The Supreme Court Has the Final Say

October 7, 2014October 7, 2014Allen Frederick Leave a comment

“At the establishment of our constitutions, the judiciary bodies were supposed to be the most helpless and harmless members of the government. Experience, however, soon showed in what way they were to become the most dangerous… In truth, man is not made to be trusted for life, if secured against all liability to account.” —Thomas Jefferson, letter to Monsieur A. Coray, 1823

I think old Tom was on to something way back in the OLD DAYS!

English: The Supreme Court of the United States. Washington, D.C. Français : La Cour suprême des États-Unis. Washington D.C., États-Unis. ‪Norsk (bokmål)â¬: Høyesterett i USA. Washington, D.C. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

With all the power the Supremes’ have amassed for themselves it seems that they have set themselves up as the authority on all things about life and happiness. I think I read somewhere that man was created with certain inalienable rights among them was the right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Unless the Supremes’ have a differing opinion about what is considered your personal LIBERTY and happiness. I would think that part of being happy is having a STABLE society with agreeable societal norms established by society. Besides the government is supposed to represent the wishes of the people who empowered them in the first place not legislate away all their ideas and freedoms.

Lately the Supreme court has decided to not bother to hear any cases of SAME-SEX marriage, which means SAME-SEX marriage is now the DEFAULT law of the land even though WE THE PEOPLE have said no many times. So now that same-sex marriage is the law of the land that means families are no longer made up of a mother and a father who have biological children, the family will now be open to court discretion and legal construct since we took out the NATURAL ORDER OF THINGS and relegated Nature’s GOD and subjected HIM to the rules of man.

And this is going to help build up society how? Seems to me that the courts have finally put the last nail in the coffin of civil society by disrupting the NATURAL order of things and replaced it with COURT ORDERS. THUS SAYS THE SUPREME COURT!

Well the holy handbook of Juris Prudence states things differently. Jesus said He was the last authority when he spoke these words:

Revelation 1:8 (AMP)
8 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, says the Lord God, He Who is and Who was and Who is to come, the Almighty (the Ruler of all).

So the real SUPREME ruler of all things gets the last word, the one clothed in a WHITE ROBE will be the final judge on things of life; not mortals dressed in black robes.

And that is the way I see it! What say you?

Fruit Inspectors, Log Detectors, or Foolish Advisors? You be the Judge!

September 1, 2014October 25, 2014Allen Frederick Leave a comment

Isaiah 59:14-15 “And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth has fallen in the streets and equity cannot enter. Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no judgment.”

I am afraid that we have lost our way in America. For too long we have been fed this anti-biblical principle that no one is allowed to judge anyone for anything, and we are all just supposed to love one another no matter how the other person behaves or what the other person believes even if those beliefs are contrary to our own. We are being told over and over that tolerance is the way forward, and we all need to be accepting of others.

The only problem with this is those who are calling for others to not judge set themselves up as the arbiters and judges of all that is judgmental. In other words they judge others while exempting themselves from the same judgment they are meting out.

In fact, in today’s modern culture, “judge not” carries more weight than another of Christ’s one-liners, ”Go and sin no more.” This is a situation where a little Bible knowledge can be a dangerous thing.

JUDGE NOT and THOU SHALL NOT are not stand alone statements.

It is important to take scripture in context to get the full meaning of what Jesus or any of the other biblical writers are trying to say. Taken in context then we have our judge not comment below.

Mathew 7:1-5 “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.”

You see, Jesus commanded us to not judge hypocritically, He never commanded us not to judge. He asked us to remove the logs so we could “see clearly” to help our brother. How are we to remove a log if we feel that we do not have a log? And how is it that we learn about having a log in the first place? If everyone around us keeps telling us the way we see things is right and good, then we will continue down a path that we think is right only to find that path led us right to our own demise. What was the problem? How did we get here? Why did God allow me to go down this road? My friend it was because you had believed the lie that you should not be judged in anything you said or did or thought. You were blinded by a huge log that you refused to allow anyone to point out to you.

So then how do we learn about our logs or specks for that matter? We learn from others who have already removed the logs from their eyes, or better had the logs removed for them by the Lord through spiritual encounters.

I Corinthians 2:15 “But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.”

