Dear Church:

I am writing as a concerned Christian. I am writing, not as a member of any denomination or religion, but as a Child of God – a follower of Jesus Christ. My concern is many fold. Firstly, I am unbiased toward any denominations, I hold no seat at any church building. I am concerned that church has gotten so hungry for seats to be filled that they have adopted modern culture to lure people to fill those seats. Now churches are modernized, worldly even. Churches feel they must adopt traditions of man in order to bring people to Christ. The Word is always the same, it is ageless and eternal. Traditions fade, change, and become nonexistent.

I use to get pretty upset about the filth and sin that is in the world. Then I realized that everyone has to work out their own salvation by having a personal relationship with God. I love all people. I really do. However; I cannot make a person turn from their sinful ways. I cannot help anyone anymore than giving them the truth. That being said, it is my prayer that churches do not soften the word of God for the sake of anyone. Not for adulterers, not for homosexuals, not for anyone that is attending in a church building. The church is supposed to be based on the bible, every single word and line that is in it. People that are not of Christ are trying to pervert Christian rights by claiming offense! Is that not the silliest thing? I have a right to speak the word of God and all the truth in it, and in turn other people have the right to listen or not. This offense that people are getting from the word being preached should not ever stop the preacher from preaching. The word of God lives forever. We are not to be respecters of people. We are to be messengers of God – delivering His word in all its context.

Churches, please stop becoming so cultural. The more that tradition of man becomes embedded in the church building, the less the truth is heard and preached. We are to be godly in all things. Church seems to have become so very impersonal. No true fellowship. A building with huge screens, big music, and lectures that are printed from a program that was devised by who knows who. Preaching is a calling from the Lord, not something learned at a school or mimicked by voice changes and hand gestures. Jesus Christ will fill your mouth with what needs to be said. I see so much sameness in churches now, and not sameness as in being one in Christ. I see sameness as in an incomplete experience. A quick message and lots of music. God is in the heart. Bring back testimony! Bring back a congregation where people can interact with the preacher. Stop adding to the distractions of the world, Churches.

Never be ashamed of the son of God, Jesus Christ. Shout it out in church His truths, His commandments! If anyone is in the church and has a hardened heart, and wants to complain about the truth, KEEP PREACHING. Do not stand down, but exercise the right to be a wielder of the sword of truth. It hurts the ones who do not want to deny themselves. It hurts the ones who want to go against what the truth is. A Christian persecuted for doing what is right and endures has reward. Do not be a Christian who is persecuted for doing what is wrong and endures. Pray for these people to have the veil lifted from their eyes, but by all means keep preaching the truth without worry of offense.

An Amish Visit

My husband and I visited the Amish one day. We had no idea how to get to them nor what our intentions were upon meeting them. Neither of us had even spoken about the Amish before. We both buckled-up and drove 2 hours away from home letting God guide us. Feeling compelled to go, but having no sense of direction, my husband kept asking me along the way how and where and why we were going. I did not know the answers, and he continued to drive. We let a horse and buggy in front of us upon reaching a small town that we heard some Amish lived in. I told my husband to follow the buggy, which he did, and we stopped at the horse watering hole that it had stopped at. The young man seemed baffled to be hearing us speak (probably a little to do with our bewilderment about why we were there). We told him we felt compelled to speak with someone from his community. We felt like they would listen, like the Amish would talk about God and Christ like no one else we could find.

The young man did not recognize much of our english, but he told us about a road to look for so that we would be able to hopefully find someone to talk to. We drove around and stopped a couple of times at different Amish houses before being directed to the elder. The elder man greeted us curiously once we knocked on his door. He asked why the Amish man that we spoke to down the street couldn’t help us. We told him that he directed us his way, and the elder readily let us in his home. He and his wife were very curious about us just as we were about them. We spoke about our life and the Lord for over 6 hours. We laughed and cried together. It was so serene and peaceful. It was so welcoming. They spoke about their hardships, about a son who left their community. We spoke about our way of living. How we are trying desperately to disconnect from worldly things.

They had a small ‘shop’ outside their home that ‘English’ people could come to and purchase things from them that they made. The elder showed us around his property, and invited us to sit with him in his tiny ‘shop’ after being inside his house for hours. Everyone in the Amish community has a purpose. The young girls were labeling canned preserves. The young boys were rounding up the horses. Another child was playing with a huge monkey wrench on the front porch. More children were picking up fallen pecans from the pecan tree. Some were chasing the chickens. The sound of horse hooves on pavement was very mellowing. Different people from the community were stopping by while we were there to talk to the elder. They spoke in German to each other, but the elder would translate for us to let us know what was going on. It was as if time did not exist there. It seemed that these people do not toil about, worrying about what to do next, or being impatient & bored. They just lived.

