What is Wrong With the Church in America?

They will know you are Christians by:

1. The huge building and all the people coming on Sunday
2. How well we all manage our money
3. How good our worship band is
4. How relevant our message is
5. How hateful you are toward sinners
6. How well you understand Biblical Doctrine
7. How many people go evangelizing on Saturday

The list could go on and on could it not?   What is the Answer? Does anyone know, I mean really know?

We know what the Bible says, but how many have really experienced it?

Everyone will know that you are my disciples because of your love for each other."  (Joh 13:35)  Gods Word

What was that?   LOVE.   For a few years now I have queried of fellow believers, "How is the love that we are showing each other different or better than the worlds love?   How can we attract people to Christ if our love cannot be differentiated from the worlds?  Truly in many fellowships what exists could not even be called love.  So if we cannot produce love for each other I guess we have to attract them in other ways. And many a fellowship has by using some of the items from the list at the top of the page.

Maybe it is because we aren't producing real disciples for Christ.  So if they don't exist then the love doesn't either.  It is a sure bet love cannot be manufactured.  It has to be nurtured and grown through small groups of trust relationships where our lifes deepest and darkest secrets and foibles can be talked about, prayed about, and gotten rid of.  That should be taken care of in a young, in the faith, disciples life. Under the guidance and protection of an older,  mature mentor.  We should not have to deal with hidden issues in the body of Christ all of our lives.   That is the first way LOVE is shown.  

Another way it was shown was:

Act 2:42  The disciples were devoted to the teachings of the apostles, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. 

Act 2:43  A feeling of fear came over everyone as many amazing things and miraculous signs happened through the apostles. 

Act 2:44  All the believers kept meeting together, and they shared everything with each other. 

Act 2:45  From time to time, they sold their property and other possessions and distributed the money to anyone who needed it. 

Act 2:46  The believers had a single purpose and went to the temple every day. They were joyful and humble as they ate at each other's homes and shared their food. 

Act 2:47  At the same time, they praised God and had the good will of all the people. Every day the Lord saved people, and they were added to the group. 

Read those verses carefully.  

1. devoted to the teaching of the apostles, breaking bread, and prayer
2. kept meeting together, and SHARED EVERYTHING WITH EACH OTHER
3. Sold things and gave to anyone in need---this is a big one
4. All had single purpose and went to "temple" every day---listen to someone speak---testimonies
5. humble, joyful,and shared homes and food
6. And praised God

What did that produce?    The good will of ALL the people. and every day the Lord added to their number.

Wow!  Sounds like loving each other.   SOUNDS LIKE LOVING EACH OTHER.

Now I want to talk about something that is really hard to hear. Especially for Americans.  We have become accustomed to a certain lifestyle. Compared to 90% of the world it is Opulent.  We are rich in comparison. Even the poorest among us is rich in comparison.  As American Christians we have done all kinds of gyrations to justify our money and houses and cars.  We have developed an attitude of deserving it.  Despite many warnings from sectors of the Church we have continued to justify ourselves and our lifestyles.  We even took it into how we do church.  I have to say I think the Lord will get our attention one way or another.  I believe it will soon be taken away from us.  For me that has already been done. My family and I have been living on faith of the Lords provision for a while now.  There is no doubt He provides what is needed for His children.  The hard part though is what you think you need is probably not what the Lord says you need.  That is a difficult period to get through.  

Jesus had much to say about rich folks.  The story of the widows mite. The rich young ruler,  The eye of the needle.  Oh yes much to say.  Here is the problem  most in the Western Church trust in there money and possessions or job or insurance policy instead of the Lord..  Jesus said you are not His if that is the case.  Story of sheep and goats sound familiar?

I am not passing judgement on anyone. If anything I am warning folks. What does that one verse say up there?  Sold what they had and gave to those in need.  The question always comes up, "then what?"  Well, you trust the Lord for your daily needs like the rest of the world.  Really it is better than losing your eternal life.

We are sojourners here.  We are the travelers from a far country. We are to get rid of the things that hinder us from following the Lord first and then living as if we are on a trip together and help each other to the destination, In the process we attract others by that love and then teach them about our Master and how to be like Him.   

If there is any doubt as to what I say.  Think about who gets the Glory in any action you do.

We have financial seminars to manage our money better, so we can use more for the Kingdom..  Excuse me?  Who gets the Glory?    I will spell out the first one.  "look how well I have learned to manage my money, so I can do more work for Gods Kingdom.  Versus there is no way to pay the electric bill,  Lord please help.  He takes care of His children.  Test Him on this.  He said He will share His Glory with nobody.  

Do you see now why Jesus told the rich young ruler that the one thing he lacked was NO MONEY.  Very few can handle money and still be safe in Gods eyes.  The Lord said Sell all you have and give to the poor then come and follow ME.  Nothing but total trust in the Lord and nothing but Glory to the Lord for taking care of the rest of your life.

If you pat yourself on the back for all that you do for the Kingdom with your riches,  let me throw one more in there. The widow gave EVERYTHING she had.  Jesus once again said what?  She has given more than all the rest combined.   There is that pesky "everything" again.

We won't believe it.  We say it is a different world and the demands are different.  But we must not forget that Jesus said "I am always the same"  "I change not" and many other variations.  

Be heartened though, If you are His, I do not believe you will get there without being stripped one way or the other on this side first.  It can be voluntarily or forceably,  but I am sure total trust and giving everything up for Him is still a requirement, and He won't let us lose the importance of that lesson.

So to answer the question asked in the title, what is wrong with the church in America?  We do not produce proper disciples.  How do we produce proper disciples?  By loving one another.  How do we love one another?   By giving time, effort, and trust to raising young believers in the ways of the Lord.  How do we do that?  By providing for the needs of one another so the time is free to invest in new believers.  That in turn shows the world a different kind of love that is very attractive.

And so the cycle starts again  

Peace to all and Glory be the the Father always,

Troy Hansen

Something Truly Helpful

I read a blog today from one of our brothers on this list and he made a statement that I want to address. I want to say from the start that I believe that it is a trustworthy statement, and the intent is pure, and that it is absolutely unhelpful.

Here is the quote,

"No believer can claim that he was overwhelmed by temptation or that the “devil made me do it.” No one, not even Satan, can make us sin. He cannot even make an unbeliever sin. No temptation is inherently stronger than our spiritual resources. People sin because they willingly sin."

Here was my answer:

I am with you on this, but I have to say as an addict saved by grace alone, it means nothing. If you have never had attacks hammered at you day after day after day, seemingly for just waking in the morning and what that does to someone with that bent, it is hard to make them believe the Lord has provided a way out. Or that He has hasn't given us more than we can bare, There have been times I have cried out to the Lord with those very verses, reminding Him of His promise. Most days to no avail. For me it wasn't the urge to use but the vacuum of nothingness and pleading for Him. The impulse to fill that void with anything. I have walked with the Lord almost 40 yrs and in that time have had to completely rethink normal church teaching on the matter. What you are saying is true, but it is more than that. Deeper. For instance when someone finds themselves where they never would be as a good church man, with no real clue how they got there. Or when the Lord leaves you with a particular dysfunction, that most would call sin, for years despite continual pleading for it to be removed, and His assurance that His Grace is sufficient, one starts to realize there is much more to the picture than the glossy three point sermons that are so common these days. We do not need rehashing of the same old stuff in a new package. We need a fundamental shift in thought and action as to how we approach these subjects. Funny thing is if we were to follow Jesus's example of discipleship and give our time to building people most of this stuff would not even be an issue. And when I say time it isn't a class on sunday for 6 wks, or Coffee at Starbucks once a week. It is a group of men with no other motive in the world than to be there and available 24 7 mentoring younger ones teaching etc. It is hard to sin when someone is constantly around. The point of this method is to get the young believers through the growth period protected from the enemy. No it is going to take men who are willing to say a house and job and large income with money in the bank and golfing every saturday is not worth a thing when compared to the Kingdom.


