PLURALITY

(A Spiritual Self Check Into Reality) Daniel Langford, September 2011

Whenever I think of plurality one thing prominently comes to mind. While growing up as a teen, just slightly before the metal years of the mid 1980s really became the mainstream of music popularity, kids like me were stuck with much propagated MTV pop videos and one hit wonder bands. Admittingly that music is some of my favorite today, reflecting back on musical trends of the early 1980s, it really wasnt all that talent-wise compared to say Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Lena Horn, Elvis or The Beatles. Therefore my buddies and I would often rent the VHS Tape Woodstock and watch those filthy, free wheelin , fornicating, drug consuming and- for many whom I suspect-demon possessed hippies whirl and twirl and dance, bathe in muddy/unsanitary waters, strip down and get humping on the grass infront of everyone surrounding them to delightfully view-and in some cases I would allege join in- and if my memory serves me correctly a public service announcement was issued against taking the brown acid. (although someone who cares about trash more that I may desire to research that?) (WARNING Folks: If you are looking for political correctness or a tongue so tamed the words pacifist liberal are tattooed on my forehead, LOOK ELSEWHERE!!!)-I do NOT take my faith, nor salvation through my Lord & Savior Jesus Christ lightly, nor passively. Nor in any future blogs plan to water down or curtail any needful examples from culture to get a message across. AMEN! God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in Spirit and in truth.-John 4:24 All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.-2 Timothy 3:16

Last night while attending a midweek church service, I heard a pastor speak about The Satanic Bible and its complete purpose of opposing everything The Holy Bible records, teaches, inspires and commands. For example if The Bible teaches celibacy or abstinence until marriage, The Satanic Bible will encourage lust and indulgence. If The Bible encourages one to trust in God and not your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5&6), The Satanic Bible will encourage plurality and expressing yourself like a raunchy and oversexed Madonna video (Ok, Ill promise not to burden you with cheesy 80s pop anymore). When stated in Exodus 20 by God as 10 Commandments for all humans to follow, teach and uphold, The Satanic Bible will whisper you something along the lines of, Hey man, do you really want to be that stuffy dude who has no fun? Youre lucky to be living in modern times pal, instant gratification, we have cool movies and the internet and medical marijuana is legal in some states. Those girls you meet at church are boring and frigid, checkout that hot bod & ta-tas strutting the boardwalk in that skimpy bikini, Lets grab a case or bottle and party, babe! (Job 15:3)-(Psalm 15:3)-(Psalm 52:2)-(Romans 3:13)-(1 Corinthians 14:9)(Philippians 2:11) Pluralityinstant gratificationlustgetting litgetting downchillinkickin itgetting it onboogyin, etc Here is a statistic that even shocked me. The Satanic Bible outsells The Holy Bible amongst American college students nine times! NINE TIMES!!! But I didnt have a stable home, my Momma had to work three jobs just to feed me and my seven brothers and sisters and keep a roof over our heads, my father is in prison and will be for a very long time to come, I messed up when I joined a street gang and will be killed if I attempt getting out of the gang, the world is against me because of my race or sex, its a white mans world and Im not caucasion, I dont like the current President, I live in a ghetto or government housing & therefore there arent any jobs in my community, people like me are too poor to afford college, working is for saps and stiffs, I already make five times

in one month dealing drugs than the cops trying to bust me make in an entire yearWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! What if I told you Moses was a murderer and had a spirit of fear (or in modern terms low self- esteem, lacking in self -confidence) and also couldnt communicate very well in speech? Yet who did God choose to lead thousands upon thousands out of Egypts brutal slavery, idol worshipping and hedonistic lifestyle, give one to one 10 Commandments to what later would become Israelites in a promised land and though true Moses only glimpsed this promise of what we now call Israel, the facts remain God forgave and used someone who committed murder to eventually establish not only a future nation, but entrusted the very ten commandments to for every man, woman and child in the entire world to learn from and obey. Kind of puts into perspective how we are saved by Grace, doesnt it! (Acts 15:11)- (Ephesians 2:5)-(Ephesians 2:8)-(2 Timothy 1:9) Most people have probably heard of The Apostle Paul. Even those who arent into the Bible or attend church atleast can historically identify he was quite a missionary and letter writer to the early church. Out of 27 books listed in the New Testament, Paul is believed to have written 14 of them (thats over half of the entire new testament). Ok, let me ask you thisbefore our Lord appeared to and radically transformed Paul into The Apostle, what was his original name and who was he? Turn in your Bibles to the 9th chapter in the Book of Acts and the very first verse of that chapter. *(Oh, forgot to mention, any dogmatic cultists out there who only use The King James Version, I use normally use NIV. Didnt want to blind you or anything!) Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lords disciples. (Acts 9:1) Before this well known Apostle Paul wrote what is now over half of our New Testament, He is described as someone who barked murderous threats to Christians and went as far as seeing the High Priest (the political equivalent in issuing paper decrees or orders of a king or president in our time) and begging

