Tag Archive: Spirituality

LIGHTS IN THE FORT ORD SKY

Filed under: Spirituality, spirtual warfare — 3 Comments

June 23, 2010

LIGHTS IN THE FORT ORD SKY

The Morning Star Rising on the First Day

In December 1965, I experienced what I believe to be a Divine Intervention that altered the life path that I had been on up to that point.

I was in Fort Ord California, near the end of the last week of Advanced Infantry Training (AIT). The sun was going down when I had returned to my billet with a package of clean laundry. After talking to my neighbor, I was placing the laundry into my footlocker when I noticed a faint light in the darkness through a nearby window. I watched as it slowly illuminated the entire street scene and, eventually, the inside of our poorly lit billet as well.

There were now several soldiers in the street looking up into the sky and pointing to something. Curious to see what it was, I walked back toward the billet door. I could see the number of GI’s in the street rapidly growing as I passed the long line of windows on the wall.

When I got to the doorway, I encountered a group of about ten soldiers that were blocking my path to the exit. They were engaged in banter, laughing and joking and seemingly having a good time. For some reason, they did not notice my presence.

So, I asked them to make room for me, but it was like they did not hear me. So, I asked again in a louder voice but still did not get any response from these soldiers. Determined to see what was going on outside, I started to work my way through them, gently pushing on them when necessary. When I lowered my shoulder into the first man I encountered, I found that he was not responding to the light force I was applying. So, I pushed gradually harder until even my maximum effort would not budge this man one inch. It was then that I stepped back to look at this immovable man.

I was startled when I saw that his face was not moving; there was no eye movement or detectable breathing. Then, I noticed the quiet. The typical noise of a billet full of active soldiers had instantly turned to pure silence. I focused on the beads of sweat on the man’s face; they just stuck there, not trickling downward.

My gaze panned across to the other soldiers in the doorway. They were standing there like manakins in a store window, seemingly flash-frozen in an instant.

I slowly panned my gaze across the billet. It looked as if someone had pressed the stop button on their video. There was no sound and no movement.

I then focused on the light streaming through the windows. I saw the dust suspended in the air and observed that even these particles were motionless as well, not being moved by the currents of circulating air.

I turned back to the doorway and looked at the soldiers standing there. I wondered why I could move and look around while they could not. Then suddenly, everything returned to normal. The men in the doorway continued in their banter, precisely from where they left off. The sounds of the billet returned as before. I turned back toward my bunk and could see everyone moving around as if nothing had happened.

I looked through the windows and could see that the light was fading. So I worked my way through to the door, open it, and I looked up into the sky. I saw a ball of light ascending into the heavens, gradually disappearing as it rose until it left only darkness.

I returned to my bunk, sat down, and looked around. There was no one discussing what had just happened. The men were doing what they did every night as if nothing had happened. Then it dawned on me, they were not a part of the experience and therefore had nothing to remember. But then, why would I be the only one to know?

My answer came early the next morning when the Company Clerk came to escort me to the Company Commander office. Once we were inside the HQ, he told me to go right in. So I marched right in, did a left face on the center of his desk, I came to Attention, and saluted him. Then in a firm voice, I shouted, “Sir, Private Gordon reporting as ordered, Sir.” The Captain responds, “At ease, Private,” and I move to Parade Rest.

The Commander then spoke to me in an agitated, authoritarian voice, “Gordon, did you know that you have a type 2 profile on your eyes?” I snapped a reply back, “Sir, Private Gordon does not know what a type 2 profile on my eyes is, Sir.” The Commander sighed deeply and sat back a bit in his chair while continuously looking me in the eye. “Son, it means that you can not be in an Infantry Unit. I will make arrangements for someone to get you reassigned. That is all.” I came back to Attention, saluted the Captain, did a left face, marched out of his office. I walked down the street to my billets, wondering why I had to suffer these eight weeks of misery before anyone noticed my ineligibility.

