A Friend Of Sinners
Should Christians be friends with Muslims?
This week I am flying to Atlanta to attend the wedding of a friend. I had planned to take a road trip with my family, but circumstances made it impossible for them to go. So I bought a ticket to fly to Atlanta. This is significant, because I have never paid for myself to fly anywhere before. However, I had told this friend that I would be at their wedding, so I did, what I have avoided doing until now.
This is most fitting, because everything about our friendship, involves doing what I had avoided doing, until we met.
I had rules about how I interacted with different kinds of people. Some of the rules, I did not like, but I had trouble not instinctively following them anyways. Most of them had been developed over the years, either as a reaction to either bad things that happened to me when I let certain types of people get too close, or from bad things I had seen happen to other people when they let certain other types of people, get too close to them.
Mind you, when it comes to things like skin color there has never been a prejudice bone in my body. For example, my family was the only white family at several otherwise all black churches, when I was in the Air Force. I went to those churches, because the people there believed what I believed more closely than the white churches I visited. I often felt closer to those people than my own flesh and blood, because what we had in common was more important than the differences.
Still, I had my prejudices about other things. I generally did not trust rich people. I kept women at a distance much as possible, and did not even like to touch them in any way, except my own family members. I had seen what could happen when married men let women get too close, and I was on my guard at all times. I had friends who were not Christians, but they were mostly Atheists and the like that are common in America.
I especially kept my distance from Muslims. I had been friends with some at various times, but they always managed to hurt me.
The truth is, that almost all my close friends were among the Children of Truth (those who obey The Father of Truth because they love Him). The fact is that all of my rules about who I would let into my life, and how far, made it very difficult for me to be a friend of sinners.
Little did I know, that the Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD) had a plan to teach me how to become a friend of sinners.
I was once a great Android developer.
I have worked with many technologies. While good at many of them, the only one that I would ever call myself great at doing was Android development. One reason was when developing Android applications I had to pretty much do all of the roles, like developer and database administrator. These roles were usually split between different people and even different teams.
So this streamlined hierarchy of one person performing all role really worked for me. I was not slowed down by meeting to collaborate with other people, or needing to get permission to do anything. I would do my own research on problems, find my own solutions, and implement them. For the first time in my entire career, I was able to just run with my ideas.
I would encounter problems and look online to see how others solved them. Often I would find that many people on on-line communities had experienced the same problems, but no one had solved them. So I would solve the problems, and then I would publish my solutions on StackOverflow to help other people. While I liked not being hindered by trying to explain what I was thinking, and having to convince other to go along with it, I also liked helping other people.
The thing is that I see the world differently than most people, and this whole "I am the Android department" thing allowed me to not need to interact with other people very often, or try to get them to understand what I was doing. I had never been great at that, and the seven years prior to that, of working from home alone, had made it worse. I had mad machine skills, but sad people skills.
Since I was so good at creating apps that simply worked, the start up that I worked at grew to have more customers than I could handle. So one fateful day, I was introduced to Neel, and he was going to help me with Android. Neel was fresh out of college. He had a sharp mind, but like many people fresh out of college needed help adjusting to being in a professional environment. So I had to work closely with Neel.
Well, this turned out great. Neel was from India, and my sad people skills did not bother him. He would occasionally suggest that I do things differently with people, and I would give it a try. Most of the time, Neel was proven right. I would explain Android things as I saw them, and he would get it, even though I would have to give him some background information that only came from experience. Soon we branched out and talked about things that were not work related during lunch or after work.
I thought Neel was a Hindu, because the Blackberry department person, who was also from India, was a Hindu. I had kept my distance with her, because she was not interested in hearing about the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ) and she was a woman. Rule number two was, do not interact with women any more than absolutely necessary to perform work.
Well, I was sort of right about Neel. Neel had grown up as a Hindu, but was not really one anymore. He had been brainwashed into believing The Greatest Fairy Tail Ever Told in college. So I started talking to him about math and science. We spent many hours talking about this, and I showed him why I had realized at 16 years of age that evolution was a mathematical and scientific impossibility. Eventually, he began to see why no one could believe in both evolution, and math and science, at the same time. So now, Neel was sure of what he did not believe, but he was not sure of what he should believe.
So I began to talk to him about the Book of Truth (The Bible). The first thing that surprised me was that, he already knew a lot of the stories in the Book of Truth, like David and Goliath. It turned out, that all of the best schools in India were private schools, that were either ran by Christian missionaries, or the False Church of Rome. So Neel had been sent to one of these schools, where they read and discussed stories from the Book of Truth. So apparently in India, people still do in their private schools, what had once been common, but outlawed in public schools in America.
We soon started doing things outside of work. We became good friends, even though Neel had not came into the House of Truth. The Father of Truth had sent Neel into my life to begin to teach me how to be a friend of sinners.
Neel became like family to us. He spent holidays like Thanksgiving with my family. Whenever I had a family event, like grilling steaks, Neel was invited. Neel would also grill delicious Indian food at these events. We were truly great friends, even though I still longed for Neel to come into the House of Truth.
Then one day Neel asked me out of the blue, if he could go to church with me. I was thrilled, but curious, so I asked him what brought this on. He explained, that there was this positive energy that he felt every time he was around me, and he wanted it. I told him that was the Spirit of Truth (Ruach HaQodesh aka The Holy Spirit aka The Holy Ghost). So we added going to church every Sabbath to our list of activities that we did together.
I worked crazy hours trying to keep the mobile development company going. I felt like, that if I left the company, then it would fall apart. The company became so dependent upon me, that it got to the point that it seemed like, if I went on vacation for more than a day or two, then it would not survive.
Eventually I realized, that no amount of software engineering skills on my behalf, could make up for poor business practices carried out by others. I was exhausted, and in a lot of pain from my gallbladder issues. So I reluctantly took a week of vacation. When I came back from vacation the company no longer existed.
I was obsessed with finding another Android job, but my main concern was Neel. Neel sent money from every paycheck back to India to help take care of his parents and siblings back there. Since he was an H1B (foreigner on a temporary work visa), he only had so many days to find another job, or he would be deported.
Neel came across many obstacles that threatened to keep him from staying in American and getting a job. Several times it looked hopeless, but I would pray with Neel to the Father of Truth in the name of the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ), and each time He made a way for Neel when there had been no way available. Neel could see that what had been impossible for people to do on their own, had been possible with the Father of Truth.
Eventually, Neel did get a mobile development job doing iOS in Denver. With tear filled eyes, I prayed with Neel before he drove off from my house to Colorado. He had still not came into the House of Truth, but we were the best of friends. I had learned how to be a friend of sinners.
My obsession with getting an another Android job had not waned, although helping Neel get a job had taken top priority. I did all I could to keep my skills with Android current. The problem was, that there were absolutely no Android jobs in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
On top of that I have a daughter, who has six medical conditions that are fatal and incurable according to medical science. The list of places, where the weather, air quality, and medical facilities to meet her needs, is pretty short. Unlike Neel, I could not just move to any place to find an Android job at a moment's notice.
Still, I almost got an Android job where I could work from home several times. In each case, something would happen at the last moment. In one case, the management at Sprint was willing to pay me $167 an hour to solve their Android issues, but only if I would move to Kansas City until the project was over. I told them, that my daughter had never spent one day in the hospital without me visiting her, and that was never going to change.
If they had offered me $500 an hour, I still would not have went. Somethings are more important than money.
I knew, that I was needed at home to fight for her life with the help of the Father of Truth. I knew that He was doing the impossible on her behalf, as long as I did my part. I did not blame Him for her condition, because I knew where sickness comes from. He was the only reason that she was alive, and He is the only one that can heal her. There was no amount of money that could cause me to not be there when she needed me.
Then a recruiter called me one day to present me to a client in Tulsa doing web application work, similar to what I had done five years earlier. They were were having performance issues, and were impressed with I had done to solve performance issues in Android, and the web application that I worked on before that. I interviewed with them and it was certain that I could solve their problems.
During the same time, a large bank headquartered in Tulsa interviewed me for an Android job in Tulsa. I was the only person with the Android skills that they could find. They offered more money and security than a temporary contract. Still, it did not seem like it was where the Father of Truth wanted me to go, even though it was the kind of job that I really wanted.
My pain had grown worse in the two years since I had lost my Android job. It made it hard for me to be confident, that I was hearing the Spirit of Truth correctly when I prayed. So I decided to make an offer, and leave the results to the Father of Truth. So I told the recruiter, that I was willing to take on the job, under the condition that I could take the Android job, if the bank called me. She talked to the client, and they were agreeable to my terms.
Then things got weird.
First, there was an internal disruption in the bank. They had a disagreement over how their Information Technology department should be organized. So they removed the position until they worked out their internal issues. (Their need for the work did not end. Two years later, when they finally got their act together, they were even in more need of someone to perform the Android work.)
Second, when I showed up for the first day at the client company to start work on solving their web application performance issues, things were nothing like what I had been told. Instead of working for the manager that I had interviewed with, I was told that I was going work for another manager.
Third, I was not even going to be working on the problem that I had been hired to solve. Instead, I was going to work on an entirely different project, largely involving technologies that I had only seen in recruitment adds.
This other project had been stalled for two years, and they suddenly decided that it was their highest priority. (Their need for the performance work did not end. I have been told by people who still work there, that they still need to have those issues fixed, even though it has been three years, since they had originally hired me to fix the issues.)
Fourth, I was not going to be working by myself, but rather be part of a team. They were going to be using an Agile methodology for managing a project - for the first time ever. They had seen on my resume that I had been using Scrum, a type of Agile for about seven years, and the project management work that I had done before that. (Project management is my other passion.) So they wanted me on the team for those skills as much as my development skills.
Fifth, there was some sort of turf war going on, where different managers claimed different empty cubes on the main IT floor, and none of them were willing to allow our team to use their empty cubes that were near each other, so we could work together. I asked them about the empty floor that did not have any cubes. So they decided to put all of us together on that one floor, all sitting around the same table.
Sixth, I soon discovered, that they did not have the laptops that us contractors needed to do our jobs. The employees who were assigned to work with us did not even have a laptop with a working configuration of the environment and application. So for most of the day, we just sat at a table with nothing to do. If a person could literally die from boredom, I think I would have. It got so bad that I actually started talking to my co-workers about non-work related things, just to relieve the boredom.
At the end of the first week, I went home and a friend of mine, who worked at the bank, asked me how I liked the new job. So I told him that I was mad about the whole thing.
I was not working on Android, like I wanted. I was not working for the manager, that I wanted to work for. I was not solving the problems, that I wanted to solve. I was being put on a team, instead of working by myself like I wanted. I was being forced to spend time in close proximate to my team mates - and some of them were women - instead of being able to remain socially isolated, so I could focus on my work like I wanted. I was bored so badly, that I had actually began to talk to my co-workers, instead of spending most of my time solving technical problems like I wanted.
This friend, who had lead me into the House of Truth, told me that I had a bad attitude, and that I needed to straighten up. He pointed out that I had told the Father of Truth that I was leaving the results up to Him. He said, that it was obvious that the Father of Truth had placed me in this position, since I had not even applied for it, and had no experience in many of the technologies. So I had no right to be whining about getting what I asked for.
I stood there stunned for a moment. He was completely right. I had told the Father of Truth, that I wanted His will more than my own, and He acted on my words. I had no right to be whining about Him doing, what I had asked Him to do.
A good friend knows, when you need a pat on the back, and when you need a swift kick in the seat of the pants. My friend had just given me the swift kick in the seat of the pants that I needed. So I took his wise counsel, and decided to change my attitude to one of gratitude.
I went to work the next Monday with a new mindset that I was on a mission from the Father of Truth. I was determined to d, whatever I could to help the team, in any way that I could. I did not understand why the Father of Truth had arranged for me to be locked in room with a bunch of other people - without the means to solve any technical problems. However, it soon became apparent that this was all part of the next lesson, which the Father of Truth was giving me on how to be a friend of sinners.
At the morning scrum meeting, it became apparent that some people in the company were trying to take advantage of the foreign developers, by denying them the ability to work from home when they had a legitimate need, as they had been promised. It made my blood boil to see people taking advantage of my teammates, just because they were foreigners, so I spoke up about this.
The manager asked everyone, who had been promised this, to raise their hands. The hand of every developer went up, both foreign and domestic. So the manager said, that she would honor the promise that had been made to all of the developers.
Soon after that, we got our laptops, but there were issues in configuring the environment that we needed to do our development work.
So I helped the top employee fix the configuration issues on his laptop, so we would have a working model to compare our efforts to. I pointed out that our laptops did not have sufficient memory for our development, so he got some ordered for us. In the meantime, we started installing the tools that we needed, and configuring our own working environments. I finished mine in a few hours, except for the parts that required security access, but no one else was able to get their laptop working. We had all been given the same instructions, but the instructions were incorrect, or incomplete, in several places. I had figured out what to do to instead, so I worked with the another employee to get her laptop working, but had her modify the instructions as we went along.
Soon everyone was following the new instructions, and was getting their laptop working, except for one of the Indian developers. (Dot, not feather.) I wanted to make more progress on improving the development environment further, but he just kept looking at me like a sad puppy. So I started helping Reddy.
It turned out that something was actually wrong with his laptop. He would set the configuration correctly, but it would not save the changes for some reason. The laptop was going have to be fixed or replaced.
The Indians were scared of the manager, but she had already shown me that she treated people fairly. So I spoke up on his behalf to the manager, and showed her that it was the laptop, and not Reddy, that was at fault. So she got his laptop fixed.
I would also see them floundering in their work, and reached out to help them. They had reasonably good IT skills, but needed some mentoring to discover what they were good at, and then develop their strengths.
I found that I could explain things to one of the Indian women, Shamira, in English, and she would often catch on quicker than even the Americans in some cases. Shamira would then explain things that I was not getting across, to the other Indians in Hindi, or one of the other three Indian languages, that she was proficient in. So I end up working particularly closely with Shamira.
By now, the Indians had taken a liking to me, and wanted me to go out to eat with them.
I could not afford the time, the money, or the extra calories, that came with eating out. Still, one of them, Shamira was persistent, so I promised that I would go out with them, once per week.
I also started bringing extra food with me at lunch to share with them, because I thought that they were probably from poor families, and had to send home a large part of their paychecks to help take care of their parents, like Neel had. Well, they started bringing food as well, and wanted me to eat with them. So soon we were eating together at lunch almost every day.
As time went on, they also began to help me with my people skills.
When I would make a mistake that might offend people, Shamira would come over to me, put her hand on her hip, look at me like a mother correcting her child, and start explaining what I did wrong, by saying, "Now, Danny ...". It would make me laugh, but I also took what she said seriously, because she had shown herself as having very good people skills. Reddy would also help me, usually by starting out with something like, "Funny, funny, Danny".
So I helped them become better developers, and they helped me to become a better team player.
Of course, I told these two about the Man of Truth, because that is all that really matters. I told them, about how I had prayed to the Father of Truth in the name of the Man of Truth, and how He had answered my prayers in spectacular ways. I wanted them to know that the Father of Truth was the only living God, and that the Man of Truth was the only way to know Him. There was no doubt, that I was not wearing a costume, because I told everyone that worked with about the Man of Truth. After all, friends do not let friends, go to Hell unwarned.
I had known that they were not followers of the Man of Truth, from the moment that I met them. However, I was more than a little shocked to learn that Shamira was a Muslim! She did not eat beef, and everyone else from India, except for Joe Abraham, was a Hindu. So I thought, that she was also a Hindu. It turned out, that she just does not like the taste of beef.
I also learned that she was not from a poor family as I had assumed, but that her father was richer than anyone in my family had ever been. So Shamira was a rich, young, Muslim woman, and being friends with her violated most of my rules about who I would let into my world. The trouble was that she was just so likable, that I could not help but like her. So I let go of most of my rules, by deciding to continue to be her friend. The Father of Truth was using her to teach me, how to be a friend of sinners.
