Reflecting on It

Some people just don't get it.
It might be the death of us all
So we better get used to it.

Writers attempt to describe it and
Musicians claim they feel it.
Critics will pick it apart
While the courts put a price on it.
Thieves conspire to steal it but
Then dictators only kill for it.
Many have become sick from it and
They never saw it coming.
It was on the six o'clock news.
Governments tax it, then deny it.
I almost lost my faith because of it
But I found it in an old book.
It is written. That's what it said.

There! It's all behind us now.
I admit it, although it's hard,
Sometimes, I just don't get it either.

T. LaVigne

Through a Glass Darkly

What do you make of a character that loiters around your house and waits for an inconvenient time to get in your face about something; you know like a zit, an ugly tie or a bad hair day. I think he sits on the edge of the tub on the other side of the wall and jumps up when he hears me coming and throws himself up against the glass about the time I arrive. There’s a person who looks just like you who hangs out in your hall and insists on giving you his approval before he lets you leave the house. Sometimes he looks worse than you do and causes you to start feeling like he looks. Or at least until you come to terms with the moment.

What does he do all day while I’m at work? I can tell he’s not a good housekeeper. I think he comes through the glass and goes through my personal affects while I’m away and then when I see him he acts like he didn’t do anything wrong. And what’s with that stupid grin when he thinks he’s come up with an original thought? I’ve come to believe that this curious yet suspicious fellow has been following me around. I saw him at the mall the other day on a surveillance monitor stalking me. He even showed up at church on several occasions observing my reflection in the vestibule window. When I go to buy clothes I seldom go into the fitting room because I’m concerned that he’ll make me out to be fashion deprived and obsolete style wise. And there is an added insult. This dude’s picture is on my drivers’ license. If he gets into trouble with the law, I get to hold the numbers during the photo portion of the arrest process while he remains unaffected. So if you see any resemblance to a person like this in your mirror, be advised that you’ll have to come up with your own alibi. He’ll expect you to cover for him.

In that other scene behind the wall people come and go from time to time near and around that window in between two worlds. When you are there next time see if you really recognize that person who has claimed your facial features. He might attempt to convince you that he can understand what makes you anxious and can feel your pain; you know, like Bill Clinton. But don’t take it too seriously if he just makes a face at you. That’s what he does for a living. Sometimes you just have to turn your back on him and he’ll go away. He will of course return occasionally to remind you to adjust your self esteem methodology. When you were younger it didn’t matter that much but now that time has had its way the truth may have become an unkind opportunist. You must do business with that image and face the fact that you may not know that person at all. The apostle Paul said in one passage; For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 1 Cor 13:12. If you turn off the light the person in question doesn’t seem to be so threatening and doesn’t have an opinion or any recognizable features at all. But in order to make those suitable repairs one must have the light on and face the future head on.

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. James 1: 22-25

This is the day that the Lord has made.. now go out there and make something of it too.

Here’s looking at you, T. LaVigne

What's In A Seed?

There is a parable* in the New Testament that mentions wheat farming from an ancient perspective that is still practiced today. Assured that a piece of property has been cleared of stones, plowed and fit to accept the seed, we can begin. The inexperienced often throw seed in every direction thinking they are sowing but the knowledgeable farmer goes into a prepared field to begin sowing. Tomatoes or potatoes require a different cultivation format but the Lord used wheat in a few of His parables. Jesus implies that some seed found its way to the extreme or curious fringes along the very edge. The stones from the field were piled near an access road where bramble bushes would grow and the birds would have had a field day. No pun intended. Every seed has a life of its own and in a different toss would have landed in the good ground. You don’t see the farmer focusing on the desolate areas but what we observe is an inadvertent loss of a precious item; the seed. In that seed is a future and a hope. It has all the potential of any other seed in the sack but where it lands is up to the inadvertent action of the sowing. Time and chance happens, as Solomon would say. Eccl 9:11-12

Of all the landing zones mentioned, the thorny patch is worthy of examination. A shallow start or a bird snack is one thing but the thorn garden has a classification of its own. In this sticky situation the dirt is suitable enough and has depth, sunshine and a built in security system. It may produce an attractive flower or a fragrance like a rose and of course is part of a community of assorted weeds and briers. When good seed ends up in undeveloped territory, it is unfortunate but then it happens all too often.

