From the Treasury of Heaven: Peace

Proverbs 16:7
When a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him.


It has been written here in recent days that our witness to the world in these last days is our peace. While things go from bad to worse in the world and its people are wringing their hands and hanging their heads in despair, we who believe should be at peace.

Peace is one of the great treasures given to believers on this earth. What price, what dollar value can a person put on a heart that is at ease, resting, at peace? What would people pay for it if they could buy it? There is no dollar value because it is a treasure derived from a kingdom that is not of this world.

We read in Prov 16:7 that when a man's ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him. Another great treasure, enemies living at peace with us, yet how much of this treasure do we see in the world? We see many people at each other's throats, and many people who are not at peace and why is this?

When a man's ways are pleasing to the Lord...then he makes your enemy live at peace with you.

In recent days, I hear the Lord speaking of rest and peace. The world is boiling over, everything is falling apart, and the Lord is folding his hands, speaking peace to his people. What a marked contrast wouldn't you say? Again and again, the world is going in one direction and the Lord is heading in the opposite direction.

We who are sons of God should be seeking the Spirit of God...daily. The sons of God follow the Spirit wherever he goes:

Romans 8:14For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

What is the Spirit saying to the churches today?

Should not a people inquire of their God?

Isaiah 8:19 When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God?

1 Peter 3:14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened."

There certainly are frightful things coming upon this world, but they should frighten the unbeliever, not us. We have help that comes from beyond this world, why should we be afraid?

"Peace, peace, peace, be still...." This is what I hear the Spirit of God saying today.

May the Lord bless you and keep you, may his face shine upon you and may he grant you abundant peace.

Warn and Encourage

I ask the Lord frequently "what is your Spirit saying to us Lord?" He answers me in bits and pieces over the course of days. Today I believe I was impressed by His voice saying "warn those who can be warned, and encourage those who can be encouraged."

I ask Him frequently about the events in the world that we all see, like the oil spill, events in the middle east etc. I have to tell you that what I perceive from Him is the direct opposite of what we are seeing and hearing and reading from the world. Right now if I had to encapsulate in a few words what this sense is I have from the Lord it is peace and stillness. The following Words are a bullseye of where the Lord has been centered/hovering/pointing for many weeks now, at least as I perceive Him:

11The Lord spoke to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people. He said:

12“Do not call conspiracy

everything that these people call conspiracy;

do not fear what they fear,

and do not dread it.

13The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,

he is the one you are to fear,

he is the one you are to dread,

14and he will be a sanctuary;

but for both houses of Israel he will be

a stone that causes men to stumble

and a rock that makes them fall.

And for the people of Jerusalem he will be

a trap and a snare.

15Many of them will stumble;

they will fall and be broken,

they will be snared and captured.”

For people who are of this world, who love this world and the things in it, now is a time to fear. All the things men hope to get from this world are fading to a place where they are all out of reach. Instead of searching for something beyond what can be found in this world, these people throw themselves off of buildings and in front of trains.

The world is going into a tailspin, and far from being alarmed or excited I sense absolute stillness and peace from the Spirit of God. The end is not yet. Although I can assure you with 100% certainty that there will be an "escape from all" event (Luke 21:34-36), my belief is that we have to wait a little more for it. Don't misunderstand this, we must be ready for our Lord to show up tonight, but we probably have a little more waiting to do.

Each fall, the fall feasts that are so far unfulfilled wait for their fulfillment. This year, we are looking at:

Feast of Trumpets(Rosh Hashanah)begins September 8, ends Wednesday September 10, Friday.

Each and every year until our Lord shows up, I will be raising a flag during this time. If you are unfamiliar with the significance and relationship of the escape from all (harpazo/rapture) with the Jewish wedding ceremony and the feast of trumpets, I would highly encourage you to get to reasearching it. I will be posting more on that topic as we approach Rosh Hashanah 2010. As in previous years, I am predicting nothing, just that our alertness for our Lord's return should be greatly hightened during the time of the fall feasts.

I believe the Lord gave me a mind picture? years ago, of our face pressed right up against a razor thin piece of glass? seperating us from the time of Jacob's trouble. The significance of the picture is, it will require faith as we approach and step right up to the very minutes and seconds before all hell breaks loose before the great escape takes place (Luke 21:34-36).

People can argue about the timing of the rapture until they are blue in the face. What they cannot argue because they coflict with the Lord's own words is that there WILL BE an escape from all. Use the bible to interpret the bible. Noah and Lot are not condemned by today's "christians" as escapists, yet those who hold to the Lord's own words on this subject are condemned? PRAY that you may be counted worthy to escape ALL of what's about to happen (luke 21:34-36)...the LORD'S WORDS...not mine. Argue with that.

Recently the Lord brought to mind the "escape" of the people in Israel when the anti-christ is standing in the temple proclaiming himself to be god:

Matt 24:15When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: 17Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

Rev 12The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.

I find it amazing that today's "christian" opposition to the escape has no problem with with any of the other escape stories in the bible, but when it comes to escaping ALL that's about to happen, oh...they have problems. Lot escaped, Noah escaped, the children of Israel escaped Egypt for the promised land, Those in Judaea who flee to the desert will "escape," Elijah "escaped," The 24 elders sitting in heaven in Rev 4-5 with crowns on their heads who are redeemed, rewarded men, they all "escaped" the time of Jacob's trouble. And last but certainly not least, EVERY GENERATION OF MEN before this very last blip on the world's timeline, they ALL ESCAPED the tribultation, ALL OF THEM, by virtue of the fact that they lived before it.

If you listen to the tired arguments of men who rail against the "escape from all," they come up with all kinds of reasons why we in this last generation (likely) "need" to go through part or all of the time of Jacob's trouble. To make these arguments, they have to ignore the whole of human history, biblical history, and the Lord's OWN WORDS which tell us to right now, not tomorrow, PRAY FOR ESCAPE FROM ALL. How much clearer could He be? Yet many spurn such commands as if I or some other man issued the command? No, the Lord commanded, yet they mock the command, and they scorn the messengers who confirm and remind you of this command.

Matt 25 speaks to us of wise and foolish virgins. The foolish were not, and are not ready. When the Lord shows up for his bride, and its at a time that the foolish did not expect, they will be left behind and the door in heaven will be shut. Re-read Matt 25 and Rev 4. When the Lord showed up thousands of years ago in the flesh, the people of Israel did not recognize Him. They were not ready for Him because they knew neither the Son nor the Father. If they did, they would have been ready. So too, today, many are not ready. Many are the foolish virgins who mock and scorn the Lord's own command for us to pray for escape. On the day that these men are knocking and pleading for the Lord to open the door (Matt 25), we will see who the wise and the foolish are.

If the Lord said it, He meant it, period. If He said something will happen, it will happen, period. Many are those today because they are so "learned" and have studied all the so called wise men of this age ("scholars") tell us that the bible can no longer be read and taken at face value. The bible no longer means what it says as a child would understand it because the "wise men" of today's age say that the bible means something different.

Those who do not enter the kingdom of heaven like LITTLE CHILDREN will not enter it at all. Perhaps today's "wise men" masquerading as "pastors" and "scholars" need to unlearn what men have taught them and pay heed to what the Spirit is speaking to the churches today. These men would do well to humble themselves and take the attitude and perspective of little children.

Matthew 18:3 ... And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Today is a day to warn those who can be warned, and encourage those who can be encouraged. My sense of the Lord's direction to us today is to be at peace. Do not fear what they fear. As things go from bad to worse, our witness to this world is our peace in the midst of the storm. People will run from you if you pull a bible out during a conversation but when they are around you and you are at peace while they cannot sleep at night for fear, and they live in a constant state of anxiety, they will see you and what lives in you and wonder..."what is it that they have, or that they know? I think I want some of it..."

Be at peace, stay in the Word, keep the faith. Be patient, we may have quite awhile to wait, or we may be out of here tonight. About times and date I need not write to you :-)

Blessed be His name, grace and peace

And Now These Three Remain....

