Charlie Lewis

This is a familiar statement we have often heard said: “I love it when a plan comes together.” Whether we are working on a project, a particular objective, a difficult challenge or a vision that is worthy of the time and the consideration, it is good (refreshing) when all the pieces begin to fit. It is not so good when the pieces do not fit.

I find myself today where I see the pieces coming together and fitting. This is where I believe many find themselves on this journey to enlightenment and fulfillment from our Creator. We are seriously and diligently seeking His plans and His ways, as He said, “of doing and being right.” For me, I believe it is coming together. I believe I am beginning to see His plan for humanity and the nations. Wow! This is exciting! This is encouraging! This brings direction and hope to our being and our efforts. He said His plans for us were for good, for hope and for a future and not for disaster.

Maybe it only happens to me, but sometimes what I see overshadows what I know. I am working on that and getting better, as you are. But I have not arrived yet. But I will. There are three simple but majorly significant observations:

1. Our Creator told us to reign upon the Earth. He said that we have dominion and are to operate from that position. He gave us the power and authority to live victoriously on the Earth, right now. He told us to occupy the Earth, to keep it under our control until He returns. He would not have charged us to do anything if He did not provide a way for us to accomplish His assignment. I believe and am convinced I see a way.
2. Redeemed humanity, and now restored humanity are told to go into the entire world and to make Disciples of those who have not received the understanding of our Creator’s plan. We are told that we are to be different, to add flavor and the clarity of observable direction from our influence. Humanity is desperate for this understanding and is groaning in pain looking for the manifestation of the evidence. I believe and am convinced I see a way.
3. We are told that our Creator loves us individually. We are also told that He desires the Nations to come to Him. We have made great progress in our efforts to accomplish this, but in many cases we are losing ground. It seems that the methods of the past would get to a certain point and there would be many redeemed. Restoration appears to have been overlooked. History seems to provide evidence that our efforts would not include the ingredients necessary for the making of Disciples. I believe and am convinced I see a way.

Where I do not believe there is anything in this World that is more important than understanding and following these things, I am convinced that the answers are simple, not complicated nor difficult to find or to understand. I believe we have overlooked the important often because we believe we have to deal with the urgent first. The urgent has crowded out the important. “I will look into the things of eternity once I get the here and now straight. I have bills I have to pay, there is sickness, my relationships with my spouse, my children, my boss, my Family, my new house, my new car, my ________, they are so pressing. ONE DAY. ONE DAY, I will get it all together.”

And as is often the case, we have made it difficult. Let’s examine these three observations in a most simple way. Our premise is and must be that our Creator loves us with a love that is not measurable. His love has no bounds and no limits. As such, He would not charge us to do something He does not provide a method, a system or a plan for us to accomplish His charge. He would not make it too difficult to understand. This is a true and reasonable assumption that can be proven by experience.

Dominion, authority and power now upon the Earth.

Humanity feels hopeless. They believe they are swept along by situations, circumstances, and relationships that are out of their control. They believe they are powerless to impact the outcomes of their lives. Most of the music of today and the past affirm that belief. In every venue of life – “whatever will be will be, the futures not ours to see” sang by many groups, and “Working for the man” by Huey Lewis and the News, and country music is all about the trials, failures, and impossible situations of life. Sad to say, much of the music of faith is equally as negative. We are just waiting for the train to take us to the little cabin in the corner of glory land. We want to get out of here. It is almost like we are on our tiptoes, maybe even jumping a little, hoping the rapture will take us away before the pre, mid or post tribulation eats us up.

Is that reasonable? Is that all there is to this relationship with the true and the living Creator? Where is the more than conquerors, the being made to triumph in every situation, the greater than he that is in this world, the all power in heaven and earth is given to me and I send you forth, I have your back, the no weapon formed against you will ever prosper, when your enemy comes at you one way I will send him scattering in seven, the I will never leave you or forsake you, the I am with you always, the I give you power, the whatever you bind on Earth is bound in Heaven, you have the keys, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, the you shall lay hands on the sick, the you shall cast out demons, the we tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, the we take our shield of faith and quench every fiery dart of the defeated Satan, and oh so many more?

Have you ever asked yourself why your/our experience is not in keeping with what we are told it is to be?

I am going to follow up next week with a blog that will help light the path to living the kind of powerful, victorious life that you were created for. Be sure to check back next week.