We are instructed to judge all things….things…not people. Actions, thoughts and words are things. Choices are things, what people do are things. You should judge decisions and actions of others to decide if those actions are good or bad. Yes my friends some things are bad for you. Heck if we follow the teaching of these blinded fools and not judge anything then we will not be long for this life since we will be eating poisoned fruit. Who is it among us who will stand and say that they do not judge what they eat? No one would intentionally ingest poison, and yet many, for lack of judgment, are ingesting a deadly poison, that of a failed worldview. Their visions are clouded by huge logs. Just like a good chef knows how to pick good fruits and vegetables to cook with, and seeks out only the freshest and finest ingredients, shouldn’t we do the same when it comes to things that pertain to this life?

Yes we are and yes we should!

I Corinthians 6:2-4 “Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.”

“….How much more the things that pertain to this life.”

Only a fool would willing eat poison, or follow a path that led off a cliff, and using sound judgment is the key to avoiding such deadly consequences. The problem with sin though is its subtlety. It is not labeled poisonous and there are no DANGER signs posted on the pathway of destruction. In fact sin is very enticing, it has an intoxicating appeal. It is addictive. Like the siren’s of Homer’s Odyssey sin’s haunting allure leads all to their destruction.

We all have specks in our eyes and our visions are cloudy, some even have forest growing in their eyes, therefore all of us need some guidance and direction when it comes to matters that pertain to life. It is where we go to get that instruction which could be a matter of life and death. Paul admonished the Corinthian church to set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. In other words listen to those who you might not otherwise esteem as notable. Many times God speaks through those we least expect and in ways that challenge our intellects.

How then can one know what is good and what is bad? Discernment is the short answer, but learning from others is probably the better answer. Allow others to look for logs and specks. Allow your fruit to be inspected by a certified fruit inspector.

Matthew 7:15-18 “Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.”

Jesus clearly delineates between good and bad, and exhorts us to do the same. That requires judgment.

Do not think too highly of yourself that you feel you are above reproach in all areas of life. Pride will surely lead you down the road of self-destruction because you will not heed the warnings of others, or listen to the rebukes of those who have gone down the same path before you. You will simply cry out in a loud voice…WHO ARE YOU TO JUDGE while you are speeding along the pathway of destruction.

A Violent Purge

August 23, 2014August 22, 2014Allen Frederick

1 John 4:3 (AMP)
³ And every spirit which does not acknowledge and confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh [but would annul, destroy, sever, disunite Him] is not of God [does not proceed from Him]. This [nonconfession] is the [spirit] of the antichrist, [of] which you heard that it was coming, and now it is already in the world.

persecuted The recent violence in Gaza has drawn attention away from the continuing extreme actions by ISIS, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Having conquered much of northern Iraq, ISIS is busy persecuting Chaldean Christians in the area. The city of Mosul, for example, has been purged of Christians, perhaps numbering 100,000. As one commentator observed, “Our worst nightmare is confirmed. Christianity in Mosul is dead, and a Christian holocaust is in our midst.” The goal of the radicals is to create an Islamic state with no room for dissenters. Christians are being forced to convert to Islam, face death, pay a fine or leave.

What many do not know is that Islam was the driving force behind the original Jewish Holocaust that brought about WWII. Hitler was urged to purge the Jews by Islamic leaders of the day. Nazism and Islamic extremism are blood brothers.

The battle in Israel is the same battle being waged around the world. China removes crosses from churches, Obama covers-up crosses when he gives a speech at a religious building. The ACLU and Freedom from Religion organizations are suing cities and towns across the country to remove roadside crosses. Recently there was a lawsuit to keep the ground zero cross out of the ground zero museum, where the court recently ruled that the cross could be included and indeed should be.

Since the time of Eden Satan has waged a war against God and anything that resembles God on earth, thus this purging of Christians and Christian symbolism along with the constant attack on the Jewish people, are all symptoms of the same spirit, the spirit of the Antichrist.

Who Do People Say You Are? Stealing Your Identity

August 21, 2014August 19, 2014Allen Frederick Leave a comment

Matthew 16:13-19 (GW)
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They answered, “Some say you are John the Baptizer, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 He asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!”
17 Jesus replied, “Simon, son of Jonah, you are blessed! No human revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven revealed it to you.
18 You are Peter, and I can guarantee that on this rock I will build my church. And the gates of hell will not overpower it.