Very few have been taken to the point where everything has been stripped and faith has been built to the point where they believe seeking first the Kingdom is what is important and all the needs of your life are provided. Those are the ones Papa is looking for.

I would like to expound on a couple of points.


I stated in a previous post the necessity of experience to truly own a lesson. A drug and alcohol councilor is more effective if he has been there done that. Every true believer has been or will be brought through the fires of Gods purification. The only way ones fundamental nature can be changed has to come with much ripping and taring and purging and burning. We think that it will happen when we are changed on the day we are taken home, and for some that may be the case. However I think that it happens to most of us on this "planet of probation."


It is easy to give verses to someone who is in the fires, or quick two sentence lines. However they lack the fundamental fruit that Paul says we need to do any Kingdom work Love. When I said above that it means nothing to someone, that is what I meant. Well intentioned as it may be, without Love, that can only come from similar purgings and fires, one cannot communicate the essential question, "WHY?" Brother why do you say that? What lesson have you learned that makes you think that will help me?


Similar lessons produce the necessary humility and compassion for someone caught in a trap of sin or cycle of temptation. And humility and compassion combined produce the expression of Love that is needed. A Saturday church project to go and witness to homeless people is ineffective. Ask any homeless person. Better yet ask me.Take a group of ex homeless people down witnessing and you will learn a very different way of doing things.


We give God our extra time. He is demanding all of your time and He will give you the breaks you need. That is everybody who claims to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus. Didn't He say unless you give up everything? I have seem so many church leaders twist that around to justify their lives or to keep the money rolling in. Prosperity doctrine, even if you reject the blatant display of it by the Copeland types, has crept into every church in America. Contrary to teaching, God does not want you to have and worry about your retirement account, your want for a huge house, at least $50,000 salary. God was always to be our insurance policy. The Word makes that clear folks. Very clear. I have heard it said that if I manage my money well I can do more for the Kingdom. Really? Who gets the glory in that? The Glory that God wants is when things seems impossible and He provides a way. Any other way is playing in Laodician lukewarmness.


There is much more that could be said. The bottom line is we need to be the body of Christ. Everyone of us. There are people everywhere that are begging the Lord for someone to come along side who understands there unique fires and misunderstandings. Someone who feels that one soul is more important than the game on Sunday or the remodel your doing on your house, or dare I say The Church Your Trying to Plant.....


Troy Hansen

The Damage of Pride

Here is a statement that is my conclusion based on my observations over many years. I believe it is trustworthy. I also believe it is general and like everything on this earth there may be a few exceptions. With the Lords help I will dissect and explain what I mean through the rest of the post:

To claim that I know something spiritual beyond what the Lord has brought me through experientially is to be prideful.

The Avett Brothers have a song out called,  "10.000 Words" (the whole song is excellent)  but the chorus says it this way.  "Aint it like most people,  I'm no different, we love to talk on things we don't know about."
Pride does that.  A type of pride that knows we are small and ignorant and in great need, and covers all of that with a mirror  in which the reflection says "it just aint so"  And that is the part we play when around others..  It is particularly sad to see it so widespread in the church.  The church in the western world especially.
I do not beleive God works in us when this kind of pride covers our lack and great need.  What does that type of pride do?  For one it allows us to justify pummelling a brother or sister in the Lord who was wrong in some sort of belief or action they believed was of the Lord.  And in serving that pummeling up it is quite possible that it caused them to loose their  faith, and therefore there salvation.  I wonder what kind of cost will be extracted for an action like that. I  hope I never have to personally find out.

I can honestly say, and I know many of you out there can as well,:
 "I have never been treated so badly as I have been by people that called themselves Christians"  That treatment is caused by pride. That is the kind of pride that says I am right at all costs. That kind of pride makes it hard for us to say I don't know. After all I am  the go to guy,  I have the answers and if I don't I better fake it.  We all run the same thoughts through our minds, when set into similar scenarios.  We cannot possibly believe that an, "I don't know" could be just as, or even more comforting than the lie told to keep us on some sort of imaginary pedistal.

