent of the knowledge of God!

5. The attitude and trends today in the world are functioning on the worship of materialism and greed within an essentially spiritually devoid social environment. There is the increasing antichrist spirit out there that projects itself through the main media, movies, popular music, and polished advertising. The message is if one can’t get all of what one wants, then one is justified to get it however means possible disregarding the abuse done to others. (sin, obviously, is no issue)! What a nobody you are if you are not living the romanced stereotypical high-life of the Hollywood role models, drugged, divorced and in and out of rehab centers!

The current abominable and accepted attitude is that somebody is going to have to pay for the unmet selfish expectations! What sick self-serving-ness! Theft, perversion, and abuse within family members is killing our previously so what healthy society and Christians need to rise up and confront the self-serving evil doers! Get involved! If not stopped, we will see more and more people joining in the organized crime destroying our family members to get what they want!

The unrealistic lifestyles of the extravagant few plant the seeds of selfishness and dissatisfaction within the common populous. The lifestyles of the top 100 politicians, sports and movie stars are offensive are unattainable by the 99.9999 % of us. This dynamic of extremes seems to give some people the idea that they have the right to disrespect those around them and use you for their ambitions; it’s the callus idea that is okay to grab whatever they can from you or someone a little better off than them because you have more than what they do and they deserve what you have just for the taking. It started in Russian in 1917 and spread to a dozen places like China, Cuba, Latin America, and now it’s in our society. Don’t forget the commandment, Exodus 20:17

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

6. Extreme selfishness, or narcissism, is increasing in our society and, like gas on the fire, the media loves to provoke the class warfare, race warfare, the ‘fight for your own’ divisive message. This is Satan’s old plot is to divide and conquer! Jesus describes our current day in Matthew 24:12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.

We are in this terrible situation as a society due to a lack of love. God is love and love is not an option: it is something you should just do because God commanded it! Sadly, selfish unloving people of laugh and joke that they will party with friends in hell, but the reality is hell is a place with the absence of God, or anyone, and the fire of pure darkness of a soul in solitary confinement is a perpetual torment I do not wish on any one! In Jude we read that it is in chains in perpetual darkness, that the eternal soul will remain without love, only the produce of the selfish self exists!

You have heard the phrase ‘live and let live’, that is what love does with no self- motivations. The highest law of God is to love Him and your neighbor yourself, but few people, we deduct from observation, really learn in this life: how to love another as much as they love their own self! Most people, sadly, are just selfish!

7. I recommend that you personally cry out to God and ask Him to give you more love for others! If you love as he commanded, everyone around you will feel it, people will see your authentic-ness and get a blessing from you, and you will have good works to back up your proof of love. A Christian that does not love is not a real Christian and is a person living in sin! People see others sins but not their own. Selfish people are actually insane, blinded by their own ambitions!

The people in the world are without excuses today for their unloving, selfish behavior! Before Jesus walked the earth, people might have said, well, no prophet or man of God has given us an example of total love and sacrifice so I don’t have to love and sacrifice. But when Jesus came and freely performed miraculous healings, gave us life transforming teachings, and the example of laying down his life and dying on the cross, no one can deny anymore that that was not pure love!

Sadly, there are too many people out there who are too quick to complain about sacrificing a few hours, or a few dollars to help a needy cause or the church. It is up to us as Christians to change this selfish attitude by being an example ourselves of love and sacrifice. The selfish unloving people will eventually be ashamed and we, in contempt, will observe the reaping of their consequences. God expects each one of us to do our part to shine His love!

8. Remember the rich young ruler that claimed he was perfect and obeyed God in every way? Jesus challenged him to not be selfish and to give it all away to the poor. Matt 19: 20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? 21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. 22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

Jesus on purpose made an example of how not-to-be out of this young man who probably lived out the rest of his life feeling guilty to prove that you cannot boast “I am in good with God” for all my obedience without a total commitment which will love until it hurts. Luke 16:13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You can’t serve God and riches. Jesus made it clear that you are either selfish, or selfless, and to prove you are identifying with His love, He requires proof of it, proof of a life that you sacrifice for God’s use.

Jesus knew that the world would always be plagued by successful & rich selfish ambitious people who are good intentioned (but ineffective), un-sacrificial, and self-centered, so he brought to light that God will not tolerate selfishness and a lack of compassion on the suffering. Compassion is love and God requires it.

