Christ Lives in Me

"I Have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who lives but Christ live in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." ( Galations 2:20)

"One of the most incredible things in life is that God uses fragile people to accomplish His will."

Brennan Manning

Halloween - Trick or Treat

The end of this week, millions of Americans will be celebrating Halloween, the 31 of October. It would seem that the commercial and product industries have built this one day event to compete with the Christmas season, with Thanksgiving sandwiched in between. Starting weeks ahead, stores are decorated, shelves filled with bags of assorted candy, costumes (everything imaginable) and merchandise all related to Halloween. You can even decorate your yard and house with lights, characters (creatures) and fixtures in the traditional colors; black and orange. However, Halloween and Christmas are not really arch rivals, they are in competition together, to get more of your mind and your dollars. They are about the deception of evil, and the ignorance of many people in society.

Traditions have always had a powerful influence on cultures around the world, both good and bad. Since the beginning of time, Satan and man have conspired to influence people to band together for "good," rather than submit to the ways of God. The first city and tower were built as a means of self protection, (rather than trusting in God's protection). To celebrate mans accomplishments or beliefs, he established special days to honor himself or his creations (his gods). These repeated honors became traditions, the inspiration of men by the influence of Satan, for the sole purpose of destroying God's plans and His creation. Satan starts first in the mind, by giving a person a thought or an idea. Then these thoughts are transformed into acts that seemed very innocent at first (a little bad or good) depending on your frame of mind. The subtlety of Satan's words to Eve," did God really say," (implying that you can do better) has lured all of us at times, down through the ages, to do things we should not do. The fallen nature of man tends to follow others rather than God, and so "the mass" of people, have been a powerful force ever since the beginning. Going against those traditions is unthinkable, for most people, including most Christians.

Halloween, was and still is an evening pagan festival, to celebrate the "high day" of Satan, ( Hallowed evening) with rituals of animal and even human sacrifices. It is also tied to death, demons, devils, ghost, curses, black magic, skeletons and witchcraft and their potion pots. The demonic realm is real and is always active (especially at night and on Halloween) even in casual parties, mischief activities, and satanic rituals. These evil spirits are seeking to steal the soul of men, to please their "god of darkness," Satan.

But over the century, though religious influences, Halloween has also become an elaborate festival geared mostly for young children. Adults have offered special events and activities using candy, games, haunted houses, horror stories and scary movies to feed on their innocent minds. It's become a unique way for children to play pranks, go to parties and extort candy from door to door. Many think it's cute, "trick-or-treat," and have gone along with it.

However, in the past decade or so, there are more adults getting involved. MSN Business Reports  2009, states that Americans will spend almost 5 billion dollars and over half of that will be spent by adults on high-quality costumes and accessories to go parties, night clubs, bars and restaurants as " their way of escape." More retail businesses and sales people are also getting into the act by decorating and dressing up at their place of businesses, after all, why should kids have all the fun. For some kids and adults, its an excuse to be bad one day a year, either by throwing eggs or pumpkins, or stealing and much worst. All of this done in a childish and colorful or ugly sort of way, wearing masks, pretending to be something they're not. Despite it's cuteness and fun, the spirits behind Halloween are not cute but, demonic "leaches and cling ons" that will destroy lives over the years. The inspiration and the originator, satan, still goes around 24/7, masquerading as a "angel of light." His agenda is "to steal, kill, and destroy." The saddest part of all this is that there are many Christians, who are naive and still do not fully understand all the dangers associated with Halloween.

Fifty some years ago, I remember trick or treating, and bringing home bags of candy. But when I got older my brother and I went to our church parties, that had "haunted rooms" in the basement. My mother played the role of a witch, (with mask) and her cauldron brewing pot for several years. Later on, religious books on witchcraft and satanism started to have a influence on churches celebrating Halloween and things changed for a while. Even the general public became concerned about Halloween, because of the increasing danger, from "sick minds," regarding the safety of their children, the candy, and other things children were given.

