the nature of the devil

I wasn’t planning to write anything today cos I didn’t have anything to say.

then I had my arts council meeting and I found I had plenty to say after my friend questioned the nature of evil or what constitutes it.

she was trying to say that the devil is excusable for his actions cos she has somehow swallowed the false idea that the devil was asked to bow down to adam.

this never happened.

there is no way God would ever command the devil to do evil cos that would be a contradiction of HIs pure holy nature.

my friend was right in saying that we are the ones who decide whether to give into evil it is not the devil that forces us to do evil but she could not see that it is evil for the devil to tempt us to do evil or she appeared to see him as more of a hero than a villain which is completely ridiculous.

we are not the ones who tempt ourselves.

the devil is the one who tempts us and that’s what makes him evil cos he has allowed evil to invade his nature to the point where he is no longer able to choose to do good cos evil has completely possessed him.

my friend tried to say that venus means the same thing as lucifer.

neither God nor the devil are the authors of evil.

evil has always existed since the beginning of time.

the devil was full of pride and he wanted to be God instead of God so he organized one third of the armies of the  angels and tried to take over heaven but God would not let him succeed.

He cast him down to earth and also to the pits of hell.

the devil is allowed to roam this earth but he is never allowed to have the final say on what happens in it.

although it is true that people choose whether to give into temptation or resist it tempting is not the only thing the devil does.

he is also constantly engaged in warfare whispering lies about who God is, trying to change our minds about religion and our relationship with God, trying to warp the way we see the world and the people in it.

he is constantly trying to use our past against us.

he never quits trying to reinterpret scripture.

if he cant get us to abandon our bibles he will try to get us to change the meaning of their contents in our minds.

he attacks us by encouraging us to fight with our family and friends.

he causes us to make mountains out of molehills, to magnify tiny incidents and to let them fester like puss filled wounds inside our souls.

he works on two fronts when it comes to religions.

he tries to get us saying hateful things about people from other religions and he tries to get us to believe that all religions are the same.

he works two ways when it comes to culture.

he will get us thinking our culture is inferior to another culture or superior to another culture.

he will encourage us to celebrate the parts of our culture that worship him and he will discourage us from focussing on those parts of our culture that are intended for the glory of Christ alone.

some may argue that he will bring fear to peoples hearts . he will keep them thinking that they couldn’t possibly use popular secular songs and add Christian lyrics to them cos his power is in the melodies.

this way he makes sure that his name is glorified when people are too scared of association being made through memory with the sinful activities that took place when they listened to specific songs in the past or simply the worship of satan in most impure form that took place when they gave him praise by uttering profanity or blasphemous words about the king of kings.

all culture was intended for the glory of God. that’s why culture and worship come from the same root word ethnos.

it drives the devil crazy when we worship God that’s why he will do everything he can to try and distract us.

if he cant stop us from attending a worship meeting he will try to encourage us to undress a beautiful human with our eyes or fill our mind with thoughts of how we are hard done by and try to switch our focus from giving glory to God for HIs goodness onto feeling sorry for ourselves cos we are not the king or queen of the universe and we might not live in that mansion down the street.

little do we know that the woman who lives in the mansion down the street may long to strangle herself with a telephone cord cos her husband beats her black and blue every night after coming home drunk from the pub where he wastes a vast portion of his pay flirting with the bar maid and attempting to squeeze any pair of bum cheeks he can get his filthy hands on when they belong to somebody of the female persuasion.

it is too easy for us to look at others lives and think they are a bed of roses when we don’t know what goes on behind closed doors.

unlike the devil while we are breathing and our brains are functioning we will always possess the potential for redemption.

the devil has shot his opportunity to enter heaven in the foot .

we should never have sympathy for him cos he knew exactly what he was getting himself into.

my friend was right he is referred to as the adversary in the bible and also the father of lies who longs to rob kill and destroy us.

if we are wise we will never listen to him but always ignore him cos his only intention towards us is evil just as God’s only intention towards us is good.

Jesus was right not to bow down and worship him.

why would the creator and saviour of the universe worship a lowly created being?

that’s just nonsense

why would the creator worship a foul creature who had tried to destroy His creation ever since they were first brought to this planet?

the devil knew that he was the snake spoken of in genesis and Jesus was and is the seed of the woman that will crush his head under HIs feet.

victory is ours as long as we remain in the will of God.

if we love good and hate evil we will always be on the winning team and never be defeated.

