We'll find our answer soon!!


   "Surgeon General sanctioned studies have recently turned up a possible
link to the growing trend of imunodeletoriousness in today's children.  The
findings lead to new grounds that could provide a significantly greater
reduction in many internal dysfunctions that are plaguing our most hopeful
resource in society."

   Recognize it?  It's probably at the top of nearly every report on
evaluations made about studies that have attempted to discover how to better
our health-levels in society... at least.. those about children.  Change a
few words, and you can make it apply to probably every study done about
healthy interaction between people, each other, and the world today.  Ok..
you don't recognize it..?  Probably because I opted for using bureaucreatic
and medical jargon that hide the actual truth of just how valuable these
efforts have been.  More or less.. all that the statement says is, "Some
highly exalted 'professionals' have gone seeking some big answers to fix the
problems with children's health, and have obtained a slightly hopeful
possibility as to a direction to take to fix the problem."  Of course.. the
"big" version uses buzzwords that keep the bureaucracy running.. and turn us
away from the real truth -- that the success is extremely limited, if at all
present.
   So why do we allow people to spend so many millions upon millions of
dollars to conduct studies on this demological group.. or that one... all to
try and find some method to make life more enjoyable and less painful..?  I
think it's pretty simple... we all want a better life... for ourselves and
those we care about.  We all want to have a truly fulfilling life.. that
makes us happy and brings us real wealth.. both in health and in station in
life.  Tons upon tons of these studies are done.. and then money is spent to
fund those who would implement the results of such dramatically hopeful (yet
not all too successful) efforts to "fix" our country.. or world.. as it is
today.  But look at our results..?  Teen pregnancy, child sudden death, young
ones killing one another.. drugs running rampant.. even in the younger
grades.. violence at an all-time high.. sex-crimes skyrocketing.. self-image
at an all-time low for most people... dependency upon prescription drugs to
merely survive and function.. You name it.  Our country.. and perhaps our
entire world... is running headlong into more and more trouble... with
seemingly more and more diseases and difficulties showing up each week.  Oh
we hope that we're working to solve them... But though we may be putting in
real effort.. it's meeting with truly limited results.
   Why is this though?  I mean.. don't the experts know what they're doing?
Are we not spending enough to fund our numerous studies..?  Are the answers
found just not being implemented correctly..?  It's an interesting concept to
think about.  I mean.. so many troubles in today's society..  all over.. are
threatening to extinguish the American Dream of true freedom.. in the true
pursuit of happiness as guaranteed by our Declaration of Independence.  Cops
are showing up at children's schools daily.. for the mere purpose of handling
the possible interruption of learning by an explosive device of sorts.  And
it seems that the more we try to fix the situation.. the less the situation
ends up being fixed.. as new and grander-scale difficulties protrude out of
the mass of people walking about within our borders.  It's as though we have
some... emissary of evil.. as it were... dropping pot-hole bombs in front of
us as we run and attempt to overtake him... only to find out that he's a lot
faster at running than we first believed... and is so versed at exploiting
our weaknesses as a society, and individually, that we trip, stumble, and
fall.. at virtually every stride.  But who's gonna believe that..?  I mean..
isn't evil merely to be found in people like Saddam Hussein.. or Osama Bin
Laden.. or child rapists.. or murderers.. or the like?  Hmm.. the list keeps
growing.  What about people who lie.. cheat.. steal..?  Are *they* evil..?
What about people who pursue immorality of any kind?
   Ok.. buzzword.  Immorality.  This word is a funny one... cuz most people
have their own definitions.. and don't want to agree upon any set all-
encompassing one.  It's pretty strange if you really get into it.. probably
because we all want to believe that our own definition of evil (which, of
course, could never be something that we, ourselves, are in any way) is the
right one.  But.. there's something very insidious in that idea -- because if
we all have our own definitions of 'evil'.. and there is no 'standard'
definition to hold onto.. then truly.. there *is* no evil.. or good for that
matter.  And why should there be..?  I mean.. if we are all simply evolved
sludge.. transcending from a big explosion of all matter.. into a 'space'
that.. well.. has always existed.. what is there to define any "right"..