Traditions are hard to break and the pier pressure of the world was more than many church could handle. As churches tried to grow and accommodate their flocks, so there were many members who were still jealous of the world's traditions, but fearful of the dangers for their children. They wanted an alternative and so the ministers obliged, by having parties at the church the same night. Some also saw it's potential as an outreach ministry for reaching other families for Christ through their kids, this would be OK, if they follow through with sharing Jesus and hopefully telling the truth about Halloween. But other just use it as an alternative, (shame on them). To try to make their Halloween parties more "spiritual," many of them change the name to such things as Noah' Ark Party, where you can dress-up as animals, or Bible Party, or Harvest Festival, with biblical characters costumes, and even Candy Festival. ( Is it really a wonder, why more kids are sick in the winter, with all the sugar they eat.) Some have even tried to move it to the next day and you will even find it on some calendars, as All Saints Day. Religious minds are very creative, believing they are still pleasing God.

Nothing could be further from the truth. God warn the children of Israel repeatedly against making gods, serving other gods or the practises of other nations and the dangers. (Ex.23:24,32,33 and Deut.12:30-32) Even in the New Testament we are warn, "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbeliever. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness. (II Cor 6:14). King Saul was rebuked, when he tried to spare the sheep, to offer as a sacrifice to the Lord. (what do ministers think all these examples and scripture were given for). The practice of substitution for obedience (name changes are substitutions) was never acceptable to God; but it still continue to thrive in many churches and organized religion, because substitution (compromise) is the heart of organized religion. Everyday belongs to the Lord and we should love only Jesus and celebrate only his Holy days, not the worlds or their religious festivals or holidays.

Churches and individuals need to repent for their blindness, compromise and lust for the world and it's religious festivals. They need to honest and tell adults and their children the truth about Halloween and the need to honor and obey God. There is no reason to be jealous unless that is where our heart really is. Don't be deceived, those activities can not only poison our mind, body and spirit but our future children also. Many serious health issues have occurred in people because of touching or associating with demonic articles and activity. The Bible states that,"My people are destroyed for the lack of knowledge."( Hosea 4:6). Our mind can become open doors, to the demonic spirits tied to these type of festivals, even by association if we are not careful and covered by the Blood of the Lamb. The Bible warns us not to even bring any of those kind of things (unclean) into your home, that are tied to pagan worship , festivals and holidays.

"You shall burn the carved images (my notes:this includes pictures, displays, costumes and decorations) of their gods with fire; nor shall covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves lest you be snared by it; for it is an abomination to the Lord. Nor shall you bring an abomination into your house, lest you be doomed to destruction like it. You shall utterly detest it and utterly abhor it, for it is an accursed thing." (Deut. 7:25-26).

" Any object that is made for the use in Satan's service is cursed and cannot be cleansed. They must be destroyed. Examples of these are idols, statues of demons gods, and jewelry with occultic symbols. About half of all the souvenirs found in any shop around the world are cursed objects. Why? Because often they are articles pertaining to the local culture which usually involves demon worship." Unbroken Curses, by Rebecca Brown M.D. and Daniel Yoder

We must protect our mind and our children from demonic influences. Pray about it and ask God where you have yielded to demonic influence and what to do if invited to a Halloween party. If God says, "go" then proceed in his authority. But if He says, "don't go" then say, "no thank you." You can explain, if they want to know more. But don't be surprised, if they think you're being silly. (After all, most people think, it's just pretending.) You can also use it as an opportunity to tell them about Jesus and His Kingdom of love.

Jesus said to the pharisees," Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your traditions."( Math.15:3).

"And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is..." (Rom.12:2)

The Skull

"You will remember that the location where Jesus was crucified was called "Golgotha," which meant " the place of the skull." If we will be effective in spiritual warfare, the first field of conflict where we must learn warfare is the battleground of the mind; i.e., "the place of the skull." For the territory of the uncrucified thought-life is the beachhead of satanic assault in our lives. To defeat the devil, we must be crucified in the place of the skull. We must be renewed in the spirit of our minds!"