Advertisements

yesterday required a spade

when I was talking about sexual sin yesterday I had an incorrect notion that tamar had married three of Judah’s sons which I didn’t share here.

today when I was perusing genesis 38 I saw clear evidence to the contrary that although tamar was supposed to be married to Judah’s third son shelah this never happened cos Judah was afraid if shelah was given to her in marriage he would die like er (  who ironically erred) and oman his elder brothers.

she must have been a pretty desperate woman to seduce her father in law.

some women in her situation wouldn’t bother to attempt reformation with a family who had rejected them.

perhaps it was a sense of destiny that compelled her to risk being punished as a whore by sitting on the side of the road in her veil ( a sign in that culture that she was a woman who earns her money from the act of copulation) .

it is funny to think of all the little incidents and seemingly insignificant people who play a role in major events occurring in our lives.

if tamar was never told where her father in law went to shear sheep she would never have gained the opportunity to ensnare his heart.

it is possible that had Judah not given her his signet ring cord and staff he may have reneged on his agreement to provide for her a lamb to consume on a later occasion.

it is funny that he was ready to burn her in punishment for being a whore and getting pregnant until she revealed to the world that the baby was his cos of the items he had left to her in broken promise to compensate for their loveless tryst.

it is funny that her firstborn Zerah came out slightly before ( by a matter of hours or seconds) his brother perez with a crimson thread tied to his hand.

what makes this thread interesting is it was also a crimson cord that saved the life of rahab who was linked to him by his family tree through ruth the moabitess and was rescued from death by her lowering of aforementioned rope from the wall of Jericho .

her life was spared cos she chose to shelter the Israeli spies putting her own life at risk in that moment when the city guards were hunting these intruders down baying for their blood like savage wolves.

selah

although I do not know what lies within the heart of every human I do know we were made to worship God so it makes sense that the natural default setting of every human heart is to give God praise and to call upon heaven for assistance during a moment of crisis.

selah

just as tamar was shocked by Zerah pulling his brother back into the womb so he could pop out first life can throw us some unexpected curveballs.

I did not anticipate my friend getting involved with my love life and organising for me to make friends with a woman by talking up my good qualities.

she didn’t know about my bad ones at that stage obviously.

I wish I could say that I am done completely with flirtation involving multiple women with my heart simultaneously but I still have a lot to learn and am In a journey of growth in that department.

although Christians can struggle with sin we should never see our sin as being part of our identity or make excuses for it.

the second we sin we should make every effort to get right with God lest we be held accountable for our idle words and thoughtless actions.

sometimes you can get away with procrastination if you have an innocent look on your face.

i’m not saying such abominable behaviour is ever justifiable by the way.

if we are waiting for a moment when we are perfect before we begin a relationship we will never be ready for one.

it shouldn’t matter how much trash we have involved ourselves with in the past cos we are washed clean by the blood of Jesus .

some pastors isolate themselves by bad mouthing other pastors and churches.

this is not healthy.

we as the church must take responsibility and ownership for being part of the body of Christ.

there are some areas of doctrine where we can agree to disagree on and still wind up at the same final destination.

on other issues however such as the Lordship of Christ and the fact of His resurrection we must be absolutely united or else we are not part of the same bride body just pretenders claiming to be something we are not.

ditto for those who refuse to accept the whole bible as true.

I do not subscribe to the slow earth theory.

I choose to take the bible literally unless it gives me evidence to the contrary such as descriptive language which can only be associated with dreams parables or figures of speech explained as metaphorical depictions of key players in future events.

selah

today in the book shop someone was trying to pick up on my friend lucy by calling her lucy in the sky with diamonds in her eyes.

I think his flattering words were working their magic on her but she was still sufficiently guarded to completely be swayed by his purple prose.

there is one lady at a church I go to who always offers me bread.

she is elderly Italian and kind of short.

she wouldn’t make my garden gnome look like a giant standing beside her but she would probably come up to the height of my shoulder without standing on her tippy toes.

selah

sometimes our moment of greatest triumph can seem like a disappointing letdown of an incident that leaves us crestfallen if we are not careful to rejoice in what we have achieved instead of staying bogged down in the ” it could have been so much more ness” of what we haven’t.

life is a lesson I will never stop learning til the day my mortality becomes replaced in importance by the journey of my spirit and gets jettisoned  completely in the bowels of the earth .

the question I was asked about mother that I didn’t really answer

so my friend Cynthia made me feel really awkward and uncomfortable today.

I am still not sure how I would respond in a way that adequately satisfies her curiosity or even if I want to but for your benefit gentle reader I shall propose to you the same query she placed within my hands to deal with.

I was asked if my mother was the kind of mother who babies her children and makes a lot of fuss over them or if she was one of those other kinds of mothers who doesn’t do that.