"wrong".. or "evil".. or "good"?  The only way that these terms can have
*any* meaning is if there is some transcendent truth.. that is beyond all of
mankind.. that holds each member of mankind to a standard that applies to us
all.  And in order to define immorality, one needs to be able to agree that
there *is* indeed a standard that is meant to hold us all in check.. to
direct us along a path that will bring us, and all people who follow that
standard.. into true happiness... that standard being.. of course..
'morality'.
   But.. how can there be a moral standard if there is no governing force big
enough to hold us to it?  That's the whole thing... there can't be.  Without
something *beyond* mankind.. you cannot expect to have mankind bother holding
to *any* sort of standard.. because these so-called standards would be merely
creations of those who are.. like ourselves.. evolved sludge.
   Ok.. so.. what about the Declaration of Independence.. or the Constitution
of the United States.. What about those..?  Well.. if there isn't any
standard that these so "highly-held" documents are appealing to.. then they
would have no force that bound people to following whatever their penning
prescribes.  But.. just about everyone believes in such things as justice..
right?  Or freedom..?  Aren't these things good?  I mean.. who in a right
mind would go around saying that justice should be scrapped..?  Or that
freedom needs to be tossed out..?  Aren't these the cornerstones of true
life..?  Can we expect to know true fulfillment in our lives if either.. or
both.. of these.. are taken away?
   It's really quite an interesting dilemma.. especially in the U.S. as of
late with this case about the athiest who demands that his daughter not be
forced to claim allegiance to some 'god' he doesn't believe in.  I mean..
isn't it a freedom, guaranteed by our constitution, to be able to worship who
and what you want.. even if that worship constitutes avoidance of any true
God whom our Declaration of Independence depends upon?  Shouldn't a person
have the right to worship whoever they want.. whenever they want.. and
however they want?  Wasn't the Constitution created to separate church and
state..?
   In a word.. no.  The Constitution's First Amendment.. was not so much an
attempt to separate church and state.. but to prevent what had happened in
Europe.. the subjugation of a country's citizens under a church oligarchy
which not only refused its citizens their rights if they refused to follow
that denomination, but which actually was, as a ruling body, dealing out
doctrine that was.. as the escapees believed.. truly unChristian.. and
therefore wrong.  But the framers of our constitution did not want God *out*
of their lives.. they simply wanted to be able to worship their own way..
without the interference of government.
   There's one biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig problem with this though.  Being able to
worship one's own way is only as good as a person's willingness to worship in
a truly *good* and.. yup.. *moral* way.  But.. who defines moral.
   Yup.. God.  The Perfect.. Omniscient.. Omnipresent.. truly loving Creator
that is relied upon in our Declaration of Independence as endowing us with
our inalienable rights... is the One.. the *ONLY* one who has the right to
define what is truly moral and what isn't.  Why is this..?  Because He made
us!  He created this world.. and He, alone, has the right to decide what is
truly *good* and what isn't.
   Of course.. as I just mentioned.. churches, who are filled with people who
supposedly know what God says and wants us doing, are often filled, instead,
with people who, though they have sometimes spent great amounts of time
studying the Bible, do not truly *know* God.  Instead.. they know what they
want to believe.. their own ideas -- ideas, which.. often.. are used to
simply subjugate unders beneath the "learned".. rather than lead others into
a true.. fulfilling.. (yes.. TRULY fulfilling) relationship with a Creator
who did not merely create them and send them on their way.. but who wants to
live an exchange of love with *all* who would to do so.  Yet.. with all the
notions of "believing what you want" and "worshipping who you want and how
you want".. people end up.. instead of living good, moral, loving lives unto
all.. they live out lives of selfish pursuits.. trying to fill that oh-so-
prevalent hole in their hearts with whatever *they*, themselves, deem worthy
of their worship.  And if, in fact, God is not merely who you want Him to
be.. but He *IS* who He truly *is*.. then deciding to worship what He calls
idols.. and pursuing things that He has defined as immoral.. and.. you got
it.. *EVIL*.. is only going to harm.. both yourself.. and all those in your
own society who allow you to keep doing it.