Let’s think about the word IDENTITY. The definition of the word identity is “The fact of being who or what a person or thing is.” We could sum up our identity with so many attributes that make us who we are, but the fact of the matter is that our identity is found in who God says we are. Only He can define what we are, and the Bible says that He calls us His treasured possession. In fact, it says that He has chosen us to be His treasured possession that we may declare the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His wonderful light.

Deuteronomy 14:2 (NIV)
For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be his treasured possession.

1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

Our identity is not in how much talent we have or how many Facebook likes we receive. Our identity is not how much fame or future we garner or how big an applause we get. Our identity is not defined by social media hype or buzz, nor is it defined by positive or negative tabloid reviews.

When Jesus asked his disciples what the social buzz was about who he was, he was greeted with the most obvious answers, his identity was being compared with other famous people of the day.

Some said he was John the Baptist, or Jeremiah, Elijah or one of the other prophets. They were relating to him what others said about Jesus based on what he was saying and doing. They were judging him based on his performances in the city square, and really had no idea who Jesus really was.

Jesus then asked his disciples personally who they though he was. Peter answered with Jesus’ true identity that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Jesus praises Simon for comprehending who Jesus really was, a revelation he got directly from God himself. As a result Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter which means rock. And upon this rock of the revelation of who Jesus really was, upon this solid foundation of Jesus’ true identity, Christ was going to build his church. A church based upon the knowledge of Jesus being the living God, the one and only true Messiah.

Many still see Jesus as nothing more than a good man, or a prophet of God, but not until they get the heavenly revelation of Jesus’ true identity will they really know Jesus for who he really was and why he came to earth.

Getting back to who do people say you are, we need to look at how we identify ourselves. How do we define who we are. How do we gauge our successes or failures?

How do you define yourself? Do you define who you are by what you do? Do you find your identity in who your family is? Do you decide who you are by what you own? Does your bank account determine your self-worth? Are you more concerned about what others say about you and as a result of attempting to please others you have lost sight of what really makes you happy? Who are you? What makes you tick? Why do you do what you do? What makes you who you are?

When we allow others to define who we are it is easy to get lost in the fantasy world they will then create for us to live in. Their approval, or applause will decide how we behave. When we are living for the approval of others, it is easy to lose sight of what really makes us function as a whole human being. Opinions of others matters more than our own opinions. Being forced to do for others to please them is a pretty sure path to losing yourself in the process.

When the applause stops our purpose for living ends as well. When others start to criticize and belittle us, we start to believe their bad press. By allowing others to define who we are, we fall into the trap of defining our self-worth based upon what others think we are worth.

This could very well explain entertainers who self-destruct through the abuse of drugs and alcohol because they have lost sight of who they are and what makes them happy. They have spent so much of their life pretending to be someone else to be liked by others that they despair for lack of a true identity.

One of the positive results of knowing Christ is He changes our identity and places within us a new improved identity, one that is incorruptible and life changing. God does not see us how the world sees us for that matter even how we see ourself. Simon became Peter once he knew who Christ really was. It was the life-changing revelation that allowed Peter to be bold in the face of personal attacks and character assassination attempts by those who wished to demean him and dismiss him as insignificant. Peter now knew who he was in Christ, his identity was no longer based on the shifting sand of popular opinion, his identity was now hid in Christ who saw him as ‘a rock.’ We need to note that all this took place before Peter denied he knew Christ three times.

Jesus knew who Peter was better than Peter knew who he was. Jesus was able to teach Peter what his true identity was and is. In Christ we find our true life, and our true identity. It is in Christ we find our purpose and our hope for living, apart from Him we actually can do nothing.

John 15:5,6 (AMP)
5 I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing. 6 If a person does not dwell in Me, he is thrown out like a [broken-off] branch, and withers; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and they are burned.

By associating with Christ, and drawing from Him, and allowing Him to define us, our identities are changed from a fruitless vine into a fruitful one. We are no longer fit for the garbage heap but instead are considered a treasured possession. We have value, so much so that Jesus shed His blood and died for you. You have eternal value, do not allow your value to be cheapened by allowing your identity to be stolen by the beggarly elements of society. Your of heavenly value, believe that and then live like you are a treasure, your life has great value and God knows it. Do you?

