We are live on twitter!

You can now follow us on twitter at @remnantbeliever.

Take care friends

Rob Roath
Remnant Believers

Belief; God's magical fairy dust part 2

So now is the time I get to you smarty pants. Indeed it does also seem that those who have enough faith, like those pygmies, can do great works as well on their own. I guess you just don't need to be a professional. For the disciples actually brought a case of these unlicensed practitioners to Jesus's attention. It seems as though this fellow was healing folks using the name of Jesus. His answer to this misuse of regulations was simple. He simply stated that not everyone that says "Lord, Lord" will enter into the kingdom of heaven. For it appears there will be those who actually also prophesized and cast out demons that just plain out never read the fine lines in the contract.  As we have stated prior there are rules and you have to actually have to maintain a relationship with Jesus for the whole salvation thing to work. For Jesus will one day tell these people that "he never knew them."
  It does however do explain how some of the crowds were able to receive healing by just believing in the power of God and touching Jesus's clothing. We even see the power of faith being exercised on a Roman guard who says Jesus just needs to proclaim the healing and the act will be carried our without Jesus even needing to be present.
  So to wrap this up we need to understand how this whole Christian thing works. In fact we need to actually it seems return to an earlier stage in our development. One that we can actually believe in the wondrous again. We need to believe that Jesus can do these mighty works through us. For this to happen however we need to firmly trust in who his is and what he is capable of. Finally we need to trust that he can use us as the instrument of this action. The simple fact is the reason why they is not happening in American any more is because we have limited what God can do. It takes these new believers in Africa, India and China to show us that when it says we can raise the dead and heal it actually means what it says. We can indeed do greater works if we simply believe in the power of God and allow it to flow through us. So do not think you are jipped for choosing the Godly path any more. We to have power and we do not need to go to Hogwarts to gain it! Praise God.

Belief; God's magical fairy dust

Belief; God's magical fairy dust
By Rob Roath

  Today I decided to spend some quality time with the Lord, my dog and a couch. Sounds like a beginning of a fantasy novel already, doesn't it? Well what else can you do in the blistering cold or Texas? Anyhow so I decided I would just snuggle up with my dear old Chihuahua and listen to all the gospels. Ya, I know what you are thinking now. Rob this just isn't what I expected from you from this title. Well wait my friends and we will soon get to the magic I promised!
  As the words continued to dance around my head as I listened something truly remarkable did happen. I was able to see a theme that had somehow totally escaped me prior. Over and over again you hear about this need for faith and belief. This was the cause of a good deal of activity to go wrong during the time of Christ's ministry. I might also add for those biblical scholars out there that this was also the cause of something抯 to go totally right for some as well, but you are getting ahead of me smarty pants!
  We see the same formula happen multiple times to the disciples of Jesus. For some reason when they were making that magical potion of fairy healing juice it just didn't go right. The strange thing is that they had no idea what they had apparently done wrong. You almost see them going through the steps they took to heal the person to see if they had all the techniques down correctly.  This actually gave me sort of a chuckle really as it reminded me how Wile Coyote would do the same thing when one of his plans were foiled yet again by the roadrunner.
  What went wrong for these mighty healers of old? Did they forget the eye of newt in the caldron while preparing the potion? Obviously not as we do not practice magic as the occult do. However this does bring to the foreground something I have found out while living in both the light and dark worlds. You see there are rules you know.  Both sides must actually follow these rules of the game for the desired results to prosper. I have always thought this is how Satan has been able to convince himself that he wins in the end. One way of another he thinks he has found a loop hole in the rules and the end will actually sort itself out differently to the surprise of God...snicker. Sorry just had to laugh at that one. Vanity and pride have taken out even the best plans.
  However what I say is actually true here. In the occult world you have to do everything a certain way. There are rituals, spells, glyphs that must be carried out just so for them to pull off correctly. Well it seems that we have these same sort of steps that need to be followed by the follower of Jesus as well. I would think that this is one of the major reasons why this or that goes seriously wrong in our lives. We just weren't careful enough to go through all the steps needed to preform what needed to be done for its success. God is into details, if you couldn't tell. If you disagree do yourself a favor and go through Leviticus.
  So now we know that Christians have some rules that must be followed as well. This actually may be quite enlightening for some of us out there. We cannot just guess our way through life anymore and get the results we were looking for. We must actually now take following Jesus a bit differently now. We must now then use our spellbook (not harm meant here God) and do some studying here. I have always been sort of astonished on how little the average Christian actually reads the bible. I remember the days I was a long way from God debating people who followed Jesus and correcting them on their own passages. I would love to see a survey done on this matter. I am sure that the heathen has the scriptures down a good deal better than those that warm the pews faithfully every time the church is open.
  For we know from the temptations that Lucifer himself is well versed in the holy scriptures as well. How better to understand how to Shanghai followers of Christ, right? It worked for him in Eden and has ever since. He just needs to turn truth one degree off to have someone ending off bowing before a tree before long. This may seem comical until you understand that there are far worse things being done. Remember the gold foil wrapped roasted baby they found being shipped in the far east? We can truly get off course if we do not know what we believe.
  Ok, ok enough of all this! I need to get back onto the original subject here. You have to keep yourself in line as well you know? So anyhow back to the subject of the bible. In short you must read it. To expound on this matter I would also include daily. There just is now way that we can get this whole following Jesus thing right without it. So what exactly did these bumbling disciples get wrong? Well it is simple they didn't understand the recipe correctly.
  If you have studied chemistry at all you immediately find out that you just can't start splashing chemicals about. That is a great way to have one or two things happen. Either your clothes are going to melt or you are going to create some variety of an explosion.  The revelation I received here is simple however very difficult to execute. Faith and belief are the two components that need to be combined into our magical dust. When you think about it that all sounds pretty obvious right? Well we will see how this is not as easy as it is billed to be on the side of the jar.
  One of the times that the disciples healings went wrong it was because they just didn't have enough faith to cast out the demon. What does this practically mean though? We all believe that Jesus is Lord and savior right? How much more must they have thought that actually walking with him day and night. Well that can be answered as well. In the gospels there are all kinds of sightings of them bickering on who this Jesus fellow was anyhow. Can you believe that? Here they are hanging with him and they had no idea who he was! Maybe his is Elijah one would say. Nah! He is obviously Moses come back from the dead one would correct his compatriot. Simply astounding right?
  As it is really easy for us to poke fun at the apostles we must also realize that we are not causing any mountains to fall into the ocean either with our faith. I remember listening to a series of Prophecy Club shows on this lady that was reaching out to the Pigmy's in Africa. If you have never heard them you just must track them down. A must listen to my friends. Anyhow there they are with 3 foot people that were being harvested as tonight's dinner still to this day raising the dead!  Yes my brothers and sisters these amazing feats do happen in modern times.
  Our natural question then is why is this not happening in our lives? Well I think Jesus himself answered this most candidly. We must trust and love him like the little children do. What does this coding mean though son of God? Well it is my friends the whole reason I have used this magical theme for this article. Have you ever seen a little child see something they were sure was magic? Have you ever asked yourself why you lost the ability to imagine as an adult? We just lose it as a result of what we Americans call "growing up." What we lost is our ability to not have boundaries on things in life. Anything is possible in the mind of a child. That is what is so remarkable about that period in our lives. We must have this same sort of wonder about our Lord. We simply just do not think he can do it.
  The best example I can think of to how this works is to not surprise a children's movie I forced myself to sit down and watch one day. Yes I know, I have lost the wonder of my childhood long ago, thank you very much for reminding me. The movie had Ed Asner playing Santa. For the life of me I can not remember the actual title now.  Anyhow the sleigh crashes in central park and they can't get it going again. Santa then lets everyone know that the reason for this is that the world is no longer believing in Christmas and that is actually what powers the magical craft. Well it turns out that is exactly how things work in the Christian realm. Don't believe me? Let me convince you.
  Jesus goes to his home town of Nazareth and finds out a remarkable thing. For some reason his healing finger is just not working as well as it does in other places. Why is this? Well he goes on to explain that it is because a lack of faith. He was only able to get off a couple of healings before they threw him out of the church and for that matter the town. So it seems as though our faith works the same in both the light and dark realms as well. Just for those not in the know Santa is actually a representation of Odin which represents Lucifer. Sorry to burst your wonder here folks, but it is true.
So now is the time I get to you smarty pants. Indeed it does also seem that those who have enough faith, like those pygmies, can do great works as well on their own. I guess you just don't need to be a professional. For the di

