Steven D. Johann
1134 Crane Street, Unit 216 - Menlo Park, CA 94025 - Phone: (650) 704-8036
Email: SDJohann@Yahoo.com
1134 Crane Street, Unit 216 - Menlo Park, CA 94025 - Phone: (650) 704-8036
Email: SDJohann@Yahoo.com
Dear Friends and Family:
You may have been wondering about what I’ve been going through, with years of harassment by way of dozens of notices to move or be towed; over one-hundred and forty illegal parking tickets (which I beat in court); at least eight thousand dollars of vandalism done to my car and motor home; and most recently, the illegal towing and impounding of my car with my belongings, which was sold in lien auction; by the Residents, Businesses, and City of Palo Alto. So have I on this Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.
You’ve no doubt experienced persecution as well, since “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. … If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen(1) you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” – John 15:18,19. “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 5:10.
“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; … Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed … For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; … While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: For the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” – 2 Corinthians 4:8,9,17,18. “But as then he that was born after the flesh (the synthetic self, or human ego) persecuted him that was born after the Spirit (the real self, or Christed soul), even so it is now.” – Galatians 4:29.
“But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: But Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. … And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. … And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. … But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you …” – Matthew 5:39,40,41,44. “But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: For he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. … Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. … Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: Condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: … Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” – Luke 6:35,36,37,38.
“Bless them which persecute you; bless, and curse not. … Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: For it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. … Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” – Romans 12:14,19,21. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation [n Distress or suffering resulting from oppression (n To crush or burden by abuse of power or authority.) or persecution.], or distress, or persecution [n To harass (vt To worry and impede by repeated raids.) in a manner to injure, grieve, afflict, or annoy.], or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? … As it is written, For thy sake we are killed [vt To overpower someone less strong.] all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. … Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” – Romans 8:35,36,37.
“Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers.(2) For there is no power but of God: The powers that be are ordained of God. … Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: And they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation [n Condemnation to a punishment or fate.]. … For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: … For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: For he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. … Render therefore to all their dues: Tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.” – Romans 13:1,2,3,4,7. Here, God is showing us that obedience to his authority is even more important than obedience to his morality. But “Then cometh the end, when he (the Christ) shall have delivered up the kingdom (on Earth) to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. … For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. … The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” – 1 Corinthians 15:24,25,26. This is clear: The power of the unrighteous must be stripped away.
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. … Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.(3) … For we wrestle not against flesh and blood (our bodies), but against principalities [n Those in the position of a prince; a principality.], against powers [n Those in possession of authority over others; a sovereign state.], against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” – Ephesians 6:10,11,12.
Upon Solomon’s anointing as king, he said to God: “And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: And I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. … Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad; for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? … And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment: … Behold, I have done according to thy words: Lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. … And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: So that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.” – 1 Kings 3:7,9,11,12,13.
I’ve sued the City of Palo Alto for twenty-five thousand dollars for damages in the illegal taking of my property under color of law, for the loss of my car and belongings, and for the deprivation of my civil, constitutional, and god-given rights. I pray that I too may be given a wise and understanding heart in order to execute God’s, and not my own, judgment in all matters. If I win, I will pursue a class action homeless harassment suit for ten million dollars. Let us all pray that God’s Justice – his Will – is done! I pledge this entire amount to the founding of the Palo Alto Homeless Foundation. “Defend the poor and fatherless: Do justice to the afflicted and needy. … Deliver the poor and needy: Rid them out of the hand of the wicked.” – Psalms 82:3,4 – because I'm only one of the many homeless so afflicted.
Jesus said “Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! For ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. … Woe unto you! For ye build the sepulchers [n Coffins.] of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. … Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: For they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchers. … Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: … That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation …” – Luke 11:46,47,48,49,50.
“… Lord, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth [vt To take property from somebody by force or violence.] him?” – Psalms 35:9. “The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation. … Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. … Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: For the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. … For the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: But the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. … The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom and his tongue talketh of judgment. … The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him. … The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged (and all shall be judged of the Lord). … Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: When the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it. … But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: He is their strength in the time of trouble.” – Psalms 37:14,15,24,28,30,32,33,34,39.
“Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth: … Lest the Lord see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him. … Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked; … For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out.” – Proverbs 24:17,18,19,20.
Remember where I quoted Jesus saying in my 2006 Christmas Letter: “Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? … If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; … Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? … If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. … But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: That ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.” – John 10:34,35,36,37,38. You might have wondered just where “… I said, Ye are gods?” was written. It is here, as “I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.” – Psalms 82:6. Note, that in either case the word “gods” is in the plural form, and not in the possessive form of “god’s,” and clearly refers to the hearers of the word, “… unto whom the word of God came …”, of which Jesus says, “… he called them gods …”
Another concern of my readers could be that of the commandment of God not to worship graven images, when they behold the The Chart of Your Divine Self included in my Christmas Letter. I believe the Lord when he says “Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel (Jesus), and his redeemer the Lord of hosts (God the Father, our I AM Presence); I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.” – Isaiah 44:6. I don't believe that use of the The Chart of Your Divine Self to help visualize the reality behind the image can be considered the idolatrous worship of a material object, or, as we have been warned: “…yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto. … he maketh a god, even his graven image: He falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god. … They have not known nor understood: For he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand.” – Isaiah 44:15,17,18. The man in this story doesn't consider that he is falling down to worship the stock of a tree! The sin of idolatry is the unwitting, or witting worship of the creation instead of the creator.
“When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; … What is man,(3) that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man(4) that thou visitest him? … For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.”(5) – Psalms 8:3,4,5.
“Howbeit when he, the Spirit [n The immaterial, intelligent, or sentient part of a person.] of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: For he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: And he will shew you things to come. … He shall glorify me: For he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.” – John 16:13,14.
Steven D. Johann
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“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. … If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen(1) you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.”
1) Because the Christ, who is one with the God who originally chose us as His people when he conceived us, we again become chosen as disciples when we've chosen to serve His way of Life, renouncing our servitude to Death.
2) Note that there’s an important distinction between the higher powers, those that we should give our obedience to, and the lower powers! Even though all power comes from, and is, God’s, only his light correctly qualified with the purity of Love, Wisdom, and Power has the authority of the Creator. God’s Spirit that’s been misqualified through the abuse of free will (the freedom to choose, which is an inviolate and irrevocable gift from God) is of the devil,(2) of whom we are explicitly warned not to obey.
3) Devil: n Deified evil (energy veil). Because “The only devils in this world are those running around in our own hearts, and that is where all our battles should be fought.” – Mahatma Gandhi, we should focus most of our attention on the only “man of sin” that we have absolute control of, and authority over – Ourselves!
4) The psalmist is referring here to “man” as the “son of man,” even as the man Jesus referred to himself as the “son of man” – the mediator of his Christ Self to us. Because of this, “Jesus cried [vb An urgent calling for notice.] and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me.(i) ... And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.”(i) – John 12:44,45 – to make the important distinction that we shouldn’t worship him as a man, but to worship the Christ who sent him, who they saw in him as “... the glory as of the only begotten of the Father ...”, who he so perfectly personified [vt To be the embodiment, or personification of.] in grace and truth. It was Jesus’ greatest desire that we shouldn’t mistake him, the son of man, for the Son of God – but unfortunately that’s exactly what’s happened. We are told: “... God is no respecter of persons: ... But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.” – Acts 10:34,35. Here again, it’s not the person of Jesus, but his acceptableness with God that has allowed him to bear the Christ Light of the only begotten Son of God. I personally find the idea of God (who is Father, Mother, Son, and Holy Spirit) – our creator, and creator of this entire, enormous universe – being wholly contained in just one person, to be ludicrous on it’s face. i) “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.” – John 13:16. Here, Jesus is clearly saying that his person is not greater than that of his Christ Self, his lord, and that he serves this Christ who sent him within himself, and within each one of us. Our evolving souls must also learn to serve the Christ within (with and in) each person, just as he did. To further illustrate this hierarchy, in The Chart of Your Divine Self, the middle figure in the chart, the Individualized Universal Christ, is seen below, and subordinate to, the Individualized Universal I AM Presence, or God the Father, as the upper figure in the chart. Neither is our unique individualized soul, the lower figure in the chart, greater than the Christ above who mediates between us and God the Father. “I am the way, the truth, and the life: No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” – John 14:6.
5) “The hour is come, that the son of man should be glorified. ... He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” – John 12:23,25 – is Jesus speaking of the fruit of his self-mastery, wherein by the Grace of God the son of man, and the Son of God, are become one. “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth (ascend back to God), will draw all men unto me (as Jesus – the Christ).” – John 12:32.