Don’t let others steal your identity secure it in Christ.

Robin Williams and the Fraility of the Human Condition

August 18, 2014Allen Frederick Leave a comment

Psalm 69:1-3 (HCSB)
¹Save me, God, for the water has risen to my neck. ² I have sunk in deep mud, and there is no footing; I have come into deep waters, and a flood sweeps over me.

Robin-Williams (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Last Monday night, the tragic announcement of actor and comedian Robin Williams’ death, apparently by suicide, shocked many of us. It was known that he struggled with severe depression, but for many of us the only encounters we have had with Robin Williams was via his portrayal of a character we have grown to love; Aladdin’s Genie, Mrs. Doubtfire, Peter Pan, or in his more serious roles as Patch Adams, or English teacher John Keating in “Dead Poets Society“, and psychologist Sean Maquire in “Goodwill Hunting“. For most of us this is the only thing we know about Robin Williams. We were not made aware of all his private struggles only those which became public knowledge. We were not invited into his everyday life and permitted only a glimpse into who Robin Williams was a a whole man.

For most of us, celebrities like Robin Williams are one-dimensional people, summed up by the quality they’re best known for such as Williams’ zany humor. It can be hard to understand that a man who made so many others laugh could struggle with the disease of depression. But the truth is that no one is a one-dimensional person. We all have areas of beauty and of darkness in our life. The strongest of us have weaknesses, the “weakest” of us have strengths; the happiest of us can be sad, the saddest can be happy, the healthiest, sick, and the sick, healthy. All of us, if we care to admit it, have areas of darkness we hide away from public view. Many of us put on a happy face to the world even though we might be struggling with our own internal demons. When we come to the place where all hope is lost, and we can not see the light at the end of the tunnel, where do we find hope for our hopelessness? Ironically one of the treatments for depression is laughter.

Life can throw us some pretty tough curve-balls, and heap upon us some really hard challenges, if all we have to rely on is our own intestinal fortitude we can quickly become spent and exhausted from fighting life’s bitter battles. Some may seek relief through escapism, running away from the problems of life. Some may chose to mask the pain through medication or alcohol abuse. Others knowing they are weak in themselves will seek out the help and advice of others, whether they are friends, relatives or professionals. Still others may simply try to ignore the problem hoping that by denying a problem exists it will somehow disappear. When the burdens get so bad, and there seems to be no end to the suffering, whether real or imagined, some look for a way for the bitterness to end. For some this end comes about by their own hand. This is tragic on many levels, and leaves behind a great deal of hurt and pain, along with questions and doubts by survivors who wondered what more they could have done to reach out and help the troubled soul.

Except for the grace of God I too could find myself facing the same demons Robin Williams faced last Monday when he finally had had enough of the pain and hopelessness he was feeling. He may have even cried out to God for help and thought that God was so far removed that he either didn’t care or would not answer. Let me assure you friends that God really does care about every detail of your life. He cared enough to even sacrifice the life of his own son in order to remove the barrier that existed between us and God because of our sinful life choices. He is reaching out a hand of help and comfort to anyone who is willing to grab hold of it and trust God to lift them up out of the miry clay and the pit of despair and set their feet upon a solid rock of hope. (Psalms 40:2).

There is no problem we face that God has not made a way for us to deal with it and to overcome it. He promises to keep us and be with us through every circumstances of life. The problem is we often do not seek God before a calamity besets us, so when we find ourselves in the midst of the crisis we are so far removed from God’s comfort we can not sense his presence when it is needed the most. God’s desire is to not see anyone perish but that all would find salvation and abundant life through his son Jesus. I beg you therefore to seek a relationship with the giver of life before you come to a place where you are seeking to take your own life. It is not too late to find that peace that passes all understanding. You too can find hope when you feel hopeless, comfort when you are comfortless, and joy when you are sorrowful.

No matter what problems you are dealing with, we want to help you find a reason to keep living. By calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255) you’ll be connected to a skilled, trained counselor at a crisis center in your area, anytime 24/7. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline