What Are We Suppose To Do In The End Times?

The world is changing. Or is the veil being pulled back? Is it possible that it is just continuing its downward spiral and we are nearing the end? Or, is this just simply our awareness and the worse is yet to come? Sounds pretty dismal and bleak. Are we just suppose to stand by and play the fiddle while Rome burns? That's what some misguided people would have you think.

Some people have gotten to the point that Jeremiah had reached. For so long he had prayed for his fellow citizens, praying that the Lord would stay his hand but the entire time he was praying for them they were abusing him. They shouted him down, beat him, threw him in jail until it got so bad that Jeremiah stopped praying for them and told the Lord, "Bring it on. The sooner the better".

I am hearing more and more this chorus going up "Come Lord come", knowing that this would bring on the judgement. We used to pray "Tary but a bit longer Lord" not because we did not want to go but because there were so many who did not yet know him. Why do you think the Lord has waited these two thousand years? He wants the banquet hall to be full.

Put away the fiddles because we have some real work to do. Apostle Paul outlined it to the Thessalonians. It is worth reading the entire fifth chapter because I am going to leave off some of the good bits just to focus on some very important instructions for us in these days.

Verse 14: "We appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, to instruct those who are not in their place of battle." Instead of cheering on the destruction of those who offend you, look around and see who is not in position. See who is in your sphere of influence who has not understood the instructions and help them by showing them. Of course, you better make sure that the Lord's new commandment of loving each other in the same manner he has loved us is your motivation.

It is important that if we are going to engage with these instructions that we are doing so because we love our brothers and sisters and not because we want to put them in their place. They are not in their place of battle because they do not know who they are, they do not know how to fight, they do not know the enemy is not people but the dark principality. Maybe they are discouraged. It is not just those who are not worshiping and praying but those who are fighting with wrong motivations. We are to come along, be their friend and influence them into position.

Verse 14: "Be skilled at gently encouraging those who feel themselves inadequate." I am sure you know plenty of Christians who feel inadequate, who feel they can't talk, teach, lead or even pray. I have heard so many say they can't understand the Bible and they could never talk to other people about Jesus. It's all a lie of the enemy because the adequacy does not come from us but by Spirit in us. We are all possessed by him so we are all equipped by him. The Body of Christ is in great need of encouragers.

Now take note of "be skilled at". This skill is more a skill of humility, understanding that we are not able to do anything outside of Jesus. The skill is the focus, the listening and the acting upon what you hear. The skill increases as you use it and we are to use it constantly. We say we are a people of faith and yet we struggle to trust that he enables us to do all this and more.

Verse 14: "Be faithful to stand your ground." Our Father loves faithfulness. He loves when we keep our word, our commitment. He loves when we are faithful to people. He loves when we are faithful to his instructions. This faithfulness is empowered by love. Stand your ground. Do what is right according to Father's heart. Stick it out with people. Be his voice in their lives. Don't be surprise by evil but stand your ground to overcome that evil by good. Be faithful to our Lord as he is faithful to us.

Verse 14: "Help the weak to stand again." People are use to friends coming and going. They are used to people being afraid of their "sins". They are used to people not sticking to the meaning of friendship. But we are called to be more than that. As the world gets darker and more confusing weaker Christians are going to need the faithful friendship of the stronger brothers and sisters.

Verse 14: "Be quick to demonstrate patience with everyone." Are you beginning to see how we might be falling short of the Lord's design for the Body of Christ? We are in this together, weak and strong. We are responsible for each other. We have a duty to each other. "No soldier is left behind." We have all heard it said that we are the only army that kills it's wounded. The thing is, we aren't even an army. We are more like a hospital and it is all hands on deck to see everyone healed and made whole again. This will require more patience than you can imagine. But remember, "Love is patient, love is kind ..."

Verse 15: "Resist revenge, and make sure that no one pays back evil in place of evil but always pursue doing what is beautiful to one another and to all the unbelievers." Yes, the Spirit inspired these words and Jesus demonstrated it. When his followers wanted to call down the fires of heaven Jesus rebuked them saying he had come to save lives not kill them. We would do well to remember this every time we feel our blood boiling and our hearty beat increasing as we read some of the garbage on social media. According to Proverbs there is a time when answering a fool is folly and other times when not answering a fool is folly. The trick is to be so intimate with the Spirit that you know the difference.

Instead of trying to think of ways you can prove someone wrong we are instructed to pursue beautiful things to do for each other. That requires our hearts to be full of love, full of mercy, full of grace. And that only comes when your roots are found in the multi-dimensional love of Christ. So, the most important thing is to be occupying yourself with him and then everything else happens from the overflow.

This is what the end times are suppose to look like to us. It is not a time to celebrate the destruction of our enemies but the encouraging of one another. It is not seeking revenge on our enemies but pursuing ways that we can do beautiful things for them. This is the Body of Christ, occupied with the mission to rescue as many as we can while supporting each other in the mission. May our Lord find us faithful to the tasks assigned when he returns.

Take A Look Around And Care

Too often we don't notice the important things around us in life because we are so focused on our projects, needs and schedules that we seldom notice our environment. We have been doing life this way for so long that we forget what it is to look around every now and then.

Sunday morning I was out for a walk with my dog before church. It was a beautiful morning in Chateauguay. It was a cloudless blue sky. The sunlight felt hot but there was no humidity. It was incredibly quiet, as it is often at this time on a Sunday morning. No cars. No people. A moment of pause in our small part of the world. Peaceful.

It wasn't until I was on my way home that I noticed them. Two young adults walking toward me on the opposite side of the street. Their body language didn't indicate they were a couple. Friends? Brother and sister? It was hard to tell but her body language screamed that she was in distress.

She had her arms wrapped around her mid-section in a self-hug, as if she was trying to keep herself together. Her voice sounded panicky although I couldn't make out the words yet. Her friend's face carried a deep look of concern and helplessness as he looked down at her. Obviously something was not right and he felt there was nothing he could do about it. Then her words reached me.

"But I'm scared for my mom! I'm scared for my sister! And I am scared for me!" Her voice seemed to choke on the words as she struggled to spit them out.

And as quick as that they were past me but her words hung heavy on my heart. What could this poor dear girl be so afraid of? What was happening in her family that even her friend felt the helplessness of the situation? The tangible fear seemed like a foreign intruder on such a beautiful morning.

The problem is that such things do not respect the moment. They will burst into our lives at the most perfect and delightful occasions. They will smear their ugliness all over the beauty of our day and they will try to rob us of all joy and peace. Whatever was happening to this family was acting like a life sucking leech and it was their little secret.

The world can be a very harsh and lonely place for those facing things that cause shame and fear. It takes a special place, a special community that is willing to walk with the suffering, the broken, with no judgement and condemnation. It takes a special people who see their responsibility to be open and available, even seeking out those who have lost their "normal".

It's all around us. It doesn't have to be a major event. A young mom who doesn't understand why her baby is not sleeping at night. Is she a bad mom? Her outlook can be renewed with a kind, encouraging word from a mom of experience.

An elderly wife who just buried her life-long partner. They had experienced everything together and now she is left to face it alone. What a difference it makes when her neighbour shows up to mow her lawn, when people stop to say hi and to share their day, when she is invited over for supper or to the backyard bbq. It's not the same but it helps knowing she is not alone.

A neighbourhood kid dragging herself home after school, wondering why no one likes her. Wondering why school seems such a lonely place. Wondering if this is what the rest of her life will look like. What a difference it makes when the people around her include her, ask for her opinion, ask what her plans are, invite her to special things, compliment her, tell her what they appreciate about her. Life won't always be like today. That may be the bit of hope she needs to make it to tomorrow.

But to be these "breaths of fresh air" we have to look up. We have to be aware of our environment. We have to see what is going on. We have to decide to care for more than just ourselves. Hurting, broken, lost, lonely, and desperate people are all around us. They have a special place in our Father's heart and he wants us to see them. He wants our heart to break over what breaks his.

"Whatever you do for these least of these you do for me."

James says it is our purpose to live out, "Love and value your neighbour as you love and value yourself". But it requires that we look around. It requires that we care.

As for that young lady and her friend, I did the one thing I know how to do, perhaps the best thing I could do given the circumstances : I prayed. In fact, I haven't stopped praying for her. I am praying that the people living life around her will stop and look around and care.

It's Time To Get Messy

 There is a basic foundation problem in the Church : honesty. Most of us have been conditioned not to be honest. Think about it. What happens when someone is honest about their failures, their sins or their temptations in the Body of Christ? Exactly. The place that is meant to be the safest place on earth is actually one of the scariest places. 