There are many ministries out there that are preaching and teaching on the end times.  As observant believers we know the time is at hand, for we recognize the signs that Jesus told us to be looking for.  We get anxious and over zealous though.  Then pride takes a foothold and we become blind. That is the work of the enemy folks. He is smearing the Word of our Lord and causing the faith of some to slip by our hands.  We start to teach things from the stance of "I know"  "I have the answer,"  You must understand, NO you don't. non of us does.  We may think it is this way, or could be that way, or could play out this way, or that way, but we do not KNOW it to be true.  Do you see how the enemy, with pride as the weapon, made us change one word?
THINK to KNOW and the rest is history.  We are all guilty of it.  We love to talk on things we don't know about. (This is different than the sure hope and promises given us in the Word that we build our faith on.)  

Why is that?  In the west everyone wants to be a big shot.  Everyone wants a hit song, or a hit show, or to be smart enough to figure out a mystery of God.

   So when it comes true everyone looks at us and tells us how smart or great or "in tune with the Lord" we must be.  Man our faith must be strong.

Pride

 The enemy of God through our culture has marginalized people and their lifes so much that we think we are nothing and even in the body of Christ  we can only be something if we make a name for ourselves, at all costs. However, in the church the enemy has disguised it differently.  We aren't trying to be famous, for that would be to obvious. No, the one most prevelant way, in my observations, is a twist on us being special to the Father. Because we are special, for there is nobody else like me or you. Therefore we take hold and believe we have vital insight or information to the rest of the body.  After all there is only one heart or pancreas or liver. We tell ourselves we must be that unique part of the body.  I just do not think that is quite what was meant by that passage. 
  Our uniqueness should express itself within the whole portfolio of things we do know about. The lessons taught to us by the Lord through the Holy Spirit. The organic and individual way our relationship with the Lord progresses causes seemingly similar issues in our fellow travelers to be expressed uniquely. These are healings of deep wounds and sins we all have to progress through if we are to grow in the knowledge of our Lord.  We know they are vital to others in the body of Christ who are struggling with the same issue.  But we don't want to talk about THOSE things, for it is humbling, and revealing and takes a different kind of strength to push through.  For me it is hard to share that part of my life as a Christ Follower that I spent 5 years in a cocaine addiction, questioning the Father about this thing He calls love. This Love that so often can feel like hate. Our life progresses much as an onion is peeled layer by layer. The  Holy Spirit has gently brought each one of  us through many such struggles. However we are made to feel common for even having them. Religous doctrine in many of our institutions teaches that the Father won't use us or even talk to us when we are in the midst of sin issues. So we hide, and we pretend they do not exist. If we are lucky enough to somehow overcome a particular issue we do not talk about it. Nobody can ever know about that, right?  There is where the foothold appears for false humility, which is really just pride.  We must abandon this religous cloak and become real human beings, and start healing.


I would venture to say until you do your very salvation may be in jepardy.  Now I do not know that.  I am stating something that very possibly could be true I certainly would not want to hang hang my hat on it not being true.
.What do you think Jesus meant when He said many are called but few are chosen?   I am sure He meant many things by it.  But do you want to bet your eternal spirit on whether or not He could have meant "If only you would have dropped the pride,  See I called you to, but because you didn't I cannot choose you to be part of my bride. Would you be will ing to bet your life on that.  Not me.  When it is so clear He has told us that pride is a sin.

That is what floors me about people who reject the gospel message.  Because at the core of the rejection we find pride..  And it is such a childish kind of pride.  It is one that says Im right and your wrong and whats even worse they really do not know if they are right. And to top it off if the gospel is presented properly they are gaining a whole bunch by believing the message. If they truly accept Christ and what He said a change happens in them to give them the assurance that they made the right decision.

