“Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
(Psalm 51:10)
Dear Friends –
An individual with a diseased heart lies at death’s door until a transplant brings new life. Our physical bodies can be renewed in many different ways due to ever-advancing medical technology, however, our spiritual bodies can only be made anew by Almighty God. When our heart is crushed by sorrow, and our spirit can barely find the capacity to move, 
that lifeless existence reaches the Heavenly Physician who begins a regimen for life restored. Many different negative causes can affect a broken, sterile, or corrupt heart, as well as produce a wandering, disturbed, or agitated spirit, consequently, when the heart and spirit are out of sorts, the whole being is in misery. It was Old Testament King David who first uttered those words above when he realized how his many sins had blackened his heart, and that his spirit had drastically withdrawn from Almighty God because of them. We are just like David when our life takes a turn down a sinful path where one sin after another establishes a habit that takes us away from Almighty God.
A Christian knows when they are sinning; they see in themselves a tendency towards negative behavior that they begin to justify to themselves for various reasons, but the sooner they admit to themselves the wrongness and take corrective measures, the easier the reversal. Corrective measures begin with a 
confession to Almighty God of the wrong, along with the promise to avoid repeating that sin in the future… true repentance not only requires sorrow for offending God, and forsaking the negative behavior, but additionally adopting a new moral attitude of change. If our language is vulgar or profane, we implement nicer words when our temper flares until time, with God’s help, get our frustrations under control. We can’t be sorry for an adulterous affair without severing the illicit relationship immediately… no change, no sorrow, no forgiveness. Is it easy to implement change? No, of course not, and God knows that and in His infinite mercy forgives His children over and over again as long as they keep trying with His help to renew their ways.
There is a very drastic reproof by Jesus that should always be read symbolically, for I am sure this stark admonishment was made to emphasize the very serious consequences of sin… read and ponder carefully. “If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell… If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell… If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom
of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.” (Mark 9:43-49) It isn’t necessary to mutilate yourself to quit sinning; if you look at pornography… quit looking… don’t go to the nasty websites, or vile movies, or buy the filthy magazines… keep your eyes that are not sin, but get rid of the objects that cause sin! Busy yourself with beauty, what is good, and all things Godly! A proclivity for serious sin once admitted, struggles horrifically against the pain of change, and that’s when we cry out like David testifying, we need a new clean heart… we need a holy spirit that stays close to God’s beauty and truths. We have blackened our soul… we don’t like who we have become… but we don’t have the strength to overcome. Our Heavenly Father sees our sorrow is sincere, and that our weakness needs His help, and so He re-creates our being, bringing us back to life in His image.
SHAME ON YOU, AARON RODGERS
The day after Christmas, Green Bay Packers quarterback, Aaron Rodgers publically discussed some of his negative beliefs on religion that are far from being recognizable Christian truths. His profound ignorance exemplifies just how much notoriety
and fame emboldens celebrities to spout nonsense to gullible groupies for assimilation they won’t ever scrutinize. Raised in a Christian family, Aaron claims that he went to church because it was the thing to do; needless to say, he is the poster boy for the Parable of the Sower… Aaron’s receipt of the seed never took root… he let the ways of the world choke out any growth that his family tried to germinate. He has retained just enough of Church teachings to pepper his discourse with recognizable facts, before he twists, distorts and manipulates them to the erroneous assumptions of guru Aaron. The immorality of most celebs who critique the wrongness of religion, ridicule and denounce The Holy Spirit of God, comes about in defense of their blatant sinfulness they need respected… they can’t be wrong, so it must be God who is wrong… stupid, stupid, fools.
Aaron claims, “Religion can be a crutch, it can be something that people have to have to make themselves feel better.” The use of “crutch” by Aaron is meant to be derogatory for those individuals who, he feels, aren’t as self-sufficient as he is; he relies on his brawn to solve everything in material existence never comprehending that in spiritual existence things get way beyond our control 
that only Divine Providence can handle. Christians are so thankful that they have an Almighty God to go-to for so many things that are beyond Aaron’s comprehension; God’s loving grace and blessings have turned around lives on the brink of despair where all earthly means have been exhausted, or even in the best of times when His love provides rewards by miraculous occurrences for His favored children. Self-sufficient Aaron hasn’t known the tragedy of parents holding an injured child feverishly praying God will guide the Doctors to save their child… and He does… and those parents like many others experiencing the love of God, are so grateful realizing what would have happened if they never had God’s help with the ups and downs of life… we can’t do it all Aaron as you think you can. Obviously, Aaron doesn’t understand that in united love, especially in a union with God, He produces more than we could ever do on our own, so it’s not weakness or denigrating to rely on God for help, it’s love returned!
Another negative to religion in Aaron’s thinking is: “Because it’s set up binary, it’s us and them, saved and unsaved, heaven and hell, enlightened and heathen… that makes a lot of people feel better about themselves.” Undoubtedly, the black and white of dualism bothers Aaron and so many others of this current generation that rebel against boundaries… they want no limits… they want to color outside the lines… no rules or regulations. However, Aaron is required to adhere to the rules of football or suffer penalties isn’t he, so, it’s obvious from that alone, that rules are needed and bring order! And so it does in life. When the Supreme Creator of life designed Paradise, he gave one rule – don’t sin – not for His good, but for our good, because sinful existence brings chaos not right life. Thus, by His Supremacy, He is entitled and empowered to know and establish the black and white
of what is right and wrong, what is good behavior and what is bad behavior and therefore, any infractions that desecrate His perfect creation will suffer the consequences of punishment, while the obedience to His Commandments will bring reward for belief and trust in Him. He gave you life Aaron, and He is entitled to judge your use of that gift whether you believe that or not. When Jesus was sending His disciples out into the whole world to proclaim the gospel to every creature, He said to them, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:16) It truly is “binary” Aaron, absolutely that black and white, for no gray is allowed in God’s judgment… believe in God, or don’t believe in God…which you apparently don’t… so you have condemned yourself. Your football career won’t last much longer, and the Super Bowl Ring that you got won’t gain you entrance into heaven… how sad, you chose brawn to get you through life instead of brains to learn about the one true God… Shame On You!