When is the last time you tore your clothing?

When is the last time you tore your clothing?

By Rob Roath

  My son is doing a paper on the rebellious king of Israel. It has come to mind to me as we have been discussing what is learning on this journey that we just are missing something valuable that former followers of God once knew. So I ask you as the title did as well. When is the last time you tore your clothing?

  Was it yesterday friend that you last plucked the hairs from your beard? Or possibly last week is it when you placed ashes on your head and wore a burlap sack? I know it has been a long time for me too, unfortunately. This in fact is when I realized there was something seriously broken in myself. When was the last time I truly lamented to God for the wrongs I have done to him?

  Today I sit here writing with a heavy heart. I believe in transparency so here it is my friends. I have sinned. After a total let down in my faith this spring I strayed yet again from my Lord. The sad thing is this. We spent an entire week the end of last year repenting, crying out to Jesus for help, and the like. The result, well we cleaned our act up for a couple of months. Alas it only took one major event to test my faith for me to wonder off in shame and get temped into the wilderness once more.

  This unfortunately is a constant occurrence for me. I step out on a radical branch trusting God only for things to go seriously wrong and I am left with the cleanup mission that follows. To tell you the truth I am just never sure where I went wrong. I as far as I know truly desired to follow God and do what he wanted me to do. Why this blows up in my face over and over again is seriously beyond my comprehension.

  Now my friends I do not write for your sympathy, I merely am giving you background information so you can understand what has occurred until this point. So I sit here now with this heavy heart because I understand yet again I have strayed from the love that I return to over and over again just to sleep with the enemy in the end. Sounds a good deal like Hosea’s plight huh? Well I would say there is a good deal of similarities between the storylines.

  Why do we do this? Why is it that we stray off and betray the one we have told ourselves we care for? Why do we find ourselves yet again disheveled and at the door step begging to be let into the house we stormed out of? I say that we must return to who we truly are. We are sheep, nothing more than that. We will go our own way every time because as I have stated over and over again we love to be bad. There is a part in us redeemed sheep that loves the one that saved us yes, however the song of the siren just seems to be something we just cannot resist.  Readers of this blog will know I call this “our mountain.” The one or maybe two things that we just can’t seem to resist when the enemy swings them in front of our snout. We go running after it every time.

  This reminds me of a friend I had a good deal ago. I do feel that he truly did Love the Lord. The problem you ask? Well alcohol just screamed louder than Jesus did in his life. I would get calls in the middle of the night from this man letting me know how much he loved Jesus. Was he lying? I think not. What is merely was is that he had a mountain that he just was not able to climb over. As sad as this fact is many of us struggle over this same thing. Maybe it is not alcohol, but like my mom always said “Christians just exchange big sins for small ones.” So maybe our siren swoons you with lying, gossip, or stealing instead of what we consider “big sins.”