If it is presented properly. But so often the way we present it reinforces them in there decision.  How sad. This is pride. Our own hidden faults is the foothold for the enemy.  We take a message that is eartthshakingly good and liberating for the individual and turn it into something bad, way bad. .  I am sure we all will have to answer for that when we stand before the Lord all anxious to get our rewards..  We make good news bad by condemning the person we are trying to save.  I wish I had a tape recorder sometimes.  It truly is mystifying to me how we can take a condemned person, who knows hes condemned,  and make him feel even more condemned.  Pride does that.
So here is a lesson learned and I am qualified to talk about it.

WHEN YOU WITNESS TO SOMEONE DONT YOU DARE TALK ABOUT THERE SINS.  YOU DO NOT TELL SOMEONE WHO IS GAY OR AN ADDICT OR A FORNICATOR HOW MUCH GOD HATES THEM.  DO YOU NOT THINK THEY KNOW THERE OWN TORMENT? YOU TELL THEM HOW MUCH GOD LOVES THEM. SO MUCH SO THAT HE SENT HIS SON TO TAKE THE PENALTY.  IF you are witnessing or picketing an abortion clinic out of some perceived religious obligation or worse yet, trying to earn  rewards stay home.  The kingdom of God will be less damaged.
 If you want to love those people and feel the obligation but just cannot bring yourself to it, bring it the Lord.  Be honest say this is me and this is how I am and how I feel and I do not want to be this way. I do not know how to change but I want to. please help me.  At that moment it is credited as repentance, even if it doesn't change right away. Just like Thomas saying "Lord help my unbelief ",  At that place of honesty, Jesus now has a place to start the work that only he can do. However,  if you hide it or deny it. How can he heal it.  Our churches have taught us for a long time now. how to hide feelings like that along with the secret sins mentioned above.  It is such BS..... Those very core issues are the very reason we need a Savior.  The work only begins when we accept Jesus' good news.  The rest of our walk with the Lord is the peeling of the onion layers.  But our churches tell us we have to grit our teeth and be something we cannot be so the Lord can accept us.  WOW. and that is how we present the gospel message:.  YOU MUST REPENT REPENT REPENT. That means nothing to the addict who already knows getting drunk is a sin but can't stop. What it is saying though is that he is  unacceptable to the Lord until he can quit drinking.
Or standing outside an abortion clinic with a sign that calls a confused and scared human being a baby killer. Then we wonder why they do not want to be a Follower of Christ. That is what focusing on the sin does.  it now logner is good news or the Lords work. It is something man has to do to get right with God. It is religion.   It actually just became the worst news in the universe.
PEOPLE GET THIS PLEASE this is all because of PRIDE. You saying you know when really you don't know. It elevates us above someone else in our own mind. and no good comes from it. period. 

This is the same pride that compels  us to teach or talk on some spirtual principle we could know nothing about, because nobody does.  That is why it is called a mystery.  Now mysteries will be revealed.  However they will not be revealed as special revelation to just one person in the body.  The comfirmations would come from plethora of people all getting various abstracts of the same message.

No we can only really own what we have experienced.  And what we own are the lessons we learned as we went through it or in hindsight, with prayer and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

TH

Gods Insane People

Does anyone else notice the utter insanity in what would be called God people? Particularly in what would be called the charismatics.  Charismatic from the christian point of view would be someone who believes certain gifts of the Holy Spirit operate through them.  I will state right up front.  I believe in the gifts of the Spirit.  I also believe they are available today and always have been available.  However the expression of them is being abused in today's so called "church culture".

Here are some supernatural ones believers say should exist:

Speaking in tongues, meaning gibberish that the Lord understands but nobody else does, not even you.  Some say it is a way to get out what you really want to say in prayer but can't put into words.

Healing.  Not much explanation needed here. Most have seen some TV person say they have a healing ministry and heal people for the world to see.  Or there is Benny Hinn who I  can say without a doubt cannot heal.

Prophecy.  Everyone today has a word from the Lord.

These are the big three.  The ones that we see abused throughout the world.  The one I want to focus on is prophecy.  The reason I want to focus on this is because it is being used to the extreme by the enemy of God, at this time in history, to confuse the true followers of Christ.

