God’s Spiritual Life Cycle–Babes in Christ and What Stunts Their Growth

To fully understand the profundity of the Creator’s eternal purpose in “bringing many sons [and daughters] unto glory,” we must learn of the spiritual life cycle of God’s Spirit in us–how it grows unto full maturity.

This is a great mystery that has been “kept secret from the foundation of the world” (1).  This mystery of the growth of the Spirit within us has been carefully guarded, couched in the criptic words of the parables of the kingdom.  These are the very secrets of the kingdom of God, how He rules and reigns both in His children’s hearts and throughout the earth and universe. 

These parables are not nice little stories to make it easier for all to understand what the Master is teaching us, but to prevent interlopers from receiving it.  They are secrets, after all, and are hidden in plain sight.

Why Parables?

The disciples asked Christ why He spoke to the crowds in parables.  “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand” (2).  They may hear the words, but they won’t understand what they mean.  Those who do not have “ears to hear” will just not get it.

The Seed Is the Word

In the parables, Christ likened this spiritual growth unto a seed that grows.  He refers to a natural seed.  And He explains that this seed in His parables represents the word of God.  He said, “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God” (3).  A seed must die in the ground; it must lose its original identity as a lonely grain of wheat, for instance.  It takes in moisture, which corresponds to the “water of the Word,” and then, as it dies, new life springs out of it, and a blade of grass rises “from the dead” and vaults out into the sunlight.

First Stage of Growth–Babes in Christ

This answers to newborn “babes in Christ,” spiritual infants, who have not matured or grown.  They are like natural children–mostly alive  for what they can receive from their parents.  A little child receives nourishment from their parents and grows.  There is nothing wrong with this, for all new children of God must receive spiritual food from God’s word in order to grow.    Truth plus study and prayer is the recipe for spiritual growth. 

The problem lies in the fact that most Christians stay in this growth as babes and children.  They do not mature, for they are fed with teachings tainted with error.  Even with much study in false doctrines, the child of God cannot grow.  “We are not meant to remain as children at the mercy of every chance wind of teaching and the jockeying of men who are expert in the crafty presentation of lies” (4).  The truth is that “certain men have crept in unnoticed,” (5) and they are teaching lies to the new Christians who are desiring to have their lives changed from darkness to light.

For we are warned of this very thing.  “There will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies”.  “Many will follow their shameful ways…and in their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up” (6).

Thus we see that a newborn babe in Christ is in peril because of false teachers and preachers.  As disease and malnutrition stalks natural babies, false teachings and lies stunt and threaten the lives of the children of God.

So Which Are the Lies About God That Stunt the Growth of Babes in Christ?

How can we tell the false teachings from the true teachings?  Christ gave us the answer.  “By their fruits you shall know them” (7).  Look around and observe the fruits of the various ministries and denominations.  Are the people growing?  Are the flocks changing, or are they still trapped in sin and sinning?   Are the people still mostly alive for what they can receive of God, or are they unselfish?  If they are not changing and growing “up into Him,” if they are remaining selfish, desiring to be blessed and not yearning to be a channel of blessings unto others, then it is safe to say that the teachings they are fed with are tainted.    KWH  

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1. Matt. 13: 35
2. Mark 4: 11-12
3. Luke 8: 11
4. Eph. 4: 14 (Phillips)
5. Jude 1: 4 (NKJV)
6. II Peter 2: 1-3
7. Matt. 7: 20

Jimmy Carter Says Protestors Against Obama Are Racists

I just found out that, according to former president Jimmy Carter, I am a racist!  Just because I do not agree with Pres. Obama’s policies–and say so.  He says my dissent is attributed to plain old racism  [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b5xoUHCBsk ] .

Jimmy Carter said that an “overwhelming portion” of those who are protesting against Obama are doing so because he is a black man.

Wait a minute.  I don’t protest Justice Clarence Thomas’ decisions on the Supreme  Court, and the last time I checked, he was, yes, still a black man.  If I were a racist, then why would I not be protesting against him?  And I definitely like Michael Steele, the chairman of the Republican National Committee; he makes a lot of sense, and he is a black American.  In fact, I approve of all black political types who hold conservative views.