  So what is the answer for those of us out there that go round and round on this cycle of destruction?  Can hope be found in these souls? Well as one that just seems to love the wilderness and all it can offer I would hope so. One would truly think I have learned my lesson by now. I think that the key is the whole reason why I make this article. We have lost our sorrow. We have lost our ability to truly feel pain for what we have done. We have become dulled to the mass of sin that surrounds us in everyday life. I call this the “law of normality.”

  In this little know law we find that humans have in them to judge themselves based on the society they live in. What this means is that we look around and see how we “grade ourselves” compared to those we see in our vicinity. Now any thinking person could tell you that this is a formula for disaster. Why is this? Well it is simple we seek out the extremes to set ourselves beside prior to such a calculation. We look at the news and say “wow that guy is really jacked up” or “can you believe that mother did that.” These people are then use as the x in your calculation. No wonder we come up looking so good.

  In the beginning of the article I mentioned the Jews. They truly were some actors right? Going around screaming, throwing wood ashes on themselves, what showmen! Well I think I have found another way to look at this point of view. As opposed to us modern followers they had a set of laws that they would do their calculations against. Have you ever read these things? Good grief! How could you possibly measure up to such things? Well the fact is that Paul explains that the commandants were only given to the Jews to show that they could in fact never measure up to such standards. What they point to is one thing and one thing only….sinlessness.

  What I do want to point out in all of this preloading is that we just have no good way to measure ourselves as modern believers. The Jews at least where able to look at the laws and see how awful of a job they were doing. When they saw the inevitable sum of their math work they would lament unto God, and in a fit of total despair do these outlandish acts to express their dismay. Well in fact we do have such a “plumbline” that we can measure up to for us modern followers of God. As you may have guessed this is Jesus. Actually a completion of the laws we had mentioned earlier. This was a man that was actually able to follow all the law without ever breaking them.

  As I have stated to my kids many times “if Jesus sinned just once we would not be talking about him.” The fact is that he was able to survive the gauntlet of this fallen world unscathed. So we do have someone to base our life upon. Now that is good news! Everyone in this world likes to follow a winner anyhow don’t they? So let us then compare ourselves to the one we are supposed to be following shall we?

  Well as you may have guessed our score card would look pretty bad if we set out lives against the holy one of God. This fact is sort of my point though with all of this. We have a savior that was a much nicer chap than the one that the Jews had to deal with. Now please do understand I am not saying Jesus isn’t part of the trinity or some other religious belief. However you must agree that Jesus is a better pill to swallow than God that was presented to the Jews. Grace, kindness and love were just things you really had to struggle to see in that being killing everyone for not exactly following his rules.

  Thank God he had mercy on us gentiles huh? Well sort of I would say. I grew up catholic and one thing that gets drilled into you is a healthy fear of God. Honestly the God that is presented to the Catholic is pretty much the same one the Jews were. One of the reasons I left that faith looking for a better God. As far as I was concerned there had to be a better one out there that that one. However we did get Jesus as born again believers and how my friends do we treat this “buddy Jesus” of ours? Well I would look at your life and ask you to answer the question yourself.

  I was talking to a friend on the subject of this article and she had a good insight into us Christians.
She said “we have no shame.” A good way to put it I think. What can God do to really get any reaction from us. What even can make the modern American blush? Again we are to berated by violence, sex, and corruption from every direction that we have become numb. We plain out just can’t feel anything anymore. This is the core point I am out to make on this. What sin could you commit that you would actually get to the point that you wanted to tear your clothes?

  What would it take us to shed a tear for how we hurt the one we say we love? Paul says we were bought with a price and we just do not care about righteousness. Bonheoffer called this “cheap grace” how else can we put it? We no longer depend on a God to save us from anything. We much to busy making sure we have all the contingency plans set ahead of any action we make. What faith do we need to live the live we have? The fact is that the average American has little going wrong with their lives. The natural result of this cushy lifestyle is that we just never need to break the emergency glass and call for help. Isn’t that really the issue here?

  Our hearts are hardened to the point that we just have no need to have a savior to give us a hand. We have it all taken care of don’t we? We need a change my brothers and sisters. We need to call upon our God and ask him to soften our hearts before we have no ability to hear him any longer! Does it need to come to the point that he just gives us over to this sin that we demand to remain in our lives. Paul clearly states that we shouldn’t continue to sin that grace should more abound. The problem is that we do not see how far off to sea we are.

  Join me this day in crying out to our ever living Lord and savior to help us! We need you Jesus! Forgive us and lead our sorry butts to repentance. We need to be cleansed, refined and disciplined. We are wayward children that refuse your instruction. Sheep that demand to take our own way straight into our own demise. May your you have mercy on the believers that cry out our name for help king! Oh help us Lord we have no hope without you. We confess our desire to so another way. We are the whore that always returns after a wild night on the town. Forgive us! Mighty father hear the prayers of your followers and set us on the right path. Give us a desire to want you! Help us to feel again so that we can be sensitive to the sins that hurt both of us so very much. Come Lord Jesus come!

