Anne

Today my two younger children, my oldest daughter and myself visited The Anne Frank exhibit in Sandy Springs Georgia.

http://holocaust.georgia.gov/anne-frank-world-1929-1945

I had an individual ask "why" I would expose my young children to such information and I replied that I felt it to be vitally important that my children understand what fortitude is, particularly in the times we are living in. Fortitude is the strength of mind that enables a person to encounter danger or bear pain or adversity with courage. I believe we are living in times that require fortitude. I hope my children do not need a great deal of such an attribute, but I am not naive as to what is going on in our world. I believe Anne Frank was one of those individuals that had fortitude.There were many of them during WWII, that had fortitude. Most of them will tragically never have their stories told. We are very blessed, world wide, to have the privilege to at least hear Anne's story and hopefully not repeat such an atrocity. Despite what Anne was going through, hidden in the secret annex, she remained Anne and she was strong. Sadly Anne did not survive, like many, many others,(6 million Jews, but up to 11 million murdered if one counts the disabled, elderly, Romanies and others.......they should not be forgotten) but her legacy of fortitude lives on and inspires and strengthens others even today. As we toured the exhibit today we viewed many pictures displaying the murderous affect of hatred. Jews, Gypsies, the disabled and elderly being treated in the manner of disposable refuge. Trash. Less than human. You could see the fear in their eyes eternalized on film. Then there were other examples of "less than human" treatment, in our own country, that were also documented next to the photos of the Shoah, the Holocaust. The treatment of minorities, particularly African Americans, is also documented at the exhibit as well. It's a shameful blight in our nation's history. It's a shameful blight on human history. There are so many throughout history......

"An offended brother is more unyielding than a fortified city, and disputes are like the barred gates of a citadel."

Proverbs 18:19
　

As we were leaving the exhibit my eight year old, my youngest, asked me why people do such things. It was beyond her, as it should be. Only one thought entered my mind. My only answer, very simply, was offense. Offense! What an evil thing offense is I told her! I explained to her that when a person becomes offended they create a "door" for all sorts of evil to enter. When that evil enters then a person's thinking, their mind, their very perception, can be twisted and they will believe all sorts of lies! It "colors" everything they see and soon they just don't see things in the correct light. It isn't long until the person believing those lies develops hatred for others that they percieve have "hurt" them and then eventually they act on that hatred. Germany, for example, had been enduring all sorts of severe financial hardship, prior to WWII. As a country they were really hurting. People were starving. Hitler exploited their desperate situation and turned them against those that were different than them or those he viewed not worthy of life because of his own twisted perception. He served up a group of individuals to blame for all their problems and encouraged them to take revenge. As I pondered my own words (were they my own words?) I thought about how easy it is to become offended and then as a result become deceived. Offense is truly the BAIT OF SATAN!!!!! (John Bevere's book goes into this at great length and in great detail) Offense literally gives the adversary "license" to reign in our lives since forgiveness is central to our faith and the kingdom. I thought rather than judge Germany or anyone participating in discrimination or hatred it would be prudent to continually examine my own heart so that I do not enter into such a state of being. It really is so easy to go there. We all suffer. We all get hurt. We all live in this fallen world. No one is above it, really. In small ways, through out our world, I see it every day. In small ways I even see it in the community of believers from time to time. One does not agree with another and rather than agree to disagree in a respectful way the situation proceeds to offense. Offense then becomes destructive. Do we realize what we are "playing" with? Father help us!


 

These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
James 1:15

 

Forgiveness is the central to our faith, I explained to my children. Why did Yeshua die? He died so that our sins might be forgiven. If that is the case who are we to think we EVER have a right to be offended with another? We do not. The cost, for our Savior, was way too tremendous.

　

How many times are we to forgive others? Always.

　

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Matthew 5:44-45

Enough said. Don't you think?

Never forget..........

 

 

Song of the Times

The appointed time has come. You will arise and have mercy on Zion; it is
the time to favor her.

Create in Me a Clean Heart

Just some simple thoughts................