The three of us became almost inseparable, and had acquired a nickname of "The Three Amigos", after a term that was used in the ICE variety of Agile that the company used. I invited them over for Thanksgiving, and all other family events. They became like family to my family.
As we continued to spend time together, they began to realize that I was not at all like those who called themselves Christians in India. The boarding schools that they attended in India, were ran by the False Church of Rome, and I was nothing like those people.
I had explained to them that looking to an idol that someone made with their own hands to rescue them in their time of need, made no more sense than me looking to one of my Android apps to rescue me in my time of need. They found this to be confusing, because the False Church of Rome had idols in their schools that they had named "Jesus" and "Mary". They thought that Christians worshiped these idols. So I explained to them, what is a Christian according to the Book of Truth.
They also were surprised that I went to church and rested on the Sabbath, instead of Sunday. So I explained to them who changed the Sabbath. They wanted to know why I did not eat everything, that those who ran their schools ate, so I told them why it mattered what I ate. They wanted to know why I did not keep all of those rules that they had been taught in school, so I explained the simplicity of the Gospel to them.
Then one Friday at work, Reddy asked me if it would be alright to go to church with me on the Sabbath. Of course, I was thrilled and we went. Soon it became a weekly event.
In a short time, Reddy took the Deal and came into the House of Truth. This would have never happened, if I had not learned how to be a friend of sinners.
After that, I asked Shamira if she would like to come as well. I promised her that the blues guitar playing, joke telling pastor, at our Torah observant congregation, was nothing like any religious service that she had ever attended. She said, no on several different occasions, so I gave up asking.
Then one Friday evening, she came over to my house to do some fun things with my family. Suddenly, and unexpectedly, she asked if she could go to church with me the next morning. So we went together the next day. She also went with me several other times, but she did not come into the House of Truth.
Then one day at lunch she asked me very seriously, if I would love her more, if she became a Christian. I told her I would not love her more if she was a Christian, and I would not love her less if she was a Muslim. I explained to her that she could no more earn my love, than she could earn the love of the Father of Truth. I loved Shamira for who she was, and not what she did. I let her know that I wanted her to join my forever family, so we would always be together in eternity. I had learned how to be a friend of sinners.
Then suddenly, one of the best times of my life came to an end. The company had not performed as well as the CEO had promised the stockholders, so he made a decision to lay off all of the contractors, across the entire company, in one day, even though in some areas, contractors made up 85% of the work force. The CEO had made a desperate move to save one job - his - even though it was going to do a lot of long term damage to the company.
The manager, who I had became fond of by this time was devastated. She could barely hold back the tears when she told me. She confirmed what I had suspected all along, that under her hard exterior there was a person of compassion.
Soon after that, Reddy and Shamira, had to move away to get jobs, so they could stay in America. It looked like the end of the Three Amigos, and I was heart broken. I had lost my two best friends in the world in a short amount of time.
I had been in ever increasing pain from my deteriorating gallbadder, but every day that I spent with them was worth the pain. Now I had to face that pain without my friends. Or so I thought.
Reddy came up to visit me from Dallas almost every weekend, just to go to church with me. When he saw the sacrifices that my daughter Miranda made to try to take of me, he fell in love with her. He promised me that if I should die, then he would take care of my family.
My family also managed to go to Dallas to visit Reddy on our vacation.
Shamira, called me almost every day. Sometimes I would give her advice to help her career, and she would give me advice about improving my people skills. Mostly though, we just talked about anything and everything. The Three Amigos may have been separated, but their friendship remained strong.
I knew I needed to have my gallbladder removed, but I was not sure how I could accomplish this. I had tried several times over the previous ten years, but something always prevented it from happening. Then one day, I got a letter in the mail from the US government, stating that I had to get insurance, even though I did not have a job, because it was the law. So with the help of the Father of Truth, I managed to get insurance, pay my deductibles, and finally schedule my surgery.
By the time that the surgery was near, I was in terrible pain, and could only manage to be up for a few hours a day. I spent most of my strength on writing this blog, because people needed to know the truth, so they could be saved from the Great War that will soon engulf this planet. More important than that, I was desperate to tell people how to come into the House of Truth, so they would not go to the Chamber of Horrors forever.
I had been warned that while gall bladder surgery was routine, that the condition of my gall bladder was anything but routine. The bottom line was, without the surgery I would almost certainly die, but there a very good chance that I would die from the surgery.
I was dying and I could feel it. I had known it for a long time, and I was more than alright with it. I literally wanted to be with the Man of Truth more than I wanted my next breath. I had written instructions for Reddy and my family of what I wanted them to do until they could join me. I was working on what I planned to be my farewell post, where I urged the Children of Truth to always be walking in truth. In fact, my last act before leaving the house to go to the hospital for the surgery, was to put that post on this blog.
Yet, over the three days right before my surgery, I had several encounters with the Father of Truth, as I fade in and out of consciousness from the pain. He wanted me to remain on this Earth for a while longer, even though I knew that I was better off dead. Also, I am very patriotic, and I did not really want to be around to see the death of America.
He was not forcing me to stay, but was asking me to do so, nonetheless. He told me that my family was going to need me, and that Neel, Reddy and Shamira, needed me to remain on this Earth. I would have chosen to stay, if the only person that was going to need me had been my wife. Still, I could not leave my friends, knowing that they would need me. I also knew that without me in their lives, two of them would probably never come into the House of Truth. So I delayed, what I have been pursuing ever since I had came into the House of Truth, because I had learned how to be a friend of sinners.
My surgery went text book well. I was sent home with some pain killers, and instructions to rest as much a possible. I only took the pain killers at night for the first couple of nights, because the pain from my surgery was so much less than the pain from my gall bladder that I hardly noticed it. However, I was so weak, that it took about three months before I could stay up long enough at a time to work a regular eight hour day.
The Father of Truth again placed me in a job that was literally created for me, at a place that I had not wanted to work at. This time, I was determined to be grateful, and do all I could to help the company from the very beginning. I had learned my lesson.
Even though I was strong enough to work, I still had to sleep for several hours when I got home. It took a long time before I could manage to stay up all day without needing a nap.
During this time, I also had terrible episodes where it felt like the top of my brain was exploding into my skull, or I would almost pass out, or where my vision would suddenly get very blurring, and then suddenly return to normal.
My wife, the smart one, figured out that I was having issues in my parietal and occipital lobes, brought on by the anesthesia. I was apparently experiencing micro-seizures, which were similar to those experienced by epileptics. Even today, I am operating on a quarter of my pre-surgery brain power, although I have not had any more episodes for a while.
Reddy was then forced to move to Atlanta to keep his job. Despite the distance, he would sometime make the thirteen hour drive to see my daughter and help me. Then he would make the same drive back to Atlanta.
Shamira had also had moved to Atlanta, where her fiance Aziz had family to help her, while she looked for a job. Right after I started my new job, she got a job at the same company where we had worked at before, and moved back to Tulsa to work for the manager who had originally hired me.
When she moved back to Tulsa, she wanted to me to spend time with me in a very public place. This presented a huge dilemma for me. I wanted to spend time with her, but I had always done so with a group of other people. At the very least, Reddy, Shamira, and I, did things together. Shamira was one of the best friends, that I ever had, but I struggled with keeping her in my life. Rule number one was, never go anywhere alone with a woman - especially a young, beautiful woman - by myself.
Then I thought of a way out of this dilemma. So I asked my wife and Miranda to go with me, so I could talk with Shamira at the restaurant. My daughter refused, and my wife told me, that I was being silly. So I explained rule number one to her and how it protected me.
My wife said, that she had complete confidence in me, and knew that pleasing the Father of Truth was my greatest desire. She pointed out, that I had asked Him to bring Reddy and Shamira back into my life, and He had done so. She said, that I should not avoid one of the best friends that I ever had, that the Father of Truth had brought back into my life, just to keep a rule that I had made up myself.
I was stunned for a few moments. My wife was right, my rules may have kept me from being hurt by other people, but they also kept me from being friends with other people. I had to decide which I valued more, Shamira, or my rules. So my wife talked me into meeting Shamira at the restaurant.