The true matrix part2

I have often said that Satan has a fingerprint. So for those still in doubt let me tell you how you can see the lie for what it is. Lucifer always can be found where these sins abound. Sexual perversion, love of money, secret knowledge, sacrifice, cannibalism, and the love of power. Satan抯 sole purpose on Earth is to dominate and destroy the creation of the most high God. That is truly the sickening thing. He is not happy enough to have people worship him. He wants you dead. For that matter killed in the most disgusting brutal way possible while it happens.
  Sorry to be so graphic but we must know who we are dealing with here. The liar is out to tempt you in any way possible to choose any other path than God抯. He will give you anything you desire in doing it. The cost is a simple one, your life in this and the next realities. When we unearth the truth of the lie we find out what Lucifer will never tell you. That sin is never gained without two things, pain, and a scar. The sin must always be paid for with something抯 blood. For the follower of another being other than God this can come in the form of their own blood, an animals, or a fellow human. For us we only need to proclaim the name of Jesus. His blood covers a multitude of sins.
  Now that I have shown you The Matrix what will you do with this information? You are now accountable for this knowledge. Just like in the occult world you are burdened with the wisdom entrusted to you. If for some reason you have not chosen to follow Jesus yet. Let me tell you friends that no matter what you have done, God is only one step away from you. I know what it is like to do horrible things in the name of another God. He will forgive you! He will save your soul from the clutches of the one that holds it now. No matter what oath you have sworn the ever living and all powerful God has blood that will cleanse you. He will pay for your wrong doing and bring you into another path. What Lucifer did to us man is nothing God cannot fix. If you have chosen another way as I have take heart that the enlightenment that we were offered allows us free will to not choose the betrayer as well. 
  If you haven抰 yet confess all the deeds you have done to God. Believe that Jesus the redeemer抯 blood can cleanse you and save you from the torment to come. Then allow his spirit to come upon you and change you step by step. It is a long road to cleanse up a follower of the evil one. This I can tell you from experience. However friend know that it is possible. No weapon formed against us will prosper when we have God on our side. You no longer need to fear those spirits, principalities, and workers of the evil one.
  Next my new follower of Jesus read the bible. It says it has the power to set you free. Indeed it does. It has the power to cleanse your mind, and it does. It has the power to give you hope, joy, and peace and it does. Then know that the hardest time is yet to come. You now have a lion that is now seeking to devour your with the name Lucifer. You are now his enemy, however notice he wanted you dead either way, and he will do whatever he can to take you out. Take heart though friend God is with you. The suffering we bear in this world only makes heaven more glorious.
  We love the Lord more than the Christian next to us because we know what he has saved us from. We know what this reality is and what is able to do to the people that inhabit it. You can see the matrix now. Now go out into it and tell the whole world what it truly is. You have nothing to lose now. Proclaim the name of Jesus Christ to all who will listen. It is now your job to save as many of those who are still in the clutches of the evil one as possible! Now go my friend and may the Holy Spirit comfort, guide, and teach you in the real truth that is Christ Jesus!

The true matrix

The true matrix
By Rob Roath

  If you are a part of what is known as “generation x” you are no doubt familiar with the movie known as The Matrix. For what it is worth it does however provide us some wisdom into the world that us Christians can get a good deal of wisdom from.
  We will extract what we will call two truths and a lie from the storyline of this movie that is to explain to the “open minded” what life is really about. So let us for just a moment enter into the matrix and see what manner of knowledge can be gained, shall we?
The first truth we will cover is the fact that indeed this world we live in is indeed something altogether different. I learned this at a very young age as it turns out. I found out that the people that were to take care of you just may not be healthy enough for one reason of another to accomplish this task. I also seen the evil that humans are capable of upon their fellow race.
  So because of this fact I was never fooled by the artificial grid that is all around us trying to deceive our eyes into believing that Eden indeed never fell. As you may have seen with most of my writings it does indeed usually come down to this one moment in history. All of our senses constantly take in the propaganda that what can be experienced in this world can give you all you would ever need to be happy. Funny how this sounds like what heaven is to offer isn’t it? Well my friends do not fall for the wizard behind the curtain yet.
  What actually is the case is there is a war that is actually being waged between two players in the heavens. It turns out that they have both convinced themselves that they are the one that is actually worthy of Godhood. The strange thing about this is that one was created from the other. As you may have guessed we are talking about God and Lucifer the betrayer.
This actually directly takes us into the second truth that can be gleamed from the movie. The fact is that we actually can become God is we choose. For what it is worth what is known as the deception actually is falsely named. What happened to Adam and Eve actually did give them the power to become like God. The reason for this is simple. They were able to realize that they actually had a choice. They realized that there was another way to go besides following God. This should be of no surprise however since Lucifer wanted their worship instead.
  Now starts the war that truly wages on throughout history. It is one that happens in the background of all the events that seem to occur in humanity. However it is critical that we understand what is really going on here. We have two “Gods” that are attempting to get the human race to follow them. You can look at it much like those audience votes you may see on various television shows. The host will ask the members of the crowd to cheer for the one they believe is the winner. The one that gets the most noise is then declared the winner. Lucifer has indeed cast his hat into this battle with the aim to get the biggest response.
  If we are to look at the world’s religions we see something that may actually startle some of us that have little knowledge about others beliefs. There is only truly two teams. There is those that side with God and those who choose Lucifer. Now I am sure you may want to argue the fact that this religion or that doesn’t actually worship Satan, but we will get to the evidence in a moment. When we look at the matrix with this revelation suddenly things come right into focus however.
  If you take a moment to consider who Lucifer is and how he works to deceive then you can quickly get on the same page with what I am saying. I would also note that I have spent years and years studying the religions of the world and various occult practices. We will not get into the details as to this now, just know you have someone that has indeed done a great deal of study on this matter.
  Satan is a master of one thing. It almost is the only trick he has in his playbook. The sad thing for humanity is that it tends to work really well. The weapon he uses is so simple that we almost fall for  it ever time. It is selfishness. He went around heaven and stroked the angels pride and convinced them that they could become like God as well. Entrusting them to this “hidden knowledge” is the key to how he works. Like insider trading you believe that you have been given wisdom that no one has. An unfair advantage in the crowd.
  What he hadn’t told the angels, nor man for that matter, is that he hasn’t figured out how to attain superiority over God. All he has ever been able to accomplish is to get beings to cheer for him. For what it is worth that is pretty close to Godhood don’t you think? So if he can just get enough people to choose him over that “other guy” he wins right? Well no and here is why.
  He has a small personality fault in that he just doesn’t like to tell the truth to everyone so they really can make an informed decision for themselves. If you are to trace the world’s religions back to their source you will see they all go back to one place Babylon, Campbell actually had it right and totally wrong at the same time in how work on this subject. The story does indeed show itself in all religions. However since he only had part of the understanding he couldn’t ever figure out why that is. If you take into account that Lucifer’s uncanny need to want to be worshipped it instantly makes so much sense.
  Why not just play a switcheroo? Is this not the most common way a swindler could get one over on you? If we just were to retell the Eden story then the good guy becomes the bad guy and bad guy becomes the good one.  So this is how it works. In the “mystery based religions” what actually happened is that God was forcing humans to do what he wanted them to do. Lucifer merely showed them that they had free will and then allowed them to truly become what they were made to do. Well that sounds reasonable enough huh? Well again we do not hear the whole story from the serpent here either. He “enlightened” them for one goal, the worship of himself. It had nothing to do with the humans choosing a better path. He did it to have them pick his path.
  Now we can see how all the other religions then combine together to make a cohesive story. Lucifer is just plagiarizing God’s storyline and changing a few details so that he is the good guy in the whole deal. The trinity between Isis, Osiris, and Horus mirrors the holy trinity for one reason only. He wants to replace God with himself. He is what has been known in the bible as “anti-christ.” We must now get into a common misconception of this term.
  Anti-christ doesn’t mean against Christ. It actually means a counterfeit of Christ. He is in fact attempting to be exactly like God with the only change being who is on top. We see in the bible that God recognized this as his failure point as well. It states that he wanted to set his throne above God’s throne. Satan did all this for one reason alone to be a God himself. Doesn’t it then make so much sense that a good deal of the world’s religions give the human the power to become their own God. The sad fact as mentioned prior there is some truth to this. You can turn you back on God and choose the betrayer instead. For what it is worth then you do have the power of your own salvation.
  Now we then get to what exactly the lie in all of this truth. The lie is nothing then but the obvious. There is truly only two doors that can ever be taken. One that leads to God and the other that leads to Lucifer. The reason should be apparent now however let me clarify just in case. If Lucifer wanted to persuade angels and mankind what was the purpose of this? He did it for only one reason to make a system that funneled all the glory, power, honor, and praise to himself.
  The more you read about world religions the more you realize it takes more faith to believe them then it does to follow the one true God of this existence. Christianity has more proof and makes more sense than the other counterfeit ones do combined. Again you must understand I took over 10 years of my life studying these religions, living these religions, participating in these religions. There is not one thing that the enemy could offer me to go back. Why you may ask? It is simple I know the truth about them!
  I have seen spirits torment people and drive them mad, I have seen what magical power can do to the hearts of man. All roads truly do lead to one thing, that is evil. The only reason that I can possibly think that you may be enamored by these rituals is that you have not gone down that path to find out what they really do. Do a simple Google search on Satanic ritual abuse and you will see what really happens on the other side of God.
  I have often said that Satan has a fingerprint. So for those still in doubt let me tell you how you can see the lie for what it is. Lucifer always can be found where these since abound. Sexual

