CHAPTER 5: THE BLACK FOREST
(Notes of a madman, writings of the past)
We worry about our business. I assure you if you live correctly your business will be fine. We worry about our money, I assure you if you put God first, your money will be fine. We worry about all manner of things including money, property and prestige, I assure you the concerns will work themselves out if we stick to the mission the Lord has given us and realize our business is a ministry, a part of His church and the ministry of His church is God’s most important asset to the world. Stay on course.
Genesis 12:3
New International Version
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” [a]
Acts 1:8
New Living Translation
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
The job, the company, all that goes with it, can never happen completely without God’s purpose, direction and partnership. You can try it, but at your own peril. If you were to ask where the Black Forest can be found in the Bible, gladly I would warn you with the following. A little story about a man named King Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of the Chaldean dynasty of Babylonia, about 600 years before Christ. Nebuchadnezzar didn’t feel he needed God, and that all that he had was his for the using as he pleased. First he was warned by a prophet named Daniel.
Daniel 4:25-35
New Living Translation
25 You will be driven from human society, and you will live in the fields with the wild animals. You will eat grass like a cow, and you will be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven periods of time will pass while you live this way, until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses. 26 But the stump and roots of the tree were left in the ground. This means that you will receive your kingdom back again when you have learned that heaven rules.
27 “‘King Nebuchadnezzar, please accept my advice. Stop sinning and do what is right. Break from your wicked past and be merciful to the poor. Perhaps then you will continue to prosper.’
The Dream’s Fulfillment
28 “But all these things did happen to King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 Twelve months later he was taking a walk on the flat roof of the royal palace in Babylon. 30 As he looked out across the city, he said, ‘Look at this great city of Babylon! By my own mighty power, I have built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my majestic splendor.’
31 “While these words were still in his mouth, a voice called down from heaven, ‘O King Nebuchadnezzar, this message is for you! You are no longer ruler of this kingdom. 32 You will be driven from human society. You will live in the fields with the wild animals, and you will eat grass like a cow. Seven periods of time will pass while you live this way, until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses.’
33 “That same hour the judgment was fulfilled, and Nebuchadnezzar was driven from human society. He ate grass like a cow, and he was drenched with the dew of heaven. He lived this way until his hair was as long as eagles’ feathers and his nails were like birds’ claws.
The following are my original notes regarding the Black Forest. Perhaps these words will help you, God I hope so, the story employs both the true nature of a haunting and a warning. It is critical only if you have ears to hear and eyes to see. Most are lost into the abyss if their feet have venture into the forest. Only God knows who comes back and who doesn’t. I strongly suggest all to avoid the invitation to this place that is outlined here in Chapter 5. I do want to point out, this is not a FreeFall, or accepting Point Negative, or even an Origin of Failure, all these things pale in comparison. This is the ultimate bad choice, between Heaven and Hell, right and wrong, God and no God in a single moment of your breathing God given life you can lose everything. If I decide there is no God, then there is no Devil. If I decide to be atheist, but I’m a good person, I’ve made a choice. When I decide it’s okay to support abortion, I’ve a hand in killing innocent blood, when I decide it’s okay to allow the world to teach my children false doctrine, it is “sins of the father” and my children will pay for it and so will I. It is a line in the sand separating me from God. I will see changes, not for the better — if I don’t stop and return to God. Life is precious, power and knowledge are God’s to use, be very careful with yourself and the authority given to you by Him.
Matthew 12:30
New American Standard Bible 1995
The Unpardonable Sin
30 He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
Proverbs 6:16-17
New International Version
There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him:
haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil,
a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.
What is innocent blood? Dig this.
Psalm 106:38
New American Standard Bible
And shed innocent blood,The blood of their sons and their daughters Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; And the land was defiled with the blood.
Doesn’t so good, does it? Innocent blood, tough topic right now for sure. What about sins of the father? Listen up, this is huge.
