Lamps on the ceiling,

Curtains that obscure the light,

A polished desk upon the floor;

Chairs to rest upon,

And a set of cupboards,

With clothes inside to cloak our shame.

Tall and wide and broad –

The design of an oblong room,

A room of brick and mortar;

With portraits upon the wall,

A blanket of patterned wool,

Upon the reclining bed;

And within, a living soul,

Reflecting on nature’s beauty,

A solitary figure absorbed in his dreams.

A source of illumination,

That lies beyond the open door,

Of an unsuspecting mind;

Rare insights let loose upon the outside,

As the inner eye, window to the world,

Sees, yet does not see.

Beyond the keyhole,

Beyond the looking glass,

Far away in the void, a clock ticks slowly by.

A figment of imagination,

To stir the cup of life,

An ode to nature, soon forgotten.

by Mike Ratliff

Do not lag in zeal, be enthusiastic in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints, pursue hospitality. Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil; consider what is good before all people. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people. Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God's wrath, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay," says the Lord. Rather, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing this you will be heaping burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:11-21 NET)

As many of you know, there has been an escalation of the conflict between those of us who are contributors to the Christian Research Network and certain self-appointed apologists for the Purpose Driven Paradigm and the New Evangelism. There has been the threat of lawsuits and demands for censure of certain posted comments. I posted my response to this in Pride Arrogance and Humility. It has been very eye opening as certain people have seen fit to attempt to justify this sort of behavior by pointing fingers at others who they accuse of “doing the same thing.” There are several issues here being exacerbated by negative emotional responses.

Now, that being said, I would like to point out that the Bible clearly teaches that this sort of behavior is of the world and should not be present in the body of Christ. Look at the passage I placed at the top of this post. Taking vengeance is not our prerogative. That belongs to God alone. What is our role as Christians in these debates? It is to tell the truth, never twisting it or only telling half-truths. We are to pray for God to work through His truth in the hearts of those to whom we speak. We are not to respond with hateful, vindictive comments or actions regardless of how our message is received. Now, does this preclude us from speaking the truth? Absolutely not!

Historically, Protestants have argued that there are certain, essential marks that characterize a true church. The Belgic Confession of 1561 identifies these marks as being three in number. In addition to the “pure preaching of the gospel” and the “pure administration of the sacraments,” a true church “practices church discipline for correcting faults.” - from “The Forgotten Mark” by Tom Ascol.

My brethren, this “church discipline," spelled out clearly for us by our Lord in Matthew 18:15-18, is never to be vindictive in nature. Instead, it is what God has commanded us in His Word to do with the objective of restoration of those in error or sin. He instructs us to help one another in our pursuit of holiness. Now, in this debate which has caused such vilification of each other, I think I can stand on what God commands us to exhort all parties involved to stop before you respond emotionally or vindictively to what someone else says or writes that you do not agree with. If you have Biblical proof that you are right and the other is clearly wrong then present that with the motivation of restoration, not to destroy. However, God’s Word also tells us that if we go through all of the steps to restore a brother or sister unto fellowship through the presenting of the truth yet they refuse to repent, then we are to deliver them over to God for discipline. Name calling, vengeful attitudes and actions are not genuine Christian behaviors.

Some of you may say that you are only responding in kind. Again, that is no excuse. I have been accused of not allowing discussion on some of my posts by refusing to post certain comments. The usual reason I do this is not to avoid debate, but to not allow the fire to get out of control. Arguing is not debate. Innuendo, truth twisting, half-truths, are not elements of true debate. When I detect this going on I will stop it in its tracks. Some have tried to intimidate me to change this policy. Sorry, but no, I will not allow this sort of thing to happen in this ministry. How should we respond when people “come at us” like this, demanding that we allow them free reign with all of their provocative verbiage? Well, I am sure my hit count would go way up if I allowed this sort of thing, but that is not the point of this ministry nor should it be of any Christian ministry.