Every religion has its negatives, but I believe the Amish are desperately holding on to their deeply steeped tradition in this world that would love to make them convert. I worry for their way of life. I worry and pray for the innocence of their children to stay pure. I cannot even describe the beauty that I saw in their sweet souls. I worry because the elders will be gone one day.

I’m not sure they understand the impact of allowing the youth to go into society to shop. Images pervert a person even if the person does not immediately realise it. There is a reason God warns us to not do certain things. The reason is because those things tarnish us. Those things dim our light. I recently watched a documentary about Amish culture. All of the people who left the Amish did so after seeing their appearance in a photograph for the first time (Amish do not use mirrors or photography, these photographs were taken by the person making the documentary). It was like a well placed snare of Satan. It was heartbreaking to watch. I have heard people talk about the Amish – usually they say derogatory things. American society would think it is abusive to have children working the way the Amish do. The children help with the farms, and help their family. They do not run about with electronic devices, but rather play in the dirt and trees. I think it is abusive that American society let children look upon pornographic imagery that is all over TV and media. The front covers of magazines at every checkout isle. Modesty, humility, and the Word of God seem to be a foundation that the Amish society is centered around.

I know that no religious practice is perfect, but I truly believe the Amish are desperately clinging to a way of life that keeps them humble & God-centered. The two beautiful people we met are our penpals now. It is amazing to feel the love and warmth of their culture through their letters. I pray that modern times do not force these people to change their way of life. I pray that the generations to come after the elders are gone will continue to respect and adhere to the ordinances of the Bible. If a reformation of their culture is to happen, I pray that it will be to better their strict rules and way of life to be even more centered on God, and less centered on trivial things. I believe that through the ages it is important for religions to check-up on themselves. Time has a way of solidifying ideologies that may not be God’s will, but more man’s tradition. We must all be sure to conituously grow in the Lord, and prevent ourselves from doing anything that will hinder that growth.

What would you do?

Being in the Spirit of God is a state of being that a Christian is to ultimately strive for. People thought the apostles & Jesus to be drunk. They were drunk on the Spirit! They were striving for God. They were  praying, fasting, and worshipping God so wholly that they became filled with the Holy Spirit of God. When the Spirit would start to fleet, back to praying they would go. Always grasping, always thirsting for the Spirit.

How would people today respond to seeing someone in the Spirit? Picture: A poor looking man; a man who does not seem to ‘be from around here.’; a man who approaches you to talk about Jesus, to talk about God because he thirsts to spread the Truth – to find any Truth out there. A person who is not interested in talking about something that was seen on TV. A person who is not apart of this world & all the worldly things in it. How would you react? The world today is using mass media to present to people that this kind of person is to be distrusted. This is the type of person media would label as fanatical, crazy, a bum, homeless, definitely a person to be wary of. Correct this statement if it is not so: ‘Most people would just pass this person by, or not answer the door if he/she knocked’. Jesus has a few things to say about such persons who are labeled in such a way:

for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink;  I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’  Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’  Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’  These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” – Matthew 25:42-46 NASB

Jesus Christ is our teacher. We know that God is greatly pleased with Jesus, His only begotten Son. Jesus tells us to strive to be perfect like our Father is perfect. We are to wear the armor of Christ, the spirit of God. We are to follow Jesus & his teachings. He tells us that he has no place to lay his head, no home. Jesus Christ teaches us that we are to sell our possessions. Possessing things creates worldliness and dependence on worldly things. How would society take this in modern times? A person who follows Christ – who believes in God – is not to be of this world. Maybe these people who are mislabeled have done something society believes is impossible. Maybe these people that have such labels are following Christ. Maybe society needs to turn down the noise & start listening and discerning. Society needs to wake-up and pay attention. 

And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is. And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass. Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?  Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right? – Luke 12:54-57 KJV

Society – the world – needs to stop relying on TV and media to make discernment about what is right or what is wrong. God gives all the wisdom that one would need for living. God does not wish us to be rich with money. He wants us to rely on Him, wholly. He will provide. We are to be good stewards of our temples. He wishes us to be completely in Him, so that good works can be done. It is only God that does good works – not man alone, but in the spirit.

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.  And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. – James 3:17-18 KJV

Selling all possessions to follow Jesus should not be hard to do. It is difficult not to become attached to worldly possessions, that is why Jesus warns us against having them. Jesus tells us to stay humble. We are to be humble.

Could you sell all of your possessions? Would you let a homeless person in your home & feed them? Would you help someone who is spiritually or physically imprisoned? Could you talk all day about God? Some insight would be a blessing.

Jew & Gentile, Unite

Christians & Jews must throw away these labels we place on one another. We must unite with all Christian & Jewish believers. We must stop fighting amongst one another & ourselves about which doctrine is right or wrong.

And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand,”Matthew 12:25.