The month of Elul, that we are currently in, is a time of repentance in preparation for the High Holidays (Yom Teruah, Yom Kippur or Day of Atonement and Sukkot or The Feast of Tabernacles, see Leviticus 23 to read more). Put very simply it's a perfect opportunity to examine our hearts and clean up, so to speak, before coming into the presence of a Holy Elohim. Really, thinking this over, this should be an everyday pursuit no matter the time of year. How different would our relationships be, all of them, if this was something we did continually?

Psalm 51

King James Version (KJV)

51 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

² Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
³ For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
⁴ Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
⁵ Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
⁶ Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
⁷ Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
⁸ Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
⁹ Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
¹¹ Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
¹² Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
¹³ Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
¹⁴ Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
¹⁵ O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
¹⁶ For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
¹⁸ Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
¹⁹ Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

Our relationship with Father and our relationships with others can sometimes get pretty convoluted. Very much like a pipe in my kitchen sink. You might find this an odd comparison but read on. We had a little bit of a back up in our kitchen sink last year. It was pretty ugly. It is amazing how junk can get stuck in there and you don't even know it until it's too late and the sink is barely draining. My husband is a pretty handy guy so he got right in there and started cleaning it all out. I felt sorry for him when I saw what was coming out! Yuck! It looked and smelled awful but he was resolute and calm and got the job done. When it was all over I so was grateful. The drain worked like it was brand new and the smell and mess were gone.

Our hearts, I believe, can work very similarly to that pipe. In our physical hearts, when we neglect our health or as we age, we can develop plaque in our arteries. If that plaque grows very thick a serious back up can occur and then the blood flow to the rest of the heart can become sluggish and dangerously slow which can rob us of our energy, vitality and good health. Sometimes this built up plaque can cause a  complete closure of an artery and then parts of the heart will begin to die. This condition can result in death if it is allowed to continue. Likewise, our spiritual hearts can begin to harden over time when we have neglected to examine them, confess, repent and ask Father to make us clean from our sin. We have to seek Him, speak to Him, spend time with Him and ask Him to reveal the hidden things to us. Sometimes there are old hurts, resentments and unforgiveness in there that we may not even be aware of. Maybe we have learned to justify a thing or just put a different label on it rather than call it what it is. If we truly desire to be spiritually well once more and most importantly be right with Him we must surrender these things and allow Him to do what He must to make us clean once more. Our relationships with others will suffer if we are not in good relationship with the Father and our relationship with the Father will suffer if we are not in good relationship with others. It's just the way it works.

Romans 12:18
If possible, so far as it depends on you, live in peace with all people.



Communication is crucial. Yeshua (Jesus) and the Father are one. "Echad" in Hebrew. Yeshua was always, and I mean always, talking to the Father and still is. His prayer was that we would be One as He and the Father were One. (John 17:22) AND He said that the world would believe that the Father sent Him IF we would be one in THEM (Yeshua and the Father). Sadly, I often see groups of individuals so bent on being right that they throw their relationships right out the window. The baby goes out with the bathwater so to speak. That which should be most precious to us is discarded in the pursuit of pride. How quick we are to do that! How deceitful our hearts can be! They betray our best interests pretty quickly if we are not sober to our own tendencies. If we don't communicate with the Father we won't know that there are issues adversely impacting our hearts until it becomes an emergency, spiritually speaking, and in that condition we can not be one with Him or anyone else for that matter. Our perceptions will be colored by our spiritual pain and sickness. We will not be able to hear Him properly with all that gunk clogging up the line and when we do hear Him our flawed perceptions will taint what we think we might have heard.  If we don't communicate with one another and work to resolve the gunk that has collected and built up between us imaginations can come into play and resentments can build, just like the plaque can build up in our physical hearts. This state of being will rob us of our life and vitality and make us spiritually ill. We may then see any attempted communication on the part of the Father or others that love and care for us as confrontational because now the hardness that has developed and collected in our hearts must be worked out.That process can be very painful. It's a terrible condition to be in. It happens and when it does we need to address immediately it to prevent it from becoming worse. Or even worse than worse if you get my drift.

This happens to be the month of Elul, which is, I believe a model for how we should always conduct ourselves. Let us humbly seek to allow the Father to search us, purge that which is evil and might have invaded our hearts and cleanse us from all unrighteousness so that we might be found clean and rejoice when He comes to Tabernacle among us!