1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

I've been peppering the Lord with questions over the past weeks. I've been asking Him, what are your thoughts on the BP oil spill? What should we/I be doing? Where is your Spirit today, what is the Spirit saying to us today? Etc, etc.

It never ceases to amaze me how the Lord responds. In the bible people would ask Jesus questions, and He would seemingly answer in a way that was "out in left field." The Lord does not think the way we think....

Isaiah 55:8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are
your ways my ways," declares the LORD.

Apparently our answers to prayer come the same way today as they did in Daniels day, by angelic messenger:

Daniel 10:12Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. 13But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. 14Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.”

I say this because I ask, and ask the Lord lots of questions, and He responds, and responds, over a period of days. Very rarely do I get an instant response. Remember this the next time you don't think the Lord speaks to you. Our God is constantly speaking in various ways, and at various times. Be patient...

Now, to the point. I ask the Lord about the BP oil spill and what He's saying today, I ask "how do you see what's going on in the Gulf Lord?" How does He respond?

1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

So.., what does this ^^ have to do with the oil spill and the world coming unraveled at the seams? If you are watching as we are commanded to do..

Mark 13:37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: 'Watch!'"

You will see people putting guns to their face and pulling the trigger (in the news of course), you will see that people are jumping in front of trains and off buildings. Why, would someone do these things?

Lack of faith, hope and love....

As the world comes unraveled, things will apparently go from bad to worse.

Luke 21:26 People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the earth, for the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the earth....

The economy has been and continues to be in the tank. We've got natural and unnatural disasters everywhere we look. People's sense of being "in control" is quickly slipping away, which brings us squarely to the point that I believe the Lord was making to me in response to prayer.

The world is spinning out of control and our witness to the world is these three things that remain...faith, hope, and love. We can point out that the book of Revelation is being fulfilled before their very eyes, and people will shrug it off. It's unbelievable but its true. "Christians" the world over are being taught by their hired hand spiritual gurus "pastors" that the book of Revelation cannot be taken literally, therefore nobody can be sure at any time that the Lord's Word is being fulfilled to the letter.

People may be able to shrug off literal fulfillment of every Word written in the bible, but what they will not be able to shrug off is that when all of humanity is staring hell on earth in the face, there will be some....FEW....who will stare the hopelessness, faithlessness, and lack of love down. These few will be full of faith, hope and love in a world that is in a flat spin, out of control. They will ask "how can this person be so full of life and joy in the midst of the world being destroyed?" They will ask "where does their peace come from?"

It will not be some guy handing out tracts on a street corner, or someone going door to door,or some guy standing above you, looking down at you while pontificating in a one way conversation (pastors, sermons, church "services")that witnesses to this lost and dying world. People want peace, not the absence of war type, but the inner tranquility and power type. Every single thing a person does in this life is in some way or another a way to make themself happy. Ask why a person does something, and keep asking "why do you do that?" and follow up with "and why do you do that?" And eventually at the end you'll get to "...I just want to be happy."

The Word of the Lord does not speak to us of being "happy" but it speaks alot on peace, and joy, and hope, and faith. What does a person look like that is overflowing with peace, joy, hope and faith? The wicked despise such people because such people have a treasure that cannot be bought with filthy mammon. Such people have a treasure that is stored and secured in a kingdom that is not of this world.

The Lord spoke clearly to me, these things remain, faith, hope and love. As the world spins out of control, we who are salt and light must continue to preserve (salt) and cast light or "illuminate" (as in the true God's light, not the luciferian lie). What the Lord tells us to do is not overwhelming, it is not complex, it is not hard to understand. We grasp the things we are to do like little children, not like the so called "scholars" of this age who are coming to nothing. We must focus on the few things that are necessary, and discard the many things that are unnecessary. Hold on to your faith, hope and love. Be a light that is set up on a hill for all to see:

Luke 8:16 No man, when the light is lighted, puts a cover over it, or puts it under a bed,but he puts it on its table, so that those who come in may see the light.

You don't have to beat people over the head with your bible today to get their attention. They will probably not say anything to you, but your hope and love will (in some cases) be the tools that open a person to asking about your faith. Don't try to figure it all out, just be open to the Lord and keep your thinking simple, like a child. Ask the Lord every day, "where is your Spirit today and what is your Spirit doing and saying today?"

Why should we care about where the Spirit is operating today, and what He is doing and saying?

Romans 8:14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

In order for the Spirit to lead, you have to follow. A people should inquire of their God. We who are the people of God should be praying continously with all kinds of prayers and requests.

Ephesians 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.

Bottom line? What we have to do today, and in the days ahead is simple....These things remain, faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these is love. Keep your walk simple, few things are required. Focus on the vital few and discard the trivial many. Bless the name of the Lord, praise Him and rejoice.

These are the things I hear the Spirit saying today.

Keep the faith, grace and peace

"I Just Want My Life Back"

The CEO of BP was recently quoted as saying something like he wants the oil spill to be over with so he can "have his life back," or something to that effect.

The Lord dropped a bunch of things into my heart rapid fire this morning as I was driving home, and a good way to start off is with that quote.

People have been saying for years now, as the world has steadily deteriorated "I just want my life back." It's been housing, the stock market, jobs, floods, earthquakes, war, now this oil mess. This is what the Lord shed light on with me:

A different perspective on:
Luke 17:26“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

What I believe the Lord impressed upon me about this "eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage" text is that I always took it as days of business as usual, and that's it. What I see now is that in spite of the world deteriorating all around them, people don't want to hear about prophesy,the end times or the true God. People could care less, what they want is....drum roll please............"their life back.." You know, back when they were not constantly confronted with these "end times problems." People are trying so hard to just focus on "eating and drinking, planting and building, buying and selling, marrying and giving in marriage." They are trying so hard to act like everything is okay and things will get back to "normal" if they just wait it all out.

Sadly, the bible does not predict people "getting their life back." It predicts "losing your life to save it." Again, 180 degrees out of sync with the thinking of this world. There's a way to deal with the end times and its not anxiety or fear or worry. There's a way to stare everything that is coming on this world straight in the face and retain our joy and peace, but its not by thinking or acting or believing like the world does.

We are told here:

Luke 21:34“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. 35For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

There is an escape from all coming, that's a stated biblical fact. We are to pray for escape, thats another stated biblical fact. Those who choose not to pray for escape from all, have an obedience issue with God that if left uncorrected, could cost them DEARLY in the days ahead.

Luke 21 appears to be ripe with meaning for us today, for those who have the eyes to see. Rewind back from Luke 21:36 a few paragraphs to this:

Luke 21:25“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Signs in the sun?

How about this for a headline out of this week's news:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20627640.800-whats-wrong-with-the-sun.html?full=true

What's wrong with the sun?

and a quote from the article:

"This is solar behaviour we haven't seen in living memory," says David Hathaway, a physicist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Haven't seen this kind of activity from the sun in living memory huh? NASA scientist said this....interesting. The bible tells us there will be signs in the sun moon and stars, but they will all be easily dismissable by those who have explanations for everything! Just like the way the oil disaster is unfolding before our eyes, everything is so explanable. We can see bibilical prophesy happen word for word right down to the nitty gritty details and people will still roll their eyes and try desperately to get back to "getting their life back."

Even when the events prophesied thousands of years ago are kicking people in the teeth over and over and over again. When objective and verifiable evidence is flashing across newscreens daily screaming at people, they'll roll their eyes and get back to "getting their life back."

Part of the problem with people admitting that the Word of God is coming true before their eyes is that they will then have to come to terms with the God who wrote and is the Word. That is something that people have had a problem with for a long long time. People like their religion, they like their social clubs, they even enjoy playing church, but when it comes to standing face to face with the consuming fire, the Holy One who will expose all their pet sins, well, that can wait for another day.....as we see here:

Isaiah 30:8Go now, write it on a tablet for them,

inscribe it on a scroll,

that for the days to come

it may be an everlasting witness.

9These are rebellious people, deceitful children,

children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction.

10They say to the seers,

“See no more visions!”

and to the prophets,

“Give us no more visions of what is right!

Tell us pleasant things,

prophesy illusions.

11Leave this way,

get off this path,

and stop confronting us

with the Holy One of Israel!”

All appearances are that these people who are doggedly determined to wait things out to "get their life back," are in for a long wait. The things I've read about whats happening in the Gulf of Mexico scream out that whatever is happening, it is going to be on a biblical scale. There are scenarios that experts who will never be mentioned by the media say could be apocalyptic.

We recently looked at Revelation 8:

8The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, 9a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

Here's our checklist so far:
and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea->complete (oil rig before sinking).

A third of the sea turned into blood-> in progress, the oil in the water looks like what? Blood...

9a third of the living creatures in the sea died-> in progress, give it time..

, and a third of the ships were destroyed.-> This was the one I thought, I just can't imagine how this whole oil leak thing could destroy a third of the ships? Lo and behold, each day new articles are shedding light on what's going on in the gulf. I seem to remember BP didn't want to bring their own ships in right after the rig blew and I wondered why? Possibly the same reason all the fisherman are getting sick? Still, that would just be dead sailors, what about the ships? Now we read about possible radioactive oil coming out of the depths? We read about methane blowouts from the well that could cause a 600 mph wall of water death across the ocean? Are we getting any traction here on possible loss of ships? Yep, its possible.

As we continue in Rev 8, what do we find?

10The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water— 11the name of the star is Wormwood.a A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.

Bitter waters huh? A great star? What does the bible call angels? STARS
We don't have to leave the book of Revelation for this proof:

Rev 1:19“Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 20The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

And Wormwood? Remember Chernobyl? Nuclear? Radioactive oil? Food for thought.

The last thing the Lord impressed on me was this, again from Luke 21:

Luke 21:25“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.

One of the things the Holy Spirit does is bring to our mind remembrance of what has been written.

John 14:26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father ... But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach
you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

Back to Luke 21:25....“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. As we see the maritime drama playing out in our news daily, it should bring into focus for us what has been written. We can expect more drama from the sea, the Holy Word says its coming. It's going to be really hard for all the people who "just want their life back" to do so when men are "fainting from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world.."

The talking heads of TV will try to explain it all away for you. They have an endless supply of meaningless drivel to spoon feed you every day while the bible unfolds, word for precious word before the eyes of mankind.

My disclaimer in all of this is I am not predicting anything. I have eyes, and a God given mind, and I too have the Spirit of God living within me, as was promised to all true believers. I have a bible in one hand and eyes that are going back and forth from the Word of God to the events around me. What I am seeing is hitting "center mass" as we liked to say in the military with what the Word says would happen. All this, predicted thousands of years ago. Someone please compute the Vegas odds on that....

The Word of God is true, and it is vindicating itself before the eyes of man each and every day now. Blessed be the name of the Lord Jesus.

grace and peace

The Small Gate and Narrow Path

Matt 7:13“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Only a few find the narrow gate that leads to life...Not my words, His Word. Many years ago, the Lord burdened me with these words which is why you see them come up here over and over again. I have asked the Lord repeatedly, "Why Lord?"

Today in prayer I asked the Lord for a word for you. This is what I was given:

How do we get into and through the narrow gate that leads to life? Here, at least in part is an answer: 2 Peter 5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

10Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I find it interesting that within this portion of scripture where we are told how to get into the kingdom of heaven, we are also given words that directly conflict with the doctrine of demons known as "once saved always saved." We are told here to "make our calling and election sure." If our calling and election was made sure 10 years ago during some 5 second teary eyed "decision for Jesus" then why are we told to continually "make our calling and election sure?" And we are told to be "eager" to do this. We are also told "IF" you do these things....If? Yea, you know, that conditional word IF....you do these things then you will never fall...

If YOU DO these things.....THEN you will never fall. The Lord is clearly telling us here that there are things we do (or not) that have a direct connection to us "never falling."

So why is it that many go through the broad gate that leads to destruction and only a few make it through the small gate on the narrow path that leads to life? The obvious reason is, that people are not eagerly making their calling and election sure. They are taking for granted that the doctrine of demons known as OSAS will be enough, because some "pastor" corporate church CEO told them it was the truth.

The Lord told us that few are going to make it, should we not ask why? WHY? Or is that a question we would rather have answered on judgement day? We are told to eagerly make our calling and election sure by: adding to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.

What are we told next? 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So, this lines us up perfectly with another theme the Lord weighs upon me, the parable of the talents, Matt 25. That parable which you can read for yourself tells us that we are expected to do something with what we have been given. We are to be fruitful with the fruit of the Spirit, which is: Gal 5:22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

The parable of the talents tell us that we are to produce based on what was given. Some have been given more, some less, but we are all told to produce, in increasing measure with what we have been given. In this way we do make our calling and election sure, because we do so purposefully and eagerly. The comfort I see in the parable of the talents is, everyone who did something with what they were given were told "well done." It was only the person who buried their talent in the ground, did nothing with it that was punished.

Why should we be concerned with the answer to why so few will be saved? Because at all costs, we MUST be found worthy of being part of the few. What else on earth is more important than being found worthy of Christ Jesus' kingdom? Nothing is more important. Todays corporate church CEO's (pastors) sing the people a lullaby. "Don't worry," they say...."Just be a good person, continue to pay your tithe (as if a "pastor" was a levitical priest and entitled to a "tithe"), and continue to "go to church" (instead of being the church, "and everything will be A-ok!"

WHY did all of the Israelites who fled Egypt in glory, die in the desert and only two adults (Numbers 32:10-12) were counted worthy to enter the promised land? WHY was Israel scattered to the nations again and again as punishment for their thoughts and deeds? WHY were the prophets sent again and again to the people and the people killed them? WHY are only a FEW told in Rev 2 that they are worthy to walk with Jesus clothed in white? WHY are we told in Matt 7:13-14 that only a few will make it through the small gate that leads to life. Why will many stand before the Lord on "that day" and be told Matt 7:21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Or do we not care about the answers to these questions? "Oh," they say "but brother D, that would give me a "spirit of fear" if I stopped to think about such things!" Such people indict themselves because they have not love enough to drive out such fear so they may know the truth:

1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out ... There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to
do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

and this ^^^^ brings us full circle right back to where we started today...which was here:

5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.

The end of all this is LOVE. Not as the world loves, but a love that was born in God, exists in God and is God. A perfect love that drives out fear, enabling us to know and love the truth, and that truth sets us free and that truth saves us:

John 8:32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

2 Thessalonians 2:10 They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

This one is a real hammer ^^^^ notice the words "love" "truth" and "saved" all in the same sentence? Think there's something to this? I do.

These were the thoughts I believe the Lord impressed upon me today. May the Lord bless you and keep you, may His face shine upon you and may He grant us all peace. Blessed be His name.

An Amazing Conversation

I was speaking with a lady at work recently and I was absolutely stunned by her thoughts. A preface to this is she attends a large non-denominational "christian" church. We were dicussing the BP oil spill and I was mentioning how the oil looks like blood in the water, the increasing death of sea life etc when she said "oh, the book of Revelation cannot be read literally!" At which time I asked her, "ok, so even if you see a literal mountain all ablaze fall into the sea, if the sea literally turns into blood, when a third of the sea life literally dies, when a third of the ships in the sea are destroyed, when you have objective, empirical, measurable, verifiable EVIDENCE that matches one for one exactly with what the bible says, you still won't believe?" Her answer? "No."

This lady and her large "church" just finished going through the entire book of Revelation so "she knows" what the Lord means now.....The awesome part of this is that apparently for people like this lady, there is no evidence, nothing that would convince her now or at any point in the future that the events of Revelation are unfolding before her very eyes. When I asked her "what's the use of the Lord giving us any prophesy then if only God knows what and when things are happening in the world and the words mean nothing for us?" She replied "we don't need to know, it doesn't matter even if the book of Revelation is unfolding before us, we just need to do good things and be good people..." WOWWWWWWW. She went on to say that if we are living a good life, the entire book of Revelation is "meaningless" for us as Christians today. Meaningless? That's a quote word for word from her mouth and she was serious. I almost had to wet the tip of my finger and stick it in an electrical socket to snap out of that tailspin...

So now we have "church people" who propose to represent Christianity to the world who deny that literal fulfillment of anything that was written means anything. That's awesome. Let me tell you why I believe the Lord's Word coming to pass means something......the word is called vindication.

From Merriam-Webster: Main Entry: vin·di·ca·tion
Pronunciation: \ˌvin-də-ˈkā-shən\ Function: noun date: 1613
: an act of vindicating : the state of being vindicated; specifically : justification against denial or censure : defense

This thought has been simmering in my mind for weeks now. The Lord has fully vindicated his Word in my life. That means his Word has been proven true and faithful to the point where I consider it absolute fact. He has vindicated his Word to me, and I believe that the events unfolding all around us in the world today give us more vindication, or proof that the Word of the Lord is true. The fact that we see literal fulfillment of the Word of God does matter.

When the Word of God is being literally fulfilled before our eyes, should we not say something (as the Spirit leads us to) to the lost and dying in this world? Like "hey, gosh, all this stuff happening around us was written in this book, you might want to pick it up and read it sometime." We need not say these things in a harsh or sarcastic way, but in a way that may just inspire them to investigate the narrow path that leads to life (Matt 7:13-14).

It was mentioned here recently that the BP oil spill looks alot like the unfolding of Revelation 8:

8The second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood, 9and a third of the creatures which were in the sea and had life, died; and a third of the ships were destroyed.
10The third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of waters. 11The name of the star is called Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the waters, because they were made bitter.

A great mountain burning with fire thrown into the sea: did you see the oil rig before it sank?

A third of the sea became blood: have you seen what that oil looks like floating around in the Gulf?

A third of the creatures in the sea died: have you seen what's been happening to the sea life as a result of this spill?

Granted, I haven't seen any ships destroyed and I am not saying that we are seeing the fulfillment of Revelation 8. What I am saying is, the wording matches closely with what we are seeing. I also believe this is a time to learn. We are seeing how the world reacts to events that mirror those that will occur during the time of Jacob's trouble. Notice that in all the coverage, all the press conferences, all the finger pointing, all the hardships, no mention of God or his word....anywhere. Very instructive.

Based on what we are seeing, a disaster on a global scale and the attendant response, the Lord and his Holy Word will not be mentioned when angels are flying through the earth proclaiming the gospel, when the two witnesses are standing in Jerusalem calling down plagues on the world, and when the anti-christ is literally fulfilling the bible word for word.

Back to literal interpretations...

We are told that those who will not accept the kingdom of heaven like little children will never enter it. Children know literal. If I tell my son that when it rains outside he gets a piece of candy, then after the first drop of rain falls he'll be tugging on my shirt with that look in his eyes "where's my candy daddy?" He doesn't look outside and think "the falling rain is really symbolic of the tears of all the sad and weary in the world and my hypothesis of the way the wind blows the rain, causing it to fall this way is blah blah blah blah blah therefore my dad is not going to give me a piece of candy because although I see with my own eyes that it is raining, he didn't really mean what he said when he said I'd get a piece of candy when it started to rain..." How blind people can be. If it looks like moutain all ablaze falling into the sea, and a third of the sea turns as blood, and a third of the sealife dies, and a third of the ships is destroyed, people might be wise to disregard their "symbolic" interpretations of the bible and get ready for Revelation 9, 10, 11 etc. Call me crazy...

Only the Lord knows how this oil spill is going to pan out for the world. Not one "expert" knows in the entire world, not one has stepped forward to tell us what the years ahead will look like with the Gulf tarred over. Even if what we are seeing is not Revelation, it is "revelation" to the world that without our Lord this place is in big trouble. That leads me to the last point that I believe the Spirit of God impressed on me recently. The Lord protects and guards those who love him. The Lord has protected nations and individuals in the past. It appears that what has been allowed to happen (oil spill) may not have been allowed to happen (the Lord's restraining power might have prevented it) had we the people of the United States been faithful. As things stand, the United States is a filthy cesspool of every unclean thing, the major exporter of war and porn and death and moral degradation (think Hollywood) in the world today. People's faith is in government and BP's response, the stock market, their 401k and who is going to win the Superbowl this year.

It takes faith the size of a mustard seed to move a mountain. Matthew 17:20 I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Faith the size of a mustard seed....when is the last time you saw a mountain moved in your own life? Is Jesus being literal or symbolic when he says we can move mountains? I can tell you from first hand experience, he meant what he said. I have seen mountains moved, the Lord's Word has been vindicated and will be vindicated in the days ahead.

I wonder how much time the world has left. Although I am 100% certain that we will see a pre-tribulation rapture/escape from all/harpazo of the true church, when that will happen is a mystery. As I read the writings of Christian men going back hundreds of years, I see the same thoughts on paper that we are thinking to ourselves now. The world has gone apostate and the end must be near. Well, for those thinking those thoughts in the 1800's, they were off by a couple hundred years....what's the lesson for us? Patience.

The stage appears to be set for the end times to play out, yet alot of what we are seeing in Satan rattling his cage wanting to get out to do his end times act. His problem is that the Lord determines the timing of things and Satan can only guess at the Lord's timing. I have been convinced for years that what we are seeing play out in the world can only go on for a short time then the end will have to come, but today is just like yesterday. The economy is tanking and it has been for years. The world is wicked and getting more wicked as it has for years. What should we conclude from these things?

Rev 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

2 Thessalonians 1:4 Therefore, among God's churches we boast about ... ... So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and
faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: ...

2 Peter 1:6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control ... ... and in your knowledge self-control; and in your'self-control patience; and in your patience godliness; ...

Luke 21:19 By standing firm you will gain life. ... In your patience possess ye your souls. ... In your patience possess you your souls. ...

Revelation 2:2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your ... ... I know your works, and your labor, and your patience, and how you can not bear them which are evil: and you have tried them which say they are apostles, and

We need to be ready tonight for the Lord to come back for us. We also need to be ready to wait patiently for years....In our patience we posses our souls. We have no need to be alarmed by what the media is saying, what the government is doing, how corrupt the corporations of the world are, how UFO's are being spotted all over the world. These things have gone on for years and will go on for years unless the Lord steps in soon to start the clock on Jacob's time of trouble.

One day, it will be abundantly clear to those who doubted what the Lord meant when He said things in His Word. I'm sure some things written in the bible are symbolic, but there are many many many things that were written to us to take at face value. We ignore literal interpretations of the bible at our own peril. We interpret the Word of God with the assistance of the SPIRIT OF GOD, not through "christian" scholarship. We enter the kingdom of God like little children, not like Th. D, ABCD degree holding clergy members. When the world is heading a certain direction, we of the kingdom not of this world should 9 times out of 10 be headed in the exact opposite direction.

grace, peace and love

Thoughts About the BP Oil Spill

A ship's wake cuts through a pattern of oil near the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico Monday, May 17, 2010. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Here are just 2 of the many photos we can find on the net showing us the oil in the Gulf. We also know from news reports that once this oil hits the fast moving ocean currents it can and will spread throughout the the world. Which leads me to this:

Revelation 8:8-9
And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died;

Now think hard about this...how would John (who saw the visions of Revelation) describe 1. The oil rig sitting above water before it sunk while it was an inferno after the initial blast? A mountain burning with fire? Do we really have to be creative to link the two or are the similarities right in our face? I'm just asking....

How about "the sea became blood?" Have you looked at what that oil looks like in the seawater? Blood? Almost exactly like blood...I'm just observing here. Again, little creativity needed for a 1:1 likeness.

I'm also interested at the fact of how this disaster is being reported in the media. Today is a foreshadowing of how all the disasters we see coming in the book of Revelation will be reported and presented to the people of the world. No way "God" or the bible will be mentioned, even when the exact matches to the Word of God are slapping people across the face. CNN and MSN and FAUX news will be reporting everything but the exact match between what's happening and what the Word of God predicted would happen thousands of years ago.

Am I saying that we are witnessing Revelation 8 before our eyes? Nope. What I'm saying is its an exact dead on match and you decide what it means or doesn't mean. We all decide for ourselves.

What else do we see today in the news? Dead fish and birds and everything else that used to live in the water? Yep. Wow, what a coincidence huh? And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died....so as the dead sealife mounts and mounts and mounts, will we EVER hear anyone admit that "hey, did that old book predict this thousands of years ago? Yea, what's that book called again? Oh yea, the bible..." Oh yea....

The Word of God is accurate, down to the letter. Since no man has been found to stop the flow of oil into the gulf, and there are hundreds of millions of gallons left to come out of that great cavern in the earth into the sea, would it really be such a great mental leap to say that maybe a third of the life in the seas may die before our very eyes, like.....soon. Not a big stretch at all, but I'm not saying this will happen, again, I'm just observing. You can decide for yourself.

Watch this video and keep in mind the exact wording of Rev 8:8-9.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iSTpxkaGWM

Another thought is that if we are seeing Rev 8 play out, what does that say about the book of Revelation itself? Accurate? Yea, but another insight would be..its not written chronologically...That leads us down an entire slew of questions and answers in itself. I'm not going there now.

I'm tired, the Lord is good and His Word, which is Jesus Christ, can be trusted to the uttermost. Keep the faith. Grace, peace and love.

Few Will Be Saved, Fear, Faith, Love

I was thinking about the post yesterday regarding Matt 7:13-14:

Matt 7:13“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14“For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

For those who say you can't determine meanings from one piece of scripture, I would agree which is why yesterday we discussed only 2 out of all Israel who left Egypt went into the promised land, Israel over and over wiped out by the Lord and only a remnant saved, Matt 7:13-14 and the related texts in Mark, Luke and John, as well as the place we quoted in Rev 3 saying that out of an entire geographic church (Sardis) only a few were found worthy. The theme is as consistent as it is solid in the Bible.

But that ^^ is not what this writer needs to convey today. I believe the Lord spoke to me today (again) about this issue. What came across to me is that people willfully turn away from the truths in the Word of God that they don't like for a number of reasons. People choose to not love the whole truth in favor of a partial truth that is no truth at all. These are the people spoken about here:

2 Thessalonians 2:10 and in every sort of evil that deceives those ... ... He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction,
because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them.

People say "well that piece of scripture would give me a "spirit of fear" if I really thought on it, so it cant be the truth." To that I would say, no, it does not give you a spirit of fear, God's Word never gives a spirit of fear. Its not what they have (a spirit of fear) that causes their fear, its what they do not have (a spirit of love) that causes the fear. The lack of love is what causes people to shy away from the whole counsel of God. These people would not be afraid of the full counsel of God if their love was made perfect. How can we say that?:

1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out ... There is no fear in love. ... Rather, perfect love banishes fear, for fear involves
punishment, and the person who lives in fear has not been perfected in love.

When our love is what it should be, we no longer need buffet style babylonian churchianity, we can embrace true christianity, which is all about love. Yes, there will be judgement, and wrath and all kinds of other things that proceed from our loving God in the future, because He is not a one dimensional God as so many today would paint him. For us though, who are "in Christ," we should have the fear of God. The fear of God is not like the fear in the world. We have a healthy awe and respect for our God because He is awesome.

Another companion of our love, is our faith. We love and believe and these things enable us to embrace the full counsel of God, which is by definition the truth. And it is the truth that 1. sets us free, and 2. saves us:

John 8:32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

2 Thessalonians 2:10 and in every sort of evil that deceives those ... ... They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

From the things we see here today, we understand that there are some harsh truths in the bible, like few will be saved, but these truths which are hard for the unbelievers, the backslidden and the apostate, are not hard for us who love and believe "in Christ."

We must embrace the whole counsel of God, the full truth so we can be free and be saved. These thoughts were on my mind today. Blessed be the name of the Lord, AMEN.

grace, peace, truth and love~brother d

The Called Out Ones

In the bible the word for church is ekklēsia, which comes from the word "ek" and the word "kaleo." Those words put together mean "call out of" or "called out from." Interesting words the Lord uses for the church don't you think? We are "called out from" the masses of humanity to be His, but the story doesn't stop there.

Among the "called out" ones, there is a sub-group that is "called out" amongst the "called out ones." That is, among the church, or ek-klesia, there is a smaller group....a few....that are called out. I believe another word for this group is The Bride of Christ. Where has this been said? Let's find out.

A perpetual question I raise with the Lord is WHY Lord? Why will only a few be saved (Matt 7:13-28)? I'm not sure that what you are reading here is an answer to that question, but it is part of the "how" it has worked itself out through the ages. The Lord destroyed Israel over and over and over again, each time saving a remnanat..a few. We read in Matt, Mark and Luke that a few will find there way through the small gate that leads to life.

The "church" may be counted as many, just as Israel blanketed the land when they left Egypt, but how many out of the massive throng that left Egypt entered the promised land? Two.

When we read the book of Revelation we see words like these:

To the Church in Sardis

1“To the angela of the church in Sardis write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven spiritsb of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. 3Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.

4Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. 6He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Out of the entire church in Sardis, few had not soiled their clothes, meaning few were found worthy to walk with Jesus dressed in white, for they are worthy...

Worthiness? Yep, an important word also found here:

Luke 21:34And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. 35For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

The church is called out of the world, and out of the church. Apparently few are accounted worthy of salvation, the rapture etc. Make of this what you will, but we ignore these things at our own peril. The Lord gave me these thoughts as I was sitting in an airplane flying at 36,000 feet flying coast to coast today.

Grace and peace

The Moment to Moment Walk With God

The Lord just gave me an addition to the previous post (find the Spirit of God). As we act to follow the Spirit of God, we do that on a moment to moment basis. Remember "give us this day our daily bread?" Breakfast is served in the morning, not at noon or in the evening, likewise lunch is not served in the morning. Breakfast? Lunch? Yes, the right thing served at the right time.

He also impressed me with the need for us to overcome ourselves. That means doing things when most of the time we don't "feel like it." If we act in spite of the fact that we don't "feel like it," the Lord will honor that and reward us every time. If we act in spite of ourselves, the Lord will provide. Once we take that first step past "I don't feel like it," the Lord steps in and begins providing stregth, motivation and everything else we need to do what has to be done.

Another point brought to my mind has to do with being "overweight." There is a physical example that illustrates a deeper truth. This writer has recently lost around 30 pounds. The Lord pointed out to me how my face and body have changed in the process. As I lose all the "excess weight" I come closer and closer into alignment with who I am supposed to be. When I see how I was supposed to be, I have more joy, I am in a state that gives me equilibrium, inside world matches outside world. The point here is that there is more to "weight down" a person than fat around the midsection. There are many "weights" that we are to shed to become light and free, what we are supposed to be. Here, this is illustrated for us:

Luke 21:34“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. 35For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

Do you see those key words in there? WEIGHED DOWN....Seems to me that many of us need to go on "diets." What causes us to become anxious about life? The entire mass media corptocracy? Yea? Then get rid of it. When we are weighed down, we are not who we are supposed to be, just as I look and feel different when I am 30 pounds lighter, so this applies with everything else..

What is weighing us down? Whatever it is, it is stealing from us, and it may deprive us from being counted worthy of the escape from all the IS coming, you can bet on it.