 9. What has caused Christianity to be rejected by some people today? Some of the disdain is from jealousy of the church’s combined wealth, power and influence, some rejection comes from a clash of worldviews from another religion’s belief system, and some rejection has some justifiable roots because Christians have not been loving, sharing, and compassionate with others.

Like it or not, quite a few people have had a bad experience with the Christians; this is due to someone being rude to them when they tried to connect, or someone was indifferent when they were suffering needing help, or someone did some selfish act proving to them that Christians are false and hypocrites. How sad! Never let yourself be guilty of being a stumbling block for others!

The churches of today should do what Gideon did when he chose his army of 300. Judges 7: 6 Three hundred of them drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. All the rest got down on their knees to drink. 7 The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.” 8 So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites home but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.

As Christians maybe we should just count on the generous and dedicated few to get things done! Often times you can accomplish more with less and we don’t need massive mega-churches, mega-governments, or community groups that are infested with selfish self-serving, unproductive, unloving, non-soul-winning people. Christianity gets a bad rap over the prideful selfish unloving uncompassionate people who boast their own goodness yet they refuse to surrender all to Jesus proving their love and compassion. Expose it: change it!

10. Here is what is making everyone fed up and sick with all the entities in society: the deduction that selfish people are doing things not the right way, but in their own comfortable and unproductive way being out-of-touch, with no accountability rendered for what they do. God has entrusted each of us who are Christians with talents and treasures and if we are selfish with them we will always be spiritually immature, deficient, and without rewards in heaven.

This verse is important in Proverbs 11:24 One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.

Are you sharing your love and your personal things when necessary?

Ask God if you have been heeding the conviction of the Holy Spirit to give more of yourself, sacrificing more for God and others as time goes on. The only way to change the world is to be the change yourself!

When someone hears about how you sacrificially served another in need with food, or something, it brings conviction and then others want to get on board too! Selflessness breeds more selflessness and this means simply catching the love of Jesus and transmitting it on to others who will do the same! Are you a selfish psychopathic condemned reject useful to no one not even God, or are you a loving, serving, generous imitator of Jesus generous love and compassion?   

Family: What Kind of House Are You Building?

Family: What Kind of House Are You Building?      Kelly Durant 8-18-13

1.Hebrews 3:1-6 Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest. 2 He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. 3 Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. 4 For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. 5 “Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house,”[a] bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. 6 But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.

2. All of you who are children of the Lord should be learning from every experience in life! All things are for a purpose, every experience, and every conversation. Have you ever asked God after a visit with someone, or with a family member you don’t know too much about, what good came from this? Do you ask yourself, what should I pray for now? Was I blessing to them?

The young artist Taylor Swift seems to write a song about all the experiences she has with people in her life, be they good or bad. Her music is quite catchy, one of my favorite songs of hers is “Why You Gotta Be So Mean?” It’s a song about a person in the family who mocks and belittles others. In all families there are amazing people who are a great inspiration to all and sadly there are others that are quite terrible and they have left scars on everyone! Well, in my case I either write a poem or sermon about my experiences, ha!

I know my experiences in life are very similar to most of yours. God wants each of us to not live life like a goldfish that cannot remember past 10 seconds always doing the same mistakes as the ones who were before us, but rather God has reversed our path to become a royal priesthood, a superior class, who study and become enlightened with all the wisdom of the Bible of Moses, Solomon, and above all that, that of Jesus. Your and my goal is to build a stronger spiritual house through our children as the years pass, to improve upon the stock, as we cannot reply on the forefathers legacy.

3. The more exposure you and I have to God’s word and to the various people of the world, absorbing the lessons to be learned, the wiser you and I will become. (That is if one practices the Bible, obeys God’s will, and chooses to love Him and others as He commanded!)

I am sure many of you may want to hear about my family and all of what we did on vacation. It was an experience of doing repairs (at my mother’s house), traveling back and forth to many homes, as well as non-stop listening, talking, and often eating! Fellowship, food, and fixing!

I was very pleasantly surprised to meet up with many pleasant and loving relatives!

What I can tell you about my family is probably identical to what you would tell me about yours, that within the group there are good Christians who are faithful, just, loving, and authentic who hold relationships together like glue, but then there are others that due to their own personal issues, sins, or demons, despite some good done, have provoked pain and disillusionment to the many that endured them.  This is a reality of life in this fallen world. Jesus wanted to change life from being a hell on earth to making it a Kingdom of God on earth, a heaven now, and a heaven later in a new body after the resurrection! What a task it is get others to change! Only Jesus through the Holy Spirit can do the miracle in them which He did through us some time ago!