The reason I say that the enemy is using it is this:  Many different camps of doctrinal belief systems use this "word from the Lord" to support there continued exploits.  I will give just a couple examples.   One group believes that there is coming a great harvest of souls,. that it just about time, and that those who have been waiting for it and have spent many years being prepared by the Lord for this harvest of souls are about to be released.  What that actually means is anybodies guess.  But it is supposed to come with great provision and power to do mighty exploits. This has been at the doorstep since at least the mid 90's. There are many "Words of the Lord" on the internet that have this flavor.
 
Another group adheres to the idea that the Lord is coming very soon to "rapture believers away"  to get them out of here so the final prophecies of the Bible can be fullfilled.  Of all the end time ideologies out there this is probably closest to the biblical text.  But  there are a couple of twists on it..  One that comes out of the heresy perpretrated by the Kansas City Fellowship and later the Toronto Blessing (do a search on them you will get more than enough to understand why it is heresy) says that only a select few are going to be priveledged enough to be taken out of danger.  The ones that  "Overcome"  or "endure till the end." These few "self proclaimed" people will be endowed with special powers and they will go about like the two wittnesses laying everbody low that gets in there way. It is an extremely confusing idea as it relates to the rapture. I was friends with an old timer that was part of the beginnings of this theology. He could not really give a straight answer.

Another twist is that "The church as a whole is asleep and are not aware of the signs of the times.  That is because only   the ones that "recognize the signs of the times" and are looking for his return, are the ones to be raptured out of danger. The rest have to endure pain and suffering through the tribulation to learn there lesson.  One big  problem with  rapture theology in combination the "Word from the Lord" that supports there stance is that most of the folks I have encountered just sits around telling everyone else how bad they are and that they better get right.  They do not seem to do any real  "kingdom work". There waiting to be snatched out of this world, and if you are left behind, it isn't because THEY didn't tell you.  If anyone is going to get left behind in the rapture it is the ones that do not have Jesus as their first love.  What groom would want a bride that just wants out of danger?  No the bride without spot or wrinkle is a bride that wants nothing more than to be with her Groom.  Jesus himself said if you don't give it all up for Him you won't get Him.   I want Jesus more than Life.  Do You?

 Then you have the hundreds of armchair prophets who say "thus says the Lord"  and are so angry and UNLOVING in the delivery that it leaves most who read it bleeding in pile of self loathing. Those are the ones that think they still live in Old Testament times. Also most in this camp believe there is no rapture at all. Or if there is one it is at the end of the tribulation period.

There are many more types and flavors out there but that is enough for me to make my point. That is this. If they are all "hearing from the Lord" and "proclaiming" this "Word"  then at least one or more ISN"T "hearing from the Lord" because the content of the messages contradict each other.  God is not the author of confusion, nor the provider of anxiety, nor the spewer of hate, or any other thing that leaves us feeling less than Loved by our Creator as true followers of the Lord.

My tendency is that  none of them are hearing from the Lord,  for the reason stated above and simply because everyone of these people that say they have a word from the Lord are unwilling to say that it might not be.  In other words pride has elevated them to the point that humilty doesn't exist.  The kind of humility that would say "I think I got a word from the Lord, and I would like to share it, but please understand it could be wrong. I give it for your consideration."    If you presume to speak for the Lord you had better know beyond any doubt, He Said it      AND     that He wants it broadcast. 

Most of the words that I read on the internet say "better get right with God"  or "God is very angry with his people and you better grovel and beg forgiveness."  Even for the sins you do not know you commited.

Wow what bondage is that?  These people do not have the first clue about the Love of Christ.  It leaves the body of Christ confused and vulnerable to the enemy.  Because if we lose our hold on the core fact of our Saviors undying love the enemy has won.  PERIOD.  Everything I read leaves me feeling yucky.  That is not God.