I had to write this before I forgot what was given. grace and peace

Find the Spirit of God

Recently I believe the Lord impressed on me the need for us to be seeking..daily for the Spirit of God. Why, you might ask, do we need to "find him" daily? Because our God is doing new things daily, that's why. Our God is moving and doing in marvelous new ways each and every day, but the people who become mired in their ways, also known as "ruts" and "denominations" and every other organization made by man, they tend to find something, even things of God, then build walls and trenches around it and denominationalize it. This is especially true of the "non denominational" churches who like to point the finger at everyone else and say "see! We aren't like those old fogey methodists or lutherans or catholics, no...we're different see!" Different? Not really, all toay's "non denominational" churches have done is build "micro denominations" around their rock star "pastors" or whatever they call themselves these days, then proceed to build the same walls and fences around themselves to glorify themselves and whatever truth they may have found in our God.

The Spirit of God is living and active, and we must find him. Really? Yep, read this:

Romans 8:14because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

To be led, means you are going somewhere...and todays micro-denomination "non-denomination" churches have walls and trenches dug around them so nobody will escape them. What happens when the Spirit of God wants to do something new, somewhere else? Then what? Then the walls of todays churches become tombs where the living dead meet where the Spirit of God has gone somewhere else, doing something else. The nicolatian pastors and priests find themselves trapped by this because to say that the Spirit has moved on to do something else, somewhere else, would be to collapse the walls of their multi-million dollar buildings and "their" ministries, and "their" kingdoms etc etc. When the Spirit moves on, the people who have set themselves up as leaders must become followers again, which results in a loss of pride, money (oh no!), glory, etc etc. Which is why these people build walls, and which is why they inhabit grave yards. Humility is one of the keys to being accepted by our God, without it, the race is over before it started:

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart, these O God, You will not despise." (Ps. 51:17)

We must find the Spirit of God, we must maintain humble and contrite hearts before him so we are not despised of the very God we seek.

Prov 8:34 Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.

We are to be watching daily at his doors...why? Why wait at his doors and not our doors? Because when his door is opened and he goes one way or another, we need to be there to see what he's doing and where he is going. It is true that the Lord may pitch a camp for a time and stay in one place doing a certain thing, but he can "pull up stakes" and move down the road to do something new at any time. He can do this and He does do this.

This leads me to a second point that the Lord has impressed upon me recently. That is, how can it seem like the Spirit of God is speaking and moving amongst apostate churches? Is it true that the Lord still walks and talks among churches who are filled with people that will not inherit salvation, will not be counted worthy of the escape from all (luke 21:36) etc etc?

It wasn't until recently that the Lord showed me that he indeed does work in churches that are completely apostate from the ground up. That was a real revelation to me, and it is not an endorsement of apostate christianity today, rather its a terribly frightening warning. What kind of deception is it when people can "go to church" and see the real, true, authentic Spirit of God moving among them, and yet their souls are in real danger of being lost forever? It looks real, sounds real, feels real, but its not real. The Spirit is real, but everything else is not..how can that be?

There are many places in the bible where we are shown how this works:

Matt 13:24Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

27“The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

28“‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

29“‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. 30Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

Notice the words Jesus uses here, let them both grow together until the harvest, the good and the bad...Now notice specifically, they both grow together. If they are both growing together that means that the same sun, water, fertilizer, etc is used on both the wheat and the tare. The same Spirit of God that waters and gives light to the wheat, is also given to the tare.

Mark 13:22 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect--if that were possible.

Now this is going to take us right back to a foundational issue for why this writing was started years ago. It began with a question "WHY will so few be saved?" WHY is the road so narrow? WHY will MANY go through the wide gate that leads to destruction? WHY was only a remnant saved out of Israel again and again and again throughout its history?

How deceptive is it when the true Spirit of God speaks through wicked men? Go back and read the story of Balaam, he started out decent enough, he refused to curse the people of Israel, but eventually his story ends up with us reading this of him

2 Peter 2:15 They have left the straight way and wandered off to ... They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness.

What happens when people follow men instead of the Spirit of God? Balaam spoke with the very Spirit of the living God speaking through him, but what would happen to all those who followed BALAAM instead of the Spirit of God?

For those who would argue, "but that was Old Testament brother D, that can't happen to us anymore, we're different!" I submit this for your consideration:

Rev 2:14Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. 15Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

Wow, double whammy here, the teaching of Balaam and the teaching of the Nicolaitans, the Lord does not appear pleased....these are not separate problems, they are two sides of the same coin, following MEN instead of the Spirit of God will cause you some real trouble at some time in the future..

Find the Spirit of God

The sons of God are led by the Spirit of God. And what if the Spirit tells you to leave your "church" or your "social circle" or any of a number of other things that may be putting you in danger of being cutoff from the vine (John 15)? Then what?

Find the Spirit of God, wait daily at his doors. You owe it to yourself and others to do this. It is in your own best interest to do this, not because you "have to." The word of God and the Spirit of God are the lights of mankind. Do a bible search on the words "lamp" and "light" because that's an entire study of its own. If we want that light in our life, if we want life, then we must find the Spirit, what is He doing today? Where is he going? What is He saying? Seek, ask, knock and the door will be opened to you....In Him, we find everything that our soul thirsts for today. In him we find peace, and joy. Everything that mankind does today is a search for something, anything to fill the void within, to somehow with sex, money pleasure, things etc to "be happy." Our God offeres us joy and peace right now, for the small price of waiting at his door to see where He is going and what He is doing, for the price of following the Spirit.

Small Conclusion

We covered two things here: the great deception that exists today in the churches, that is, the Spirit of God speaking even in dead churches and the false confirmation it gives to men

and

Following the Spirit of God. The sons of God are led to the Spirit of God.

Sorry for the long post, may the Lord bless you and keep you and may his face shine upon you....grace and peace

Perplexed, But Not in Despair

2 Cor 4:7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

I would like to encourage you today with the Words written to us above. The highlighted portion is where I feel myself at today...perplexed, but not in despair. I want to encourage you to renew your committment to the Lord Jesus today. Get rid of everything and anything that has found its way between you and Him. That includes your "pastor" "church" "social circle" "denomination" and all the other things holding people back in this world from knowing, and being known by the Lord.

The solution to all our problems is simple...the solution is being found "in Christ." "In Christ" "in him" and all the variations on those two words are THE most powerful and among the most frequently used paired words in the bible..coincidence? We know better than that.

What we need today is more Jesus...period. We need more of his Spirit and his presence. Have you ever felt the presence of the Lord before? Really...have you? If you have then you know, 10 seconds in the presence of this God blows away years worth of any drug you might want to name. He's that great. The experience goes beyond words, because it is beyond words. We who believe need to remember the times when we know that we know that we KNOW we have been standing in the presence of Almighty God on earth.

We need to remember period. Remember all that He has done for you. Give thanks, praise him. He is our answer...for everything. You don't have to know what to do, when to do it, who, what, when, where, how. If you are still breathing today, the game is not over yet, and if its not over yet then we still have time to see one more GREAT answer from our God. Let's ask him, seek, and knock on his door with patience and persistence today. Let us be encouraged to not give up. Let us take the attitudes of soldiers who understand that suffering and hardship are not something extraordinary to us, they are the life of the soldier.

Let's expect answers from our God (Mark 11:24). Today I am perplexed by many things, but the miracle is, I'm not in despair. Our God has seen to that. He has vindicated his Word in the eyes of this servant therefore this servant commends the Word of God to you. He is faithful. If he said he would do something, we must take the attitude of Abraham and expect that He who promised is faithful and will do what He said he will do.

Let us encourage one another today while it is still called today. We hear from every corner "the end is near!" but what if its NOT? and....what if it is? We must be prepared for both. Lets run with endurance the race marked out for us. If we cannot run, then let us walk, if we cannot walk then let us set our faces like flint and DRAG ourselves forward 1 more inch, for one more day. Who knows what answers to prayer will manifest for us tomorrow? Our Lord knows, so let us persist.

Your perplexed brother who is writing to you today is encouraged by you. I am one who is crawling my way forward by an inch or less per day, perplexed, but not in despair. Hold on to what you have for one more day. Seek, ask and knock today so that tomorrow you may receive what you ask for. Believe. Tomorrow you may be the answer to someone else's prayer and they may be the answer to yours. Keep the faith.

grace and peace

5/8/2010

Small update, the post on May 4 kind of bothered me a little when I re-read it so it was reshaped a bit.