4. In the history of Israel we discover that the 12 tribes were not always united (an understatement) as a family. That is what makes the Bible so realistic and authentic, it is not a fairy tale of a perfect world, but rather a recount of what goes wrong when family people do not obey God and become greedy or excessive with their carnal passions! The nation of Israel many times had their families divided due to punishments from offending God, including divisions from wars, slavery, dispersion by enemy conquerors, and from eternal feuds.

Many immigrants like yourselves can relate to Israel and to how many years can roll by you before you are able to re-connect to family. The sad reality is multi-millions of people, and Cubans are a perfect example, never even get to go back and visit family. A large amount of people lose family contact due to bad political systems, like from communism, and others loose family by death or by choice due to repulsive sinful actions that are too offensive to ignore.

I understand how many of you feel not having family close by in some way because for 14 years while I was in South America I only had as family my wife and kids and my “holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling”, (as stated in verse 1). Family is often considered to be a certain bloodline and name, but real family is only held together by those who have the faith and name of Jesus in common.

5. In 1990 I arrived back to Tulsa from Colombia as a scared immigrant, with no money and 4 preteen kids. I did not get to visit many aunts and uncles then, but in the end a certain aunt did help me to get a good used van so in it we packed all we owned in suitcases and moved to Miami where we got a new start in life.  It almost seems that all the years in between then and now all us were so busy just finishing school and college, doing God’s work and paying bills that it was difficult to keep up with the larger extended family having little free travel time.

For everything in life there is a time or season, as in Ecclesiastes 3:1-12, a certain timing for everything and I thank God I could at this time period in my life get to see not just my 2 grandsons, but also several of my young second cousins in the spring of their lives full of energy and talents. I also saw several others in the seasoned fall years of their lives like myself, and there are others that are in the winter of lives with not many more years left.

6. Staying connected with family is often hard to do but you and I must work at it so we have opportunities to give and receive love as God intended! We are all created to love and that is the most important need in life that only God through family can fill. Are you aware of the scientific experiment that proves a baby left alone with no affection or love dies after a few months?  Scientist Bowlby in 1945 did an observation on delinquent and affectionless children and reported that the effect of a hospital and institutional care can lead to an infant death after a few months. He was commissioned to write for the World Health Organisation's report on the mental health of homeless children in post-war Europe while he was head of the Department for Children and Parents at the Tavistock Clinic in London after World War II. He produced the monograph on Maternal Care and Mental Health published in 1951, which sets out the maternal deprivation hypothesis as a means to explain why 1 in 2 infants die in conditions without love or affection. But God’s solution is this: Psalm 68:6 God sets the solitary in families: he brings out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.

Jesus cared for the disciples families; people often overlook the fact that they had families! Matt 8: 14 When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. 15 He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up, and began to wait on him. With all the mother-in-law jokes out there, Jesus really did have compassion to heal her!

7. Reverting back to the verses in Hebrew of today: Each family is as an individual house sharing the same common last name and similar genes and also, for example, Levi would indicate you were of the priest tribe. Did you know each name indicated the historical talents of your family? For example my wife’s name Arteaga means one who does art. Castillo (Castle) would mean either one from Castillo (Spain) or one who served in one. In Brazil the Jews under persecution 300 years ago migrated adapting the names of fruit trees as a covert indicator of their heritage.

Your parents and ancestors have either built up, or torn down the family’s reputation, but in the case where Jesus is introduced as supreme over the family, that family acquires an honorable status and salvation. Heb. 3:6 But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.

Those that do not build on Jesus are set up to fail. Like the two homeless bums warming their hands around a fire in a trash can in a dark and dirty alley; after talking about life one says to the other, “Well, for the record…I did it my way!” The other one looking at his dirty clothes says, “Well, next time I am going to do it Frank Sinatra’s way!” Funny, right? They both should have done it Jesus’ way!

What we learn from how people live is no matter what a person builds,  acquires, or loses for the family in this life, what matters to God is if he or she has built on the foundation of Jesus who is superior to any ancestor, Moses, or any other prophet who ever lived. He is the name above all names! Heb.3: 3 Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself.

