THREE SIDED COIN

                                             THREE SIDED COIN

                                                                (prologue)

    I'm going to give you a "secret" way to solve problems and achieve success. I'm not going to ask you to buy a book or send money to receive the information. The method is entirely Godly and scriptural. You don't have to join or even "like" Faith Walk Ministry. If you follow the leading of the Three Sided Coin, you will have the success God intends for you. It may not be a carnal answer you hope for, but it will be exactly what God has for you. You don't even have to thank me for the information. Thank God, because He had the holy Spirit tell me what to write. God Bless!

                                                  We Begin

    Do you know what a three sided coin looks like? These coins are God's tools He provides us to make Godly decisions. The story of the three sided coin is found in scripture, but, like parables, is not easily understood by anyone, including Christians. If we use a three sided coin, we will always find a solution to any problem. Sound too

good to be true? The catch is that you must understand the purpose of the three sides of the coin. The scripture that supports this manner of decisions begins in Genesis, and is sprinkled all the way through the New Testament. Let's begin this study.

    Mankind has always faced problems--big and small. Arriving at a solution is often nerve wracking, and our attempts may turn out to make the problem worse. Mankind's problem solving is stacked with impatience, lack of important facts, a beginning bias, and an attempt to work backwards from a proposed solution to the problem. The original method of solving a perplexing problem began when God

chose Israel as His priestly people. When they weren't certain what the solution was, they drew lots. Up until the book of Samuel, they didn't have to draw lots because their leader was an anointed priest directly "connected" to God. God had all the answers if man only followed directions. The change came in the Books of Samuel 1 and 2. The people wanted a human king to lead them. God warned them what would happen, and it was mostly bad. From that point on, the people began a series of rise and decline in effect to this day.

    The principle of the three sided coin was there for the people, but usage of this coin required patience and considerable research and thought. There is always the possibility you could count on another method to solve a problem--negotiation. As the drawing of lots usually didn't work out, neither has negotiation proved very successful. Let's review some of the history of these two methods, starting with the

drawing of lots. The most glaring example of this futility is given us in the New Testament in the book of Acts. Acts 1:26 tells us, "And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles." This wasn't a bad choice, but it was not God's choice.

    The apostles felt the need to replace Judas, and proceeded by praying for God's guidance. They had traveled with and had been taught by Christ, Himself, and yet did not understand that He would be killed and ascend to Heaven. They lacked patience and wanted to fill the vacancy man's way, not realizing they needed to hear the

choice directly from God. It was not a serious mistake, but God had to provide the correct replacement because the disciples did not wait for His nomination. Matthias was not a bad man, and may have been suitable, but he was not God's man.

    God made absolutely certain who the right man was when He sent Christ, Himself to name the new disciple. You can read about this heavenly appointment in Acts 9:1-22. God had chosen Saul, someone who was a chief prosecutor of Christians until Christ met him on the Damascus Road. I urge you to read these verses, because until you received salvation you were an unforgiven sinner just as Paul was. you may not have persecuted Christians, but you were a sinner (and still are). As a Christian, do you do or say things that are essentially equal to persecuting others not like you? I will go into this a bit later.

    I imagine you are impatient to know about the three sided coin, and have relegated me to the funny farm. But, first we have to understand why negotiating doesn't work. There are two sides to a negotiation, and the third side is missing. The two negotiators each have their personal agenda. It's give and take. Both want to take as much as they can, and give as little as they can. There is no true solution, only a temporary truce until later. Both sides will try again and again. God showed us

the true solution to a complex problem in World War II. World leaders did botch the solution a bit, causing a lasting problem. The solution was the term of "unconditional surrender." That is the exact same term you need to follow when you accept Christ's offer of salvation. Are you listening? There has not been a Godly successful outcome

of any war since World War II. Peace cannot be negotiated and satisfaction cannot be negotiated. How did the terms of surrender get botched? Our leaders negotiated with the Allies (Great Britain and Russia) on splitting Germany into three occupational areas. That brought on the Cold War and continuing consequences.

    Now we are prepared to define and understand the three sided coin. You handle them all the time and forget the dimensions of an object has at least three sides, even though one side may be very small. Use a quarter to assess the three sides. There is a head, tail and EDGE. You may note the edge is quite small, but it does have a corrugated surface somewhat like a bulldozer or tire tread. This represents traction and positive action. Neither side of the coin receives anything the other side receives, and neither side loses anything. Why is that?