The root in the ground is the heart of the problem. At first a basic sprout is like any other conversion to any other religion but the rich soil of American Christianity lends itself to the environment of achievement and expectation. A prosperous preacher who drinks and beats his wife can still be seen on Sunday with a sack of seed, so let’s not credit the farmer for crop failure or a bountiful harvest and how others handle their germination process is of little concern. As the roots of the good seed get entangled with the root of the weeds it soon becomes difficult to consider leaving that plot of dirt. The riches of this world are being offered wholesale to many church members today. Twisted among the roots are scriptures that seem to imply that the Lord is pleased with much activity, many friends and a social or environmental agenda. Patriotism, politics and moral causes along with Christian fiction, contemporary gospel music and Jesus movies are implemented as nitrate additives to insure a false nutrition in the early years of this Purpose Driven garden party.

In our modern age the thorns are longer and the roots go deeper into the world, the world that is about to be destroyed by fire just before the last wheat harvest. In the outside chance that a stalk of wheat survives all of this and grows to maturity, the chances are that that stalk of wheat would not be part of the harvest. It’s a, ‘being in the wrong place at the wrong time’ scenario. It’s so out of character and is one of those oddities of nature that happens rarely but today the way the gospel is being presented you would think that it is a field of thorns that is the desired crop. In another parable Jesus speaks of such an agenda. Thorn seed is being sowed by many evil evangelists, and is sprouting up unnoticed in the fields of what were once amber waves of grain. The ideal scene would be a thorn among the wheat. We could handle that with a hoe but we are beyond that agricultural anomaly now.*

T. LaVigne
*Article based on the parables found in Matt 13:1-23; Mark4:1-20; Luke 8:4-15

The Origin of Christmas by David J. Meyer

Christmas is a holiday shared and celebrated by many religions. It is a day that has an effect on the entire world. To many people, it is a favorite time of the year involving gift giving, parties and feasting. Christmas is a holiday that unifies almost all of professing Christendom. The spirit of Christmas causes people to decorate their homes and churches, cut down trees and bring them into their homes, decking them with silver and gold. In the light of that tree, families make merry and give gifts one to another. When the sun goes down on December 24th, and darkness covers the land, families and churches prepare for participation in customs such as burning the yule log, singing around the decorated tree, kissing under the mistletoe and holly, and attending a late night service or midnight mass.

What is the meaning of Christmas? Where did the customs and traditions originate? You, as a Christian, would want to worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth, discerning good from evil. The truth is that all of the customs of Christmas pre-date the birth of Jesus Christ, and a study of this would reveal that
Christmas in our day is a collection of traditions and practices taken from many cultures and nations. The date of December 25th comes from Rome and was a celebration of the Italic god, Saturn, and the rebirth of the sun god. This was done long before the birth of Jesus. It was noted by the pre-Christian Romans and other pagans, that daylight began to increase after December 22nd, when they assumed that the sun god died.

These ancients believed that the sun god rose from the dead three days later as the new-born and venerable sun. Thus, they figured that to be the reason for increasing daylight. This was a cause for much wild excitement and celebration. Gift giving and merriment filled the temples of ancient Rome, as sacred priests of Saturn, called dendrophori, carried wreaths of evergreen boughs in procession.

In Germany, the evergreen tree was used in worship and celebration of the yule god, also in observance of the resurrected sun god. The evergreen tree was a symbol of the essence of life and was regarded as a phallic symbol in fertility worship. Witches and other pagans regarded the red holly as a symbol of the menstrual blood of the queen of heaven, also known as Diana. The holly wood was used by witches to make wands. The white berries of mistletoe were believed by pagans to represent droplets of the semen of the sun god. Both holly and mistletoe were hung in doorways of temples and homes to invoke powers of fertility in those who stood beneath and kissed, causing the spirits of the god and goddess to enter them. These customs transcended the borders of Rome and Germany to the far reaches of the known world.
The question now arises: How did all of these customs find their way into contemporary Christianity, ranging from Catholicism to Protestantism to fundamentalist churches? The word "Christmas" itself reveals who married paganism to Christianity. The word "Christmas" is a combination of the words "Christ" and "Mass. The word "Mass" means death and was coined originally by the Roman Catholic Church, and belongs exclusively to the church of Rome. The ritual of the Mass involves the death of Christ, and the distribution of the "Host", a word taken from the Latin word "hostiall" meaning victim! In short, Christmas is strictly a Roman Catholic word. A simple study of the tactics of the Romish Church reveals that in every case, the church absorbed the customs, traditions and general paganism of every tribe, culture and nation in their efforts to increase the number of people under their control. In short, the Romish church told all of these pagan cultures, "Bring your gods, goddesses, rituals and rites, and we will assign Christian sounding titles and names to them.

