The Devil Is a Liar and His Breath Stinks

In speaking to His Followers, Jesus says this; John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

In speaking to the Unbeliever Jesus says this; John 8:23-24 23 And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”

In His words to the Believers He makes this promise; John 8:31-32 31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

And to the Religious He says; John 8:44 For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Notice the differences between Follower and Believer and the similarities between the Unbeliever and the Religious:

You are not a Believer just because you follow Jesus. Meaning, just because you go to church on Sundays or pray for your food at meals, just because you are a good person because being good makes you feel better about yourself doesn’t make you a Believer. Jesus said that one must remain “faithful to His teachings,” (Vs 31 NLT). And not just on Sundays or when it makes you feel good, but at all times. To remain faithful means that even when it will cause you pain, discomfort or even shame, you still apply His Word to your actions. That is what makes you a Believer, when His Word is reflected in your life at ALL times.

Having some experience with being religious I know the one thing all religious people tend to do, they judge the unbeliever. To a religious person an unbeliever is condemned and not worth the sacrifices of Love. But Jesus, though He sternly admonished them, embraced them and drew them in so He can then lead them into all Truth. (Vs. 26 I have much to say about you and much to condemn, but I won’t. For I say only what I have heard from the one who sent me, and he is completely truthful.)

His comparisons were not made to condemn or to set one above the other, but they were made to draw the other in and inspire Hope and Peace, to embrace them with Love and to express the promise of inclusion, that all are able to be adopted into the royal family of God. (Vs. 29-30 ²⁹ And the one who sent me is with me—he has not deserted me. For I always do what pleases him.” ³⁰ Then many who heard him say these things believed in him.)

I believe the biggest deception played out in man is that being religious will earn you a place in Heaven. Who will be more surprised when they wake up in Hell, the unbeliever or the religious person? The Good News is, that Jesus has made a way for All to repent and find Salvation. The Truth is, the Miracle of the Cross has broken the chains of the apathetic follower of Christ, the doubting unbeliever and the deception of religion! Jesus remains faithful to His promise made so long ago, He will dispel the lies of Satan and give us the Truth, and that Truth will make us Free!

Through My Valleys

I have found that God speaks to us in many different ways, He sends "His Word" to us, sometimes when we least expect it.

I have learned to listen for the "voice of God" when my faith is tested. Of course I search the Scriptures and I might choose a preaching CD or podcast on the topic of my trial, but mostly I spend my times of testing just listening. His voice may come in the form of something I see, or through a conversation with a total stranger, (yes I do talk to strangers, regardless of what Ronnie James Dio says, haha). The Word from God may come through a friend or a spiritual leader. It may come through a preaching or from a book. Regardless of where it does come from, one thing is certain; If you are not listening, you will miss it. If you remain focused on the problem then the solution may slip right on by.

What I love most about God, and there are many reasons I do love Him, but one main reason is, His still small voice. He comes to me with a still small voice and the quietness of it drowns out all the chaos and noise of trouble. He has taught me to listen when my world is crumbling around me and though sometimes this may seem impossible, and I can hear you now screaming at me 'But You Dont Know What I Am Going Through!' I can promise you this, He does.

If you find yourself struggling through trouble stop where you are, cease all effort to free yourself and listen for His still small voice. It will come. When your mind demands that you think upon your troubles, take that thought captive, make it obedient to Christ and be still and listen. If you can remain expectant and stand back from the worry or the pain or even the fear, then you can be sure you have positioned yourself to hear from God and even more sure He will be faithful and not leave you without direction.

I hope you find yourself on the far side of your valley today, ready for the trek up the mountain of promise. God Bless!

Rescued From Destruction

THERE IS A STORY THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS MUG SHOT.

I was arrested in the middle of the night for under the influence of heroin. I had a campsite set up alongside the RR tracks near skid row of Salinas, CA and every so often the night shift officers would come and check me out and see who I had with me, they were looking for absconders. My camp was pretty large and it was waterproof so every night people would come to me and I would charge them to stay the night, either drugs, money or they would be a lookout for a couple of hours. I was a small time street pusher at the time so I would spend the nights packaging dope and getting high with whoever was there. That night the Sergeant shows up and calls out to me, “Who do have in there Cy?” He knew me from the many times he had been there. He never really harassed me he would just do his rounds and check up, I believe he really did care for the people out there. That night he was training a couple of rookies, and after admitting to the sergeant that I had used heroin earlier in the day, like I always did while being questioned and searched, I mean why lie, he just gave me the talk about turning my life around. The rookie on the other hand figured I needed taking off the streets. He arrested me and took me in. I appealed to the sergeant but what was he going to do take the side of a junkie over fellow officers?

Interesting thing is I always posted a lookout while I packaged my drugs, but this time the guy out there had warrants so when he saw the cops sneaking up on us he quietly snuck out of there to hide. I never knew they were coming.

I had my guard down, not because there was no-one posted to be a look-out but because I had left the Stronghold of my Savior and pitched my tent in the enemies’ camp. I had no protection from my enemies that surrounded me, but God rescued me from serious trouble. I did about 5 days in jail that time and while I was down some men came to my camp in the middle of the night to do me great harm. When I did get out of jail and I returned everyone was telling me how a bunch of men came with shotguns to kill me, apparently I had made someone mad. It happens on the streets sometimes, worst thing to do is get caught slippen.

One thing I used to do was allow prostitutes to stay there and use my camp, they always kicked down cash or drugs for me doing it but I did it for other reasons. I wouldn’t take advantage of them, just give them a place to do their thing instead of out in the bushes and plus they also bought a lot of drugs from me and brought buyers to me too. I truly did feel very bad for them, they had it the hardest of all street people. It was probably someone’s pimp or connection that was mad at me. I never knew why they came. I knew who they were but not what beef they had with me. By the time I was released and returned to my camp, these men have all been arrested themselves and I never had to be confronted by them.

Even in my backslidden state and in the condition I was in at the time God still had His hand on my life. People will always claim, "Oh it just wasn't your time", but the truth is it just wasn't God's time to let me go. His Word says He will never leave you or forsake you and this picture is proof of that. God also says that "Who so ever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved!" And the man you see on the right at one time begged God to save his soul and God was faithful. He not only freed me from the guilt of my sins but He also filled me with an abundant life as well. That is why the smile.

In my memory there are so many more images that took place between the time of these two you see here, and they are far more shocking to behold and way more revealing of God's Amazing Grace and Mercy.

My friend Bonnie commended me for the courage it took to post this the last time I did and though I love you for your words Bon please understand, it took no courage at all to post these pictures. It’s all gratitude. I thank God for finding me at my worst and still loving me. My prayer is that through this picture His love will be revealed to another. God Bless You All and thank you for taking the time to read this.