this high priest for permission to round up any and all who believed in Jesus to be arrested and hopefully put to death. The rest of Acts chapter 9 is not only miraculous, but equally astonishing and compelling and not secluded to just the ninth chapter. I dont believe even the most analytical/bleeding heart liberal will deny our culture-and obviously not solely reclusive to just America-is in much crisis. What astounds me-especially in many youth today-is how easily they accept defeat. Young people, LISTEN, are you even remotely aware what gifts you already possess? Being 13 to 29 is a blessing and immense opportunity that I and billions of others around the world can never go back in time to relive, redo or reestablish. Your minds are unaffected by alzheimers and are very sharp. Infact, millions of you have brains still producing quite ingenious brain cells by the millions each and every day. USE THEM! Alcohol and drugs kill brain cells, instead of productively utilize them. It only takes a mere ounce or reflection of stupidity to smoke dope or guzzle down alcohol. I recall a friend of mine and fellow preacher down in little ole Baker Louisiana by the name of Ricki Sinclair once state in a sermon the allegorical-but truthful termBud-stupid-his point, He had-before getting saved while praying inside a prison cell- that he had formerly invested thousands of $$$ in his favorite beer Budweiser before Christ radically changed his spirit, being and purpose in life. Pastor Ricki went on to truthfully profess out of every person (including himself) who he ever drank Budweiser with, no matter who they were, whether an LSU Graduate, a doctor, lawyer, dock worker, Christian, Jew, Pagan, ANYONE, he had never seen anyone get any wiser drinking Budweiser! Youth, I am still speaking to you! When my biological father moved my brother and I out of the gang/criminal hood of South Bend Indiana in 1986 to Williamsburg Virginia, I used to skip school a lot and party with new friends whom I was both surprised and thankful were not racist or involved in street gangs and theft such as I experienced growing up in South Bend Indiana. LSD was my preferred drug in a blotter form and normally around two to three times a week

really loved gratifying in dosing LSD and listening for hours on end to Doors albums. Wait, stop the presses(one may ask me), you knock hippies but was a huge Doors fan? Yep! On top of that, back when a teenager I also did many drugs and danced & slept around while seeing The Grateful Dead nine times live.-and I am not knocking hippies by the way, I am exemplifying culture or history to serve a purpose (so bear with them & keep reading). Being 42 yrs of age at the time of writing this blog, let me describe for you everything I feel I personally benefitted from by abusing drugs and alcohol as a teenager. Lets seeproviding I still have brain cells adequate to rememberI resented all authority (everyone from my parents and teachers at school to community police and local church pastors)I also was extremely depressed and secretly attempted suicide a few timesI idolized dead rock stars, most of whom never lived to see the age of 30 (Booooy, what a waste! What a horrific tragedy, beyond words!)I caught venereal disease once, crabs once and the clap twice (enough said), went from running track and playing football in both elementary and junior high school to smoking about one full ounce of weed, 4 to 5 cases of beer, 2 to 3 hits of acid and snorting about a graham of cocaine between the ages of 13 through 20 most weeksforked over literally thousands of $$dollars$$ of my hard earned paycheck as a night cook at Berrets Seafood Restaurant to Motley Crue, Ozzy Osbourne, Iron Maiden, Slayer, Metallica, AC/DC, etc in albums, merchandise and live concerts over approximately a five year period and escorted a teenage girlfriend to an abortion clinic at (sadly) the age of only 17. Didnt have a clue who the actual father of the baby was, but at school I was known as her guy therefore I had to do something before our parents found out. What I just professed, right along with the multiple suicide attempts (which thankfully failed), I have never once confessed to or told anyone previously. So as you can see from my own brief testimony, being my own keeper, anything goes, if it feels good-do it mentality and pluralist take on life really didnt net me too much success. Let me re-quote a scripture I already stated from the beginning:

