Category: The Secret Place

What is love?

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THE SECRET PLACE
Offend me with the truth and never comfort me with a lie
PART 32
WHAT IS LOVE?

There is a spiritual movement that is growing stronger every day and sadly it is NOT inspired by God. The devil has been advancing in his assault against God and is enjoying the benefits of being able to influence those who do not have a strong foundation of spiritual truth. It does not really take all that much to deceive a sheep and humans have notoriously been recognized since the beginning of time as being very easy to persuade. You would think that Adam and Eve would not have been so gullible but they are a perfect (and original) example of mankind’s inability to “smell a rat”. This latest, modern wave of “spiritual philosophy” is the idea that Christians have been all wrong in their approach to living out the gospel. The new generation sees the world as one large family that is united with a potential to live in total harmony with each other. They have seen how biblical interpretation has caused much division in the religious world and in their opinion – these disagreements are preventing the masses from experiencing the “utopia” of peace and tranquility they believe is possible. Their solution? They say we must stop trying to project our doctrines and worldviews and just do what we’ve all been called to do – love each other. This movement is saying we must stop our criticism and judgment because this intolerance does not express the true compassion and mercy of God. They proclaim that Christians are actually guilty of “hatred” toward others when they refuse to accept ALL views concerning spirituality.
This movement has become so socially and politically strong that most Christians are intimidated to speak their convictions because they do not want to experience the persecution from friends, family, and their community. Christians are shrinking in fear because they desire to preserve their comfortable lifestyle and their reputation for adapting to modern ideas. It’s difficult to grow old because of many reasons, but becoming senile is one thing that senior people do not like to be called. So, instead of trying to stand against this movement, they have chosen to retreat and isolate themselves within their own comfort zone. Instead of going on the offense with the sword of God’s Word and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, they have chosen to use their faith shield to avoid persecution – instead of standing and believing that God will walk WITH THEM through the storm. Selah.
It is one thing to be open-minded and flexible in our world views, however there are some issues we must retain our dogmatic stand or we will lose our foundation of God’s absolute truth. The up and coming leaders of our society are dividing our culture into sections and have an explanation for each group that opposes their New World Order. For example, they believe the elderly community is “old school” stubborn and set in their ways along with being confused, affected by dementia and out of touch with modern knowledge and higher intelligence. The poor and uneducated are another category that are not respected because they say they are ignorant and spend all their time trying to survive instead of reading and learning new ways of thinking. Much of the blame for racism and negative feelings of prejudice are blamed on the simple minded, older generations that pass down their ideas to their underachieving offspring. So, we have a glimpse of how the jet-setting leaders of tomorrow’s world will be able to influence the rest of the population by giving a thorough illustration of how the world interprets reality. Of course many Christians will choose to join ranks with these visionaries that have every intention to “fix” the world’s problems, but there will also be the opportunity to reject these persuasive ideas. I believe those who protest against this diabolical plan to deceive the world will eventually be arrested and imprisoned. Once Satan does away with free speech, it will be against the LAW to disagree just as when the Church of England was backed by the “State” laws of the land and no one could legally criticize the belief system within that society? Soon, the system of the beast will control all that we have, all that we do and all that we say. It will come because Christians fell for the heresy that encouraged them to be tolerant of new ideas – even when they were in direct contrast with God’s Word. It will be said (and already is) that Christians made a deal with the devil and in exchange for allowing the ideas of the dark kingdom to gain power and control, they were betrayed by their own compromise to what they knew was true. Even storybooks reveal to us the dangers of trusting a wolf dressed like Grandma, but many Christians love their cake and want to eat it too. The “average” Christian is neck deep in the world’s system and is fully connected to the grid. The danger about all of this is just how deep do the roots of love for materialism run in their lives? How many would be able to run to the mountains like Job and his family did? If we were told to drop everything we are doing (like Jesus asked the disciples) and leave everything behind – would we be able to do it with joy and excitement? Or will we refuse to let go of the earthly pleasures that bring us security and happiness?
It is ironic that love is what our entire life is built upon – and will be the very weapon the world uses against us. The masses will declare that if we are a true believer, we will embrace the new world agenda because it loves and respects everyone. What they fail to explain is how they do NOT love those who oppose their interpretation of global unity. They do NOT have a clue about God’s love but instead have promoted a generic version of it in order to have power and control. God’s loves every soul – but tolerance is limited in His Kingdom. He does not tolerate any other god or idol and has never said that we should endorse or embrace any idea that believes this. There is only one God and every other object of worship is a direct insult to Him and has been influenced by the devil. Christians can tolerate certain things from the lost because they are blind and have not been enlightened but we cannot accept everyone’s false religion because it would be declaring that Christ is only an option and not the only way. If all religions were the same, Christ would not have needed to come and die and be resurrected. There would have not been the need to pay for and forgive sins so that we might be redeemed from our lost spiritual state. Would it not have saved Father all the trouble from restoring the covenant of salvation if we could have just followed Buddha? Allow me to speak boldly and clearly once again; all who are NOT born-again through the blood of Jesus Christ will spend an eternity without God. There is no such thing as The Lord Almighty respecting sacrifices from other gods. He hates all LIES and every false god because they are trying to steal His glory and is an extension of Satan trying to steal the souls of humans. As Archbishop Chaput has noted, “We need to remember that tolerance is not a Christian virtue. Charity, justice, mercy, prudence, honesty — these are Christian virtues. And obviously, in a diverse community, tolerance is an important working principle. But it’s never an end in itself.” He noted that evil always pushes tolerance until it dominates – then it seeks to silence the truth! We should be mindful when the secular world demands “tolerance for all”, that it really means we cannot have the truth of Christ to live by, because His “standards” require we be intolerant of the sins this world embraces – and that brings uncomfortable conviction from a Holy, perfect God.