   But what about rights?  Doesn't each person in this world have a "right"
to worship who they want... and how they want?  This is one of the most
misleading ideas in our world today.  All people enjoy making their own
decisions.. and.. all people *HATE* to be told when they're wrong.  I know..
from my own life.. that it's a lot of "fun" to be autonomous.. and have the
ability to simply live how you, yourself, want to.  But.. because we are
imperfect.. and because we naturally (yes.. naturally) pursue things that are
selfish and not good.. we need some sort of standard to hold us in check.  In
today's world.. that standard is the "rights" of others.  If a person has a
right not to be harmed.. then if we harm them, we are usurping their rights..
correct?  But.. how can you tell when someone is being harmed..?  Can you
always know by their outcry of pain..?  Does someone always know when they
have been hurt inside..?  Do they always respond in a manner that tells those
around them that they have truly been harmed?  This is, of course.. a no.  We
cannot always know.. by some form of "measuring stick".. whether a person has
been harmed or not... especially because we do not, in and of ourselves, want
to believe that what we are doing is harming someone else... especially when
we are finding a lot of pleasure in doing such an action.  And if God is
truly Himself.. and not merely who we want Him to be.. and if this world
truly *does* have standards that He has set up as the limits of what is good
and bad.. then to worship anyone *BUT* the real God.. in a way that *HE*
wants to be worshipped.. is to end up not only denying the Real God His due..
but to end up pursuing immorality.. as you throw away His standard *of*
morality.
   And see.. that's the thing about rights.  Rights in today's society are
not mere priveleges that God has set up for good methods to relate with one
another.. but they are defined as total autocratic desires that allow us to
forcibly live however we, ourselves, wish.  In truth.. since God.. the *REAL*
God.. does *exist*.. no person *has* any rights.  We are, instead, given
*responsibilities*.  We are.. responsible.. to God.. to live in ways that
bless Him.. and bless others.. and not merely to bring ourselves pleasure.
   Ok.. pleasure... buzzword 2.  People in our world are so pleasure hungry..
why..?  Because we're all *DYING* inside.  We all think that.. if we just
find enough 'good'.. or 'pleasant life'.. then we've made it in life.  But..
what truly *is* good?  Is doing good *always* something that brings pleasure?
Take a look at the Cross.  Either you're going to say that Jesus' death was a
waste.. or that Jesus.. doing perfect good.. suffered more than any of us
ever will.  But people in today's society *are* suffering.. just.. not
righteously.  We are far too involved in merely eeking out a life of fun..
and as a result.. we are being cursed.. by God.. with a lack in our hearts.
We.. you got it.. are.. yup.. yup.. stuck.  We cannot find real peace,
pleasure, and fulfillment.. in this life.. for one.. big.. reason -- True
fulfillment comes from only one place... from a relationship.. one-on-One..
not through a church.. but directly between you.. and.. God.  Tons of people
go to church.. but.. they don't find fulfillment because.. not only are the
people there often very unloving.. but... they are, themselves, not truly
seeking God as much as they are looking for human "acceptance".
   Acceptance... Buzzword 3.  If there's one thing I've learned in my life..
it's that there's a *BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIG* difference between total
acceptance and true love.  A person who totally accepts you.. will end up
letting you live your life how you want.. without telling you when what
you're doing is wrong.. and harming someone else.. or harming you.. or all
three.  But a person who truly loves you is going to lift up what is truly
*good* in you.. *as* good.. and help you eliminate the *bad* things.
   But how do you build upon the good and eliminate the bad?  There's only
one way... at the Cross.
