Romans 3... Part 3

Rom 2:17 But if you bear the name "Jew" and rely upon the Law and boast in God,

Rom 2:18 and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law,

Rom 2:19 and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,

Rom 2:20 a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth,

Rom 2:21 you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal?

Rom 2:22 You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?

Rom 2:23 You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? (ASV)


This is a point of scripture that I have lost more than one student on and once was even told that everybody couldn't be as holy as I was. There are few statements that anyone can make that hurt as much as that one did. My holiness is wrapped up in the fact that I have been set aside for service to my LORD and His Father. My only claim to righteousness is wrapped up in the Imputed Righteousness of Jesus, the Christ. The only difference between me and some Christians is that I have believed in my LORD and my Salvation and have sworn my life to His service. Because God loved me in spite of my many sins, I have, like the Jew of the Bible period, made myself His Bond Slave. I do not have my ear pierced by an Awl but I am just as bound.


Whether we be Jewish Christians or Gentile Christians, we must be careful not to make the mistakes of our fore-runners, the Jew by religion. These seven verses describe a condition of arrogance that is pure sin. The only important difference between a Cop Killer, on Death Row, and myself is that most of them will never call out to Jesus and I did. That places me, smack, in the middle of some very uncomfortable company except for Jesus.


These verses speak to the issue of Judgment also. This subject is a much misunderstood matter today in Christian circles. The problem here arises from several sources. First we have, far, to many Ear Tickling preachers in the pulpits and on Soap Boxes. (They fear the subject because of the next source.) Then we have the World and their skewed version of what Matthew 7:1 means. In Proverbs we learn a great deal about Wisdom and the fact that God has not called us to be foolish. i.e. If I see a man running from a Bank with a pistol, wearing a mask and carrying a sack of money, when he hails me for a ride I must Judge him right there and then. Failure to do so will make me dead or at best an Accomplice after the fact.


Now to the other extreme. We must judge when a brother or a sister in the faith has stumbled. What we are not called to do in this case is to shoot them so that nobody else will know about the shame that can befall a Christian. Rather than go there, we need to take this passage and learn to begin judging ourselves and to pick up a copy of the Nave's Topical Bible and do the Topic Study on Judgment.
The Matthew 7 verse is jerked from the context of the Sermon on the Mount and if we read the Sermon we learn that Jesus, our LORD was teaching us a few things to do and one of them is to judge righteously, the same way that we wish to be judged. This is a touchy subject that deserves a great deal more study than we generally are willing to commit ourselves to do.


Rom 2:24 For "THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU," just as it is written.

Rom 2:25 For indeed circumcision is of value if you practice the Law; but if you are a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.

Rom 2:26 So if the uncircumcised man keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?

Rom 2:27 And he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not judge you who though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a transgressor of the Law?

Rom 2:28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh.

Rom 2:29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God. (NASB)


As much as the world hates Christians and loves to misuse Matthew 7:1, to silence us, our Manifesto, this letter to the Romans demands that we not be foolish. When I was a young Atheist, I was a foolish young man. i.e. We had just disengaged from a fire fight to keep as much fire as possible away from the Huey landing in the rice paddy to pick up the pilot and crewchief that had been shot down. As we disengaged, the rescue completed, my pilot climbed out to five thousand feet. On disengaging I looked at the instrument panel and the Fuel Gage was seeking the Empty Mark rapidly.


At five thousand the pilot pulled back to twenty knots and told me to look at the bottom of the ship and to see if we were leaking fuel, I did so without thinking. And just as I hung from that landing skid with no safety devices so do Christians shut-up when they are told to. Just as the Jew, in the Bible, dishonored God by judging others while breaking the same Law they applied, Christians dishonor God.


2Ti 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

2Ti 2:16 But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness,

2Ti 2:17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,


The above is from the NASB and the KJV renders verse 15 as study to show thyself approved. Although I often find myself in trouble on Christian Web Sites and have even been banned from a couple for my direct answers that reflect the truth of the scriptures, I will not change! God can change me if it is His will but I know that He will never teach me to dance around the truth. My most recent 10 day suspension from a site is for this series of messages on the letter to the Romans.


When we allow any person, no matter their title, to cause us to water down the Gospel Message, the message of truth, we cause others to speak shamefully of God's called, we become just like the Jew of old. Let's go back to Matthew 7 for a moment;


Mat 7:15 "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

Mat 7:16 "You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?

Mat 7:17 "So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.

Mat 7:18 "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.

Mat 7:19 "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Mat 7:20 "So then, you will know them by their fruits.