Blessings to you in Messiah Yeshua,

More than a Conqueror





 

I Will Be Light

I'm a Liar....Ok, Was

Disclaimer: This could be offensive, it's not meant to be, it's truthful. Read on if you are game.

I have made a discovery. I am a liar. No, I don't write bad checks, steal or cheat on my taxes. I feel guilty for not putting my shopping cart away in the supermarket parking lot. I am not an obvious liar. Well, at least it wasn't very obvious to me.

Isn't it funny how we don't realize things about ourselves until we are much older and have fought a few bloody rounds in the boxing match of life? Funny, well maybe not, comical, yes. I think some things only come with age, unless of course you are extraordinary. I am not extraordinary, I just pretend to be. I could play extraordinary on TV, but I am not extraordinary. I am just me. It sometimes takes some serious hard knocks for me to learn.

Somehow, long ago, I got it in my head that acting OK meant you are OK. I also thought acting nice made you nice. Being quiet and not telling people how you really feel made you polite and a "lady". Taking others verbal jabs and digs made you brave, a martyr and honorable. The list goes on and on and on......You could probably add a few of your own erroneous "self narratives".

I think society is rather supportive of this self narrative. Don't you? Here is a quiz: What are you "supposed" to say when you are at church or your fellowship and someone asks, "how are you?". You are "supposed" to say, "I am fine, thank you. How are you?" and then expect the very same response, whether you are OK or not. I used to be quite good at this. I am not so good at this anymore. That is making me so uncomfortable, you have no idea, but perhaps it's meant to.

It's so automatic. I mean it turns on before you know it does. After a while you begin to realize you are rather resentful towards certain people. (Not you, come on, you're great! ;) )You have a hard time being in the same room with them. The problem at this point is that you are so detached from yourself you don't even know why you are so uncomfortable around them. You have ceased to exist. You are just a piece of dutiful furniture at that point jumping when told to jump and ignoring what is wrong deep inside. You are angry and you don't even know it. You are walking in unforgiveness and you are not even aware of it. The resentment has been building and now you are just numb inside.

The problem with these self narratives is that they are big, fat, ugly LIES! The worst part about it, beside lying to Abba, is that you have betrayed yourself. I have BETRAYED myself!!  Not to mention you have betrayed the person or persons you are lying to. Did I say "lying", yes that is what I said. If you tell them the truth they may run the other way. Yes, they may leave you. But, I have started to ask myself, are these the relationships I really want to have? Is there any possibility of having an close friendship with a person like that? They are comfortable with the "pretend you", the one that does what they expect, because that is who they think you are. But you are not that person are you? That person will never have the opportunity to grow past their issues and neither will you if you are not truthful. You will never have a close relationship and it's not their fault, it's yours. They may grow, they may not, but you could provide them that opportunity if you'd just tell the truth. It is worth the risk? Yes, I believe it is.

The Word says that "you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." (John 8:32) What does that mean? I think it is fairly multi-dimensional like most everything in YHWH's Word. It has many applications. His Truth is endless and I could really go down a rabbit trail right now, but I won't. For this purpose, the writing of this blog, I think it means to be genuine and authentic. Face who you are. Know the truth about who you are and ask Father to change that about you if it doesn't line up with His Word and cooperate with Him when He brings about circumstances in your life to accomplish that. Ouch....I know.

I have had some serious circumstances brought into my life. Physical issues, depression, along with a special needs adopted child that hurts others, almost daily, for 6 years, to deal with his pain are just a few of them. Everyone has "stuff" and that's just mine...... currently. These challenges are provoking me to become increasingly more honest with myself and with others. This is painful. I won't lie (LOL). Some people have and will walk away as a result. It can be a bit much to deal with some days, I get that. I guess, at this point, I'd rather have that then live another day not being real with the people in my life. I guess I'd prefer to have warriors come alongside me then pretend for people's benefit that I am OK everyday just to keep them as friends.

So maybe you are not like me. You are honest. Good for you! There is no guessing what you think or feel. You pretty much tell it like it is.........but maybe you don't see the skid marks you left on the person you just ran over? It happens. But, I think there is a remedy. Just humor me here. I think the Word provides it.

