The Road Less Traveled

So many things from our high school days get forgotten. At age 62 I have probably forgotten more things than I ever learned in my life but I do remember SOME things. Like high school English class when we had to read poems. That sucked. I remember that! But I do remember this one poem. I have always loved the last three lines of it. You've probably heard them. The words are a kind of a guide for my life but I wasn't sure why until today. Please read this wonderful American poem with me.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

- Robert Frost

Do you tend to take the road less traveled? Do you tend to make choices CONTRARY to public opinion simply because you prefer not blending in with the crowd? Or going along with the flow. Do you do that? Perhaps that is why movies like Robin Hood, Hunger Games and Divergent appeal to me so much. The underdog, the rebel, the non-conformist . . . that's me.

I'd like you to read something else if you would. It's from another piece of literature penned long ago. See if you can see any similarities between these two writings you have read today.

"13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." - Matthew 7:13-14

It seems to me that "the road less traveled" these days is the one that leads to Jesus. Same-sex marriages are now the law of the land, the Ten Commandments are being removed from a court house by Oklahoma's Supreme Court. The road just keeps getting narrower and narrower.

Many people I know have left the narrow road in favor of the one their friends are walking on. They would rather be with the majority. They would rather fit in. Why? I think it's because they are afraid. Afraid of being left alone. Afraid that no one will love them. Afraid they will be picked on because they're different. Sad.

Have you seen the movie Divergent? I watched it this past weekend. It's about futuristic society where everyone has a role. Everyone must fit into that role or they are destroyed. The people who don't fit in are called "divergents." They are the ones who choose the road less traveled.

Do you like to fit in with the crowd? Even if the crowd might be wrong?

The world we live in now embraces that which once was considered abnormal. We kill our children at the rate of 125,000 each day. We have passed laws legalizing suicide. We embrace same-sex relationships contrary to God's decrees. The younger generation has determined that sex before marriage is normal, expected, and so they are having babies out of wedlock. What once was, is no more. And what was narrow, is now wide.

To be a Christ follower in today's world is becoming increasingly difficult. In the coming days we will be persecuted, shunned in society because of our beliefs. We will be the strange ones, the oddity in society. In the eyes of the secular world we will become divergent. Check that. Guess what. We already are.

"20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter." - Isaiah 5:20

Divergent Trailer

The Forest For The Trees

There is an old saying that goes, "You can't see the forest for the trees." How do I know it's an old saying? Well, I am old and . . . I know exactly what it means. It means we get SO focused on one thing that we lose track of the bigger picture. Examples of this saying occur more often than we think. Especially in Washington, D.C.

Yesterday the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 vote to make gay marriage legal in the United States. Look at the vote - five to four. Basically, it was one vote that swayed the court's decision and the direction of a nation.  Wow.

But I am not going to be writing about gay marriage today and whether it is right or wrong. I don't have an opinion on the matter. I simply follow God and His Word. Today I am writing about one of the "trees" in the forest we live in. Gay marriage is simply "one of the trees." A woman's "right" to have an abortion is another "tree." Pornography. Glutony. All trees in a forest.

We are not seeing the big picture in this historic decision by our country's highest court. Step back a minute and take a look at the bigger picture . . . the forest of religious freedom. Individual freedom.

June 26th, 2015 the government of the United States took a rather large step in extending its power of its people. "Gay rights" is just a means to an end - a vehicle used to accomplish an overall "forest" goal.

Many states had already passed laws based on "the will of the people" making marriage between one man and one woman. The federal government, through the decision made yesterday, has asserted it's authority over the state government and . . . other the will of it's people. That is huge!

In the Book of Acts there was a speech given by Setphen. He gave it in front of the religious lawmakers of his time - the Sanhedrin. Stephen lectured them on Jewish history and then on the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. They killed him because of his words . . .

"51 “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him - 53 you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.” - Acts 7:51-53

The Supreme Court's decision is merely an symptom of a far greater disease - our nation's disobedience to God. WE are the stiff-necked people of this time in world history. We enjoy looking at and climbing our trees, even though the forest we are living in is on fire.

I am not writing about gay marriage and its legalization yesterday. That horse got out of the barn LONG ago. I am writing about the disobedience of a people and the increasing reach of our national government over state government. And I am writing about Biblical prophesy being fulfilled before out very eyes.

We serve a loving, merciful God. No one could possibly love us more. But God is also just judge. He punishes those who disobey His commands to the third and fourth generations. Our children will pay the price for what we have done. I pray that God would have mercy on our souls.