It was not till much later in my life that I realized what a tremendous gift I had received that day. I escaped being assigned to an Infantry Unit in 1965, in the hight of the ramp-up of the Viet Nam War, this was an extraordinary blessing!

It was then that I started to put all the pieces together. I had thought about all the other times that God had directly intervened in my life. I reviewed in my mind all the experiences that defied scientific explanation, and yet protected me from harm or warned me of danger. All of the things that I never told anyone.

Some may say that there is not a direct cause and effect relationship between what happened that night and my reassignment. If this is the case, then my response to you is that if this were a once in a lifetime experience, then I would agree. But this is not the case here; I have documented many other similar experiences to this one. How many like experiences would make it mathematically improbable to come to any different conclusion that they all add up to God’s directing and protecting one’s life? It is clear to me that it can only be God who can do the things that have described here. What is clear is that the direction of my life changed course in that short, 12-hour span.

Oh, I did eventually go to Viet Nam, but not as a part of an Infantry unit. In 1966, I was with the 618th Maintenance Company in the Central Highlands. Years later, when I was doing my research, I came to the belief that all the men in my training unit became apart of the Fourth Infantry Division. I remember watching their convoy stretching out for miles as they moved past us and on to their westward targets.

It was only a few days later that we heard the sounds of their battles. We felt the ground shaking as the bombs and shells exploded miles away. The sounds of the explosions rumbled through the air like rolling thunder through the nights afterward. I remember lying in my bunk on one of those nights, thinking, I’m glad I am not where those boys are today. As it turns out, this Division took more casualties than any other unit in the Vietnam War. Thant you, Lord.

One more thing. The reason I was the only one to experience what happened that night at Fort Ord was that God was delivering a message that was for me and me alone. He wanted me to understand that what happened was for me and not anyone else. He wanted me to know that He was working in my life. He was redirecting me onto a path of his choosing, in this case, a pathway of safety.

Praise God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!

Tags: ESP, paranormal, spiritual warfare, Spirituality

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The Day Everything Changed

Filed under: ESP, Spirituality, spirtual warfare — 5 Comments

June 15, 2010

The Day Everything Changed

The Morning Star Rising on the First Day

Something really extraordinary happened to me just after I graduated from high school. At the time, I was still living at home and was delivering pizzas at night for a living. I did not have a car, so I walked to work every afternoon and then walked back in the early morning hours. While walking home one November night I felt a immense emptiness inside. It is difficult to explain, but it was a guilty feeling down in my gut. I had experienced these feelings before but only when I did something dreadfully wrong to someone. That was not the case here. It felt like I had a large emptiness inside of me, one larger than I had ever felt before. I had a sense that an enormous injustice had been done.

I arrived home exhausted that night and went straight upstairs to bed. It all started as I was dozing off to sleep when, I awoke with an impression that my legs were floating off the bed. I was startled by this awareness and so I sat up in bed and then touched my legs to ensure that, yes, they were still there. I rationalized that I must have been dreaming and decided to ignore it and go back to sleep. So I bedded down a second time, very intent on getting some desperately needed sleep.

I dozed off again, only to be woken by the consciousness that my entire body was floating above my bed. I sat up immediately only to find myself in bed as I should have been. I thought this is crazy; there must be some rational explanation to all of this. Let’s see, I’m extremely tired, and probably coming down with a cold or flu. So once again, I decided to ignore these weird sensations and get some badly needed sleep.

I made a third attempt, but this time when the floating sensation started up, I just ignored it, hoping that it would go away. But, it did not go away. My body floated up off my bed and then passed through the roof of the house as well. My ascent continued rapidly into the sky and passed through a cloud layer. Eventually, I stopped traveling straight up and started moving in a direction parallel to the earth. I continued on this course for quite some time. As I traveled through the night sky, I felt the air getting warmer. This meant to me that I must have been traveling south.

