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March 13, 2010
Kingdom Living Today 10.  The Righteous Shine in the Kingdom of Their Father

Dear friends, this e-mail is from Mike:

I'm presently a patient at the University of Colorado Hospital, writing with an antibiotic IV drip in my arm. They just tripled the potency today. My case was been turned over to the Infectious Disease Department at the hospital. My leg, which was infected from top to bottom when I arrived at the VA Hospital on Thursday, is a battlefield between my ankle and knee. Your continued prayers have been a great help to uplift my spirit and encourage me in my Lord, and I mean this from the bottom of my heart.
I look forward to being healed, but more so I want to share with you the spiritual victories your prayers have been bringing about—victories that have occurred because my Father was kind enough to let me have this ailment. Sounds strange? Please read on.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed...;
the kingdom of God is within you” 
(Matthew 13:31a; Luke 17:21).


As you'll discover in the attached Kingdom Living Today segment, our Father's ways of expanding His Kingdom have more to do with obedient servants and divine encounters than reliance on "drive-bys" like "evangelism crusades."
You've probably noticed in our more recent writings that the Spirit of Christ has been directing us to focus on God's Kingdom and how we may help you fulfill your part in it through His Spirit. It's one thing for Sue and me to write about the Kingdom and to draw from our past experiences. But I've also been hungering more and more for the life I once lived when I was mixing it up with people for the sake of my King! Several weeks ago I was reading about the called-out ones in Ephesus in Revelation, chapter 2. I couldn't get past this poignant accusation:  "You have forsaken your first love" (v4). I began to examine myself deeply: "HAVE I LOST MY FIRST LOVE???" I prayed earnestly for some guidance or understanding so that I might know how my Father saw me. If I'd lost my first love, I didn't want to go on another moment.

I know that Sue and I have been in His will as we've prepared videos and other materials so that we may share what our Father entrusted to us. But, I miss, I really miss the face-to-face divine encounters where my love for Jesus and my prophetic gifting can be of help in the lives of others. These past few years of preparing materials for others have been fruitful, but not as satisfying to my spirit as reflecting Jesus to others up front and personal.

So in His divine mercy to His "little child," my Father not only allowed this ailment to come back for the third time in two months, but had it go all the way up my leg in 8 hours. Our drive up to Denver on Thursday found me concerned that it might even be a clot because of the redness and swelling.

Although the emergency room at the VA hospital was crowded, they took me in quickly, fearing a suspected clot that might break loose. Settled into a comfortable room in the emergency area, I started an antibiotic IV while laying back thinking, "This isn't bad." The drip hadn't been going very long, however, when I was informed I had to move. A chest pain patient — higher priority — needed my bed!

I'm ushered in a wheelchair, IV stand by my side, into a hallway corridor, where Sue and I watching the action around us. Sue finally headed back to Colorado Springs, about an hour and a half away. Shortly after she left they rolled a gentleman slightly behind me and across the hall. "Fred" was a loud, disgruntled 75-year old — the kind of man that might make you look for ways to avoid him.

But the Spirit of Jesus reminded me about "my first love," and here before me was an opportunity to prove it. So I turned my wheel chair around and faced Fred.  He was initially startled; I don't think anyone had ever come up to him face to face before! As we engaged in some small talk, I asked my Father what He wanted me to say to this man. The Spirit impressed on me a message. Then I asked Fred, who had just stopped to catch His breath after a long, self-adulating monologue, "Would you like to know my Father's view of your life?" A photo would have captured his face with his jaw on his chest as I related to him what the Spirit had told me. Fred broke into tears, thanking me over and over for my honesty with him. "God wanted us both here, didn't He?" were his final words as they wheeled me off to an ambulance.

The ambulance. Well, the VA Hospital had no bed for me to stay in overnight so that they shipped me off to the University of Colorado Hospital about 35 minutes away. The VA is a fine institution, doing a lot with so little funding, but I'm grateful they had an alternative to the hallway!

At the  University of Colorado Hospital I was placed on the floor with the most seriously ill patients. Patients on this floor have a lot of life and death issues, and no one told me why I was situated here. (You'll learn about my roommate in a moment.)

We arrived late in the evening, well past the time when you can order a meal. My night nurse, Eden, is a Christian whose family had fled Ethiopia. Her face reflected sorrow as we talked at length through the "watches of the night." It hurt her deeply to have to flee her country. If you follow Voice of the Martyrs, you're aware of the persecution of our brothers and sisters there. Throughout the night as Eden gave me various shots and IVs, we talked. I felt like her grandfather helping her accept God's will with joy. As dawn broke, that young lady left her shift with a radiant, hopeful face!

After breakfast I was wheeled through miles of corridor to the MRI unit by a young Dinka man from Sudan (right next to Ethiopia). As VOM has publicized, thousands upon thousands of our family in Jesus in that country have been martyred or forced to flee from the Muslim persecution there. As my brother in Christ pushed me along, it really helped him to know that a man in this foreign nation could understand his pain. Sadly, some of his family never made it out of Sudan.
[Are you familiar with the Dinka tribe? In a missions class with Elizabeth Elliott in 1978, Sue and I met her friend Van, who had lived among the Dinkas for 15 years without one convert to Jesus. When Van left there, she felt like a failure. However, after she left, tribespeople began to recall the love of the woman who had lived among them, and the Jesus she loved. Thousands, and later more thousands, became followers of Jesus from the seed she'd planted! My brother behind the wheel chair was one of these...."the Kingdom is like a mustard seed"]

My day nurse has been "Yuliya," an immigrant from Russia. This morning, my third day, she asked me about my relationship with God. We talked for some time. Just before I started this e-mail she left the room with tears of joy!

My night nurse last night was Delores from St. Lucia Island. I had problems all night with the IV and with chills, so she spent a lot of time with me. I talked about Jesus with her at length—and she was one of His followers too! At 2:30AM she turned to leave after starting a new IV hole in my arm, then stopped to look back at me. Just as I saw her face I said, "My Father was kind to let me have this ailment." She smiled and said, "I was about to tell you those very words."

On to my roommate, Bubba.  He's waiting to find out if he is going to die. He's had a liver transplant due to cancer, and he's also had a colonectomy. The cancer has returned and he has a fungus in his lungs. Bubba grew up in a bitterly broken home and hasn't seen his family since he became an adult. He's now 49. He feels that he's been a good person all his life and is ready to die when it happens. I talked to him about Jesus but got no response. (Sue even prayed with him yesterday that he might call upon Jesus.) But he has listened to hours of testimonies I shared with the RNs, CMAs, and the others my Father has sent through this room. May he soften his heart, turn from his sin and cry out for our merciful Father to forgive him through Jesus and receive him as a son.

I thank you with all my being for your prayers. They are being answered. I wish I could hug each of you personally in gratitude!

Just one vessel in a mighty Kingdom,
Mike
"My Father was kind to let me have this ailment."

P.S. It's now Saturday evening and I'm home. This morning, right after I emailed this to Sue, I phoned her to tell her I felt like something had been lifted from me as soon as the letter went out. A short while later a doctor from the Infectious Diseases Department came to see me, describing to me what the group of doctors thought was the cause of this recurring ailment. He then gave me two steps to keep the infection from occurring again, along with a prescription for more antibiotics. Then I was released. Only my Father knows the next chapter in the saga of my left leg and foot....For His glory and praise!

March 6, 2010
Kingdom Living Today #9. Women of God Share Authentic Fellowship Together

Dear Friends,
You'll find attached our next Kingdom Living Today installment, #9. Women of God Share Authentic Fellowship Together. Here we find Dee, Jan and Lacie spending an afternoon hour together strengthening and encouraging one another through testimonies of "God sightings" and Spirit-orchestrated encounters with other people. You'll notice how they carve out this hour from their busy schedules as a priority for their relational connectedness — something we as followers of Jesus need to consider in light of our own faith family relationships.

How Did Passover Become "Easter"?


Once again Spring has almost arrived, and with it the holiday that has come to represent the high point of Christianity, Easter. We've written previously of the pagan origins of how of our Lord's crucifixion and resurrection have come to be celebrated. Let's briefly review some history of the elements that are widely held to be Biblical yet in fact have no basis at all in God's Word.

In order to consolidate his control over the populace, the Roman Emperor Constantine in AD 325 convened the Nicene Council, gathering 220 elders ("bishops") to universalize "Christian" doctrine and practice. Behind this convention, however, was the issue of accommodating pagan practices. By assimilating pagan rituals and customs into Christianity, the Emperor could appease the multitudes of his empire and incorporate everyone into his custom-designed "church". Recognizing that the majority of the people worshipped a profusion of Roman/Greek deities, the Emperor put a "Christianized" spin on their customs and adopted them as mandatory for the "universal" (or catholic) church:

•Temples of heathen gods and goddesses became "church buildings" named after "saints" in the same manner that pagan edifices were named for deities.
•The Passover celebration our Lord fulfilled through His crucifixion and resurrection was extricated from its Older Testament foundation and renamed "Easter" after the goddess of Spring, Eostre (also variously known as Ishtar, Venus, and Asherah — remember those demonic Asherah poles God so soundly condemns 39 times in the Hebrew Scriptures? ).
•In order to sever any Hebrew association with biblical Passover, the very timing of the celebration was altered to tied in with fertility belief: the Spring Equinox when "Earth Mother was impregnated by the sun."
•Pagan fertility rites were incorporated into "Easter" celebrations: rabbits, eggs, even "hot-cross buns" — round cakes baked for the "Queen of Heaven" who was stridently denounced by our Father through His prophet Jeremiah.

Jesus, The Passover Lamb — Promises Fulfilled!


"Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Corinthians 5:7,8).

Unless you grew up in a Jewish home you probably have little understanding of the reasons behind Passover or how the various facets of its celebration came about. Yet this was the very feast which our Lord not only shared at His "Last Supper" with His disciples, but also fulfilled as the ultimate Passover Lamb!

Perhaps a bit of background will help you understand the significance of this particular title of our Lord. The descendants of the patriarch Jacob (renamed Israel by God) had suffered in the harsh bondage of Egyptian slavery for over 430 years. God heard their cries and, remembering His covenant with their forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, set into motion His plan to deliver them (see Exodus 2:22-23).

This plan consisted of 4 promises which He would bring about — four promises that were a type pointing ahead, as much of the Hebrew Scriptures do, to future fulfillment in the Messiah to come. God commanded Moses to speak the following words to the children of Israel making absolutely clear it was He Who would bring this about:

‘I am the LORD;
• I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians,
• I will rescue you from their bondage,
• I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty judgments.
• I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. (Exodus 6:6,7)

God then concludes these promises emphasizing that they will know Him as "The Lord YOUR God." HE is the One Who not only will bring them OUT FROM Egyptian bondage, but also will bring them INTO the land He swore to all three patriarchs as their heritage (Exodus 6:8). They were a people with a purpose — to leave behind the land of bondage and spiritual darkness, and enter into the Promised Land as His treasured possession.

Each of the four promises listed above has special significance which is remembered and celebrated during the Passover evening by a cup of wine. We'll be looking at how each of these "cups of remembrance" impacts our lives as followers of Jesus. But first, how were people to prepare for this evening?

God had commanded the Israelites to eat only unleavened bread for 8 days, so all leaven was to be swept from their homes. In scripture, leaven frequently refers to sin. Therefore, as a temple of the indwelling Spirit of Christ, each of us needs to make sure no speck of unconfessed sin resides. Even a tiny bit of tolerated sin can permeate our lives and taint all that we do (see 1 Corinthians 5:6).

This night was a festive time of recalling God's deliverance, so psalms of praise (specifically Psalms 113 through 118) were sung throughout the evening. As the host of His final Passover supper with His disciples, Jesus would have led the way for each part of the Seder (SAY-der, or "order" of the Passover meal). The first cup of wine he lifted was the Cup of Sanctification (which means "set apart"), accompanied by blessing His Father. God had set the people of Israel apart from the surrounding nations, promising to bring them out of slavery. Think of how our Lord Jesus has set us free from slavery to sin! He sets apart His chosen Bride, those who love and obey Jesus as their Lord, to proclaim freedom from sin's burden to all who will repent and come to Him.

Customarily, each person would then wash their hands. Jesus, however, used the occasion to impress a deeper goal and understanding of "being clean." He removed his outer clothing, and wrapping around himself a towel, went from man to man to wash their feet. That example of humble service demonstrated the sort of servant-leadership they were being set apart for — a purifying of their hearts that would be fully dedicated to God's will. We today need to follow our divine Role Model in seeking to serve as He did, without yearning for either recognition or praise.

At that point, each person would dip a sprig of parsley or similar green herb into a bowl of salt water. The vibrant green of the parsley was a reminder of life — but a life subject to the tears of bondage represented by the salt water into which the parsley was dipped and then eaten. We, too, will experience the suffering that comes from walking in the steps of our Master, as well as the grief that assails everyone who lives on this sin-captive planet. But we also have the "fruit of the Spirit" to sustain us as we walk on in His Kingdom.

A piece of matzoh (unleavened bread) called the Bread of Affliction would then be broken recalling the suffering endured by Israel in its hopeless bondage. (Also, there was no time for their dough to rise, as by the next morning the Egyptians were desperate for them to leave!) Half of that piece would then be used to dip into a bitter herb such as horseradish and then eaten. This bitter herb is a reminder to us that life without our Lord Jesus would continue to be bitter if we were slaves to our sin nature. BUT, then the matzoh was dipped into both the horseradish and a chopped, sweetened apple and nut mixture that looked like mortar for Egyptian bricks — a reminder to both the Jews millennia ago as well as us today that the promise of redemption is sweet indeed!

At this point, the second cup is lifted up, the Cup of the 10 Plagues which recalls each of the plagues inflicted on Egypt"so you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth...that I might show My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth" (Exodus 9:14,16). The Biblical account is then read or recited about the destroying angel killing the firstborn sons of Egypt but passing over the homes of the Israelites who had obediently sprinkled a lamb's blood on their lintel and doorposts. By the blood of each sacrificed lamb, Israel's firstborn sons were spared. Jesus, the Firstborn Son of our Father, paid the price of redeeming us as the Passover Lamb cited by Paul in 1 Corinthians 5:7. Having redeemed our lives at the cost of His own, we who are in Him have been "rescued" as was Israel, set free to worship Him.

Since the Jerusalem Temple, the only place where lambs could be sacrificed by the Jews, was destroyed by the Romans in AD70, a lamb's shankbone is used at the Passover dinner to represent the sacrificed animal. The unbroken shankbone recalls God's "outstretched arm" to rescue His people. It also reminds we who trust in Jesus that not one of His bones was broken either, another validation that He is the Passover Lamb (see John 19:36).

We're informed by the Gospel accounts that at some point as the meal was progressing, "Jesus took some bread", another piece of unleavened matzoh. This matzoh was no longer the "bread of affliction" of His Hebrew forefathers. Rather, it represented the Bread of Life as His disciples internalized the spiritual truth He'd declared earlier — that He was the bread of God who came down from heaven and gives life to the world (see John 6:33-35). Jesus, the Host of the Passover, was also the spiritual Food of the disciples: "This is My body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me" (Luke 22:19). The Passover commemoration of God's deliverance of Israel had become the "First Remembrance Celebration" fulfilled by the Lamb of God on behalf of His called-out ones!

The essential third cup, the Cup of Redemption, had to be shared. God had redeemed Israel by His "outstretched arm and mighty judgments" through the price of a lamb's blood on every Israelite lintel and doorpost. Life is in the blood, and every covenant before God must be ratified by blood. The "blood of the covenant" , for example, was offered by Moses on behalf of Israel at Mt. Sinai when he delivered to them God's commandments. Without the shedding of blood, there can be no remission of sin (Leviticus 17:11, apperceived in Hebrews 9:22).

As Jesus raised this Cup of Redemption, He was establishing the new covenant that had been prophesied by the prophet Jeremiah centuries earlier (Jeremiah 31:31-33): "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you" (Luke 22:20). This "cup of blessing" written about by Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:16 is our sharing in that blood of Christ spiritually, trusting that our sins are atoned for and our forgiveness received. This is the joyous proclamation by Paul to us who eagerly wait for His return: "For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26). Our Lord's substitutionary death on our behalf is the reason He was made man! (See Hebrews 9:15.) This is indeed a celebration, for our Risen Lord has conquered sin and death. We are no longer enslaved to sin; He has rescued and redeemed us!

While the 4th cup, the Cup of Praise or Consummation, is taken by Jewish households, Jesus Himself did not drink of this cup. The 4th promise is that God will take His own to be with Him, a pledge that will be consummated when we who are His own partake of this cup with Him at His banqueting table in His Father's Kingdom (see Mark 14:25). This Cup of Praise reminds us that Jesus WILL return in glory, and that we WILL dine with Him at the wedding feast of the Lamb! (See Revelation 19:17.)

So, What Do You Do With "Easter"?

Each household in Christ needs to determine what will bring Him honor and praise as they remember His immeasurable act of love on our behalf as the Passover Lamb. It's your privilege and responsibility as one who hears the voice of the Shepherd and is empowered by His Spirit to walk in His steps. Pray with your family and faith family. Discern from His Spirit how HE would have you remember the redemptive work of our Risen Lord, our Hope of glory. Don't allow fear of what others might say (especially among your relatives!) hinder you from sweeping away the crumbs of pagan leaven that have crept into your religious practice. After all, it is HIM you serve, not the religious system!

