February 1, 2007

Joel Akin

It was a good story

 Be aware of wolves who appear in sheep's clothing. For men will rise with men and proclaim a thing to be true. And they will strip imagination down to the earth. The scriptures are written that we might know God set it up for us to see and to hear and to understand. It was written with a complete agenda. If there are other words of it written then they can be seen as other writings. The Bible was written with an agenda that was finished. It isn't meant to be written on. It may be written about and it may be added to in the sense of us writing our thoughts. But it is not meant to be written in the sense of adding to its pages.

 When God teaches us from scripture it is to help us grow. We are meant to hear and hearing comes because we have a scripture that burns in our heart. It is not there to burn us into hell.

 Sin comes and steals joy and hope and life. He comes to steal joy from our heart. He is one who takes what God has given and makes it twisted. For example the tale of the two prophets. One called by God to deliver a message. The other called by self to test this prophet of God. He says "I am not to turn to the right or to the left" but self says "Lets see if he is right." He goes and tried to submit the prophet to falsity. The prophet submits because it is on the way. He thinks the man is a godsend and that means he doesn't hear.

 When God comes will he be angry with either prophet? If he is angry it will be at the one who ignored the first prophecy. He is trying to turn him away from his calling.

 Now that calling isn't one that is easy to state. If God gives us knowledge then that is a different sort of story. If God calls us to see that men are able to see then that is the first prophets message. Where self comes in is when the first prophet doubts his calling. He goes and knocks on a door and tries to make it happen himself. He doesn't try to hear God speak but tries to listen to the prophet.

 In some ways I think that I am a little like both. When you are struggling to find the message you wait for the message to find you. And when a message comes with confusing signals we are lead astray.

 Now the first prophet heard God speak. He heard God tell him to deliver a message. He did and completed his task but while on the way home the second prophet delayed him enough a lion ate him.

 So did the prophet fail? No. But if he had obeyed Gods original warning he might have seen it wasn't Gods plan.

 Yet it also wasn't Gods desire for a lion to eat him. So if the first prophet made a mistake it was in listening to people around him. Even if it was in his own home.

 God didn't want this story to be written. He saw it would bring no honor to anyone. Yet God saw if the first prophet prayed he could avoid the trouble that lay ahead. The first prophet did and he failed only in submitting to authority. And that is of family.

 Family is the one who bears the price of making the prophet submit. If they admit it they will be set free. If they make it an issue then they have to pay. Paying a price means giving up all that was meant to be theirs. And that means giving them a ride to the gate of hell. Not to hell itself but to the gate of hell.

 Sometimes God does things that are meant to surprise and meant to help. All of us are on the ride and all of us are on the train. And all of us want this story to be happy.

 It is not time to lay blame or to think of ways to lay it. It is Gods desire for the first prophet to be happy. He is but he lays blame on his self rather then on sin who was the one who inspired the second prophet.

 Neither prophet was a failure but each prophet was responsible. And thus the first prophet suffered and the second prophet suffered. He perhaps did want to test the man but not to the extent of him losing his life.

 And if they let you, as the first prophet, fail, and let you submit to the lion, it wasn't out of anger but out of help. For you who see yourself as the first prophet are the one who suffers from the laying of blame of the second. And the second prophet is the one who has to bear the blame of the first.

 So if time is to be a consolation then in heaven the first prophet would announce "I forgive the second prophet." The second prophet would say "I was testing the prophet and they failed." In this case this would be a test of time and the first prophet would be vindicated because they felt they were hurt by the second prophet.

 In such cases God allows them to see each other but not to intermingle until one or the other finds a way of reciprocating. Not in anger but in help.

 Now the help of a man is different then the help of a spiritual place. In Heaven God sets a course towards reconsiliation. On earth he sets a course towards help. Help comes to those who seek and in this case the first prophet saw the trap and prayed for help. If he didn't know the second prophet he would test him as well. If the second prophet was a friend then that would be a test of friendship and not evil. Not even God would say "You met a friend and you are not permitted to visit with them." That is true even if God said to go from point A to point B.

 Think of it as a man who is on his way home from work. He is told by his wife to come straight home. On the way home he has a blowout. He stops to fix it. His wife said "Honey, you were late. Because of that I didn't make anything because I was too worried about you." The husband said "My tire blew out. I didn't have a spare. I had no one around to help. I was in a tough neighborhood. My cell phone was acting up. I drove on the rim until I got to a gas station. Their pay phone was out and they didnt' allow personal calls."

 Well, it was a good story. And one that sounds true. He would have receipts to show for it. And he would be one who could prove his story.

It only got wrong because his wife thought the worst. She thought he had stopped to have a drink. Or have an affair. Or do something wrong. She didn't trust him. He tried to call her twice. His cell phone didn't work. The pay phone was out of orders. They wouldn't let him use the regular phone. It all makes sense and it is part of history for people have had bad luck.