Now, I am sure that the Holy Spirit has laid some conviction on the hearts of some reading this about their involvement in the ugliness we have seen in this debate. Here is what you need to do. Confess your sins to God, repent of those sins, and seek to walk holy and blameless before your Lord. I ask that all reading this to read the passage below with a prayerful and honest searching in your own heart.

Have mercy on me, O God, because of your loyal love! Because of your great compassion, wipe away my rebellious acts! Scrub away my wrongdoing! Cleanse me of my sin! For I am aware of my rebellious acts; I am forever conscious of my sin. Against you, especially you, I have sinned; I have done what is sinful in your sight. So you are just when you confront me; you are right when you condemn me. Look, I was prone to do wrong from birth; I was a sinner the moment my mother conceived me. Look, you desire integrity in the inner man; you want me to possess wisdom. Sprinkle me with water and I will be pure; wash me and I will be whiter than snow. Give me the ecstatic joy of being forgiven! May the bones you crushed rejoice! Hide your face from my sins! Wipe away all my wrong acts! Create for me a pure heart! Transform me and give me integrity! Do not reject me! Do not take your Holy Spirit away from me! Let me again experience the joy of your deliverance! Sustain me by giving me the desire to obey! Then I will teach rebels your merciful ways, and sinners will turn to you. Rescue me from the guilt of murder, O God, the God who delivers me! Then my tongue will shout for joy because of your deliverance. O sovereign Master, give me reason to celebrate! Then my mouth will praise you. Certainly you do not want a sacrifice, or else I would offer it; you do not desire a burnt sacrifice. The "sacrifices" God desires are a humble attitude — O God, a humble and repentant heart you will not reject. Be favorably disposed to Zion! Build the walls of Jerusalem! Then you will accept the proper sacrifices, burnt sacrifices and whole offerings; then bulls will be sacrificed on your altar. (Psalms 51:1-19 NET)

If you prayed this back to God then I rejoice with you in the work God is doing in your heart. However, if you have stiffened your neck and refused to submit yourself to the Holy Spirit here then I pray that God will not allow you to rise and resume your vindictive behaviour. I pray that He will bring you low and humble you. My brethren, we are simply our Lord’s slaves. We are to submit our wills to His. His will is clear. We must not interact according to the ways of the world. We are called to walk a different path.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Housewife upset by 4am religious dept raid

By HAH FOONG LIAN

IPOH: Housewife Zuraida Zainul Abidin had a shock of her life when her house was raided by three religious officers in the early hours of Friday morning.

She said that at 4am that day she was breast-feeding her three-month-old baby when she heard noises at the front gate of her house in Pusing.

“I thought it was my husband returning but when I opened the door, it was three men from the Perak Religious Department,” said Zuraida, 28, at the office of her lawyer Ranjit Singh Sandhu, whom she had consulted.

The three Batu Gajah-based officers told her they were searching for immoral activities but could not find anything.

She immediately lodged a report at the Pusing police station after relating the incident to her 39-year-old husband, Mior Baderus Hisham, who is a security guard at a nearby factory.

Zuraida, who has three young children, said that because of the raid her husband suspected her of having extra-marital affairs.

Could such craziness happen here?  We'd like to hope not, I'm sure.  But in the U.S. would we end up with a Religious Department, or an Anti-Religious Department?  I wonder.

God was with Joshua greatly and granted him victory in every battle against Israel's enemies, with a few exceptions. Whenever disaster came upon Israel's troops there was a reason for it - sin or disobedience - and in at least one case, presumption.

Joshua Chapter 9 tells of an interesting story - one that every 'anointed' man and woman of God should learn from, particularly every 'wise' church leader. For all Joshua's passion, skill, good character and wisdom and anointing, and knowledge of God and His ways, Joshua was taken in by his enemies, the Gibeonites, and allowed all of Israel to be decieved and/or suffer from the consequences of the deception. Why? Because he went by appearances, what he saw with his own eyes, what he heard with his own ears, what seemed really obvious to him. He did not enquire of the Lord.   And the Gibeonites had been most clever and cunning.