    The edge represents the real unfettered facts of the situation. It covers the truth and values of both sides. It covers the necessary research and time required to obtain the GODLY FACTS, not just the man facts. The thickness shows what unbiased truth is in the matter. Note the slim size of truth compared to the posturing of both sides in the negotiation. Tossing a coin almost always results in one side

of the issue winning while the other side loses.

    A masters degree in business administration has long been coveted as a step to high salaries and perks. Corporations and small business both rely of the administration of money for success. Leaders pursue their knowledge through education and experience to make their really tough decisions. What do they do when a solution seems to be impossible? The University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business was asked this question. A professor's answer was simple: "They flip a coin." This is a very common solution for many minor problems. When two teams tie for first place and a playoff is not possible, they flip a coin. It is disconcerting to discover that a person earning millions of dollars would flip a coin for the solution. However, when you think about the decisions of many of our leaders, you can

only wish they HAD flipped a coin.

    Many Christians follow the admonitions of a local pastor or influential church person; or, they follow the speeches of a preacher on television. Note I did not use the word teaching. There is a great deal of false information being spread every day in churches, on radio and in television. Many of these people actually don't know they are misleading people. It may be they don't know or understand scripture, or they may be promoting a particular issue. This latter reason is extremely dangerous because it is one of Satan's ways of dividing believers. It is easy to go along with a religious or political leader if s(he) approaches the issue with information you agree with before adding a spin.

Rev. Walbear

A WORD TO THE WISE

                                                   
                                          A WORD TO THE WISE       

     A Christian learns the precepts of faith through hearing or reading the gospel. I limit this travel in faith to understanding the gospel, which is the set of directions Christ gave us to follow. There is much "religion" being preached today in churches and the media that has little or absolutely nothing to do with Christianity. We are warned repeatedly in scripture about false teaching, but when it is presented in an emotional way, we become susceptible to the sham. False teaching is always with us, because Satan knows carnal mankind is weak and predisposed to sin. Okay--I'm finished with the lecture, and now on to the word (s) to the wise.

    Many English words have multiple meanings. How they are used  influences our reasoning (or lack thereof). I've discussed simple words
such as charity previously. Translators of scripture frequently had a  choice of several meanings, and selected the word they were most
accustomed to understand. Sometimes that is not the primary
understanding we may have. The word I discussed before was "charity." We generally associate the meaning of alms to mean the same thing. Alms means to give to the poor and needy. The original Greek meaning of charity was love, which is a form of "giving." It is very easy to mix charity and alms together, but there is a large difference.

    When we don't know the original intended translation, it follows we may be misunderstanding whole parts of scripture. We'll look at one of the most well known directives in scripture, The BEATITUDES. This is found in Matt. 5, 6 and 7. This is a lot of reading, but it is the manual for being a genuine Christian. These verses also contain a number of words most of us don't realize are misinterpreted. By that, I mean we are using one of the many meanings, but not the correct one. If we think and reason while we read, we will see the light bulb go on to warn us we should check it out further. For example, go to the  word "meek" in Matt. 5:5.

    "Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth." My first 
thought was how could the meek inherit anything, because they do not have dynamics and are easily conquered by the mighty. That was my reasoning, which led me to explore the word meek. It is quite enlightening that the dictionary lists one negative meaning for the word--"spiritless." That is to say, easily pushed around, which is the interpretation I originally understood. However, compared to one negative meaning, there are many positive meanings listed. They include long suffering, patient, mild of temper, gentle, kind and humble. Satan is pretty sharp. There is only one negative meaning, but he leads us to ignore all the positive meanings. So Christ is telling us that if we are patient and run the good Christian race (as Paul tells us), if we are mild of temper, gentle, kind and humble, we shall inherit the earth.

    While judgement against those who are not meek may come at any time, these "not meek" leaders, may they be church or political, will eventually give way to Christians who know Christ's teaching. Now, if you read the Beatitudes, you will see Christ gives clear instructions for living a Christian life. He is teaching a multitude of people. These people included Jews and others with no Jewish background. The Christian church had not yet been founded, and the early believers called the church "The Way." This clearly points out that Christ did not believe in separation. Scripture tells us God sent His Son to offer eternal life to all people. 

    We will continue to use a dictionary to assist in the intended
designation of key words used by Christ. In Matt. 5:43-48 we come upon the words love and hate. I have written that Christ never taught hate, and here is a statement where Christ did use the word. If you researched this passage, you would find that the word hate was not Christ's personal word, but a word not written by Moses in the Old Testament, but the word added in Lev. 19:18 by scribes and Pharisees. I repeat, Christ never taught hate in any form. If a pastor or speaker declares he/she hates someone for any reason, he/she is disobeying scripture by passing judgement. You may not like someone or you may be disgusted or hate actions, but you cannot hate without violating Christ's teaching. Hard to swallow this, but we are carnal.

