Charlie Lewis Blog

Life is not a “Spectator Sport.” If we choose to engage or if we choose not to engage, in reality we are engaged. Whether we are active or passive, we choose our outcomes by our choice of action. This may sound simple, but the outcomes are profound.  On many occasions I have thought “I just am not going there. Let someone else deal with that. My plate is full,” only to find later that my life is greatly impacted by the things where I decided to not engage and I relegated the issue to someone else (the other guy). Our culture is replete with example after example where we did not act and it has come back to bite us.

Our lives cannot be defined just as a religious experience — if that were true, life would be easy. There would be no relationship required, just follow the rules.  Life is always and completely relational. We are where the dynamics of Conduct and Behavior that we have chosen to live our lives by has brought us. Life is not about religious regulations and our particular compliance, life is rather about the living dynamics that we have chosen to live our lives by, and the corresponding guaranteed outcomes that we have chosen. Dynamics make up an interactive system that involves competing and conflicting forces. The choices that we select take us to a known, predetermined outcome that is based entirely on the inertia that is contained in our choice. The outcome is a known product of the choice we make. No mystery involved.

Why is this important? Our culture continues to become what our chosen Dynamics have determined acceptable for it to be. There are many things that I believe to be very bad for humanity and for our society that I have not actively taken a stand to share my beliefs and my convictions and why I believe what I believe with my friends, my neighbors, my co-workers, and those with whom I am on this journey called “life.” I hope and I pray they will be alright, but let someone else tell them the details. I am all good to tell them about the goodness of my God and about all of His benefits and provisions, but let’s stay away from the errant conduct and behavior so clearly occurring in their lives and in mine.

A special Friend shared with me what the Holy Spirit God was saying to him about our influence in the teaching of Christ about salt (Matthew 5:13):

 You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.”

Another translations says:

¹³ Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.

^14-16 “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

I fully believe this is what is happening in society and in our culture. We know decency and respect are Kingdom teachings that bring life, and yet we allow behavior that is so contrary to those standards to go unchecked. That just may be the issue. Humanity is searching for the standards and not finding them and have decided there are no standards. Even a child knows right and wrong, but seeks confirmation. When a child is considering doing something they know they should not, they look to their parents for direction before acting. A nod yes or a “no look” seals the deal. Have we failed to provide the parental and societal guidance necessary for present day members of society to stand up to the false and errant leadership now dominating our headlines? Why do our Citizens not know that it is wrong to put on masks and carry clubs in order to injure those with whom you disagree, and to damage and destroy other people’s property? This is fundamental. This is not sophisticated, hard to understand values. This is basic. Where has our voice been, providing the input necessary to create a society where we provide the salt of our God’s flavors and the light of His wisdom to create a society and culture where we disagree without being disagreeable, and where we allow expression but provide guidance with unconditional love and without condemnation?

This is our mandate. We are not to be silent. We are to be the visible and audible expression of our Father’s love and of His will. The Kingdom of Darkness is doing everything within its power to destroy our world and all of humanity. They are defeated foes and they have already lost. In their madness, they are trying to take all they can with them. Let us display and confess the matchless, immeasurable love of our Creator and our Designer and tell of His plans for good for all of humanity. We cannot abandon our purpose and our calling. We must participate in every way possible. May the Holy Spirit God stir up the gifts that are within each of us to break the chains of bondage and slavery over humanity, and to lead all to the freedom from the tyranny and the oppression of the Kingdom of Darkness. Our God reigns.

A Constitution is defined as a body of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is acknowledged to be governed. For the Citizens of the Kingdom of our God and our King, the scriptures are our Constitution. In the framework of scripture we are provided a clear and distinct method, or the correct plan of action, for Kingdom Citizens to follow in every situation, each circumstance, and for all of our relationships. I sometime call the scriptures the Manufacturer’s Handbook or the Great Book of Learning.

How important is this understanding and the subsequent action? David said, “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:11. The Message translation says, “I’ve banked your promises in the vault of my heart so I won’t sin myself bankrupt.” This is followed by “Be Blessed, God; train me in your ways of wise living; I’ll transfer to my lips all the counsel that comes from your mouth.” We are to internalize our God’s Word in our spirit (our heart), not just our minds. This is not just memorization. This is what happens when we practice, drill, and rehearse the powerful and living Word of our God until His Word becomes who we are and what we are. Not an afterthought, but an immediate reply to everything we encounter. This is our God’s plan and His will for all of humanity.

