These were the last words uttered by our Lord Jesus Christ as he died on the cross. Among the many things that occurred as he died. Which included previously dead people being seen walking around Jerusalem. The veil or curtain which separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Jewish temple. Was torn in two. This was symbolic of access now being granted to all mankind…not just the priests…into the kingdom of heaven…through the final sacrifice of Christ once and for all on the cross.

When God has finished something. Be it in your life or the life of your family. You had best reside yourself to let sleeping dogs lie. As you know I can and will continue to be somewhat redundant in my blogs. There are points  which need to be made over and over again so that knuckle heads like you and I are not soon to forget them. In one of the gospels it is said that if all the things which Christ said and did were written down. The world itself could not contain the books. This is why the Catholic church has so much oral tradition. These were things that were developed and handed down by example and in word and deed through the millennia. Such as the mass…its prayers…its ceremonies…the priests garments etc. But this blog is not about that. It is in fact a lesser known history lesson. For yes the church also has a history. And a great deal of it was logged for mankind by people who did not believe and did not attend church.Their perspective was purely from a historical standpoint. I do wish to recommend a good book to you. Hostile Witnesses by Gary Michuta. Ammianus Marcellinus was a Roman soldier and a historian. His book recorded the Roman empire from A.D. 96 to 378.And there were others who also recorded this same time period as well. As well as what you are about to read. So he was not alone in his account.

Without giving any history to who Julian is in this passage. Please read on. For it would take too much time to explain……Julian thought to rebuild at an extravagant expense the proud temple that once stood in Jerusalem. And he committed this task to Alypius of Antioch. Alypius set vigorously to work. And he was seconded by the governor of the province. When during the work fearful balls of fire, breaking out from the ground at the foundations, continued their attacks on the men. Until the workmen after repeatedly being scorched and many killed. Could no longer perform the work. And Julian gave up the attempt.

In other accounts of this event. Many,many men were killed and burned. Mysterious fireballs bursting from the remains of the old temples foundations as they attempted to rebuild the temple. This you may recall was the very temple which Jesus told the religious leaders. That there would not be one stone left on top of another. When God is done you are done. There is and will be no reversal of fortunes won and lost. You will be in heaven or in hell. And for most unfortunately it will be the later. There was to be no rebuilding of the temple. No more animal sacrifices for mans sins. Christ the sinless Lamb of God had died once and for all. No further blood could or would be shed anymore. Christ is about to come again for his bride…the church. If you choose to be continually ignorant of his word and his sacrifice for your life. Well it is just that. Your choice. You will not be able to claim ignorance. For the resources available to you and I are inestimable. And I the Pundit have told you so as well. Get your spiritual self together and do not delay. For as the bible says…In such an hour as you think not…The Son of Man is coming…To be continued

During the Vietnam conflict…a good fishing buddy of mine was drafted. As the plane landed in some God forsaken field in the jungles of Nam. John and another grunt disembarked. They hadn’t even reported for duty when a superior officer said…Hey you two guys. Take this truck and bring these Marines to the other side of the base. It was night time. As the Marines who were fully armed were getting into the truck. John said to them..Hey we just landed…Where the hell is the other side of the base? And how do we get there?

The Marines told him to just follow the dirt road. John is about 6ft. 6 inches and 300 lbs. Herman Munster size. As they got under way. Bang bang bang and 3 wallops against the side of the truck. John said he jammed himself under the dash. Now how you jam that size package under any dash is beyond me. Moments later he gained his composure and floored it down the rest of the road. Arriving at the other side the Marines piled out of the back and inspected the trucks damage. They started laughing like mad men. Telling John and his bud…Well those Gooks missed us this time…And they walked away laughing.

How we perceive our situations and lives. While we have them. Has allot to do with the quality of life that we lead. In the Gospel of John chapter 10 verse 10 Jesus says this. I have come that you may have life. And that it may be abundant. Now don’t get me wrong. But if you are talking to living beings. Which he was. Don’t they already have life? Of course they do. So what exactly is he talking about? And so to the dictionary we go once again.

Abundant: more than adequate…abounding…richly supplied. Overflowing…over sufficient. People let this be a wake up call to all of you saved and non. Most of you are living your lives in bondage. And this because you are either ignorant of Gods plan for you. Or you are unwilling to take charge of your life and do what God wants you to do. God wants all mankind to have and to hold on to the born again experience in his Son Jesus Christ. Yes you already have a life. But its not a life that is in Christ and Christ centered. And to live this life will require all that you have to give. Including radical lifestyle changes. Changes in friends. Self sacrifice at every level. The life that I lead. And the life that you could be leading. So far excels the life that I once lead. I would never consider going back.

Since I have gotten involved with Facebook as a link to you and my blog. I cannot believe the out and out debauchery contained therein. The sleaze…the nudity..the violence…and the overall language of many is despicable. I get approached by prostitutes weekly. And do you know what? I keep reaching out to more and more of them. And do you know why? Because Christ died for such women as these. They just don’t know it yet. Mary Magdalene was at the foot of Christ’s cross with Mary our Blessed Mother and John. When all others had fled for fear. Mary the ex hooker stood firm. Jesus teaches us that the greatest love comes from the one who has been forgiven the most. Christ is knocking at the door of your heart. The next move has to be your own. Does it not? What’s your perspective?…To be continued

John chapter 3 verse 20….For everyone who does evil hates the light. Neither will they come into the light. That their deeds may be made known. God intended for man to be good from the beginning. The same stands true today. That we should be merciful, kind, trusting, forbearing, loving and kind hearted towards one another. But it seems that something has gotten in the way. And that something is called sin. And sin when it gains momentum in the hearts and minds of men spawns evil. Evil thoughts. Evil desires. Evil intent towards everyone and everything. Jesus said who can know the thoughts and intents of the heart? For they are continually wicked.