Too much of "I" or "me" reflected in it. The point of the second part of the post was that the Lord gave a small confirmation of the things written here in the past, and that was encouraging to this writer.

Do We Know Him?

3His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

As I was reading this the some days ago, it struck me that our Lord tells us that he has already given to us all things we need for life and godliness. Now think about this...we have been given all things, not some...all. Some people would say to this "yea, will it sure doesn't look like he's provided everything to me!" To that I would ask...."How well do you know the Lord?" What? Let me ask it again, how well do you know the Lord? Why do I ask? Because the Holy Word tells us that we are provided everything through our knowledge of him...

3His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

Its so easy to just read right through that and not catch it. To those who may think this is a minor detail, think again. Us knowing the Lord, and more importantly, the Lord knowing us is a really really big deal. Consider this statement:

Matt 7:21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

On a different note..

It was posted on this site earlier that I rarely feel the urge to write about apostate christianity anymore. It was also written here that the Lord has led me to grow, to become more each day than the day before (parable of the talents, Matt 25..do something with what you've been given). In light of these things, I asked the Lord whether this small growth away from writing about apostasy means things written here before should be removed? like...the idolatry of the pastoral system, what has been called "churchianity" etc, should I delete these things from the site?

The answer that I perceived went along the lines of "the reason you do not sense the urge to write on some things now is because the things needed to be written about pastors, church "services" "tithing" the nicolaitanism of todays christianity etc etc, have been written. Delete nothing."

The Lord greatly encouraged this writer by confirming in a small way that the writings posted on this site have been (at least in some fashion) inspired by Him, although the tone of some of the messages could have been toned down, I do believe with my whole heart that the Spirit of God inspired at least some of the writing here with the goal of reaching some who can be reached. To him be the glory.

With this confirmation, let me restate some points the Spirit has impresssed upon this writer:

The rapture/escape of the church will be before the tribulation/time of Jacob's trouble etc. The old testament is a pattern that confirms things in the New Testament. Enoch was caught up to heaven before Noah and Noah was in the ark during the flood. Likewise, Lot was spared all the fire and brimstone of his day. The key word is "all."

The overwhelming majority of what calls itself christianity today is nicolaitan and idolatrous to its core. The pastoral system setup by men is human government inserted to replace the government of the Holy Spirit. Men have time and time again, rejected God for their own ways, and the Lord lets men have their way...for awhile. The sons of God are led by the Spirit of God...period. The sons of God are not led by pastors, bishops, priests or popes, they are led by the Spirit of God. Yet the overwhelming majority of people today voluntarily place themselves under the human governments within churches to be ruled by "pastors" and their ilk. Why?

Our God does not think the way men think. Men want one way, God wants another. The wise will follow the Spirit of God and his unusual ways regardless of how much it cuts against the grain of humanity's customs traditions and doctrines. Following the Spirit will cost men many of the things that people cherish in this life, but it will gain them CHRIST JESUS.

When a person walks away from the babylonian, anti-christ, nicolaitan form of christianity present in the world today, questions naturally arise. For every question that arises, like "how does the church work without a pastor?" The answer every single time is "follow the Spirit of God." That will take faith, discipline, and patience, all of which are in short supply in today's world.

The path that leads to life is a narrow path (re-read Matt 7:13-28). There are few people on that narrow path (Jesus' words, not mine). So when people look around at the other people on their path, do they see few or many? The answer should be very revealing. Make every effort to "know God" so that "everything you need for life and godliness" is there for you. Let us all pray that we are "known by God" so on that day that we stand before him we are not sorely dissapointed.

grace and peace

4/30/2010

I wanted to update you on what the Lord is doing in my life. Lately he has been influencing me to seek his Word more and more. For many months now I have heard absolutely nothing from him about "the end of the world" or "the rapture" although either one of those events could be right around the corner, maybe even tonight, yet he is not emphasizing them. Curious huh?

The push with me appears to get me more "right" than I was yesterday or the day before etc. I have noticed an insistence to abstain from all criticism, even criticism of christian apostasy. It's just not a focus today. I speculate that he is perfecting his church, his bride before he comes back. He wants a spotless wife to present to himself, the true church.

For months now I have been engaged in a struggle to overcome myself, to be better, to produce fruit in keeping with the parable of the talents in Matt 25. I would like to write to you more so that even if 1 person is benefitted by one thing that is written here, something will have been done to benefit mankind through these pages. Not that I will have done anything, but that the Lord will have loved someone through this vessel and for that I will rejoice.

All of our battles in this life are spiritual, although they may seem everything but, all the battles are spiritual. All of the losses we incur in this battle can be learned from so we grow. Our Lord is GOOD, He is faithful, He is kind, He can be trusted. Pray, ask, seek, knock and the doors will be opened to you....in time. Be patient. Keep the faith. Encourage the brothers.

These are the things I hear the Lord saying to me today. We are dearly loved children. Grace and peace

Faith, Hope, Love..

Greetings..I wanted to write an update today regarding what the Lord has been doing in my life.

What I am going through these days is kind of a reinvention of sorts. I am groing and groing sometimes comes with pain. In my case all this pain is internal as I strive to be a better man today than I was yesterday and the day before etc. In the midst of this pain, as I struggle to grow internally, the Lord has reminded me of some important facts. Namely, he reminded me that in the midst of this growing, or anything else that our lives might be consumed with today, the way to get through it, and thrive through it is.........faith, hope, love.

The keys to success in this life are not being the most organized, being the best planner, the hardest worker, or having the most insight or wisdom or anything like that. The Lord recently impressed upon me to REST in him. He impressed upon me that although my past is flawed due to all my own screwups, I have gone from one success and triumph in life to another. He asked me, "how did this happen? Was it because of all your wisdom and superior strength and foresight and planning etc?" To that question I had to laugh, and cry and answer no.

The reason for everything good in my life has been faith in him, hope in his lovingkindness, and love for him. Through all my internal ups and downs, the Lord's faithfulness has come through for me again and again and again. What's so great about the Lord's love and faithfulness is that I didn't have to know the future, or be perfect, or be the best, smartest, strongest person in this race called "life." Because I did not have to "be" all those things, and yet I still prospered, I can REST in him. FEW things are required to succeed in this life. What things are required? Faith, hope, love.

I want to add a note on what "love" is here as God defines it...John 14:15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command."

Love means obedience. My past is checkered with failures however the Lord's grace, his mercy and his strength has enabled me to pick up the broken pieces of my screwups day after day after day and re-engage life again and again...following these things, faith, hope and love.

I have been very encouraged today that the Lord has reminded me of these things. Its not all on my shoulders to figure everything out. I don't have to "be perfect." I have to have faith, keep up my hope, and above all...LOVE, my God, my family, and all of mankind to the best of my ability.

As I rest in the Lord in faith, hope and love, he is encouraging me to push forward to be a better man. He is sustaining me in this pain that is growth. He does expect us to put forth, to bear fruit, but he is a gentle taskmaster to those who remain broken before him.

Because I ramble, I want to wind up with this as a message to you. What is happening between me and the Lord today, may have some application to you today. We do not live on islands apart from each other, although to the eye it appears we do. We are all one "in Christ" so I want to encourage you to REST today. When you are resting, remember that the battles are not yours even though you seem to be the "star" of the movie called "your life" you have a great helper who loves you. Keep the faith, rest, hope, love, believe. Know that you know that you KNOW the Lord is going to help you again because you love him, and he loves you. STRIVE, put forth effort, GROW where you have been planted today knowing that whatever you are today is temporary, whether where you are is good or bad..