I tell you the truth, there are many "Gibeonites" today in the church - enemies of God and His people - who have been accepted and embraced because of false appearances alone, with decisions made by natural wisdom and a fair degree of presumption. And sometimes, however genuine and sincere the church leader is, or the congregation, however wise, knowledgable and mature in the faith, they can still be taken in by spiritual Gibeonites if they do not enquire of the Lord. 

I have written before how when the Toronto Blessing first hit in 1994, I thought it demonic. I have said how God had given me a vision about a year before, warning me of this strange 'foreign' movement marching into the church. I have said the night I first heard of the Toronto Blessing and saw it for myself, how God clearly showed me Satan laughing, with the understanding that Satan was behind it. But because big name church leaders that I loved and trusted were promoting it whom I had been (or felt) greatly blessed by, and because at that time I lacked both wisdom and discernment and confidence too (lacking the type of confidence that comes with older age to know and stand up for oneself), and was rather naive not even considering the possibility that well known "Spirit-led" leaders in the Charismatic-Pentecostal world would deliberately lie or decieve, or could be seriously decieved, and because I made the dreadful mistake of adding up two and two to make the wrong conclusions from other things that God had shown me, I decided that I must  have misunderstood what I had seen in these two visions. I decided I must  be wrong, and deferred to my "older and wiser" leaders' discernment instead of my own. I did not then trust my own relationship with God over the church leadership. (That fear of man, and deference to man, was long a snare to me.) Even though I still thought the Toronto Blessing very odd and weird for some time afterwards, I went with others' opinion, and then went by appearances and then my own experiences.

For several years thereafter I was involved full flow in the River movement, far more than most people as I was then in YWAM. Day and night, soaking in, and taken in - never for once discerning, never for once questioning - I never once inquired of the Lord about it. I just assumed. Nor did I inquire of the Lord of the prophets I went to see that came over from Kansas City, or the prophecies or teachings imparted from them, the Vineyward or YWAM.

It was only years  later that I stopped to enquire of the Lord about these men and their movement and many other things - and it was then that I was shown I had been taken in by many Gibeonites who were dark as could be at source. It did not take months of prayer and fasting to be enlightened - all it took was stopping to ask God specifically and listen. If only I had listened in 1994, much trouble could have been spared me and perhaps some of my friends and brethren - the fallout lasted for years. If only I had spoken out in 1994, some people could have been spared completely falling away, or into sin, or into serious sickness and heresy that was the bad fruit of Toronto.  God tried to tell me. I cannot blame Him for allowing myself to be fooled by spiritual Gibeonites.

The early church knew all about spiritual Gibeonites which is why the apostles commanded the flock not to go by natural  appearances alone and just accept the new "super-apostles" naively on face value alone, but to supernaturally  test them, their teaching and their prophecies and their claims, and to test the spirits they operated by.

The modern church needs to stop for a moment, to enquire of the Lord about the men and manifestations in her midst.  For she has tasted of the moldy provision of the Gibeonites, not realising it is has been sent from the enemy's camp to entrap, ensare and to decieve. Well meaning Joshuas have led the people into deception because they have not enquired of the Lord.

The church - and Joshua - will be told if it listens and takes the fingers stopped up in her ears if IT ENQUIRES OF THE LORD. For God is a faithful God.

To those that say 'I know Lakeland is of God' - well I said the same thing about Toronto at the time. But I had never enquired of God! I encourage everyone to do this now even if YOU 'know' for sure you are right about it and I am wrong. Please do it - enquire of God, with a sincere and open heart.