Francis Frangipane, The Three Battlegrounds

Lets Make a Deal

The game show, Let's Make a Deal, is a show that features special prizes that the host offers, prizes that are hidden behind certain doors and curtains. A contestant makes an agreement with the host not knowing what is hidden behind the door or curtain. Sometimes the prize is good and other times not so good. It's been the longest running TV show in history. But the concept has been on going on since the dawn of time.

The "Game of Life" began in the Garden of Eden. God offered Adam a choice between two doors (two options). The first door was the Tree of Life, and the second door was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Each possessed a prize (consequence) that Adam didn't yet know about. Adam chose the wrong door. And the Game of Life has continued ever since. And so have the prizes (blessings) and the consequences (curses).

In the book of Joshua, God gave the children of Israel a choice: "...choose you this day whom ye will serve..." (Joshua 24:15 KJV). The prizes were Life and Blessings or Death and Curses. The Israelites often chose the wrong door, over and over. They kept trying to make deals with Almighty God, all the while falling away from His original intent. When they did choose correctly, they prospered and flourished. But as time would proceed they would fail again to keep their side of the deal.

Not a lot had changed since then. Fourteen hundred years later, Jesus graciously gave man another opportunity to choose. Here, Jesus represented the host and His promises are the prizes. The offer He gives mankind is incredible: You give me your messy, sick, lonely, and broken lives, and I'll give you my whole, healthy and prosperous life; all I ask is that you simply love Me with all your heart and others as yourself. Essentially, if you will deny yourself interests, take up your cross and follow me (doing as I do, speaking my words), then I will bless you and give you authority over everything on earth, with the bonus of eternal Life with me. Wow, that's an incredible deal,(covenant). Through out history there were those who diligently strove to abide in the covenant of Life and Blessings while many others just wanted to rewrite the rules to suit themselves.

Today, almost 2000 years after Jesus' offer, many of us are still trying to negotiate our way out of the original deal with Jesus; especially, when thing don't go the way we want or think they should. Why is it that we seem unable trust in His complete knowledge of all things, His great power and unceasing love to accomplish His will for each of us? Do we really think that we know better than Him? Is the promised deal of God, still not good enough?

When it come to an either or situation, many of us still want our cake and ice cream too. Yes, we meant to give God our all when we took Him up on His offer. But when the excitement of the honeymoon wore off of our new relationship, and the communication didn't always connect, many of us started to interpret what we thought He really meant and the cost involved. We begin looking for advice from others and used them as examples to follow, especially if they been a Christian longer. After all they should know more, besides God loves us anyway, just the way we are and He set us free from sins. He won't mind if we make a few changes along the way. We to often assume that since He says nothing, and no lighting bolts have struck us down, it must be OK. However, God is very patient and loving toward us, but he doesn't think the way we do. Nor has he changed his mind or His Word. To think or believe that He accepts our excuses or our double-mindedness to the deal we agreed upon is foolish. Or, were we only kidding at the start?

Here's a list of some of the deals we've tried to negotiate with God (after our original deal was made).

1) I know, I agreed to give you everything, but, now that I think about it — that's not realistic — I'll give whatever I can spare— OK?

2) I also agreed to love You with all my heart, but how does that work with all my other obligations, I still love You—most of the time.

3) I know, I should forgive as You forgave me, but its not that easy; not to mention the part about blessing them too!

5) I know your Word commands me to take up my cross and follow you, but ...I've got a busy life. I have kids to get to soccer practice; hair appointment; favorite TV shows; vacation—I'll try harder to work you in.

6) I believe, "the Lord is my Shepard, I shall not want...He leads me...and I will fear no evil for you are with me". Yeah, yeah, but I still need to look out for myself too—don't I?

7) I know you are my healer, but is it OK to see the doctor, if I don't feel better in the morning?

8) I know I committed to your Lordship, yet don't I have the right to choose who and when I get married and when and how many children we will have, and where I will live and how I will make my living and, and, and....?

9) Sorry, I'm busy! I'll get to it later...tomorrow...someday?

10) Not now, I'm tired!