A father's sorrow

A father’s sorrow
By Rob Roath

I remember clearly one day someone telling me that there is no greater pain a human and endure than the rejection of their children. A unfortunately can agree with this with a broken heart. As I write my realization of this wisdom comes crashing back into the forefront of my mind.
  Before me I see my own children rebelling right before my very eyes. A strange foreground to the audio bible playing 1 Thessalonians that is playing right behind me. For I hear Paul state something that I am literally being seen played out before a cast of characters I hold dear to my heart. He says that you do not rebel against the rule of man by to God.
   The unfortunate thing is that I also knew a little one that chose the same path in life. As a youngster little Rob decided to turn his back on his own family and go another route. Only after my dad’s death could this pain even begin to be seen in my own much wiser eyes. For what it is worth I could take no credit for this. I found this wisdom at the hand of my oldest turning his own back on me.
  It is a strange thing how pain works hand in hand with wisdom is it not? As youth we do not believe the harrowing tales of woe from the more senior members of humanity. It is much like listening to the tales of mythology or maybe of Santa. They are fantastic yes, however just not something that could possibly happen in the “real world.”
  Try as they may parent after parent then tries to stop their child from experiencing the scars that they themselves were to stupid to avoid. Just like the generation before they too will see their off spring fall into the age old trap of the sirens delicious song of temptation. We as humans are truly suckers for the same shell game that the enemy has played on the creation of God from the beginning. Now tell that to your Darwinian believing friend next time you meet up. We have indeed never evolved as the theory was sold to the masses.
  This vicious cycle although sad has a much more significant story to teach us this day. Along time ago I cried out to God and asked him what this whole miserable existence was truly about. “What is the punch line here God?” I must have said to him that day. To my surprise I got what I thought to be the incorrect answer. The wisdom that followed I have actually wrestled with every day since.
  What he told me was this. “Sin doesn’t really matter son.” “All I really want is for my creation to walk with me in the cool of the day as I once did.” Back in Eden the ever living creator of all made man for one thing, to commune with him. For some one reason of another the angels just didn’t do it for him. He like Adam to follow needed a partner, someone to share his life with. I have always found it interesting that Adam came to the same conclusion God himself did by the way.  Animals just didn’t do it for Adam either it seemed.
  However as it is with most things of this world it comes back to the temptation of Satan to man that undid what God wanted with his newest friends. As our kids do to us so did Adam and Eve to God. They turned their back on their father and were convinced they had a better plan. Now for just one second I want us all to think of the thing we probably have never pondered. How God felt about this rejection.
  What? You aren’t going to tell me that you think God doesn’t have the ability to have his feelings hurt are you? If we are created in God’s image I would say that indeed that day he felt yet another time the rejection of his creation. Do not forget that he lost his most magnificent angel Lucifer and 1/3 of the other angels as well! If anything my friends God knows rejection.
  So how did it then feel for God to experience the loss of these new beings that he spent so much time creating an existence for. Remember that he spent a good deal of time crafting the heavens, the earth, all the sorted animals, and most of all Eden for their delight. He then placed Adam in there only to find that he was not happy about any of it. Immediately he found that his job was just not pleasing to his son. All that was created just didn’t make him happy.
  Again God went to work to please his creation and created woman for this finicky son. The story continues with a long lost betrayer of God turning the hearts of his new walking buddies. God had enjoyed them daily in the cool of the day until the day that would end it all between God and man. We call this the fall. However I would say that this is more of like an adultery scene. He caught them in bed as it where with the one that had rejected him prior.
  The reason for all this reminiscing is simple. We must understand who God is. He is a father first, then a creator. He made all that we currently see for us to enjoy. Humans unfortunately had the smart idea to reject the giver of this gift, again no different than happens generationally for man as well. We prepare our nursery; get everything ready for the new bouncing baby only for one day they choose to turn on you and walk away from all the work you put into them.
   For it seems as though the only way we can learn as humans is through the painful teacher of life. We seem to be a little pig headed that way. The Holy Spirit, our parents and others that care for us can do as they may to inspire us to go God’s way however we would rather choose our own adventure. The results as we all know are exactly what we were warned of. The one thing I have learned in this life is that the only reason we are so very “wise” as adults is nothing more than the fact that we have the scars for the sins we choose to carry out. Nothing more than that.
  God wanted only one thing from all the beings he created I think. He wanted to hang out with them. He wanted to spend quality time with them. No different than us parents wants to do with our own children. However as we all know sin always gets in the way of even our greatest plans in life. This was as true for us as it is our God. What stops the quality father and son time with our Lord? Just sin my friends, just sin.
  Take the time today to make things right as much as you can with your God. Confess your sins to him. Let him know how you really feel about him. How he has hurt you and what is keeping you from getting close with him. Then do your earthly creations a favor and do what you can to mend the relationships with your kids. Even if it goes miserably wrong at least do what you can on your side to mend the bridge that has been torn down between you. Remember that God has the same sort of challenge restoring his relationship with you.