    Next is a definitive look at the word love, which IS exactly what Christ taught. I fear we tend to mix love and lust into the same  meaning. There are many different meanings for love in the dictionary, and mankind's carnal mind isn't doing well on separating these meanings. The prime meaning of the word is a feeling of strong personal attachment induced by sympathetic understanding, or by ties of kinship; ardent affection. I admit I have usually associated love with sex because I never bothered to find out what the word really meant. Love can also represent fondness, such as love of history or literature. Love can also mean tender and passionate
affection for one of the opposite sex. When we are discussing love,  especially in a religious setting, we should be careful to understand the correct meaning of our conversation. If we err, we are committing a sin of judgement. For example, same sex marriage may reflect only non sex love. Loving your neighbor should have nothing to do with sex. 

    Dealing with "love your enemies" is an entirely different ball game.
If you are honest, you have to admit it is very difficult to love someone
who is antagonistic, foul mouthed, or who totally opposes everything
you stand for. This is where common sense plays a major part. God has
given us the ability to reason, and when someone comes directly at us,
we have to consider that we have the option to defend ourselves, as
He instructed us in defining murder and killing. God has an army, and
if He needs one, so do we. Killing should be the last effort. We won't be
excused if we make it the sole effort.

    I realize it is tough to try and treat an opponent (enemy) in a nice
manner, especially when he/she continues to use you badly. Sometimes
being a Christian is not easy. If you only pass the Christian test with
slam dunks such as not stealing, you need to move to tougher test
questions such as loving your enemy. Some enemies can be transformed
by your Christian example. We need to at least try. As Christ told the 
young ruler in Matt. 19:16-22, you cannot do JUST certain things to
have eternal life. The young ruler could not give up his wealth and money.
I hear politicians talk about cost and money incessitently, while they
don't  part with their millions. 

    If you carefully read (and study) the Beatitudes, you will have a
complete guide for a Christian. There are other considerations, because
all of scripture is important, even those we may not fully understand.
To address some of the hate that is being taught, both in the pulpit and
in politics, note the directions Christ taught AND those He didn't teach.
He didn't teach to separate homosexuals and lesbians from Christians
or the Gentiles. Can you tell me why? Don't say there weren't any. There
have always been these. This is the beginning of separation that began
immediately after The Way became Christianity. 

    How can this be? Read the Epistles, and you may understand how
carnal mankind believes God has made mistakes or omitted certain
important issues such as lesbianism and homosexuality. Friends, God
and Christ didn't and don't make mistakes or forget. They know more
than we ever could. People in the new churches dropped The Way as
a Christian designation, and began a transition to denominations. This
was Satan's little trick to begin the separation of believers. He knew
carnal mankind would fall victim to ego, and each group or newly
founded church would try to be better than the others. Mankind always
seems to think God can be bettered. This belief resembles the primitive
thought that mankind could have an idol, and thus impose mankind's 
desires of control. Much of the difference in Christian denominations
is in man's rules added to Christ's instructions. Many of these rules
are totally stupid and ignorant as well as directly opposite Christ's
direction. A pastor who wants to keep anyone out of his congregation
is a tool of Satan. Christ kept no one out of his teaching multitudes,
and ministered to all types of people who weren't Christians. He asked
only that they believed with their heart that He had the power of the
one God. This  power is now the Holy Spirit under Christ's direction.

    When it comes to worship, be careful you aren't led astray by the
emotional pitch of religious or political leaders. The Word of God is
God (John 1:1). Anyone who preaches separation is doing it because
they aren't a Christian, are an ignorant Christian, have a personal axe
to grind, or are attempting to rally a vigilante mob to accomplish a
Satanic goal. You may disagree with anyone's opinion and lifestyle,
but you are not to judge. Christ gave us a mission, as you can see in
all four gospels. That mission was not to force by man-made laws or
customs any directives of Christianity. God gives everyone a choice.
The mission Christ gave us was simply to preach the gospel. It was
not to compel any man-made desires. Gospel is the unfettered truth
as Christ gave it to us. If we committed our heart to Him, we must
obey His last command. I love that command, FOLLOW ME, partly
because it was my military patch (with a sword) when I served in
the Infantry Center. It was and still is a daily reminder of my duty.

Rev. Walbear