Okay, one more rambling comment on the power of words. The Lord recently gave me this mental picture of each of us waking up to each new day like an artist stepping up to a fresh, clean canvass to paint. What goes on that canvass is up to us. The words we use inside our hearts and minds are the paint on that canvass and WE CHOOSE THEM. Realize the power of the words you use. We were created to be like our God, and he tells us...John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The "word" was God, was with God and WAS GOD. The word of God is Jesus himself, and because we are like him, he has given our words power just as his words have power. We must be very careful then, to watch our words..both those we speak and those we think. Remember that as a man thinks, so is he. As we believe, so things are done unto us.

Let's be careful then to watch ourselves. Let us paint beautiful pictures within ourselves on the fresh canvass we are given that is called a "new day." Let us be encouraged to REST in our God. Let us strive to become more as a people because we love our God and our fellowman, but as we do this let us recognize that the battle and the outcome are the Lord's. That is not an excuse for us to lay back and say "well then, let him do everything!" because he expects us to engage in each day alongside of him.

Be encouraged today, continue to pray. Do not give up your faith or your hope or your love. Believe the Lord for BIG things in accordance with the growth of your soul and your walk with him. Our God is very VERY good, and his eye is on us today. Do not be fooled by his apparent silence because he speaks in many different ways at different times. Renew your strength today in the Lord and be patient for the answer to your prayers. Look for your answers tomorrow as you pray with great hope and expectation today.

One day, our hearts will swell with joy and we will be glad that we adopted the attitude of a soldier to fight on for one more day...for our God, for our families, for our brothers and for ourselves.

May the Lord bless you and keep you today, may his face shine upon you and may he grant you peace..BLESSED BE HIS NAME...grace and peace

brother d

The Power of Words

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Eph 6:17 ..and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword
of the Spirit which is the word of God.

Proverbs 18:21 The tongue has the power of life and death, and ... The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Phil 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

Luke 17:20-21

20And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
21Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Matt 10:24“A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master.

Proverbs 25:15 Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.

_________________________________________________________

What's the thread running through all of the scripture written above? Words....The Lord has opened my eyes to something that has been hidden in plain sight (at least to me) for some time.

The Lord has impressed upon me the nearness of the kingdom of God (within us..that's kind of near). He has also impressed upon me the power of words and how we use them. Let's consider Phil 4:8 specifically right now. The Lord tells us to think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, etc. Have you ever tried to just hold those specific words in your consciousness for 20-30 seconds?

This is a big deal, this idea has the power to change your life, no kidding. I believe the Lord gave me a kind of mental picture of our spirit sitting inside our bodies looking like a fat flourescent long light bulb. Our spirit sits inside of us and irradiates our entire body with whatever is in our spirit. So what are we holding within our spirit, and, what is that doing to us? Okay, now back to holding a word for 20-30 seconds in our consciousness..

Holding a thought for 20-30 seconds these days is not easy. We live in the age of endless distractions and ADD. When's the last time you read the Pslams? Did you notice at the end of every other sentence you see the word "selah?" What does "selah" mean?

From Wikipedia:
Selah (Hebrew: סֶלָה‎, also transliterated as selāh) is a word used frequently in the Hebrew Bible, often in the Psalms, and is a difficult concept to translate. (It should not be confused with the Hebrew word sela‘ (Hebrew: סֶלַע‎) which means "rock.") It is probably either a liturgico-musical mark or an instruction on the reading of the text, something like "stop and listen".

Selah means stop and consider, or "hold that thought" or let that thought marinate your brain. I cannot overstate the importance of this, so again I will ask you, have you tried to hold a single word like "peace" or "love" or "faith" in your consciousness for 20 or more seconds? I challenge you to begin to do this. It will affect you physically, emotionally, spiritually, no kidding..

Have you ever heard "you are what you think?" That concept goes hand in glove with why we are told to keep the word of God in our minds day and night, why we are told to "think about these things" and why we are told:

Psalm 1:1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.

What's so incredible about all this is the simplicity of the concept, yet how powerful it is. Everything, and I mean everything the Lord tells us to do is for our own benefit and the benefit of those around us, whether we know it or understand it or not. Words have the power of life and death. If you want to change your life for the better (I do) then change the words you hold in your consciousness most of the time. It's not that I've had a bad life, in fact I am unbelievable BLESSED, yet there is always room for growth while we walk this earth. The place of growth for me now, and maybe you, is in this area.

Try holding different words in your mind for 20-30 seconds and notice how they physically affect you. Try thinking about "energy" or "peace" or "love," then try "wickedness" or "death" and I hope you will understand that this will change your life.

When you understand how powerful words are (they are more powerful than any drugs), then you will also understand why we must go on a "news diet." This world system we live in is a gutter. The vast majority of news (to include bloggers) is world focused. Dirty laundry sells, people love it, but what is it doing to them? Each word you take within you is like a pill you swallowed that WILL have an effect on you...good or bad.

There is a narrow path that leads to life (Matt 7). On that narrow path are thoughts which lead to actions which lead to destinies (the small gate). We must labor to cut out all the mental weeds in our garden. We must learn to say NO to all the words and ideas that the broad path has to sell. We must do these things so we can be like the wise servants of Matt 25 who used their "talents" to show the master that we have produced more than what was given. We must have fruit growing on our tree from the seeds that have been planted (the WORD).

All words have impact on us..all of them, but the Words of God are formed and delivered to us as a perfect package. I believe the Lord showed me that a single word is like plucking a single note on a guitar, that note resonates throughout our entire being with certain effect. Words, grouped together are like playing a chord, again, there can be resonance that has a certain effect on our entire being. Music is not always beautiful though, there is not always resonance, which is why we must carefully guard ourselves from the words of this world.

Unfortunately many people calling themselves Christians have become "bored" with the Lord and his word. They have gone searching after politics and current events and what the devil is doing in the world because the Word of God and the kingdom of God alone are just not quite enough. Let us guard against this mistake. The kingdom of heaven is NOT in Washington DC, or Moscow, Russia ITS WITHIN US. The change we need for this life and the next begins and ends within us. Our joy, peace, abundance, happiness etc etc ALL begin and end within us. Don't take my word for it, take the Lord's Word for it.

What did Jesus mean when he said Luke 17 "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you?"

Why did the Lord tell us what to think about and meditate on day and night? WHYYYY? I believe that what is written to you today is at least in part an answer to "why?"

Take your words like you would take a prescription from a physician. We follow the Great Physician who has prescribed certain words for us. Let us not turn a deaf ear to him.

Grace and peace

A Quick Update

The Lord has been dealing with me personally. To change the world, we must change as individuals. Making things better in this world and the next begins within us. Remember when Jesus said:

Luke 17:20And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:

21Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

The kingdom of heaven is where?????? Within you. These past days and weeks and months, the Lord has been showing me what that means. What a ride it has been. I thank the Lord for his infinite mercy in dealing with us. Each day that goes by, I look back at the "me" of yesterday and think "wow Lord, thank you for being so patient and merciful with such a massive screwup..."

Since my self esteem/self concept rests "in Christ," I can deal with healthy doses of "kick in the butt" medicine, provided that its packaged the right way and delivered gradually :-)

The Lord knows what he is doing. Keep asking, keep searching, keep knocking, and doors will be opened for you, just as the Lord is opening doors for me. What's happening out in the world is of little consequence today. Did you read that? ...little consequence. How can I say that? What did we just read in Luke 17? Where is the kingdom of heaven? Within you. Where is our focus? In the world? NO, our focus is in Christ, and on Christ. If we take care of the kingdom of heaven, the world (and those who belong to the world) will take care of itself.

The change we need in the world starts in us.

Matt 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

The Lord didn't spend much time focusing on the politics of his day, or what the romans were doing, or how mankind was overrun by the devil and look at how terrible it all is. The Lord focused on his kingdom and what he was doing. He came to "pro-act" on this world, not "re-act" to it. The world will be shaped by the light shed upon it and the darkness has nothing that it can say or do about it. When light comes in, darkness leaves...IMMEDIATELY. It has no choice.

These are the things that have been in my mind and on my heart recently. Our God is good. He hears the prayer of those who belong to him, and his word is true. You can bet your life on these things....I am. Grace and peace.