We have gotten it wrong and we can see that by what Jesus taught Nicodemus when Nicodemus came looking for answers to questions he didn't even understand. Take a minute and walk through this with me:

"God did not send his Son into the world to judge and condemn the world, but to be its Savior and rescue it!" John 1:17

That is perhaps our first wrong turn right there. We spend more time condemning the world than we do in participating in Jesus' mission to rescue it. How do we miss this? How do we forget that while we were the enemy of God Jesus died for us? How do we forget that we have all fallen short of the glory of God? We came from this world. We were products of it. And those who we spend so much time condemning and tearing down have the same potential as we had to be rescued. If they are without Jesus, the source of life itself, how can we expect them to act like they do have him? Crazy.

If we get this part wrong then we probably miss the next point:

"So now there is no longer any condemnation for those who believe in him, but the unbeliever already lives under condemnation because they do not believe in the name of God's beloved Son." v. 18

So there is a condemnation, but not from us and not for what most Christians think. We spend so much energy in tearing down people for their sin that we miss this point. The real danger is not the sin but their failure to accept the solution. We keep demanding that they change their behaviour but behaviour cannot change until the heart does and the heart is only transformed by Jesus. So the solution is not conformity but transformation by knowing Jesus. Knowing Jesus is an invitation not an accusation. No one can be forced, tricked or manipulated to kneel before Jesus. It only works when it is a surrender of the heart provoked by love, in response to Jesus' love. It's not the words we speak unless those words have been empowered by an overflowing heart.

Now we get to the heart of the problem that effects all of us and the atmosphere of the Church:

"And here is the basis for their judgment: The Light of God has now come into the world, but the hearts of people love their darkness more than the Light, because they want the darkness to conceal their evil." v. 19

The purpose here is not to have the things hidden in the darkness exposed for condemnation but for healing. Disease must be revealed before it can be dealt with. If it remains undetected it will continue to grow and destroy until the result is death. When a person is willing to have their rebellious ways exposed to the Light then they are expressing a desire for healing. This is more than a one time act, it is also part of our daily growth, our "daily work out your salvation". It is not good enough to kick out the demon. If we fail to daily allow the Light to occupy that space then the demon is coming back with friends. There is constant exposure to the Light.

The problem is, how can we promote such a culture of honesty in the face of the age old culture of condemnation? This is especially true for our leaders. How can they lead by example if their example is going to get them fired? I know of no perfect person and yet we force our leaders to hide their "demons" and have the facade of perfection so that we can apply the same false expectation to the rest of the Church. Only the wicked are suppose to be hiding from the light, not the believers:

"So the wicked hate the Light and try to hide from it, for their lives are fully exposed in the Light." v. 20

Jesus never intended that the Church would be a toxic place, being a killer of grace and forgiveness. The Body is suppose to be a place of healing, reconciliation and growth. This can only exist in an atmosphere of trust and love where people are not afraid to allow the Light to expose the things that would try to separate us from God. Read this:

"But those who love the truth will come out into the Light and welcome its exposure, for the Light will reveal that their fruitful works were produced by God." v. 21

Underline "who love the truth". Love is a thing of trust. It empowers us to do things we would not do in ourselves. It is the reason Jesus said "Love will empower you to obey my commands". Love is not just the enabler of our confession but is also the atmosphere of a healthy church that can handle the truth. Love does not guarantee it wouldn't be messy but it does make sense of the mess. Love trusts that it is indeed the work God produces and not reliant on mere appearances.

I do not know where we got this desire to present perfection to the world. It fails just on the basis that it doesn't exist. What is attractive to everyone is authentic love that is powerful enough to stand up under truth and desires to see people healed instead of appear perfect.

Does that make sense to you? 

I hope so because there are a lot of hurting people sitting in our churches too afraid to seek healing for those broken places. They are too afraid because we have not developed a culture that celebrates and supports honesty. Our desire for the person must be bigger than our desire for neatness. We have that very interesting motto, "Love the sinner and hate the sin" but much of the Church has no idea what that looks like. It starts by understanding that the person is more important than the situation, the argument, the hurt and the sin. The sooner we can start celebrating people the sooner we will be celebrating their healing.

Go ahead, get messy.

What Do The Children See?

 I read long ago that a parent should never do anything on their own. From grocery shopping to going to the bank a parent should always take at least one child. Life is filled with many unexpected teaching opportunities that cannot be taught in a lecture but are taught by modelling. Parents teach by example and there is no better example than how we interact with people in our community.