I just said she was a caring mother.

which is true but it doesn’t really answer the question.

when I spoke to mum about cynthias question she was certain that she wasn’t the kind of mother who babies her kids.

she sees something wrong with this method of parenting but I don’t.

my folks were always determined that we would call animals by their proper names.

cows were never moo moos ducks were never quacky whackies pigs were never oinkers cats were never kitties dogs were never poochy woochies. everything was called by its proper name in our household.

some may say we had a sheltered life and we were protected in a little Christian bubble as kids cos we went to Christian school and our social interaction was church or diddily squat but compared to some we had a relatively high level of exposure to the world.

we were allowed to make our own stupid choices with the magazines and music we purchased and the movies we went to ( except for when sis wanted to watch clueless n the video store wouldn’t rent it out to her or when my homie wanted to watch cruel intentions cos he was a freak for sarah michele Gellar but cos I didn’t have my I d he had to settle for lost in space lol .

I was happy cos my crush was lacey chabert ❤

I never watched party of five though I did watch one episode of the spin off starring Jennifer love Hewitt.

when I was a teenager my dad didn’t lie to me and tell me that masturbation would make me blind. I thought I would get one over him by telling him that it doesn’t mention masturbation in the bible but he kind of proved me wrong cos even though it doesn’t use that actual word one of judahs sons was considered a criminal in the eyes of God cos he spilled his semen cos he didn’t want to have a baby that wasn’t his own and carry on his dead brothers inheritance.

you would think after one brother got turned into dead dodos the second would have took the hint and started being obedient to God but he didn’t.

it took Judah’s son’s wife playing the whore by the side of the road and having sex with her father in law to get the show on the road for the baby making express.

we thank God for this union cos it resulted in the birth of Jesus .

dad just told me the truth that masturbation will drain you of energy.

it is hard for us to confront those things about ourselves that desperately need changing and must be brought in surrender to the cross.

sometimes my folks do have to explain things to me slowly and carefully and repeat themselves several times before I get the point they are trying to make.

im glad dad spanked me hard for being a liar or else the fire of desire to be a devoted pursuer of truth would never be birthed inside me by the motivation to never experience the bottom whacking of a lifetime again.

he did it the right way. he restrained himself and refrained from punishing us til he was in a calm state of mind.

when he was angry he goes silent as a headstone .

I am more of the loud vuvuzela type of dealer with conflict.

my head becomes like a pan full of eggs that has bubbled and boiled and burst out the lid making a mess all over the kitchen floor.

we have always been able to talk to our folks about any topic under the sun.

sometimes the free and easy way we were raised has resulted in resentment being built up on our parents part in later years.

we were encouraged to ask questions and we were never prevented from challenging their worldview. I think they have sometimes regretted choosing to allow us to be so open with them but it has established a good foundation of honesty between us.

we never felt like we couldn’t talk to them about anything.

we never felt the need to hold anything back from them.

over the years I have learned to clam up and learned the hard way what I caN and cant talk about with my parents.

there are certain ways of thinking they have that they will never grow out of no matter how convincing my arguments are in attempts to persuade them that the way I think is truth.

when dad told me to take cypress hill’s skulls and bones back to the store I recognize now he was right in doing so even though at the time I hated him for it and was angry at him.

I was such a stupid kid.

now that band couldn’t matter less to me cos I am completely absorbed in the world of Christian hip hop.

I want to make it my bread and butter but I know I have a long way to go as an artist before im at the level of Jackie hill perry or my homie knu origen.

I aim to be a bridge between the reformed and non reformed world in Christian circles and the Christian and secular world.

some reformed people would go so far as saying us non reformed Christians are gonna burn in hell but I don’t believe this is the case.

if we know the truth the truth has set us free

and the truth is also a once fully human and always fully Godperson named Jesus ❤

how not to be a godly kid

whenever mum tells me to take my old sheets off my bed , hang washing outside or pick things off the floor so she can mop its tiled cover I get annoyed.

this can either manifest as loud sighing or shouting/ speaking to her in a loud voice or annoyed tone.

I also react badly when she asks me to weed the garden which is why she hardly ever asks.

I know I have a bad attitude .

I get so used to reacting in a certain way.

I know the more often I choose to react in a holy way instead of an unholy way the more it will start to feel natural even though its really supernatural and a miracle and the result of Christ working in me shaping and moulding and changing my nature from evil to good.

I have tried rationalizing in the past.

this woman has given me life. she nurtured me in her womb for nine months she wiped my poopy bottom cleaned up my vomit and put up with my verbal abuse in insult form for years.

she endured my negligence and lazy attitude for multiple decades.

she has been extremely patient and long suffering with me.

she has lived out an example of that 1st Corinthians 13 love.

love suffers long and is kind. it is patient. it keeps no record of wrongs.

I have to fight to prevent myself from doing that.

its so tempting to be petty and hug grievances.

I know Jesus has forgiven me of much so I am conversely able to forgive others of much.

selah

it shocked me today when I heard there is still a wage disparity between African americans and other types of americans.

this has to change.