That night brought about the end of my rules. I knew that I could no longer live by those rules, because the Father of Truth wanted me to be a friend of sinners.
So I kept spending time with Shamira in public places, or with my family. I would encourage her to get married to her long-time fiance, Aziz, whenever we did anything together. I promised to go to their wedding, the Father of Truth willing, when they got married.
Eventually, she brought Aziz to my house, and we talked for a long time. I was impressed with how knowledgeable Aziz was of his business and the industry that his business was in. He had waited so long to marry Shamira, because he wanted to be sure that he could really take care of her. It was obvious to me that they were meant for each other. This only increased my desire for Shamira to go ahead and marry Aziz.
Then Reddy lost his job in Atlanta, and found a new job in Denver. So Miranda and I went out to Denver to visit Reddy and Neel. We had a great time out there, where I talked to more Hindus about the Man of Truth. I was putting to good use what I had learned about being a friend to sinners.
Eventually, Shamira was able to work out of the Atlanta office, so she moved back to Atlanta to be able to spend more time with Aziz.
Then she sent me an announcement of their wedding. So I bought airline tickets for myself and Reddy, who now lived in Houston, to fly to Atlanta. The Three Amigos were together for her wedding, where we stayed among, and ate with Muslims. For those two days, I talked to Muslims and Hindus about the Man of Truth. This all came about, because the Father of Truth had taught me how to be friend of sinners.
So, what does the Book of Truth say about all of this? Can a Christian man really have a real friendship with Atheists, Hindus, and Muslims - even Muslim women? Does the Father of Truth, really want the Children of Truth to be friends of sinners?
The Man of Truth was also a friend of sinners, eating and drinking with them, because it was the wise thing to do (Matthew 11:19). It was only those, who rejected the counsel of the Father of Truth, who had a problem with him being a friend of sinners (Luke 7:30-34).
The religious people thought, that the Man of Truth should not let a woman, who was a sinner, even touch him (Luke 7:36-39). He pointed out that the person who had sinned the most, was who would show the most love (Luke 7:40-43). He pointed out that everyone was sinners, but this woman had touched him to show her great love for him, because she understood that she had sinned more than the religious people, who did not show great love for him (Luke 7:44-47).
The truth is, that everyone has sinned against the Father of Truth - even the most religious people (Romans 3:19-23). The only people that the Man of Truth could be friends with were sinners!
So would have the Man of Truth been a friend of Muslims?
The truth is, that many Muslims have a moral standard that is very similar to that found in the Book of Truth. Many Muslims actually strive more to meet that standard than many people who call themselves Christians.
This similar moral standard has lead to confusion about Muslims and Christians, much like there has been confusion about Samaritans and Jews. The similarities between Muslims and Christians are like the similarities that existed between Samaritans and Jews.
Samaritans were often mistaken for Jews by those who did not worship the Father of Truth, because they had so much in common with Jews. In the same way, those who do not worship the Father of Truth, can see so much that Muslims have in common with Christians that they have proposed that both could worship the Father of Truth together, in a new religion called "Chrislam". The similarities between Muslims and Christians blind those who propose this from the importance of the differences between Muslims and Christians. These differences are vital differences that separate Muslims and Christians in a meaningful way.
Samaritans, when the Man of Truth walked the Earth, were like Muslims are today. Like Samaritans, Muslims count the Man of Truth as a prophet (John 4:19). Like Samaritans, Muslims worship the Father of Truth in the wrong place, because they do not understand the times (John 4:20-21). Like Samaritans, Muslims worship the Father of Truth, but in the wrong way, because they do not know what the Book of Truth says (John 4:22). Like Samaritans, the Father of Truth desires for Muslims to learn how to worship Him in the right way (John 4:23-24).
The Man of Truth did come to destroy Samaritans, who like were like Muslims, but to save them (Luke 9:51-56). He told of how a Samaritan, who was like a Muslim, who showed mercy to people was better than religious professionals, who knew what the Book of Truth said, but did not show mercy to people (Luke 10:29-37). He commended the Samaritan, who was like a Muslim, who gave glory to the Father of Truth, over those who knew what the Book of Truth said, but did not take time to give glory to the Father of Truth (Luke 17:12-19).
The Man of Truth engaged a Samaritan woman, who was like a Muslim woman, in conversation while drinking water with her in a very public place, instead of avoiding her, like others who knew what the Book of Truth said (John 4:7-9). He used this opportunity to talk to her about her need for the Spirit of Truth (John 4:10-15). Then he talked to her about her personal life (John 4:16-18). Then He talked to her about the right way to worship the Father of Truth that was based on the Word of Truth (John 4:19-24). Then he told her about the Messiah of Israel, so she and the other Samaritans, who were like Muslims, could be saved (John 4:25-30). He was a friend to this Samaritan woman, who was like a Muslim woman, because that was the will of His Father (John 4:31-34). The Father of Truth wanted to bring Samaritans, who were like Muslims, into the House of Truth (John 4:35-38). The Man of Truth then stayed with the Samaritans, who were like Muslims, and ate with them for two more days, in order to bring many of them into the House of Truth (John 4:39-43).
The Man of Truth would have been a friend to Muslims - even a Muslim woman - if he was on the Earth today.
The Apostles of Truth also preached the Good News to Samaritans, who were like Muslims, when they were carrying out the Great Commission given to them by the Man of Truth (Acts 8:25).
The Man of Truth and the Apostles of Truth did this with Samaritans, so we could understand what the Father of Truth wants to do with Muslims.
The Father of Truth will turn Muslims, like those in Egypt, to the Man of Truth, because He desires, that they come into the House of Truth (Isaiah 19:19-22). He loves Muslims as much as He loves the people of Israel, and plans to make their nations into partners with Israel in serving Him (Isaiah 19:23-25).
The Father of Truth does not love people more for coming into the House of Truth, but rather showed His greatest act of love for those who have not yet came in the House of Truth (Romans 5:8). The Father of Truth still loves the worst of sinners, even those who do horrible things, when they do not understand what He desires (1 Timothy 1:13-16). The Father of Truth is a friend of sinners.
The Man of Truth laid down his life, because of his love for his friends who were sinners (John 15:13). The Man of Truth did this, so sinners could have peace with the Father of Truth (Romans 5:1). The Man of Truth did not wait for sinners to come into the House of Truth, before he showed his love for them (Romans 5:6). He died that most horrible of deaths, to make it possible for sinners to come into the House of Truth (1 Peter 2:24). The Man of Truth is a friend of sinners.
A real friend loves their friends at all times - whether or not, they come into the House of Truth (Proverbs 17:17). The Children of Truth are to be like the Man of Truth in this world (1 John 4:15-17). They did not come into the House of Truth, so the Father of Truth would love them more, but they came into the House of Truth, because the Father of Truth did not love them less for not being in the House of Truth (1 John 4:18-19). The Children of Truth are to be a friend of sinners.
Of course, no one is really a friend of sinners, if they do not tell sinners how to come into the House of Truth.
Their sinner friends may be seeking after the Father of Truth to the best of their understanding, and He wants them to find Him (Jeremiah 29:13). So He is drawing their sinner friends to the Man of Truth, so they can find Him (John 6:44-45). The Children of Truth are to tell their sinner friends about the Man of Truth, so they can find the Father of Truth (Acts 20:21).
So the Children of Truth are to tell their sinner friends, how to come into the House of Truth (Romans 10:8). They are to tell their sinner friends, that they come into the House of Truth, by making a commitment to obey the Man of Truth, because they believe that His Father raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9). They are not to try to manipulate their sinner friends into making a confession, because no one can make someone else believe the truth in their heart (Romans 10:10). When their sinner friends make a commitment of obedience, because they believe the truth in their heart, then they will come into the House of Truth, even if they are Atheists, Hindus, or Muslims (Romans 10:11-13). However, the Children of Truth must tell their sinner friends how to come into the House of Truth, because their sinner friends cannot come into the House of Truth unless someone tells them how to do so (Romans 10:14).
Come into the House of Truth!