Thank you Lord for our selfishness

Thank you Lord for our selfishness
By Rob Roath

Today as everyone bustles around and the kids play outside I sit and ponder the many wonders of life. As I was looking for something to do I picked up the many ads for this or that Black Friday sale. I have always thought this term seemed to fit the day.
  I looked at ad after ad and realized something that had come up in earlier conversation. I really have no need for stuff anymore. This sort of carnal pleasure just doesn’t do anything for me any longer. Not that I wouldn’t like the newest electronic gadget. My wife would call be a liar on such statements straightaway. More of the fact that it had been unmasked in my eyes.
  Just like the emperor from Star Wars stuff has over the years lost its gleam and shown itself for what it is. The pleasing on ones self, or worse the proof that we actually love those around us. We have indeed been duped by cunning marketers that the amount we love one is directly proportional to the goods we purchase for them.
  I thought about this long and hard over the hours before I opened my laptop to pen this article. I lived in what most would call “below the poverty line.” We had nothing more than a social security paycheck to fund my parents and 2 kids. Growing up I always said that I would get myself to the point in adulthood that I would never tell myself that I wouldn’t buy what I felt I wanted to have.
  The young Rob enjoyed all the delights a human hedonist could ever want. All the stuff, girls, drugs and the like that I could foster up to fill the lusts of my insatiable appetite for whatever pleased me. The funny thing is that as those of us that have done such carnality it just starts to satisfy less and less. This usually results in increased depravity. Luck for me my life took a turn for the worse.
  A divorce broke out in my reality and unexpectedly destroyed the heart of that pleasure seeker. Who knew that this sort of man had feelings..right? Well I guess he did. This point of life really changed things for me in ways that would end up changing the entire course of who I would become.
  I remember clearly the day I met a man that I truly wanted to become. His wife was truly amazing. His kids almost seemed to gleam with radiance. He had the charisma that would win anyone that came across him. I wondered what on Earth this man could be possibly doing to have such an existence.
  I looked to my own family now in ruin. My wife had left me and I was alone. I remembering asking this guy what made is family end up as it did. His answer was just something I couldn’t accept. He said he was a Christian. Growing up catholic had destroyed my want of anything to do with God, much less Jesus.
  I remember telling this man at the time that I just couldn’t accept that being a Christian could foster these results. However here is the funny part my insatiable selfishness actually lusted for what this man had. Thank the Lord for selfishness, it saved my life!
  Now before we get into this to far let me tell you that selfishness is still a mountain that I fight to resist. No doubt the residue of my childhood never resolved. However I need to tell you the strange things about this. As I continued to grow in Christ the very one I had looked to as the reason for me coming to Christ started to reveal his secrets.
  As I continued on living life and moving from one trial to another I found out that this family that I had looked to as the pinnacle of Christianity dissolved into almost Jerry Springer like scandal. One of the many times I have seen the hidden layer of selfishness that resides just below the surface of what seems to be “perfect Christians.”
  Selfish indeed seems to have no respect for your religion. As it look me in my youth so has it taken Christians I have known throughout the years, even to the point that they end up renouncing their faith. How could this be that someone that had what seems to be everything a man would want get taken out by the enemy? Well the answer is the same for us all. The enemy is an expert in what you struggle over.
  The thing that we must all keep in mind though is this. Sin and selfishness are synonyms. The meaning of the words are the same. We can always trace a sin to someone not choosing God in their life’s choices. We only indeed have two doors in our life’s many decisions, that of choosing God or choosing for us to be the God of our own lives.
  Please my friends do not get me wrong here. I never would possibly proclaim to have it all right. I would be the first to admit I am what I call “the world’s worst Christian.” What we do need to bring to mind however is what we must all keep in mind in our walk. We need to understand what we struggle over and do whatever we can to make sure we avoid the very things we know can take us out.
  Just like the enemy tries to get us around the things he knows we have a hard time resisting, so we need to make sure we are not 1000 miles from it. We must understand that our selfishness is God’s unexpected gift to man. For without us knowing what we could do to ruin our lives we would not see how we need to be saved.
  You could look at the event at Eden being the worst thing to happen to mankind. With my life as it has been I see this as exactly what humanity needed, proof that they cannot handle the role as God. We just do have not have what it takes to die to ourselves and give it all for another. Sure we may have days of goodness, however how many days is it really?
  So on this day when we are supposed to consider what we are thankful to our Lord and Savior for consider to add in two every important things. One would be my lost friend that didn’t deal with his selfishness and it over took him. Do you have any sins that you need to come clean with and bring into the light before they kill you? The last is our gift of selfishness. For it makes all things clear that we indeed need a savior to help us from what we ourselves want to destroy.                                                                      