I don’t know why statistically African americans are charged more for crimes than other types of americans.

is this a corrupt police system or is it the result of an overabundance of gangs pushing people into crime?

we know the bloods and crips got started cos African American kids were being bullied so they decided there was safety in numbers and they decided to stick up for each other and help each other fight their battles.

it started out with good intentions as did hells angels but these groups all spiralled out of control and the bullied became the bullies when they gained power and influence.

in the beginning protecting your set meant looking out for your  friends it didn’t mean exploiting everybody on the block.

something got twisted along the way.

selah

it disappoints me when people call themselves Christians and swear.

I know if someone checked my notifications they would see lots of sleazy comments directed towards women.

maybe some would see them as sleazy and others as just obsessively romantic.

I know I have to work on the way I relate to women better.

it’s hard for me to just be friends with them.

I was never much of a friend to my sister.

we only used to chat in the advertisement breaks on the television shows we watched.

I regret now all the time I wasted arguing over what show to watch.

it seemed so important at the time but I realize now our fights were always so trivial and needless.

I had so many books to read that I just neglected and left on my shelf and only now when it is harder than ever for me to concentrate on something for extended periods of time without screaming am I realizing the richness of the treasure I was given that I missed out of using.

I couldn’t tell you the plots of most of the movies and television show episodes I have watched in my life .

I have read plenty of trashy books that aren’t worth mentioning.

even worthwhile books I wouldn’t bother to read twice cos lifes too short and I literally have hundreds of volumes to work my way through.

selah

im glad my friend t is talking about how autotune isn’t worth listening to .

im glad we don’t live in a world where machine treated vocals have  completely replaced the natural human voice which I consider far superior even with all its flaws cos its the flaws that make our voices interesting.

its possible for someones singing to be too perfect.

I love to hear when someones voice is trained but I also don’t mind when it’s a little rough around the edges when there’s a little huskiness and gravel in their throat.

selah

I don’t get why some Christians are pulling away from Christian content in their raps.

there is probably work for Gods kingdom that’s being done behind the scenes but I would rather they put the truth out there cos it desperately needs to be heard.

some people in the world of Christian hip hop talk more about Jesus in interviews and churches where they preach than they do on wax.

I wouldn’t call Lecrae safe anymore. not since he started talking about women being thick meaning they have big bottoms on let the trap say amen and when he talked about selling pills on the same album.

I don’t get why he would talk about having a new chick when he still has a wife.

if he was talking about when he first met his wife he should have contextualized it.

selah

I don’t get why my friend would want to advertise the person she was before knowing Christ on her website . there are better ways to do it without showing the videos of who she used to be.

I do admire her for being bold enough to shelve an album before its release cos she didn’t want her first audio representation of who she was to be a mockery of Christ or a contradiction of her faith.

it’s sad my friend t isn’t gonna make another album.

there are too many quality cats hanging up their hat before their time to shine Is gone these days.

i love lacey sturms lion tattoo

when katrina started to talk about how I was having fun with all the kids on outreach I didn’t exactly lie to her by letting her think that was the case cos sometimes it was true but obviously as you know gentle reader there were times or at least one terrible day when that statement couldn’t be further from the truth.

I was in a place where I was ready to reveal my wounds to the world but now I prefer to wear a fake plastic smile at church cos these people don’t know me . its different if you are my homie then you get the deep meaningful version of me not the shallow version that only skims the surface details where everything is surface n light. if im never gonna see you again or only see you for five minutes every sunday I don’t need to bum you out with my problems you don’t need to know my private business. its not gonna help you any. its awesome that shes going back to Cambodia next year. I would only go back to check out the one music shop in phnom penh dedicated to Christianity but that’s a long way to travel for native music. you would think Cambodians would be more enterprising. most of the geniuses go to Thailand I guess. they are losing too many young people to overseas cos there are too many people in Cambodia and not enough jobs. the tourism industry is huge but when Chinese go to Cambodia some of them don’t want a Cambodian tour guide they want a Chinese tour guide so they import their tour guides . they have an experience of Cambodia where they never associate with Cambodians. that’s not a crime I just feel they are robbing themselves somehow. what is wrong is the animosity the Cambodians in some circles feel towards the Chinese cos they are helping to boost their economy. the same vitriol is not reserved for the French or Indians who used to own them. it is also wrong that they have hatred for the American people in some quarters. the tourists that are most generous to them come from America. its a different story among Christians. Christians are less resentful towards foreigners. its funny cos its a communist country but buddhism and Hinduism is everywhere. I guess this is the case cos the devil doesn’t see anything as a threat that doesn’t tear any souls away from his kingdom. I had an embarrassing moment there when I assumed that a couple of Indians were indian residents until they spoke to me in a dinky di aussie accent . there were Indians working in garment shops shoe shops and newsagencies. I am still kicking myself for not buying local stamps when the lady behind the counter asked if I wanted some. I was only saying no cos I didn’t want to send my postcard but I am a philatelist. I wasn’t much of one in that moment though. 🙂

selah

katrina said she went to a remote village when we got split up and went to different churches. she really enjoyed the chance to reconnect with old friends she had made when she was there on a previous trip. its sweet that our church has really bonded with Cambodia. we don’t have any church plants over there. according to my friend gej its kinda difficult to establish relationships with the native inhabitants. I found that to be true only cos I suck at deciphering the khmer accented English.