This week I am flying to Atlanta to attend the wedding of a friend. I had planned to take a road trip with my family, but circumstances made it impossible for them to go. So I bought a ticket to fly to Atlanta. This is significant, because I have never paid for myself to fly anywhere before. However, I had told this friend that I would be at their wedding, so I did, what I have avoided doing until now.
This is most fitting, because everything about our friendship, involves doing what I had avoided doing, until we met.
I had rules about how I interacted with different kinds of people. Some of the rules, I did not like, but I had trouble not instinctively following them anyways. Most of them had been developed over the years, either as a reaction to either bad things that happened to me when I let certain types of people get too close, or from bad things I had seen happen to other people when they let certain other types of people, get too close to them.
Mind you, when it comes to things like skin color there has never been a prejudice bone in my body. For example, my family was the only white family at several otherwise all black churches, when I was in the Air Force. I went to those churches, because the people there believed what I believed more closely than the white churches I visited. I often felt closer to those people than my own flesh and blood, because what we had in common was more important than the differences.
Still, I had my prejudices about other things. I generally did not trust rich people. I kept women at a distance much as possible, and did not even like to touch them in any way, except my own family members. I had seen what could happen when married men let women get too close, and I was on my guard at all times. I had friends who were not Christians, but they were mostly Atheists and the like that are common in America.
I especially kept my distance from Muslims. I had been friends with some at various times, but they always managed to hurt me.
The truth is, that almost all my close friends were among the Children of Truth (those who obey The Father of Truth because they love Him). The fact is that all of my rules about who I would let into my life, and how far, made it very difficult for me to be a friend of sinners.
Little did I know, that the Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD) had a plan to teach me how to become a friend of sinners.
I was once a great Android developer.
I have worked with many technologies. While good at many of them, the only one that I would ever call myself great at doing was Android development. One reason was when developing Android applications I had to pretty much do all of the roles, like developer and database administrator. These roles were usually split between different people and even different teams.
So this streamlined hierarchy of one person performing all role really worked for me. I was not slowed down by meeting to collaborate with other people, or needing to get permission to do anything. I would do my own research on problems, find my own solutions, and implement them. For the first time in my entire career, I was able to just run with my ideas.
I would encounter problems and look online to see how others solved them. Often I would find that many people on on-line communities had experienced the same problems, but no one had solved them. So I would solve the problems, and then I would publish my solutions on StackOverflow to help other people. While I liked not being hindered by trying to explain what I was thinking, and having to convince other to go along with it, I also liked helping other people.
The thing is that I see the world differently than most people, and this whole "I am the Android department" thing allowed me to not need to interact with other people very often, or try to get them to understand what I was doing. I had never been great at that, and the seven years prior to that, of working from home alone, had made it worse. I had mad machine skills, but sad people skills.
Since I was so good at creating apps that simply worked, the start up that I worked at grew to have more customers than I could handle. So one fateful day, I was introduced to Neel, and he was going to help me with Android. Neel was fresh out of college. He had a sharp mind, but like many people fresh out of college needed help adjusting to being in a professional environment. So I had to work closely with Neel.
Well, this turned out great. Neel was from India, and my sad people skills did not bother him. He would occasionally suggest that I do things differently with people, and I would give it a try. Most of the time, Neel was proven right. I would explain Android things as I saw them, and he would get it, even though I would have to give him some background information that only came from experience. Soon we branched out and talked about things that were not work related during lunch or after work.
I thought Neel was a Hindu, because the Blackberry department person, who was also from India, was a Hindu. I had kept my distance with her, because she was not interested in hearing about the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ) and she was a woman. Rule number two was, do not interact with women any more than absolutely necessary to perform work.
Well, I was sort of right about Neel. Neel had grown up as a Hindu, but was not really one anymore. He had been brainwashed into believing The Greatest Fairy Tail Ever Told in college. So I started talking to him about math and science. We spent many hours talking about this, and I showed him why I had realized at 16 years of age that evolution was a mathematical and scientific impossibility. Eventually, he began to see why no one could believe in both evolution, and math and science, at the same time. So now, Neel was sure of what he did not believe, but he was not sure of what he should believe.
So I began to talk to him about the Book of Truth (The Bible). The first thing that surprised me was that, he already knew a lot of the stories in the Book of Truth, like David and Goliath. It turned out, that all of the best schools in India were private schools, that were either ran by Christian missionaries, or the False Church of Rome. So Neel had been sent to one of these schools, where they read and discussed stories from the Book of Truth. So apparently in India, people still do in their private schools, what had once been common, but outlawed in public schools in America.
We soon started doing things outside of work. We became good friends, even though Neel had not came into the House of Truth. The Father of Truth had sent Neel into my life to begin to teach me how to be a friend of sinners.
Neel became like family to us. He spent holidays like Thanksgiving with my family. Whenever I had a family event, like grilling steaks, Neel was invited. Neel would also grill delicious Indian food at these events. We were truly great friends, even though I still longed for Neel to come into the House of Truth.
Then one day Neel asked me out of the blue, if he could go to church with me. I was thrilled, but curious, so I asked him what brought this on. He explained, that there was this positive energy that he felt every time he was around me, and he wanted it. I told him that was the Spirit of Truth (Ruach HaQodesh aka The Holy Spirit aka The Holy Ghost). So we added going to church every Sabbath to our list of activities that we did together.
I worked crazy hours trying to keep the mobile development company going. I felt like, that if I left the company, then it would fall apart. The company became so dependent upon me, that it got to the point that it seemed like, if I went on vacation for more than a day or two, then it would not survive.
Eventually I realized, that no amount of software engineering skills on my behalf, could make up for poor business practices carried out by others. I was exhausted, and in a lot of pain from my gallbladder issues. So I reluctantly took a week of vacation. When I came back from vacation the company no longer existed.
I was obsessed with finding another Android job, but my main concern was Neel. Neel sent money from every paycheck back to India to help take care of his parents and siblings back there. Since he was an H1B (foreigner on a temporary work visa), he only had so many days to find another job, or he would be deported.
Neel came across many obstacles that threatened to keep him from staying in American and getting a job. Several times it looked hopeless, but I would pray with Neel to the Father of Truth in the name of the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ), and each time He made a way for Neel when there had been no way available. Neel could see that what had been impossible for people to do on their own, had been possible with the Father of Truth.
Eventually, Neel did get a mobile development job doing iOS in Denver. With tear filled eyes, I prayed with Neel before he drove off from my house to Colorado. He had still not came into the House of Truth, but we were the best of friends. I had learned how to be a friend of sinners.
My obsession with getting an another Android job had not waned, although helping Neel get a job had taken top priority. I did all I could to keep my skills with Android current. The problem was, that there were absolutely no Android jobs in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
On top of that I have a daughter, who has six medical conditions that are fatal and incurable according to medical science. The list of places, where the weather, air quality, and medical facilities to meet her needs, is pretty short. Unlike Neel, I could not just move to any place to find an Android job at a moment's notice.
Still, I almost got an Android job where I could work from home several times. In each case, something would happen at the last moment. In one case, the management at Sprint was willing to pay me $167 an hour to solve their Android issues, but only if I would move to Kansas City until the project was over. I told them, that my daughter had never spent one day in the hospital without me visiting her, and that was never going to change.
If they had offered me $500 an hour, I still would not have went. Somethings are more important than money.
I knew, that I was needed at home to fight for her life with the help of the Father of Truth. I knew that He was doing the impossible on her behalf, as long as I did my part. I did not blame Him for her condition, because I knew where sickness comes from. He was the only reason that she was alive, and He is the only one that can heal her. There was no amount of money that could cause me to not be there when she needed me.
Then a recruiter called me one day to present me to a client in Tulsa doing web application work, similar to what I had done five years earlier. They were were having performance issues, and were impressed with I had done to solve performance issues in Android, and the web application that I worked on before that. I interviewed with them and it was certain that I could solve their problems.
During the same time, a large bank headquartered in Tulsa interviewed me for an Android job in Tulsa. I was the only person with the Android skills that they could find. They offered more money and security than a temporary contract. Still, it did not seem like it was where the Father of Truth wanted me to go, even though it was the kind of job that I really wanted.