 So then if he hadn't drive on the rim he might have met the lion and been torn to pieces. He drove to a regular place of safety and it worked out in the end. She might have thought something had happened but she didn't tell him until he got home. She didn't have a way of calling. His cell phone didn't answer. So in a way this story is one of vindication. The first prophet was saved by technology. He didn't stop and meet the prophet who took his life away.

 But technology works the other way as well. And that is when the first prophet is thrown into prison. He was stopped for having a flat tire. He was on his way to the garage but they didn't think that was a reasonable enough reason. Turns out there is a large fine for it being flat and driving on it and he gets angry. He says that is a stupid law. They come after him with badges and arrest. They take him in. He sits in jail and contemplates "How bad is this going to get?"

 In jail he meets a convict who turns out to be a lawyer. The lawyer says "I like that man." Only the man or first prophet doesn't know it. He is in there for being crazy. He goes around helping people and even gives a nickel to a man who had no money. He finds it and says "Its all I have." That man doesn't feel ashamed. He only feels afraid. For he sees a man about to rob him. He doesn't see him throw the nickel on the seat. He calls the cops and they search for him in the trees.

 Well, this story does have an answer and it is that time takes what time gives.

 Who of us is pure and holy enough to live in a pure world? Who of us goes out and tries to help? Who of us tries to give? No one and not even the first prophet? For the first prophet was like the first man.

 He was like Adam who went and delivered a message. "Me and my wife don't wish to eat of your fruit." He goes there and finds his wife is eating of the fruit. She couldn't rest the sales pitch. He is sick. He doesn't know what to do. He loves his wife. He thinks "I'll submit." But he doesn't want to go to the lion.

 The lion is Satan. Satan devours us and steals our hope. He steals our life and he steals our joy. God vindicated Job and he will vindicate those who seek Him. There are those who will suffer and suffer but among them will be people who turned away from God.

 Adam wanted to turn to God but he was there and he didn't hear God. How could this be? The answer is Satan was growling. And the growl is that part which steals our hearing. He growls and he growls and he growls until we are distracted. Even when we pray for help the lying dragon or lion steals away our hope.

 So then Adam seeks God but afterward and the fruit is poison and it takes his knowledge and gives it to Sin. Sin is the spirit of the tree and it takes His knowledge because the poison is like a line and it transfers knowledge of the mind.

 It goes from Sin to Satan and Satan sees they are almost out of time. He does a dirt and does a dirty. He steals their knowledge and then he rakes their hearts by stealing their love for each other. They now are without love and without a heart and without knowledge they can call theirs. Sin takes their knowledge and the lion agrees. They take it and break it and make it so it comes with lie.

 The lie is on the head of the liar and that is Sin. Satan is like a son who is born evil. He takes the lie and makes it his food. He steals the food and gives it to those who come. They are children of people who lived in the garden. We'll call them caretakers of the garden hired by God.

 They submit to sin and soon all are under the call of sin. God takes them and throws them out of the garden. It wasn't nice but it was essential. And so nice God became angry. Not at Adam or Eve even if he was disappointed. He was angry with Sin. And even with the son.

 So the first prophet was given a message and that fell into enemy hands. It turned the message over to evil and evil used it to turn men away from God. There were many who fell and many who turned away. Because they got a perverted story of the tree. One that sin created to explain evil. It worked and millions of people heard it and turned away. And it was a true message without the help it required.

 So who is to blame for this story. It isn't ending. It doesn't stop. And it isn't going the way it was recorded. That is until God stops the song of sorrow and says "Its over."

 Well, that is usually what Sin says to Satan when they have made a real mess of things and done it again. And now they figure its time to feast. Probably like in Lord of the Rings with the shire boys and the Orc like creatures "Meats back on the menu boys." And the boys were not Shire quality.

 Now the story is over but it isn't meant to be of death or of the lion. Its over as far as Sin goes. He wanted it to be a sudden death ending. He got Deet and Deet turned out to be his son. Not Satan, who was a false son, but Deth. They almost got it right. Deet was meant for bugs and bugs were meant for those who had time to spray. I had time to pray.

 Deet is the mosquito spray and spray is a play on words to pray. I love to pray but I hate to get sprayed. Think of it this way. Deet is staining to clothing and staining to pain. Pain is like Sin and it is Deet and Deet is long lasting. It goes into Sin and he is the kind to share it with everyone of his parts. He takes it and eats it and so does his family.

 They don't die overnight they just keep being the story that wouldn't end.

 So he gets sick and hires a slave. The slave is the last one on the planet he wants. He is the first prophet. He has to force him to produce but he does a decent job. Only problem is the first prophet knows the story of the first prophet and prays every single day for guidance. And to make sure the lion doesn't get him.

 Well, as it turns out the lion is the one who takes the first prophet as a slave. its a twist on the old story. Anyway the slave obeys the orders of the lion and spends his time framing things. He does a poor job but that is the front for the evil in the lion which is Sin.

 Sin is like an evil spell put on a parrot. And the parrot is like and evil genii which wants the first prophet to make a story up every day.