In our last blog, we discussed how we got to the place in our country where the governing laws are not based on justice, equality, and what is right, but rather what is strictly legal according to legislation. Having acknowledged that this is the reality we face in our nation, we must take a step back and take stock of whether this is good or bad. A good question in review is always, “How is that working for you?” Since this is my personal perspective, I will answer personally: “not very well.” Justice and equality exist in moral law but cannot be found in law that is based on what the distortions of humanity have determined to be “legal”. Anytime someone says to you, “I know that this is wrong, but I do not know if it is illegal,” the difference between what is right and what is legal is being displayed for you.

We are in Washington D.C. frequently and each time we are there, my spirit grieves for our nation. If our Founding Fathers visited that city today, I believe they too would grieve. Our Government is huge. In every state, county and city in America, Government is often the largest employer, the largest land holder and the largest developer and business entity. That was not the original intent, nor is it right.

The impact of a shift from moral law to legal law as the standard for justice is huge. This shift has a seismic influence in the results for humanity in their pursuit for justice. Everything changes. All of the assumptions and all of the presuppositions that are based on moral law are no longer valid or true. There is a new standard.

It is very telling to examine how we got here, and what the end game was in this shift. In each case the actions were taken to relieve someone of their responsibility and their accountability. Justice and what is right was not a consideration, but in fact was the position and the truth that had to be superseded, gone around and nullified.

No other generation is history has abandoned truth, justice and what is right like the present generation. There are so many examples it is difficult to know where to begin. One of the most glaringly obvious examples is our regard for our offspring, our seed.

Our Constitution, the scriptures, declare that children are a gift from our Creator God as a reward from Him. It is our seed and our given ability to reproduce that provide a home on the Earth for another eternal spirit. We are participating in eternity. When we provide entry for a life onto this planet, we provide visible expression for their spirit, and for the delivery of their gifts and their abilities for the good of all of humanity on the planet, through the production of our offspring. It is an honor of the highest degree.

It is an immutable dynamic that successful reward and desirable benefit follow accepted responsibility and demonstrated discipline. That does not change. It never will. It is the interactive system of the dynamics for life that our Creator has established. Good outcomes follow good choices. Good outcomes are the results of good decisions. With our offspring, this dynamic can be plainly seen.

Over recent days, I have observed some of the things taking place in our country and our world, and my spirit has been stirred. It is always my practice to look for the good and positive things that our Creator is accomplishing in the world. On that front, there is much to be grateful for. While you may not hear it from the news media or the talking heads of this world, the simple truth is that Good is winning! The Kingdom of Light is overtaking the Kingdom of Darkness.

However, while that may be the case, there are still negative things happening in this world that need our prayer, attention, and action. As citizens of the Kingdom of God, we cannot simply stand by and allow evildoers to perpetrate evil. We cannot accept that the Kingdom of Darkness has dominion over certain areas of our society, and that’s just the way it is. No! We take our deployment into those areas (mountains) of society, and we contend for them on behalf of our Kingdom.

One of the facets of our society that has me so grieved these days is that of the Law, Justice, Equality, and Fairness. There seems to be so much misunderstanding on these topics that it can be hard to know how to begin any meaningful discussion. But Holy Spirit God has led me to begin writing on this topic, and I want to share it with all of you. I foresee this being an ongoing blog series that I will add to over the coming weeks and months. As always, I welcome your thoughts and reactions in the comments.

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Does justice and equality exist in the Kingdoms and the Governments of this World? Are the Governments of this world fair and just to all of its citizens? For many years I have observed and experienced along with the Citizenry of this world, frustration, defeat and disappointment when we look to our Governments for fair and for just treatment. It simply cannot give what it does not have. We are in a place in the United States where there are groups of people who believe that lawlessness is better than what we receive from those who give/represent our law. To many, anarchy seems to be the only reasonable alternative. I do not believe that it is correct.

The law that Moses delivered to Israel had more than six hundred specific precepts of laws. The Prophet Micah gave three: 1) Do what is right, 2) Love mercy, and 3) walk humbly before your God. Jesus summarized law into two directives;

³⁶ “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” ³⁷ Jesus answered him, “‘Love^[a] the Lord your God with every passion of your heart, with all the energy of your being, and with every thought that is within you.’^[b] 38 This is the great and supreme commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it in importance: ‘You must love your friend^[c] in the same way you love yourself.’^[d] 40 Contained within these commandments to love you will find all the meaning of the Law and the Prophets.”

Matthew 22:36-40 The Passion Translation (TPT)

Where are we today? Every Department of Government has thousands of laws and regulations for their specific area of jurisdiction that they impose and enforce. It is really unbelievable.