Remember, never jerk any verse from it's context, without even leaving chapter seven we learn that verse 1 has nothing to do with foolishly ignoring sin. The Matthew passage, just like this one, is teaching us to live like we are judging others, that is without reproach in the eyes of the only Holy God.

Romans 2... Part 2

Rom 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God.

This is very useful piece of scripture here. My favorite manor of teaching is by life example and every time the question, “Why are the Jews the favorite people of God,” I'm reminded of this passage and raising puppies. From every litter of pups and out of every litter of kittens I had a favorite. I did my very best to see that every one of them had the home they needed that would care for and nurture them but there was always one that caught my attention and I was slow to let them go.

Now go back to the book of Genesis and we see that God called Abram. God, being God, had the right to call out anyone He chose, but He called out His favorite. God did not ignore the rest of us, in fact He blessed the entire world through the descendants of Abram, latter named Abraham. Jesus is not just a descendant of King David, He is out of the line of Abraham also.

Some have replied to me, “What about the lost man, nobody died for his sins?” In 1pet. 2:24 we find the truth and the truth is that Jesus took the sins of the World upon Himself, that means Salvation is available for every one of us. The problem is that not every one of us is willing to bow our knee to God and to come under submission to Him.

Rom 2:12 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;

Rom 2:13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

Rom 2:14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:

Rom 2:15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)

In this passage we learn that one does not need knowledge of the written law to be condemned to Eternal Suffering in Hell. In Rom. 1:19-20 we found that they are without excuse for God has given every man a conscience and written on that part of every man is God's eternal law, a.k.a. Right and wrong.

This paragraph is not and should never be considered theology but is just my personal opinion. I believe that just as the Wedding Feast Parable (Matt. 22:2-14) shows us that not all in Heaven are members of the Bride of Christ or in other words there are different levels of reward, there are different levels of punishment in Hell. And I do not know again, but God being full of justice it would appear that the same might be true of the Lake of Fire. What I am absolutely certain of, without further study and prayerful study is that we all need to seek out more of the unsaved that are willing to listen and to consider the truth of the message of Jesus, the Christ of all men.

The world is filled with very good men and women, who for, no other reason than their failure to ask for forgiveness, will go to Hell and ultimately into the suffering of the Lake of Fire. We also see that the Jew, God's own chosen people, those that have heard and many that know the Law so well that they have memorized it, are not justified by that knowledge alone. To be justified by the Law of Moses a man must do the Law and fail, not even once in any area. Doing so is to have failed the entire Law!

Romans 2...Part 1

Rom 2:1 Wherefore thou art without excuse, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judges another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest dost practise the same things.

Rom 2:2 And we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against them that practise such things.

Rom 2:3 And reckonest thou this, O man, who judgest them that practise such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?

Rom 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

Rom 2:5 but after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up for thyself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

Rom 2:6 who will render to every man according to his works:

Rom 2:7 to them that by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life:

Rom 2:8 but unto them that are factious, and obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness, shall be wrath and indignation,

Rom 2:9 tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that worketh evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Greek;

Rom 2:10 but glory and honor and peace to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek:

For the beginning of this chapter it is important to remember the last section of the previous chapter, it gives context to chapter 2. Some have ignored what Paul has said, separating this into it's own chapter but it is important to recall that this is a letter written by Paul and letters have no chapter and verse division, those have been added for our ease of reference and do not always relate to the context.

For this beginning part of chapter 2 it is important to notice Matthew 7:1 also, the most misinterpreted verse in the Bible. Once again, in comparing Matthew 7:1 to chapter two here it is important to have the flow of the text in mind before trying to apply it to your life. Neither Jesus nor Paul told us not to judge when the context is used to understand the passage. In the case of the Matthew passage you need to read the entire Sermon and failing that, at least chapter 6 and all of seven. In our passage here Paul has just finished explaining that God has turned the Lost Man over to a reprobate mind and in the first verse of this chapter we are warned against condemning men for the same sin we are guilty of.

In the church we have a small body of Bond Servants belonging to Christ and then we have the bulk of the body who attend, some faithfully, for a variety of reasons. Christ knows who is who and we do not but the Church, not the building, but the Church is the body of Christ and we far to often fail to act as such. When a member falls into sin, and that does happen, we are to lift them up and restore them (Isa. 1:16-18) and not practice the common. We must stop shooting the wounded to get them out of the church.