   See.. all mankind.. naturally.. does things that are bad.. evil.. whatever
word you want to use.  We all.. have this innate tendency to do things which
are selfish.. and not truly good for ourselves.. or others.  And this is what
Jesus was sent to deliver us from -- to bring us back into a right
relationship with God.. a truly.. FULFILLING relationship.. that makes us not
only feel good.. but totally overflows us.. so that we just *HAVE* to love
others too.  Of course.. since so many people.. claiming to be Christian..
have done so many *EVIL* things.. all claiming to be doing God's Will.. it's
so hard to believe that Jesus is truly the One and *ONLY* way to find life.
But.. I can guarantee you.. that.. just as there cannot be a piece of paper
that is one color... and both blue and green... there cannot be a God whose
Son is Jesus.. and a God who doesn't exist.  The two cannot exist side by
side.
   Now.. I.. ***PERSONALLY*** have had a lot of struggles with trusting in
the One and ONLY God.. much *because* so many people.. who claimed to know
Jesus.. act so unloving.. and tell me that the God I seem to be hearing in my
heart and my hours upon hours of time talking with Him.. isn't truly God.
Plus.. I do occasionally mistake notions in my head to be from God when they
aren't.. and I have troubles with how to handle that situation best.  But.. I
*KNOW* that I know that I know.. that God.. the one God.. the one.. real..
God.. is real... and that He *is* Jesus' Father.  His Spirit.. as it has been
so powerfully poured into my heart.. especially most recently.. is just
overwhelming me in supernatural ways that I can't truly describe.  It's just
so astounding.. and I just *KNOW*.. even if I cannot use a measuring stick to
show you.. that God *IS* listening.. and that He *DOES* love us.. and want a
true relationship with us.
   Of course.. yet another reason why people have so many troubles with
"Christians" is because.. not only are people naturally averse to letting
someone besides themselves run their lives.. (which God wants to do.. though
never tyranically as they might believe), but those who do not yet know God
end up believing that true Christians believe the same things that the *LOUD*
ones believe... and thus they jump to judge the hearts of all people who call
themselves Christians.. evaluating them as believing things that they don't
truly believe... and thus, refusing to even associate with them as a result.
   One awesome thing about relating with God.. is that He isn't merely some
lifeless body of laws that we're supposed to follow.  God is a living..
breathing.. totally loving Person.. who wants us to inter-relate with Him..
and not just follow His laws.  Following God's laws merely because they're
God's laws is far different from living in the love-exchange that God desires
us all to have *WITH HIM*.  He doesn't want to just squish us and walk all
over us like so many have portrayed Him to be like.  FAR FROM IT.  He wants
us to know love as we were meant to know it.. totally.. and unendingly.
   Ok.. what about faith?  Well.. faith is God's *AWESOME* and *PERFECT*
means for us to truly get to know Him as He is.  It's up to us to believe..
without a measuring stick.. that Jesus is Who He claimed to be.. and that He
truly *does* deliver us from that awful.. nasty.. word called 'sin'.. that
has been so abused that nobody wants to say it anymore.. unless they like
talking down to others about it.  Sin.. more or less.. is just that natural
"selfishness-gene" (not really a gene.. but it fits) that is in all of us..
that God wants to get rid of.  It's up to us to let Him be Boss.. to follow
after Jesus by truly loving all people.. by.. you guessed it.. SACRIFICING
our own selves and lives to show everyone God's love through our own actions.
   One big problem, however.. is the difficulty with trusting in someone you
*cannot* show with a measuring stick.  But it's definitely doable.. and it's
definitely far more payoff-ing than anything else you'll ever find.
Unfortunately, people who do not have the belief that life never ends.. that
this life leads to an eternal one.. hold so tight to the pleasures of this
life.. and the "fun" and "fulfillments" of this life.. because they think
that's all they have.  Yet to do so.. however easy it is.. is truly just an
insult to God and His truth.. as told by those He directly inspired... and as
related to us by His Son in all of His life.  Of course.. with this.. goes
the notion that people are.. for the most part.. often seeking to *feel*
loved.. rather than truly *be* loved.  This happens so often because those
who they grew up with.. their parents.. their siblings.. who told them that
they loved them.. ended up being so selfish and tyrannical that they hurt
the children deeply as they grew up.. and thus they can end up clinging to
pleasures.. believing that love *will* feel good.. (for true love *does*
often bring great pleasure.. and doesn't tear us down like selfishness can).