I know some may manifest something now upon reading this that will NOT wish to do this - and it has to be asked, why. For if Joshua was rebuked for not seeking and enquiring of the Lord, why should you be ticked off by God for enquiring of Him? Surely God loves those who seek Him and enquire of Him. And God is not afraid of testing of the 'saints' or the spirits, indeed He commands it in his holy word. Not only does he love Bereans, but he calls them noble-minded and he blesses them. 

What do you have to fear if what you have embraced is really of God? Nothing at all - you can only gain as God gives you more insight, wisdom or more confirmation perhaps on it. And if you are shown that what you have embraced is dark, then that is positive too, so that you may be free. You only have something to fear, if you know what you have embraced is not of God, and you do not want to be free of it.

"Now when all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things—those in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Great Sea as far as Lebanon (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites)- they came together to make war against Joshua and Israel.

However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. The men put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy.  Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, "We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us."

The men of Israel said to the Hivites, "But perhaps you live near us. How then can we make a treaty with you?"

"We are your servants," they said to Joshua.

But Joshua asked, "Who are you and where do you come from?"

They answered: "Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the LORD your God. For we have heard reports of him: all that he did in Egypt,  and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan—Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth. And our elders and all those living in our country said to us, 'Take provisions for your journey; go and meet them and say to them, "We are your servants; make a treaty with us." ' This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you. But now see how dry and moldy it is.  And these wineskins that we filled were new, but see how cracked they are. And our clothes and sandals are worn out by the very long journey."

The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the LORD....."

Incredulity and amazement,

At this unbelievable sight –

Naked opulence,

And the display of wealth,

In the midst of poverty.

Intricately carved steps,

Lead to the temple of pleasure,

The stronghold of a cult,

Devoted to the worship of money.

Marbled floors

And rich chandeliers

Adorn, this monument to splendor, 

An exhibition of riches that stuns the mind,

And leaves one moved to the core.

Astonishment,

At this artificial construct,

The product of some outlandish mind;

Who could have embarked,

Upon such a grandiose venture –

The construction of this mirage,

In the midst of a desert.

In this land at the edge of penury,

The jet set rule the roost –

Bejeweled men and women,

Attired in brilliant costumes,

And a lifestyle that invites comment,

Of a pungent nature.

The elite – the chosen ones,

Who inhabit this house of wealth,

Do not understand the world,

That lies beyond their dreams…

Theophilus of Antioch ( - c185)

Theophilus occupies an interesting position, after Ignatius, in the succession of faithful men who represented Barnabas and other prophets and teachers of Antioch, and Peter as well. Little is known of the personal history of Theophilus of Antioch. We gather from the following treatise that he was born a pagan (i. 14), and owed his conversion to Christianity to the careful study of the Holy Scriptures. Eusebius (Hist. Eccl., iv. 20) declares that he was the sixth bishop of Antioch in Syria from the apostles, the names of his supposed predecessors being Eros, Cornelius, Hero, Ignatius, and Euodius. We also learn from the same writer, that Theophilus succeeded to the bishopric of Antioch in the ‘eighth year of the reign of Marcus Aurelius’ (168). He is said to have died either in 181, or in 188; some assigning him an overseership of somewhere between 13 and 21 years.

Below, interspersed with comments by this author, is a selected of passages from his only remaining work, Theophilus to Autolycus.

Chapter III.—Nature of God.

You will say, then, to me, “Do you, who see God, explain to me the appearance of God.” Hear, O man. The appearance of God is ineffable and indescribable, and cannot be seen by eyes of flesh. For in glory He is incomprehensible, in greatness unfathomable, in height inconceivable, in power incomparable, in wisdom unrivalled, in goodness inimitable, in kindness unutterable. For if I say He is Light, I name but His own work; if I call Him Word, I name but His sovereignty; if I call Him Mind, I speak but of His wisdom; if I say He is Spirit, I speak of His breath; if I call Him Wisdom, I speak of His offspring; if I call Him Strength, I speak of His sway; if I call Him Power, I am mentioning His activity; if Providence, I but mention His goodness; if I call Him Kingdom, I but mention His glory; if I call Him Lord, I mention His being judge; if I call Him Judge, I speak of Him as being just; if I call Him Father, I speak of all things as being from Him; if I call Him Fire, I but mention His anger. You will say, then, to me, “Is God angry?” Yes; He is angry with those who act wickedly, but He is good, and kind, and merciful, to those who love and fear Him; for He is a chastener of the godly, and father of the righteous; but he is a judge and punisher of the impious.

