Part Two

 I met an Indonesian woman who had been attending an American church in Seoul for over ten weeks. She confided in me how lonely she was. She kept hoping someone from the church would invite her out to lunch after church, or even just introduce themselves to her  -  yet no one ever did. All the contact she ever had with this church's members was when the pastor told the people to stand and greet each other for two minutes during their religious ceremony.  Tgey would smile, shake her hand and say "welcome to our church", then immediately forget about her. She was in Korea working on her doctorate, living apart from her husband and children,  so she really did need fellowship.  But she never got it. 

This church's "love" was expressed through organized programs   - Come feed the homeless! Of course  - that's a good thing, but again, but not if it becomes a religious activity to be seen of men  - that avoids relationship entirely.  The homeless person remains homeless and becomes another notch in the church's belt, something to be proud of.  They may not be prideful about it but they still won't take the crucial step real, genuine love would take  - that is, invite the homeless into their homes. Invite them into a personal relationship.  Instead, they remain a part of their "ministry" and ministry is a religious activity to them, that proves they are Christians. 

Keep in mind  - what I'm suggesting must always be led by the Spirit. Am I saying every homeless person must be invited into our homes? No, but be sensitive and obedient to the Holy Spirit - to Divine appointments He's arranged.  Be willing to, at all times, go the extra mile, and sacrifice time, money, personal space food and possessions. Give, give, give! Then give some more. When you invite someone to the altar, to enter into a relationship with God   - show them how real it is by inviting them into a personal relationship with you and yours. Begin to disciple them personally.  Invite them to your house  - for your house is His HOUSE, is it not? Indeed, no one will receive a house in Heaven from God that hasn't given their house on earth to God, if they have one. But have a physical house or not, invite them to live in your heart, as the Apostle said "I love you because i have you in my heart".

      It's one thing to say "God loves you" or "Jesus loves you" but it's another thing entirely to say "I love you" and mean it, to back it up with deeds, not just words.

       A religious ceremony in no way expresses the love of God. We contend that our religious ceremonies express our love for God but He tells us we cannot love Him apart from loving each other. There may be seasons when we draw aside to Him, alone in the wilderness,  but He always sends us back down the mountain,  to the people we belong to, eventually.  He no more wants our private, intimate fellowship to end than we do  - but He is always attentive to the needs of His people. 

       Altar calls are worthless if they are merely inviting people (precious souls) into an impersonal religious ceremony where they are taught from the start their relationship with God is a religious tradition- to be fulfilled in the church service,  primarily.  They met Him at church and they're told (or it's intimated) that is where they must continue to meet Him. A pseudo love says (feigned) "I will meet with you only during these prearranged religious ceremonies  - but i will not take time to meet with you from my personal life. I will only know you during "ministry"  -  so now the young children learn that relationship is religious and not real  - love is just a word to be spoken   - a noun, not a verb.

We, believers,  must break bread with one another, house to house and heart to heart  - it is imperative that we do so; because Love wants to personally touch every hurt inside.  Love wants to know each of us personally.  He not only meets with us privately   - He uses us to meet with us, amen. He loves each of us so deeply  and He wants each of us to be just like Him  - deeply in love with one another.  And our love does not need to be dressed up as "ministry" -   it must be organic, not organizational. The only one who should ever "organize" our love for each other is the Holy Spirit.  We should never be told how to love each other and when. And who. We should let God connect individual,members with one another as He sees fit  - and fleshly "cliques" should be avoided at all costs.  The Holy Spirit will never allow anyone in our midst to go unloved and unnoticed. 

Part two coming soon

 I rejoice not

 for those satisfied 

 with the life they've got 

 rather my heart abounds

 with sympathies profound

 for those who struggle mightily 

 with this life they've no choice but to lead.

 All who are dissatisfied 

 contemplating suicide 

 all through their lives

 denied

 the peace and happiness 

 with which others seem blessed  -

These are my companions,

 the sorrowful who don't "fit in" -

 the lonely,  rejected, 

 ignored, disrespected, 

 the ugly (in the world's eyes),

the ill thought of  - i will not despise...

These are they whom my soul loves,

  or have no-one tto love them,

 Oh God, please may I be their friend  -

All who have no  one who cares  -

 I've more than enough love to spare;

  For in your heart, Lord, is an endless supply 

 of love for those the world cruelly denies...

May I never be

  selfish nor greedy

  with the love You've given me...

May I daily

  pour it out to

   every poor empty heart who

  longs for the love

    they were born to know  -

The love of The Father, The Son,

  and The Holy Ghost...

 They don't know it, but I love them so,

 their songs have touched me so deeply

 through the years.

 And I wonder who I've touched

 that I'll never know

 till I get to Heaven

 and then I'll hear

 the stories and testimonies 

 of how God used my life

 in small ways or large

 to bless His bride.

Songs of the heart

 are so much more satisfying 

 than all other songs...

 Thank you Rich Mullins 

 and Michael Kelly Blanchard 

 Both the Tree of Life and the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil are eternal. Like each of us, they are both natural and supernatural simultaneously.  The Tree of the knowledge of good and evil will stand forever as a testimony to the foolishness and rebellion of man  - against all who chose it's fruit over God's will for them. It will forever testify of theyvwho chose to discontinue fellowship with God   -  who prefer each other's company to His. They even prefer Satan's fellowship to God's,  and so they shall have it, forever. 

The Tree of Life will forever stand as a testimony to all those who chose fellowship with God over their own lives. They chose obedience over rebellion.  They chose to pursue Him over knowledge about Him. Everyone born of the flesh is born out of fellowship with God. Everyone born of the Spirit is born into fellowship with God.  Those born of the flesh alone prefer to fellowship with flesh alone. Those born of the Spirit prefer to fellowship with the Spirit  - having crucified the flesh with it's affections and lusts thereof. Those born of the will of the flesh  (the will of man), prefer to obey the will of the flesh (the will of man). Those born of the will of God prefer to obey the will of the Father.

The fruit of eating from the tree of the knowledge produces a religion men call "science"  - the pursuit of knowledge.  This replaces the pursuit of God; hence, science cannot admit God exists nor that He teaches truth, for in their pride, they themselves must discover,  or learn what is true, what is fact. They become their own gods, as Satan told them they would, but they are mortal gods, for the one realm they can never access or conquer is Eternity. Their powers are limited, they're unable to sustain the life of the flesh,  all must succumb to death. It is sadder than any Shakespearean tragedy ever was, for their desire to be gods, apart from God, will be granted.  They shall live forever as gods in hell and the lake of fire, eternally tormented by the prideful choices they made while in the flesh.