Radical Christianity is Not Normal

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THE SECRET PLACE
Offend me with the truth but never comfort me with a lie
PART 31
RADICAL CHRISTIANITY IS NOT NORMAL

Understanding God’s Word is not a quick or easy process. I see it in my own life like a hammer (God) trying to drive nails (His truth) into my sometimes (stubborn) heart. The constant practice of study and prayer must ALLOW Him to “drive home” His Word into our spirit and develop our mind into a renewed way of thinking. Have you ever thought that some people practice their spiritual life more “intensely” than others? Why do some people become obsessed with their relationship with God while others seem to just “add” religion to their life as a hobby or an accessory to their religious garment? I was considering the other day about all that we hear about “radical” Islam, and I am trying to comprehend just exactly what this means compared to the “regular” kind. I am only using this satanic movement as an example of how every organized, purpose driven group usually has a “remnant” that represents a higher awareness and demonstration of their faith. Sadly, I realize that many religions actually put Christianity to shame when it comes to having a “sold out” devotion and commitment to their cause.

It would seem normal that in any spiritual awareness, the individual would evolve beyond the historical knowledge and traditional rituals as they incorporate their convictions into a constant lifestyle. Do you believe that all Christians actually “live” what they believe? My first response would be to say no, but I believe the real question would be to discover if all who claim to be a Christian have actually been born again. The Pharisees are a perfect example of an attitude that was so proud of their religious accomplishments and affiliations; but they left out the most important ingredient – God. I believe spiritual deception is more, well… deceiving than any of us can imagine. Those who are content with their “amount” of God have already missed the boat. Selah. There is no such thing as being satisfied with a little bit of God or being content to barely make it to heaven. One of the deadliest fantasies of the soul is agreeing with the flesh that we are – doing the best we can. Allow me to say bluntly – we are NOT doing the best we can! Our flesh has convinced us that compromise is just a NORMAL part of being human and God understands that we cannot really be expected to be serious all the time. The flesh say’s that being a RADICAL Christian is weird and that people will think you are crazy if you start acting like Jesus is the only topic of conversation and the only focus of your thoughts and actions. The flesh say’s, just take it easy and do not get all bound up with being a fanatic because you need to preserve your integrity and respect in order to function as a stable member of the community and your family. May I say, it is much easier to follow the flesh instead of obeying the Spirit, which is why political figures and false teachers are so popular and successful.

Most people do NOT enjoy being challenged or confronted with their own failures. Humans love sympathy and will not hesitate to follow and support those who remind them that God is pleased with their efforts. They love to hear how The Lord understands how weak they are and how they just cannot find the faith or courage to be an overcomer in this life. If Jesus had told the rich young ruler that he was “ok” in God’s eyes and that he was the perfect example of someone doing the “best they could” he would have left arrogant and overly confident in his OWN goodness. This is the danger of “pillow preachers” who soothe the savage beast of carnality with the intention of making people feel good about themselves. This is the opposite of reverential fear that recognizes what God requires – and this allows us to see who we really are. We are reminded that in the last hour, people will turn away from the TRUTH that can actually change them but instead will embrace psychology and “feel good” lectures that gives them a false sense of security. “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to SEDUCING spirits, and doctrines of DEVILS. Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.” (I Timothy 4:1-2) Can we agree there are only two lifestyles of Christianity? The first is a lukewarm, generic, man-made idea called religion that “remodels” an outward image instead of being TRANSFORMED from the inside out! This carnal imposter is so blinded with arrogance and self-sufficiency that it actually finds a twisted pleasure in hiding behind the “mask” of holiness. These people are NOT saved, and will discover in the judgment that God was NOT being “fooled” by their secret games after all. The second type is the RADICAL believer that has abandoned everything to become a disciple of Jesus. Being RED-HOT is laying down your will – so that you can do His will. Do you consider yourself a normal Christian or do you believe you are a part of the radical remnant? Mmmm…

We are not our own

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THE SECRET PLACE
Offend me with the truth and never comfort me with a lie
PART 30
WE ARE NOT OUR OWN
“Life is more accurately measured by the lives we touch
than the things we acquire”

Every human being places value on things around them. Some could care less about nature while adoring certain collectable treasures. Others dream and search for wealth so they can buy what they believe will give them contentment and happiness. Some people disguise their desires and secretly lust for the things they would not want anyone to discover about them while others save every penny they can just in case they may need it one day. Nevertheless, with all people, there are personal priorities of worth attached to the objects of their deepest fantasies. It is in these imaginations where our desires are revealed and our love is judged. With God it is all about us seeking Him, the absolute truth and how determined we are to make this our highest priority. Even our good intentions cannot be honored if we are not connected to the divine reality of Jesus Christ. If we do not care enough about helping others break their bondage of sin or walking holy before them so they might see Jesus – then no doubt we have a “love problem” with God. To love God is to love people and if this is not working in our life, it is a good probability that we love our self and our possessions more than anyone or anything else.

If we have not been convinced that in order to change our thinking, our mind must be transformed – then we are playing a religious game. The stuffy, high minded church attenders like to pretend they know it all about doctrines and creeds, but never get around to putting them into action. These are the kind of believers that will fight you over the color of the new church carpet but have never prayed for anyone or helped others in need. If we really believed that we could speak to the mountains and they would be removed, we would be more interested in demonstrating the super-natural instead of being completely focused with trying to enhance our own way of life. The truth is, we can be used to do God’s will all the time, but it takes such a disciplined lifestyle that most of the time we would rather go take a nap. We have been convinced through traditional teaching that God’s will is going to be accomplished whether we do anything or not, and that faith, confessions and prayers are just to keep us focused. No wonder Christians yawn when they hear sermons about faith – they believe God does not need them. But brother, everyone cannot be a John the Baptist or an apostle like Paul. Where did you hear that? Where and when did God tell anyone that His followers were not to be like John, Peter or Paul? I know one thing – he did not sacrifice His Son for a church filled with lukewarm spectators that live in fear of persecution and have ugly tantrums over the worship being too loud or the sermons too radical.

Some Bible teachers try to bottle the believer’s authority as a magical formula and turn God into a cosmic vending machine which gives His Spiritual principals a black eye. This does not mean that God is not desiring to bless us, but rather it distorts the outline of God’s requirements for the revelation of His blueprints to be comprehended. We cannot exercise faith apart from God’s will because the idea is to know His direction and then “follow” in faith. With Satan twisting God’s word he brings discouragement on those who try it and fail to receive and those who judge it from a distance. The devil desires to influence Christians with confusion so they will walk away without studying it on their own. He wants them to remain powerless as a religious spectator because these types of sheep are NOT a threat to his kingdom. Satan knows there are true spiritual laws that can unleash the power and authority of God through His saints. This is the anointing that can break the yoke of darkness and what he is most afraid of. So, of course he is trying to keep these hidden mysteries and secret truths away from being exposed and activated.