Chapter IV.—Attributes of God.

And He is without beginning, because He is unbegotten; and He is unchangeable, because He is immortal. And he is called God [Θεός] on account of His having placed [τεθεικέναι] all things on security afforded by Himself; and on account of [θέειν], for θέειν means running, and moving, and being active, and nourishing, and foreseeing, and governing, and making all things alive. But he is Lord, because He rules over the universe; Father, because he is before all things; Fashioner and Maker, because He is creator and maker of the universe; the Highest, because of His being above all; and Almighty, because He Himself rules and embraces all. For the heights of heaven, and the depths of the abysses, and the ends of the earth, are in His hand, and there is no place of His rest. For the heavens are His work, the earth is His creation, the sea is His handiwork; man is His formation and His image; sun, moon, and stars are His elements, made for signs, and seasons, and days, and years, that they may serve and be slaves to man; and all things God has made out of things that were not ⁵³¹ [Kaye’s Justin, p. 173.]into things that are, in order that through His works His greatness may be known and understood.

Chapter IX.—The Prophets Inspired by the Holy Ghost^[1].

But men of God carrying in them a holy spirit^[2] and becoming prophets, being inspired and made wise by God, became God-taught, and holy, and righteous. Wherefore they were also deemed worthy of receiving this reward, that they should become instruments of God, and contain the wisdom that is from Him, through which wisdom they uttered both what regarded the creation of the world and all other things. For they predicted also pestilences, and famines, and wars. And there was not one or two, but many, at various times and seasons among the Hebrews; and also among the Greeks there was the Sibyl; and they all have spoken things consistent and harmonious with each other, both what happened before them and what happened in their own time, and what things are now being fulfilled in our own day: wherefore we are persuaded also concerning the future things that they will fall out, as also the first have been accomplished.

Chap. XV. — Of the Fourth Day.

On the fourth day the luminaries were made; because God, who possesses foreknowledge, knew the follies of the vain philosophers, that they were going to say, that the things which grow on the earth are produced from the heavenly bodies, so as to exclude God. In order, therefore, that the truth might be obvious, the plants and seeds were produced prior to the heavenly bodies, for what is posterior cannot produce that which is prior. And these contain the pattern and type of a great mystery. For the sun is a type of God, and the moon of man. And as the sun far surpasses the moon in power and glory, so far does God surpass man. And as the sun remains ever full, never becoming less, so does God always abide perfect, being full of all power, and understanding, and wisdom, and immortality, and all good. But the moon wanes monthly, and in a manner dies, being a type of man; then it is born again, and is crescent, for a pattern of the future resurrection. In like manner also the ₁₀₁ three days which were before the luminaries, are types of the Trinity[3], of God, and His Word, and His wisdom[4]. And the fourth is the type of man, who needs light, that so there may be God, the Word, wisdom, man. Wherefore also on the fourth day the lights were made. The disposition of the stars, too, contains a type of the arrangement and order of the righteous and pious, and of those who keep the law and commandments of God. For the brilliant and bright stars are an imitation of the prophets, and therefore they remain fixed, not declining, nor passing from place to place. And those which hold the second place in brightness, are types of the people of the righteous. And those, again,, which change their position, and flee from place to place, which also are called planets,⁵³ they too are a type of the men who have wandered from God, abandoning His law and commandments.

Chapter XXII.—Why God is Said to Have Walked.