How did we get here? In short, Government officials overstepping their bounds and their authority, Legislators passing laws that serve particular groups (Lobbyists) and not everyone equally, and Attorneys in general who have perverted the system by establishing a new standard (precedent) based on what they and the courts (government and attorneys) decide is legal instead of simply what is right and just. Am I surprised? Should we be surprised? No, not really.

The Founding Fathers of the United States when writing the Constitution for our governing agreement, based all that they placed in our governing documents on moral law. We were governed by the rule of law that was founded and based on the standard of moral law. That in itself stated that we believed that there is a (one) Lawgiver who is the sole purveyor of equality and justice. The farther we have gotten away from that foundation, we have begun to establish laws ourselves (we have become the lawgivers) which now has become the standard for justice which is based on what is legal and not what is right. We (courts, government, legislators, attorneys) have decided the standard. Our governing is no longer based on justice, equality and what is right, but what is legal as we have decided and legislated and/or regulated.

In our quest for understanding, humanity has sought relentlessly (seek after, strive vigorously, be ravenously hungry for) for knowledge that will make a difference in the direction, the experience and the outcomes of our lives on Earth. Too often we have felt helpless in our ability to impact our lives and their outcomes.   (Seek ye first) The resulting hopelessness has led to many experiences at attempts to find something that delivers the power to have influence and to provide control. We do not want to be swept along by the tsunami of life, completely without influence on the direction, experience and resulting outcomes of our lives and those whom we love.

Humanity has tried many things:

1. Religion – Religion can be defined as man’s attempt to describe and explain God. The results of the many explanations are “methods” for approaching, worshipping and serving God. That is why we have Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, Christians, and the designations of Baptists, Catholics, Methodists, Pentecostals, Presbyterians and the thousands of other Groups who believe they have discovered the way through their “method” to know and to understand their God. A prevailing theme among most religions is a standard of conduct and behavior on Earth for the ultimate purpose of getting to Heaven or the place where their God lives. Most of humanity has found the religious experience to not be effective for the daily experiences of their lives. They describe the result of religion to be “pie in the sky” or for the “sweet by and by” and not having the ability to influence the here and now. (Mark 7; 7-9 NLT)
2. Power / Influence / Fame – There are those in humanity who have gone after and obtained very powerful positions, somehow believing the resulting influence would fulfill them and make them complete.          Through politics, ownership or control of great companies, large assets – stocks, gold, silver, land, etc., and the many other standards of man for recognition, honor and fame, their position and power can be made obvious to all. Sadly the road to the top becomes very narrow with few peers and the results too often are loneliness and isolation. Frequently the pressures of humanity’s needs, their inability to be pleased or satisfied leads to a callousness and almost ruthlessness among those of power. They see themselves in a no win situation, unable to please everyone and criticized for whatever they do. They are not appreciated by those they are working for, and they themselves are empty of regard for others.
3. Alcohol, Drugs, Sex (extra marital and homosexual) – There are generations that have developed cultures that are prone to these activities. All of these are sensual stimulants that by their exercise dull the very senses themselves that they are attempting to enhance. The artificial enhancing of these senses has only temporary results. The amount required to achieve the same results increases and addiction occurs. The senses exposed to this artificial stimulus become dulled, weakened, impaired and often unresponsive to normal activity. The desired result is destroyed by the temporary fix. Extra-Marital and Homosexual sex destroys humanity from within much like Cancer. Every nation on Earth that was ever great and developed a distorted, perverted view of sex was destroyed from within quickly thereafter. The acceptance and approval of these behaviors by any society always result in the fall of that society. Research it for yourself.
4. Wealth – Money is good. Money is not bad. Without money life on Earth becomes very challenging. Money is a commodity, a medium of exchange that is used for commerce on Earth. When the possession of money becomes obsessive and we trade the pursuit and possession of money for everything else – Spouse, Children, Family, Health, Relationships, Values and Principles, the price is too great. The possession of large amounts of money is neither a validation of success nor the absence of money a confirmation of failure. Money is of no value in and of itself. The proper use of money as a medium of exchange in fulfillment of the Universal Dynamics of Nature determines the value of money. And that is by the good it can be used to bring to others. Money in our possession is to meet our needs and to assist others less fortunate with their needs. I have believed for a long time that humanity is divided into two groups where money is concerned – Givers and Takers. I also believe this is the way it is because humanity as a whole does not understand the purpose and the plan for money. So much of our lives are spent gathering money. Consider the hours of your day that are devoted to this pursuit. When we realize money is a tool we earn in order to bless our families and those around us less fortunate than us, giving becomes a natural part of money. It is amazing how many have no plan for giving. Giving is not a part of money for them.Money is all about keeping. If giving is a part, it becomes a religious experience. A tithe, ten per cent, and it becomes real easy to tip instead of tithe. Giving is the purpose of money and it opens a door nothing else will open. I can prove it.
5. Talents/Special Abilities – The ability to perform in an outstanding, above average manner, whether a gifting or a developed skill, must be for the betterment of others. Talent for Music, Sports, Teaching, Speaking, Preaching, Building, Drawing, Painting, Sales, Management, and Sculpting, Design or any other talent all will provide a significant reward when used properly and managed well.   Too many with talent use their abilities to gather for themselves and forget their responsibility to humanity in conduct and behavior.
6. Beauty, looking good, charm – Wow! A multi-billion dollar industry in America and all over the world. There appears to be nothing about the human body that cannot be altered. To say there is an obsession with our appearance is an understatement in light of these statistics and figures. Looking good and doing all you can do to make that possible is not bad.      Physical beauty fades and is impossible to maintain. To use beauty as the established scale for self-worth and to neglect the responsibility to bring beauty into submission to conduct and behavior is a plan doomed to result in great pain and to lead to certain failure. The dynamics of conduct and behavior will create a society where beauty is admired and appreciated, but its value is not over-inflated.