I don’t approve of the politics of the liberals.  And they don’t have to be African American for me to disapprove  of them.  I do not care if they are black or white; they all are leading this country away from what the Founding Fathers envisioned, and I don’t agree with them.  And so I ask, How can that make me a racist if I distrust of all liberals?

And, get this.  Six months ago Pres. Obama had an approval rating of 70%.  Since blacks only make up 13% of the population, whites elevated him to that lofty realm of approbation.  Now Obama is at 45% approval.  President Carter, you mean suddenly, millions of white folks just woke up out of a stupor to realize that Obama was black?  “You mean he’s black?  Heck, if I’d a known that, I wouldn’t have voted for him!  I’m against him now!”

Mr. Carter, is that how stupid and prejudiced you think white folks are?  And what about the black protestors against Obama?  Are they racist, too?   What a goober you are!

The reality is that many whites and people of color are awakening to the fact that Pres. Obama is an extreme leftist liberal with many radical friends.  He is bringing change, all right, but not the kind of change 52% of the people voted for when they pulled the lever for him.  His socialist agenda was hidden in “great swelling words of man’s wisdom” during the campaign, but it is now being brought to light. 

And Obama, Carter, and the rest of those who would undermine and destroy this great republic have forgotten the words of our Savior Christ, “There is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known” (Matt. 10: 26).  It is all coming out, and those who have eyes to see and ears to hear will get it.

In Search of the Ultimate Hero

Much has been said lately about heroes.  And rightfully so.  The rescue workers rushing headlong into the burning towers to save the thousands trapped there come to mind. 

And then we think about our soldiers and marines who “gave the last full measure of devotion” on a faraway battlefield.   Yesterday I attended the memorial service of Pfc. Jonathan Yanney, who was killed in Afghanistan August 18, 2009, by a roadside bomb.  Jon gave up his life for a cause greater than himself and will always be remembered here in our little town as a hero.  And I will remember him, for I taught him in high school and enjoyed his presence, smile, and integrity.  He was my friend.

And so we all are looking for a hero–someone who would lay down their life for us.  That is what touches our hard and, at times, cynical hearts.  We are wired that way–to be touched when we realize that someone was so selfless as to put others before themselves–someone to face the peril of fires and the danger posed by those with dark designs. 

And so it was yesterday that my heart was touched, remembering the 20 year old soldier, who sat in my class just three years ago, and laughed at my antics as I coaxed him and his classmates into learning the lesson of the day. 

And as I sat there in the service, trying to dam up the warm salt water that fell from my eyes, I learned the lesson of the day.  I thought of Christ and realized that He is the ultimate hero.  For He showed us what love really is. 

He had said, “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (1).  And in order to express God’s nature, which is Love, He would have to “lay down his life” for His crowning creation, Mankind.  That would show them who and what God is. 

But God, the Immortal One, was just that–immortal, and could not die.  So in His infinite wisdom, He anointed a special human being that would house Him fully and would become the sacrificial Lamb of God and mankind’s anointed King of kings. 

This man was the Anointed One, the One appointed by the Father to do a very heroic act.  He would be referred to as Christ–Christos in the Greek, meaning the anointed one. 

Yes, Christ is our Hero.  He showed what love is by laying down His life willingly for us.  It is His selfless sacrifice for others that still touches man’s heart, that still shakes the flimsy foundations of our lives, that still speaks to us 2,000 years later. 

Christ is our Great Hero, for all the prophets testify about Him, that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name (2).  All because He loved us and laid down His life for His friends.     KWH

1. John 15: 13
2. Acts 10: 43

Presidents Do Not Make Presidential Policies–The CFR, Trilateralists, and Bilderbergers Do, Says Bob Chapman

A must read by Bob Chapman explaining what’s going on behind the economic and political debacle in Washington:

“We remind you that presidents do not make presidential policies. They are made by the bureaucratic types, who receive their marching orders from the Illuminists above them. This is why you had the seamless transition from the neocon administration to the current decidedly more fascistic one now in power.