You see, the “power of words” is a valid Spiritual truth. The “name it and claim it” movement based their teachings on this biblical principal and had some very good things to say but like many other views it became unbalanced and legalistic. Satan is an expert when it comes to giving God’s Word a slight “twist” or a small alteration here and there. The crucial component that many teachers “left out” of the equation was that – WE MUST FIND GOD’S PERFECT WILL FOR OUR LIFE. You would not think that mature believers would not be so easily deceived with basic, elementary ideas that exalt the flesh and emphasize building an earthly kingdom. I know the idea was that God’s people should “inherit” the earth and rule with respect, but I personally believe these teachers have their time dispensations out of order. God’s people will be recognized as leaders in the NEW millennium, but in the closing of this age, they will be despised and persecuted. False teachers did not expose the danger of pride and the strong temptations that are associated with materialism. Wealth can help many people and resources can supply the needs of the hurting, but it can also lure the heart away from God by injecting the attitude of self-sufficiency. Positive confessions can be used to help accomplish our destiny as they AGREE with God’s vision for our life, however it was never designed for us to stand out in the driveway and say, “Rolls Royce appear” because that is probably not what God wants us to have at that moment (or at all). Speaking our faith is the result of discerning what GOD is saying and wants to do with us (I like that) and was given to the believer to discover what to do and where to go – then we focus our visions, words and prayers to see it through.

This reminds me of my talk with the Lord this morning about the church. I have been going to church since I was a baby and have been involved with several different denominations and sub-groups. I realize that I sound critical of the church and it is easy to stand back and be negative toward things that other people are at least trying to do. Let me say, I am passionate about the church, I feel for the church and very concerned with what has happened and is happening right now. I have prayed for years asking the Lord to reveal the hidden truths about what the differences between the real church and the false church. I am convinced that what we see as the “normal” traditional church is not what God was talking about. I believe the church that we see now is an imposter that replaced the original model that Jesus established. How could Satan “hijack” the outward manifestation of the church? Easy! Just like everything else in life, God has allowed man’s freewill to choose what he loves. It is no secret the flesh loves to design its own religious agenda and powder-puff sermons that bring comfort to those who know “about” God. When we look at the church under the microscope of the Holy Spirit, we begin to see that the genuine is filled with humility and the generic is filled with pride. My point is that the church should be teaching disciples “how” to grow up into becoming ministers instead of running adult day care centers. The spectator mentality is NOT God’s plan for His people. Pastors that tell their members how wonderful they are and how everything is going to be great, are not listening or conveying the last hour, prophetic message from the Lord. Comfort, prosperity and pleasures have lulled Christians to sleep and the devil is very satisfied that his deceptions have worked beautifully.

Christians that “say” they believe God’s Word and are ready to stand boldly with Him through the end of this age need to take inventory. If we really believed like we say and think we do – I promise our life would look dramatically different than it does today. Most Christians are afraid to step out by faith in anything! They do not want to suffer embarrassment for being fanatical or lose their security and comfortable lifestyle. They do not want to be an outcast, rejected, disrespected or suffer persecution. But the Bible says the original church had only ONE thing as their priority – and that was to FOLLOW Jesus Christ. I thought God’s Word teaches that we were bought with a price which means we are not our own decision maker. Look around, does the modern day church look like that to you? Should we be whispering or are we afraid we might awaken the sleeping giant? Selah.

Whose side are we on?

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THE SECRET PLACE
Hurt me with the truth and never comfort me with a lie
PART 29
WHOSE SIDE ARE WE ON?

We proclaim that we desire to fulfill God’s perfect will for our life. We believe in having faith and love as foundational building blocks to help us achieve God’s plan for our destiny. However, many times we do not recognize the seriousness of how what we say could be affecting our success. Our words are confessions that establish a divine connection of positive or negative power. They are a part of the spiritual laws of God’s realm, similar to how gravity is a law within our natural realm. Words can enhance faith by the principal of “agreement” or cancel the expectations of hope and faith with the possibility of making a difference between a miracle and a defeat. In this light, it is not unreasonable to say that we can become our own worst enemy. With our adversary watching us and attacking our weaknesses we must become disciplined to help ourselves and realize that if we are trying to believe for miracles yet dragging them down with our words of doubt – we have become the devil’s helper against our own possibilities!

Let’s talk about WORDS. Where do words come from? Our heart and our mind create thoughts and imaginations. Sometimes we are given ideas for words through influences from God or the devil, but in both cases we still have the freewill to hold or release. Remember the old saying? “Our mind is a garden – our thoughts are seeds – we can grow flowers – or we can grow weeds”. The point is that our mind is producing and sorting information constantly but ultimately our will decides what comes out of our mouth. There is another old saying, “what is in the well will come up in the bucket” what does that mean? The well is referring to our heart which houses our motives and intentions. We must realize that words are so important because they are directly connected to what we really believe. Our communication is a spiritual force of blessings or curses that hold us accountable. So, are we believing one thing and saying another? If so, that is the definition of being double-minded and we are promised to NOT receive answers to our prayers.

Let’s read Mathew 12:33-37. “Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad and its fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by its fruit. You offspring of vipers how can you being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the “heart” THE MOUTH SPEAKS. A good man out of the treasure of the heart brings forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account thereof in the Day of Judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”

So just how powerful are words? They are not just our victory – they are God’s victory! What do you mean? God speaks His will and everything is subject to His authority to appear as He intends. God lives in us and is waiting for us to understand the revelation that we are His mouthpiece to speak His will into existence within our life. Our yielding and obedience to His will – and our faith to release His Word is God’s Divine order for perfect success. Maybe we are NOT serious with our words because we are not serious about God or His Word. Selah.