 So the prophet wonders "Who is in charge around here?" For the lion submits to the Parrot and the Parrot submits to the prophet. And it seems they are part of a weird party which no one can figure out.

 So finally they get a visitor called "Hey" and Hey is the one person who wants to have a name. He doesn't know what he is either so we'll call him Time.

 Time comes and says "Hey" all the time. And so Time is Hey.

 Now there comes along a salesman who calls himself Bel. He is like the lion and we think he must be the dragon. So he says "No, I'm not really a dragon. I'm just stubborn. And so we think he is joking and so we call him Stub because he has a big gap where one of his teeth is missing.

 Now it is the Dragon, the Lion, the Parrot and Time. And the first prophet who is a slave to everyone. He is being asked to tell them all kinds of stories. He prays over each one and they hate it but finally they realize he's just a young hick. He can't tell a story if his life depends on it. So sometimes his stories are dumb and they groan and they say that was stupid. And wait for the following night for another tale.

 Well, by this time we have Hay and Stub who have moved in. They are really the dragon and Time. And they are the most evil of the two whatevers you can imagine. Only they don't know how stupid they are.

 Well, the first time the first prophet tests them they say "No, I have not fell down." He asks because they are always getting beat up. He doesn't touch them and no one else seems to so whatever is going on they seem to have brittle body syndrome.

 Now by this time the first prophet is thinking he is going insane. There is no problem only he can't figure it out. It isn't in his heart to ask the others because each has a different story and they give their theories often. They don't blame the first prophet, after all he is their slave. But they all start to look bad. And I mean really, really bad.

 First prophet wonders 'Maybe its the glue I'm using." Its the stuff he's given to hold the wood frame together. He is the worst artist you've ever met. Enough to make you groan. Its not that he shakes but that the wood is beautiful and filled with beautiful grain. It is being treated like garbage. And day after day after day the first prophet takes it and throws it into the garbage. Never does he take it and hold it and cherish it.

 Some think he's the worst artist but after awhile the men notice and suggest he should do something with it.

 So he thinks "What can I do with it?" And after awhile he starts a fire and they are all happy.

 Well, this story doesn't end there. Remember there is the lion, the parrot, the man we call Hey who is Time and Stubborn Dragon who we'll call Stub Bel. He is stubborn and ornery and beaten up everyday. And they all look at his brother who is Time Hey.

 Well, it is a mystery and it seems a dumb one. Only it isn't meant to be dumb. It is meant to be a mystery. Because the first prophet isn't really a prophet. He is a simple man who just prays and prays and prays. And the lion is Satan. The parrot is Sin.

 The dragon and time don't show up at all but play parts in the story. They are not the cow for that represents everything but the kitchen sink. It is the blessings of time.

 There is also a girl we see but she is always distant. Never quite where she wants to be in the story.

 So if this is the final part of the tale then what happens next? The answer is yet to come.

 We know the young man who prays is meant to be set free. We know they are preparing themselves for a fest of mudslinging. We know they have the mud they just need the boy to show up so he can be freed.

 As it turns out God isn't going to let that ending stop his story. He wants it to be free for all with this one young boy at the center of the storm. And there are those in his family who will have to chose sides. They will all be asked "What do you think" by a thousand media. And all of them will say whatever is in their hearts. And they all will see this and they will all remember one thing. Peter.

 Now if that bothers some then let it. If it bothers you then let it. If the mudslinging starts soon then let it. Don't let it bother you. For if it starts too soon they give up its advantage. For no one knows the poor boy who is a slave to the lion and the evil parrot. Not even those who are ready to cast the first.... whatever.

 So lets say God wanted this story to be written so he could help this man be at peace. It isn't over. The story is on track and things are on pace. It is just a matter of time. And that which is Hey will be burned. That which is stubbel or stubble because the bel became the bull and the bull was of the law, shall be burned.

 And that which is of men, which is of wood, shall be framed. Only they have a choice between the garbage and the fire.

 And those who want the young boy to succeed will be those who cheer him on.

 For it will be a story of David vs Goliath. And it will be a tale God will allow to get very messy. For David is the young boy. And the young boy has very few things on his side. He collects rocks, likes cheese and has people who tell him he really should be careful because he doesn't have a clue what is happening.

 And so the world knows him and the people of earth know him. Only they don't know that out there are two hundred trillion people who are waiting for the next exciting episode and are dying to find out who the young man is. For if he is a prince they want to serve him. If he is a king they want to honor him. And if he is a prophet they want to praise what he has done. But if he is a son to God they want to worship. And since he is none of those then they are going to be mistified. Because they think its one of them. And earth thinks its one of their best. And yet none of them know, not even their spirit man. For only God knows the tale for all its truth. And only this man knows what is happening but he doesn't.

 So if there is to be a tale it is wait on the Lord. For God is having fun. And he wants you to remember that the Lord is God. And he will bring vindication. And he will bring honor. And he will bring forth the truth and it will prevail.