You will say, then, to me: “You said that God ought not to be contained in a place, and how do you now say that He walked in Paradise?” Hear what I say. The God and Father, indeed, of all cannot be contained, and is not found in a place, for there is no place of His rest; but His Word, through whom He made all things, being His power and His wisdom, assuming the person^[5] of the Father and Lord of all, went to the garden in the person of God, and conversed with Adam. For the divine writing itself teaches us that Adam said that he had heard the voice. But what else is this voice but the Word of God, who is also His Son? Not as the poets and writers of myths talk of the sons of gods begotten from intercourse [with women], but as truth expounds, the Word, that always exists, residing within the heart of God. For before anything came into being He had Him as a counselor, being His own mind and thought. But when God wished to make all that He determined on, He begot this Word, uttered^[6], the first-born of all creation, not Himself being emptied of the Word [Reason], but having begotten Reason, and always conversing with His Reason. And hence the holy writings teach us, and all the spirit-bearing [inspired] men, one of whom, John, says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,” showing that at first God was alone, and the Word in Him. Then he says, “The Word was God; all things came into existence through Him; and apart from Him not one thing came into existence.” The Word, then, being God, and being naturally produced from God, whenever the Father of the universe wills, He sends Him to any place; and He, coming, is both heard and seen, being sent by Him, and is found in a place.

We live in a world where culture and society measure us by what we do. A job can not only define our success but can also place us in certain categories or social strata. Many people who push themselves constantly to the limit in areas of work are driven by unfulfilled needs, are hiding from facing issues, or are avoiding feelings about themselves. In order to prove themselves or feel validated as a person they keep struggling to do more, to achieve, to accomplish, to always do better, to perform, in order to become accepted as a person. Their value or identity is intertwined and inseparable from their goals and achievements. They are worth nothing on their own, apart from their job.

In their twisted ‘story of me':

• Facades replace authenticity
• Drama replaces reality
• Dehumanization replaces empathy
• Power and control replaces servanthood and collaboration
• Listening and awareness are replaced by isolation and distrust
• There is no room for ‘becoming' or working through a process
• The rules change...

How much destruction can one person self-inflict? And how much harm can one person do to others? How do we face the challenge of overcoming self-deception?

Have you ever stopped to think that if your work was taken away from you today, what would you have left or who you would be?

Not to those addicted to work or power, but...

An ode to a narcissisic man

There once was a narcissistic man...
Who lived in his own special land

He had man-servants and girl-servants
And boy servants too
There could never be too many
And definitely not too few!

His subjects all adored him
Were loyal through and through
They worshipped all he said,
And followed where he led

With great grandeur, illusion,
Uniqueness and charm
He ruled with great authority
He could never do any harm

He loved his own reflection
And made others love it too
By manipulation, exploitation and control
And using others to achieve his goals

I need! I want! I deserve!
I'm the best! I win! I rule!

The victims all grew tired
Of living the grand lie
The fake, the guilt, the ruse
The self-deception and abuse

The kingdom all fell down
The inhabitants crippled away,
Broken, bruised and battered,
They limped to other towns

The king himself had fear
Without his narcissistic supply
So what did he then do?
Came to a town and church near you...

 Some interesting reads:
Workaholism: The ‘Respectable' Addiction

The Impact of Narcissism on Leadership and Sustainability

Is the Church an Addictive Organization?

This blogger does not want to comment on the politics of the blast - they are too well known and are too well documented.

He does want to comment the Indian nation state which (to its credit) has never responded to such provocations in a knee-jerk way that we are accostomed to seeing in Pax Americana. And he hopes that is the way it always will be.

But at the same time, its important for the Indian government to take very strong non-ambiguous steps (without trampling over and harming poor innocent muslims) to ensure this doesn't happen again. Thankfully, we can have very active human intelligence in the "minority community". We can weed this out. And we should.

Only if our political players were not so involved in ensuring they got their pound of political mileage out of this - and ensured they did what they were elected to - serve their Indian public.