8. Families have a past and it is appropriate to recognize them. Many of you know I admire my past heritage of Native Indian (Chickasaw). Have you ever contemplated how brave they were along with all of your great-grandparents to survive in the wilderness? Up until about a hundred years ago people had to homestead on a piece on land, chop down their own trees to build a cabin for their family to live in and then hunt food to survive. As a kid I use to practice shooting arrows and throwing knives and tomahawks into trees; but catching an animal for food is not easy! I’m afraid I would have starved to death or eaten squirrels like the mountain people do!

When you think of family names, there is a famous Afro-American basketball player named Kevin Durant. I saw T-shirts with Kdurant on them while in Oklahoma and my eyes would focus on them trying to understand what I was looking at since my email is kdurant7@gmail.com, and my blog is kdurant7.blogspot.com. Anyway, sometimes people will ask me, are you related to him? I laugh and say, yeah, he’s a cousin I haven’t met yet! Ha!

We know many of you here and we know a lot about your family relatives. Regina and I have known in the past 35 years thousands of cases of families good and bad. In the missionary pastor line of service we have seen cases of extreme love and cases of extreme cruelty.  

9. The heritage or house last name you and I are born with, with our own individual particular circumstances, no one can change. The family, the race, the sex, the health issues, and the time period on earth we were born in, not a single one of us can change! We can choose, however, to either live bitter and complain and blame others for our circumstances, or we can just appreciate the good we have been given and rise above it all. Many people tell me stories of growing up poor in South America and they are middle class now. And middle class in the U.S.A. is like the ultra-rich class compared to most other nations!

In the end, family life is what you make of it, God gives us freewill to “do as we please” but a wise person will control their destructive habits and they will build their house upon the rock Jesus Christ and not on the sand. Great fathers and mothers have been those who have lived holy lives and these great examples that go down in history honored in all families.

Referring to family names, did you know that William Booth the founder of our Salvation Army in 1865, who helped millions out of poverty and saved souls by preaching salvation in Jesus was a cousin to John Wilkes Booth who shot President Abraham Lincoln dead? What a contrast of paths taken! The selfless, holy and wise William Booth drastically changed the world for good, yet the carnally minded politically motivated John Wilkes Booth died in infamy.

10. No matter where you are in your relations with others, Jesus can fix and heal things! The way it works is you allow Him to fix YOU first and then your positive influence will rub onto others that are closest to you. Others may be guilty, you may have to forgive crimes done against you but to focus blame on others is useless; you and I must focus on making OURSELVES be like Jesus!

Here is a promise that we all must stand firm on to claim for our families: Acts 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

We all want our house to be saved, so today, take the decision to love Jesus more! Take the decision to include him as a priority in your schedule. Make Jesus the center of your heritage. Build your house on Him and you will see how everyone close to you will be blessed.

Family is what God originally created in the beginning in the garden with Adam and Eve and it is Satan that wants to divide and rob us of that blessing! Fight to unite others of your family to Jesus and then you will see a loving change take place of love and forgiveness, and you will have a hope and a future with God’s blessings!

Come forward now let’s pray together for your family to be converted. And if you have prayed years for someone and they have not changed, then just rest in God that you have done your part! You are only responsible for your actions so be patient, you may live to see a change but a few years later. But even if nothing changes you have the peace of knowing you let it go and put it in God’s hands and that YOU did the change to have Jesus name above your own! Prayer…

Correction: Nobody Wants It! But Ask God For It! Hebrews 12:9-12 by Kelly Durant

Correction: Nobody Wants It! But Ask God For It!    Hebrews 12:10-12    by Kelly Durant

1. Hebrews 12: 9-12  9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

2. ‘Nothing Short of Right is Right’…was written on the entire side of a huge factory back in the 1930s. In the factory if some machine did not work right, if some fabricated part came out wrong, the boss was to be notified immediately so the problem could be corrected to make it right. It was a perfect system and little waste was produced and the standard was excellent for the production of the airplane parts.  

But as progress would have it, one day they got a new 50 million dollar machine. The boss, Fred, told floor manager Joe that it was more important than ever to always do it the right way, and the right way was to call the boss when the machine needed attention. (repeat slogan)

As pride and human nature would have it, Joe one day did have a problem with the machine and he did not call Fred. Why? Because he was a know-it-all! He thought, I’ve been here for 20 years, I can fix it, but the thing is he had no experience with this new complicated machine, it was foreign to him. You probably can guess the next part, the extremely expensive machine heated up and broke and Joe was fined and fired! He cost the company millions all due to his pride and for not wanting to accept help and correction on how to run the machine right.

This story may be an urban legend based on factual events but it can be applied to our personal lives as well as be applied to the community at large. The reality is most people think they know how to do everything, and they hate having someone offer them advice, criticism, or in particular correction, but the fact remains prideful uncorrected people are destined to make some huge mistakes in life due to their incorrigible attitude that accepts no correction.

3. Something that has always troubled me about correction is…have you ever noticed that it usually does not restitute nor repair the damages caused? Like the employee who drives the forklift without the OSHA permit and crashed into a pallet of merchandise. The store lost several thousand dollars on the merchandise but the fine of several thousand, paid by the same store, goes to the federal government?! What kind of correction is that?

Man’s laws and corrections are often unjust, but God’s correction is always fair. There is a message to be learned with correction, however, that there is a standard to meet and if you fall short of it, it will cost you with a price. God’s standard is to live a holy life in love and peace.

4. The price of correction is often abasement or humiliation, and the imposed embarrassment and status reduction limits the person’s potential for a certain time period. Jails are even called Correction Facilities, and despite how certain people may impose discipline and standards on other people, the authentic correction of character flaws in itself depends upon the individual’s admittance to his or her errors and the changing of them to a higher standard.

Why are we studying this? Because it is a part of your holiness growth! You may recall I mentioned I wanted you to learn more about holiness this year. The verses of today contain “that we may be partakers of His holiness,” (implying with correction). Clearly deducted, if you do not change and learn and grow from the correction God and others offer, then you may be fooling yourself that you are in good standing with God. God is Holy, and nothing unholy will stand in His presence, and to get holy you and I need to be corrected daily of our errors!

Are you hearing from God in silence in prayer every day? Correct yourself before God does! 

5. Do you recall the life of Saul and how he did not stop to listen and learn from God? He was a tall handsome man, a natural born charismatic leader, but what caused his downfall? Pride! He was a stubborn king that got many corrections but just ignored them. As king of Israel he was supposed to always submit to God, and follow the counsel of the anointed one, the priest, which was Samuel, to prosper the nation.  Here is one part after he disobeyed again.

I Samuel 13:13-14 ¹³ And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. ¹⁴ But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”

What happened in the preceding verses is that the Philistines were attacking with 6,000 horsemen and 30,000 chariots and it seemed that the nation of Israel could not get a victory against so many and the military went into hiding. Saul was supposed to wait 7 days to proceed with the blessing from God by Samuel doing a sacrifice to God before attacking, but instead Saul took matters into his own hands. He set up his own altar and sacrificed to God on his own and that was not his job to do. He was a know-it-all that would not accept correction.

In other words, for disobedience, there always comes a correction and it may be one of an undoable judgment. In Saul’s case, he predestined himself to lose the battle and part of the kingdom. But wait, wasn’t this Israel? Weren’t they God’s people and God wanted Israel to win?

6. God was in control then as He is now over all nations but He would not tolerate a leader that was insolent, disobedient, and one that over time became full of his own pride not willing to accept correction and be a humble man who honored God. What a bad example to everyone!

Saul disobeyed many times and by rejecting correction he died in shame; he lost battles and the whole nation suffered! The sin of one rebellious incorrigible person trickles down to influence the entire group. What a sobering and frightful lesson that is!

David followed Saul as king and he obeyed God and won many battles!  But what was the difference between Saul and David?  David failed as well at times but when David disobeyed he would accept correction and repent with sincere prayers and sacrifices, and he accepted his punishments as coming from a just God. Saul on the other hand, never would recognize his mistakes. Pride comes before failure and a downfall!

7. Do you know someone in your family that is stubborn and they reject correction for their mistakes? All families seem to have quite a few people like this in them! But how mature spiritually are you concerning this matter? Maybe one of the persons in your family that does not like correction could be you! As humans we want to run away from being made uncomfortable, but that is not the right attitude, you and I must welcome God’s correction.

Hebrews 12:11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. The spirit should be convicting you and me personally day after day over how to accept and respond to correction. Military personal get yelled at and corrected, so why not you and me?   

When things just don’t turn out right, you need to ask God about it. Some people just seem to always end up in bad situations. Have you ever noticed a person that everything they do seems to come out wrong, sort of like being cursed, or something?  Have you ever met people in hard times, but their terrible situation was not brought on by outside unavoidable circumstances but rather brought on by their own disobediences to God, local laws, or from being so proud they would not listen to anyone?

8. Like a sister in the other Corps that would say, “Well, my husband is in jail again!” I’d reply, “Oh no, what happened”? She’d reply, “I told him not to drive that car he just bought without a tag but he never listens to me and it serves him right to just sit there a few days to learn his lesson!” Many things happened to this poor man over and over. He was rebellious to come to learn about God, and he seemed to get correction all the time from society, God, and especially his wife, but still he would not repent. Do you know of cases and of people like this one?

With repentance and correction there is hope for a person or for a nation, but without correction from the Word of God people are doomed to self-destruct and destroy many others in the process bringing on much pain due to their insubordinate pride.

9. The sad reality is we live in a world full of incorrigibles! There are people who create huge problems over and over and no one ever seems to ever correct them. Usually these people do wrong over and over until one day they go off to jail! The problem is our society is not growing leaders who correct as they should. There are half the homes of the U.S. with no fathers so the children grow up without a stern correction and then the teachers and Sunday School teachers, police, and jailers are later all having to deal with these rebellious hyperactive kids and it is all due to someone else’s sin of a lack of giving correction. Giving and receiving correction is important!   

Now, let’s make this more personal. I want you to reflect a moment and recall a time that the Lord was correcting you. Can you pinpoint an event in your life that came to your mind that the Lord had you under the fire? I accept that the Lord allowed me to suffer through hepatitis B for 6 weeks one time for not wanting to do the mission as I needed to in a certain city but instead I just wanted to work on a farm in the Amazon in Brazil. We all know how Jonah got corrected, so never think you can escape the plans God has for you! I have learned the hard way too!

10. Psalm 106:15 And He gave them their request, But sent leanness into their soul. This verse expresses my experience. I got to be on the farm but in a tent separated from everyone else. I thought, well, I can’t even walk 10 feet without getting tired so now that you have got my attention Lord, what do you want me to do? The Lord showed me to study His word all day and read the Bible from cover to cover so I did. While under correction, God prepares you and me!

I want to put you again under the spotlight. If you cannot pinpoint any moment in your life in which you know the Lord was dealing with you over some failing or sin, then you need to repent of the sin of not listening to God, of not seeking spiritual understanding from the significant circumstances that God allows in your life, and for not praying appropriately allowing God to speak to your mind about your shortcomings. All God’s children do get correction!

11. What everyone needs is to always be in tune with God asking for the Holy Spirit to be your guide and teacher. Have you ever prayed, “Lord if I have wronged someone today, if I have spoken harsh words, if I have hurt someone, if I have been a bad example of your love, show me and correct me”. Almost never do you or I hear of a person asking God for correction in prayer, but we must ask God for correction!  David did it.   Psalm 51:1-4

Have mercy upon me, O God,

According to Your lovingkindness;

According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,

Blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

And cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I acknowledge my transgressions,

And my sin is always before me.

4 Against You, You only, have I sinned,

And done this evil in Your sight—

That You may be found just when You speak,

And blameless when You judge.

Sometimes I pray, “Lord please reveal to me anything that is not of you so I can purge it out of my life, before you have to! I want to be pure and Holy, so please help me to correct what is wrong before you have to correct it!”

12. God is like a father and if the father expects the bedroom clean, the best thing to do is to clean it up so the father does not have to come home later and see the mess and punish you and then make you clean it up anyway!

Here is verse that has always caught my attention. Hebrews 5:8 Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.

Imagine what this verse implies: That even though Jesus was divine and human, He still had to get correction and learn how to obey His Father! So if Jesus had to learn by suffering, how much more do you and I need to learn correction as well! Jesus prayed to His Father all the time!

13. I’ll be honest with you, what I feel about correction is I don’t like it, as the scripture says, Hebrews 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. I really do not like to get correction nor give it but it is a fact of life, we must receive it and also give it to others especially when dangerous or sinful circumstances require it. 

And check your feelings over correction, are you self-righteous and condemning? Do you get happy when you conclude that someone is getting correction from God? I have heard people when they don’t like someone say things like, “You see that problem they have, I knew this would happen, its about time God punished them!” We all despise hypocrites, especially Jesus!

Be careful to judge or speak, because when you are having hard times others may have the same attitude towards you because we reap what we sew. Matthew 7:2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Do you need advice or correction? In the end, God is a loving Father and He wants to protect you and guide you into all truth, love, peace, and holiness and that process began the moment you accepted Jesus as the ruler of your life. Focus on the correction coming in your life and you will prosper spiritually! Pray for others and leaders, and pray always against pride!