My pain had grown worse in the two years since I had lost my Android job. It made it hard for me to be confident, that I was hearing the Spirit of Truth correctly when I prayed. So I decided to make an offer, and leave the results to the Father of Truth. So I told the recruiter, that I was willing to take on the job, under the condition that I could take the Android job, if the bank called me. She talked to the client, and they were agreeable to my terms.
Then things got weird.
First, there was an internal disruption in the bank. They had a disagreement over how their Information Technology department should be organized. So they removed the position until they worked out their internal issues. (Their need for the work did not end. Two years later, when they finally got their act together, they were even in more need of someone to perform the Android work.)
Second, when I showed up for the first day at the client company to start work on solving their web application performance issues, things were nothing like what I had been told. Instead of working for the manager that I had interviewed with, I was told that I was going work for another manager.
Third, I was not even going to be working on the problem that I had been hired to solve. Instead, I was going to work on an entirely different project, largely involving technologies that I had only seen in recruitment adds.
This other project had been stalled for two years, and they suddenly decided that it was their highest priority. (Their need for the performance work did not end. I have been told by people who still work there, that they still need to have those issues fixed, even though it has been three years, since they had originally hired me to fix the issues.)
Fourth, I was not going to be working by myself, but rather be part of a team. They were going to be using an Agile methodology for managing a project - for the first time ever. They had seen on my resume that I had been using Scrum, a type of Agile for about seven years, and the project management work that I had done before that. (Project management is my other passion.) So they wanted me on the team for those skills as much as my development skills.
Fifth, there was some sort of turf war going on, where different managers claimed different empty cubes on the main IT floor, and none of them were willing to allow our team to use their empty cubes that were near each other, so we could work together. I asked them about the empty floor that did not have any cubes. So they decided to put all of us together on that one floor, all sitting around the same table.
Sixth, I soon discovered, that they did not have the laptops that us contractors needed to do our jobs. The employees who were assigned to work with us did not even have a laptop with a working configuration of the environment and application. So for most of the day, we just sat at a table with nothing to do. If a person could literally die from boredom, I think I would have. It got so bad that I actually started talking to my co-workers about non-work related things, just to relieve the boredom.
At the end of the first week, I went home and a friend of mine, who worked at the bank, asked me how I liked the new job. So I told him that I was mad about the whole thing.
I was not working on Android, like I wanted. I was not working for the manager, that I wanted to work for. I was not solving the problems, that I wanted to solve. I was being put on a team, instead of working by myself like I wanted. I was being forced to spend time in close proximate to my team mates - and some of them were women - instead of being able to remain socially isolated, so I could focus on my work like I wanted. I was bored so badly, that I had actually began to talk to my co-workers, instead of spending most of my time solving technical problems like I wanted.
This friend, who had lead me into the House of Truth, told me that I had a bad attitude, and that I needed to straighten up. He pointed out that I had told the Father of Truth that I was leaving the results up to Him. He said, that it was obvious that the Father of Truth had placed me in this position, since I had not even applied for it, and had no experience in many of the technologies. So I had no right to be whining about getting what I asked for.
I stood there stunned for a moment. He was completely right. I had told the Father of Truth, that I wanted His will more than my own, and He acted on my words. I had no right to be whining about Him doing, what I had asked Him to do.
A good friend knows, when you need a pat on the back, and when you need a swift kick in the seat of the pants. My friend had just given me the swift kick in the seat of the pants that I needed. So I took his wise counsel, and decided to change my attitude to one of gratitude.
I went to work the next Monday with a new mindset that I was on a mission from the Father of Truth. I was determined to d, whatever I could to help the team, in any way that I could. I did not understand why the Father of Truth had arranged for me to be locked in room with a bunch of other people - without the means to solve any technical problems. However, it soon became apparent that this was all part of the next lesson, which the Father of Truth was giving me on how to be a friend of sinners.
At the morning scrum meeting, it became apparent that some people in the company were trying to take advantage of the foreign developers, by denying them the ability to work from home when they had a legitimate need, as they had been promised. It made my blood boil to see people taking advantage of my teammates, just because they were foreigners, so I spoke up about this.
The manager asked everyone, who had been promised this, to raise their hands. The hand of every developer went up, both foreign and domestic. So the manager said, that she would honor the promise that had been made to all of the developers.
Soon after that, we got our laptops, but there were issues in configuring the environment that we needed to do our development work.
So I helped the top employee fix the configuration issues on his laptop, so we would have a working model to compare our efforts to. I pointed out that our laptops did not have sufficient memory for our development, so he got some ordered for us. In the meantime, we started installing the tools that we needed, and configuring our own working environments. I finished mine in a few hours, except for the parts that required security access, but no one else was able to get their laptop working. We had all been given the same instructions, but the instructions were incorrect, or incomplete, in several places. I had figured out what to do to instead, so I worked with the another employee to get her laptop working, but had her modify the instructions as we went along.
Soon everyone was following the new instructions, and was getting their laptop working, except for one of the Indian developers. (Dot, not feather.) I wanted to make more progress on improving the development environment further, but he just kept looking at me like a sad puppy. So I started helping Reddy.
It turned out that something was actually wrong with his laptop. He would set the configuration correctly, but it would not save the changes for some reason. The laptop was going have to be fixed or replaced.
The Indians were scared of the manager, but she had already shown me that she treated people fairly. So I spoke up on his behalf to the manager, and showed her that it was the laptop, and not Reddy, that was at fault. So she got his laptop fixed.
I would also see them floundering in their work, and reached out to help them. They had reasonably good IT skills, but needed some mentoring to discover what they were good at, and then develop their strengths.
I found that I could explain things to one of the Indian women, Shamira, in English, and she would often catch on quicker than even the Americans in some cases. Shamira would then explain things that I was not getting across, to the other Indians in Hindi, or one of the other three Indian languages, that she was proficient in. So I end up working particularly closely with Shamira.
By now, the Indians had taken a liking to me, and wanted me to go out to eat with them.
I could not afford the time, the money, or the extra calories, that came with eating out. Still, one of them, Shamira was persistent, so I promised that I would go out with them, once per week.
I also started bringing extra food with me at lunch to share with them, because I thought that they were probably from poor families, and had to send home a large part of their paychecks to help take care of their parents, like Neel had. Well, they started bringing food as well, and wanted me to eat with them. So soon we were eating together at lunch almost every day.
As time went on, they also began to help me with my people skills.
When I would make a mistake that might offend people, Shamira would come over to me, put her hand on her hip, look at me like a mother correcting her child, and start explaining what I did wrong, by saying, "Now, Danny ...". It would make me laugh, but I also took what she said seriously, because she had shown herself as having very good people skills. Reddy would also help me, usually by starting out with something like, "Funny, funny, Danny".
So I helped them become better developers, and they helped me to become a better team player.
Of course, I told these two about the Man of Truth, because that is all that really matters. I told them, about how I had prayed to the Father of Truth in the name of the Man of Truth, and how He had answered my prayers in spectacular ways. I wanted them to know that the Father of Truth was the only living God, and that the Man of Truth was the only way to know Him. There was no doubt, that I was not wearing a costume, because I told everyone that worked with about the Man of Truth. After all, friends do not let friends, go to Hell unwarned.
I had known that they were not followers of the Man of Truth, from the moment that I met them. However, I was more than a little shocked to learn that Shamira was a Muslim! She did not eat beef, and everyone else from India, except for Joe Abraham, was a Hindu. So I thought, that she was also a Hindu. It turned out, that she just does not like the taste of beef.
I also learned that she was not from a poor family as I had assumed, but that her father was richer than anyone in my family had ever been. So Shamira was a rich, young, Muslim woman, and being friends with her violated most of my rules about who I would let into my world. The trouble was that she was just so likable, that I could not help but like her. So I let go of most of my rules, by deciding to continue to be her friend. The Father of Truth was using her to teach me, how to be a friend of sinners.