Team A replaced Team B from the Council on Foreign Relations, Trilateralists and Bilderbergers. Nothing really changed. If you accept the premise that they are all intent on creating world government then you can understand why they all are preparing us for controlled collapse.

These planners expected problems, but they were not prepared for the potential of major social unrest displayed at Town Hall meetings nationwide. There is finally growing social unrest and rightly so. All that was initiated by bailing out the rich financial sector to the tune of $23.7 trillion, and then the lying about where funds were going and how they were being used, then more lies, and then the bonuses at AIG and Goldman Sachs and at other Illuminist companies. The public has begun to listen to our story and the elitists cannot let the truth see the light of day. The system is rigged toward the rich insiders and now the public isn’t even getting crumbs and everything is being taken away from them. Those insiders… are dismissive of population and the fairness of the system…

Government no longer serves the people or the general good, and the healthcare and cap & trade are typical issues. It is not what Americans want, but what corporate America and politicians want. All the rewards to the crooks on Wall Street and in banking that have destroyed our financial system. We have just been on the receiving end of dreadful government for 8 years and Americans feel helpless after electing a new president. The result thus far has been disastrous.

Still few of their elected representatives listen to anything they have to say and it is no wonder we saw the outpouring of unhappiness displayed at Town Hall meetings. This in part is why people are walking away from debt and not paying their taxes. They believe they have an illegitimate government, which refuses to serve and listen to them. They now only represent corporate America.”

{This article appears in its entirety here:  http://www.theinternationalforecaster.com/International_Forecaster_Weekly/Economic_Breakdowns_Cause_Social_Breakdowns 

 

Spiritual Transformation Comes Through the Renewing of Our Minds

Our transformation as the sons and daughters of God comes through the “renewing of our minds” (1).  Our new heart that we receive from God through faith is that fountain of new thoughts based in truth that feeds our minds.  Believing that we have been given a new heart makes our transformation possible.  This process in the Christian walk is called putting “on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator” (2).

“In the image of its Creator.”  We, His sons and daughters, are being transformed into the image of our Creator!  That is the true walk of the Christian.  As we look at our Savior’s glorious image, and walk in His way by believing Him,  we are changed into that same image through His Spirit in us!  “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (3).

This Is Difficult for Some to Believe

Some will gainsay and resist this truth and say, “No, no one can be changed into the image of God.”  They are speaking for themselves, for those doubt-filled words have sealed their fate.  And “the fearful and unbelieving” will have no place in His kingdom (4). 

But those who believe the report of the true prophets and apostles of God will be changed into His image.  That is the belief and the promise of the Savior and His apostles.  “Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven” (I Cor. 15: 49).  This is the truth that renews our minds, thereby changing us. 

We Are Led by Our Thoughts

Our change starts with our thinking.  We are led by our thoughts.  We started out our earthly walk by thinking naturally, which is thinking derived from the input of our five senses.  Natural thinking says, If I can’t hear it, see it, taste it, touch it, or smell it, then fit must not be real or worth anything.

This empirical thinking would be absolutely correct if that was all life was made up of.  But think on this a minute.  This belief–if I can’t observe it, then it must not exist–this thinking is so prideful, as if they are the supremest of beings, and the whole world revolves around them and their wee little minds.  That is the wisdom of the world, the wisdom from beneath.  It tries to put the invisible God in a black box, stuffed way back in a dank warehouse for the politically-incorrect. 

But millions of lives that He has touched are rising from the graves of their doubts and are putting on their new self, created by His Spirit through belief in His resurrection–in them!  They will rise up and expose the natural thinkers as the liars that they are.  As Ezekiel saw into our day, the bones of His chosen ones are rising up, and they shall come together into one body with one Spirit leading them.  And they will be grateful for their new start, created in His image, transformed by a transfusion of life-giving truth.  Kenneth Wayne Hancock

1. Rom 12: 2
2. Col. 3: 10
3. 2 Cor. 3: 18
4. Rev. 21: 8
5. I Cor. 15: 49