When Martin Luther started the reformation on October 31st, 1517, and other reformers followed his lead, all of them took with them the paganism that was so firmly imbedded in Rome. These reformers left Christmas intact. In England, as the authorized Bible became available to the common people by the decree of King James the II in 1611, people began to discover the pagan roots of Christmas, which are clearly revealed in Scripture. The Puritans in England, and later in Massachusetts Colony, outlawed this holiday as witchcraft. Near the end of the nineteenth century, when other Bible versions began to appear, there was a revival of the celebration of Christmas. We are now seeing ever-increasing celebrating of Christmas or Yule, its true name, as we draw closer to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ! In both witchcraft circles and contemporary Christian churches, the same things are going on. As the Bible clearly states in Jeremiah 10:2-4, "Thus saith the Lord, learn not the way of the heathen; and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven. For the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain. For one cutteth a tree out of the forest. The work of the hands of the workman with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold. They fasten it with nails and with hammers that it move not." So, what is wrong with Christmas?

1. To say that Jesus was born on December 25th is a lie! The true date is sometime in September according to the Scriptures.
2. Trees, wreaths, holly, mistletoe and the like are strictly forbidden as pagan and heathen! To say that these are Christian or that they can be made Christian is a lie!
3. The Lord never spoke of commemorating his birth but rather commanded us to remember the sacrifice of His suffering and death, which purchased our salvation.
Think about it! Can we worship and honor God by involving ourselves with customs and traditions, which God Himself forbade as idolatry? Can we convince God to somehow "Christianize" these customs and the whole pretense and lie of Christmas, so we can enjoy ourselves? Can we obey through disobedience?

So what is right about Christmas? 1. Nothing!

For more information and documentation contact:
Last Trumpet Ministries International
PO Box 806
Beaver Dam, WI 53916

This is Just What “X”-mas Means to Me

The exercise of “X”-mas which is cherished by so many evolved over time from a pagan practice as I discovered in the “X”-file. I found out that long ago when the heathens were in bloom, some disgusting behavior ruled the day. Some bizarre festivities came to be as a result of enduring those long cold months of the year. People became weary of being in the dark and soon after discovering fire the tribe began to assemble, mostly to stay warm. Eureka! It’s story time. Eventually the imagination began to gel into all kinds of superstitious rituals and one of them became known as the winter solstice celebration and December 25th became a big day in this sunny historical recipe. Primitive religion and basic violent ignorance was the mechanism of the first entertainment system. This chilly and annoying season of vacant space in the schedule became a tiresome routine, so man said, “Let there be lights,” and that was just the beginning. Eventually this pseudo enjoyable, time consuming and expensive activity was born and there were lights.

Then the church ( Roman Catholic mostly ) came up with the “X”-mass notion that if we place the baby Jesus in there somewhere, we could sanitize this void and in the mix make a few bucks; all to the glory of God of course. This salvaging operation in the festivities department soon began to inspire more ridiculous stories that gullible and illiterate Christians commenced to believe, accept and support. What began with pious superstition eventually procured additional financial momentum. This offered the possibility of holding the infant Jesus hostage for a few weeks during the coldest days of the year while negotiating terms for releasing the legends and inaccurate fables. It sounded delightful it glittered and had an aroma of its own. I have come to understand that it just smells.

There’s more. The “X”-mush is a side dish of mentally unhealthy side affects. It can be depressing to a poor man and a disappointment to a greedy or ungrateful person. It has so very little to do with Jesus anymore and more to do with the accumulation of those unnecessary items which at a reasonable time of year will end up in a garage sale. Modestly priced I might add. Don’t get me wrong, I have been both victim and perpetrator in these “X“-miss trends and habits. I too have looked at many a gift and thought, “just what were you thinking when you paid the cashier for this future white elephant?” It’s not going to bother me if you think that I’m a Scrooge. This guilt driven insult is spoken to intimidate the rational inspection of the issue. It is part and parcel to the expectations, family traditions, seasonally cloned attitudes, and the purchasing mystique. These “X”-mess absurdities just keep getting passed on to the children.