We know there is a war going on that is centered on our beliefs! It is centered on us. We must unite as Christians and as Jews, the gentile & Jew together. This unity is not to wage physical war. This unity is to put all of God’s light together! A city on the hill shines brightly, it cannot be hidden. Let us bring our common belief together. We must return to our Father.

Why are we so scattered, O sheep? Do we not read ? Do we not understand? His sheep are scattered! We must unite together. Put doctrine behind you. There are no good works that a man does alone, but guided by God, together we can. Nothing can stay hidden when the truth speaks. We know our God, and He is not the god Muslims refer to as allah. This mere indication is offensive to our Father, His holy name is being slandered throughout the media! Major Christian (God) influencers are saying allah is the same as our Father. There is only One Creator, His name is: I Am, The Alpha and the Omega, The Beginning and the End, Wonderful, Almighty God, who is and was and is to come, our Father in Heaven!

God is waiting for His people to return to Him. He has since the beginning. Yet the people who know Him and love Him are too busy quarelling amongst themselves & criticizing each other’s beliefs. The ultimate reality is we need to all unite for the common belief of God. He is from age to age the same! He is the God, the only God, of those who believe that He is who He says He is. Something must occur. If you know God is your Father profess it with all your being! Lose your affiliation labeling! Be modest and mourn – our people are scattered! Pray unceasingly for God’s people to reunite, together, with Him.

On Being Blind

What is the fear that people have about believing? Why does it completely erk some people when someone has belief? Why is it that people are so eager to have proof when they do not even strive to obtain this proof? It reminds me of little kids wanting something immediately and never working towards obtaining it. And all the while, these proofless people work deligently to make sure others feel silly for trying to obtain or believe that there may just be something that cannot be scientifically proven or disproven. People are putting their trust in man. People are putting their trust in medicine. People put their trust in other people that they know nothing about personally.

It really makes me think back to my school years when the popular opinion was the only opinion, and anyone that strayed from it was seen as a misfit. The world has gone back to popular opinion. God is not the popular opinion. Everyone seems to be able to find reason for why not to believe without ever even truly trying to believe. Why do nonbelievers work so hard to disprove something they have obviously never known? When you know, you know and there is no doubt, no way of going back to disbelief. People who neither know God, or who are trying to get to know God, should be on high alert of anyone trying to make them disbelieve. This is being said because these types of people do not have one’s best interests in mind. God brings peace, clarity, understanding, and a level of love that can only be obtained through Him. If anyone says they once believed, and then continue the conversation to try to make you disbelieve, then know that they never truly believed in the first place. Evil that does not recognize evil does not care to do evilly. It is really a sad condition that the human psyche gets caught up in – being and doing evil, but recognizing no wrong in themselves. Believers are to constantly test themselves, to stay aware of their current moral condition. Spiritual battles are real. Nonbelievers may pertain to doing ‘what is right’, but never understand the full extent of what they bring upon themselves by doing what is immoral. It is a really bad state of the mind, body, & heart because they do not clean themselves up by acknowledging and throwing out the wrongs to never return to them again. God gives a beautiful thing called repentance that allows believers to stay clean and prepared for tests, for battles.

Why is it that humans are so afraid to think there is something greater than themselves? Sounds egotistical, not logical. Knowing that we are in the age of ‘selfies’ and are building a godless foundation of selfish people, it is no surprise that nonbelief is rampant. The Bible holds all the keys for everything that is occurring. It’s just so hard not to deeply feel for the people that lack the true understanding. It would be amazing if the whole world could understand and know the truth; however, this is not what is going to happen, yet.

Keep praying in the meantime that those who do not believe for the sake of no tangible truth; for the sake of puffing themselves up; for the sake of spreading lies and deceit without fully being aware of doing so; for the sake of themselves feeling foolish; pray they come to understanding so that their talent of speaking openly will be of good use instead of evil gain.

Christianity vs Religion (‘Church’)

‘Christian‘ & ‘Religion (Church)’ are not the same thing. The two words can be used together, or they can be used separately because they are independent. A Church is seen as a building on this earth that people congregate in, and most would say these people are ‘Christians’. It may be so. It may not be so. One can be a Christian without attending Church thus being tied to the religion of a church (Methodist, Baptist, Catholic, Mormon, Church of God… And many, countless more). Church is truly held inside oneself. It is a time that should always be, and never end. For if we fall asleep in Spirit we will surely be tempted.

It is perplexing  (and at the same time it is clear) why Churches do not realise their demise. They are worldly, and they are trying to get as many people crammed into that material building as possible. They are causing nonbelievers to despise religion which is a word they associate to meaning God. Being religious does not equate to God. Church is not about football, cell phones, concert-like music, prom, worldly affairs… Anything taking place in a congregation other than the edifying of God is of the devil, of this world. Any church that practices true fellowsip would be a most rare find. Something I have yet to attend, but long to be brought to.

