Usually in life, especially at work, one meets one of four types of people   -

 1) The very very rude  - These people are toxic. They go out of their way to offend.  They're full of hate or bitterness,  or both, towards you. Often they walk in the spirit of the Anti-Christ that directly opposes the Holy Spirit whom you walk in. Often they are very wounded and they're dying from their wounds, or dead already. 

2) The rude, but not overtly so. They're not friendly at all. Don't know or don't care about social niceties.  Won't say hello when you walk by or good morning.  Won't respond if you greet them. They avoid you or ignore you, but not hateful  -  just indifferent to your existence. 

3) The friendly.  Nice people.  Smile when they see you. Welcoming.  They say "hello" and "good morning". They make an effort to be nice. They're pleasant to be around and work with. 

4) The very, very friendly.  They go above and beyond the norm. They offer to help (for instance  - with moving). They will pay for your lunch. When they go out, they invite you along. They give their hand in (real genuine) friendship.  They do charity work. They love everyone including their enemies. They exude warmth and kindness. You enjoy being with them. 

The question i must ask myself (and you should ask yourself) is  - which of these four types of people am i?

The Prodigal Father

 

My son was so beautiful 

  the day he was born.

I loved him with all my heart

  on that wonderful morn.

I thought I'd always be there  to watch him grow

  and teach him all that he would need to know.

But the world began to call me away  -

  the lusts of my flesh led me astray.

Before I knew it  - there came a day,

   when I left my dear boy to go my own way.

I then took my fill of women and vice.

I drank and I smoked and I didn't think twice.

I had no end of parties and friends 

that is until I had no more money to spend. 

Then all of those women, and all I did know,

  quickly decided that I had to go.

Regret and lonliness became too much to bear,

 I thought of my son  - how I wished I was there!

I longed to return

to the life I had spurned....

Oh how difficult was the lesson I learned!

Oh how I yearned for the wife of my youth  -

and I longed for my son: I'm telling the truth!

Surely they've forgotten me long ago  -

But I ached for them so much I turned for home.

Thoughts of what to say to them raced through my brain.

What could I possibly say? How could I explain?

I'd tell them I'm sorry  - will you please forgive?

I've come to my senses  - now I want to live.

With you, my loved ones  - I'm so ashamed, 

for causing you sorrow, for causing you pain.

When I stepped on the road that led to their door  -

  I dared not hope that they'd love me once more. 

My son saw me first and somehow he knew  -

  He dropped his ball and yelled "DAD, IT'S YOU!"

He ran to me and fell on my neck,

 his tears flowed free, my heart was a wreck...

My tears mixed with his as I held him tight

then I looked up to see such a wonderful sight!

My wife stood there  - a big smile displayed:

"I never lost hope  - each day I prayed.

  I watched and I waited, so patiently, 

    for you to return and come back to me".

"Will you forgive "?

"I already have"

"Now come and live     as husband    and dad"

 Part three

You kept your life for yourself, never sharing it with him (again i repeat: just going to a religious service once a week is not "abiding in Him") You married Him but never moved in with Him! You gave Him lip service but you never gave Him your heart. You passionately gave yourself to your favorite sports team, your favorite author or tv show, your hobby or any number of pursuits. You could join your friends for the latest Hollywood movie blockbuster at the drop of a hat, but you couldn't tarry with Him for even one hour in prayer. But you told everyone your whole life long you were a "follower of Christ", his disciple, his son or daughter, but you never bore him fruit  - you were a barren bride, for a bride that never enters into intimacy with her husband  will remain barren, she cannot bear fruit, unless we "abide in Him and he in us" . His seed must enter into us for His fruit to grow in us. Hell is full of empty wombs, who never bore him fruit or who aborted the seed God planted in them. Heaven is full of those aborted seeds and wombs that bore unto Him many souls.  You, dear one, cannot go to Heaven empty handed, or empty hearted:  You must bring souls with you, souls in whom you planted His seed, or souls in whom you watered the seed someone else planted, but either way, you went! You went where He sent you and did what He commanded you to do, and lives were eternally blessed because of you as a result of your obedience   - you were a witness of Christ  - wherever you went you were an ambassador of light in a kingdom of darkness   -  declaring the Gospel of the Kingdom to the prisoners,  healing the broken hearted,  restoring sight to the blind, setting at liberty those who are bruised. You demanded the enemy's surrender and you got it. You did not negotiate with him either  - you cast him out in everlasting chains  - into the bottomless pit where he could not torment souls anymore.  You were God's champion, in His "Hall of Faith" and you'll be celebrated,  talked about and praised  - forever. Good for you! I'm so proud of you! You rose up out of the religious chains Satan put on you (using men to do it) and you shook them off and you embraced freedom  - the freedom that can only come from the Holy Spirit,  by living with Him, communing with Him daily  -  eating your daily portion of the Bread of Life he made available to you, your "manna in the wilderness". You drank deep of the water of life and you bore the fruit of the Tree of Life and you were satisfied! You did not have wandering eyes that portrayed a wandering heart  - you remained true to the One who called you to be His bride, Holy and acceptable  - forever. I rejoice with you for the eternal reward that awaits you  - the greatest reward of all  - Jesus himself,  and your soul delivered unto Him to treasure together forever.  Hallelujah!