The list could go on and on... But, the point I'm making, is that every time we make an excuse or take back our rights, we're trying to negotiating a new deal with God. These excuses can become little idols, and demanding our "rights" is nothing more than rebellion. Yet, this is not what we agreed to when we first asked Jesus into our hearts and lives. Sometimes we sing to God, songs like,"I surrender all...all to Jesus I freely give." But is that just lip service? God's word tells us that we are to have no idols before Him or after Him (physical ones or mental ones). Everything and everyone will find it's proper place afterward. We are to love Him with all our heart, mind, and with all our strength; and that hasn't changed. The Bible tells us, we are to consider the cost before we make decisions.(II Sam. 24:24 and Luke 14:26-35). Apostle Paul said, that he kept his desires in subjection daily. This cost is often not emphasised enough in the message or deal offered from the pulpits today. When we chose God's way it will cost us because we have chosen to die to our old ways and desires; and now we've chosen to trust and obey Him completely. As a result of that choice, we won't need to make another deal because, the first one was sealed with His blood. I trust you'll find this to be true.

True Worship

Worship is being in love with the Heavenly Father; waiting on Him, being led by His Spirit, and sharing in his passion. His praise is always on our lips. Your desire is to hear His voice whispered in your ear; to feel His heart beating with yours, to breath His breath, and to experience His joy. Worship is complete trust in His Word and promises, whether written or spoken. Worship is when you help or forgive others from your heart, to wash the feet of the wounded or heal the broken hearted. Worship is when you give a cup of cool water to a parched soul, or bless those who curse you. Worship is willing to sacrifice your life daily for others; it's when nothing else matters except knowing Him; it's forsaking the things of this world and speaking His words to create a new heaven and earth... Worshipers wait, listen and obey.

"Obedience is the purest form of worship."

Sheldon David

"Worship is the summit of the church's life, the fount of all ministry, the shared solidarity in community that makes fidelity to Jesus possible. Worship, is an expression of the discipline of the secret, it is not dilettantes seeking entertainment."

Brennan Manning

"Worship is only for small groups of clearly committed Christians who comprise an intense community on the basis of their common, intense loyalty to Christ."

Larry Rasmussen

In the days ahead, I believe, worship in every genre, from music to our actions, will be thrust into another dimension. A dimension in which we have never seen before. We should be open to however the breath of God's Spirit takes us. "Nothing is impossible with God." As the Bible clearly states, from Psalms to Revelations, the heavens and the earth are and will one day be filled with His praise and glory, as it is in Heaven.

Worship Focus

Abel worshiped God...

Cain worshiped what he gave.

God created church life to worship Him...

Man made religion to worship what he made.

Worship is an expression of agape love...

Religion seek to steal, kill and destroy true worship.

Just For Laughs

Conversion vs Aversion

"The biblical word for conversion is metanoia meaning a radical transformation of our inner self. We discover that a personal relational with Jesus Christ can no longer be contained in a code of do's and don'ts. It becomes, as Jeremiah wrote, a covenant written in the fleshy tablets of the heart and inscribed in the depths of our being. Conversion opens us to to a new agenda, new priorities, a different hierarchy of values. It stretches us from professing Jesus as Savior to confessing him as Lord, from a mindless accommodation of our faith in our culture to a live faith in the consuming truth of the Gospel. It 'turpentines our imagination, electrifies our brain with the lightnin' of the Word, fills us plumb full of the dynamite of his glory, and anoints us all over with the kerosene of salvation and sets us on fire."'

"The opposite of conversion is aversion. The other side of metanoia is paranoia. Paranoia is usually understood in psychological terms. It is characterized by fear, suspicion, and flight from reality. Paranoia usually results in elaborate illusions and self-deception. In the biblical context paranoia implies more than emotional or mental imbalance. It refers to an attitude of being, a stance of the heart. Spiritual paranoia is a flight from God and our true selves. It is an attempt to escape from personal responsibility. It is the tendency to avoid the cost of discipleship and to seek an escape route from the demands of the gospel. Paranoia of the spirit is an attempt to deny the reality of Jesus in such a way that we rationalize our behavior and choose our own way.'"