Trusting that He'll make known His will for you,
Mike and Sue

February 27, 2010
Kingdom Living Today #8, When the Righteous Gather As Extended Family

Dear Friends,
Our next Kingdom Living Today story #8, When the Righteous Gather As Extended Family, is available for download. This anecdote portrays our intergenerational characters as extended spiritual family in the context of a weekly gathering in which they enjoy biblical fellowship. You'll discover that these households have come prepared to bring "spiritual offerings" to their Father that encourage one another. They've stored in their hearts "God-sightings" and testimonies of answered prayer and songs of worship and nuggets of revelation from God's Word to share.

This is the pattern emphasized by Paul to Christ-followers in 1 Corinthians 14:26: the called-out family of Jesus is strengthened when each person shares how they've seen their Lord at work in their midst! Again, these collective gatherings are a time for strengthening relationships and encouraging each other for a specific purpose. When each person goes about their daily lives during the week, they're intentionally aware of serving the King they love through fulfilling their part in His Kingdom.

We hope that this anecdote will stir you to prayerful action and whatever changes the Spirit of Jesus in you is prompting. We especially hope that you older "empty nesters" will realize how you can be meaningfully used by our Lord in the lives of others at this juncture in your lives. The best is yet to come, particularly if you're saddened that you missed His leading in the past as you raised your own children. If you haven't done so already, use the time He is giving you now to appropriate the foundations of Kingdom living as your way of life and instill them in the younger generation. If you're not actively pursuing the Kingdom of God out of grateful love for our Lord and King (Matthew 6:33), then please, cry out to the Spirit of our Lord Jesus for help.

Did You Raise Your Children to be Enemies of God?

In recent months we've heard from many of you older folks. Your narratives relate a common theme. "We raised our kids in the church. They're doing well by the world's standards, BUT: "One (or more) is divorced or on the verge of divorce." Or, "My son has a gambling (or drinking or drug) problem." Or, "My grandson is ensnared by web pornography." Or, "My granddaughter has become a lesbian (or is promiscuous)." Or, "(fill in the blank)." And most of these tragic stories end with this statement, "ALL WE CAN DO IS PRAY!!!"

We DO grieve with you. But it's time that we give you who are facing these depressing predicaments some guidance so that our Father can receive the glory! First, be aware that EVERY ONE of these situations you've related reveals the victory that Satan has achieved in so many "churched families". Study after study has disclosed how counterproductive "religion" is to instilling Biblical values. The sour fruit of westernized, man-centered Christendom, according to Barna's well-known surveys, are worldly goals and values that parallel those of the "nonChristian" carnal world. Participation in contemporary organized religion has drastically failed to help parents instill the principles of our Lord's Kingdom in their children.

Yet the defeatist response of so many reflects not a trust in a mighty God, but a despairing shrug: "ALL WE CAN DO IS PRAY." Wake up! Now, don't get us wrong — without any doubt we know our Father responds to the prayer of His children who love Him and are walking in obedient trust. But, when the same people who have contributed to the sin of their children and grandchildren by passive nonconfrontation or by unrighteous rage shrug in defeat, they're just deflecting their own guilt. Do you truly want to experience the power of our Lord to change things in your family? Then you need to garment yourself with the humility and trust to own up to your own sin, and how your sin has impacted the way your children and grandchildren have turned out.

There's a difference between the false guilt that Satan puts on you to bring you to despair, and the authentic conviction of godly sorrow brought by the Holy Spirit that leads you to repentance! Please, weigh in your spirit if this applies to you: If your unrighteous choices from the past have contributed to any of the demonic wreckage in the lives of your children and/or grandchildren, humble yourself in Christ to ask them for forgiveness. This means that you take ownership of your own past shortcomings and failures so that they know you're not trying to manipulate them to make a change!

Keep in mind an important common theme we've heard from many: Even if you did admit your own sins, you commended your kids or grandkids for being successful in the world. Do you recognize the evil motivation that, by words or example, you set for them in their upbringing? By establishing "success" to be that which accords with and is valued by worldly standards, YOU TRAINED THEM TO BE ENEMIES OF GOD! (See James 4:4.) Does it matter that you acted in ignorance? The result is the same.

A sobering truth applies to each and every one of us: "What we allow in moderation, our children and grandchildren will excuse in excess."
Please, don't raise up denial or rationalization yet. Let this warning be redemptive! Consider the accusation our Father has against you and your family so that you might repent and return to His ways:

1. You taught them the values of this world, a system that hates the Lord Jesus and is opposed to all that He is:
"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever" (1 John 2:15-17).

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath" (Ephesians 2:1-3).

2. They seek money and wealth for their own pleasure, believing they deserve it because they've 'worked so hard':
"You may say to yourself, 'My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.' But remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms His covenant, which He swore to your forefathers, as it is today. If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed" (Deuteronomy 8:17-19).

"People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, ... conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God" (2 Timothy 3:2,4).

(For God's perspective on loving money and gratifying your desires for "stuff" and the prestige it brings, see Luke 16:13; James 4:4; 1 Timothy 6:10; Hebrews 13:5; James 4:3.)

Pause here and ask yourself: "Which elements of worldly pursuit and fleshly motivation did you role model for your family? How much of your example is contributing to the destructive pursuit of the world by your children and grandchildren?"

3. Did your children inherit your undemolished strongholds?
You may have never heard of strongholds before you had children. If you were aware of their generational influence, then perhaps you never broke their stranglehold in your own life before you were blessed with offspring. We strongly suggest that you become free of strongholds yourself by the power of our Lord Jesus so that the only "inner voice" you're hearing is that of the Holy Spirit.

Go through our workbook Demolishing Strongholds (a free download at our website). Then send to your children and grandchildren pages 36 thru 53 which you've filled in. In that way you'll be showing them what they inherited from you through their soul (their mind, will and emotions). Ask their forgiveness for the harmful influence these strongholds have had on their lives through you. Then, out of love for them, entreat them to go through those pages themselves to see what demonic forces are influencing and agitating them toward destruction.

Finally, we encourage you to recognize how hindering to your own life in the Spirit is the system of religion to which you may be adhering. Begin to pursue a life that yearns to please Lord Jesus, a Kingdom lifestyle of obedient trust that reaches beyond yourself and your self-imposed comfort zone. Role model for your family a life that's totally dedicated to loving our Lord and serving His interests as you identify how the indwelling Spirit wants to use you to expand the Kingdom. Be a "living stone" (1 Peter 2:5), someone our Lord describes as born again in His Spirit: "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).

If you find you're sitting on the fence between religious system practice and divine discontent with its fruitlessness, ask your "churchgoing" friends about how their own families have turned out. Do their children and grandchildren seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness as their life priority? Think back on your entire time in a system of organized religion: Has a life of love for Jesus that's evidenced by trust in Him and empowered by His Spirit for Kingdom obedience been consistently emphasized? If not, then why are you still enmeshed there?

We know that this e-mail has been strong, like a splash of ice water to awaken you. But it deeply hurts our hearts to hear testimonies of the inroads and victories of Satan in so many families. Does it pain you as it does us to hear the deception behind the false assurance of the parents who told us, "Of our 5 kids, three of them are now divorced. But that's okay, because they're all saved. They 'went forward' as kids and prayed, so that's all that matters." Testimonies like this grieve us.

We know the power of our Father to act on behalf of His children who repent of their sins, receive His forgiveness, and confess their failures to those whom those sins hurt so they can ask for forgiveness from them as well. Please, if Satan has gotten victory in your family because of your sin, then follow the recommendations we've offered. Don't allow the enemy of your soul another day to gloat over your family.

Your servants for the joy that lays ahead in Jesus (Proverbs 27:9),
Mike & Sue

February 22, 2010
Kingdom Living Today 7. Our God is not Ashamed to be Called Their God

Dear Friends,
Attached to this e-mail is the next anecdote in our Kingdom Living Today series, #7. Our God is not ashamed to be called their God. In this story the older man, Jack, meets with Brett and Harry for an early breakfast at a restaurant. This kind of get-together may not be part of your experience if you're a man in this heavily effeminized society in which most relationships between married couples are maintained by wives. However, in order to lead their wives and children into Kingdom living, husbands and fathers (and men who aspire to those roles someday) must have meaningful relationships and supportive discussions among themselves.

Through mutual accountability based on their brotherhood in Christ, they can help one another determine Biblical decisions by which those in their homes can walk more righteously. Then the collective family units within the extended spiritual family of the home fellowship will share a sense of communal righteousness in which they see God answering prayer. From this basis comes a body wanting to please their Father in obedient trust as they love and serve one another. And, those who are not married may experience the spiritual protection and relational warmth within the extended spiritual family.

The relational substructure of all other relationships in the home fellowship family is the commitment of male heads of households to each other and to their families as they purpose to live for the King. Without these underlying principles, home fellowships get mired down. They may focus on making people feel good about themselves even in their ongoing sin, or they may adopt an isolationist "we four/no more" attitude of superiority. But neither of these unholy motives can fulfill the righteous purposes of our Lord.

"For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard”
(Acts 4:20; see also 1 John 1:3).


In our last e-mail we cited the three key points made in the Hebraic Article, God's Clergy-less Kingdom. These three, apperception; the gifts of the Spirit; and the relational priorities of our Father and Jesus, your home, and your home fellowship family, are foundational if you desire to live to serve your Lord and King. But none of these are an end in themselves. Rather, through the Spirit in you they are the means for you to bring forth testimonies of our Father's faithfulness. Throughout our daily lives our Father rejoices as His children testify to what He has done on their behalf. He is pleased when His children bear frequent witness to how He has answered their prayers, or how they've seen Him at work around them. Just as with the first followers of Jesus, witness of His loving intervention and response to His children's praise and petition are the signs that authenticate that you belong to the Father.

Our Father promises to answer the prayers of the righteous: "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil" (1 Peter 3:12; see also 1 John 3:21,22; John 9:31; Psalms 66:18,18; Proverbs 15:8,9; James 5:16). Your testimony to others when you share how He has answered your prayers is a powerful means to revealing our Father to an unbelieving world. If the three points we cite in God's Clergy-less Kingdom become an ongoing way of life for you and your family, then you will see Him at work in and through you. You'll be a vessel of testimonies to His glory. Your testimonies evidence that He is indwelling you and working through you in ways that only the Spirit could do. That presence evidences your fellowship with your Father.

If you recognize that testimonies to His love and faithfulness in your life aren't a part of your life, then cry out to our Father. His Spirit has gifted each of His own in a particular way; make sure you aren't intentionally resisting how He would use you as His beloved instrument! Our Father cannot lie, so if you aren't seeing any answers to prayer, be sure to examine your heart with the vulnerable trust of King David: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalms 139:23,24).

If you've been part of the religious system for any length of time, perhaps you may still be tolerating sin in your life (since it's so rarely confronted from the pulpit any more). It may be something that's hidden in the closet of your mind or behavior that you don't think God notices but clearly violates His Word. But not until you have a determined Kingdom focus and a heart's desire to bring praise to our Father do you become conscious of His line of demarcation —  between the unrighteous and the righteous, between those who serve Him out of holy fear and love, and those who do not (see Malachi 3:16-18). You don't find any "gray area" of compromise with evil in Scripture!

Answered prayer is a litmus test of your loving fellowship with our Father and His Son, Jesus. Of course He does stretch our trust as He delays some answers if the timing is not yet. But if we're praying according to His will in the authority of our Lord Jesus, He promises to respond (see John 15:16). Do remember that "No" and "Later" are as valid a response as "Yes" from His perspective. As a perfectly loving Father, He gives and He withholds according to the true need of His child for His higher purpose.

Not every "silence from Heaven" is caused by sin. But if every prayer you lift before Him goes unanswered, or if you're not seeing any evidence of Him at work around you, then do stop now and humble yourself before Him. Fervently seek the Holy Spirit and pore through God's Word to scrutinize your soul for hidden sin, even that which you might not call sin but is repulsive to Him. It's no small thing that we're told, "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12). Keep crying out to our Father as a humble, trusting child until you have testimonies that bear witness of Him to what you've seen and heard (2 Peter 1:10).

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,
let us throw off everything that hinders
and the sin that so easily entangles,
and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us"
(Hebrews 12:1)

On our recent fortieth anniversary, our friends Chad and Chris took us out for breakfast. Chris shared with us a conviction she came under that was now guiding her way of life. In our spirit we knew that what she spoke was a truth that many miss, having been blinded to sin they may be entertaining. We asked her to e-mail what she'd told us, which had been gleaned from discussion she'd had with others at a gathering. It's presented here as she sent it.

"Here's a summary of what the Lord spoke to me regarding the "altar and the tent" and being a people "after His heart" as He fulfills His purpose.
 
1) In the "Desert/Wilderness" we experience hunger, thirst, loneliness, and desperation. God's purpose in this is to make us desperate for Him and His purposes.
 
2) God is the giver of life. We must have His life to be His image.
 
3) God builds His body/community/togetherness out of desperate people. He invites us to be a part of His purpose and His desire to bring heaven to earth.
 
4) In this, we must embrace the cross: death to everything that is not Christ. By way of the cross, Christ transforms me into His image, partaking in His suffering to work the life of Jesus in me. In order for us to be a living sacrifice (totally consumed), God clears the way to make room for Himself in the hearts of His people.
 
5) Jesus makes His dwelling place/home in me and in each member of the body (see Ephesians 2:19, 20; 3:17).
 
Egypt: Materialism = the world system
Babylon: Organized religion (God loves the people but He will not build His house/dwelling place in that context)
Called-Out Ones: Must go through the wilderness to leave Egypt and Babylon — to desire His highest and fullest. (Examples: Noah, Abraham)
 
Altar: I sacrifice my life for you, Lord, and I surrender to your passion/purpose. In the Lamb of God is humility and suffering (Isaiah 53 & Mark 8:31).
Tent: Not attaching myself to this present world (James 4:4), but being available for God to complete His purpose in and through me. [in other words, available for whatever plan, purpose, work, location He would have for me]
 
6) 1 Peter 2:4-6: "As you come to Him, the Living Stone — rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him — you also like living stones are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." 
The work of the cross on living stones is death to self so that the body, the living stones, are being built together to manifest the glory of Christ."
 
We really appreciate the insight the Spirit gave Chris. Notice again what hinders so many from having testimonies to our Father:
• They have not fully freed themselves from the materialism, greed and idolatry of this world (Egypt).
• They tolerate the sins that their religion and its expression excuses, rationalizes or ignores (Babylon).
• They fail to live as strangers on this earth who are looking forward to their heavenly home, preferring to cling tenaciously to the kingdom of this world and its goals, values and ways (see Hebrews 11:13-16; 1 Peter 2:11).

If you're beset by any of this wickedness, then repent and wholeheartedly seek the way our Father would have you live. Don't try to play the lukewarm game, with a foot in religious practice and a foot in the world's ways (see James 4:4,5). Out of love for Him, be purified and cleansed by the Spirit of Christ so that you may reach a dark and lost world with testimonies to our Father as He answers your prayers. If this is not your heart's desire, then ask yourself: "Am I living for myself and my self-satisfaction? Am I resisting the Spirit by holding onto to certain "pet sins" that please me but grieve my Father?" Then heed James' warning to cleanse your hands (what you do) and purify your heart (your thoughts, will and emotions which govern your choices). If you humble yourself in the Lord's sight, He promises to lift you up! (See James 4:8-10.)

Its time for you to bring joy to your Father as He hears His child speaking specifically about His loving kindness to you through His work in and through you for His praise (see Psalms 34:1). Responsive love which pours out of testimony is what opens up the heart of those who have not yet become His children, and prepares the way for them to ask for the reasons you have such trusting hope (see 1 Peter 3:15).

Heralding His Kingdom,
Mike & Sue

February 18, 2010
God's Clergy-less Kingdom

Dear Friends,
Our Hebraic article called God's Clergy-less Kingdom is available. If you've been receiving teachings through us for awhile, you'll find some of this to be a review of things that bear repeating as you press onward in loving and serving our Lord Jesus. If you're recent to using our materials, it will consolidate a lot into one article! We encourage you, no matter what, to discuss what you read within your home and with those who are your fellowship family. Mutual discussion feeds application, a thoroughly Biblical principle!

Based on our research of the early Church, we propose three non-optional, foundational processes that equipped the first followers of Jesus to fulfill their part in expanding our Lord's Kingdom and lifting Him up among the nations.

1. Apperception.
Apperception means that you gauge every teaching, every tradition, every practice by what the Bible says and how its authors intended it to be understood. We continue to stress the importance of apperception because it is the ONLY way any of us can undo the pagan practices and toleration for sin which revisionism has introduced over the years into Christendom.
To serve our King as His Word calls for demands that each of us scrutinizes our lives — our motives, our values, our goals, our lifestyle — and evaluate them in light of what is supported by God's Word. As we apperceive how to apply God's Word to each aspect of our lives, we must trust FULLY in the Spirit of Christ within us (Matthew 18:18-20) for the power to live righteously according to our Father's will and purpose (Philippians 2:13). As each one in our family and faith family apperceives His way of life, unity is maintained as we help one another make Him known day by day.

Because so few perceive God's Word as their "marching orders" through His Spirit, multitudes of man-centered world views have infiltrated both culture at large and western Christendom in particular. Psychology has become the predominant approach of counsel over the past 30 years, offering ways to build up self and to excuse sinful attitudes and behaviors. The Bible stands in stark contrast to feel-good toleration of sin and blame of others which are the mantras of this nation. Few want to hear the reality of their sin that separates them from a holy and just God. Feeling good about themselves just as they are, they believe that have no need to change — to repent as the Bible so clearly commands. Thus, so much of the spiritual arena has been deceived.