The corruption of this world

The corruption of this world

By Rob Roath

  It has occurred to me that I was wrong after all. I spent a great deal of my adult Christian life poking fun at those fellow believers that just had to listen to Christian music all day long. I thought why is it all that bad to listen to this popular song or that. The funny thing is that the answer as it usually does for me came from an unlikely source, my garden.

  In studying Permaculture and Ecology there is the major tenant that the world is always fighting to return itself to its natural form. The term at the moment funnily enough escapes me. However the idea is that nature will get itself back to balance. For us this means one thing…a curse. Yes I know this would seem strange until you think of a time a good deal ago.

  Back in Eden there were the first two rebels to come on the scene to humanity. Before you get to worked up let me advise you that these were not the only rebels. There were many more to appear through the sorted history of mankind. So please do be gentle on these two. They truly only show one thing about God’s creation, they want to be bad.

  Go here is the scene, we have a perfect picture of God communing with man, however things go the way they always do straight south. Adam and Eve decide that indeed that cunning liar Satan is right and indeed they can become God’s as well. Mind you that Lucifer didn’t mention that he hadn’t figured out that little point out yet himself.

  Either way the two decided to see for themselves if indeed they could equal their creator. This happens every generation if you think about it. The new children are certain that their parents are totally cracked and assure themselves that they just have a better way of cracking the nut. As we all know this idea is just about as good as the one Adam and Eve fell for.

  So the end resulted in weeds. Yup you got it. The dreaded enemy of all us growers of food out there.  These little darlings of destruction believe it or not have a purpose in an ecosystem. They grow where they are needed to grow. Mind you the gardener may have another idea to a better place, however they are doing their job. They are the definitive starters of the return to stability. Chaos into order as this may indeed be.

  My point with the weeds is this. Like the good ole Dandelion we have such a curse in us. It is called sin. Our ground is no different than the earth we tiil to grow in. Both are cursed by God.  This world is cursed and taints all things. With this information in mind we return to the initial matter of those blasted Christian music listeners.

  Why indeed does one need to pump ”Jesus is good, Jesus is a really cool dude” into our ears all day long? Well to my surprise an answer did indeed come…weeds. If we do not make certain that our minds are fixed on God we will get ourselves corrupted by the weeds of this world. I seem to remember a parable about this that our Lord taught, don’t you? The cares of the world allowed that believer to get his salvation robbed from him.

   My wife and I also exhibited this difference to my shame. I noticed that we were just on two different wavelengths constantly. It sadly enough made me a little gruff because we were not seeing eye to eye on matters. What was the difference? Well simple as a man I was focusing on money and my gift from God was focusing on her creator. Indeed whatever I was interested in was never what she was. This just reminded me of one thing. How rebellious indeed I am to my Lord.

  I have spent a good deal of my life running from a father that has been trying with all his might to straighten and teach a rebellious tot. My hard life has really been due to the fact that I just will not submit to the teaching of my God. No different than our children that do not want to listen to their parent as well. The book indeed gives us the answers we need. The question is then “do we want to adhere to the truth?”  To that I say no we just do not.

  As humans we just revel in sin. We love it. We lust for the bad payoff that it gives us. If we didn’t we wouldn’t do it. It is just as simple as that. However this is just not the case. We sin due to the fact that we want to. We do not follow wisdom because we do not want to change things in our life. We allow then corruption to happen.

  So indeed the Christian music lovers indeed had it right all along. We must force ourselves to be bathed in the word at all moments in our life. This is nothing more than trying to stave off the corruption that this world is constantly exposing us to. You think it was bad my friends just wait. We have just seen the opening act here in America. You will not be able to look at the television of even a magazine without needing to take a shower to cleanse yourself.

  We must do whatever we can to set out minds, hearts, thoughts, eyes, and every other part of us to God. What hope do we have any other way? Paul I think really did have it right. We must take every thought captive and make sure we are praying without stopping. We then create a couple of essential things for those who really want to follow Christ.

  The first thing is we essentially create a force field around us that is Christ. If all we think about is Godly things then just by the sheer numbers we will outweigh the input of the corrupt world into our lives. We will then be able to ward off the fiery arrows that are constantly being launched our way.

  The second thing is truly the key. We are for lack of a better term tuned in to God’s station. We have a much greater chance to be in the will of God. Why is that the case? Simple we will be able to hear from the Holy Spirit in the ways that he speaks to us. We will then be able to be agile to what God would have us do in this world.