The spirit can never be quenched. Being in the Spirit does not just last for 2 hours of worldly Church time. The spirit is an armor that Christians always wear, least we be deceived by the world.

 The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. – Romans 13:12-14

Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth , and having  put on the breastplate of righteousness , and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace ; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  And take the helmet of salvation , and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.   With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the ssaint – Ephesians 6:13-18

This is not meant to be a bashing of the worldly Church. This is meant help others truly discern the Church. It is to awaken sleeping spirits to get on Jesus’ path, to crucify their flesh and walk always in the spirit.

For the orphans out there, the ones without faith, here is a challenge:

The proof – evidence- of God exists within the believer and is felt by other believers. Stop searching for signs as proof because there will not be any. If Churches have not brought you to salvation, question the Church, not the belief of God. Turn off the TV, cell phone, ipad, and anything that prevents you from sitting in silence. The world desires to keep your attention off of the truth, off of God. The world wants you to believe in falsities and worry constantly about foolish things. We are a creation filled with emotion. Not just a handful of feelings, but a multitude with varying degrees. The world works to suppress feeling. Empathy. Focus all of your attention on the desire to connect with God. Forget what anyone has taught you, and teach yourself with the help of prayer. Pray for understanding on the things you do not yet understand. Read the bible, His word. Then obey everything that we are commanded to do. Strive to obey every moment of everyday. God will move you. 

I was a nonbeliever not too long ago, 1 1/2 years. I picked up the bible to find a quote from the movie Pulp Fiction. I read in Ezekiel that there would be no one to stand in the gap. I was moved to tears, and lead to salvation. The Bible is the most amazing book ever compiled. God will give insight to those that seek Him. I pray all the sheep will return hastily. It is time to leave this world of madness & corruption.

Start a Revolution, Rebel!

This generation is being led by the ‘hippie-era’ generation. Think about the implications. That era was ‘free love’ and drug experimentations turned into obsession. That era is my parent’s generation, now in their 50’s and 60’s. The older men and women we have to look up to. That generation begot ‘devil’s music’ and critized bras and respectable ladies & gentlemen. That era protested and rebelled.

Fast forward to today. America is the number one distributor of pornography. Media glamorizes sex and drugs and violence. A person cannot innocently browse the internet without being bombarded by filth. Today’s generation and the youth under us are being programmed for sex, and all intellectual thought flees once that is the basis of their learning. This is SICK. The world is SICK. And what is worse, people who hold this moral opinion that these immoral things should not be are silenced. For some very strange reason, no one wants to hear the truth! Media would  NEVER allow such innocent views to be shared. Why are’t the women on The View, The Talk, The Chew, The Real… talking about what really is going on, instead of promoting filthy propaganda even more? It’s not just young women presenting themselves in such ‘look at my body’ ways. The older women are on the same bandwagon. They are letting their pubescent children teach them how to act.

People, my heart is in a bind. I feel physically ill at the thought of what the future could possibly hold, for the present is already so disgusting. We, as moral individuals, have got to stop passing the buck. We cannot rely on anyone else to stand up for what is right when we do not ourselves voice it. I mean, we have to really work to get it out there. The devil is not  asleep. We should not be either. This is a fight!

It is beyond time. We must start locally. Call the department stores in your neighborhood. Tell them you do not agree with these Sports Illustrated magazines and Cosmopolitan magazines being at the end-caps of every checkout at eye level with our children. Tell your friends & churches to do the same thing. Jesus was a rebel, you know? If they don’t rid them completely, at least section them off so that one would have to search the store for said material instead of my innocent eyes and the eyes of children having to be raped by its smut! Please, I am begging. We must stop talking and start doing.

It seems that every other immoral agenda and news clip easily hits mainstream. It is time for real values to step back in. The underground world of filth has reared up, and is now above ground and everywhere! Long gone are the days of ladies and gentlemen. Long gone is the generation of pocketbook women with gloves & hats. The women that no one would dare act immoral in front of. The women that if someone else acted immoral in front of it would even make you feel ashamed. We are in the days that if a woman has an honest, pure opinion about the sad state of affairs around her she is considered a prude, or worse, a witch. I have seriously been asked if I was one for having my own opinion and intelligence. An opinion that no one else has or is too afraid to speak out loud.

Girls, clothe yourselves! Have decency! Stop using your body like it is some kind of super power over others. It’s not. It is a falsity. You are going to be wrinkled and old one day without an ounce of intelligence in you & no hard body to be desired. Don’t wither away. Uplift yourself, your spirit, and your mind by doing something that no one else is. Rebel against the norm. Cover up your stuff. Walk with confidence that only you get to know the secrets of your body. Be an example to other women and girls.