The world does not understand how words can create change because they believe that whatever happens will happen. Many believe that we cannot know anything about the spirit realm or that faith can change situations. However God’s Word says, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; THAT WE MIGHT KNOW the things that are freely given to us of God.” (I Corinthians 2:12) “THE DEVIL WANTS US TO DENY GOD’S AUTHORITY! God is in us and we are in Him – THROUGH THE NEW BLOOD COVENANT OF JESUS CHRIST! Our spiritual fellowship has been restored! GLORY TO GOD FOREVER! This is the GOOD NEWS of the gospel!

Let’s close with reading Mathew 10:38-39, “And he that takes not his cross, and follows after Me is NOT worthy of Me. He that finds his life shall lose it: and he that loses his life for My sake shall find it.” We will only take up our cross and follow Jesus if we truly believe who He is and we will only lay down our will if we believe His Word is true. “Finding” our life is living according to our own desires. Losing our life is focusing on His voice only – saying and doing exactly what He is saying all the time. There are some that actually live for God – and there are many who talk about living for Him. Are you like the disciple who was fishing, (working hard trying to make an honest living) yet dropped everything when Jesus said, “follow me”? Or are you like the successful man who said, no – it requires more discipline that I desire to do – I love my possessions and I am NOT willing to let go – I choose NOT to pay the price – I do NOT want to yield my will – I will just stay where I am and hope that God will understand – and he walked away? I realize that our Father is filled with mercy, but the above verses (for by thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned), sound very serious and specific. Maybe it is time to check the level of our awareness of His presence.
It is true, He is understanding and forgiving – but what about AFTER we KNOW the truth?

The Balance of Truth

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THE SECRET PLACE
Hurt me with truth and never comfort me with a lie
PART 28
THE BALANCE OF TRUTH
I believe that Christians should be filled with the light of God’s love. I believe this light is a REFLECTION of God’s positive, encouraging aura of compassion and forgiveness. The language of hope and faith builds up and edifies the spirit, mind and body and has the power to change and transform. However, in the spiritual dimension of God’s law, the balance of eternal symbolism reveals the two edges of blessing and judgment. The absolute truth of God is “complete” wisdom of all things and the fullness or “big picture” of all knowledge and intentions. This validates God’s position of almighty judge as His attributes of being omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent proves His authority as the sovereign ruler of heaven, the earth and the entire universe. Many representatives of God’s Kingdom teach extremes pertaining to how good we are or how bad we are as human beings, but we must use the BALANCE of both edges as responsible sword users. There is an accountability to using His sword correctly and it has a divine idea behind it – it’s called being “anointed” with the Holy Spirit to be able to speak under HIS control. Is there a more serious responsibility than to be a spokesperson for the God of all creation? It would be better to live in silence than to speak our own agenda in the name of Almighty God as we “pose” as His holy interpreter. Selah.
Many ministers have laid out strategies concerning their style of ministry and have felt “led” to concentrate in certain areas. If you notice, it is common for teachers, politicians and preachers to not stray very far from the passions within their worldview. I have actually been involved with churches where the pastor would teach the same subject every week, only reshaped into a different disguise. This is good if the Holy Spirit is leading in this direction but if not it can become stagnant by lacking the anointing that gives it the life and power of God’s presence. For example, an evangelistic person who is focused on winning souls may preach hell fire and brimstone every Sunday, while ignoring other topics such as love. Like I said, I am not saying this is wrong as long as the LORD is leading. In His infinite understanding of people’s hearts and minds, He knows what words will penetrate and convict their conscience to develop their understanding into genuine and lasting transformation. But, if we are just focused on an emotional extreme, we may be promoting our own agenda instead of being led by Him to teach the “whole” or full gospel of balance. Our heavenly Father is the healer of our body, mind and soul, our comforter and the one who can and will restore. He is the miracle giver and specializes in the impossible! He is filled with love, mercy, and encouragement, the glory and lifter of our head, our shepherd, our provider, our protector, our Savior, Lord and King. Being instant in season and out of season is being in tune with what God is telling us to say EACH MINUTE! He wants to prepare our words to fit every person individually for each divine appointment. If God commands a messenger to talk about peanuts, it would be wise to follow God’s orders than it would for them to preach an in-depth expository that attempts to make them look intelligent and super- spiritual but instead saturates the atmosphere with a lethargic deadness. God has a fresh word for all of His children all the time and He knows the perfect way to minister to everyone all at once.
Another example finds many pastors that have figured out it’s easier to draw bees with honey. Again, if God is telling someone to preach “chocolate cake” all the time, then so be it. However, if we are doing it for political motives that will enhance our personal gain – shame on us. The ministry is not for our glory and pastors are not to “rule” the local assemblies as a way to promote their agenda. When pastors feel like they own the church they see themselves as Kings, but when they realize they are nothing more than messengers they see themselves as servants! The two edges of God’s absolute truth bring the perfect balance of love and judgment. Sadly, compromise and fear has thrown a wet blanket over the fires of God’s holy anointing and has caused many churches to become nothing more than smoldering heaps of religious activity. The reverential fear of God is a humble, broken and contrite heart that realizes how serious it is to LIVE His exact message even if it cost us everything. The bold anointing to stand before one or one hundred thousand begins with the emptying of self and continues with being filled with HIS burdens that evolve from Agape love. Passion for God and people are developed in the closet of prayer and worship. Humans are depraved sinners that desperately need to be saved and seeing God for who He is – will open our eyes to who we really are! How “Christ like” we can be – depends on how much of our will we can lay down and how much of His image we choose to reflect. Selah.