Solomon said in Proverbs 3:6, “In all your ways (every thing you do) know, recognize and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.” In Proverbs 16:4, “Roll your works (everything you do) upon the Lord (Commit and trust them wholly (completely to Him (let Him have everything – good and bad); He will cause your thoughts (your mind- temporary) to become agreeable to His will (eternity) and so shall your plans be established and your plans will succeed.” How do we “know” God? We must know His Word as the living, breathing power He describes it to be. The distinguisher between Spirit (eternal) and mind (temporary). We are provided no other printed, living, breathing method to determine our motivation and our direction. It is a huge challenge for humanity to recognize our eternity and our eternalness. As we have said, our God is a God of relationship, eternal relationship. Relationship requires fellowship and fellowship requires time spent together. There are no shortcuts. No way around spending time together, communicating and fellowshipping with His Spirit speaking directly to our spirit.

What a joy! What an honor! To fellowship directly and personally with the Creator and Designer of everything. Our Father, our Friend, and our Lord. Our Designer. May our God’s Greatest Blessings be Yours FOREVER!!!

The gloves are off. We are in a bare knuckle brawl. The Kingdom of Darkness and all of the forces of evil are giving the battle all that they have. The defeated Satan has them convinced they are right and they can win. These are not battles on the fringe, but we are witnessing the front and center actions by an angry mob. Respect and decorum are gone. As the defeated Satan always does, he convinces those involved they are so right that they can do no wrong. Wrong is justified. There is nothing new here. This is the same old playbook from the Garden. There is never a right reason to do wrong. Yet somehow, we convince ourselves that there is.

In the Great Book of Learning, or the Book of Kingdoms as it is sometimes referred to, our actions and our reactions in every situation are clearly spelled out. What is presented does not always agree with conventional wisdom, nor do we always find the directions acceptable or satisfactory. And, the way our world is designed by our Creator/Designer, we get to choose our action and/or reaction, and when we choose our action we choose our outcome, or our results. As much as we may not want to acknowledge this fact, our results are the results/outcomes of what we have chosen by our chosen actions. This is Good News!  If we are not happy with our present experience, we can acknowledge our discontent and make the decision to choose an action that will change our experience. Our outcome always follows our decision for our choice of actions. We must make informed choices based on our agreement with our Creator who has established good choices for our desired good outcomes.  We are encouraged and challenged in the scriptures to make good choices. Can it be that simple? Do our outcomes follow our choices?

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Deuteronomy 30: 19,20 NLT

Love and obedience describe the choice of an active, living relationship of fellowship. We choose life.

The battle between Kingdoms has never been more evident.  In every area of life the Kingdom of Darkness is battling the Kingdom of Light like never before. Sadly, many believe that is just the way things are. There is nothing you can do about it. What will be, will be. NO, NO, NO!!! That is not correct. We have a choice. Our King has provided a System for our victory. His System is the correct choice to the alternative systems of the world.  You may not know about this System. You may not have ever heard about this System. Know that it is for real and that it works. It isn’t difficult.

Why do we not clearly see something that is so clearly visible? Could it be we are looking at and comparing the wrong things?  Media is so polarized and in your face with their position that we are bombarded with their realities, and truth and justice become obscured.  We must be grounded in truth and justice. The Kingdom government of our God is the method and the plan for our success on this planet. The Kingdom is neither Republican nor Democrat, Conservative nor Liberal, Socialist nor Free trade. Our standard for truth and our agenda must be the Lamb’s Agenda. As Sam Rodriquez so aptly described in his book on the subject, all of our effort and all our support must be for the Lamb’s Agenda. That Agenda is clearly presented in the scriptures. There must be no doubt. From cover to cover the scriptures are about two Kingdoms, one King, one who wants to be King and the epic battle for humanity. Our identity must not become anything else. We are Citizens of the Kingdom of our God, the Kingdom of Light, and we must live and operate as Citizens of that Kingdom.

We live in a much different world than we did twenty years ago, or even ten years ago.  Twenty years ago if someone seeking political office had run on a socialistic platform and had advocated the redistribution of wealth, they would have been destroyed by the media and no one would have considered them legitimate. What do scriptures say about socialism and the redistribution of wealth?

The Government was so concerned about monopolies in business in the eighties. They dismantled many efficient businesses for the sake of basically controlling their control.  What can be done today about Google, Facebook, Twitter and others? “Trillion” dollar businesses. They have more information about individuals than anyone ever has before. What do they do with the information?

Every sphere of influence in our culture, every mountain of society has been invaded by the Kingdom of Darkness. Their ideas and philosophies sound good, but at their roots they are wrong and they lead to incorrect outcomes for humanity. We must not be deceived by their rhetoric. Their narrative is wrong. There is another choice, and it is the correct choice to the alternative systems of the world. The Kingdom System of our Creator and our Designer is the only place today that humanity can find truth, justice, and righteousness.  Our Constitution is full of instruction how to make correct choices for good outcomes. There is no other standard for truth and justice. Our King rules from a throne that is founded on righteousness and justice.  We must judge everything that we see and that we hear on the truth of our King’s Word. His Word is eternal and will not fail.