It is a provable fact that the Universal Dynamics of Nature are real. They are sure and they are certain. They are eternal. Whether physical and scientific or conduct and behavior, you can chose to obey or disobey them but they are not optional. The results/outcomes follow the actions. It does not require extreme education or no education at all to see and understand universal dynamics. The simplest among humanity can observe the actions and see the responding results without counseling or prompting.

If further proof is needed a casual observance of history and the outcomes resulting from these universal dynamics is easily observed and understood. Each of these dynamics whether physical and scientific or conduct and behavioral carry within themselves a governance or control for society.   If all of humanity obeys the Universal Dynamics of Nature, Humanity would self-govern and there would be no requirement of Civil Government. Our Culture or our beliefs determine the level of need for government. When we understand there are Universal Dynamics, Values and Principles that govern our relationships and the outcomes of our lives we are making progress toward self-government. When we research, and study, and rehearse these Dynamics until we internalize them and we allow our conduct and behavior to be managed by them, we will govern ourselves without the need for Civil laws.

Understanding these dynamics, values and principles and conducting our lives by their simple but profound truths will provide humanity the influence in the outcomes of our lives that all of humanity has searched for and is searching for. Each of us can recall a person or persons who violated these dynamics and the impact directly influenced the outcomes of their lives. People who live with Anger, Unforgiveness, immorality, lives without humility, honesty, ambition, without responsibility – always blaming others for their outcomes, without ambition, and many, many more. Knowledge of and adherence to the simple Universal Dynamics of Nature is imperative. The outcomes of the lives of those who do not recognize the impact of choosing to disobey the simple dynamics of nature are chronicles of tragedy. Study, rehearse and imitate these principles.

The outcomes of your life will be and are directed by their influence.

I want to emphasize that this is not a religious exercise. No more than a religious experience is required for Gravity, Inertia and relativity to be productive in the lives of humanity. They work because they are true.

Everything that our God, the Creator of all things, has created for our planet, operates within a System. As Creator, He designs everything that He creates, to operate within an interrelated, co-dependent System; Our bodies, our universe and all of the many and amazing systems that make up our world are all delicate, intricate systems. All of the discoveries of man have been when humanity identified an existing system and then learned how to harness and to manage the energy contained in that system for a desired outcome. Combustion engine for fire, an airplane flying by lift and the angle of incidence are examples.

Understanding the importance of identifying the systems that we are provided by our God is critical for our success. We and our entire world operate within the systems our Creator God provided for our use and for our relational development. For us to operate successfully we must identify and operate within the systems that we are provided by our Creator and our Designer. Interesting, and worthy of note, is the fact that none of the Systems that He created and designed for us are religious. They are all relational and interactive. Is it reasonable for us to believe that we are not provided a relational and interactive system that we engage in order to live a successful and meaningful life in a vibrant, living relationship with our Creator during the in-time, here and now portion of our eternity?

Actually, we are provided that relational system.

That system in scripture is called the Kingdom, which is short for the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God, the rule of God, the Government of God/Heaven, which was delivered to the earth by God Himself as Jesus Christ, is exactly that. The system that we engage and that we use to manage our success and for our successful and meaningful relationship with our Creator and our Designer, the Living God, is the Kingdom System provided to us by our God.