Not only that.. but.. parents can end up, being so focussed on *this* life..
and not an eternal one.. trying to prepare their kids to survive this world..
rather than to truly overcome it through a life that is focussed on living
the love-exchange God offers to all.  With these parents.. and so-called
"teachers" who the kids meet in school.. they end up teaching what *they*
have come to depend on as valuable.. and worthwhile.... When in fact, true
instruction can only come from those who can truly see the world as it is..
and help people to interrelate properly with it.. as God would have them do.
   So what about all the problems in this world..?  Where are they coming
from..?  It's actually very very simple.. though most people think you're
nuts if you say it.  The truth is.. all people.. need God's love.. God's
direction.. God's rulership.. God's fulfillment.. God's inspiration..
and God's extraction of our "selfish-ness" gene.  But... because God's true
image has been stained so greatly.. so many people aren't all that interested
in believing in a God who seems so.. evil.  People enjoy staining His name..
cuz they think they are getting away with it... They think that God doesn't
hear.. or isn't real.. or isn't as powerful as He has demonstrated Himself
over the days in the Bible.  But.. they are sadly mistaken.  If people..
unlovingly.. and unsubmittingly.. refuse to let God.. the *REAL* God.. be the
One whom they truly worship.. (not merely singing words on Sundays, but
giving their whole lives to loving Him and others).. then they are totally
insulting Him and His definition of love.. and will have to bear that
insult-stream forever if they don't stop.  Attempting to fix the problems in
our world without putting God in His proper place in each of our lives is
only going to end up with far more trouble as.. yes.. our evil nemesis..
satan.. drops pothole bombs in front of us more and more as we run further
and further away from the only ONE who can truly defuse them.
   So what do we do with our Constitution and Declaration of Independence?
They're not all bad.. but the constructors of their words only wanted to
believe in God.. not live for Him.  Our "founding fathers" were actually
people running away from religious persecution.. rather than living to love
God by taking on tasks that would guarantee their suffering, but bring life
to others.  Oh we love to fight for freedom.. cuz we have something tangible
to win.. But when it comes to living to die.. as Jesus told us to.. living
for the benefit of others.. and for God.. We balk.. and we prefer to exalt
ourselves as worthy of our rights.. rather than under God's direction to
sacrifice any possible rights and live responsible to Him.
   True faith.. true belief in God.. not merely acknowledging His existence..
but true following His Son.. is the *ONLY* way to find peace and joy in
life... for only God can bestow such true life into us.  If we choose to
believe that 1+1 is 3.. our entire mathematics foundation will fall.  And if
we choose to refuse to acknowledge the one real God.. who created us and
loves us and is the originator of this whole universe.. then our entire lives
will fall victim to the very same troublings.
   Heaven.. the one way.. the one eternal life.. may be spoken of by so many
people as something that all people.. (or most anyway) just receive.  But
this is hogwash.  Jesus said that if we didn't take up our own cross and
follow Him.. or if we didn't repent of our own sin (that sin including
refusing to let God rule over us), then we would all perish.  God is more
merciful than any of us.  But.. we all enjoy taxing His mercy.. and refusing
to acknowledge His love for us.. as well as condemning those who even begin
to show us such love.  In the end.. writing God out of a world that He
created is only going to get us one thing -- burnt... big time.  It's up to
us.. It's up to us who claim to know God to make sure that we do.  It's up to
us all to love one another.. not fight one another.  It's up to us all to be
willing to sacrifice all that we have.. so that even our most hated enemy,
might know God's mercy and repent.  Wouldn't *you* want God's love if all you
knew in your heart was hate?
   Think about it.