We often believe that what we say to our children will have the biggest impact but the loudest thing we say is said with our actions. Children are watching our response as that crazy driver cuts us off. They see what kind of respect we give to the new bank teller. They read our body language as we wait in the grocery line as that dear old soul counts out her change.

Our children are going to become what they see in us. They will use the same words we use. They will exude our attitude toward people. How often do you hear your parents' words coming out of your mouth? How often do you see your parents' attitude in your actions? Do we need to choose better words and a better attitude?

I try to remember to bring my children along but sometimes I fail and go with the fast route instead of the slow one, but yesterday I remembered. I took my six year old son on the dog walk. We walked. We talked. We enjoyed each others company. And he observed my actions without me realizing it.

I have a habit of trying to leave the world in better condition than I found it. For this purpose I carry extra dog bags on me to clean up where someone else failed to. My son was a few steps ahead of me when I stopped to clean up someone else's mess. I didn't think he noticed. But when we got home he announced to his mom, "Alison didn't go poo but dad used a bag to clean up another dog's poo". My wife gave me a look that conveyed "good job". But it's not just children who are watching.

Last year I was walking with the dog past our local park. There was a lot of litter so I picked up a few pieces and put them in the garbage. When I turned around I almost bumped into a man who was walking with his children. I hadn't seen them walking behind me but he had seen what I was doing. He smiled and gave me a thumbs up. Because they were walking faster than my dog they went ahead of me. To my surprise the dad suddenly stooped down and picked up a discarded coffee cup. He said something to his kids who suddenly ran ahead and started picking up garbage. I thought, "Wow!"

This is the world in which we live, raise our kids and minister. We are told not to be overcome by evil but to overcome evil with good. But it can seem overwhelming. It can make us feel powerless and insignificant. We are only one person so what are we compared to all that? But Father did not tell us to do all that. He told us to be faithful to what he has given us. I can't impact my whole town but I can impact my children and the people I meet today. I may not be able to preach but I can demonstrate Father's heart by the way I honour and value people. I may feel insignificant but I can do significant things by doing the next right thing as defined by Father.

This is the attitude and the demonstration that will most impact our children. I can tell them I love Jesus or I can show them in the way I treat their mother, our neighbours and the workers in our community. I can demonstrate it in the way I talk about leaders in the church and politics. I can demonstrate it by living an attitude that tells them people are more important than possessions. My children may forget my words but they will remember what they have seen. To Father, there is nothing more important in our lives than people. They are the objects of his love and I want my children to see this reflected in my actions.

The children are watching. They are suppose to. It is how they learn. What are we teaching beyond our words?

Show Me Your Ways, That I May Know You

I was out for a walk with my dog early this morning. I really enjoy my neighbourhood on a Saturday morning. Everyone is relaxed and most are puttering around in the yard, assessing the work that needs to be done while drinking their morning coffee. So it is quiet, friendly, and , on this Saturday morning, warm.

As I was passing in front of one home I saw that the family who lived there was already busy at work. They were speaking a slovik language to each other so I figured the parents were first generation immigrants. They were working together.

Dad was pushing the mower and giving directions to the young children. The children, about five and six years old, were gladly running around the front yard and moving things as per their father's instructions. Mom was busy weeding the flower bed while keeping an eye on the children. It was good to see.

I remembered when my older children lived at home how much they would help in and out of the house. Sometimes they didn't want to but eventually we were all hard at work, mowing, weeding and raking. They were especially helpful when we had a forty apple tree orchard. There was always plenty to do. But somewhere along the way that attitude didn't continue down to the rest of the children.

At some point it just became easier and more convenient to do things myself, without help. It was faster and more efficient, sure, but something very important got lost along the way. It isn't just the training that the children need but the relationship that gets built.

One of my clearest memories with my dad was when the well pump burnt out and he had to replace it. There were only two problems he had to overcome. The pump was 400 feet down and it was January. So my dad enlisted my help and we went out in the middle of winter and pulled up four hundred feet of piping to get to the pump. I did not want to be there but I learned what price had to be paid to protect the family.

Another memory was when my dad had to go into a septic tank because something had stopped working. I appreciated my dad on that day. My job was to hold a flashlight and to keep talking to my dad. If he stopped talking I was to go get help. That's pretty important when you are only thirteen years old. That was one smelly day. I won't forget the sight of my dad coming up out of that hole, gasping for clean air while gagging. But I learned a lot about my dad on those two occasions. My dad was a "get 'er done" sort of guy.