Ephesians 4:15
^"Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ."

So, maturity is being truthful, but doing it in a loving way. If we, as a body of believers, desire to be mature and function in what He has called us to do, then we need to get real with one another, but do it lovingly. How amazing would that be and how much more could we be one and a powerful force to be reckoned with then? I believe it's possible and it will happen, one day. Watch out when it does!

I am learning, every day. If this is what my 40s have shown me I am going to be seriously blown away by the 50s! I am so grateful that He hasn't given up me. I am so grateful for Him.

Many blessings and love to you in Messiah.

In A Box

 

Looking back on history it seems to me that human beings have patterns. We tend to repeat the same mistakes, over and over. One of those mistakes is adding or taking away from the Word of Elohim. In Deuteronomy 4:2 Father warns His people then and NOW (us, we are His people too):

"You shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall you take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you."

Wow, it's as if He already knows what we are going to do before we do it! We add to what He has said and we take away from what He has said all to accomplish our fleshly agenda. Many times we are not even aware we are doing it. I have done it in the past. We seem to all be made out of similar stuff. Now don't get me wrong. Sometimes it isn't as obvious as writing a commentary and giving that precedence over the Word of Elohim which is adding to His Word. Sometimes it isn't as obvious as teaching that parts of His Word are no longer valid or we don't have to do that anymore which is taking away from His Word. That is very obviously adding or taking away from His Word. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to observe that we have done that not only in Judaism but also in mainstream Christianity across the board. No one can really toss stones because all throughout human history the vast majority have broken that commandment in some way, shape or form. Sometimes, well really most of the time, we have had very good intentions. We can rationalize most anything. We are very skilled at it. We can do this because our hearts are not to be trusted. They lead us astray, easily.  In Jeremiah 17:9 the Word says:

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"

So that "follow your heart" rational isn't a good suggestion after all. Hmmmm....so much to learn. Sigh.

One way we add to His Word or take away from it is in defining Him. Who are we to think we can define the Creator of the Universe? It is appalling when you really think about it. He created us yet we have the nerve to define Him, put Him in a box of our own making and put our words in His mouth and our thoughts in His mind. An example, "my God would never do that" , "allow that" etc. etc. This one is a classic, "well the Devil did that, surely my God wouldn't allow such a thing." Really? How do you know? How does one determine that? Is there anything that doesn't cross His throne? He might not have done it, who knows, but He allowed it and if you are His he will use that situation for His purpose. Hard thing to hear but it's true. I have been through things in my life that were awful but there was a purpose in it even if I didn't understand it at the time or maybe still don't. That doesn't change who He is. His Word, the Word He gave us, clearly defines Him. His Word is sufficient. He is more than sufficient. Man is not qualified to define him, period. The flesh we still wear disqualifies us. Defining Him brings Him down to our level and removes the fear or reverence of Him that we are supposed to have. (Read Psalm 147:11, Deuteronomy 14:23, Psalm 33:18 just to list a few)

When I was in the "church system" I used to think putting God in a box meant limiting my mind or heart to His capabilities or in other words demonstrating a lack of faith. I do believe that is still true. The importance of having faith in Him cannot be and should not be understated. But, there so much more!! The accounting of Yahshua in regards to his interactions with his family and their "putting Him in a box" is found in all four gospel accounts but here it is in Mark 6:4

"But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house."

You see all those folks knew Him from way back. They couldn't accept who He was then, at that moment, because they had seen Him as a child and in their minds they had already defined Him. Case closed. Yahshua as "A Savior" didn't fit in the box they had Him in already. Yahshua, "their Redeemer" did not fit in the box either. Sadly all the Words already prophesied about him all through out the Torah, Elohim's Word, also didn't fit in the box they had already put Him in. They missed Him. How very tragic for them. How they limited themselves through such actions! They never limited Him but their opportunity to truly know Him. That thought brings tears to my eyes and strikes fear in my heart. Honestly.