When my son was small, we showered him with gaudily wrapped prizes and read to him from the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke. My wife cooked and we went to the Christmas service at our church and enjoyed the truth that God became a man and lived on the earth. I have heard that if you want anything done right, you have to do it yourself. The Lord obviously agrees. But I noticed that Jesus had no festivities committee present or even a welcome wagon. There was no invitation on a flashy Hallmark card and I believe very few knew or cared that He had arrived. God was born in a barn of sorts among the farm animals with the smell of manure in His first breath. There was no pine tree cut down in the prime of its life, laden with ornaments over in the corner. None of the fancy wrapped store bought packages, the bric-a-brac of our high tech, remote controlled, return them if you don’t like them environment cluttered the stable floor. The shepherds of today refuse to spread the good news like they did 2000 and some years ago. The wise men and theologians of today don’t believe the bible and wouldn’t understand a sign from heaven if they saw one and couldn’t pour eggnog out of a boot if the directions were written on the heel. Spiritually speaking that is.

Jesus came to us not requiring that we celebrate His birth, because He has no beginning and He has no end. He did although come to present Himself as a gift and still offers Himself to anyone who will accept it. He is now mostly ignored in the “X”-must rush. For those who choose to believe, He only requires that we remember to acknowledge His commandments and promises. But we still insist on giving Him an unfair trial, if we dare to try Him at all. Think of it as a gift exchange with an unusually cruel death for Him and in return a new life for us; as in, His beating for our healing. You get the picture. It’s not as pretty as a Hollywood film, but then truth just isn’t as exciting as intoxicating visual animation.

I appeal to you to consider the resurrection in the “X”-missed it again object lesson. It’s all some of us can do to get out of bed and face another day except on “X”-mas day as we have done since we were children. Great resurrection morning! We rise up early, make a lot of noise tear open perfectly wrapped items and begin operating them with not even the benefit of reading the instructions. We will become goofy and surprised, somewhat confused and also a bit envious too, until about noon when most of the toys will loose their interest in us and remain neglected or broken already. We’ll stuff ourselves silly with white sugar, starch and cooking grease. We will consume the worse types of snack ever invented, designed or brewed and of course do all this with at best a marginal suggestion of appreciation to the One who makes it all possible. Some will say that that’s just my opinion and a very “X”-treme one at that.

I have come to believe that a resurrection happens every December 25th in most of the free world and is soon forgotten in a vapor of gluttonous spending and anxiety. In an earth that knows no peace, a day of ancient custom whose origin is found in witchcraft has no special magic for me, knowing that many will go to their grave without ever opening the gift that God gave us. Go ahead and celebrate this pagan holiday while you can because there are not many “X”-messes left until He returns. Learn to be thankful for every moment you have above ground. Without the Lord and His love for mankind, there would be no use to celebrate anything. He alone has allowed and even tolerated all of the Christmases past. This present one and any future ones however are still in question, and that’s just what “X”-mas means to me.

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter; Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

　
Written by Timothy W. La Vigne
Original concepts 12/18/1999 Vancouver, WA

The Nephilim Myth

I was interested for a season in the story found in Genesis 6 about how supposedly the fallen angels came down & had sex with women. The women had giant babies that grew up to eventually annoy everyone & create speculation. I would mention right away that I’ve not researched the concept thoroughly but I have read the Forgotten Books of Eden. To be quite truthful I never found them to be anything more than a Pandora’s Box of extra Biblical hunting expeditions that in the end bag nothing but more questions. I found the Book of Enoch to be somewhat feasible; however, what one must ask is how does this relate to everyday living? I mean does knowing such mysteries really help me focus on being a better employee or treating others as I would like to be treated? Not really. Do we really need to look at a subject that many scholars are confused about but yet they effortlessly tinker with theories & manipulate many words while attempting to convince the rest of us that this is a relevant topic? We can't even agree on what is written in the Bible on a good day & in matters that are plain. How much more shall we disagree over things that the Lord has left hidden? Paul knew enough not to utter certain things. Jesus said he had things to say but his disciples were not ready. John was told in the Revelation, not to write some things but what was allowed caused enough of an interpretation faux pas. I will not cast out any brother who is curious about such things; I only dismiss most of the UFO/Angels business as being at best a fairly recent distraction & in the worst case scenario a potential heresy.

I would like to chime in on the topic only because there is now a certified ‘Nephilim Revival’ going on. Formally unknown subjects have taken the stage & of course Jesus Christ must sit this one out as His name is mentioned only briefly & often with little regard. Just for the sake of causing doubt please allow me express a few observations.