It seems to be a much disliked title today but we must become the Bond Servants of Christ and seek to live a Holy life dedicated to God. Neither I nor anyone else can judge a thief when we, ourselves, are pocketing the extra five dollars or the extra quarter that the clerk mistakenly gave to us... that is also theft. We must judge enough to not approve of other's sin and we must judge when to lift them up because they are repenting.

One of the most vital points a follower of Jesus can learn to observe and learn to use for Christ is the change of seasons in a person's life. Everyone has these season changes in their lives, lost and saved alike. One of the most notable is the loss of a mate, everything about the surviving mate is subject to change. In the case of a Christian, it is then that we must move close to them and be willing to listen to them, whether they are crying or Wailing and ranting. And we must learn to do so and to keep our mouthes shut. You can help no one by revealing their inner most secrets to the world.

This is part one of Chapter Two.

Romans 1

Rom 1:1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,

Rom 1:2 which he promised afore through his prophets in the holy scriptures,

Rom 1:3 concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh,

Rom 1:4 who was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead; even Jesus Christ our Lord,

Rom 1:5 through whom we received grace and apostleship, unto obedience of faith among all the nations, for his name's sake;

Rom 1:6 among whom are ye also called to be Jesus Christ's:

Rom 1:7 to all that are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

In the first seven verses of the book of Romans we see Paul introducing himself and in doing so he explains his qualification and his reason for service. In like manor I'd like to introduce myself as I begin this series on the Book of Romans.

I am Bill Taylor, former Specialist Fifth Class of the Killer Spades, Bravo Company of the Two. Two Ninth Assault Helicopter Battalion, the First Air Cavalry Division, U.S. Army. I was first called of God in November of 1966, the night my best friend took an 81mm mortar in the chest. I ceased resisting my LORD's call January the first of 1990 and have been faithful since that day.

Recently, I have been accused of acting like a fifteen to seventeen year old angry young man by a gentleman, who, from his picture, appears to be quite a bit younger than I. The reason for his remarks are because, while I take a great deal of patients with New Christians, I lack the same patients with those that refuse the meat of the Word and continue to suck the bottle for milk. Much the same as an unnamed preacher friend of mine, I want people, after five years or less in the Word to put on their Big Boy Panties and to grow in the faith. You might find these words harsh but God has not called anyone to feast eternally on the milk of the Word.

I will seek to go all the way through the Book of Romans, as when Paul wrote this letter to the Roman Believers, he wrote what has come to be known as The Christian Manifesto. Neither being Paul nor Jesus I am certain to not cover every point, I'm still in the process of growth myself. Please feel free to email me or to post on the Internet any amendments you believe to be helpful.

Rom 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world.

Rom 1:9 For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of his Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you, always in my prayers

Rom 1:10 making request, if by any means now at length I may be prospered by the will of God to come unto you.

Rom 1:11 For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;

Rom 1:12 that is, that I with you may be comforted in you, each of us by the other's faith, both yours and mine.

Rom 1:13 And I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you (and was hindered hitherto), that I might have some fruit in you also, even as in the rest of the Gentiles.

Rom 1:14 I am debtor both to Greeks and to Barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.

Rom 1:15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you also that are in Rome.

Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Rom 1:17 For therein is revealed a righteousness of God from faith unto faith: as it is written, But the righteous shall live by faith.

Here, as in all of Paul's letters we see him offering up a prayer, this is such a valid demonstration of the behavior suitable for a Christian. Today, far to often, the world rules in our church assemblies and in our daily lives. My family prays before meals and we pray for others where-ever we might be and repeatedly we have been spoken to about doing so. The world is watching us and they notice when we act like our leader, Jesus.

Now, there is a final section to Romans 1 and because I have grown in my faith to the point that I believe every word of the scriptures and yet, still live in this Time/Space Continuum, I am often accosted by Christians for being cruel.

Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hinder the truth in unrighteousness;

Rom 1:19 because that which is known of God is manifest in them; for God manifested it unto them.

Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse:

Rom 1:21 because that, knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened.

Rom 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

Rom 1:23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.

Rom 1:24 Wherefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts unto uncleanness, that their bodies should be dishonored among themselves:

Rom 1:25 for that they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

Rom 1:26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile passions: for their women changed the natural use into that which is against nature:

Rom 1:27 and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another, men with men working unseemliness, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was due.

Rom 1:28 And even as they refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up unto a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting;

Rom 1:29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

Rom 1:30 backbiters, hateful to God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

Rom 1:31 without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, unmerciful:

Rom 1:32 who, knowing the ordinance of God, that they that practise such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but also consent with them that practise them. (ASV)

The Bible used by Jesus, Peter, Paul, John and the others did not include the books of the New Testament and if we will pay attention as we read, those of us that do, we will notice that the New Testament in our modern day copy of the scriptures is commenting on how to apply the Old Testament, the Bible Jesus used, to our lives. The same is certainly true here.