The three of us became almost inseparable, and had acquired a nickname of "The Three Amigos", after a term that was used in the ICE variety of Agile that the company used. I invited them over for Thanksgiving, and all other family events. They became like family to my family.
As we continued to spend time together, they began to realize that I was not at all like those who called themselves Christians in India. The boarding schools that they attended in India, were ran by the False Church of Rome, and I was nothing like those people.
I had explained to them that looking to an idol that someone made with their own hands to rescue them in their time of need, made no more sense than me looking to one of my Android apps to rescue me in my time of need. They found this to be confusing, because the False Church of Rome had idols in their schools that they had named "Jesus" and "Mary". They thought that Christians worshiped these idols. So I explained to them, what is a Christian according to the Book of Truth.
They also were surprised that I went to church and rested on the Sabbath, instead of Sunday. So I explained to them who changed the Sabbath. They wanted to know why I did not eat everything, that those who ran their schools ate, so I told them why it mattered what I ate. They wanted to know why I did not keep all of those rules that they had been taught in school, so I explained the simplicity of the Gospel to them.
Then one Friday at work, Reddy asked me if it would be alright to go to church with me on the Sabbath. Of course, I was thrilled and we went. Soon it became a weekly event.
In a short time, Reddy took the Deal and came into the House of Truth. This would have never happened, if I had not learned how to be a friend of sinners.
After that, I asked Shamira if she would like to come as well. I promised her that the blues guitar playing, joke telling pastor, at our Torah observant congregation, was nothing like any religious service that she had ever attended. She said, no on several different occasions, so I gave up asking.
Then one Friday evening, she came over to my house to do some fun things with my family. Suddenly, and unexpectedly, she asked if she could go to church with me the next morning. So we went together the next day. She also went with me several other times, but she did not come into the House of Truth.
Then one day at lunch she asked me very seriously, if I would love her more, if she became a Christian. I told her I would not love her more if she was a Christian, and I would not love her less if she was a Muslim. I explained to her that she could no more earn my love, than she could earn the love of the Father of Truth. I loved Shamira for who she was, and not what she did. I let her know that I wanted her to join my forever family, so we would always be together in eternity. I had learned how to be a friend of sinners.
Then suddenly, one of the best times of my life came to an end. The company had not performed as well as the CEO had promised the stockholders, so he made a decision to lay off all of the contractors, across the entire company, in one day, even though in some areas, contractors made up 85% of the work force. The CEO had made a desperate move to save one job - his - even though it was going to do a lot of long term damage to the company.
The manager, who I had became fond of by this time was devastated. She could barely hold back the tears when she told me. She confirmed what I had suspected all along, that under her hard exterior there was a person of compassion.
Soon after that, Reddy and Shamira, had to move away to get jobs, so they could stay in America. It looked like the end of the Three Amigos, and I was heart broken. I had lost my two best friends in the world in a short amount of time.
I had been in ever increasing pain from my deteriorating gallbadder, but every day that I spent with them was worth the pain. Now I had to face that pain without my friends. Or so I thought.
Reddy came up to visit me from Dallas almost every weekend, just to go to church with me. When he saw the sacrifices that my daughter Miranda made to try to take of me, he fell in love with her. He promised me that if I should die, then he would take care of my family.
My family also managed to go to Dallas to visit Reddy on our vacation.
Shamira, called me almost every day. Sometimes I would give her advice to help her career, and she would give me advice about improving my people skills. Mostly though, we just talked about anything and everything. The Three Amigos may have been separated, but their friendship remained strong.
I knew I needed to have my gallbladder removed, but I was not sure how I could accomplish this. I had tried several times over the previous ten years, but something always prevented it from happening. Then one day, I got a letter in the mail from the US government, stating that I had to get insurance, even though I did not have a job, because it was the law. So with the help of the Father of Truth, I managed to get insurance, pay my deductibles, and finally schedule my surgery.
By the time that the surgery was near, I was in terrible pain, and could only manage to be up for a few hours a day. I spent most of my strength on writing this blog, because people needed to know the truth, so they could be saved from the Great War that will soon engulf this planet. More important than that, I was desperate to tell people how to come into the House of Truth, so they would not go to the Chamber of Horrors forever.
I had been warned that while gall bladder surgery was routine, that the condition of my gall bladder was anything but routine. The bottom line was, without the surgery I would almost certainly die, but there a very good chance that I would die from the surgery.
I was dying and I could feel it. I had known it for a long time, and I was more than alright with it. I literally wanted to be with the Man of Truth more than I wanted my next breath. I had written instructions for Reddy and my family of what I wanted them to do until they could join me. I was working on what I planned to be my farewell post, where I urged the Children of Truth to always be walking in truth. In fact, my last act before leaving the house to go to the hospital for the surgery, was to put that post on this blog.
Yet, over the three days right before my surgery, I had several encounters with the Father of Truth, as I fade in and out of consciousness from the pain. He wanted me to remain on this Earth for a while longer, even though I knew that I was better off dead. Also, I am very patriotic, and I did not really want to be around to see the death of America.
He was not forcing me to stay, but was asking me to do so, nonetheless. He told me that my family was going to need me, and that Neel, Reddy and Shamira, needed me to remain on this Earth. I would have chosen to stay, if the only person that was going to need me had been my wife. Still, I could not leave my friends, knowing that they would need me. I also knew that without me in their lives, two of them would probably never come into the House of Truth. So I delayed, what I have been pursuing ever since I had came into the House of Truth, because I had learned how to be a friend of sinners.
My surgery went text book well. I was sent home with some pain killers, and instructions to rest as much a possible. I only took the pain killers at night for the first couple of nights, because the pain from my surgery was so much less than the pain from my gall bladder that I hardly noticed it. However, I was so weak, that it took about three months before I could stay up long enough at a time to work a regular eight hour day.
The Father of Truth again placed me in a job that was literally created for me, at a place that I had not wanted to work at. This time, I was determined to be grateful, and do all I could to help the company from the very beginning. I had learned my lesson.
Even though I was strong enough to work, I still had to sleep for several hours when I got home. It took a long time before I could manage to stay up all day without needing a nap.
During this time, I also had terrible episodes where it felt like the top of my brain was exploding into my skull, or I would almost pass out, or where my vision would suddenly get very blurring, and then suddenly return to normal.
My wife, the smart one, figured out that I was having issues in my parietal and occipital lobes, brought on by the anesthesia. I was apparently experiencing micro-seizures, which were similar to those experienced by epileptics. Even today, I am operating on a quarter of my pre-surgery brain power, although I have not had any more episodes for a while.
Reddy was then forced to move to Atlanta to keep his job. Despite the distance, he would sometime make the thirteen hour drive to see my daughter and help me. Then he would make the same drive back to Atlanta.
Shamira had also had moved to Atlanta, where her fiance Aziz had family to help her, while she looked for a job. Right after I started my new job, she got a job at the same company where we had worked at before, and moved back to Tulsa to work for the manager who had originally hired me.
When she moved back to Tulsa, she wanted to me to spend time with me in a very public place. This presented a huge dilemma for me. I wanted to spend time with her, but I had always done so with a group of other people. At the very least, Reddy, Shamira, and I, did things together. Shamira was one of the best friends, that I ever had, but I struggled with keeping her in my life. Rule number one was, never go anywhere alone with a woman - especially a young, beautiful woman - by myself.
Then I thought of a way out of this dilemma. So I asked my wife and Miranda to go with me, so I could talk with Shamira at the restaurant. My daughter refused, and my wife told me, that I was being silly. So I explained rule number one to her and how it protected me.
My wife said, that she had complete confidence in me, and knew that pleasing the Father of Truth was my greatest desire. She pointed out, that I had asked Him to bring Reddy and Shamira back into my life, and He had done so. She said, that I should not avoid one of the best friends that I ever had, that the Father of Truth had brought back into my life, just to keep a rule that I had made up myself.
I was stunned for a few moments. My wife was right, my rules may have kept me from being hurt by other people, but they also kept me from being friends with other people. I had to decide which I valued more, Shamira, or my rules. So my wife talked me into meeting Shamira at the restaurant.