If you believe in Jesus finished work on the cross. That He took your rightful place to pay for your debt. Then your sins were nailed there with Jesus.  Even the ones you do not recall.  We have to continue to grow and live according to how the Lord wants.  But if we truly believe that we have a Creator that LOVES us that much and in that way, our lives over time will reflect that.  It is not something we conjure up.  It is not something we have to plead for day after day.

He has offered us true freedom and most people cannot handle that. They really can't handle someone else who has found it either.  Do you believe He loves you?  Than go and sin no more is what I believe Jesus said.  If you truly believe that He will be with you.  No insecurity,  No confusion, No anxiety. Not from him anyhow.

A word about repentance.  That has been completely misunderstood by most.  There are things that we know are wrong and can give up easily. When we truly feel and understand the Love of Chrsit, it isn't even an issue. They are gone.  However there are deeper issues of sin that seem to be a very part of our makeup. We know they are there, we want to change them but it never really sticks.   Most would tell you buck up and grit your teeth and do the best you can. WOW  as a recovering addict that is just a slap in the face.  Jesus said if you even look at a woman with lust you have sinned.  His followers said, "well who can be saved then"  Jesus said,"with man this is IMPOSSIBLE but with God all things are possible."  So what is repentance with those types of sins?

:Let me ask it this way.  "What do most believers do with those sins?"   In my experience they try to hide them.  Pretend they do not exist.  Then they get into the thought that something is wrong with them because nobody else seems to struggle.    Take my word for it.  Everyone has those types of sin issues.  EVERYONE.  They all are hiding it too, or they have truly gained victory over it.  But it wasn't by there effort that they have gained that victory.  Honesty. Honesty Honesty, before the Lord about your specific condition.  Honesty that there is nothing you can do about it, but want to.  Then inviting the Lord into that area to do the work only He can do.  Most of the time it will be a process and take time and involve continued failure. He who started a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.  Even when your not. So take heart and do not let these "Prophets" beat on you.  They are in the wrong not you. And sin for you may not be for someone else.  This is your walk with the Lord and He will let you know if there is something He would like to deal with.   When it is done this way  ----Nobody gets the credit for the change in you but the Lord.  He will share his Glory with nobody.


One other thing these "Prophets" will do is use a lot of scripture reference to back up what they say.  It gives it a look of officialness.   Do not be fooled by that.   Many a cult leader has done the same thing.

So Look Out Now

I have a word for all of those "Prophets" out there  How Dare You beat up the body of Christ. How dare you presume to speak the Word of the Lord.  How dare you attempt to tie them in chains of bondage to make your own chains feel looser.   How Dare You  ---    How Dare You   -----    How Dare You.

May the Lord Rebuke You for your Folly.   If you think the Lord gave you a word, you better apply it to yourself first, because he gave it to YOU.  Do you get it??????  HE Gave it to YOU!!!!!

The Lord said take the log out of your eye first.  WOW,  how do you miss that?  Do you understand why the Lord said that?   One reason is because you will then approach your brother or sister from a stance of humility rather than pride.... If the Lord is mad at anyone it is you the FALSE  PROPHETS   again

HE GAVE THE WORD TO YOU

The Walk

The Walk

No one will know that my boot has hit this ground
But maybe inhabitants 10,000 years from now
Will marvel at what they found.

No one will know that my boot has touched this ground.
For silence was its legacy
the wind is the only sound
carrying my silence...
to the one who writes it all down

Just one knows my foot has caressed this ground
Hope for now
Known when the work is done.

The Prayer

The Prayer

Throw it to the wind

Let it take it where it will
For who knows upon whose head it will light
The sweet whispering of will.
So sweet to the taste,
So easy to afford,
But to keep, another story to be told.
So throw it to the wind,
and just let it go.
The one who whispers,
is the one who knows.

Oh For Silence

Oh for Silence

Oh for a moment of silence,
but ne’er it is meant to be
For upon my plate there sits
The greens I loathe to eat.
Bitter is the taste
And more than that below.
“Good for me,” you say it is,
Though the texture makes me choke.
“How long can this be good?”
“But for your illness this is food,”
“The time”......
“is up to you”....