The angels in this pre-flood scenario (we must conclude) were all heterosexuals. Fallen angels & cohorts of Lucifer inspire us as humans to commit all kinds of devious sexual sins but somehow are exempt from those practices themselves. No charge of homosexuality, bestiality or pedophilia is hoisted on these fallen creatures. Sex wise they are as pure as the purpose driven snow. There are no female fallen angels mentioned. I mean there is no implication that created man had relations with created female angels & had mean ugly angelic giants as children. That might fly in Chicago but in all honesty, nowhere else. So if we imagine that only one class of angels had such power then one is left with the assumption that a miracle was possible & at the very least an immaculate conception of sorts took place; eternal beings with temporary human beings producing a questionable species. I know some will say that the DNA was different then & well, ‘whatever.’ Is anyone home here? Do these questions not come into play when one looks at this can of giant worms?

To top it all off there are those who actually think that Satan will have an offspring. Can anyone say Incubus? The imagination of fallen man is given to silly notions & I admit there is some demonic activity that certain people go through, dwell on & then write books about. These stories make the rounds in order to cause a sufficient amount of distraction & to maintain a ‘special’ insider curiosity. Occult oriented people thrive on these deceptions & even Christians are beginning to fall into the New Age trap. Anything that is not written in plain English usually instigates an investigative itch among those who can’t get enough of the unknown. If I am pressed further on this I suppose I could join this ‘bore’ hunt but let it be known that I can’t see wasting my time & energy killing another wild pig just for the satisfaction of having it’s head over my mantle. Nevertheless; let the hunt continue.

T. LaVigne

Joe the Caterpillar

Joe the Caterpillar did not make the news or meet Mr. Obama. He’s just an average guy ambling along in his own world; a little bit lonely, not much to look at and mostly overweight as a result of the daily consequences of his garden variety gluttony. He consumes anything in his path and his path is anything that is in front of him. In his selfish mindset he ruins the lives and leaves of other living things in order to fulfill his own destiny. Any resemblance to anyone living or dead is likely to be a byproduct of fallen humanity at its worst. As one of God’s most unassuming inventions; Joe is of a personality that is totally unconcerned about the property of others and is in constant approval of his own importance. Everything appears to be on schedule in his privileged franchise as he is oblivious of the turn of events that is about to overtake him. One day the fat cat moves into a small studio apartment and closes himself off from the world outside and as he begins to deal with his own iniquity, something begins to happen in there. At first it is difficult to understand why God would allow this to happen to him. He was so outgoing, such an industrious consumer and a world traveler. As the troubles are embraced along with the notion that this can only get worse, a season of violent turbulence occurs and a noisome disturbance ensues inside but no one called 911. His absence is a plus for the neighborhood as property values regain an edge for a while. Joe is like a junky going cold turkey as he endures the sweats, the chills, and the pain of withdrawing from the world he once knew and loved. Although some may conclude that a testimony is being formulated, Joe the Caterpillar will be forever changed. After an intense episode the engagement reaches its zenith as the transformation surrenders to a new day and Joe approaches the way out. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. John 10:9. The door to that cramped apartment opens on a bright resurrection morning as Joe the Caterpillar steps out into a new existence. This one of a kind winged creature emerges with a new attitude and a new heart along with a new look. Eventually the inside begins to look like the outside. Some say that it doesn’t matter about the haircut or the style of clothes but in fact the whole analogy proves otherwise. Since a good tree cannot bear bad fruit it goes without saying that in due time a new appearance shows in a new creature and the world takes notice. For a very short time after this metamorphosis occurs, the now above average Joe almost effortlessly floats from flower to blossom tracking the grace of God on his shoes into the lives of others. (.. your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Eph 6:15 ) He now transfers life giving pollen, spreading influence and making restitution for all those plants that he once ruined with his insatiable appetites. The caterpillar formally known as Joe is to be admired by most and crushed by others. Some of Joe’s associates have found their way into the grill of an automobile or pinned to an exhibit in a collection somewhere but every moment counts and his day is almost done already. Then in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye; it’s over. Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not. Job 14: 1-2 I suppose anyone of us who has come into an understanding about living life to the last measure can identify with Joe the Caterpillar. He was one of us, he is now one of us and all of us who endure until the end will rise above it all to meet the Lord in the air and will join a great cloud of witnesses, the winged wonders and the favored of God. LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. Ps 39:4
Blossoms and Blessings, T. LaVigne