The past 50 years have found the US to become an increasingly "feelings-based culture." Worship services attract people with entertaining music, and entertaining "motivational messages" have replaced scriptural exposition to apply to life. It would seem that much of westernized Christendom is now designed to help people feel good about themselves. Not only many congregations but also much of the home group/home church movement strive to make people happy, comfortable and accepted. How has this happened? Everything centers on helping people maintain high self-esteem. But is this approach scripturally valid?

Recent publicized studies indicate that the people with the highest self esteem have no regard for personal sin. These individuals populate death row, Wall Street, politics, and many other arenas in which God and His righteous requirements are of no concern to most. Throughout most education venues as well as much of westernized Christendom, increasing people's self esteem is a stated goal. The reality of sin is minimized, while guilt is treated as a mental aberration rather than the conviction the Holy Spirit gives to bring us back into fellowship with the Father and His Son, Jesus (see John 16:8, 1 John 1:3,9).

A maxim has proved true for so many westernized Christians:



The more you're concerned about your own sin
and your need to repent,
the less you're concerned with how you feel
and your pursuit of happiness and self-esteem.
The more you're concerned with your own feelings,
the less you're concerned with your sin and violation of God's Word.


We were once a "principled society" based on the Bible's standards — the Judeo-Christian basis for the Constitution. The preaching of God's Word made people aware of their sin and their need to repent and find forgiveness through Jesus. Will we once again follow this ancient pathway?

2. Reliance on the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Kingdom of our Lord has no clergy class. Guided by wise elders who have tasted His compassion and His power in their own lives, Kingdom people cooperate with His Spirit at work in one another and expand His collective body by relying on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Bible reveals a cooperation of spiritual gifts at work among the early called-out ones who served our Lord Jesus. This mutual service functioned as a living organism, a family rather than a hierarchical organization to which it devolved through pagan influence centuries ago.

The foundational gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11 directly precede our Lord's goals for applying them (vv. 12-16):
• to equip His followers for service
• to help them maintain unity in spirit
• to mature His people into the full measure of His character.

The first three gifts, apostle, prophet, and evangelist, generally operate among various faith communities. A shepherd/teacher is an older man of wisdom who in cooperation with others leads a faith community in the pattern recounted by Paul to Timothy and Titus. He inspires the flock to use the other spiritual gifts cited in the Newer Testament.



3. Living in accordance with God's relational priorities.




We all have relational priorities, that is, people whose relationship to us impacts us more than others do. It's not that we reject those who aren't as influential to us; rather, by nature of the relationship we have a stronger emotional attachment and responsibility to certain ones.

The diagram above represents the primary relationships that facilitate our effectiveness in our Kingdom service.
Our Father's Covenant in Jesus entails intensity of purpose, wholly seeking Him as the "Pearl of great price." He calls for a love that supersedes all other love, even that for family: "Love the Lord your God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind and with all our strength." Human strength and effort could never bring to our Father the depth of love He deserves. Far from it! Everything in our relationship with our Father and His Son, Jesus depends on the Holy Spirit within — the Spirit of Christ we receive when we embrace His Covenant (2 Corinthians 5:5) and with Whom we are baptized at regeneration (Mark1:8).

Your home is intended by God to be the basic building block for spiritual development for each of you, whether married or not. Our Father's goal for marriage is that this relationship represent in the earthly realm everything His children claim in their relationship with Him. This means that our spiritual Covenant in Jesus as our heavenly Bridegroom is manifested through our marriage covenant as we are transformed together in His character. These two covenants are intricately linked. Discuss this goal with your spouse to make sure you're both on the same page!

Outsourcing your responsibilities for others to do what God requires of fathers and mothers is a worldly infiltration into His intended purpose for you as parents. Within the sanctuary of your home is where communal righteousness is first learned and nurtured and becomes your way of Kingdom living. Within your home is where the character of Jesus is first developed in your children as well. If you are a parent with children still at home, make sure you're doing all He calls for in His Word, without reservation, to raise them to be a "godly generation" (Malachi 2:15).

Fellowship in homes is an extended spiritual family that is purposing together to uphold righteousness. Each fellowship family in Jesus (Luke 8:21) is serving their Lord as they "one-another" and are built up to reach others around them for His Kingdom. This calls for a priority of commitment that's far beyond the "weekly service" you may have been accustomed to! The collective family of Christ extends His Kingdom by warring against the guerrilla tactics of a demonic enemy. They then take back that surrendered ground by coming alongside the enemy's victims with His life-giving love and truth.

The first followers of Jesus lived within the parameters of four biblical criteria for authentic fellowship.
Their fellowship as extended spiritual family:
1. Spurred them on to glorify our Father and Jesus through praise, worship, and living testimony (1 Corinthians 10:31).
2. Spurred their growth in Christ's likeness (see Philippians 2:12).
3. Spurred them toward repentance and the narrow gate (Matthew 7:13; 1 Thessalonians 5:12).
4. Spurred them to reveal Jesus to the lost in their daily lives (2 Corinthians 5:18,19).

Please prayerfully discuss the important foundations we cite in God's Clergy-less Kingdom. In light of what you discover in that article, consider which of the two prayers below would most likely represent your heart.

• "Dear God, I want to thank You for blessing me with a great pastor even though I hardly know him. His weekly stories make me laugh! And thank You for the comfortable congregation I'm in where I feel good about myself. No one makes me feel guilty by confronting me about my sins, so I guess I'm OK with You. I don't have to feel responsible for anyone there since I don't spend time with any of them during the week. I don't even have time for my family because everyone's doing their own thing. Oh well. Amen."

• "Dear Father, I come to You in the name of my Lord Jesus. I am unworthy of the kindness You have shown by revealing Him to me. Thank You for the opportunity to live in union with You through the Covenant You've made possible through Jesus' sacrifice. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for Your Spirit within me Who guides, empowers, and comforts me to want to live in obedience to Your commands. And thank You, Father, for Your forgiveness when I confess my sins to You. I am so grateful for the spiritual gifts You've given me so that I may be Your blessing to others. I'm thankful for a home fellowship family that's dedicated to bringing you glory and shining the light of your Gospel to a hell-bent world. Thank You for their support in helping me and my family to grow in Your ways. Amen."

Traveling with you in our collective journey,
Mike & Sue

February 15, 2010
Kingdom Living Today: 6. God Doesn’t Close One Door Without Opening Another

Dear Friends,
Our next Kingdom Living Today segment #6. God Doesn’t Close One Door Without Opening Anotheris available. This episode explores how God can take a difficult situation, like losing a job, and turn it into unexpected triumph! We also show how our Father is using an older couple, Jack and Dee, to deepen relationships with other families through role modeling biblical fellowship in one another's homes.

"GO and FREE the captives!"


As we've lived out our Lord's command to free the captives, our Father has graciously given us certain insights we might not have received had our own journey been straight and smooth. Below are a few points that may be holdiing you captive:

"These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come" (1 Corinthians 10:11).
Not only Jesus but all of the Newer Testament writers cite the Older Testament as THE foundation for their teachings. That's why Paul could confidently admonish the Gentile followers of Jesus in Corinth by using the Older Testament — his source that was written down to warn these new believers against lives that displeased God. The apostle recognized that each person's sin nature inclines their heart to give way to temptation, and he used the examples of Israel's disobedience to reinforce both a holy fear of God and the consequences their sins reaped.

So what did Israel do that Paul thought we as Jesus followers had to be warned against doing ourselves? They "set their hearts on evil things" (1 Corinthians 10:6). They lusted after what they knew was wrong in God's sight, perhaps hoping that since they were God's chosen, He wouldn't take action. (Sounds like so-called "believers" today who think they can sin at will since they're "already forgiven" — what a perversion of grace!)

According to that same chapter, verses 7-10, out of our forefathers' hearts came
• idolatry, which led to gluttony, drunkenness and sexual immorality. The consequence? Twenty-three thousand of them died from a plague in one day (see Numbers 25:1-9)
• testing the Lord through seething complaint and blasphemy. The consequence? God sent venomous snakes which killed many Israelites (see Numbers 21:4-6)
• grumbling and murmuring in rebellion against God as well as Moses and Aaron. The consequence? Fourteen thousand seven hundred died from a plague brought by the destroying angel (see Numbers 16:46-50). These were scary repercussions for our spiritual forefathers, means of chastisement that God isn't shy about using today so that people will turn to Him in repentance.

Do we have ears to hear the warnings? Or are our ears "stopped up" by erroneous teaching that denigrates the Older Testament as did the Hellenist philosophers who converted to Christianity in the second and third centuries. Don't discount the impact of centuries of writings that repudiate the validity of the Older Testament and have seduced large parts of Christendom to this day to ignore the Hebrew Bible. As Paul cautioned in verse 12, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!

One pitfall that comes from neglecting the warnings and examples of the Hebrew Scripture is failure to appropriate the utter depravity of your sin nature. Therefore you acknowledge too casually the death of Jesus on your behalf, relegating that sacrifice of love to a historical act that your mind concurs with but your heart and spirit never own. Such superficial indifference reflects underlying pride: "I'm not as bad as other people I know." Or, you look to Jesus to improve your life, enhance your self-esteem and boost your personal achievements — but miss that God has called you out of the world's ways to serve Him as beloved Lord!

If you're deceived by any of these attitudes, you're really thinking that Jesus owes you. You find yourself evaluating and using others for your own advantage, and look for comfort and acceptance amid a congregation that's also self-seeking. Does any of this describe you? Then LEARN from the Older Testament's warnings and cry out in humility before our Father with a repentant heart that's eager to obey.

Ask yourself this:
If the Hebrew Bible texts have been written down as examples for the followers of Jesus, shouldn't we read and heed the warnings it provides? After all, Paul himself made clear to the Corinthian church that followers of Jesus should NOT be ignorant of Israel's history because we need to learn those lessons ourselves (10:1-5).

In light of the precious history we as followers of Jesus share with our spiritual forefathers, how do YOU feel about the importance of the Older Testament?
When did you last meditate on it as a source of warning and example for your own life and for the lives of your family and faith family?


"Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others... For all seek their own interests, not the things which are of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:4,21; see also 1 Corinthians 10:24).
We who have tasted the tender mercies of our Lord and are pressing on in His love and power are up against an insidious idol within western culture: SELF. The past two decades have found intense infiltration of worldly self-focus predominating westernized Christendom, an overt shift from serving our Lord's interests to a theology that demands He serve ours. Nowhere in either Testament does God tolerate self-idolatry! His righteous holiness allows for no idols — especially of self, since that becomes the driving motive of all other beliefs and responses and actions.

The command of Jesus to deny yourself means just that: to cast down the sin nature's desires for gratification for a far greater Kingdom purpose. And what might that be? To follow in our Master's steps of being yielded and available for His Spirit to work through you to serve others for His Name's sake. That is the life of grateful obedience — the evidence that your faith is authentic rather than self-serving. (See 2 Corinthians 9:13.) This means more than writing a check to help disaster victims, although that is commendable if the Spirit so directs you. It's a heart that's given over for His purposes so that GOD will receive the praise rather than you for your good actions. (See Matthew 5:16.)

If your heart isn't given over as an instrument of Father's blessing to others, how will you develop the body-life relationships you need so you can cooperate with the spiritual gifts of others and build up your extended spiritual family in Christ? (See 1 Corinthians 12:11-27.) And keep this mind: Self-interest opens your mind to be vulnerable to worry and fear of loss — an overpowering temptation if your eyes are on you rather than on our Sovereign Provider.

An indicator that you've given way to self is that you balk when the Spirit prompts you to serve or when others need your particular spiritual gifting. Most of us are glad (or at least willing) to serve others if it's convenient for us. If we're initiating the help or determining what form that help takes, it's no bother. But self-denial that looks to the interest of others responds even what it's not convenient. It meets the need when that need goes beyond our comfort level or self-perceived scope of service. And isn't that the kind of love that Christ has demonstrated for us, a love that causes us to depend on His Spirit at work in us to put feet to our profession of faith?

In a culture which exalts self-fulfillment and self-preservation, your independence and self-determination are applauded. But not in our Lord's Kingdom. Self-absorption is rebellion in God's sight; it's presuming to do what seems right to you ("Me first!") but is contrary to God's will. King Saul put himself first and lost not only his kingdom but his life. (Read his sorry tale in 1 Samuel 15.) The prophet Samuel connects the rebellion of Saul with the sin of witchcraft — the desire to control even if it means violating God's will. In the same thought package Samuel connects the arrogance of presumption with idolatry, which is any compromise with God's Word and will.

As a reminder, these accounts in the Hebrew Scriptures are written down as warnings to us today. What changes need to be made in your own heart so that you may be cleansed and purified to serve others for our Lord's glory? What fragment of arrogance lays in your heart so that you tell God, "I'm willing to do this or go there, but nothing more"?

Ask those who know you well to evaluate how readily you look to the interests of others, even at the cost of your own. Does "convenience" play a big part in how and when you choose to serve (that "control" issue)? Or, do you recognize God's hand in growing your character when you're called on to serve when it doesn't fit your day's agenda?

Do you serve anticipating reciprocation or thanks for your service? Be honest. Are you content knowing that your Father in heaven sees even if no one else takes notice? (See Matthew 6:1,6.)


"Therefore say: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again'" (Ezekiel 11:17).
The broadly based anti-Semitism in Christendom was introduced by the Hellenist "Church Fathers" who laid the blame for the crucifixion upon the Jews collectively as a people. The Older Testament was "christologized", eliminating the eternal promises of God to the Jews and creating allegorical meanings for historical texts to refer to Christ. Taking up the same theme, the Roman Catholic hierarchy perpetuated hatred of all things Jewish, persecuting and killing countless thousands of Jews through the Inquisition of old as well as tacit support for the more recent Holocaust.

A number of Protestant denominations, though perhaps not as blunt in their anti-Semitic teachings, have been shaped by theologians who relegated the Older Testament to the dustbin of history. In particular, the promises that God gave the Jewish people to restore them to the land He promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob have been disregarded. Some seminaries, and therefore clergy, even claim that the promises made specifically to Israel have now been "deeded" to the Church!

However, the past century has proven these misguided doctrines to be wrong. In 1948, in the face of overwhelming Muslim opposition, the State of Israel was born in a day (see Isaiah 66:8). Father God has kept His promise to restore the Jewish people back to the Land — and He has drawn them against all odds from the four corners of the Earth to which He had dispersed them. (See, for example, Isaiah 43:5-7.) Revisit the prophecies that permeate the Older Testament; you can't miss all those promises reiterated as a banner of hope to the Jews! And as He foretold, the contemporary arrival of over a million Russian Jews to Israel has far superseded the initial entry of the Israelites over three millennia ago! (See Jeremiah 16:14,15 for a "Wow!" insight!) In our time He is fulfilling His promise to them.

Keep in mind a particular pitfall into which a number of Christians and ministries have stumbled. The restoration of the Jews to Israel has nothing to do with their worthiness any more than reconciliation between Father God and followers of Jesus has to do with us deserving it. From His perspective, it's all about the unmerited favor of His grace!

"The LORD did not set His affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples" (Deuteronomy 7:7).
"Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people" (Deuteronomy 9:6).

As you hear of the tension going on in the Promised Land as God keeps His promise to Abraham, don't get caught up with romanticizing the Jewish people. Just open your concordance to see how often God calls them "stiff-necked" and "stubborn". (Just as we were in our pre-regeneration resistance to the Spirit!) And make sure you don't despise the Muslims who oppose them, either; Jesus shed His blood for them as well. Rather, focus on the love of God and His faithfulness to keep His promises. We who follow Jesus as our Lord and Savior have been given precious promises as well, and we should reckon His faithfulness to the Jewish people as encouragement that He will keep His Word to us too (2 Peter 1:3,4).

A further warning from the Older Testament calls us who are Kingdom-minded to press on in holy living in a way that sets us apart from the corrupt, self-serving goals and values of the world: "Observe [My commands] carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” (Deuteronomy 4:6). Our God intended that His treasured possession, Israel, (Deuteronomy 26:18,19) would reveal His wisdom to the Gentile nations for a specific purpose: "I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring My salvation to the ends of the earth" (Isaiah 49:6).

Keep in mind that on our own pilgrimage to our salvation, our Lord has purposes for each of us as His "chosen people, holy and dearly loved" to fulfill as we serve Him by extending His Kingdom. The Israelites failed to "bring salvation to the ends of the earth" as He had purposed for them. With that warning, we should intentionally live as His vessels to fulfill our Lord's desire for the salvation of mankind.

As our God restores the Jewish people to the Land, don't be surprised by all the hatred and harassment they're facing not only from their Arab neighbors but from the world at large. This animosity will continue until they trust Jesus as their Messiah as prophesied. (We recommend you read through the prophetic writing of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Joel in particular so that you can perceive God's long-term perspective on His promise keeping!) For now, the nation of Israel trusts in their weapons, their technology and their presently favorable relationship with the United States. All of these will fail them according to our Father's plan!

And what should we as Jesus followers glean from these warnings? Do not focus on the opposition our Lord allows in our lives. Instead, realize that He uses suffering and evil and antagonism to draw us back to Himself in total union. You might want to memorize this piece of wisdom:

The more the demons try to
wear you down through resistance,
the more you wear them down through persistence.