When it comes to work, our Father does the same thing. He didn't need to build his plan around us, to include us with him. He could have handled all this work on his own. He did not have to make us co-workers with Jesus, but he did. And he did it for a reason. He wants us to know him intimately. He wants us to know how he thinks, feels, and what is important to him. There is no better way to know him then by working along  side him. It's important.

As for me, it's time for me to re-evaluate my "To Do" list to see who I "need" to help with a few projects.

Simplifying The Complicated, part six - Love Each Other In This Same Manner

This is the last blog on my short series on uncomplicating the things of our Father. He has made it simple and we have complicated it by adding our ideas and traditions. So far we have considered the simplicity of loving Yahweh, of loving ourselves, of loving others and of valuing everyone. These are straightforward commands that are only empowered by love. The last thing I want to consider is Jesus' final command that we, in the Body of Christ, must love each other as the Lord has loved us.

Jesus loved us in simplicity and largeness. Maybe the theology behind it can be complicated by the tremendous depth of it when we examine it from beginning to end, but the application is simple. Jesus loved the Father to the point of laying down his life in obedience. This huge act of love also carried the message that Dad loves us so much he was willing to sacrifice everything. It is simple, straightforward and uncomplicated. While we were still enemies of God Jesus sacrificially paid the only price demanded so that we could be redeemed from our rebellion into life with Father. Nothing is asked of us except to believe.

This is how love is defined. This is the measuring rod. Simple.

Now Jesus turns around and says even before he gave us the measuring rod, love each other in the same manner I have loved you. No lesser definition of love will do other than the sacrificial love that is willing to go the distance:

"For the greatest love of all is a love that sacrifices all. And this great love is demonstrated when a person sacrifices his life for his friends." John 15:13 TPT

So I ask the question, how do we define love, because in our current season we are not going the distance. The division in the Body is growing among believers over the silliest things. "Should we wear a mask or not?" "Should we trust our government?" "What is the origin of COVID-19?" I kid you not, this type of thing has Christians at each other's throats. It is like we do not even consider the prayer of our King that we would be united, at one with each other as he is with the Father.

In Kingdom reality, it doesn't matter how wrong we think a brother of sister's opinion is, it does not give us the right to change the standard of measurement of love that has been given to us by our King. We can be wrong and we can do wrong but don't try to cover it by changing the measurement and coming up with excuses. We are to confess when we get it wrong, change our thinking according to the conviction of the Spirit, seek forgiveness and keep moving forward.

I get it wrong all the time. I have had to apologize more often than I can remember. I sometimes work myself up in defending an opinion so much that I forget there is a real person on the other end of that opinion who I am under obligation to love to the point of laying down my life. Here I am fighting over opinion (some would consider them facts) and failing to walk in obedience to my King. Praise him though that he said love would empower me to obey his commandments. This is dear to my heart so when the Spirit speaks I am quick to listen and to act.

If a brother tells you that Jesus was not raised from the dead you may defend the faith in love. But if a brother argues that COVID is a conspiracy for a one world government, you do not have the right to destroy your relationship with them over an opinion. If you think they are lacking discernment and are falling for a lie, your responsibility is to tolerate them, pray and trust that they Spirit will teach them, if they need to be corrected. Love does not mean we act the part of the Spirit, it means we sacrifice our right to prove ourselves right. Paul told us to do our best to be friends with everyone.

Love is and always has been the key. Not just any love but Jesus' perfect love that empowers us to obey. It's simple. There are no gray areas. Love God. Love your enemy. Love your neighbour. Love your fellow believers. Love is sacrificial. Love requires us to put other people first. It requires us to consider their needs along with our own. It requires us to lay down our life. There is no lesser standard.

I am going to end this thought with a passage from Romans 12. This is not some ideal. This is what a transformed heart looks like. This is what the Spirit is growing us into. This leaves us with no excuses and with a wonderful measuring rod for measuring our attitude and actions. Consider the simplicity of the Lord's ways and thus the simplicity of the Lord himself. This is what our life has been designed to look like.