"Each of us lives in the tension between metanoia and paranoia. We walk a narrow ridge between fidelity and betrayal. None of us is immune to the seduction of counterfeit discipleship. A watered-down gospel would allow us to have the best of both worlds, a life of gilded mediocrity where we carefully distribute ourselves between the flesh and spirit with a watchful eye on both. The gospel of cheap grace dilutes faith into a lukewarm mix of the Bible, nationalism, and compromise—a spirituality that bears no resemblance to the paschal mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus."

"Conversion opens us to a new agenda, new priorities... from professing Jesus as Savior to confessing him as Lord. From being lead by the flesh to being led by the Spirit."

Brennan Manning, The Signature of Jesus

Unity

In the days ahead, " We will see church unity like never before, when combined with deeper unity with Christ and individual believers, the world cannot help but believe."

" The Lord is not just looking to bring unity between churches. He is looking to bring unity between the church of the ages."

" Unity does not mean slowing down down for other to catch up. Many forerunner ministries think they have to back away from the "edgier" things God is doing, in order to preserve unity. This is not true. If we set high standards, others will follow. God wants us all to run full throttle into the calling He has released into our lives."

"However unity does not criticize those who do not run as fast as I do, or those who do not meet my standards. Unity respects every believer where he or she is, and trust God to lead them without judgement. Unity also is receptive to the gifting and ministry of others who are different from us. Unity does not require conformity of style or function. It requires perspective change, in which we value a brother with the eternal worth of Christ that has been placed upon them. Unity is achieved only through love for one another. Unity is not the ultimate goal. Love is the goal. Unity is just the fruit of love. We may completely despise one another's calling, function, and ministry tactics, but if we have love for each other anyway, we can still achieve unity. We must learn to prefer one another, despite our differences. Consider how how Abraham preferred Lot. There was no competition or selfish ambition in Abraham. He let Lot choose the choices, fattest portion of the land without the slightest argument. And God blessed him with an eternal covenant, giving him spiritual land and blessing that far outweighed Lot's acreage."

"Most divisions come through envy over one another's gifts, blessing, callings. And this is rooted in a slavery mentality. It is a form of spiritual poverty,... We become jealous when He favors someone else."

"We need to be creative and blaze new trails. Envy and jostling for position only breeds copycats, look-alike, and drones. True unity is found in diversity."

"The tribes of Israel were different, but still, they each word together to help one another take their inheritance. The 'unity of the faith' is not uniformity, but it does pack exponential power that no one man or ministry could accomplish alone."

John Crowder, The New Mystics

Why Denominations?

Have you ever asked yourself, why you do certain things in church? Or, why they do this or that? We often take a lot for granted or assume that it's just the way it is because somebody else knows better than us.

How did you get started in going to church? For me, like many others, we were raised in church from the day we were born. Others were invited by a friend or came out of curiosity. Still others were drawn by a need or conviction. Today is a little different, not as many are raised in church, some just don't like organized church but still love God, and others are just rebellious. Why?

Like all children, we learn by hearing and observation. Some of us moved a lot and whenever we moved our parents took us to the church that fit their liking. When we got married we did the same with our kids. When we went to church, we were taught many things, some what to do's and lots of what not to do's and we believed them, because we didn't know any different. We also believed them for the most part, because we thought they, ministers and teachers, knew God and the Bible better or longer than we did. We were basically all taught to believe and worship the same way, regardless of age. After all, most ministers have gone to Bible college and/or seminary where they where taught about God. Then they would teach us, because they had more experience. Right?

Today it's not much different, we're still usually taught by someone. There are televangelist on 24/7 on several TV channels and churches of all sizes on every other block it seems. So many different religions and denominations around the world today, each claiming that what they believe and teach is true. The book you believe in, determined your 'faith' or religious affiliation. For the Christian, that book is the Bible, and there are thousands of books that have been written in support of the Bible. From our personal conviction or belief, we believe the Bible is the Word of God and the teachings of Jesus Christ. Our convictions are based on what we call a,"born again" experience. Yet, even within our own 'camp' there is division; each choosing a different doctrine they support more strongly than others. Why?