There was once a mighty nation who very quietly removed the power of it's people from them. They instituted gun control. They began persecuting a religious people and putting them to death. And the nation's people didn't have a clue what was happening until it was too late. That nation was Nazi Germany.

Speaking of prophesy, years before World War II began, a famed statesman wrote the following words. How prophetic! And how applicable to the times we are living in today.

"“When the situation was manageable it was neglected, and now that it is thoroughly out of hand we apply too late the remedies which then might have effected a cure. There is nothing new in the story. It is as old as the sibylline books. It falls into that long, dismal catalogue of the fruitlessness of experience and the confirmed unteachability of mankind. Want of foresight, unwillingness to act when action would be simple and effective, lack of clear thinking, confusion of counsel until the emergency comes, until self-preservation strikes its jarring gong–these are the features which constitute the endless repetition of history.”" - Winston Churchill, 1935

There is still hope for our once-great nation but the light is getting dim. As usual, God, whose promises are always true, has provided a way out for us. It's quite simple really, yet it is proving too difficult for us to even consider. Because of our pride and our unwillingness to repent and humble ourselves before the Lord, we will be judged. But God has promised us this:

"14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." - 2 Chronicles 7:14

This is a time for prayer and for repentance. Worse things are coming for God's chosen people. We must be prepared for what lies ahead and we much look at the entire forest here, not just the single tree of same-sex marriage.

We are definitely a stiff-necked people. Can we truly humble ourselves? I doubt it. But the answer can be found in the Bible, where it has always been. Please read it. And our hope is in The Lord. The humble yourself . . . and pray.

Franklin Graham on the Coming Persecution of Christians

Another Brick In The Wall

I began writing this story the same day that the Supreme Court in our country begins hearing arguments in a case dealing with same-sex marriage. Depending on how the court decides, same-sex marriages could become legal in the United States.

We in this country have been getting farther and farther away from Gods as we turn our backs on His laws and His precepts in favor of our OWN desires. We have become so politically correct in this country it's hard to speak without offending somebody.

The line between acceptability and non-acceptability is ever-moving . . . ever changing. This battle over same-sex marriage is just another brick in the wall between us and God.

I was listening to audio of some of the court proceedings today. One of the judges asked the question, "What if two men and two women came in and they ALL wanted to get married to each other. We currently do not allow polygamous marriages here but that could be next. Where will all of this end?"

Well, I know exactly where it will end. Standing in front of Jesus we ALL will give an account for our actions. I would not want to be an unrepentant sinner on THAT day.

Marriage is clearly defined as being between one man and one woman in Matthew 19. This is Jesus speaking.

"4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, 5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? 6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." - Matthew 19:4-6  - Matthew 19:4-6

I highlighted the word wife because some say that the word "wife" could mean a man OR a woman. I have also heard it said that, "Jesus never said anything against homosexuality." Wrong on both counts . . . and I will prove it.

Below is a link to an on-line Greek Interlinear Bible. It is the one I use in my word-for-word translation research for some of my stories. Click on it.

Greek Interlinear Bible

Now click on Matthew 19. A PDF will pop up. Begin scrolling down to verse 5. Read it word for word and find out what the Greek actually translates as. The answer rests in the Greek word gunaiki. Note the English word below it . . . in all caps. WOMAN.

Still despite all of the proof about what God thinks, what really matters in our highest court is, what do WE humans think. Not all of the justices are Christians. Many have their own opinions about what's right and what's wrong. We have lost ourselves as "one nation under God" and instead have become "one nation, under self."

I fully expect the court to rule in favor of same-sex marriage when they release their judgment at the end of June. If they don't I would be surprised. I believe that God has turned His back on us and removed His hand of protection from this once-great country.

I have been praying for the attorneys involved in the case, the justices and our country, but I fear that God has had enough of us and our ways. Read this passage from Paul and see if you don't agree that these verses perfectly describe the sinfulness that exists in Ferguson, Baltimore and "every town, USA" May God have mercy on us.

"28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them." - Romans 1:28-32

People have told my that I am intolerant and/or judgmental. I disagree. I am a Christian. GOD is the one who is not tolerant. He is the One who judges . . . and I am with Him. God loves us all. He wishes that none of us should perish. But He is an incredibly just judge. He has told us time and time again that he wages of sin is death. He will knock down our weak, idolatrous little wall that we have worked so hard to build. He will judge who is right and who is wrong, not nine men and women sitting in a cold, dark room in Washington D.C.

"All in all it's just another brick in the wall."

Another Brick In The Wall - Pink Floyd