"'The word of the LORD you have spoken is good,' Hezekiah replied. For he thought, 'Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?'" (2 Kings 20:19).
To set this verse in context, the prophet Isaiah had just informed King Hezekiah that God would judge the kingdom of Judah and send his descendants into captivity in Babylon. Hezekiah had repented on an earlier occasion and had cried out to God to save Jerusalem from annihilation. But at this point, having just been healed from a life-threatening ailment, he was satisfied with nothing more than "peace and security in his lifetime." How tragic (and mystifying!) that he didn't humble himself and the entire nation to seek God to relent from forthcoming defeat.

A twofold lesson from this 2 Kings episode presents itself for us today:
1. Never desist from repenting of your sins, no matter how trivial they may seem to your mind or how often you may stumble in them. Father God is gracious, and authentic repentance is His gift to us to restore fellowship with Him and His Son, Jesus (1 John 1:3,9). It's also one of His means to help you be sanctified (to be made holy) so that you may become more like Jesus. Remember, repentance calls for you to both turn away from your sin and turn to God for forgiveness and restoration. As you yield to Father's will through His Spirit at work in you, He will transform each area of your character into that of our King, Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18).

2. We noted in a previous email that the leadership of this nation has no intention of paying back its debt (Psalms 10:3-6; 37:21). They have become as wicked and greedy as the corporate magnates they vilify in the media. As followers of Jesus we need to realize that what is happening around us economically is only the initial chastisement of God for the unabashed greed which is the idol of this nation. Washington and Wall Street are the reflection of what's driving the hearts of Main Street.

Make sure you're not among those hoping that you can experience "peace and security in your lifetime" even as you're robbing your children and grandchildren. If you are, then why are you dooming them to financial bondage to pay for your self indulgence? No human being can come up with a plan that will forestall this chastisement that our nation's arrogant rebellion against God has brought and will continue to bring. Our only hope is through humble and earnest repentance that our God may deliver us as He did in the Older Testament when His chosen people repented for themselves and their forefathers. (See Ezra 9:5-15; Nehemiah 9:6-36; Daniel 9:4-19 for examples written for us of anguished prayers of repentance for both personal and national sin.)

"In his pride the wicked does not seek Him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God" (Psalms 10:4).
Many years ago a friend was preaching in England. He asked the congregation, "If Jesus were dead, would you still do what you're doing here?" After some discussion everyone agreed that they would. They thoroughly enjoyed their little social system that was veneered by spirituality. None of them expressed even the slightest guilt over the wickedness of their response! But don't be surprised, for this self-absorbed mindset is the rotten fruit of religious systems worldwide.
If Jesus is the Head (Ephesians 4:15) of His followers, then our lives should bear witness that we obey His will out of our love for Him. Whenever people ask your reasons for the major decisions you've made, you should be able to tell them how our Lord guided you. To fail to make Him your Source of guidance and empowerment is to leave no room for Him to act. Therefore, He becomes to you a "belief system" rather than a Lord Whose will you carry out gladly.

Authentic obedient trust is, as Abraham Heschel so wisely taught, "a leap of action, not a leap of thought." Do the major decisions in your life point back to the guidance of the Spirit of Christ as you've followed your Father's will in all matters?

Can you recall any testimonies of obedience to Father's will and its outcome that anyone in your extended spiritual family has shared in the past week? Month? Year? Do you have anything to share in which you've had to humbly depend on Him rather than in the strength of your own efforts?

We hope these insights which we've gleaned over years of sharing the Hebraic foundations may help you or someone you know. As always, our goal is that everyone who finds strength and encouragement in the truths our Father is revealing might enjoy full fellowship with Him and our Lord Jesus.
Mike & Sue

February 9, 2010
Kingdom Living Today: 5. The Godly Will Be Persecuted

Dear Friends,
First, our next Kingdom Living Today story, 5. The Godly Will Be Persecuted, is available. In this anecdote the Spirit of Christ begins to bring some people together to form an authentic fellowship family. Their common thread is their devotion to our Lord Jesus and their heart's preparedness to do whatever He desires for their lives. Each of these couples recognizes that they've had to make a choice to leave the comfort of religious forms that had previously satisfied them. Each, however, came to realize that their own self-satisfaction and personal gratification had hindered wholehearted obedient trust in their Lord. What is made plain in this anecdote is the cost of following in Jesus' steps. In your own life this may be mild or steep depending on what He sets before you. Yet the cost of identifying with Him is one that EVERYONE experiences as they serve the King in His Kingdom: YOU WILL BE PERSECUTED!



"We ask you, brothers, to respect those
who are working hard among you,
those who are guiding you in the Lord
and confronting you in order to help you change"
(1 Thessalonians 5:12; see also Colossians 3:16)


Every so often we hear from people who are offended by the boldness with which we share what our Father has given us to strengthen and encourage His people. In Teaching E-mail 30. Obedience May Mean“Pack Up And Go!”, we discussed a little bit about the way our Father prompted us to share this message. We do have to admit that we were so emotionally distressed when we arrived back from Israel in 1994 that we weren't eager to share the Hebraic foundations at all! But our Lord is faithful to make ready His vessels, each and every one, for the assignments He has for them.
The following excerpt from that Teaching E-mail gives you some idea of the struggles we encountered during that preparation process:

Our research on the earliest Church and the revelation that our Father wanted His relational priorities and love-grounded obedient trust restored was overwhelming for both of us. All we'd been taught in congregations and in seminary had nothing in common with what our research revealed.
We were so distraught over having believed so many lies that I [Mike] would often say that we could have floated Israel on the tears we'd shed there. Everything in our research contradicted all we'd ever been taught about spiritual life and practice. The more we understood the faith practices and relational priorities our Lord gave the earliest Church, the heavier our hearts became. Even though our Lord had shown us the Hebraic foundations and commanded us to go back to the United States to share them, I was emotionally reluctant.
When we arrived back in the States, we spent two weeks organizing our notes at a relative's house in Miami before returning to Connecticut. I continued to be haunted by the feeling of failure for having perpetuated a false system. I kept thinking of the 5,000 people who had come through our retreat center, and how I felt that I'd failed them by not knowing these key truths earlier...
On our last night at my cousin's house, I had a really intense dream. In it I was brought to Mount Horeb, the Mountain of Desolation in the Sinai desert. As I stood on the mountaintop, I heard the Lord say, "Mike, I've desolated you for several years, removing that which was not like my Son. Listen! I never wanted you to know these truths before this time. Now, GO and FREE the captives!" He then told me to wake Sue up and tell her about my dream.
As Mike woke me [Sue] up, I was having a dream too! I was on a mountaintop that was a flat plateau stretching out ahead of me. Behind me was darkness and steep, jagged rocks that represented my past. But ahead of me, light was growing brighter and brighter, like the dawn! I heard a voice saying, "Press on into the light. You can look side-to-side to see who's going with you, but you can't go back." Mike and I both knew that God had given us these dreams to encourage us to keep going and share what He is restoring.

"GO and FREE the captives!" Stop and think about that command for a moment.
• Who are the captives?
• What are they captive to?
• Do they even know they're in captivity?
• If they do, do they really want to be free?
These were questions for which, over the years, the Holy Spirit has brought forth answers. And, how grateful we are that He has given us wisdom (His perspective) so that we can help others become free of the powerful demonic principalities that dominate Christendom in this nation.

While we were still in Israel we were told by prophetic people that we were "going to the hardest place on earth for the Hebraic foundations to bear fruit. Hellenism owns Christendom throughout the United States." Others told us of another snare that holds many in westernized Christendom in its grip: "Christians in the United States don't need God, nor do they need each other." Over the sixteen years we've shared the Hebraic foundations, their warnings have proved all too painfully true. Those who truly trust our Lord as Lord of their lives or who have any deep regard for righteousness in their daily lives seem to be such a small remnant.

In light of such a difficult field of ministry here in the US, we "teach and admonish" as necessary. However, many who are ensnared by the "teaching only" emphasis that permeates Christianity are not accustomed to being reproved for violating God's Word!  Biblical admonishment means to warn or reprimand someone firmly; to advise or urge someone earnestly. Admonition, which is cited so often in Scripture, is almost unheard of in most quarters of westernized Christendom.

Maintaining "good self-esteem" and making people "feel good" in pursuit of self-interest dominates public education and has permeated church teaching the past few decades. We've discovered over the years that fear of admonishment especially plagues men who've never been in the military. Governed by rebellion, they perceive any correction as rejection and therefore refuse to give heed to it. Look up these Proverbs which extol the wisdom of both giving rebukes and receiving them: 15:31; 17:10; 19:25; 25:12.

During most of our 11 years at a retreat center/farm in Connecticut we had a sheep flock to help bring understanding of both sheep and shepherds to Mike as he counseled clergy. Every so often a pregnant ewe would have a lamb stuck in the wrong position for birth. This required Sue's assistance to deliver, since her hand was smaller! An arduous process, she had to reach blindly into the birth canal to locate the lamb's forelegs and snout and move them into the right position for delivery. This is the image that comes to mind as we try to free the captives in a religious climate that stands opposed to what our Father gave us to share — the darkness of a system in which the lambs are "stuck" and are not being freed to serve their Lord in the power of His Spirit.

Are You Captive to the Atomistic Mindset of Our Times?


We've written previously about the self-centered Atomistic mindset in this nation. Studies of history show that whenever a civilization degenerates to this low level of egocentric pursuit, it NEVER pulls out of it. (See Discussing How To Restore The Early Church: Lesson 3 for more on Trustee, Domestic and Atomistic families.)

As we've been talking with older couples we hear a common frustration about not being able to break through the self-centered values of their children and grandchildren. It's often hard for seniors to realize how their own unbiblical yet socially accepted choices over the years have trained their children to be even more self-consumed than they are. (Thankfully, we have met wonderful exceptions among both older and younger people.) The worldly goal of the past few generations has been to accumulate enough wealth for a secure, pleasure-bent retirement. (God is certainly challenging that misplaced confidence with the collapse of so many pensions, retirement funds, stocks and falling home value!)

That amalgam of worldly values with spiritualized practices and beliefs has produced a counterfeit Christianity — a self-designed belief system that's devoid of wholehearted love for God and obedience to His Word. Does your heart cry out in anguish as ours does with the Psalmist's plea? "O LORD, by Your hand save me from such men, from men of this world whose reward is in this life. You still the hunger of those You cherish; their sons have plenty, and they store up wealth for their children" (Psalms 17:14).

We believe that the apostle Paul is addressing the current Atomistic Age in his warning in 2 Timothy 3:1-5. Below are parameters of unrighteousness that will identify people who are involved in religious systems of all kinds yet whose hearts are far from the God of the Bible. Where do you find yourself on the spectrum of being sold out for Jesus, or of giving way to the antichrist motives of compromise that so mark the Atomistic Age? In the parentheses for each characteristic, use a scale from 0 to 10. "0" indicates that the trait doesn't apply to you at all. "10" means that the trait besets you so much that you're hindered in total devotion to our Lord Jesus. A number somewhere in between connotes degree.

"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be:
• lovers of themselves (   )
• lovers of money (   )
• boastful (   )
• proud (   )
• abusive (   )
• disobedient to their parents (   )
• ungrateful (   )
• unholy (   )
• without love (   )
• unforgiving (   )
• slanderous (   )
• without self-control (   )
• brutal (   )
• not lovers of the good (   )
• treacherous (   )
• rash (   )
• conceited (   )
• lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God (   )
• having a form of godliness but denying its power (   )

The above traits are the complete opposite of the character qualities of a follower of Jesus according to His Word. How His Name is brought down by those who claim to be His yet can be accurately described by any of these ungodly motives! Consider in particular the last two points Paul addresses: "lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God," and "having a form of godliness but denying its power." Lovers of pleasure denotes the precise motive the demonic principality of greed demands to destroy this nation — a battle the enemy has already won! The reek of greed and self-focused survivalism permeates this unrighteous nation — a country which will NEVER pay back its debt (Psalms 37:21). Because of the greed of their parents and grandparents, the children of tomorrow are doomed to anarchy or dictatorship as their government authority. Think about it.

Worldly goals have fed compromised values among so many who claim to be Christians in this land. How few we've encountered who don't pursue pleasure as the reward for their life's labors (see Luke 16:13; James 4:3,13; 1 Timothy 6:10; Hebrews 13:5). Some have pursued worldly security with such intensity through their working years that they've failed to raise a godly generation within their own family (Malachi 2:14-16). Now in retirement, these people criticize the selfishness of their children. But remember this word of hope: At any age it's never too late to repent and let the Spirit of Christ change you so that you can influence others for His glory!!!

Greed and the pursuit of pleasure couldn't have made such inroads throughout Christendom without another insidious factor. This is where Paul's warning of "having a FORM of godliness but denying its power" comes in. From a Biblical viewpoint, godliness means holiness — a life of intentionally obeying the commands of God out of love for Him. Whatever you do that is in the will of God is holy, if you are hearing from and walking in the power of the indwelling Spirit!

Through its pervasive influence on Christendom, the demonic spirit of Hellenism misconstrued Biblical holiness (godliness) as "piety." Piety has nothing to do with obeying God and extending His Kingdom on earth. Rather, contemporary piety is a behavioral or attitudinal mask you wear to convince others that you're close to God by appearing more religious or reverent than they are. Through a perception of piety that's reinforced by traditional titles, garb and separatism, clergy have been seminary-trained to maintain dominance and control over "church attenders". Piety is exuded by the organizational system of Nicolaitanism. In sharp contrast, holiness is the aroma of Jesus in His own (2 Corinthians 2:14,15).

Over the centuries, spiritually powerless pietism has characterized the downfall of much of western Christendom. The love of pleasure marks a key element of Hellenist influence; people who want to be known as "spiritual" can substitute outward appearances for private worldly practices. The dearth of spiritual power can be traced to Hellenism, the demonic force we quoted earlier as "owning Christendom throughout the United States." Tragically, the advancement of the Kingdom of God is being stunted as countless thousands in congregations throughout this nation have been content to live without spiritual power as they go through "religious" motions.

The Apostle's command is as essential for us today as when he warned Timothy, "Have nothing to do with them" (2 Timothy 3:5). That phrase is repeated throughout Scripture because it defines the separation between the goodness of obedience in Christ and the evil of compromise with darkness. (See Psalms 101:4; Ephesians 5:11, for example.) Having "nothing to do" with these people who pretend to be family in Jesus means to have no fellowship with them; to turn away from them until they repent; to have no part in their duplicity. Those are strong statements!

Take a long look both at yourself and at your fellowship family:
• Do you and/or they readily live in the spiritual power that brings testimony of glory to our Father?
If not, fall upon our Lord until spiritual power is the hallmark of your life. Don't compromise your earnest seeking of Him with the counterfeit comfort of familiar faces at services and activities who are lukewarm. This will probably call for some time alone with our Lord. We say this because we know that if you seek the power only the Spirit can give you, then He will purify you before you receive it—even from the pursuit of pleasure. But the intimacy of being prepared and available to be used by His Spirit will be life changing! (A warning from Church history: powerful movements of the Holy Spirit have generally been roadblocked by clergy. Our next e-mail will reveal why this happens.)

Please be aware of something if you've spent much of your spiritual journey within "charismatic" circles. The word charismatic has too often been relegated into nothing more than lively worship. You perhaps don't even know your spiritual gifts as delineated within Scripture. The Biblical understanding of "charis" is the power which finds expression in specific gifts of the Spirit. It denotes divine power which people experience flowing through them as they are used by His Spirit to fulfill His purposes. This is the intent of our Lord, the Head of the ones He's called out of the world and out of dead religious practices — to serve Him powerfully in His Kingdom.

We'll pursue the outworking of "GO and FREE the captives!" more in our next e-mail. Our hope is that the eyes of your soul will be open to any form of captivity that keeps you from being fully yielded to the will of our Lord Jesus and to living in His love.

Mike & Sue

February 2, 2010
Kingdom Living Today: 4. The Spirit of Truth Guides You Into All Truth

Dear Friends,
In this episode two couples who have embraced our Father's Covenant get together and form a fellowship family based upon communal righteousness and love-grounded, obedient trust. As you'll see, the essential element of their relationship as extended spiritual family is their mutual total dedication to our Lord and earnestness to live out His commands through the power of His Spirit. (See James 2:22-24.) Authentic fellowship with both our Father and His Son, Jesus, flows from undivided and uncompromised commitment of our heart (Luke 10:27; 1John 1:3-7). This unity of Spirit as brothers and sisters in Christ hallmarks biblical fellowship, and calls for ongoing repentance in the lives of each one in the fellowship family. As each one prayerfully relies on the Spirit of Christ within to live a way of life that pleases our Lord, the Name of Jesus is lifted up. This type of fellowship is both precious and powerful in extending the Kingdom of God!


Do You Pass God's Truth Along?


There is a reference to the apostle Andrew that you may not have given much thought to in regard to your own life: "One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Jesus, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. The first thing Andrew did was to find his own brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus" (John 1:40-42). Think of the excitement in Andrew's heart as he went to tell Peter about Jesus! The young man had spent hours with Him at the place He was staying, drinking in every word of the One John the Baptizer had called "the Lamb of God" (John 1:36-39). By bearing witness to his brother of the long-awaited Anointed One, Andrew was connecting Peter with Truth personified even before the two met. No wonder Peter so willingly accompanied his brother to meet Jesus!

You'll discover a "connection factor" in the attached Kingdom Living Today segment. The beginnings of a deeper relationship are brought about because a series of people passed along truth they had embraced. In this case, the older couple, Jack and Dee, whom Brett and Lacie met in the park (story #1), recommended The Gospel of the Covenant to the young pair. Brett in turn recommended the Covenant Gospel article to Phil, who read and discussed it with his wife, Jan. Now these couples are in the process of becoming a home fellowship as extended spiritual family.