 Part two

If we do not "cut off and cast away" during our times of Isolation  - that which displeases and offends The Lord, then He will cast us away  -

      "Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he takes away"  "If a man abide not in me he is cast forth as a branch  -  and is withered, and men gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned".

  All who abide not in Christ end up in religion  - a false form of Christ, where men gather them and cast them into the fire  - not the fire of the Holy Ghost but hell fire  "woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees (and pastors)....you search land and sea to make one disciple then "make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves"

""But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth". What a sobering thought! We tend to think of "Sinners" as the ones who will be weeping  and wailing on Judgment Day but it's actually all who do not "abide in Christ"

"Abide" , verb, " to remain,  continue; stay, dwell with, reside with, make one's home with" - to continue in a particular condition,  attitude,  relationship,  etc. Simply saying a "Sinners prayer" one time isn't good enough  - not nearly. We must enter into and maintain  a real, lasting relationship with our Christ  by inviting His Spirit to abide in us. One prayer one time, then never living with Him is like a man and wife, who stand at the wedding altar (picture Christ and you), with the Father officiating the ceremony- what if the bride said "i do" or "i will" but then never consummated the marriage? Would the words spoken once be enough? Or even spoken many times, over a lifetime? Are words alone enough? Religion says Yes! Merely confess your sins, or just the fact you are a sinner, then profess Christ as your savior from then on and you'll be fine. You DO NOT HAVE TO BELIEVE THE LORD to be a "Christian" in religious churches. Indeed, they will twist the scriptures to support your unbelief   - rather than cause you to bend and submit to the truth. False doctrines abound in religious Christianity,  but why? Because they do not believe,  not really.  Yes, they will sing songs to Him, yes they will listen to the Word being taught but they never change into his image.  He is never allowed to abide in them and they never abide in him. Because they participate in religious rituals every week they think it's enough. They are content to remain hearers of the Word only, building their houses (churches) on sand  "And everyone that hears these sayings of mine and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand.....and it fell, AND GREAT WAS THE FALL OF IT". 

This house built on sand  - this house where people abide who do not hear AND obey God's Word, who do not do the works he's called us to (#1 is to believe), This house is also known as "Babylon the Great" who's fall will cause all who trusted in and sought after, her riches, to "weep and wail" and "cast dust on their heads" "alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich" - yes, all who use the name of Çhrist to become rich in this world's goods, all who set their hearts on worldly wealth, who teach that "gain is godliness"  - every church that makes the receiving of money a part of their holy responsibilities before God  - you shall weep and you shall wail for you put your trust in Babylon,  not in the God you so eloquently exalt in song each week, as a mighty God! Mighty to do what, exactly? In this life? Cast out devils, heal the sick, raise the dead? If the only experience you've ever had, or expect to have, is that he will escort you to Heaven, when your body expires, you won't be going to Heaven. You were a bride who never entered into a marriage relationship, but expected all the benefits of a caring husband,.

Part three soon

 I heard the Spirit say - " Isolation: Degradation or Consecration "? 

He told me there are two kinds of Isolation  - one from the Lord, one from the enemy. There are times and seasons in our lives when The Lord will draw us aside into the wilderness to spend time alone with Him. This is meant to consecrate us. "Consecration" means "The action of making or declaring something (or someone) sacred". "Sacred" basically means "connected with God" - so when, like Jesus, we are "led up of the Spirit into the wilderness", it is, it can be, a wonderful time of (re)connecting with the Lord  - or reestablishing Him as the Lord of our hearts - of reentering a place of intimacy with Him  - of stripping away all the trappings of the flesh (lust, pride, greed) - it should be a place of brokenness and weeping, both tears of repentance and tears of joy.