What is so vitally important is that we recognise Him for who He says He is, not what we want, hope or imagine Him to be or what other people tell us about Him. There are plenty of His promises and information about His attributes found in scripture. He reveals Himself to us in His Word as well in our prayer life. If we participate in "inventing" Him, adding to His Word or taking away from it, we will never really know Him intimately. I don't know about you, but deep in my heart that is what I long for more than anything....to know Him more intimately....who He is....not who I imagine Him to be or my flesh demands that He be. Truly who He is, is so much more than my human intellect can contain anyway.  If we "invent" him, putting Him in a box, we will miss Him. Just like some of those that were closest to Him. 

I leave you with this.

Psalm 100
Raise a shout for יהוה, All the earth!  Serve יהוה with gladness; Come before His presence with singing.  Know that יהוה, He is Elohim; He has made us, and we are His – His people and the sheep of His pasture.  Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His Name. For יהוה is good; His kindness is everlasting, And His truth, to all generations.

He made us.....we do not make Him.

Dear Mr. King.......

2 Cor. 5:16-19 16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Dear Mr. King,

It was April 29th, 1992 and I sat on my couch holding my 1 week old son witnessing the world seemingly come to an end. At 22 years old, that is what it looked like to me. LIVE, on the news, filmed from a news helicopter, I saw men, pull a man, Reginald Oliver Denny, out of his truck and purpose to beat him to death, gleefully dancing about and tossing bricks at his head until all you could see was a crumpled heap of what barely resembled a human being face down on the asphalt in the middle of the street. Other footage caught people walking into stores looting everything from televisions to baby diapers to gallons of milk to furniture. That night, as I lay in bed, I could hear gunshots, yelling and fighting in the distance. We didn't live in the best of areas at the time, so whether it was related to the Riots, I don't know. I wasn't going to go outside and find out. My husband, his mind heavy with the financial responsibility of a supporting wife and newborn, had ventured to work amidst the chaos. From his employer's building that night he called me to let me know he was OK, but that he was watching multiple buildings burn from where he was standing. I hoped he'd make it home and that nothing would happen to him. That night, the possibility of something happening to him was a very real and sobering concern for me. I gazed upon the moon lit face of my newborn son, as he peacefully slept next to me, unaware of the kind of world he had just come into. I wondered about his future in this twisted world. 

Mr. King, I know you know this but I will go over it once again for those that don't know or might have forgotten.....

All this was happening because of an injustice. A man by the name of Rodney King was beaten severely by Los Angeles County police officers. 4 of the policemen charged in the beating were acquitted. This was the response. The city was paying for what had happened. 53 people died. 2,000 people were injured. Estimates of the material losses varied between about $800 million and $1 billion. Approximately 3,600 fires were set, destroying 1,100 buildings, with fire calls coming once every minute at some points. An entire city of people were held hostage for a week by the violence and much longer from the fear of more violence.

A couple of weeks later, when it was all over, in true "Los Angelino" style, we all went back to our lives and tried not to look back. I don't even remember discussing it much with family or friends. It's like something embarrassing we didn't want to discuss. Uncle Fred got drunk and busted up the place so lets not discuss it. I guess I am different. I do want to discuss it. That event really changed me. I think of it often. It lingers in my mind. It impacted me greatly because of my son having just come into the world. I look back on that event and I suppose it was the first time I realized how really awful human beings can be to one another and how really "justified" we can feel inflicting pain on one another in response to an injustice or even a perceived one. Mr. Denny just happened to turn onto the wrong street. He was just a hard working truck driver trying to make a living. I had been through some "bad stuff" before, but I guess I was a little late to the party coming out of my naivete. Before that event I really believed most people, at heart, were good. Never have I thought Mr. King deserved to be beaten like he was, but never did I think what happened as a result ever made anything better for him or anyone else. He is known for saying on the third day of the L.A. Riots, "People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along?" That would be nice Mr. King.

People have tried to cite all sorts of reasons for the Riots, besides the beating, such as the high unemployment rate at that time, the heat wave we were having that spring or the poverty the city was experiencing. I think it happened because of human nature, because all man kind is fallen and operates in a fallen nature. I guess, from my point of view, almost 20 years later now, I understand that at our core we are all capable of great evil. I don't think most people would agree with me. That might be because most people have really never suffered. I am sorry, it's just true. Most Americans don't have a concept of suffering. I don't think you really see "who" people really are or what they are made of until they are "pressed". Most people in America are "nice" because they have it pretty good and always have. What I mean by that is this; you can be wonderful, generous and kind until life gets really, really difficult and then what is revealed at that time, well, that's YOU, who you really are. What is revealed is sometimes really admirable, but most of the time, it is not. It's downright disturbing.