Happy Happy Happy

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THE SECRET PLACE
Hurt me with the truth and never comfort me with a lie
PART 27
HAPPY – HAPPY – HAPPY
Are you happy? If you are not, would you like to be? Of course! Is that not what everyone is trying to find? Happiness has always been a hot topic because the flesh loves to be fulfilled and content. Unfortunately there is a problem – the flesh only seeks within the temporal realm and the appetite of the eyes is never satisfied.
Scholars and experts that write about happiness usually have many readers because it seems we are all curious as to finding it and keeping it. The subject is as old as time and those who study human behavior agree that happiness is NOT something we can attain through an outside substance or circumstance. In other words – what things can do or what people can do for us alone, CANNOT make us happy for the long-term! But, things and people can “add” enjoyment to our life IF we have the sense of well-being that comes from a Godly attitude. I am sure that most all of us have dreamed of things that we sincerely believed would fulfill the deep longing in our heart and bring us contentment. However, when we finally did obtain it, we enjoyed it for a while but sadly realized it did not quench our soul.
Many famous people in Hollywood have confessed over the years that becoming well-known and very wealthy were visions that came true but these things could never fill the void of loneliness and depression that followed them. Mansions and expensive vehicles only bring temporary pleasures and thrills. Relationships with the “beautiful people”, outrageous jewelry, traveling around the world and collecting the treasures of kings and princes have actually made some individuals more miserable than they were before. Remember that King Solomon had everything and was very depressed as he said that all the riches of life were nothing more than “vanity”. It is common for people to NOT be able to comprehend WHY they are so SAD and become addicted to painkillers to dull the pain of this deep disappointment. Happiness eludes the poor the same as the rich because humans try to substitute spiritual needs with earthly solutions. So, where is true happiness? Well, the philosophers and psychologist can write libraries about theories and therapy programs, but when it comes to absolute truth, we always end up sitting at the table with God. Have you ever noticed that when things are going good, we keep God and His Word at a distance because as long as we can turn the steering wheel, we feel independent enough to make our own decisions? However, when we are facing a severe crisis that brings us or someone we love to the edge of eternity, we feel tiny in the vast universe of divine reality and we agree to at least listen. Ok – here it is – Happiness is NOT what the Christian is searching for! What in the world do you mean? When we take a closer look, we see that happiness is actually a shallow emotion that is experienced when things are going “our way”. Being happy depends on circumstances and situations and we all know these tend to fluctuate. So, we are not going to base our eternal hope on the shifting sands of a temporary sense of wellbeing. You see, those who are NOT spiritually born-again can only experience this level of mental contentment because they do not have spiritual security. Emotional happiness depends on things like good health, lots of finances and what people say and think about us BUT when life is NOT going well – these individuals are definitely NOT happy!
So just what are we really trying to find? I am glad you asked. It is a gift from God called JOY and it is a strength that only comes from knowing Him personally. Joy is the deep, spiritual contentment even when things are not going perfect. In fact, joy can be experienced in the darkest prison and when life brings the raging storms that would try to destroy us. There can be genuine joy when we have been diagnosed with a fatal disease or when our loved one is dying. God’s joy gives us the ability to walk in peace if we lose our finances, if we are hungry, when we are out in the street and our family is freezing. When the world turns against us and we have nowhere to go, joy knows that our faith and love has the attention of God – that His Word will NEVER fail and He will intercede in His time. Praise Him!
JOY IS A STATE OF MIND directly connected to our personal relationship with Christ. It is a state of well-being within the deepest part of our soul and spirit that is based on our love, awareness and obedience in Him. We are filled with contentment when we KNOW we are walking in His perfect will and His peace will rest upon those who follow His voice. Sin is the destroyer of joy. It is the haunting and misery of failing God and the knowing of our willingness to produce the darkness of strife. Repentance restores our relationship and renews our joy. Can we find a more peaceful place of joy than resting on the bosom of Jesus?

The Path Less Traveled

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THE SECRET PLACE
Hurt me with the truth and never comfort me with a lie
PART 26
THE PATH LESS TRAVELED

“Enter in at the straight gate: for WIDE is the gate, and BROAD is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there be which go into it: Because straight is the gate and NARROW is the way, which leads unto life, and FEW there be that will find it.” (Mathew 7:13-14)
How easy it is to follow the crowd. It is true that personality has much to do with how people think and act, and no doubt is a direct influence when it comes to being a spectator or a performer. It seems the masses are not concerned about what to think because they are confident and eager to wait and watch for the next trend. Our modern technology and the conveniences of pleasure has taken much of the worry about “survival” away and replaced it with laziness and apathy. In other words it has become easier to depend on floating by the seat of our pants than to plan, coordinate, concentrate, learn and develop the skills of practical thinking. It is being said now by scientist that our new generation of young people are actually losing a portion of problem solving intelligence along with their ability to effectively communicate. The era of computers and cell phones that have become the focus of mental attention is causing the personality to be altered and the basic instincts of mechanical and motor skills to not be developed because the lack of functioning is allowing the brain to be re-wired. In the days before television for example, time was spent trying to figure out how things operated so that when they broke people could fix them. They were more independent and self-sufficient, whereas now most young people cannot fix anything because they have never spent the time learning practical problem solving skills. However, for those who pay no attention to the “popular path”, the determination to follow the heart has been allowed to be more independent rather than longing to follow the crowd.
Within the Christian world, there is even a more refined definition when it comes to the decision making process of those who enjoy blazing their own trail. Instead of a rebellious attitude that intentionally rides off into the sunset, the Christian follows the inner voice of the one who rules their soul. When Christ is allowed to sit upon the throne of someone’s conscience, the blood covenant of salvation declares that the redeemed must surrender their will – as a spiritual allegiance of servant hood to the King. This sacrificial obedience is developed in the intimate, personal relationship of worship, devotion, reverence, purity, faith and most importantly – love for God. This concept of commitment is not a religious ritual – it is based on the awareness of God’s presence every second of the day and night. It is very easy and comfortable to join a religious club and support an organization. It is quite another thing to allow our heart to be melted and created in HIS image and our mind to be renewed and transformed into HIS constant way of thinking.
I have read much in my life about spiritual warfare and I believe that it is a reality. It is clear the devil is against God and His people and will do anything he can to disrupt or destroy. However, it seems what we as Christians do not like to talk much about is another enemy that is equally as dangerous – carnality. In many cases, I believe that Satan does not even need to implement strategic attacks or the snares and devices of military combat. Unfortunately, many Christians are very effective at ruining their life all by themselves and this includes the damage from a hypocritical personal witness. For any of these things to be realized within our heart, there would first need to be a willingness to take a personal inventory of our own conscious. This is an act of humility that is as popular as going to the dentist and is the main reason why people are the way they are. Until we can defeat “denial” and become honest with ourselves – we will NOT enter into the change process. We may realize it and even sympathize with it, but facts are just thoughts until we deal with them. Selah. Dreams are accomplishments that have NOT been acted upon. Maybe this is the problem. Could it be that most people have no desire or vision to be anything more than they already are? Could we assume that our human nature opposes the idea of surrendering its power to being controlled? I absolutely agree. This is the very reason humankind hates being told what to do. The power of the human brain is much craftier than it has been given credit. It has the ability to know what it needs to do to deny the truth and live in the la la land of happiness. The battle between our spirit and flesh will have eternal consequences that we could have changed. However, it may be futile to absorb more information about how and when to change – until we decide whether or not we want to.