At other times  - it is the enemy's intention to isolate us: to get us alone so he can more easily do what he always desires to do  - steal (our souls), kill (our bodies) and destroy (our spirits). When the enemy has isolated us from our support group, from fellow members of the Body Jesus has put in our lives to love us and care for us - then we will get attacked with all kinds of spirits: depression,  lonliness, suicidal thoughts,  unbelief, lust, envy, pride, jealousy  - hate, and on and on  - we're being degraded. "Degrade" means "to treat or regard someone with contempt or disrespect  - the enemy is degrading us and he wants us to degrade others  - and most of all, degrade The Lord.  It is the exact opposite of the Lord's most gracious Holy Spirit who loves, encourages, and respects us.

Part two soon

 People sitting in churches week after week who never share the Gospel (and i don't mean inviting people to church  -  that's not the Gospel) are like kings and queens sitting in their palaces  - ignoring the beggar at the gate, hoarding their wealth while refusing to share with the meek, the poor, the weak  - it's the sin of gluttony  - feasting each Sunday on a meal they share only with each other  - a feast that demands to be given away, to the least, the lost  - those who can't pay the cost, their poor brothers and sisters and strangers.  They feast on God's love and His word, listening to his word over and over again while many haven't heard it once.

 The story of David and Goliath from the perspective of one of Goliath's brothers:

David and Goliath! David and Goliath! That's all I ever hear! Why isn't it ever Goliath and David? Hmmm? Well, I'm sure you've heard all the propoganda  - about how some pipsqueak named David (not even a soldier!) slew my innocent brother Goliath   - well I'm here to tell you  - Lies! Lies! Lies! You've got it all wrong! My brother never said all those terrible things you think he did  - he simply invited those Israelites to sit down for tea! They thought he said "fight me" but he really said "nice tea"!  Sure, they said, look who's providing the tea, you want to poison us, but David heard "fight me. Our mommy taught us manners! So when that sneaky little pipsqueak acted like he accepted my brother's offer to tea, my brother let his guard down  - did I say sneaky? David approached my brother with no sword or shield! Could my brother tell he had a weapon? I mean really! The nerve of some people! Who fights with a slingshot? That scrawny runt killed my brother before he knew what was happening! Of all the tricky, underhanded tactics! Those conniving Israelites! So learn our lesson  - DON'T EVER INVITE AN ISRAELITE OVER FOR TEA!!!

 I really like the title song from the movie "Singing in the Rain". The exuberance and joy he expresses, singing and dancing in the rain, after just one goodnight kiss from his lover, is wonderful. 

Though it's only a movie's ideal of how true love should make us feel, i think it captures what it's like to really be in love. Even after twenty seven years i still get chills running through my body when my wife kisses me a certain way. I still get weak and a bit breathless.

I want to respond to God's love for me that way. I want to be so deeply in love with Him, i don't care what the weather's like outside,  i hardly notice.  Storm or sunshine,  my joy is unabated. I want to be so in love  - I'll dance and sing in public for the great joy inside me. Sing loud, not caring who sees or hears. I love thosr videos of people who start singing  and dancing in the middle of a crowded mall. This is how i want my love for God to be  - very public, very open. I don't want to carry on a clandestine,  secret love affair with him, where I only express my love hor him in private or at a special "service"  for believers who only express their love of God to each other. I remember when I was first born again, less than a week old. I announced to my class at the Brown Institute for radio and television broadcasting in Ft. Lauderdale Florida that I had been born again ( thanks Scott Hollister!) Afterwards,  my instructor pulled me aside privately and told me he too was a Christian.  I had no idea! Nothing he'd ever done or said gave any indication he knew The Lord, and he would not publicly confess Christ before men (and students), only privately.  Perhaps he believed,  as the manner of some is, that his religion is a private matter, not to be discussed publicly.  Well, not I, no sir! I want the whole world to know who the lover of my soul is! I want them too, to know God. Love him ir hate him, they'll know he's real, to me anyway.  I'm not ashamed of him, or my relationship with him, in the slightest. I want to be an open epistle,  read of all men  - not a closed book, only opened and read once a week on Sundays. 

 At this gloaming, I pause to reflect,

  as if holding, momentarily,  my soul's breath.

  Ruminating on the day's events,

  as night invites me 'neath her weil,

  cool and soothing  - I finally exhale. 

Yet my soul most responds

         to the dawn:

  The doves gently coo,

  just outside my window. 

  The light slowly advances....

  like a lover's touch

  it entrances 

  and calms me

  with it's tranquility...

It's good to see and know

 The Morning Star's first glow....

  neither rising quickly or slow...

  Taking it's own time, as royalty should...

As I gaze upon

this new dawn  -

Behold, it is good!

The air, cool and crisp,

I love days

  that begin like this!