  Is that not after all what we are supposed to be doing anyhow? The bible states that we are to be the ambassadors of Christ to this fallen world. This means that every Christian’s duty is to always be on duty. Just like the ambassadors in this world they always represent the country they stand for in the foreign territory. So we do for Christ.  There is never a time that we do not represent the one that sent us. This is as true in our house as it is on the other side of the door outside. This means something clear if you are to follow the logic out, we have a boss. The ambassador doesn’t do whatever he wants. He is a mouth, hand and feet for the one that had sent him. He carries out the instructions from his home nation.

  It is not our job and never will be to take on the characteristics, customs, and rituals of this foreign soil. We are from heaven folks. We do not need to represent the world we were sent to. We were sent from another place to represent it! We must not lose sight of what we need to do why we are here. We are all the official spokespeople for Jesus of Nazareth, if you like that fact or not. There was never meant to be a professional for this post.

  We must all take up our duty to keep our selves clean, and as uncorrupted as we possibly can be. For those like me we must understand who we are working for. If we believe in God we must also accept him as our boss. With that said we must also accept the paycheck that he has decided to give us. Like the parable of the workers of the field. He chooses our salary. No matter how hard the job is for us to do.

  Some of us ambassadors will have a nice job in a peaceful nation. Some of us will live as peasants in a poor one. This is Christ’s choice alone to choose where he places us and what we are to do while assigned there. Remember friends that there has never been an American Christian. We are not from this county. We are from heaven on a short stent here. We have no idea how long we will stay here until we are reassigned.

  To sum this all up I say this. If you read Hebrews you will see the unending theme of suffering for Christ and righteousness. Have you ever wondered why these two unlikely topics would be put together? It is because of the curse. If we follow Christ we oppose this world and they will hate us for it. We like the bible clearly states will be like a mirror to them showing all who gazes upon us their own sin. Not that we have any glory in ourselves, but the fact still remains as it does.

  If you stand for the Lord and resist the temptations of this world and stay bathed in your Lord you will find your enemy. Just like Satan in Eden sin loves to corrupt others. As I have always said sin is never satisfied. It always wants to become bigger than it once was.

  Resist the enemy friends and he will indeed flee from you. Accept your job as it has been assigned and carry it out till your death. Remember that this world is not the one we look forward to. We should always want to return to the place we long to be…..home.

How to stay true to your faith

I think that the real battle that every Christian wages is in his own mind. This is where the true fighting occurs.
  We will look today we ways to run a straight race right to the finish line. Paul used this analogy for those that were well acquinted to the games so common to Roman life.
  Why use this as an illustration? I say because it truly defines how we must condition ourselves for the task ahead.
  If you do any athletic training you will first be introduced to what is known as "the mental game." Any difficult task that an athlete is going to prevail against must first hurdle his own intellect.
  So we now turn to our first, and what I see as critical, issue reality. I was just telling my kids that everyone thinks they are a great this or that, however it doesn't mean they are. It is most important that we squarely look into the face of the monster we truly are.
  I call this "carrying your weight." What I mean by this is you must be able to see the damage your sin is causing you and those around you.
  I have always said "there is power in knowing who you are." This is so very true. Acknowleding your weaknesses and and tuning your life to avoid your tempations is the first step to success.
  Now that we have dealt with reality we must now go into the analysation phase. We must ask ourselves if there is anything we are currently doing, thinking, or engaged in that is counter to God's word.
  The very definition of a hypocrite is one that says they believe this and actually do things that defy that belief. We must adhere to a stict code of transparency. There is no way sin can be hidden in a life that all can see.
  Now we are getting somewhere! However this indeed is a place most do not want to visit. We like our privacy don't we? But may I ask you why you cherrish it so? Is it not so that others do not figure out who you really are?
  My mom had always said that "you can't love if you can't be vulnerable." Those words always stick with me. As one that had some horriable things happen in his childhood I know isolation. I would be lying if I have mastered "my people side."
  I can tell you one thing for certain though. I guard myself from people because they have hurt me so. Are you like me in this way? We must know what I call "our mountains." Those issues that we really struggle over.
  This is key to figuring out what we have and still need to deal with in our lives. Some of our issues do not only keep us from those we love but also our God. Someone told me that a wall closes you in as well as it keeps others out.
  Now that we have looked at what is in our closet we must now go to the trashman. This indeed is where we as Christians differ from the world. Instead of picking up that new top selling self-help book we must go to our creator. The one that can remove the trash in our lives. If you have gone to any A.A. meetings you will know that the addictive cycle ends with a promise that you will "never do it again."
  We have no strength to change us. The fact is that each and everyone of us wants to be bad. We love it! We are like this because we get some benefit from it. To be true to your faith we must face it friends.
  No more are your days of battling your secret sins! As a church we must realize that the people sitting next to us are as messed up as we are. The church must return to being a hospital. A place where people are allowed to explain their illness, get treatment, and get healed.
  We just can't allow another day of living a dualistic lifestyle. Playing the part of a holy roller on Sunday and struggle with porn the rest of the week.
  My friends the only thing that separates the follower of Christ and those who don't is that we have hope. Hope in a caring, loving, and skilled surgeon that is waiting for us to sit down long enough on the table to do the procedure.
  Be true to who you are, what you have done and take it to the father. Get into a real group of people following their Lord. Let them love you, accept you, and encourage you along the way.
  In closing we must all admit that not only do we need a savior but we also need others. We want isolation so we can bleed alone. This is just not God's plan. Just like it is not in the blueprint for Christians to lynch the hurting.
  Put your heart out there folks. It is the only way we can truly love. After all aren't we suppose to be identified by how we love one another? Have courage friends to live a radical life as our Lord did.