"Let the inner movement of your heart always be to love one another, and never play the role of an actor wearing a mask. Despise evil and embrace everything that is good and virtuous.
Be devoted to tenderly loving your fellow believers as members of one family. Try to outdo yourselves in respect and honor of one another.
Be enthusiastic to serve the Lord, keeping your passion toward him boiling hot! Radiate with the glow of the Holy Spirit and let him fill you with excitement as you serve him.
Let this hope burst forth within you, releasing a continual joy. Don’t give up in a time of trouble, but commune with God at all times.
Take a constant interest in the needs of God’s beloved people and respond by helping them. And eagerly welcome people as guests into your home.
Speak blessing, not cursing, over those who reject and persecute you.
Celebrate with those who celebrate, and weep with those who grieve.
Live happily together in a spirit of harmony, and be as mindful of another’s worth as you are your own. Don’t live with a lofty mind-set, thinking you are too important to serve others, but be willing to do menial tasks and identify with those who are humble minded. Don’t be smug or even think for a moment that you know it all.
Never hold a grudge or try to get even, but plan your life around the noblest way to benefit others. Do your best to live as everybody’s friend.
Beloved, don’t be obsessed with taking revenge, but leave that to God’s righteous justice. For the Scriptures say:
“If you don’t take justice in your own hands,
I will release justice for you,” says the Lord.
And:
If your enemy is hungry, buy him lunch!
Win him over with kindness.
For your surprising generosity will awaken his conscience,
and God will reward you with favor.
Never let evil defeat you, but defeat evil with good."

A Clear And Present Danger

How dedicated are we to the Lord? Jesus really challenges us on what dedication looks like when empowered by love. He told us that we can't love anyone, not even our own children, more than him. He asked us of what benefit it was to gain the whole world and yet lose our soul. James warned us against being double minded and even told us that being friends with the world systems is to be an enemy of God. But this idea goes way back to the beginning.

Eve demonstrated a double-mindedness. She was able to tell the serpent the truth when he tried to cloud the Creator's instruction, but knowing the truth is not enough. Knowing the truth she still considered the value of the fruit, meditated on it and with one swift act switched allegiances. Love empowers us to obey so it tells us there was a weakness in Eve's love and dedication.

The people of Israel constantly struggled with faithfulness. Even though they had clear evidence of Yahweh's presence and love they still longed to by like other nations. They were unique in their culture, society, laws and worship. The Lord told them that it was unheard of for a nation to change their god and yet here Israel was trading their glory for something that had no worth. Just as the enemy convinced Eve to reject the Creator to possess what she already had, so Israel was convinced to trade the invaluable for the worthless.

In the end Israel had shrines on every corner, was making sacrifices on every high place, had household gods in every home, was sacrificing children, had converted Yahweh's temple to accommodate the worship of other gods and yet were still bringing worthless sacrifices to him. Is it any wonder that he felt sick at the sight of them?

We have been redeemed from the failed state of the false prince of this world. We have been transformed so that we have the capacity to love by the principles of our King as citizens of his Kingdom. We are to live fully dedicated to him and his mission but it is a state of growth. This means our dedication increases as does our knowledge and our love. This is only possible because of love. Our love for Jesus empowers us to walk in a relationship of obedience, dedication and trust.

However, there is a reason why Jesus asked if he would find faith in this world on his return. It is not difficult to become double-minded, to try to live by two systems, two governments, two heads. We categorize some things as sacred and other things as common, some things as supernatural and other things as natural. So we live some activities to the Lord and other things to ourselves. When we do this there is a failure to understand the superiority of the Kingdom over the principles of this world. We live two minds and begin to limit our King's impact in our lives and the lives of other people.

We belong to the Kingdom of "all things are possible for him who believes" and the Kingdom of "I can do all things through him who gives me strength". He is the Father who desires everyone to be saved and paid the prices of his Son to make it happen. He has invited us to himself through his Son and invites us to join him in this great mission of redemption. And the King told us that obedience is a simple matter when it is empowered by love. We need nothing else but him. We do not live for ourselves but that our King may live through us.

We cannot afford to live with a desire for the Lord and a desire for the principles of this world. We are told to make a choice before Jesus has to spit us out of his mouth. Sitting on the fence will never make the cut. Make a choice and do not be deceived thinking you are okay just because it looks like you are a follower of Jesus. Dedication to the King requires everything that you are and everything that you have. Our Father cannot be mocked.

Make no mistake about it, God will never be mocked! For what you plant will always be the very thing you harvest.The harvest you reap reveals the seed that was planted. If you plant the corrupt seeds of self - life into this natural realm, you can expect to experience a harvest of corruption. If you plant the good seeds of Spirit-life you will reap the beautiful fruits that grow from the everlasting life of the Spirit. - Galatians 6:7-8