Exodus 34:6-7
New International Version
6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”
I can blow it big time, right here, right now and die because of it, even if I’m still breathing, all the while causing my children great trouble! What exactly is The Black Forest? Hell on earth, or just plain Hell. Brain dead from alcohol, loss of family, direction, mind, income, love, health, anything and everything that was for me is no more, the walking dead — I can take it too far, and the Lord lets me fall or I could die because of my decisions, alcohol and driving, gambling with the wrong people, drugs, addiction. Get it, “fall” if your alive, no quality of life, over with, done, destiny none, future none, life over, health trashed, mind lost, you feelin’ me here? It can happen, decisions have consequences, be warned.
Why do I call it the black forest? It’s black, a forest of black, of nothing, the epitome of total waste. What did it mean to me in that time? Do I remember exactly? Yes. Not the day, the hour or the year, but the place is what I remember. I named it “zero black.” A term that describes a place without color, without anything, complete void — and the thought of “how could this be, just a moment before I fell —
Judges 21:25
New English Translation
25 In those days Israel had no king. Each man did what he considered to be right.[a]
“No king.” That says it all. I had lost my King, I did what was right in my own eyes, without Him I had no direction, lost all opportunity with only a memory of being special and not special anymore. Forever lost? “Oh my God, what have I done?”
Why did I go there when I shouldn’t? That place, the Black Forest.. why does anybody go there when we could choose correctness and God? Because it looks good. It feels right. I don’t have to be accountable anymore. And there “it” appears, little by little, one decision after the next. “It” is waiting at the end of the road, the fork, or perhaps in the bend.., there, whispering and beckoning me to drift away from my destiny, away from my King … into oblivion, the loving arms of self will and disobedience, breech of fiduciary duty, me all me, a voice inside my head…, sounds the alarm and I can’t hear it. Why didn’t I listen! Because I can’t hear without God, I can’t see without God, I cannot be without God.
1 Corinthians 2:13-14
New Living Translation
13 When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.
Oh my God, I chose “not” Him. I give in, slide away — the world is already gone, how could it get any worse, what does it matter if I let go and give in…, and I did. And it got worse.
I am His and still I let go on purpose.
Jeremiah 2:21 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
21 I planted you, a choice vine from the very best seed. How then could you turn into a degenerate, foreign vine?
The promise made by the Forest caught me. A promise as old as time itself. A lie that has blown up mankind since the beginning.
Genesis 3
New International Version
the Fall
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
And there it is. She bought it and trashed destiny for all of mankind and took her husband with her, both of them thrown out of the garden of Eden. I bought it and ended me. Scripture, the Word, I hear it and I don’t even know it and I quote it.
Matthew 7:13-14
New International Version
The Narrow and Wide Gates
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Matthew 22:14
New Living Translation
14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
What caused such a thing? In my fall, do I commit myself to Lucifer/Satan/the Devil same guy, different names. Listen to me. Know who this is. He decided to take the throne of God and took a third of the angels with him to make the assault. It failed, clearly. God has brought him up on charges.
Isaiah 14:13-17
The Fall of Lucifer
For you have said in your heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north;
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’
Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,To the lowest depths of the Pit.
Sentencing is forever with the devil. This is the guy who owns the Black Forest. Let’s get a clear picture of what he was before the fall. He was beautiful, the most beautiful of all the angels.
Ezekiel 14-16
You were the anointed cherub who covers, And I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire.
You were blameless in your ways From the day you were created Until unrighteousness was found in you.
By the abundance of your trade You were internally filled with violence, And you sinned; Therefore I have cast you as profane From the mountain of God.
The devil had it all, I mean all, his name is Lucifer, according to the King James Bible-based Strong’s Concordance, the original Hebrew word means “shining one, light-bearer”, — God gave Him all — and with so much he became rotten. He wanted more. More, more and more. And now, he lost it all, and he’s damn sure to do the same for you, “God’s chosen,” he hates you and wants all of God’s precious children to fall and burn in hell along with him.