God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in Spirit and in truth.- John 4:24 For the younger crowd-mainly teenagers-lets get back to what all you possess now. You are young, you most likely do not have to pay any rent or bills, science and medical experts can back up the fact that your brain is producing millions upon millions of new, fresh & ingenious brain cells each and every day. In the 12th Chapter of Hebrews, The Apostle Paul talks about removing all that snares or that which entangles us and run a race for Christ. Live in a ghetto or gang/crime/drug infested neighborhood? Ive been there. Have a neglectful or abusive parent, perhaps a drug addicted or criminal parent living right there under the same roof as you or not a part of your life at all? Been there too, my biological father remains to this day a lifelong alcoholic, liar, cheat, unrepentant adulterer, abuser, etc however this blog isnt about me, its about what may be stirring inside your hearts and minds as you continue to read. I didnt grab a hold of Christ or the abundance of love or seeked forgiveness for my sins until my last suicide attempt at the age of 23. It wasnt due to any previous environment or having bad parents or growing up in a ghetto. Every sports or music event I attended as a youth-especially heavy metal concerts back in the 1980s-always also attracted a handful of evangelists out in the parking lot and ticket lines, I simply turned my back and mocked them. Boy and you wonder why I am so passionate about inspiring and hopefully reaching many of you to ask Christ into your lives/current struggles and situation(s)? But if your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for you whole body to burn in hell.-Matthew 5:29 (Jesus said that during his famous Sermon on the Mount) He also had this to say, Matthew 5:30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 18:9 And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell Our societys modern day ram or false idol often dictating our culture is technology. I will save the pursuit of mammon and lust for money for another lesson. As a former fiction writer (under a different name) and also a former model during my bodybuilding 20s, I also got small gigs as an extra in a few popular Hollywood movies shot in the Richmond Virginia area. I am not one of those cheesy, man-made doctrinal Christians who believe every form of entertainment is evil. Infact, I used to live just a few blocks down the road from popular horror novelist Stephen King and can truthfully affirm The Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to Christian charities, schools, arts, community building/development, etc Faith is NOT a list of dos and donts, Folks! Tune into Joyce Meyer some time, she does a hilarious robot impression jerking back and forth emulating what many believe is a bunch of dos and donts. NONE OF US ARE PERFECT! Billy Graham isnt perfect! Mother Teresa wasnt perfect! NO ONE in ALL of human history has EVER pleased God by deeds or being a good person. As Ive mentioned before, scripture tells us it is by grace we are saved. Make sure you realize that first and foremost, please! I am a big fan of the popular television show, Americas Got Talent. That show and many more out there such as American Idol and other generic spinoffs allow people of all ages to live out their dreams on a big stage and on television. Nothing wrong with dreams, America would not be the GREATEST Nation in all of history or a super power had people not dared to dream. Every medicine and vaccine, key to billions of people under medical treatment would not be available, everything from curing polio and chemotherapy to organ transplants and blood transfusions would not benefit us today if no one dreamed of such. Blacks would still be brutalized as slaves here in America and woman would still not be able to

vote along with us men if dreams didnt spark radical action by believing & having faith in accomplishing, etc In closing this is my message to you. What are your dreams? Young people, with all the genius brain cells still going poppopfizzfizz in your head, what do you like? Art, music, acting, preaching (hopefully studying Gods word), animals, nature, writing, news, astronomy, law, philanthropy, mechanics, science, math ask yourself what do you desire? I am glad there are contests and events that allow people to tell their story and help achieve and grow toward their dreams, but only one out of many, many thousands ever win American Idol or Americas Got Talent. So, how do you fit God into your dreams? Is God there at all? Are you praying your heart to The Almighty and having a pow-wow of sorts by letting God know the desires of your heart or are you hoping you can keep on keeping on with your muscles, good looks and curiosities? Ya know dat Plurality thing I keep hitting on? Believe me guys & girls, the older you get the more life and stress and opposition has to throw at you to overcome. Being alone or self -dependent really holds no effective resolution or success. My best advice is to not turn to man or self or what the world deems as cool or hip or acceptable, instead turn to the absolute authority & one who can bless your dreams. No college degree or high social status required. Jesus once said a poor, peasant woman did more giving the equivalent of mere pennies than all the wealth in the world. You know why, because she gave with her heart and not by her wealth. That is precisely what God wants, YOUR HEART! Jesus Christ IS indeed the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6)Jesus also says, I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die (John 11:25) Isaiah the prophet records further, My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations.-Isaiah 51:5 That former Christian persecutor and murderer Saul, transformed by Christ also states in Hebrews 13:5 to: Keep your lives free of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,

Never will I leave you: Never will I forsake you. *All I can add to that is shout loudly a resounding Amen and Halleuah!!!