How about you? Are you excited enough about the truths you've come to hold dear to share them with others? Is there an intensity of living them out in your own life that others can recognize? Do you print out materials for others to prayerfully read and consider? Do you buy books or videos that you know might bless others as much as they've blessed you?

Sometimes we can lose the heart motivation we need to serve our Lord in seeing His Kingdom extended on earth. But King David, a man crying out to His beloved Lord in repentance, understood both his need for restoration as well as a God-honoring purpose to his life:

"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and RENEW A STEADFAST SPIRIT WITHIN ME. Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. RESTORE to me the JOY OF YOUR SALVATION and grant me a WILLING SPIRIT TO SUSTAIN ME. Then I will TEACH TRANSGRESSORS YOUR WAYS, and sinners will turn back to You" (Psalms 51:10-13).

If you're not excited about helping others embrace the truths you've found, ask our Lord to restore the joy of your pilgrimage to your salvation. A lyric from a song we learned in our first months of following our Lord paints a wonderful image of the relational connection we've been describing: "With one hand reach out to Jesus, and with the other bring a friend."


Update on Our Forthcoming Trip


We're delighted to have been hearing from those of you who'd like to spend some time with us during our March through May trip. While our routes are slowly beginning to take shape, the dates and times are still being worked out as others contact us. It'll probably be a few more weeks before our exact itinerary is set. As of now it looks like we'll leave Colorado Springs around March 25. We'll travel south to Amarillo, Texas, then through Dallas on our way to Hammond, Louisiana. From there we'll travel along Interstates 10 to 65 to 85 through Atlanta and then on to the Charlotte, Greensboro, and Raleigh, North Carolina areas. From there we'll head for the Outer Banks of North Carolina to spend time with family. Around May 6 we'll begin our return trip, probably along a more northern route through Ohio and westward. The routes are still open so we'd like to hear from you!

We're traveling with our own air mattress and sleeping bags in case you're willing to give us overnight shelter — all we need is floor space! We'd love to see as many people as we can to share some time of fellowship along the way.

We'd really appreciate your prayers regarding this trip. Our journeys will be taking us through several different demonic principalities that would like nothing more than to confound our desire to be used by our Lord to strengthen and encourage His people.

Thank you for being part of our Father's desire to see His will and His Kingdom advanced on earth.
Mike & Sue


January 29, 2010
Kingdom Living Today: 3. The Kingdom is Within the Followers of Jesus

Dear Friends,
Our third installment in our Kingdom Living Today series is attached and is entitled, The Kingdom is Within the Followers of Jesus. These anecdotes are a composite of Biblical truth and life experiences of various people who are serving our Lord wholeheartedly or are just beginning to. We hope that they'll help you understand the choices others have made along the way and the price thye've paid to fulfill their part in our Lord's Kingdom. Each of these stalwarts has learned this lesson: To be part of His Kingdom always requires choices that will cost you something. Yet no cost is too great for Him Who is truly the pearl of great price!

On the Road Again!

We mentioned several e-mails ago that we sensed that our Lord might have us traveling this year, something we haven't done in our ministry for quite a few years. During the past few days we've heard from several folks who thought we could encourage them by a visit. As a result of their contact we went through all of the addresses in our database. We discovered just how spread out throughout this nation are pockets of people who are using what our Father gave us to share! We're blessed to learn how far and wide the Hebraic foundations have gone, both in this country and around the world.

Right now our travel is still in the early stages of consideration, but we wanted to let you know our tentative plans in case we may be coming your way. The last time we did something like this was in 1999 when we traveled 8,300 miles around the US to visit those who were applying the Hebraic foundations to their lives. Besides being mutually encouraging, that trip helped us understand the needs of people who were leaving organized religion in order to fully love and serve their King according to His Word.

Right now it looks like we may be making two separate trips.

Trip 1: There are several optional routes we can take to reach specific destinations that have already been confirmed. Our goal is to leave Colorado Springs in late March and travel through either Kansas and Oklahoma, or through Texas on our way to Hammond, Louisiana. From there we could travel through either Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina, or Mississippi, Alabama, northern Florida, and South Carolina on our way to Atlantic Beach, North Carolina where we'll spend some time with family.
Our return trip will begin in early May. It looks like we may go north up the Interstate 95 corridor and then turn west along Interstate 70 to Geneva, Ohio, and on toward Colorado.

Trip 2: This trip may occur later this year and would take us to the Northwest. We have no definite route, but hope to end up Vancouver, BC.

During our previous trip in 1999 we were able to share with small groups of people in homes or just visit overnight or catch a meal along the way with those who asked. We'd enjoy doing the same thing this time around, and are open to other alternatives as well. Please contact us if spending time with you along the way would be helpful.
As we hear from people, we'll firm up dates and update our travel itinerary for you with subsequent e-mails.

We certainly appreciate your prayers so that we're in place to meet the people our Lord has in mind for us!

Mike & Sue

P.S. In the last 2 weeks we've received four Hallmark online greeting cards. We discovered that when we try open them, all we get is computer gibberish (perhaps because we're Mac users). We've been concerned that someone may be trying to send a virus. If you've been trying to get a card to us, please write an e-mail and let us know. Thanks!

 

January 27, 2010

Dear Friends,
First, we want to let you know that we've written an abridged (17 pages) version of The Gospel of the Covenant is the Pilgrimage to Salvation. When we wrote the original version (33 pages!) we felt we needed to contend against false gospels that prevail throughout Christendom as well as make clear the Gospel of the Covenant the first followers of Jesus embraced. The abridged version focuses only on the issues that concern the scriptural Gospel of the Covenant. Our hope is that you'll share it with those you care about so that they may understand what God requires of them in Christ if they're to be welcomed at the Judgment Throne. We hope that you love our Lord Jesus with all that is within you, and that your heart's desire is that you want NONE of those you love to end up in a Christ-less eternity in hell.

We MUST Keep on Trusting Like Abraham


In our March 1999 Newsletter, Trust-grounded Obedience, we cited a difficulty created by a number of English translations of the Bible. The English language generally emphasizes the noun or subject — the who or what. While English helps you understand a lot about the person or subject in the sentence, it presents a certain hindrance to helping you follow Jesus day by day in life choices and actions. If you open your Bible right now, you'll probably notice (with a few exceptions) that the verbs used seem like one-time commands rather than ongoing responses of an obedient Christ follower.  An example is 1 John 3:6 in the KJV, NKJV, RSV and NASB:  "No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him." It's certain that we're going to sin at some point. Does this mean that we neither abide in Christ or even know Him if we stumble in sin?  Not if we correctly understand that the sin John refers to here is ongoing and habitual, as the present tense in the original language clearly indicates. (The NIV and CJB translate this accurately: "keeps on sinning", "continues sinning.")

This may not seem important to you, but our response to the commands of Scripture are very important to God! If we ignore the obedience that ongoing verbs call for and focus instead on the nouns the author uses, we misconstrue his intent. Because of misplaced emphasis on the noun or subject, passages of Scripture such as James' admonition to reveal our faith through our actions (2:17-26) are at times misinterpreted as "salvation through works."

Unlike English and Greek, the Hebrew language emphasizes the verb, focusing on the action or response taken by the subject. Several times in the past we've recommended the Complete Jewish Bible by David H. Stern to use alongside whatever other English translation you use. Because this translation often emphasizes the verb, that is, the behavior or activity, you can more readily discern the action of responsive obedience our Lord commands His Kingdom servants. This particular translation encompasses more of a Hebraic sense of the continuing, keeping-on nature of  God's commands rather than the common western impression that you can do something once and that’s all that’s needed. While Stern's extensive use of Hebrew names and terminology may find you frequently flipping to the glossary, that sense of an ongoing walk of obedient trust revealed through your actions comes through loud and clear!

Romans 10:9,10, a familiar passage to many, is another example of what we're talking about here:

New International Version
"That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."

Complete Jewish Bible
"That if you acknowledge publicly with your mouth that Yeshua is Lord and trust in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be delivered. For with the heart one goes on trusting and thus continues toward righteousness, while with the mouth one keeps on making public acknowledgment and thus continues toward deliverance."

Can you see how much more heart-energizing the ongoing sense of the command is? Understanding that our identification with and obedient trust in Jesus as our Lord is an ongoing lifestyle captures much more of the pilgrimage aspect to our salvation. Please note as well that most Newer Testament translators generally use the word "believe" rather than "trust". This is unfortunate because "believe" often loses any sense of relational responsibility. For instance, you may look outside and say. "I believe it's going to rain" or, “I believe this politician is more honest than that one.” You can substitute "think" there; the statements are impassive, just a reflection of thought. However, the "believe" required by our Lord is intentional and responsive: a level of trust that calls for obedient response based on His Lordship in our lives. 

We followers of Jesus need to regain the importance of ongoing trust if we are to follow in the footsteps of our father, Abraham (Romans 4:9,16). The Hebrew word for trust is emunah, a term of life conviction that’s seen in how you live, even to the cost of your life. This depth of dependent confidence that changes your life is extolled in Revelation 12:11: “They overcame [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives to the death.”

How does God's Word describe our Father Abraham's ongoing trust?

By trusting, Abraham obeyed, after being called to go out to a place which God would give him as a possession; indeed, he went out without knowing where he was going. 
By trusting, he received potency to father a child, even when he was past the age for it, as was Sarah herself; because he regarded the One who had made the promise as trustworthy.
By trusting, Abraham, when he was put to the test, offered up Isaac as a sacrifice. Yes, he offered up his only son, he who had received the promises; For he had concluded that God could even raise people from the dead! And, figuratively speaking, he did so receive him" (Hebrews 11:8,11,17,19, CJB).

Consider the depth of heart conviction of Abraham to trust God no matter how impossible circumstances seemed. This same level of trust is required of us who claim to love and follow Jesus as Lord of our lives. And the great news is, through His indwelling Spirit we have power to trust and obey! It is through this committed trust that we can fulfill our part in expanding His Kingdom. Here are a few other well-known passages from the Complete Jewish Bible which give you further insight into the life of ongoing, obedient trust to which our Lord calls His own:

"Now to you who keep trusting, He is precious. But to those who are not trusting, 'The very stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone'" (1 Peter 2:7).

"Those who keep trusting in the Son of God have this witness in them. Those who do not keep trusting God have made Him out to be a liar, because they have not trusted in the witness which God has given about His Son" (1 John 5:10).

"I have written you these things so that you may know that you have eternal life — you who keep trusting in the person and power of the Son of God" (1 John 5:13).

If you're not trusting our Lord Jesus in any area of your life, then you may be in deeper trouble than you think. Anyone can call himself a "Christian" without having to trust Him. That's become a convenient label that often has nothing to do with the Christ of the Bible. However, you can NEVER serve His Kingdom purpose for your life without ongoing trust in Him as your Lord and King. Whether it's putting His wisdom into action (James 1:5-8), to persevering in the trials and testing that authenticate your trust (James 1:2-4), your love for Him is revealed by your obedient response. Your ongoing trust indicates that you are consistently turning to Him and depending on Him.

If you've embraced the true Gospel and have trusted in the shed blood of Jesus to atone for your sins, then He is calling you to trust completely in His Spirit within you. We'll never tire of reminding you of the promise of Jesus in Matthew 18:18-20:

“I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.  Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in My name, there am I with them.”

Our Lord Jesus wants His beloved followers to be confident in His promise to be with us. His indwelling Spirit is sure evidence of Father God's ownership of us as His sons and daughters born from above! Be sure of this: if His Spirit is not in control of your life, you will give way to your carnal sin nature. "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, IF the Spirit of God lives in you. And IF anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ" (Romans 8:9).

Perhaps you're tired of having these same truths repeated, though Paul was delighted to repeat truth to Jesus followers in Philippi! (Philippians 3:1) But we are well aware how difficult it is for some of you to give up the external props of religious practice and ritual in order to discern with your family and extended spiritual family what trust in the indwelling Spirit of Jesus looks like according to His unchangeable Word (2 Peter 1:12). The devil is doing all he can to keep people from understanding the Kingdom Jesus so often referenced and our Father's purpose for each servant of our King. As long as the enemy of our souls hinders even one person on our mailing list, we'll keep reminding people of where their obedient trust must be — in the indwelling Spirit of Christ.

Heralds of His Kingdom,
Mike & Sue

 

January 25, 2010
Kingdom Living Today: 2. Confidence in the Spirit of Christ

Dear Friends,
Our second installment in our Kingdom Living Today series, Confidence in the Spirit, is available. In this anecdote Brett and Lacie come to realize that both of them may have embraced a false gospel. It's amazing what getting up early and applying the Bible together can do to reveal things that were taken for granted. The Holy Spirit can really do His thing when we seek to apply God's Word to our lives.
Brett also discovers a way in which he can get into God's Word more often. You may find it interesting. And, to their delight, the Holy Spirit reveals to them that others have been interceding on their behalf. Intercession is the glue of the Kingdom that connects the followers of Jesus across long distances. [In Lifebyte 41, A Turf War For Souls That You Must Win, we shared about the intercession of the righteous:
"• Prayer — We’re talking about the effective prayer of people who are living righteously. The prayers of the righteous act like an artillery barrage before a battle. It “softens up” enemy territory (see James 5:16)."]

January 21, 2010
Kingdom Living Today: 1. Divine Discontent

Dear Friends,
We do praise our Lord for graciously completing the healing of Mike's foot. Though there is still some discoloration, he's now able to hike and bike again! Thank you for lifting him before our Father's throne.

Since our Lord limited us at the beginning of this year to come alongside and help only those who are actively making the Hebraic foundations a way of life, a wonderfully rewarding time has opened for us. So many people we've never heard from before have contacted us to let us know what they're doing with these truths our Father gave us to share. In fact, we'll be conducting our first Demolishing Strongholds seminar at a home here in Colorado Springs on February 6. This is delightful for us!

In 2003 our Father put a hold on us doing seminars until we completed all of the videos that are now available on DVDs, on our website, and even on YouTube. We've been praying about whether we can be helpful to people by traveling this year and doing Hebraic seminars again around the country. Please pray with us about this, and if you sense from our Lord that sharing these truths in person would help you and your extended spiritual family, please contact us.

Also, we wanted to let you know that the first story in the series we've been working on for some time is attached to this e-mail. We've renamed the series Kingdom Living Today — Illustrating the WAY of God's Kingdom for a Modern World. The first one is entitled, "Divine Discontent."

Instead of the pictorial parables we'd been struggling with graphics to produce, Kingdom Living Today will be 2- to 4- page anecdotal stories. These are designed to help you consider the choices and changes you need to make to fulfill the part our Lord has for you in His Kingdom service. Jesus often used parables to illustrate truths from the Word of God. In Kingdom Living Today we want to help you envision the issues that will confront you if you hunger to live a life that pleases our Lord. We'll also emphasize the principles that enabled the first followers of Jesus to be so spiritually powerful and relationally intimate. It's a way of life our Father is restoring today through the Hebraic foundations. The underlying tenet for this series is found in Psalms 145:10-13:

"All You have made will praise You, O LORD;
Your saints will extol You.
They will tell of the glory of Your Kingdom and speak of Your might,
so that all men may know of Your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of Your Kingdom.
Your Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom,
and Your dominion endures through all generations."


We're also continuing work on our two-part article, God's Clergy-less Kingdom. We want to complete both parts before we post it. Part 1 is aimed at people who are still on the fence about leaving the religious system in order to fulfill how our Lord wants to use them in Kingdom service to Him. Part 2 will help those who have left religion behind and are intentionally and wholeheartedly seeking to serve their Lord in His Kingdom. We'll include references to the various materials available at our website to help these folks develop a Kingdom way of life to the glory of our God.


For Want of a Nail
For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.


We'd like to discuss a few excerpts from Part 1 of God's Clergy-less Kingdom. The proverb, For Want of a Nail, connects the links that expose why an earthly kingdom was lost. With so many things currently going wrong all around the world, it's important that we who follow Jesus pause to reflect why all this is happening, in other words, to discover why the "nail" is missing. The Bible exhorts us to think carefully about why things aren’t going well so that we might have the mind of Christ: “When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other” (Ecclesiastes 7:14a).

Paul told his brothers and sisters in Jesus that it was good for them that he repeat instructions, counsel and admonition (Philippians 3:1), since repetition is the pattern we see God using so often in the Hebrew Scriptures (Jeremiah 25:4). That's why we continue to warn that God's people MUST flee ALL forms of paganism that compromises authentic loving obedience in Christ to God's Word. There are two "why"s to this warning. You need to be wholeheartedly convinced that God hates pagan adaptations inserted into His Word. Second, you must love Him enough to flee that which violates His Word so that you may live to please Him and bring Him glory. Consider His warning to the Israelites about pagan practices and self-designed religion:

"Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains and on the hills and under every spreading tree where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods. Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and burn their Asherah poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names from those places. You must not worship the LORD your God in their way... You are not to do as we do here today, everyone as he sees fit" (Deuteronomy 12:2-4,8; see also 1 Corinthians 10:5-12).

Just about every ritual practice in westernized Christendom today is pagan in origin. If you don't believe it, then research it for yourself. But please, don't remain complacent by disregarding our warning to you! Our God has made known in the Bible the faith practices He wants His own to follow. He has NEVER allowed His children to adapt pagan practices "as we see fit" since our sin nature is always seeking to serve self rather than God.