Thoughts to all those who died today.

The Christian Alphabet Poster, originally uploaded by Mark Lawrence.

The Bible instructs us to teach God’s words diligently to our children so that they will have a foundation of truth in their hearts throughout their lives.

You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6: 5-9

The Loved Letters collection combines some of my favorite verses in a fun and memorable letters of the alphabet arrangement. Each Loved Letter of the alphabet begins a memorable and powerful verse from the Word of God. I read recently that the older a person gets, the less likely they are to accept the salvation of the gospel. It is important that we share our faith with children early and often in their lives.

As a parent I am so amazed at how curious our five year old son is about God. I enjoy reading to him and answering his questions about heaven and Jesus. We have an incredible responsibility and opportunity to teach our children about God and His love. Letter by letter, each picture in the Loved Letters collection communicates a timeless truth from God’s word.

As the scripture above instructs, we are to teach His words to our children, continually talk about them, and surround our homes with God’s eternal words. As these words supernaturally grow in our children’s hearts, we will be placing them on the only true path of peace, security and eternal life in Jesus Christ. A heart full of God’s truth; there is no better gift to give.

Loved Letters Collection, the Christian Alphabet. © Copyright 2008 by Mark Lawrence. All Rights Reserved.

See the new Christian Alphabet Poster

Here I want to share some ideas, thoughts, and principles that help to produce healthy churches and healthy church leaders.

Some topics I hope to cover :

• Leadership
• Gift based ministry
• Spirituality
• Organization or functional structures
• Meaningful worship
• Powerful small groups
• Loving Relationships
• Need based evangelism

I am sure other thoughts and talking points will also come with time.

Let me know your thoughts and ideas and needs, my hope is this will be a helpful and useful medium for growing and becoming more healthy in our leadership styles and methods.

With 80% or better of our churches stagnant or dying... we need to find ways to become and make ourselves and church more healthy..

And sight of day gave way to dreaming,

He there beheld a shaft of light,

That 'bove him in the sky was gleaming.

Though Jacob had no right of birth,

The Lord had brought to him this vision,

And resting there upon the earth,

He saw a ladder reaching heaven,

Sing: Alleluia, Allelu,

A latter reaching heaven.

Upon this ladder on the ground,

Whose top was found in worlds unending,

He saw some angels coming down,

And others still he saw descending.

And then a voice spoke loud and clear,

and said, I Am the God of Issac,

And it was I who brought you here,

Although you may not realize it!

Sing: Alleluia, Allelu,

You may not realize it.

Just follow me and I'll give you,

The very ground on which you're lying,

this Promised Land I'll bring to you,

When your tribes cease multiplying.

When he awoke he took a stone,

And praised his Father for this vision:

"This place belongs to God alone,

It is the very gate of heaven."

Sing: Alelluia, Allelu

The very gate of heaven.

And that's the story we've all heard,

Since ever we wre little children.

Indulge me, though, to ad a word,

to shed some meaning on this vision.

Though sorrows night is deep and long,

without this truth it would be sadder:

The space between us and those who've gone,

Is bridged by Jacob's holy Ladder.

Sing: Alleluia, Allelu,

Jacob's holy ladder.

Kenneth Copeland's prosperity isn't just for you...

Purpose in life grows strong again,

With a resolve of the spirit,

That comes little by little,

Or else, with the coming of a new dawn.

The natural rhythm of the body restored,

Perhaps, a mould is cast off,

From the workings of the mind –

An unbinding of sorts.

A new day brings with it a new dawn,

Change is nature’s way,

Inertia must be overcome,

By forthright acts and deeds,

Not by brooding upon what might have been.

The fruits of action lose their luster,

And even beauty fades over time,

What is left are the remnants of a dream,

Fragments of memory held together,

By a heartfelt longing…

Freed from the burdens of the past,

And from the unsated demands,

Of the coming generation,

We must be the sovereign of our acts,

And their consequences.