It is stupid for me to need to be careful of quoting or seeking to apply this passage or any other passage to Christian life, but that is exactly where I find myself. A careful reading of the 613 Mosaic Laws or of this commentary on them proves that any Law Breaker, lacking the forgiveness of our LORD deserves death. But each time the LORD puts it on my heart I am reviled and called cruel, mean and unforgiving. The reason... I have just condemned the homosexuals to Hell.

Never mind the Fornicator, the Rapist, the Murderer, the Thief and on and on, I have attacked the favored sinner of the day. There are a multitude of excuses, offered up as reasons for sin, they are all lies according to the Word of God. I need not give my personal, childhood history here, the Bible records that God said so and that is he end of it, we are to avoid all and say it again 'all' manor of sin.

Be Holy

1 John 4:16 God is love.

I have seen the above taught over and over and while the statement is true, not only is there a good deal more to the passage, there is a great deal more to God than just love. God hates sin (Proverbs 6:16-19) and that is an area that the, quote, unquote, Christian of today refuses to study. In 2 Timothy 2:15 we are taught that we are to put forth the effort to learn the Word of God for ourselves, we are to study to show ourselves approved. The modern day Christian, a.k.a. New Testament Christian, is being sold a bill of goods with no delivery due.

The Bible Jesus taught from was and is the Old Testament and yet there are heretical teachers that teach people that all they need learn is the New Testament. I've said many times, the New testament is the best commentary ever written on the Bible but if you only read the commentary it is like reading a comic book version of Gone With the Wind instead of the Book. They are both correct but you can never get the details straight from either one of them. A failing grade on a book report is not fatal, a failure at Christianity is!

Consider for a moment the fate of Jesus. Jesus had His beard snatched out by the handful, was blind-folded and beaten by soldiers with their fists, was crowned with a crown made of thorns that I'm taught were over an inch long and it was driven into the skull, he was given thirty-nine lashes with a Cat-o-Nine tails and then nailed to the cross with square nails. Jesus is the Son of God and yet the Father sent Him, knowing all these and more would be done to His Son. God the Father did not hate His own Son but there are seven things He does hate. If God will send His Son into this torture, to give you and I salvation, do you really believe He will wink at your unrepentant sin?

I understand that people are hesitant to name any teachings heretical and God does not expect us to do that, He has done it for us and all we need do is to learn the scriptures. The big issue of the day is Homosexuality and the truth is that as long as they refuse to repent in this life, they will go to Hell for it. But that is such a convenient distraction! Satan must be tickled to no end with himself. Liars will also burn in Hell! Lying and sexual relations outside of marriage are the people's wine of today and
Christians no longer are outraged by that behavior, God is though.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:7 we learn that we have not been called out of the world to commit sin but that we have been called to live a holy life. Can a man or a woman do such a thing? Yes, but not by ourselves, we need the indwelling of the Holy Spirit for such a life. Holy, in one respect means to be set apart to God. In another scripture we learn we are to live holy because God is holy and while we might fail we are expected to get up and let God remove the dust of our failure and to begin anew.

My prayer is that every person that will read this message, given to me by God, will repent and renew their effort to follow God. But whatever you do, read the Old Testament.

The Basics

Heb 5:11 Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.  
Heb 5:12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.
Heb 5:13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.
Heb 5:14 But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.


My blog is titled Basic Christianity because I believe that it is impossible to go forward with any degree of success without being grounded in the basics. As a military man I spent two months being trained to engage an enemy and to remain alive through the conflict. And then, like an Infantryman I was sent to AIT, Advanced Individual Training, to learn my specialty. Even though my life expectancy was 3 minutes and thirty seconds in combat, the Army expected me to expect to survive. They had grounded me in the basics and for the next six years I was repeatedly run back through those principals by repeated Field Maneuvers at scheduled and at unknown times, in the middle of the night and, just, whenever. During the thirty months I spent flying in a helicopter in Vietnam, those basics saved my life and the lives of the men under me many times.


A Christian, a follower of Christ, is likewise trained and has chosen to live in this manor. Living, now, with the final stage of MS and once more looking death, square in the face, I go to Sunday services, both, to teach and to be taught. And then, as I live out the week, save Wednesday night, I encounter lost men and Christ Followers in need of teaching.