Mr. King....

I don't live in California anymore. I left long ago to raise my children somewhere else. Partly because of the economic state of things there and partly because we wanted a slower, more traditional upbringing for our kids and to live somewhere they would be safe or just safer. Now, though, it doesn't seem like you can really hide from it anywhere. In my community, small as it is, we have problems. Among believers there are many problems. There is no rock to hide under. No perfect place to retreat to. No "perfect" group of people to go join. Where ever there are people there is evil. Why is that? Why can't we all get along Mr. King?

Mr. King, we can't get along because the ruler of this world, at this time, is not Elohim. This world is in chaos because we were supposed to manage this place for our Abba and we turned it over to the prince of air, the adversary, the enemy or whatever you want to call him, in the garden. Now, he is the big cheese. He calls the shots. When we did that, took his advice and ate that forbidden fruit, we died spiritually. Now we are enslaved to our "fallen nature", our flesh. We made him king. Now his rules apply. We gave him control. We are still doing that today. Every time we take justice into our own hands. Every time we "get even." "Quid pro quo"....... do you realize who the author of that is? Do you realize he is the author of the Riots and every evil known in human history and that mankind is simply an all too willing "tool" in his hands. That really reduces our imagined importance in the scheme of things when you really think about it. We are selfish and self centered like he is. In making him king we have bought his lie that we can worship the god of self and we do. His end is coming but boys and girls it is going to get pretty hot in the kitchen before the meal is complete if you get my drift.

So how now do we live? That is the question. If you have truly surrendered your life to Yahovah, our Creator, you don't live. He lives through you. You die......to your agenda, your plans, your "quid pro quo" or need to get even, your desires, your comfort, your feelings, your need to be right, your desire to be defended and your right to be offended.....all of it. If you haven't surrendered your life to Him and you are still living for YOU then you are lost. Time is growing short and there is no time to beat around the bush. I am deadly serious. Get found....by Him. Get out of the driver's seat or you will crash.

In this "movement" we have been blessed to stumble upon some important truths. That is all well and good. Are we "living them" or do we just know them? Are we loving Him with all our heart, mind and soul and loving our neighbor as ourselves? Or are we so puffed up in knowledge that we indulge in vain, divisive arguments and put out an unpleasant odor to the world rather then a sweat fragrance to the lost? Are we everything but loving? When the world looks at us do they want what we have or do we repel them with our back biting and fighting amongst ourselves?

I am looking around lately and I see a world that is lost. I see a world that needs to know a story. A true story of a Creator that loved it so much that He sent what was most precious to Him to die so that mankind could once again have relationship with Him. I see people that claim to represent Him fight and squabble amongst themselves and I think that disturbs me more that the day I saw Mr. Denny almost die on LIVE TV. Do you know why? Because a lot more people are going to die forever as a result of the body of believers inability to get it together and accurately represent our Creator to a lost and dying world. It won't be because we don't have a great children's ministry. It won't be because our chairs are not comfortable. It won't be because the carpet doesn't match the paint. It will be because we are fraudulently representing the good news and Him in our ignorant quarrels!

Dear Mr. King,

You asked a really good question almost 20 years ago. I don't have a simple answer. All I can say, about believers, is yes, we should ALL get along. We should have the ability and maturity to agree to disagree at times but still love and respect one another. We are supposed to be one. We are supposed to be "ministers of reconciliation." We have failed you Mr. King and a lot of others over the years. I am truly sorry. But, I think there are a lot of us that are still trying. We are trying to be better and represent our Savior in a way that He deserves. As for the world, I don't know what to say about that. He is going to fix that soon. I just want to thank you for asking the question. The world might have believed your question to be a lame one, but I think it was profound. We should all be asking ourselves the same question.


More than a Conqueror