if you speak French however you would have a field day evangelizing amongst the elder generation.

not sure if I mentioned previously the church we went to had a new building donated to them by a bunch of Koreans who wanted nothing in return not even the right to dominate proceedings henceforth. that’s a refreshing attitude.

I condemn the actions of mark zuckerburg taking down my homie lazarous’s post about paedophile priests.

those best qualified to condemn sin are those who have struggled with it themselves.

for me I have struggled with desires. they haven’t translated into physical actions praise the Lord.

whats up with mark zuckerburg these days? he seems like a kid in a candy store with a hammer just smashing everything in sight cos hes got an a d d induced sugar rush and needs to wear himself out.

I guess being accused of being in collusion with Russian spies can send anyone a little troppo but he was guilty of meddling in internet freedom before that when his people got an anti muslim facebook page owner taken to jail for the night .

they got their page back but they had to label it extreme humour.

soon America will have a fresh bunch of elections.

we will see if trump will last another term.

I could live without him in  charge but I hope the republicans win or some Christian alternative.

we have no Christian alternative in Australia that has significant numbers to make a difference .

in the uk we have conservatives but those at the top are in bed with the liberals so nothing gets done that needs to get done and terrorists walk free with a slap on the wrist and a cry of naughty boy don’t you try that again you hear.

mustangs have been cars so long its hard to remember when they were just a horse.

Marlborough was a place in the uk before it was a place in atearoa and a smoking cowboy.

its probably just as well joe camel keeled over cos he encouraged little kids to smoke.

I want an aboriginal person to tell me who Vincent lanyari was and what he did with his life apart from fight for land rights.

I like Rodney king how he tried to bring people together even though he was a drunk.

sometimes drunks make good companions so long as you keep a safe distance from them like across the other side of the grand canyon which my homegirl deja and her hubby boo jimmy recently visited.

sorry simpsons fans his last name isn’t jillikers.

God bless you heaps.

never forget He loves you and He can use you whatever you think of HIm and HIs beautiful son who died to give us all life beyond the grave n hope for the future ❤ 

jellyfish remnants

they come in for the attack

saying they’ve got your back

fixing to whack it with a stick

why are they attempting to control my every movement

these blood thirsty beasts

is this what they call internet freedom

they tried to take it away from me

they said one rule for you another for me

you can think and act any way you want

as long as you are a total copycat of us

mark zuckerburg why are you scared of people who want to live without taxes and talk about police brutality

why do you prevent Christians from expressing christianity

yet you have absolutely no problem with them acting in ways which are akin to insanity

behaving like hypocrites

running round wearing masks and fake noses

vampire teeth

pretending to be zombies warlocks werewolves and witches

faking like ghosts in the carpark

cussing a blue streak

making sailors blush with their dirty talk

even making wynter Gordon gag at the sight of them

the church of satan loves it when you worship the devil with your lip service

all your freaky costumes give the devil the giggles

look at those idiots thinking they are a threat to me

do they think I really care about their preaching and their good works

so long as they keep on worshipping me in secret

oh don’t believe its just once a year they bow the knee

look at the program they choose to watch on tv

look at all those butt shaking mommas selling their bodies

look at all those models peeling off their clothes like the skin of oranges

isn’t it oh so entertaining and delicious

please don’t believe its healthy and nutritious

I invented pornography its my greatest weapon

see how I can destroy a mans soul by getting him addicted to it

making him feel he absolutely has to click on those girls images

he doesn’t want to hurt their feelings

he lies to himself and says he’s trying to be a good Christian witness

don’t make me laugh

he’s scared witless

when my enemy told him to ask that lady behind the fish and chip shop counter if she wanted prayer