Bringing in the Sheaves

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THE SECRET PLACE
Hurt me with the truth – but never comfort me with a lie

PART 25

BRINGING IN THE SHEAVES

“Bringing in the Sheaves” is a popular American Gospel song used almost exclusively by Protestant Christians. The lyrics were written in 1874 by Knowles Shaw, who was inspired by Psalm 126:6, “He that goes forth and weeps, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” I’m not sure everyone knew what this hymn was about but for the most part, it was widely believed to have something to do with being a witness of the gospel and its power to save the lost. It is an analogy between harvest time in the fields of grain and the spiritual harvest of souls, to be had as a result of the diligent sowing of God’s Word. The harvest time for the Christian should be as joyful as it is for the farmer as he sees the fruit of his labor. The Psalm is actually a promise of restoration to Israel after their captivity in Babylon. It reads, in part, “Bring back our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the South. Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy.” The promise was that those who wept for the return of God’s people to their homeland and left the security of their captivity to return would ultimately reap the harvest of their investment. The hymn combines this Old Testament truth with the New Testament principles of reaping and sowing taught by Christ, including phrases like “sowing seeds of kindness” and “labor for the Master.” Jesus taught quite a bit on the subject, with his parables on the soils, wheat and tares, and mustard seed. He also used the illustration of the harvest a number of times to represent the end of the age, a time that should be prepared for by living in anticipation of His return and in going out to the “highways and hedges” and compelling as many to come to His “wedding feast” as possible before the end of the age. Nonetheless, our enthusiasm about Jesus will be contagious if we are truly in love with Him. Unfortunately, we can lose our zeal so easily that it becomes difficult to concentrate and “maintain” a consistent witness. We may have a few strong days where we are aware of His glory, and then through weakness our flame of passion can lose the intensity of His fire. It is true – our walk with Christ is revealed in the intensity of our love for Him. The deeper our commitment and devotion to Him, the more confident and “filled” we will be with an infectious longing to tell the world about how awesome He is. Do you remember when we received Christ? We were so excited we wanted to go out into the streets and grab strangers to tell them about Jesus. What happened? Selah.
Witnessing is not just relaying the four pillars of faith, it is being ready “in season and out of season” to discern exactly what GOD wants them to know. However, in order for us to have the boldness of His anointing – we must prove our integrity by LIVING in the reverential fear of His holiness. In other words, people will be more inclined to listen to us speak into their life if we have the reputation of practicing what we believe. I heard a true story the other day from the life of a popular minister and I would like to pass it along because it shows the importance of being prepared to speak God’s piercing truth under the power of The Holy Spirit.
A man walked into the Pastors office, seeking help for his poor wife. He proudly introduced himself as one of the chief engineers of NASA and had spent his life working to develop manned rockets including the space shuttle. The pastor asked what had happened in his marriage and the man said his wife did not want to live. The pastor said that he would be glad to help and told him that he would speak to her only if he would come with her and sit in on the conversation. He agreed, set up an appointment and brought her to the office the next day. The pastor said, what is troubling you my dear lady and she looked over to her husband and said she could not exist any longer with this “demonic monster” of a man. She went on to explain that, (and he agreed) though he was very wealthy and well respected in the world of academia, he was also an alcoholic, adulterer, abuser, deceiver, gambler and a compulsive liar. The pastor began to turn his attention to the man and out of curiosity asked him if he considered himself a Christian. The man began to laugh and with a smart aleck response said, of course not – I am an atheist! I came here so that maybe you could help her understand how to tolerate the way I am.
The pastor continued. So, as an atheist, you are saying that you know there is no God. He responded yes. May I ask you a question dear sir? Since you are an intelligent person, could it be possible that you might understand half of the knowledge, wisdom and spiritual truth in the world? The man said I am not sure of what percentage I know. The pastor said, but would you agree that you do not know ALL truth? Yes, I agree. The pastor continued, so then could it be possible that in the percentage of truth that you do NOT know, it could be true that God is real? Mmmm…ok, you may have me there. The pastor proceeded. If this is the case, then maybe you are more of an agnostic than an atheist because an agnostic does not KNOW there is no God, they just have never found Him to be a reality in their own life. The pastor requested permission to go on and the man smiling said by all means. The pastor said, now we need to identify what type of agnostic you are. There are “closed agnostics” and “open agnostics”. The man became more curious as he was being personally exposed and wanted to know what that meant. The pastor explained that closed agnostics have NO desire to pursue their spiritual conclusions about God and are content to live the rest of their life NOT caring about what they do NOT know. The open agnostic realizes there is undiscovered truth that can be comprehended if they would only take the time to investigate. The open agnostic wants to prove their worldviews and not live on their opinions as they are willing to seek that which they do not know. So, my question to you sir, is which type are you? The man stared straight ahead and seemed visibly shaken. After hesitating for a few moments, he said he needed time to think about this.
The Pastor asked, would you be willing to “prove” the existence of God by making a decision to read His Word for one week and sincerely asking Him that if He is real – to present Himself to you? Would you accept the challenge to agree that if God would prove Himself to you that you would give him your life and allow Him to save your soul and transform your mind? Are you serious enough about wanting to know TRUTH that you would sign an agreement to do this with all diligence and honesty? If you truly have the desire and determination, then I am convinced that within one week you will come face to face with The Almighty God. If He does not reveal Himself to you then you may continue in your old familiar path of living the way you want. God’s love and my thoughts and prayers are with you both. The next week, the man walked in and asked if he could talk. The pastor closed the door and the man fell on his knees and cried like a small child in a genuine release of sorrow and repentance. He never dreamed that in seeking help for his wife, his life would come face to face with God’s grace. He was connected through divine destiny for God to knock on the door of HIS heart and a life was super-naturally changed forever. The old saying is simple and true, we do not know what we are missing if we have never had it. The lost world does not have a clue about the presence of God because they have never met Him. This is why evangelism is such a strong identification within our life of faith and obedience to Christ. It is in the divine appointments and miraculous connections of words and deeds between people that become spiritual seeds that can cause a soul to be reborn. It is this transformation of the heart that leads the triune individual across the spiritual bridge of atonement and redemption into God’s open arms. How important is it for us to be sensitive to these “passing ships in the night”? How crucial within the miracle process is it that we actually BELIEVE that God is constantly trying to use our witness? If we are not paying attention to God about our responsibility to others, then what exactly are we accomplishing?
I have pondered this scenario many times, but may I present it again. We may not have bundles of obvious sin that we have COMMITTED because we try to remember to ask forgiveness. However, we may be shocked to discover our many failures of OMITTED sins that we never thought about because we were too busy allowing our carnality to lead us. AWARENESS is the sensitivity that helps us remember that people are watching and listening to us. It is in the life of sincere PRAYER that creates this seriousness and holiness that keeps our spiritual eyes and ears focused on the still small voice that is trying to keep us focused. What is our mission? What is our calling? Could it be anything more than living our life IN CHRIST so the world can SEE the God they do not know? When a child of God walks in His Spirit, their actions become the representation of Jesus Himself. This IMAGE of the Most High is the interference and interruption that causes the men and women to realize their path of life is NOT on the right course. If there cannot be placed a value on the spirit of an individual, then how priceless is the witness and testimony that we project? There is not a higher honor in the heaven or earth than to live and walk as an ambassador for the living God of all eternity. How would we feel if we discovered that we failed to help others know God? How would God explain to us at the judgment that because of our concerns about personal comforts and pleasures on earth that we MISSED many opportunities to be used by Him to save them. Instead of us being excited that we finally made it to heaven, it would be disturbing to realize that we did not have enough love, concern, desire, compassion, or burden to pray that we would be used in God’s harvest field. In order to love others as much as we love ourselves, we will need to be just as concerned with them going to heaven – as we are. Selah.