Do you realize that there are over 9,000 different Christian affiliated denominations and each was started by a man with a different opinion. (That's crazy, have Christians gone nuts? What happened to unity?) Each denomination became an organization, controlled by men who loved God. Each grew because of people's preferences, and even within each denomination there are people who don't agree on certain issues. So now we have basically built churches that separate us from our brothers and sisters in Christ because of our different tastes in theology and doctrine. Why?

All of these church organizations within Christianity claim to be Bible based. They all believe Jesus died for our sins, that we should love God and others. But after that, what they say and do seems to get a little blurry. God's Word says , "if you love me, you will keep My commandments." (John 14:15). Jesus taught us, that we were to be one and we were to love our neighbor as our self. But somewhere along the way man thought he could improve on the Truth by separation, organization and building structures to contain people and those beliefs. Christianity is a man-made religion, the 'mother' of all denominations. Do we really understand that? Jesus taught that we are in the world, but not to be part of it (world systems, including organized religion are Babylon). The apostle Paul rebuked the early church and Peter for trying to do this very thing (I Cor. 1:10-13, 3:1-11) and (Gal.2: 11-14). We are not to go along with the flow, the broad road that leads to destruction. Yet most Christians and ministers seem to have chosen to overlook those verses because the denominational leaders have.

Denominations are an offense to God, they are not a reflection of His heart, in any form. There are also other verses that people seem to disregard, preferring their own beliefs and what they feel more comfortable with rather than doing what the Bible says. I have also learned not take everything that is said and done from the pulpit or in organized church, as truth. Many ministers should be repenting and pointing their flocks back to Jesus Christ and how He live his life. They should be freeing their flocks from the bondage of religious thinking and encouraging them to worship God and be led, every moment of every day, by the Holy Spirit that is within us. Unfortunately, what many preach and administrate in organized churches reflects a lot of creative thinking, of which I have a hard time finding in my Bible. I love all of God's people and I know the pastors mean well, many are simply following blindly down a well rutted path they have been taught.

Today, more than ever we need to be praying for our pastors, ministers, leaders and ourselves that we all should be spending more time waiting on, listening to and obeying God's heart. We need to be asking Him to open our eyes to the truth and the deception that we have yielded to. I want to believe that all people want to know the truth, so I encourage you to ask yourself, is what you see in yourself, your home, and your church truly reflecting what Jesus and His Apostles taught and did? I realize that most of us got caught in this system of religion out of ignorance but we still need to repent, as I did, from Christianity. We need to ask God what to do, then do it; even if it cost us our pride or money. It took over 1600 years for the religion of Christianity to become what it is, and it is not about to change over night, if ever. Many Christian ministers and laymen within the organization will be reluctant to give up their religious pay check or admit their business, concepts and practices are wrong. Obedience does have a price. But, God is forgiving and patient with willing and seeking hearts.

The Kingdom of God will be established, and things are going to change soon, one heart at a time by the love, power and authority of the Father. And in His Kingdom there is no division, just one Body and Jesus is the Head. We can come up with all kinds of excuses for hanging on to the past and not change. But, do we really want to miss out on seeing God's dreams and plans for us fulfilled. If we seek Him with all our heart, we will learn and know the truth, and we will be happier. Plus, God will also be pleased and say, "well done my good and servant". I for one, do not think the Gospel of Jesus Christ should be changed after 2000 years. After all, "Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever." Don't you agree?

Note: The fact that there are over 9,000 denominations is no surprise to God. He has allow it, so that organized religion would remain weak; (each has some truth, some more that others.) Then, His church, which is set apart unto Him, will rise up in the last days, to its rightful position, in His power and authority. The love of the Heavenly Father will be revealed through His sons and daughters, the Bride of Christ, to establish His kingdom on earth. Just as the tower of Babel was brought down and the people were dispersed because of different languages. So all man-made religions and denominations, have been dispersed so that their towers of organization will fall.