he was happy just to be a paying customer

he asked her about music instead

he was such a little cowardly weakling

look at him trembling

posing in postures of bravado on the internet

he Is so much bolder when he hides behind the screen

I aint gonna lie I get the shivers when I see that guy

but I keep my minions bothering him

I fill him with thoughts of racism

of sexism and ageism

I try to lie to him about his sexuality

I make him think my voice is his own

I will whisper so convincingly near his ear

I will almost make him think

I am the thoughts inside his head

until he develops the power to resist me

not just partially but completely

I will always have my wicked way with him

I will mess with his plans to be a spiritual dynamo

I will place him in the path of temptation

I will place beautiful women in his life

purely for the purpose of entrapping his soul

I will lure him into the grave

I will make him my slave once again

I will use his compassionate spirit against him

I will constantly look for ways to sink my teeth in him

I will try to get him beefing with his parents

I will cause him to express Christs love in an insensitive way to his sibling

I will make him say hateful words to her

I will entice him til they push their way out his mouth and fingers

I will try to make my twisted illogical path look sensible

like the most reasonable course of action

even though it’s a descent into madness

I will lie to him and tell him no one wants to hear that rubbish

or I will over inflate his ego making him think he’s god

lying to him that he’s the king of the world

meanwhile plotting on how to throw him off the soul ship bound for heaven

soaring through celestial waves

I will putrefy his mind tell him all religions are the same

I will keep him bound in chains

dancing closer to the flames

I will put him in a Christian college

but never allow him to be curious about his background

I will tell him lies about equality

I will make him think he’s fighting for the enemy when he’s doing my bidding

screaming for tolerance

i’m a goner if he reads the enemy’s book and studies it in depth

not allowing anyone but Elohim to interpret it for him

I am surely riddled with bullets

if he ever wakes up to the grand work he is doing for me with his jealousy and selfishness

see the way he struts about acting like the greatest emcee on the block

when truth be told he couldn’t cut it in the streets

he wouldn’t survive one day in the ghetto for real

he couldn’t spend a night in the cold without complaining

cos he had a choice

he didn’t need to bother explaining

when you have the option of a warm bed to sleep in

you will plead for it til that door swings open

even if you have to stare into a pair of angry eyes

they try to lord it over him

they try to be a bossy boots

saying is this how you repay our hospitality

they tried to make him use the oven

he said he didn’t know how

he didn’t trick them into thinking he was leaving a week early

he didn’t read his itinerary right

that’s how he ended up scoring two goodbye cakes and a bucket of Chinese food

that dude thought he was mad to stay on that island

the bahais tried to catch him on the sly

there was only one African in the neighbourhood

he never spoke to him but it wasn’t by choice

just lack of opportunity

you would think it would be easy to find her place

on a tiny island where there was only one taxi

it was still polluting the atmosphere with its fumes

but they pointed the finger at the west like they stuck a gun to the cabbies head and forced him to make a living off gullible greenies ❤

she screams passesse as they pass

the Tuvaluan girl with the british boy in tow

he wasn’t her spoon for the record don’t you know

just a stranger passing through

hers only in a dream

several babies later they connected over hillsong

he reminisces over germans dogged out for giving first class meals to a dead beat dog

they treat dogs like scum here don’t you know

like they treat their women beat them up and call it discipline

cheat on them with ladies all around the world

bring home the bacon and keep them dressed to the nines in wrap around sarongs

they like to eat dried mango peel on this island

they have a market garden run by Taiwanese

one of the only countries in the world to recognize their existence

pity that loyalty couldn’t save them from sinking

their water is undrinkable

its time to do the unthinkable

and stop extorting money from the new Zealand government to pay for your umus homie

you eat pigs fat and drink wine made from fermented coconuts that tastes disgusting

your water is blue green

beautiful like Vanuatu without the fertile landscape

good for growing nothing

good for blowing up

doomsday country

where all attempts to overthrow the mainline church will drown at sea

seashell star making experts

skilled catchers of fish

friendly folk cracking jokes

more bicycles than beijing

relatives stolen off to south america

an irish hero who was their rescuer

rewarded with warm womens bodies his chosen wahini

they should have given him a sculpture

his face wasn’t even on their currency

they used their own

and profited from the domain name tv

we stole their mineral deposits

we took their phosphate and their sand

they kicked up a stink when they added an electronic organ to the old classic pipe one

we gave them our wood sacrificed our trees so they could sit on pews and gripe about imperialism

ironic isn’t it

this land where only girls play volleyball

and boys are soccer hooligans

I let the fou rot on my head til its floral wreath nature was old and smelly

I pretended I enjoyed the lecture of a scientist who caught me falling asleep in the middle of class

I talked to those indian Fijian ex pats about radio signals

the pastor challenged my brain with his questions about shaking the tree

he was making sure I knew what I believed

teaching the sailors how to behave like christians

one of them was having once a year bible study sessions with a western lady who was working as a missionary in a port in south america

that native lady went to the land of the long white cloud but she couldn’t hack the change of culture

she preferred her drowning island to a stable shore

another went there to care for her dying husband

part of her was always stranded on that island

another used to be an ambassador for her country

she went to lavish parties she was living the life of riley

I remember waiting downstairs with the pastor in charge of prison ministry

we sat under the coconut leaf canopy

on a concrete slab

stretched out on our coconut mats dyed somehow

I know it takes hours to achieve that process

the prisoners were there for various reasons

some were murderers

one dude just went to visit his relatives

in the land of the maoris and found out the hard way

what happens when your relatives refuse to deal with your visa

he got deported and wasn’t allowed back again into the country

that land of a mountain that pierces the clouds

like a fierce sword stabbing a heart

they would work for the government then come back home to their cells at night

they watched television all day

their family was allowed to bring them food

its hard to talk about Jesus when martin Lawrence is screaming cuss words at top volume in the background