The Holy Spirit God, through Luke’s writings, describes how the activities of Jesus were demonstrating the power of His Kingdom over the forces of the Kingdom of Darkness. The religious people of the day were attributing the source of His power and His authority to His partnership with the Kingdom of Darkness. This was His reply (in several different Bible versions to help us get a full perspective of what is being said).

In the Amplified Classic Edition:

20 But if I drive out the demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has [already] come upon you. 21 When the strong man, fully armed, [[a]from his courtyard] guards his own dwelling, his belongings are undisturbed [his property is at peace and is secure]. 22 But when one stronger than he attacks him and conquers him, he robs him of his whole armor on which he had relied and divides up and distributes all his goods as plunder (spoil).

Luke 11:20-22, Amplified Bible Classic Edition

In The Message:

17-20 Jesus knew what they were thinking and said, “Any country in civil war for very long is wasted. A constantly squabbling family falls to pieces. If Satan cancels Satan, is there any Satan left? You accuse me of ganging up with the Devil, the prince of demons, to cast out demons, but if you’re slinging devil mud at me, calling me a devil who kicks out devils, doesn’t the same mud stick to your own exorcists? But if it’s God’s finger I’m pointing that sends the demons on their way, then God’s kingdom is here for sure. 21-22 When a strong man, armed to the teeth, stands guard in his front yard, his property is safe and sound. But what if a stronger man comes along with superior weapons? Then he’s beaten at his own game, the arsenal that gave him such confidence hauled off, and his precious possessions plundered.

Luke 11: 17-22, The Message

In The Passion Translation:

20 Yet if I am casting out demons by God’s mighty power,[a] God’s kingdom realm is now released upon you—but you still reject it! 21 Satan’s belongings are undisturbed as he stands guard over his fortress kingdom, strong and fully armed with an arsenal of many weapons. 22 But when one stronger than he comes to attack and overpower him, the stronger one will empty the arsenal in which he trusted. The conqueror will ransack his kingdom and distribute all the spoils of victory.

Luke 11:20-22, The Passion Translation

The Kingdom that Jesus describes as being present on the earth today, now, and that is more powerful than the Kingdom of Darkness, and that is available for our engagement for our victory on this planet and forever is the Kingdom that is spoken about in Daniel 2:44 (again, in several translations):

The Message:

44-45 “But throughout the history of these kingdoms, the God of heaven will be building a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will this kingdom ever fall under the domination of another. In the end it will crush the other kingdoms and finish them off and come through it all standing strong and eternal. It will be like the stone cut from the mountain by the invisible hand that crushed the iron, the bronze, the ceramic, the silver, and the gold.

Daniel 2:44-45 The Message (MSG)

Amplified Bible Classic Edition:

44 And in the days of these [final ten] kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty be left to another people; but it shall break and crush and consume all these kingdoms and it shall stand forever.

Daniel 2:44, Amplified Bible Classic Edition

New Living Translation:

44 “During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever.

Daniel 2:44, New Living Translation

Why would we spend all of our “time” in-time building and pursuing things that will not last beyond time and ignoring the most important things about us and who we are forever: the things in our lives that are eternal? Our God, His Word, His Kingdom, and we are eternal, and our concentration in-time must be on our eternalness and our relationship with our eternity.

We began our search for our Identity, our Origin, and our Purpose by stating that for accurate findings/results, we must know our Creator, the one who made and designed us for relationship and for fellowship with Him.

We must know who He is. Who He is to us, and who we are to Him. We must know that He made us special and unique, one of a kind. He gifted us with talents and abilities that come directly from Him. Our earthly lineage does not limit, nor does it restrict, His plans for us from being effective and from being fulfilled in our lives. We deliver the gifts that He gives to us to humanity as He has planned for us to do for their and our enhanced life experiences on this planet and forever.

We pursue and live lives of relationship with our Creator and with Humanity by engaging and following the standards provided for us in our Constitution. We choose relationship over religion, and often relationship over always being right. Relationally, we do what is right not just based on what is legal by man’s decisions. We love mercy and we recognize and honor our God as our complete source and our complete supply.

6 My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me.

Hosea 4:6, NLT

32 And such as violate the covenant he shall pervert and seduce with flatteries, but the people who know their God shall prove themselves strong and shall stand firm and do exploits [for God].

Daniel 11:32, Amplified Bible Classic Edition