The Journey

"The movement from Haran to Canaan is the journey across the chasm. We have pass definitively beyond beliefs to faith. Yes, we are called to believe in Jesus. But our belief summons us to something greater, to faith in him. Faith that will force us to sink into consciousness of Jesus, to embrace a lifestyle of prayer, unselfishness, goodness and involvement in building the new heaven and the new earth."

"When God called Abraham to abandon the security of the world familiar to him, he also asked him to forsake his polytheistic religious beliefs. All his previous concepts of God faded away. The same process is necessary in the Christian commitment. When we encounter the God revealed by and in Jesus Christ, we have to revise all our previous thinking about God. Jesus, as the revealer of the Godhead, defines God as love. In light of this revelation, we have to abandon the cankerous, worm-eaten structure of legalism, moralism, and perfectionism that corrupts the Good News into an ethical code rather than a love affair."

"So many Christians I know stop at Jesus. They remain on the Way without going where the Way leads them--to the Father. They just want to be brothers and sisters without being son and daughters."

Brennan Manning, The Signature of Jesus

Time

Many years ago, I had a dream of Sheldon David that I have never forgotten. In the dream he was hanging all kinds of clocks on the walls of his room. Each clock showed a different time on it. I asked him, why? He casually replied, " time spent with God is never wasted time."--end of dream. What he said, back then, has been the principle he has lived. It is one we should all remember and put into action.

Are You Hungry for God?

" Sadly, studies have shown that American pastors pray an average of 15 minutes a day. Fifteen minutes-- no kidding. How can this be? God did not ordain His servants to be first of all administrators, second of all organizers, and thirdly good orators. He wants men who get before Him on their faces and pray. Yes, this may take a violent pressing in at times. Prayer is the front line of combat against the devil. God is not looking for a bunch of sissy Christians who won't sacrifice themselves in prayer. If you look at the greatest saints and revivalists of old, you will find one thing in common-- they where staunch men of prayer. How hungry are you to change the world for your King? It will show by the time you put into your prayer closet."

"But Prayer is not just about exhaustive, repetitive intercession, trying to twist God arm to intervene in the affairs of men. Nor is it just about tongue-talking yourself into a delirium for three hours. All of that kind of prayer is good, but you will burn out if that is your only staple. The only way a man can maintain extended prayer before the Lord is learn the practice of His presence, and how to still himself before God in silence. It is there that prayer becomes interactive. Prayer is much more about listing and basking in God's presence, than it is about talking and asking."

"'I still believe that all spiritual life consists of practicing God's presence, and that anyone who practices it correctly will soon attain spiritual fulfillment. To accomplish this , it is necessary for the heart to be emptied of everything that would offend God. He wants to possess your heart completely," writes Lawrence. I am convinced that it is all a matter of our desire--we can each have as much of God's manifest presence in our our lives as our hearts truly want."

" We have to get hungry. No measure of prayer, reading, or spiritual discipline can replace the fire of passionate hunger which God desires from us. And how can we ever become hungry for Him unless we stop to taste and see that He is good? If we truly want more of God's presence in our lives, we will get it."

"'The Lord says: 'These people come near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of Me is made up only of rules taught by men' (Isa.29:13). And yet, when the flame of divine love does begin to kindle in our souls, we know that the " eye of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose heart are fully committed to Him" (2 Chron. 16:19)."

"There is no form. No methodology to the practice of His Presence. It relies heavily on silence-- listening--but the only DNA which separates it from other systems, is that is not a system...it is a relationship."

" In the place of His nearness, in hearing His still small voice, we are supercharged. We can do super-human feats and receive heavenly visitations. Taking the time to experience God kindles the fire of heaven until it is raging within us. It is believed that, in today's postmodern era, the discontinuity of life, the discontentment with religious formulas and the evident limits of rationalist thinking are simply signposts to a cultural cry for true spiritual intimacy."

John Crowder, The New Mystics

Gospel Mystery

"One of the mysteries of the gospel tradition is this strange attraction of Jesus to the unattractive, his strange desire for the undesirable, his strange love for the unlovely. The key to this mystery is of course, the Father. Jesus only does what he see the Father doing, He loves those whom the Father loves."

Donald Gray