I was placed in a difficult position when they had sunday school class

and we were supposed to teach kids the fake names samoans had made up for the wise men who visited Jesus when He was born

they supposed there were three we have no evidence for that

we know its likely that one of them was from oman

they were probably astrologers

its amazing how God speaks to satanists

just as often as He uses us true Jesus worshippers

the only English song that played all day

amidst broadcasts of childrens choirs preaching in tuvaluan

and Christian rip off Tuvaluan versions of one republics apologize

was nelly furtados im like a bird

it made me feel happy to be able to sing along to every word

the boys thought I was useless cos I couldn’t play card games

even the pastor in charge of prison ministry was puffing like a chimney

it disgusted my friend who had spent a significant portion of his life in fiji

how all the pastors loved tobacco like a man loves to lick his wifes ears

I don’t know about the church president

he seemed a more demure chap to me

I saw that charity named tango

I still don’t have a clue what they actually do

the woman looking after me started her own business selling mango peel

her daughter was into t l c but she didn’t show any of it to me

she saw me as the scum between her toes

her little sister was too young to know I existed

I was just like a fly on the wall of her life

she was all about daddy the angel of his eyes

her brother in the middle was a nice enough fellow

but his reception turned frosty for no good reason one day

we spoke about rappers and world religion

those united nation egg heads were trying to tell him they were all the same

his mate used to punch walls cos he couldn’t deal with his issues at home

I think his folks used to hit him

they finished school early in the afternoon on that island

most of their day was wasted away playing video games and playing with dogs

I never got to see that net café and book shop run by the church beyond its early building stage

I saw that puzzling artwork in the lawyers office

the one my friend with a sick husband went to in order to get her daughter officially adopted as one of her own

like we were into Christ’s family thanks to the shedding of HIs blood

she liked to watch home alone

one time she called me on the internet phone

that pretty bird I wanted to stick in my hearts cage

was another email address I lost

disappearing like crumbs of toast

blown away by the wind

trickling through my fingers like sand when I clutch it

I got in trouble for not being able to say the benediction

and interrupting the conversation in a meeting with my hiyas

I hung out with the choir director

he loved to quote what Mozart said about music being the food of love

I wanted to join in but I barely knew the words in English yet alone tuvaluan

to all those beautiful Christmas carols they intoned in acapella

my former sweet heart treated me like a peanut butter sandwich laced with samonella

how could she lie and say it was Gods plan for us to be together

then go ahead and marry that kaiviti warrior

she used to talk about the bible with me on the daily

I gained her contacts through my friend who was a far more generous soul to her island than me

with the family I stayed with I watched a George of the jungle clone movie called mister bones

I fell asleep during a viggo mortesen movie we watched so I couldn’t tell you what It was about other than the title hildalgo

I never got why the daughters on that island were allowed to watch movies with the pastor

just cos he was lonely and missing his wifey

he said he felt guilty when I told him what Christ thinks about divorce

that the bible says any man who marries a woman who has been divorced commits adultery

does that mean that woman is supposed to live single for the rest of her life

maybe she is better off getting married quickly

ask forgiveness for the sin of inappropriate marriage then try to live holy

some people misinterpret the bible to say that mixed marriages are evil

but God was advocating killing His people cos the foreigners they married worshipped idols not cos they were foreign beauties

some numbskulls think that heaven is segregated into pink and brown sections

but it aint gonna be like that homie

theres no dividing walls its just one big happy family

why can’t we live like that on earth

well theres this little thing called sin

which makes us act selfish

which becomes trapped in the memories of those who are wronged against

its hard to let go of a grudge even though it’s necessary for entrance into heaven

whoever hates his brother or sister in his or her heart has pretty much murdered them in their mind

yes thought crime counts in Gods law book

if you don’t believe me go ahead and take a look

i’m hooked on Jesus like a worm or a fish

one of them ends up on the other ones dish

when we decompose we become grub snacks

in body form

but our spirit flies away

to heaven or hell that’s where we spend the rest of our days 

eating a gigantic slice of humble pie

I was talking to my friend Robert about my post on daniel 9 and it was brought to my attention that I was completely wrong in what I had been taught by my dad to think about generational curses.