Teaching E-mail 49 warned about observing paganized Easter practices. We encouraged you instead to celebrate a Christian Passover in which our Lord Jesus is lifted up as our Redeemer Lord and Victor over death and sin (1 Corinthians 5:7; Revelation 7:9,10). This celebration is in continuity with the Passover our God commanded the Jews in the Bible as a remembrance of His mighty deliverance and love. You may even want to consider celebrating our Lord's fulfillment as the Passover Lamb (see Luke 22:7,8; John 1:29) on March 29 this year, when Jews who know Jesus as their Messiah will remember both the first Passover and its eternal fulfillment in Jesus.

As we noted previously, the date of Easter changes each year since it follows the pagan custom of worshipping the demon deity Ishtar when she is "impregnated by the sun" at the springtime Vernal Equinox. To accommodate Gentile (pagan) converts, Emperor Constantine I called the Nicene Council in AD 325. Merging heathen customs with Christian practice, he canceled out the Hebraic connection of Passover and formulated a date and paganized celebration called "Easter." The stage was set for ongoing anti-Semitic rule in the Roman Catholic empire.  Is this a pattern you want to follow (see Genesis 12:3)? If you continue to celebrate paganized Easter customs, you open yourself to the chastisement that Israel suffered for its disobedience after many warnings. Are you willing to repent and return to His Word as your life standard?

If you're still struggling about whether to leave Nicolaitanism, you can learn a lesson from the Older Testament Hebrews. Paul cautions the followers of Jesus to pay close attention to the truths of the Older Testament: “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come” (1 Corinthians 10:11). As you read the following two scenarios, picture yourself in the midst of each situation:

1. Ancient Jerusalem is surrounded by the Babylonian army. For generations your family has trusted in the city walls to protect its inhabitants. You’ve been taught ever since you were little that Jerusalem is God’s own city, the dwelling place of His Name (Deuteronomy 12:11). As things become desperate during the siege of the city, the prophet Jeremiah, whom hardly anyone wants to listen to, proclaims, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague. But whoever goes out and surrenders to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; he will escape with his life’” (Jeremiah 21:9).
What do you and your family do? Do you seek God to confirm the prophet’s words? If you did, God would tell you that it is He Who has raised up the Babylonians to chastise Jerusalem for its tolerated sin. And, it is He Who wants you to go out of the city.
Even the pagan Babylonian commander knew why God intended to destroy Jerusalem: “The LORD your God decreed this disaster for this place. And now the LORD has brought it about; He has done just as He said he would. All this happened because you people sinned against the LORD and did not obey Him” (Jeremiah 40:2,3)
But, instead of seeking God for wisdom, you rely on your own rationale: “This city has never been conquered, and our leaders tell us we’re safe. I don’t know anyone else who is leaving. Besides, that prophet Jeremiah has been nothing but a troublemaker from the beginning. The king doesn’t even listen to him. I heard he even burned up the prophecies Jeremiah sent him (Jeremiah 36:23).

+ + +


You could also be a Jew living in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus. This itinerant Rabbi proclaims He is the Son of God. He warns that the Temple where you’ve been taught that God dwells will be destroyed (Matthew 24:1,2). He tells people that, “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53). How wierd is that? You see many fleeing Him except for a few.
Sometime later you hear that the religious leaders made sure Jesus was crucified. Afterwards some are saying that He rose from the dead on the third day. The religious leaders are insisting that the guards at the tomb said His disciples stole the body (Matthew 28:12-15). About 40 days later one of your friends tells you that he was on the Mount of Olives and saw Jesus ascend to heaven in the clouds. Ten days after that, you're standing in a crowd and one of Jesus’ apostles named Peter is telling the crowd on Pentecost what really happened to Jesus. You watch several thousand around you repent and become followers of Jesus.
Several decades go by and you continue to watch the controversy surrounding the Christians, now called “The Way.” They refuse to observe the Day of Atonement at the Temple, proclaiming that Jesus was the atoning sacrifice for all sin. They go around proclaiming that they are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16,17; 6:19). In AD 70 the Temple is destroyed by the Romans. You have no place to offer your sacrifices, or to go to pray or worship God. What do you do? With all the testimony to the truth you’ve experienced, why didn’t you put your trust in Jesus as Lord, as God-With-Us (Immanuel)? When will you repent and call upon Him as your Lord?

Are these scenarios any different for us today who have both the Older and Newer Testaments to apperceive for ourselves and determine our own faith practices? Isn’t this what Jesus commands us to do? Especially since He promises to be with us when we apply His Word in trust:

“I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in My name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:18-20).

We sense in our spirit that there may be only a short time left for us to warn you. We've alerted you before that our God is confronting the principalities of greed and religion. He used the violent attack on the bastion of greed in this nation, the World Trade Center, to wake up the complacent. If you don't believe He could do such a thing, you're ignoring His Sovereignty and purpose (Isaiah 55:8,9). Just look at how He is exposing the greed on Wall Street and the banking system. It's still there despite the financial suffering of so many people in this land and this world, and He isn't through confronting it.

Learn from the ongoing tragedy in Haiti. That nation has been one of the most syncretistic blends of "Christianity", voodoo and demon worship on earth. In a moment God can act to face down such blatant disregard for His Word so that those who do know Him can come in with both aid and the Gospel. The Roman Catholic Church has for centuries tolerated this paganized blend. And, in a single moment the Cardinal, who should have upheld the Word of God, was killed in His own seat of religious power.

Through other catastrophic events our God is generating around the world, He is confronting the demonic principalities and the people who serve them. Out of holy love He yearns for people to turn from their darkness and to call upon the name of Jesus as their Lord! Sadly, so many who call themselves "Christian" don't stop to ask Him for wisdom — for His perspective — concerning these events. Many don't even seek His wisdom in their own lives when He is disciplining them (Hebrews 12:5-11). As an indicator of how far "Christians" have strayed from His Word, most in this country can't believe that God upholds His own holiness in such a seemingly harsh manner. But the Bible reveals otherwise. Our loving, merciful and long-suffering Father is a God of righteousness, holiness and justice as well.

Friends, open your spiritual eyes and consider. If things aren't going well in your own life, then ask the Holy Spirit to show you if there is a "missing nail" in your life that is keeping you from fulfilling your part in His Kingdom. Do you want to show up at the Judgment Throne without having discerned His will and changing your life accordingly? (See Matthew 7:21-23.)

As we write to strengthen and encourage you to be true to our Lord Jesus, we feel the anguish of Paul: "We are again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in each of you" (Galatians 4:19).
Mike & Sue

 

January 16, 2010
Teaching E-mail 49. Jesus Christ, Our Passover Lamb

Dear Friends,
As you've noticed in the past two months, the Holy Spirit has been impressing on us to warn Christians to flee ALL religious practices that have been adapted from paganism. Attached is Teaching E-mail 49. Jesus Christ, Our Passover Lamb. In it we expose the pagan roots of the celebration of Easter.

We know that you may be enduring the same struggle that early Christians underwent when paganized "holy days" of Christmas and Easter were forced on them by the politico/religious leaders of the day. Initially, most of those who were authentic and scriptural in their walk in Jesus as Lord refused to observe these adaptations of heathen practices. Today the tension is in reverse: these ungodly observances that noxiously blend truth with lies have become so popular within "Christian" circles that you're looked on as "strange" if you refuse to participate the way they do! (See 1 Peter 4:3,4.)

Revisionism, as it has for centuries, continues to infiltrate truth with lies. It takes holy trust and bold courage in Christ to obey the call to return to the Bible as the sole source and standard for God's ways, a process known as Apperception. Below, you get an insight into the intentionality of Revisionism in Roman Catholic religious practices:

“to adopt, to imitate, or to sanctify the existing rites and customs of the population, as well as the philosophy of the educated class. The use of temples and those dedicated to particular saints, and ornamented on occasion with branches of trees, incense, lamps, candles, votive offerings on recovering from illness, holy water, holy days and seasons, use of calendars, processions, blessings on the fields, sacerdotal vestments, the ring in marriage, chants, the Kyrie Eleison — are all of Pagan origin, and sanctified by adoption into the Church.” ("The Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine", chapter 8, by Roman Catholic theologian, Cardinal John Henry Newman; emphasis added).

What you need to realize also is that many of the pagan practices adopted by Roman Catholicism were readily absorbed into much of Protestantism as well. But as our heavenly Father spreads the Hebraic foundations throughout the world, He is calling His beloved to rid ourselves of any practices and rituals that violate His Word. A holy fear of God and a love for Him that hates to violate His Word provide the impetus for us to forsake paganism. Do you have such a loving and holy fear?

Teaching E-mail 49 offers you a biblical alternative observance in place of "Easter", one that fits more into the celebration His people should be having because of what Jesus achieved for us on the cross. We call it a "Christian Passover."




"The Lord.... sent them two by two ahead of Him..." (Luke 10:1)


Jesus sent His apostles out two by two (Mark 6:7), and did the same with the seventy-two (Luke 10:1). For over 26 years of ministry, our work has basically involved just the two of us. Since our return from Israel in 1994, people have sometimes asked, "How come it's only the two of you in this particular work? Where's everybody else?" It's a good question and the answer is simple: While in Israel our Father commanded us to avoid having a ministry in which we'd need to manage other people. A few people have come alongside to help for a time but most drifted away as they experienced the cost of communal righteousness — the willingness for each one to repent when they sin and to live by His grace in a way that pleases Him.

We want to provide you with a little more insight into the nature of how our Lord uses the two of us, since He uses each of His vessels in such unique ways! In 2 Corinthians, chapters eleven and twelve, the apostle Paul writes extensively about his personal ministry, especially detailing what he has endured in his service to our Lord. We don't see this as him boasting but rather as offering insight into his life as an apostle — no easy path by any stretch. The people in the various faith communities he started knew what he'd done on their behalf, that is, his specific interaction with them. But, they really didn't know who he was from his perspective, from the motivations that compelled him to serve.

In this Atomistic culture people don't often take the time to really get know someone from the heart. Being that interested in another person involves vulnerability, and this culture's framework for even the very young teaches that you'd better shield yourself or you're going to get hurt! Being willing to ask someone about their inner motives because you really want to know indicates a desire for the relationship to deepen beyond the surface. And, when you do ask and genuinely hear what makes that person tick, you'll find the understanding growing between you at a far deeper level.

Many years ago someone described a relationship between two people as actually comprising six different relationships:
1. Who I think I am;
2. Who you think I am;
3. Who I really am.
4. Who you think you are;
5. Who I think you are;
6. Who you really are.

We found that description to be pretty accurate. We've observed that few people in their relationships ever get past "who I think you are" with the other person. Even marriages can be bogged down at this level despite years of being together. In this self-seeking, Atomistic culture, people tend to regard others ONLY from the benefit they derive from the other person in the relationship.

We mention this because over the years many people have sought some benefit from the two of us, whether counsel, instruction, or encouragement. But few have any notion of how we understand our service in light of our Father's role for us. Our ministry is apostolic — but not in the sense of an ecclesiastical position as many falsely claim for themselves today. Rather, the word apostle describes a person that God has sent on a mission. Like the evangelist and many of the prophets as cited in Ephesians 4:11, apostles serve outside the confines of a single faith community. In that way they are able to be mobile and available to reach and impact a variety of people on behalf of their Lord.

Beginning on January 1, 2010 our Father has constrained us so that we can no longer help people who want a relationship with us more than they want to make the Hebraic foundations their way of life. This means that already some people who fit this category have had to make a choice. This may sound strange to you, especially if you can't see yourself doing that. But even Paul had to interrupt his relationship with longtime friend Barnabas over the unreliability of John Mark in ministry (see Acts 15:36-40). Joyfully, however, those relationships were reunited later on when a more mature and stalwart John Mark came alongside once more to serve with Paul. We live in hope that we too will encounter many old friends further along in our respective life journeys.

We've written previously that the Hebraic foundations as well as our ministry are obedience-based. The Spirit guides and empowers His people to fulfill our Father's will. Sadly, the opposite of obedience-based living is the modus operandi of westernized Christendom — it's outcome-based. Over the centuries, various religious systems have revised scriptural truth to accommodate worldly goals and methodology. The means by which people have come into religious systems, whether by control or societal pressure, has mattered little — as long as they become part of the system.

More recently, many have ministered in such a way that great numbers are attracted to their services — but not because they're broken in spirit and mourning over their sin! Instead, people who are content in their sin are enticed by stimulating "worship" music and entertaining messages that encourage them that they're accepted just as they are. Never mind that the way of the Spirit is to convict those ensnared by the world of guilt over their sin, of the nature of righteousness, and of the reality of judgment for those not found in Christ (see John 16:8-11). Religious leaders who offer false assurance and "seeker-friendly" false gospels may believe that they're "doing it for God." But they are, in fact, following the deceits of their hearts in laying a foundation on sand. And man's ways have a terrible track record of sinking into destruction, taking with them those who have been inoculated against the truth.

We've worked to disseminate these Hebraic truths because our Father commanded us to. Being obedience-based, we operate under three specific guidelines He has given us:
1. To share the Hebraic foundations.
2. To lead in a manner that keeps institutionalism out. Our Father made clear that we were to never let this ministry develop so that we'd need a staff to manage. That's why He's limited our part to just the two of us.
3. To contend for Jesus in the midst of so many who call themselves “Christian” but serve man-centered, man-instituted, anti-Christ purposes.

These three commands are His prime directives for us as we do our part for our King in His Kingdom. We wait for others whose Kingdom purpose, while different from ours, is still built on restoring the Hebraic foundations. For us this means that we've been prohibited by our Father from starting a faith community. So we're waiting for a Hebraic-style evangelist or a shepherd in the Hebraic mode to start one where we can fellowship as extended spiritual family.

There is also a Hebraic pattern of carrying out charity that remains missing in much of westernized Christendom. The principle behind scriptural, Hebraic charity is that you never help a man who is unwilling to labor to meet his needs: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat" (2 Thessalonians 3:10). On the other hand, when you encounter someone in a desperate situation through no fault of their own, you must respond as did the Samaritan who came alongside a man who'd been robbed and beaten (Luke 10:27-37).

The Samaritan didn't just dole out money as so many Christians today do. Instead, "loving his neighbor as himself,", he was "hands-on" in expressing compassion in action.  Ready with the disinfecting oil and soothing wine, he tenderly cared for the man's most immediate needs. Staying with him throughout the night, he not only made sure the man was healing but also impressed on the innkeeper that this man's well-being was important to him! His personal involvement in the man's care spoke as loudly to the innkeeper as did the two days' wages to insure the injured man's care, with the promise of more if necessary. Isn't that the kind of abundant love our Father showers on us? By restoring the wounded man and upholding his dignity, the Samaritan "outsider", disdained by the religious leaders of his day, put merciful hands and feet and heart into expressing that which Jesus defined as both identifying and loving your neighbor. It's definitely an "inconvenient and sacrificial" kind of love!

Other spheres of the Hebraic foundations also need to be restored, arenas that people other than us are making known.
• One of these involves applying God's good and righteous law in which biblical justice and judgment are swiftly enacted. You may have noticed that there were no prisons in Israel for criminals in the Older Testament. Justice was to be meted out immediately with no partiality.
• There is also the Hebraic understanding of conducting business with a deep regard for both the dignity of those who work for and with you as well as the righteous use of "just weights and honest measures" in your transactions. Jesus affirmed these well-known principles of dignity and honesty in Matthew 20:1-16. Opposite of the world's goal of getting all you can to satiate your own greedy desire, God calls for His own to look to the interests and needs of others more than yourself (Philippians 2:3,4).
• In the area of government the Bible supports a republic in which older, wiser men govern out of concern for the nation as a whole. This form of governing was the intent of the Founding Fathers until it devolved into a self-focused popularity contest known as democracy. Any candidate who will pander to the wants of individuals no matter how outrageous the campaign promises is only personifying the lawless nature of humanity. Is such unscriptural rule without its cost? As with ancient Judah, when women and younger men begin to govern any nation, it is a sign of God's curse on that nation — a curse they've brought on themselves. (See Isaiah 3:1-12.)



"I'm Frodo, she's Sam."

As we look back at these past 16 years of sharing the Hebraic foundations, the best approximation of how the two of us view ourselves is like Frodo and Sam from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. There are certain parallels between our own spiritual journey and that of the mission of the two hobbits, particularly in how we see ourselves as we obey our Father's commands. Sam and Frodo left the peaceful comfort of their homes in Hobbiton to be about their goal of destroying the ring of evil. Our own "Hobbiton home" was a farm/retreat center in Eastern Connecticut. Besides conducting weekend retreats we tended a 60-acre farm and livestock. Mike also counseled church leaders, while Sue taught conversational English to the wives of international students. At the same time we homeschooled our son and guided numerous college students and single men and women in their spiritual journey. For eleven years, with a few exceptional events, encounters and circumstances, things went on pretty much the same from season to season.

Then change came in a big way! In late 1993, our Father commanded us to go to Israel and stay with our friends Bert and Exie Schlossberg. That's how we left our "Hobbiton." During the next three months in Israel prophecies were given to us that we were being prepared to return to the US with a prophetic message. It was definitely a new learning experience as our Father began to show us truths about the first followers of Jesus that we hadn't known, even with years of seminary training.

While Frodo and Sam pressed on in their journey to destroy the evil ring, our journey has called us to press on with this goal in mind: To share the relational priorities and biblical practices that were embraced by our Hebraic forefathers who first trusted Jesus as their prophesied Lord and Messiah. Like the two hobbits, we've had our twists and turns, demonic attacks, and even people like Gollum who came alongside us seemingly wanting to help. In the end, their personal, self-serving agendas came to light and they departed. Paul had people like this in his own life: Demas, who was enticed by the values and ways of the world (2 Timothy 4:10); and Hymenaeus and Alexander, who rejected authentic faith and a good conscience (1 Timothy 1:18-20).