When I was two years in the faith and forty-seven years of age, God called me to teach. I had heard the sermons and had read the passages of stricter judgment for teachers and I did not want to seek that job at all. But, as it should be, God had His way! I began to teach the Primaries Class at Church and there could be no better class for a forty-seven year old Baby Christian! I learned more than my students probably did. I'm certainly not saying that God did not work through me because in my second year of teaching my entire class was saved before June. But the point is that God taught me to teach the basics of Christianity. The very principals by which every man and woman is saved.


Today, my class is titled "The Grumpy Old Men and I'm still teaching the "Basics” of the Christian faith. Just as I could not survive in hand to hand combat without basic skills, neither can I be an effective teacher without the basics of my faith.


Today there are many false teachers and almost everyone seems to fear naming them as such. But there are a multitude of false teachers in this world today and some of them are dangerous like Jim Jones and David Koresh and others just lust after the money like Benny Hinn. The problem is that, by and large, these men are never important enough to become nationally known so we never hear of them. But they plague the Baby Christians and they will destroy their faith where it is possible. Joni Erickson Tada was almost one of those that were lead astray by these false teachers. Joni is a quadriplegic and was told that the only reason she could not be healed was because her faith was not strong enough.


It is a very popular teaching today that every person can be healed of any disease if they just believe. The problem with that teaching lies directly within the Basics of Christianity. If this teaching is true there should never be a Christian that dies and yet all of the disciples of Christ are dead including Paul who was stoned and left for dead, beaten with rods, received 39 lashes three times, ship wrecked and bitten by a viper. Paul is, by far, the best example of the errancy of this teaching. God healed Paul, right up until it was time for Paul to go to Heaven, then he died.


Others, like Joni and myself, God has chosen to glorify Himself by working through us in spite of our weakness. Does that mean there is no Healing Ministry that is genuine? Certainly not! There are two women in my church that engage in that very ministry. They are both poor, by the world's standard, and yet they do not go on tour or get on the radio and television demanding that people send them a million dollars. They just quietly perform their ministry and seek only to glorify God.


When we remember to stick to the basics we can be successful at anything God wants us to do because we learn to put ourselves out of the way and to allow God to work through us.

Whoops!

Heb 9:27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,
Heb 9:28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

The quote above is from the Translation of the Bible that I have come to love to read. The NASB is as close as one can get to a word for word translation in the English language, I'm taught. Word for word translations, rather than idea for idea translations, pull no punches, they just give the facts, as close as possible to what God has left for our study and inspiration.

This week a Student Doctor 0f Neurology had the task of informing me that they were pulling away from any attempts to heal my, previously Remitting, Recurring Multiple Scleroses and were moving into the Maintenance Mode to keep me comfortable as I die. It was a great opportunity to witness and that is just what I did. I smiled, she looked distressed, and I told her I was on my way to Heaven and that only this shell would die and that I would just be transformed. That made the rest of the hour long encounter go so smoothly and she looked so relieved.

As a soldier in Vietnam I was not a Christian and I came face to face with death. I had to learn that for those thirty months I was a dead man walking and that just as we said many time every day, “It don't matter!” You cannot find your best friend blown into so many pieces that you cannot count nor recover all of them without deciding to either make them pay or to become completely useless. And if they could do that to Hienen, I knew they could do that to me. That was another reason to make them pay and being in control, to some extent of other men's lives I could not morn for more than a couple of hours, somebody else might get killed by my negligence.

When I decided I was dead and it didn't matter it set me up for a difficult culture shock when I arrived home alive. It took me the better part of eight years to wake up and stop fighting things when I was awake. Forty some years later the ghosts has, mostly, been put to rest at night with a miracle drug. But I digress.

Every man must die the first death where we shed this earthly body and transform into eternity. My last real hero, Ed Freeman, mostly known to folks like me as sir, passed this year and that broke my heart but I know where He is and that is a comfort beyond any imagination. “Snake,” so called because he could fly a helicopter lower than Snake Manure went to Heaven and so am I when this shell gets to tired to push on further.

It is a sweet hope that we Christians hold for a truth. Hope, the normal or lost man's term becomes reality for the saved man when the Holy Spirit indwells us at salvation. Every Christian knows that they were born to die the first death so that they might enter into the Kingdom. I will post this in several places on the net in the hope that one dying might read it and ask Jesus to forgive their sins and give to them eternal life, just as He did for me.

It's a simple thing, if you believe that Jesus died for your sins all you need do is to call out to Him for forgiveness and He will save you from Hell and the bottomless pit. (Rom. 10:9, 10)