I can’t make you love me

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THE SECRET PLACE
Abiding under the shadow of the Almighty
PART 24
I CAN’T MAKE YOU LOVE ME
“And Jesus went out from there and came unto His own country; and His disciples followed Him. And when the Sabbath day was come, He began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing Him were astonished, saying, where has this man learned these things? And what wisdom is this which is given unto Him that such mighty works are done by His hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Judah and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us? And they were OFFENDED at Him.
But Jesus said unto them, a prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own relatives, and in his own house. And He could do there NO MIGHTY WORK, except that He laid His hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief. And He went round about the villages, teaching.” (MARK 6:1-6)
I cannot take credit for the title of this article because it belongs to a songwriter named Bonnie Raitt. It is a powerfully emotional song about two people in a relationship where one feels the other is not as excited about the romance as they are. Do you believe sometimes feels this way about us? To Him nothing is impossible – however, when it comes to our free-will responding to His love, this is an area that He waits patiently for us to “see” the light of His passion and our desperate need to willingly RETURN our love back to Him. It is not difficult to notice the world does not really love God even though it may be hard to comprehend. There is much interest and devotion to religion but that is not the same thing. When I think about the wide spiritual chasm that separates man from God, I wonder just what it would take for humankind to receive the revelation of His love. God not only created every person and gave them the opportunity to enjoy living, He intentionally sent His Son Jesus to be crucified so that anyone who believes in Him could enjoy the blessing of eternal life. In addition, if creating the entire universe including heaven and earth were not enough to prove He is filled with love and forgiveness, how much more could He do? I personally believe that each person must be drawn by the Holy Spirit and their eyes must be supernaturally opened in order to see how spiritually naked they are. At the same time, humans have an independent decision making mentality and this self-sufficient attitude has the deceived (yet determined) ability to survive without His intervention. The Lord would be thrilled if everyone would embrace Him in a personal and intimate relationship but if He had to force them – it would not be satisfying. The beauty of a love affair is the MUTUAL feelings of devotion and infatuation. The bond of marriage is a sincere commitment with the deepest part of the heart which causes the two to become as one. Spiritual passion is “one sided” until we are introduced to Christ – and hopefully through the power of His grace we can know what it is to fall in love. Does our heart reveal that we truly long to spend eternity with Him?

When no one is watching

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THE SECRET PLACE
Abiding under the shadow of the Almighty
PART 23
WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING

“And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with overeating, and drunkenness, and cares (distractions) in case that day come upon you unexpectantly. For as a snare shall it come upon all them that dwell upon the face of the whole earth. WATCH therefore, and PRAY always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” (Luke 21:34-35)
As always the flesh hates to listen to anything about discipline. Usually whenever discipline is being enforced it is in the light of training to win in a competition, to receive an award or to advance as the champion in victory. The concept remains the same in the context of spiritual warfare. Being an overcomer for Jesus Christ is not an option – our salvation has a calling and a destiny. Every child of God has been called to take all that Father has provided along with the responsibility to fulfill His will. The “overcoming” idea I am convinced, is as much about conquering our flesh – as it is about resisting the devil! Walking holy is not just a religious thought or phrase – it is a demand from God and a crucial determination within the heart of the disciple to follow and obey the voice of the shepherd.
God’s Word mentions about an exchange that is crucial concerning the beauty of Holy intimacy. It is the condition of the heart that measures how far or how deep we can follow Him. Selah. If we are “surface” Christians, we will only be interested in the basic blessings and eternal security that a Savior can provide. If we choose to be a disciple, we are committed to following Him into the depths of His presence as LORD no matter where they may lead. This exchange involves the tears of the servant and spiritual joy from God. “Weeping may endure for a night – but joy comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5) Do you know what the weeping represents? It represents a “breaking” of the heart. Sin has a subtle way of slowly creating a “film” of dirt which is a result of compromise. In our hurried life, we can ignore the calling of the Holy Spirit to come into the secret chambers and spend time with God. We can slowly allow our emotions and carnality to lead us and influence our thoughts with negativity and sin. This deception does not go “unnoticed” in the Spirit realm in fact it has definite consequences concerning our personal relationship with Him. Each day that we ignore our need to repent and restore our fellowship – the further away we drift into higher levels of lukewarmness. Our fire and the awareness of His presence fades away while our flesh enjoys the freedom to rule our body and mind. Our spirit cries abba Father, but cannot overrule our free-will. Our heart chooses what we do and “whom” we will serve. This condition builds until one day God intervenes by opening our eyes and revealing what we have done. Thus we are pierced with conviction in the deepest part of our being and as our heart breaks with sorrow and shame, we respond by weeping from within our soul. After we have asked Him to forgive us and cleanse us, we are refreshed and renewed in the beauty of His mercy, grace and love. This of course is where our heart is flooded with joy and happiness that we have now been restored into the security and good standing of His fellowship. When is the last time you have allowed Him to break your heart and cleanse your soul? “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wild not despise.” (Psalm 51:17)
There are many levels of maturity in the body of Christ. The masses usually love to hear about all the blessings God has for them or how wonderful they are. The problem with “nursing the bottle” of chocolate cake and rainbows all the time is that we can become unbalanced in our spiritual perception. As we keep repeating, I am not against being encouraged because we do need it, however we must see the big picture of not only the reality of the way God sees everything and everyone – but more personally how He sees us. This is where many immature believers need to leave because their mamma is calling! If you announced a weekly Bible study that was going to be about sanctification, I would guess that you would not need to put out very many chairs. To tell you the truth I am the same way and do not spend near enough time “deeply” examining my heart and this is because we all have the same common problem – our flesh wants to rule our life. I can do a general assessment and say a quick prayer and keep running along the path of the spiritual routines we all are a part of. But, let me say there will come “seasons” in all of God’s children, where we will come face to face with truth about ourselves that has the power to change who we are for the better. The amount that we progress and CHANGE into His image will depend directly on how convinced we are of our NEED to change. If we do not believe we need to change, as the scripture above declares we will NOT pursue the image of Christ and His glory which will result in us staying the same ALL of our life. In the routine that we have always followed, we want to live our spiritual life exactly as we have lived our physical life. We look in the mirror and see ourselves and decide what we will do and how everything will affect us. Our old state of mind will continue to lead us unless we receive the revelation of sanctification.
The concept of being made holy in the image of God can become a deception if we do not understand sanctification. If we depend on our “title” of Christian, to take the place of His refiner’s fire – we are living in a fantasy land. Just because we call ourselves a Christian does not mean that we are what God desires for us to be. Many believers are an embarrassment to God and to the world because they have never allowed themselves to be transformed by the renewing of their mind. It is true that we have been called to be “set-apart” but set apart from what? We have not just been separated from the world to keep from being contaminated or infected with sin, but we have been PURIFIED to be a holy witness of light to a world that stumbles in darkness. Where the crowds begin to slip out the back door, is when someone begins to reveal how much being purified is going to COST! Our carnality must be crushed and crucified just as the body of Jesus was nailed to the cross. In order for us to live the resurrected life of victory over sin, our old nature must die an agonizing death. Many will say that there is no suffering for the Christian because Jesus paid for everything. It is true that Christ paid for our sins with His blood but to eliminate the need for us to suffer as we deny our flesh to dominate us – is bad theology. The agony from sacrificing our carnality is crucial for our spiritual development and will flow directly in context with how much we have surrendered our will. If we have NOT allowed Jesus to be our Lord, (to be in control of our life) our carnal witness will prevent us from being sanctified and we will NOT be please Him as a faithful servant.
So, what makes the difference between those who desire to walk in sanctification and those who live carnal? It is either the lack of spiritual instruction – severe heart disease – or both. It is everyone’s personal responsibility to study and pray and listen to what God is telling them, but in many cases it seems that people just choose to not think about what God thinks about. Selah. I am not trying to appear to have arrived at walking in His Spirit because to confess openly, I have really been struggling lately. I realize that most of the time we are NOT concentrating on the mission at hand and I believe this comes from allowing our mind to be distracted with carnal matters. We may have a great time of intimacy one day but we spring a leak and the next day we are empty again. The vision should be for us to STAY in His presence but that will only come with the highest determination of discipline. It is God’s intention for us to develop a “constant” sensitive awareness to sin which will lead us into being holy; however this will only happen if we can begin to comprehend an awareness of Godly sorrow.
I had a person (that is close to me) make a comment about my ministry the other day. They said that in all of my songwriting and my article writing there seemed to be a consistent message. They said that God is saying the same thing over and over except in a hundreds of different ways and they all are about the condition and intention of our heart. The contents of the conscience is who we are, and reveals everything about us. I thought about this statement and I must agree that in the last 30 years, God in His graciousness and patience has been trying to tell me how much He wants ALL of my heart. Not just my heart – but all of your heart also. I know we wiggle and squirm because it is uncomfortable to think about laying down our secrets and the things we do that are not right. I mentioned Godly sorrow at the end of the last paragraph, and I wonder if we know what it is. As a Christian, have you ever done something or said something that after it was over, you felt convicted? Have you ever felt heaviness in your soul over a sin and you tried to shake it off but the misery just would not go away? This is a glimpse of the sorrow of sin. Godly sorrow is a blessing in disguise as it allows us to feel a little of what God feels. If we could feel how much it disappoints Him and how it hurts Him when we obey our flesh, it would definitely help us to be transformed into His image. We are a people of great needs and the one most lacking is humility. Pride allows us to sin and think it is ok. Pride hardens our conscience until we decide we do not need to commune with God. Pride presumes that all is well with our soul without ever considering the possibility of being deceived. It is in humility that we stop the madness and pull away from the chaos of Babylon and sincerely search into the depths of our heart. If we are willing to discern truth and not continue to sugarcoat our “rose-colored” image, we may discover that our conscience contains things we need to deal with. Father is doing a work in His people right now! He is preparing His children not just for a one way ticket to paradise – but so they might be able to do His work the way He wants it done. There are spots and wrinkles in our bridal garment and He is saying to come away and allow Him to “dry-clean” your mind and your heart so that we can walk the aisle as His beautiful and holy bride. Sanctification is turning away from being like the world and turning our eyes on Jesus.