Still others have have become dear to us in the pattern of Timothy, Titus, and Silas with Paul, determined as they headed forth themselves to serve our King with these truths. Like Aragorn and the other warriors who fought the battles at Helm's Deep and Minas Tirith, they have their own responsibilities to fulfill as part of the overall victory. The victory will be in sight when the Kingdom of our Lord destroys the pagan religious system, the Mordor that counterfeits itself as "Christian."

In The Two Towers and Return of the King, major battles were fought at the fortresses of Helm's Deep in the former and Minas Tirith in the latter. A great lesson is to be learned from the folly of placing your trust in the ramparts of manmade fortifications. There's always the chance they will fall! A sad parallel lays between military fortresses and "church" buildings. You may recall that after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in 2001, many people in the New York City area started showing up for services in "church" buildings. Their attendance lasted for little over one month. Those people had faced such a fearful event that they were turning to God for safety. Not finding Him in the "church" buildings and systems, they left. The buildings and the programs and services within offered no more sanctuary than did the vulnerable fortresses in Lord of the Rings.

In Tolkien's tale, the ramparts of the two fortresses were breached by demonic enemies, the evil orcs and uruk-hai. Everything looked hopeless as the murderous hoards poured through the walls. It wasn't until allies came to the aid of the overwhelmed fighters that the enemy was overcome. In similar manner it's other followers of Jesus, empowered by His Spirit and living obediently to His commands, who truly support you in your time of deepest need. Followers of Jesus who come alongside to help you live in love-grounded, obedient trust make all the difference. That's how our Lord has worked in our own life journey in Jesus. He has sent people into our lives to come alongside and meet our needs even as they've received what He's given us to share with them. Those dear ones who have faithfully interceded and graciously provided for needs have sustained us through attacks and been our Father's means of provision.

Like Frodo and Sam, we've been undergirded by a faithful few who are going along the same pathway to serve our Father's restoration purposes. To reiterate: During our journey we've come to realize that it is the Spirit of Jesus in His followers who truly depend on Him that has enabled us to succeed thus far. Those we know who depend on what goes on in a "church" building to authenticate their faith may ultimately find themselves "Christian" in name only — a fearful place to be. (Where are you placing your confidence? May we suggest you read our October 1998 Newsletter, “The Almost Christian”, at our website.)

These many years of sharing the Hebraic foundations together have found our love for each other deepening even as Frodo and Sam found with one another, especially as they approached Mount Doom, their journey's destination. We rejoice that during these past sixteen years of making the Hebraic foundations our way of life and sharing it with others, the Spirit of Christ has faithfully been sanctifying us and our marriage to have more of Him and less of us in it. He has grown within us a greater understanding of our Covenant with our Father and our covenant of marriage. Both have become infinitely more precious to us! (We can still remember that we arrived in Israel 1993 with barely a thread holding our marriage together. What restoring mercy He has shown us!)

Beginning with 2010, we both sense parallels between our sharing the Hebraic foundations and the "call to arms" in the Return of the King. When the fire was lit on the beacon of Minas Tirith to alert the rest of their allies that they were under siege and needed help, many other watch fires progressively sparked to life from mountain peak to peak. It was the call for the armies of men to join together to fight evil. The same fires of the Spirit are at work now in the hearts of those who would be true to King Jesus no matter what it costs them. The Spirit is convicting those who have ears to hear — who are prepared to obey — to rid themselves of anything that will hinder them from representing Jesus and His Word to a dark world.

The fires are the Spirit's testing to see how true you are to the Jesus Who baptizes His followers with His Spirit and with fire (Luke 3:16). Many are having the dross of sin exposed so that they may be purified and made useful for our Lord (see Daniel 11:35; 1 Peter 1:6,7). The fires also represent the pains of rejection which the religious establishment heaps on those who are fleeing all forms of pagan religious practice, and are lovingly and wholeheartedly seeking the Kingdom of our Lord.

In Return of the King the various armies of mankind gathered together on the fields of Minas Tirith for the final battle against evil so that the true king might take up his throne. So too, out the coming Dark Days of Chastisement, those who are going through the fires of preparation now will be found faithfully following the King of the Kingdom when it's over. No longer will people seek a fortress to hide in, where they can assuage their guilt through feeling good about themselves despite their sin. Many "church" buildings will be destroyed because they've proven themselves useless against evil and are, in fact, bastions of unrepentant people who defame the Name of Jesus.

In the place of pagan edifices, homes of righteousness will spread throughout this nation. Authentic fellowship in Christ that's borne on communal righteousness will gather together as His extended spiritual family and will experience the presence of Jesus in their midst. We hope we're alive to see this! If that isn't Father's will for us (Hebrews 11:39,40), we look forward to sitting at the Lord's banquet with those who have done their part to make the Hebraic foundations a way of life — a life befitting the servants of the King of kings.

We trust that this e-mail has given you some sense of our heart's motivation. We never want a day to go by without our Father being glorified as we fulfill His commands by His Spirit in us. Our hope is that the two of us will arrive at our Lord's banquet with all those with whom He's ever used us to be part of their spiritual journey in Jesus.

Mike & Sue

January 12, 2010
Teaching E-mail 48. Do You Need to be Revived in 2010? (Part 2)

Dear Friends,
First, we want update you on Mike. His foot is 90% better, and seems to be holding there. One day it looks like it's just about healed, and the next day it begins to swell and become more discolored. It's been two weeks with 'one foot high' on the sofa. Praise God for laptops so that he can continue writing the revelations the Spirit has been faithfully giving him! And thank you for praying as our Lord has been responding with His mercy and healing power. Please continue to pray for complete healing.

You can download the final installment of Teaching E-mails based on the encouraging testimony of Azusa Street by Frank Bartleman. You'll find that the excerpts we cite speak for themselves, so we made very little comment. The real issue for each of us as we consider their authentic revival from 100 years ago is this: Are we prepared to be so devoted to our Lord Jesus that His Spirit manifests Himself in our gatherings for His glory? This is a critical question for each of us to weigh deeply in our spirit. If you don't want Him to appear in power when you are gathered collectively as brothers and sisters in Jesus, when will you want Him?


"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears My voice and opens the door,
I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me"
(Revelation 3:20)


In our Home Fellowship section of Jesus in Your Home we note a particular criterion for gathering together: If Jesus doesn't show up, why should we? (We encourage you to view the Home Fellowship section on your computer. It's free and will expand on why we might make such a seemingly audacious comment!)

As you'll see in the excerpts from Azusa Street, prayer (with a clean heart) and waiting on the Lord in trust are indispensable in order to experience His mighty presence. Any type of liturgy, no matter how minuscule, only blocks out the Spirit of Jesus because man has put himself in charge. Liturgy is an agenda — any collection of set forms or rituals prescribed in advance that must be part of collective gathering. If you embrace liturgy, this may be hard for you to understand. But at best, liturgy may satisfy your soul (your mind, will, and emotions), but it can NEVER meet the needs of your spirit. Only the Holy Spirit through your spirit can worship our Father in the way that He desires (John 4:24).

The issue for any follower of Jesus should not be the form of our worship. Rather, as directed in His Word, we should focus on the humility and repentant heart required by our Lord to be in His presence. Those who love Him in obedient trust can readily understand this! True worship may be described as "awe-filled, exuberant expression to our Father that flows from the Holy Spirit through our spirit." Because of our own limitations, we need to depend on the indwelling Holy Spirit because we don't know how to pray as we ought (Romans 8:26). Do you think that in worshipping our Father, any less dependence on the Spirit is needed?

Years ago we knew a man who led a denominational congregation whose roots go back to the Holiness Movement of the 1800s. This pastor had read about early gatherings in which his congregation's predecessors would enter the meeting hall and just fall on their knees and begin to pray. Sometimes the Holy Spirit would descend on them with such consuming power that no one could speak for long periods of time. People were healed, some spoke in tongues that were interpreted, others prophesied. The Spirit of our Lord filled their gatherings and strengthened them to depart with joyful testimony and purpose.

Sadly, by the second generation of this denomination, the Spirit's presence had all but disappeared. One Sunday morning, over a hundred years later, our friend read aloud to the congregation about those early gatherings and how God had moved in their midst. He then asked his flock if they'd like to see Him move similarly among them. To a person they responded, "No!", adding comments like, "Those people were out of control!", or, "Our service will last too long if the Holy Spirit takes over." Deeply grieved by this, our friend subsequently resigned as pastor.

Think about what is really underlying those who resist the Spirit's moving in their collective body. As with so many today, they're revealing an inner rebellion: "I don't want to be held accountable for that level of humility and repentance. The "little sins" I cherish aren't bothering anyone else. When I join others on Sunday morning, I feel comfortable just the way I am. No one rocks my unrepentant boat or confronts my duplicity. When I get to heaven, I'll 'worship Jesus' then."

Oh, what blindness so much of westernized Christianity has given way to — the same kind of error exemplified by ancient Israel! We today not only refuse to consider the consequences of the delusion that we can go on sinning and be accepted by our holy God. We even refuse to dig particularly into the Hebrew Scriptures which make abundantly clear that unrighteous lives defame Him and will bear the penalty for their wickedness!

False prophets in the days of Isaiah and Micah, for instance, soothed the Israelites in their sin and "led My people astray" (Micah 3:5). Is there any difference today with religious leaders who assure those enmeshed in sin that because of God's grace "they're saved" no matter how they live? The Psalmists certainly made clear God's parameters for coming into His presence and the need for a repentant heart (see, for example, Psalms 15; 24:3,4; 32:5; 51:17).

God's commands are timeless. His righteousness and holiness have never changed. If we yearn to walk in obedient trust in Jesus as Lord and experience His presence, we must cast aside unrighteous compromise in our own lives and stop deceiving ourselves that those who live according to the world's ways are "in Christ." Paul was adamant in his warning to us about "fellowship" with those who are unrepentant: "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?... Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty" (2 Corinthians 6:14,17,18, apperceived from Isaiah 52:11, 2 Samuel 7:14).

In our April, 2001 Newsletter, The Awesome Preeminence of Jesus, we shared the story of a friend who had headed the very denomination we wrote about above. When he visited us several years after he'd retired, Mike asked him how retirement was going. He replied sadly, “I‘ve come to realize that I’ve never known Jesus Christ. I recognize this because I don’t know how to talk with Him. You don’t get to the top of my denomination by waiting on the Lord and relating to Him. You get there by controlling and directing the people.”

A few years after this conversation, we returned from Israel with our research about the Hebraic foundations. When our book Restoring The Early Church was still in manuscript form, a leader in this same denomination offered to critique it for us. When he'd finished reading it he told us, “We can’t have our people trusting Jesus the way you write about. That would cause mayhem! We need to control and direct the spiritual activities in our congregation.” Now consider this: What we're describing in these two anecdotes can be repeated by any church leader when the presence of our Lord Jesus doesn't show up in their gatherings. They've already locked Him outside their door.

Let's examine a "God's eye view" of what these leaders are inadvertently saying:
"We want our people to serve the spirit of this world by being occupied with activities and busyness. We'll keep them happy and entertained. That's what brings success, and more people through our doors!" However, the fruit of activity that is devoid of Jesus’ power are many and prevalent in so many congregations:
• worship that keys in on the soulish mood-conjuring that pleases the idolatrous self but ignores the necessity of “clean hands and pure heart” for worship to penetrate the ceiling;
• seeker-friendly evangelism that encourages nonbelievers that they’re OK with God just as they are;
• prayer movements that rely on worldly methods that have no accountability for personal holiness of those praying;
• endless religious discussions and arguments that fail to bring life changes through biblical application.

The good news is that when we have humble and repentant hearts, we do hear from His Spirit! When He is at work in and through each of us all during the week, we have something spiritually edifying to share with our collective gatherings as the Spirit of Christ brings them forth:
"When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the called-out ones" (1 Corinthians 14:26).

Please, prayerfully go through the Teaching E-mail 48. Scrutinize your own heart and devotion to Jesus as Lord of your daily life. Have you responded out of loving obedience to our Father to "purify yourself from everything that contaminates your body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God" (2 Corinthians 7:1)? Is there anything you need to change in order for Him to show up in your faith family gatherings? If so, then CHANGE IT! If Jesus doesn't show up, why should you?

This year we're pressing on by His grace to seek authentic revival. Is that your heart's desire as well?
Mike & Sue


January 8, 2010
It's too late to learn lessons in hell

Dear Friends,
During these past two days Mike's foot has healed dramatically. The true skin color has almost completely returned and the pain is minimal. Again, through this event and your prayers, we feel as much a part of you as we hope you do us. I (Sue) am going to miss walking through the living room seeing my husband on the sofa with his foot in the air. I've been calling him "my recumbent flamingo." Mike calls himself "one foot high."

Are you losing it?

Do you find your love for others diminishing?
Have you found yourself more focused on your own well-being than on being concerned for others?
These are important issues for us who would be true to Jesus. Love that's revealed through our actions, words, and attitudes authenticates those who follow Him as Lord of their life.

Several years ago we were living in Flagstaff, Arizona and working with some Native Americans. On Friday afternoon we'd generally go to the local Walmart where many Navajo and Hopi would be shopping. As the grandmothers and mothers would shop, the grandfathers would often be left to care for their grandchildren on the benches near the front of the store. I (Mike) made it a habit to approach the older men and engage them and their grandchildren in conversation with the hope and the goal of establishing friendships.

As this scenario was such a weekly occurrence in our lives, we couldn't help but notice a behavior pattern that may come across as prejudiced but isn't intended to be.  On Friday afternoons when many of the Native Americans regularly came to Walmart, the atmosphere of the store changed compared to other times during the week when only the locals were there. Intently focused on getting their shopping completed, the ladies blocked out any consideration for others and barged down the aisles as if they were alone. (Sue experienced the brunt of this dodging and swerving!) Over time through discussions with Native people, we came to realize that life on the reservations, especially the ill treatment they've received at the hands of the Bureau of Indian Affairs as well as the arrogance of many Christian ministries who use the "Mission Station" approach, had hardened them emotionally. Courtesy and consideration for others didn't seem to be on their radar.

(See Lifebyte 36. Are You Trapped in Mission-Station Thinking?. The Mission-Station approach began with Roman Catholic missions centuries ago and has been emulated pretty much throughout most of Protestantism. The segregation of the Mission Station approach to evangelism is one of the primary reasons less fruit than you might expect has come forth from all that effort over the last 1,600 years. The influence of the Mission Station approach is also why so few Christians see their neighborhood as their own mission field. That way which has proven effective and fruitful is found in Lifebytes 37 & 38. Extending the Kingdom: The People Movement Approach.)

Through our Flagstaff experience we've used our shopping experiences at our local Walmart to discern the emotional climate of the people in Colorado Springs, at least in our ethnically-diverse corner of the metropolis. Let's just say that in the past 12 months, shopping in Walmart has become what seems life-threatening with people single-mindedly and recklessly charging their carts through the store!

We frequently bike in this city and often walk rather than drive to nearby destinations. These activities have become more and more dangerous as people seem to care less and less about others. Every time we approach a crosswalk, our hearts begin to beat faster. The number of close calls we've had has been steadily increasing. And most of these "potentially murderous" drivers have been blinded to our existence because they were so attuned to the person on the other end of their cell phone...
Is what we're seeing the same experience for you?
Have you allowed yourself to become less caring during these difficult times?

How then should a follower of Jesus live?
"So in EVERYTHING,
do to others what you would have them do to you,
for this sums up the Law and the Prophets"
(Matthew 7:12)


Recently we wrote how difficult it is to follow Jesus in this "Atomistic Age" when everyone seems to be out for themselves. It's difficult, but not impossible (Luke 18:27). Our brothers and sisters around the world in Muslim, Hindu and Communist countries are being persecuted, often having to endure unspeakable atrocities for serving and sharing Christ. Yet, because of their love for Jesus and dependence on His grace, they continue to love and forgive their persecutors.
If we're to be the authentic reflection of Jesus to others, it's essential that we don't let our hearts grow cold as events and circumstances become dark around us (Matthew 24:12).

We need to learn a lesson from the account of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). Jesus had preceded this story with a number of admonitions about being trustworthy before God and men in the use of worldly wealth (Luke 16:10-18). The Pharisees, who loved money, had sneered as Jesus declared an unmendable seam between service to God and slavery to money. While their prosperous lifestyle may have appealed to men, the hearts of these religious leaders were detestable in God's sight. Whatever you treasure, He warned, would master you.

Now, the rich man, we're told, took extra-special care of himself throughout his life, dressing extravagantly and living the luxurious life of worldly success. Impoverished Lazarus, on the other hand, was too weak to walk and would have gratefully welcomed the slightest crumbs of kindness. Even the street dogs showed him mercy by licking his oozing sores! The sickly beggar's presence couldn't have been missed by the rich man, since Lazarus was right there by his front gate. He had no excuse!

Now here's where the account gets interesting. Both men died. Lazarus, now whole and healed, found himself in heaven, comforted and at peace. The rich man, however, was in agony in the fire of hell. (Note that across the abyss that separated them, he was able to recognize both the patriarch Abraham as well as Lazarus, whom he knew by name.) Even if someone from heaven wanted to show mercy to those suffering in hell, they couldn't. Finally perceiving his unalterable situation, the rich man came to his senses. Calling across the abyss to Abraham, he begged the patriarch to send Lazarus as an eyewitness warning to his brothers of where their selfish greed and cold hearts would get them.