2 Samuel 21:1-6 tells us that there was a famine in the land for seven years and david asked God why this was the case.

God replied that it was because saul had killed a significant portion of the gibeonites so there was a curse on their lives that had to be broken by the restitution of bloodshed.

in order to appease God’s wrath and make peace with the gibeonites to show them that he was determined to maintain the ancient covenant the gibeonites had forged with the people of Israel through trickery by pretending to be from a distant land when they were really from a nearby country and took a smart route to avoid getting conquered david slew seven children of sauls offspring 5 of merabs sons and 2 of the grandchildren of sauls concubine rizpah.

although killing is a cruel unsightly business even in this action david showed mercy and kept his promise to preserve the lineage of saul cos in jewish culture the lineage is passed on only through the son.

as merab was saul’s daughter she wouldn’t have been entitled to pass on his lineage anyway she would have to carry on her husbands family line instead.

rizpah was a concubine so her children had no rights of inheritance unlike sauls wives’ kids.

selah

when we come into a relationship with Jesus we don’t just come to HIm with the burdens of our own sins but we also arrive with all the sins of past generations connected to our bloodline which remain undealt with.

we have to break off all connections to witchcraft ungodly sexual behaviour racism oppression of one culture by another mistreatment in a slavery context thievery adultery and blasphemous teaching that has taken place or been brought into existence by members of our family.

if we do not deal with the chains of the past they will continue to haunt us into the future and affect the lives of our future offspring.

when you have a dead dog in your backyard you do not leave it lying on the top of the soil you deal with it by burying it.

if your granddad stole a cow from your neighbour across the street and he  died without replacing the cow he stole this inherited debt of guilt becomes your problem if your father hasn’t dealt with it but just tried to sweep it under the carpet.

if you have a cow hiding under your carpet its horns will prick your feet.

take your cow to the cross.

let it burn in the hot flames of HIs love and forgiveness.

let HIm restore you and make you new.

His blood washes us clean and rights the wrongs of the past and breaks their claim over us so they no longer own us.

selah ❤

all of us are saved not through our good deeds but by the soul redeeming and world transforming blood of Christ .

john 3:17 He didn’t come into the world to condemn the world but so that the whole world through HIm might be saved.

condemnation is not the same thing as conviction.

if God puts HIs finger on your heart about something you have to deal with He is never vague like the devil leaving you with a rotten feeling inside but also leaving you feeling like theres nothing you can do about it cos that’s just the way you are.

that’s a lie from the pits of hell.

just because your ancestors acted in a certain way doesn’t mean those patterns of behaviour have to replicate themselves in your own life.

there is freedom and there is healing in Jesus.

there is hope in HIm when in the world there is only sorrow doubt and helplessness.

godly sorrow leads to repentance which should ultimately result in a life changed for the better.

sometimes it may be necessary to make financial compensation to those who our ancestors have grieved in the past.

sometimes all we need do is get right with God .

we cannot make amends on their behalf.

if they are burning in hell there is nothing we can do to bring them out of there try as we might , however much we would wish their eternal destination was elsewhere .

but its not too late for those of us who remain alive to make every effort to resolve the issues of the past and do everything possible to avoid committing those errors of judgment in the future.

those who don’t learn lessons from those who came before them are destined to repeat their patterns of behaviour.

it seems like a tough ask to do as david did and destroy the lives of others to appease the hearts of folks who used falsehood to obtain mercy but we shouldn’t use others bad behaviour as an excuse to avoid bringing healing to our relationship with them when the reason for the rift between us and them is due to the inappropriateness of our actions.

what david is doing here is a very humble hearted action called identificational repentance.

he himself did not commit the sin but as saul was connected to him by blood and as he was one of his people he had responsibility as the king of the land to right the wrong of the king previous to him.

my friend Wilson goeda taught me that we can do this on behalf of any group of people who has been wronged by another.

we can apologize as part of the body of Christ on its behalf for the way the church has mistreated those who are in confusion about their sexual orientation and for the suffering experienced by some people groups due to practices of segregation and inappropriate models of slavery where people were treated worse than animals.

sometimes we have to look backwards in order to move forwards.

we mustn’t get stuck in the past however.

the past must be used to help us bring healing.

sin concealed will not solve the festering wounds of the past only sin revealed and dealt with.

I commend all those who are making efforts to acknowledge the errors we have made as humans towards each other .

in making apology for the behaviour of those connected to us due to our family tree we must be careful not to be like our former prime minister and apologize on behalf of those who stole children from their families only to turn around and steal children from their families for not attending school.

apologizing doesn’t mean you will not mess up again but it does mean that you are intentional about pursuing an agenda of thinking differently and thinking better and acting right by all involved in the maintenance of our universe .

in doing this we must be careful to pursue Christ’s agenda and replicate HIs actions and speech in our own lives ❤

selah

biblical information re david sourced from http://www.hermeneutics.stackexchange.com