I should’ve been studying instead of anything else, looking to Him, instead of looking at me. A relationship with Him and the Word is a desperate connection and I didn’t have it. Without it, I will fail and I did. My time, wasted, given away, a destiny lost. I didn’t know the Word well enough to wield the weapon and the enemy took me like a weak little puppy — a warm summer night, a gentle breeze — strong, easy, cunning and full of lies, promises that can never come true.., I remember, the moment before it actually happened, the Word.., came to me. His voice in the wind of the Black Forest.
Psalm 119
The Message
119 You’re blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God. You’re blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him.
But it was too late. I’d lost my way and I knew it, I’d let go of all that could save me. I hear myself say for the first time:
“More is not better. Love what you have, take care of what you have and in the Lord’s time — when you’re ready he will take you where you are meant to be and protect you until then, stay the course…”
Oh my God, what have I done! What have I done.
1 Timothy 6:9
Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
I knew it was over, and I was lost — I’d finally gone too far and stupidly lost all common sense, and the payment was more than I could bear and yet it is mine to wear. And then after a long time, He spoke to me —
Jeremiah 29:11-32 New International Version (NIV)
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.
2 Corinthians 6:14
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
14 Do not be mismatched with unbelievers. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?
Again, at the time, with all of this now swirling around in my head, what does it matter, what did it matter. It’s too late, I’m already gone.., I am poison, tragedy, sadness, chaos, zero black, no color, no hope, destiny lost — God’s plan I’ve given away, the reality of the liar is me and now I belong to death — with all that I have been given.., this is what I chose, why?
John 8:43-45
English Standard Version
43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.
I’m crushed at my own insolence, the Lord has fairly judged me. Truth, I did not have Faith that I would be great simply as me. The me created by God. I broke my own heart listening to the serpent. Then, worse still, I recall a story…, a man named Lazarus — not the most famous who was raised from the dead, rather a different Lazarus, the story of a rich man and a beggar, who sat everyday by the gates of the city, and the rich simply walked by and ignored him — I’m terrified because I know what’s coming..
A parable of Jesus from the Gospel of Luke. Speaking to his disciples and some Pharisees, Jesus tells them about a rich man and this beggar named Lazarus. When both die, the rich man goes to Hell. Realizing where he is he sees across a great chasm where sits Abraham and Lazarus in Heaven. The rich man begs Abraham for a taste of water, just to touch his lips. Abraham tells him there is no way to cross the divide between them. Realizing this hideous fate, the rich man asks Abraham to send Lazarus be back to earth to warn the rich man’s family from sharing his fate. Abraham replies, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”
Oh, my God in Heaven, I understand.
Matthew 26:41
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Chapter 5 – The Black Forest – so what happened to me?
I fell.
I paid the price.
He rescued me.
Stay out of The Black Forest, there’s no guarantee you’ll ever come back. I’ve only known one, besides myself, I mentioned King Nebuchadnezzar. He got back, and like me, he didn’t forget it and it cost him 7 years of his life lost. Here is Nebuchadnezzar’s statement upon his return.
34 “After this time had passed, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven. My sanity returned, and I praised and worshiped the Most High and honored the one who lives forever.
His rule is everlasting, and his kingdom is eternal.
35
All the people of the earth are nothing compared to him. He does as he pleases among the angels of heaven and among the people of the earth. No one can stop him or say to him, ‘What do you mean by doing these things?’
Don’t gamble with your life and the lives of your children. I got lucky. However it cost me. It cost me — “time”
Was it worth it?
No.
What did I learn?
2 things.
Matthew 6:13
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
(When drifting, pray over and over)
Psalm 30:2
New International Version
Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me.
(I never forget, He came and rescued me
And then a madman restored)
I pray for my children everyday, always, no days off.
2 Corinthians 5:17
New International Version
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!
Amen.