The rich man understood too late that you can repent only when you're alive. Repentance — turning away from sin and turning to God and His way of life — is the constant theme throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. The entire account of these two men ends with this summation that should convict each of us: "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead" (v.31). As Matthew 7:12, cited above, concludes, all of the Law and the Prophets, and the way to live in Christ so as to please our Father are summed up in a life that treats others as they would want to be treated. This truth requires far more biblical discernment and purposeful application than people in this Atomistic culture are use to! Their self-seeking inclination in response to Matthew 7:12 is, "You let me do whatever I want to pursue my own happiness, and I'll let you."

What biblical discernment will show us is that our salvation is ultimately found as we serve our Jesus until the end of our earthly journey and appear before His throne. During our journey to our salvation, our actions must authenticate the faith we claim to have. The fruit of our faith and how we'll be judged at the Throne of our King will be revealed in how we treated those who couldn't repay our kindness (see Matthew 25:32-46). Our life application, in response to our Lord's condition for welcoming us, "whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for Me", must incite us to get outside our own wants and to actively seek to help those who cannot pay us back.


"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit,
but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
Each of you should look not only to your own interests,
but also to the interests of others" (Philippians 2:3,4)


If you discover you may be giving way to an individualistic, egocentric Atomistic mindset, we want to exhort you to reverse your course! Do you know how the majority of people who want to follow to Jesus get seduced into greed and consumed with self? They fail to truly take seriously His command for each of us to love others the way Jesus loves us (John 13:34). That's a love that's filled with self-sacrifice and walks in obedience to God's commands, because those commands reveal what love truly looks like!

Let's review what the Bible says about loving others with the kind of love with which our God loves us:
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It isn't rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres" (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

Your enactment of genuine, Spirit-empowered love is your choice, day by day. But when you refuse to remove the varied facets that aren't loving, you become vulnerable to putting yourself first, looking more to your own interests than to what others need from you. Look again at how Paul describes the lack of love: envy, boasting, proud, rude, self-seeking, easily angered, keeping a record of past wrongs, delighting in evil. Pretty ugly image in the mirror, isn't it!

Based on both experience and observation, we'd guess that keeping a record of past wrongs inflicts the most painful wounds in relationships. That mental list of other people's failures (or even your own!) is a prison behind whose bars is painted the word UNFORGIVEN. But heed Scripture's warning, for this is vital to your own life to come:  Failure to forgive means that you have no fellowship with the Father. In other words, if you refuse to forgive others, you remain unforgiven by Him yourself. (See Matthew 6:14,15; 18:35; 1 John 4:20). This is indeed serious business!

Bringing up old hurts shreds any trust that should be growing between you and your spouse or children. Put those old wrongs and pains to death. Keeping no record of wrongs is particularly important if your marriage covenant is to reflect the Covenant in Jesus that you claim to have with our Father. Put behind you all the past wrongs and wounds, and set your eyes and heart on the life ahead. God's grace isn't going to change the past hurts you received. But, the moment you repent of your unforgiveness and forgive others from your heart, His grace will begin to heal you. And, in the midst of the healing process the Spirit of Jesus will change you to become more like Him. This is the ONLY way to stop keeping any record of other's wrongs, and to obtain the forgiving heart of Jesus. Again, healing comes as you forgive from your heart and pray with trusting hope to the only One Who will not only transform you, but also change others around you.

Living in a culture that's constantly bombarding you with temptation that you deserve self-gratification and self-fulfillment requires some heavy duty crying out to our Lord to strengthen you to live HIS way. Be careful that your life decisions don't key in on "what's in it for me."  The heathen-surrounded Gentiles to whom Paul ministered were tempted by the same self-seeking motivation that seeps from every ad you see or hear today. Look at the apostle's response as he acknowledges the demonic compromise being espoused around them. Notice that he wasn't blind to the inner battle taking place in each Jesus follower — he just wasn't going to let their devotion to God be sullied by it!

"Everything is permissible—but not everything is beneficial.
Everything is permissible—but not everything is constructive. 
Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others"
(1 Corinthians 10:23,24; see also Colossians 3 and Philippians 2:1-8).


We need to fight the tendencies toward self-concern and self-preservation all the more as the days become darker. We mentioned the Lord of the Rings trilogy in our previous e-mail. The fellowship of the nine who pressed on as one for the good of all exemplify the sacrificial nature we in Christ need to see increased in ourselves (Hebrews 3:13). It's that kind of sacrificial love that will get the attention of those yet outside the Kingdom who will see the difference in us and yearn for Jesus themselves.

Finally, for you husbands and fathers:
If you're to lead your wife and family into maturity in Jesus, it's vital that you take your eyes completely off of yourself! This is especially true if you tend to pursue your own spiritual development through reading various Christian materials at the cost of what your family really needs from you. Ask yourself, How does what you're reading translate into serving your family, and putting into practice what He is telling you?

In "seeking the good of others," you need to be communal in your thinking rather than putting yourself first. Communal thinking is the foundation of sound leadership. At its core is a leader who views himself through the needs of those in his care (Proverbs 27:23), asking himself, "What do they need from me?" Your leadership must always emanate out of your Christ-like service to your wife and family — not lording authority over them like a CEO or issuing commands like a General. It's always going to be what you do for them out of loving responsibility before God rather than what you know that will make all the difference in your household environment.

Some of you men have, over the years, been heavily involved in Bible studies which required little or no application or change in you. If you've been actively involved in ministry of any kind, you'll most likely find it very difficult to serve your wife and children. To qualify as the kind of teacher of God's Word which Jesus exemplified means that first your lifestyle must authenticate what you're going to teach. If His Truth is important enough to impress on others, then demonstrate that by living it yourself. Tragically for today's families, the Hellenistic, intellectual influence on Christendom has enabled generations of men to teach at others without their lives matching their words.

As I've told many men over the years: If you're a husband or father who teaches more spiritual truths than you live by, the best way to change is to SHUT your mouth until you can role model Christ's love for your wife and family. God can change a man faster when his mouth is shut. In 1993 I (Mike) fled the Hellenist mindset that had so influenced my life with the help of my older friend Bert while living with his family outside Jerusalem for three months. For our first three weeks together Bert made me shut my mouth. With it shut he painfully made me aware of how the Hellenist rationale, which was the hallmark of my seminary education and also controls all Christian teaching methods, was keeping me from completely crying out to Jesus for the love Sue deserved from me.
At the end of the third week of keeping my mouth shut, the Spirit of Jesus changed me. I can still vividly picture the moment Sue walked into our bedroom right after I had finished a time of prayer. I looked at her with eyes of love I had never experienced before. As I held her I could feel that my love for her had spiritual power to love—Jesus had given it to me. It was then I could truly comprehend how a man can fulfill Ephesians 5:25, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her."

Fathers, your children need to see you loving your wife as the Bible commands — a love that flows from the character the Spirit of Jesus has produced in you. Keep your mouth shut and cry out to Him for the kind of love your wife needs from you! And, heed this warning: "Under three things the earth trembles... an unloved woman who is married..." (Proverbs 30:21,23). ONLY YOU can make sure this passage doesn't apply to your wife!

Your brother and sister in His fellowship,
Mike & Sue


January 6, 2010
Update on Mike's condition

Dear Friends,
How thankful to our Lord we are that so many have been praying for Mike! His foot is slowly improving, with the swelling going down gradually and the purple areas which his doctor thought might be necrosis fading. The pain which drove Mike to uncontrollable tears on Saturday has diminished to well within the tolerable range.

As he researched online about other people with similar symptoms of infection, he discovered that the healing time generally ranges from one week to six months, and that the affected foot must be elevated for most of the day. I can attest that after almost 40 years of marriage, sitting still isn't his strongest characteristic! But we know beyond doubt that our Father is sovereign, and that ONLY as He responds to your prayers will this attack be overcome. Again, we're so grateful that you've participated in this painful journey with us!

[Just a note: We realize from comments we've received in the past that some of you have never recognized demonic attacks as such. This unawareness leaves you with a scoffing attitude that mocks those who are attacked by Satan in their service to our Lord. We wish you could be in our office when attacks against our equipment occur. Files disappear off our screen as we're sitting there. File names get changed. Without anyone touching the keyboard, lines in a document we're working on get deleted. When we try to send out e-mails or upload to our website, sometimes ALL hell really breaks loose! No, these aren't viruses. We know it's demons because we fight back in prayer in the Name of Jesus until we have victory. As we lay hands on the computer and cry out in the name of Jesus, the attack often abruptly ceases without any human or technical intervention!]
 
This is the life of those who enlisted in Kingdom service for their King, and we know that many of you well understand what we're talking about here. We so appreciate that Jesus' authority is absolutely powerful and effective: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me...." The demons must submit to His Name. We hope that you as well have or will rejoice as you taste and see how mighty He is on your behalf through trust-filled prayer in the battle!
As we press on in this work our Father has assigned us, we feel like Frodo and Sam in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. In fact, as each year ends we watch Lord of the Rings to remind ourselves of both the nature of what He's called us to as well as His charge to persevere for the joy set before us!

+ + + + + + + + 


The Spirit of Christ in us has faithfully made sure we haven't been idle! We're working on the next installment of Do You Need to be Revived in 2010?, which, our Lord willing, will be ready within the next week. Again, we've appreciated the feedback from our first Teaching E-mail on the subject of Revival. It's encouraging to hear from kindred spirits on our mailing list.

This morning Mike has begun writing a sequel to our book, Pastoring By Elders (1998), and our Hebraic Article, "I Hate Nicolaitanism" (2005). This new installment is entitled "God's Clergy-less Kingdom." As we've gone through the physical attack this past week, the Holy Spirit has been giving us revelation as to God's intended outcome for the coming days of chastisement on this nation:

Before the Dark Days of Chastisement are over, most of the "church" buildings will be burned down or closed. While there are over 600,000 of them in the U.S., the system that has perpetuated their existence has been ineffectual in expanding His Kingdom or in holding back this nation from its slide into God's judgment.

The Dark Days of Chastisement will expose the self-serving, egocentric nature of the westernized "Christian" religious system. Many will fall by the wayside spiritually and forsake their beliefs during those dreaded times. Yes, the persecution of the followers of Jesus will occur in this land as it has for centuries of martyrs for Christ in other countries. The identifying characteristic of each person who refuses to deny their faith in our Lord Jesus Christ parallels that of all His faithful ones: "They overcame [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death" (Revelation 12:11).

[Comment: Our Father will use the Dark Days of Chastisement to destroy the religious establishment edifices in which so many appease their unrepentant lives. He wants His children to once again BE "the church"—the ones He's called out of the world and its sinful ways and values to fulfill their purposes in His Kingdom. (As has always been His biblical pattern, we are to forsake our wicked way and evil thoughts — the world's ways which seduce our sin nature — so that in Christ we will find mercy and pardon (see Isaiah 55:6,7).  How He has grieved that the pagan temples of old have become known as "church" — a venue for conducting services in which no parameter of holiness or repentance is set. For His Name's sake He will end this corrupted system that has blasphemed Jesus among the nations.

Removing that which has hindered His Body from serving Him is nothing new. In 1949 God threw off the westernized Romanist/Hellenist influence in China by raising up Mao, who ordered the "church" buildings burned or closed. (Remember, no government authority can come into power without God setting them in place (Romans 13:1.) By forcefully eliminating edifices and bringing about the deportation of western missionaries, our Father enabled the Chinese followers of His Son to build their faith practices on the foundations they needed for authentic Kingdom living.
The followers of Jesus in China are probably the most Kingdom-minded on the earth today! Standing steadfastly in Christ as brothers and sisters in Him, they are meeting in homes as the first followers of Christ did, despite the persecution they are receiving at the hands of the governing authorities. Their homes and the extended spiritual family who fellowship in those homes are being restored as the primary spiritual warfare units in the battle for the souls of mankind.]

Our article, "God's Clergy-less Kingdom", will endeavor to shed more light on why it's important that the followers of Jesus fully trust in His Spirit within them to guide and empower them as His Body. Religious institutionalism and hierarchical organization have hindered this dependent trust in Jesus ever since the days when the Roman hierarchy threw out the Bible as their only source to building their faith practices, and instead adapted multiple forms of pagan ritual and religious compromise.

We mentioned earlier that we've been encouraged by the perseverance and purpose we see in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. There is a parallel between that trilogy and Pastoring By Elders, "I Hate Nicolaitanism," and the forthcoming "God's Clergy-less Kingdom" in that a reality is gradually unfolded.

Pastoring By Elders, our first major writing on the subject of our Father's elders/shepherds, introduces the scriptural means by which our Father intended for His called-out ones to be guided in holiness and obedient trust. In the first episode of the trilogy, "The Fellowship of the Ring", the history of the ring is given and the small band of those who know what needs to be done to destroy it is gathered. So too, as we made known our Father's scriptural parameters for his flock and the wise older men who would serve them, some were stirred to return to His original intent. A number of retired clergy in particular affirmed the validity of what we wrote, stating they wished they'd known these truths years earlier and how their lives would have been changed if they had. Many told us they never would have become clergy in the first place!

"I Hate Nicolaitanism" can be compared to "Two Towers", the second part of the trilogy in which the evil power behind the ring has made such pervasive inroads in the lives of so many. While the initial fellowship of nine has been splintered, yet each one must face daunting opposition and choose to press on to fulfill their purpose. Our article has certainly stirred up controversy and opposition over the years. But as a result of the truth presented in it, a number of younger clergy have left that occupation to pursue callings and jobs commensurate with God's plan for incremental growth in spiritual maturity and wisdom. How grateful many of these men were that leaving behind the clerical system also saved their marriages!
Remember, Protestant clergy have for many years been among the top three occupations for divorce in this nation. Again, our Father has been revealing the destructive nature of this system because He promised to fight against Nicolaitanism (see Revelation 2:16). [An internal study of Roman Catholic seminary students indicated that up to 70% of them are homosexuals already, another indicator that hierarchical organization has nothing to do with either the holiness of God, repentance, or obedient trust in His Word.]

Finally, "God's Clergy-less Kingdom" compares to "Return of the King" in that not only was evil confronted and forcefully overcome as our Father will soon do during the Dark Days of Chastisement, but a kingdom was established by the rightful king. Through the trial-laden days that are coming on this nation, our Lord intends to raise up generations of His followers who will avoid the pitfall of religion. They will shine with spiritual power as His did first faithful followers, devoted to "serving their King," rather than "attending church."

Some of you today need to be militant about preparing not only yourself but others close to you in Jesus so that each of you has the trust-based relationship with our Lord that will sustain you during the challenging years ahead. During Mike's own infirmity the Holy Spirit shared a few points that we'd like you to consider.
The first came from Proverbs 18:14, "A man’s spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?" It's hard to explain how emotionally down and out you can be when you first learn that you may lose your foot or even die if the infection spreads. The vast majority of the phone calls and e-mails we received bolstered our spirits, especially when we heard how people had been using our materials and experiencing the Spirit's blessing as they've put His truths into practice. John's declaration vibrated within our hearts: "It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us" (2 John 1:4). Your prayerful support and testimonies of His faithfulness make everything we go through worthwhile!

Some who contacted us, however, crushed Mike's spirit. When we encounter people squandering the opportunities to mature in their faith journey after we've invested much love and counsel in their lives, it hurts. Tempted by discouragement, you fight to keep from getting cynical or guarding your emotions from others who need help. But rather than letting the hurt feelings linger, Mike asked the Holy Spirit to help him understand why he was so emotionally pained. After two days he was directed to Hebrews 5:11-14, a passage in which the writer was probably also somewhat disheartened:
  "We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." (Also see Galatians 4:19,20, in which Paul expresses his burdened heart toward those he yearned to see return to obedient trust in Christ.)

If you're receiving these e-mails, then you're most likely eager to mature in Him in applying His truth to your life day by day and teaching your family to do the same by word and example. If we're going to press on into the maturity our Lord Jesus desires of us, it's important that we have no preconceived goals about our own personal desires for our lives. Any presuppositions about what we want only hinders us from fulfilling what our Lord Jesus is requiring of us.

Victory is unachievable in a war, including spiritual warfare, when the enemy knows you have a self-limitation. During the Korean Conflict, the President limited General MacArthur from attacking above the 49th parallel. Therefore the enemy dug in all the harder knowing that they were safe above that line. In the Vietnam Conflict, the President limited the military from fighting above the DMZ. Don't limit yourself by any preconceived rationale about how you are choosing to serve Jesus. His will won't be confined to the box of your expectations and plans.

We've shared this spiritual axiom before:

You can't go anywhere or do anything for our Lord
until you're willing to go anywhere and do anything for our Lord.


• To sit in a religious system costs you nothing but your financial support. This self-limitation shows that you crave "milk", and that's as far as you're willing to go—never maturing in the character of Jesus nor doing your part in His Kingdom to lovingly serve your King.
• To devotedly follow Jesus as your Lord requires that you deny yourself, pick up your cross and fulfill His purposes for you on earth. This is the life of those the Bible calls "mature"—when they show up at the Judgment Throne they'll be either carrying their cross, or on it!

We have no doubt that days will come upon this country in which your faith will be tested. As Peter strongly notes, faith must be tested to be proven genuine (1 Peter 1:6,7). Our goal as always is to help each of you to be the Family of Jesus Who are Light in the Darkness.

Mike & Sue

P.S. We haven't given up on our Kingdom Living series. We're still being held up by our need for graphic illustrations. We're praying for a graphic illustrator who would come alongside us to help. Please, don't give up praying for this project. It uses anecdotal stories to help people understand what a Kingdom lifestyle today would look like.