That night brought about the end of my rules. I knew that I could no longer live by those rules, because the Father of Truth wanted me to be a friend of sinners.
So I kept spending time with Shamira in public places, or with my family. I would encourage her to get married to her long-time fiance, Aziz, whenever we did anything together. I promised to go to their wedding, the Father of Truth willing, when they got married.
Eventually, she brought Aziz to my house, and we talked for a long time. I was impressed with how knowledgeable Aziz was of his business and the industry that his business was in. He had waited so long to marry Shamira, because he wanted to be sure that he could really take care of her. It was obvious to me that they were meant for each other. This only increased my desire for Shamira to go ahead and marry Aziz.
Then Reddy lost his job in Atlanta, and found a new job in Denver. So Miranda and I went out to Denver to visit Reddy and Neel. We had a great time out there, where I talked to more Hindus about the Man of Truth. I was putting to good use what I had learned about being a friend to sinners.
Eventually, Shamira was able to work out of the Atlanta office, so she moved back to Atlanta to be able to spend more time with Aziz.
Then she sent me an announcement of their wedding. So I bought airline tickets for myself and Reddy, who now lived in Houston, to fly to Atlanta. The Three Amigos were together for her wedding, where we stayed among, and ate with Muslims. For those two days, I talked to Muslims and Hindus about the Man of Truth. This all came about, because the Father of Truth had taught me how to be friend of sinners.
So, what does the Book of Truth say about all of this? Can a Christian man really have a real friendship with Atheists, Hindus, and Muslims - even Muslim women? Does the Father of Truth, really want the Children of Truth to be friends of sinners?
The Man of Truth was also a friend of sinners, eating and drinking with them, because it was the wise thing to do (Matthew 11:19). It was only those, who rejected the counsel of the Father of Truth, who had a problem with him being a friend of sinners (Luke 7:30-34).
The religious people thought, that the Man of Truth should not let a woman, who was a sinner, even touch him (Luke 7:36-39). He pointed out that the person who had sinned the most, was who would show the most love (Luke 7:40-43). He pointed out that everyone was sinners, but this woman had touched him to show her great love for him, because she understood that she had sinned more than the religious people, who did not show great love for him (Luke 7:44-47).
The truth is, that everyone has sinned against the Father of Truth - even the most religious people (Romans 3:19-23). The only people that the Man of Truth could be friends with were sinners!
So would have the Man of Truth been a friend of Muslims?
The truth is, that many Muslims have a moral standard that is very similar to that found in the Book of Truth. Many Muslims actually strive more to meet that standard than many people who call themselves Christians.
This similar moral standard has lead to confusion about Muslims and Christians, much like there has been confusion about Samaritans and Jews. The similarities between Muslims and Christians are like the similarities that existed between Samaritans and Jews.
Samaritans were often mistaken for Jews by those who did not worship the Father of Truth, because they had so much in common with Jews. In the same way, those who do not worship the Father of Truth, can see so much that Muslims have in common with Christians that they have proposed that both could worship the Father of Truth together, in a new religion called "Chrislam". The similarities between Muslims and Christians blind those who propose this from the importance of the differences between Muslims and Christians. These differences are vital differences that separate Muslims and Christians in a meaningful way.
Samaritans, when the Man of Truth walked the Earth, were like Muslims are today. Like Samaritans, Muslims count the Man of Truth as a prophet (John 4:19). Like Samaritans, Muslims worship the Father of Truth in the wrong place, because they do not understand the times (John 4:20-21). Like Samaritans, Muslims worship the Father of Truth, but in the wrong way, because they do not know what the Book of Truth says (John 4:22). Like Samaritans, the Father of Truth desires for Muslims to learn how to worship Him in the right way (John 4:23-24).
The Man of Truth did come to destroy Samaritans, who like were like Muslims, but to save them (Luke 9:51-56). He told of how a Samaritan, who was like a Muslim, who showed mercy to people was better than religious professionals, who knew what the Book of Truth said, but did not show mercy to people (Luke 10:29-37). He commended the Samaritan, who was like a Muslim, who gave glory to the Father of Truth, over those who knew what the Book of Truth said, but did not take time to give glory to the Father of Truth (Luke 17:12-19).
The Man of Truth engaged a Samaritan woman, who was like a Muslim woman, in conversation while drinking water with her in a very public place, instead of avoiding her, like others who knew what the Book of Truth said (John 4:7-9). He used this opportunity to talk to her about her need for the Spirit of Truth (John 4:10-15). Then he talked to her about her personal life (John 4:16-18). Then He talked to her about the right way to worship the Father of Truth that was based on the Word of Truth (John 4:19-24). Then he told her about the Messiah of Israel, so she and the other Samaritans, who were like Muslims, could be saved (John 4:25-30). He was a friend to this Samaritan woman, who was like a Muslim woman, because that was the will of His Father (John 4:31-34). The Father of Truth wanted to bring Samaritans, who were like Muslims, into the House of Truth (John 4:35-38). The Man of Truth then stayed with the Samaritans, who were like Muslims, and ate with them for two more days, in order to bring many of them into the House of Truth (John 4:39-43).
The Man of Truth would have been a friend to Muslims - even a Muslim woman - if he was on the Earth today.
The Apostles of Truth also preached the Good News to Samaritans, who were like Muslims, when they were carrying out the Great Commission given to them by the Man of Truth (Acts 8:25).
The Man of Truth and the Apostles of Truth did this with Samaritans, so we could understand what the Father of Truth wants to do with Muslims.
The Father of Truth will turn Muslims, like those in Egypt, to the Man of Truth, because He desires, that they come into the House of Truth (Isaiah 19:19-22). He loves Muslims as much as He loves the people of Israel, and plans to make their nations into partners with Israel in serving Him (Isaiah 19:23-25).
The Father of Truth does not love people more for coming into the House of Truth, but rather showed His greatest act of love for those who have not yet came in the House of Truth (Romans 5:8). The Father of Truth still loves the worst of sinners, even those who do horrible things, when they do not understand what He desires (1 Timothy 1:13-16). The Father of Truth is a friend of sinners.
The Man of Truth laid down his life, because of his love for his friends who were sinners (John 15:13). The Man of Truth did this, so sinners could have peace with the Father of Truth (Romans 5:1). The Man of Truth did not wait for sinners to come into the House of Truth, before he showed his love for them (Romans 5:6). He died that most horrible of deaths, to make it possible for sinners to come into the House of Truth (1 Peter 2:24). The Man of Truth is a friend of sinners.
A real friend loves their friends at all times - whether or not, they come into the House of Truth (Proverbs 17:17). The Children of Truth are to be like the Man of Truth in this world (1 John 4:15-17). They did not come into the House of Truth, so the Father of Truth would love them more, but they came into the House of Truth, because the Father of Truth did not love them less for not being in the House of Truth (1 John 4:18-19). The Children of Truth are to be a friend of sinners.
Of course, no one is really a friend of sinners, if they do not tell sinners how to come into the House of Truth.
Their sinner friends may be seeking after the Father of Truth to the best of their understanding, and He wants them to find Him (Jeremiah 29:13). So He is drawing their sinner friends to the Man of Truth, so they can find Him (John 6:44-45). The Children of Truth are to tell their sinner friends about the Man of Truth, so they can find the Father of Truth (Acts 20:21).
So the Children of Truth are to tell their sinner friends, how to come into the House of Truth (Romans 10:8). They are to tell their sinner friends, that they come into the House of Truth, by making a commitment to obey the Man of Truth, because they believe that His Father raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9). They are not to try to manipulate their sinner friends into making a confession, because no one can make someone else believe the truth in their heart (Romans 10:10). When their sinner friends make a commitment of obedience, because they believe the truth in their heart, then they will come into the House of Truth, even if they are Atheists, Hindus, or Muslims (Romans 10:11-13). However, the Children of Truth must tell their sinner friends how to come into the House of Truth, because their sinner friends cannot come into the House of Truth unless someone tells them how to do so (Romans 10:14).
Come into the House of Truth!
Labels: Atheists, Friendship, Hindus, Muslims
posted by The House Of Truth @ July 30, 2016
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