Paul recognized this and verbalized it in an act of exposure to the brethren. He wanted them and us to know of and to be aware of the simple fact that evil lurks just below the surface of every man, woman and child. So what can be done about this? Well that my friend is a good question and it has an answer. We combat evil with a willful desire to do good. There is however one thing that I do not understand. And it is about you. Why and how could you possibly desire to both do and choose evil over good? There is something very, very wrong. For the most part there are not many who would do evil against their own. Although there are exceptions even to that. But for some reason many do not consider their fellow man as having any attachment to them. Its O.K. that they and their families should die or suffer hunger. As long as I live and have food. It OK that they should live in squalor with torn clothes and disease. As long as I have enough suits and ties. And my cupboard is full. And I have health and medical care.

Jesus told his early followers that the Son of Man doesn’t have a place to lay down his head. He was born in a manure strewn stable. He was leading by example. But who do you know that is following his example? I look around my small home. And if I truly allow myself to see with the eyes of Christ it sickens me. I have more than enough of everything. I give to the poor but with reservations. I put money in the church collection but with reservation. I will give to you but will give more to myself. I am like a puppet. I am controlled by many strings. And the person controlling the strings is me. And if I am truly and earnestly honest with myself. And if I cannot be than who can I turn to? Their is evil at work within me. And I am a Catholic Christian man.

God is asking you and I to be honest. Honest with him and with ourselves. Paul said that no good thing resided within him. And I after 59 years of living have reached that point in my own life. I am greedy and selfish. I am self centered and will do whatever it takes to keep myself happy in my own little world. And it makes me miserable to say that. And I see the same at work in everyone around me. As well as the members of my family. They are offering next to nothing that can and will be of help to me or anyone else. And they are more than happy to keep all and everything to them selves. They and you have become spiritual pigs. Slaves of sin and evil while claiming allegiance to Christ. And now for the resolution. I and only I. And you and only you. With and through the grace of God have the solution to our dilemma. And that is this. I am going to push myself to pray more. To give more than I have been giving. To love more than I believe I can. To make better choices in my dealings with my fellow man. And to close the gap between what makes me happy and what makes God happy. And I am asking you to join me…..To be continued

Get ready because here it comes. If you are a Christian. You cannot do what the world does. You cannot act the way the world does. You cannot believe what the world believes. And in fact. If anything does not align it self with what the bible says. It is a lie. Maybe you have taken notice of the following. Many of the things that the bible clearly labels as sin. Are now defined by the world as being sicknesses or diseases. And do you know why? Because they run their lives without the aid of divine absolutes and guidance. Everything and anything which they encounter must be labeled by the minds of man. And that by men and women who are completely ignorant of the Word of God.

I said this before but its well worth repeating. Someone I know told me their daughter was suffering from alcoholism. And when I told her it was a demon from hell. Well I thought she was going to come through the phone. Its funny how people are more than willing to go to the doctor and accept everything and anything that they have to tell them about what’s wrong with them. They will willingly take any meds and go to any so called specialists that they are directed to. But when you tell them what the bible says. We are the ones who are out of our minds. Here are the degrees that I have hanging on the wall of my spiritual house. I am born again by the Spirit of God. I have been set free from sin. I have been sanctified by the blood of Christ. By his stripes I have been healed. I am more than a conquerer through Christ who strengthens me. My name is written in the Lambs book of life. I have been filled with the Holy Spirit. And those are just the ones behind my desk.

Take that you lying devil. The fact of the matter is that what you or I think has very little to do with anything that pertains to Christ. The bible says that we are to put on the mind of Christ. Now I ask you. Why are we told to put on Christ’s mind when we have one of our own? It is because we do not think the way God thinks. The scripture says that Gods thoughts are not our thoughts. And his ways are not our ways. We were created in the likeness and image of God. But that doesn’t mean that we are God. He has infinite discernment. He sees the beginning and the ending of all things. His ways are beyond our comprehension. The smartest minds in our race are ignorant as compared to him. We pray for change and in the midst of that change we pray that God will deliver us from what’s going on. We are moody and unstable. We want what we want and we want it now. Aside from the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives. If you have the Holy Spirit. We are all together lost in this life. Aging gives us one thing if nothing else. It provides the aged with hindsight. In other words we can look back over time having lived through it. And see the things that God has done. Many of which have taken many years.

The Lord is not in a hurry. The scripture says that a day is as a thousand years to the Lord. And if you think of our lives in such terms. We were born at 7 a.m. and died before lunch time. Maybe sooner. We lack patience. We lack trust. We suffer from doubt and unbelief. Ask yourself this. Do I really believe that God loves me? Do I really believe that God has my best interest in mind? Now I feel terrible for children who are and have been abused. But under normal circumstances. Do think your daddy doesn’t want the best for you? Do you think he wants you to suffer without benefit? Know this my friends. If you are committed to your walk with Christ. There is no good thing that he will withhold from you. Emphasis on the word good. And also remember this. All things work for the good. To those who love God and are called according to his purpose. You cannot and will not fail. So hold on tight. The best is yet to come….To be continued