Then I started descending, and I saw a city full of lights ahead of me. I continued my gradual descent until I arrived at the side of a tall brick building. It had no windows that I could see from my perspective. In addition, I saw streetlights arrayed in a straight line in front of the building and parallel to the curb. Each streetlight was made of metal and curled over at the top. They were similar in shape to a candy cane.

Next, I saw a woman standing beneath one of the street lights. Her head was down, and she was sobbing uncontrollably. As I hovered above her I watched her and I felt a great compassion for this grieving person. I started to wonder what why she was crying and if I might be able to help her in some way. I also wondered if she would hear me if I spoke. Then for some reason, I wondered if I had the ability to speak. I finally decided that I had nothing to lose and gave it a try but nothing came out. It was as if there was not enough air. I contemplated abandoning my effort to speak but decided instead to try in a louder voice. I said to her, “What is wrong lady?” and watched. She did not respond but kept sobbing as though she did not hear me. Then, I thought perhaps I was right; she will not be able to hear me. I tried again anyway, this time speaking in an even louder voice, “Why are you crying?”

To my surprise she answered without looking up, “Why, don’t you know? Don’t you know that today they killed the president?” At that instant, I was transported back to my bed. I was sitting straight up and was thoroughly soaked in sweat. My heart was pounding so hard that I thought it might explode. I was breathing like I had just run a four-minute mile. I looked around my room only to find that I was alone in the dark. I sat there for several minutes waiting for my body to wind back down to normal.

I did not know what to think about this encounter. The thought of the president being killed seemed to me a very improbable thing. I admired President Kennedy, and I believed that he was doing good things for our country. So, I guess that this was something that I did not want to accept. Once again, I rationalized that although this out of body experience seemed very realistic it, nevertheless, must have been a bad dream and so, I went back to sleep.

When I got up the next morning, I still felt weird. I found myself at home alone. Dad was more than likely working, and mom was probably out shopping. I went to the kitchen for some food and eventually, I started my walk to work. But I felt displaced, like I was somewhere I was not supposed to be. Things just did not seem normal. For one thing, it was an overcast and gloomy day. In addition, the typically busy street I walked along had very little traffic. Where were all of the cars and people? Additionally, there were no sounds along the way; no birds chirping, no horns sounding, no wind blowing. There was nothing. I wondered if everything had died. Then I experienced that empty, hollow feeling inside of me again.

When I arrived at the pizza place I entered through the back door that led to the kitchen. The owner was there watching television as I entered the room. He seemed extremely angry as he shouted at me, “Do you know what those crazy people did today?” I thought to myself, oh no! It dawned on me that I certainly did know. Being horror stricken, I muttered, “They killed the president.” His mood turned quizzical and He asked me how I could have known this as it had just been announced on television. I just shook my head and did not answer him. I was sure that I could not adequately explain how I knew.

I do not know why or how this happened to me. Was there something that I could have done to change things? I don’t think so. Perhaps just telling the story is sufficient. Or, perhaps there is more to this than meets the eye. After all, the woman under the street light said, “They killed the president.”

To this day I believe that the American people have been deceived by our government about many things that went on during this time.

This incident was different that the others I communicated in this blog in that the others seemed to be a warning to me of impending danger and in this case the danger would seem to be better directed toward JFK. But perhaps there was a message there for all of us. Perhaps this experience is another warning of an attack of the forces of evil in our government. Perhaps the assignation of JFK was just the first of many actions to take control of our government.

One thing is for sure is dramatic changes to our national direction transpired in a very short time after JFK was gone. The Viet Nam war was initiated based on a false report of our ships being attacked by the North Vietnamese in the Gulf of Tonkin. Our country was thrust into war almost immediately and Fifty Six thousand of my generation died.

JFK’s orders to break up the CIA were revoked and since that time the CIA has grown in strength, assassinating government leaders and causing trouble almost everywhere. Arming people and providing them training in warfare, they have successfully created enemies of the United States on several occasions. Ever hear of the Viet Cong or Al Qeada? Yep, the CIA created both organizations. The CIA is an organization that has to create tensions; otherwise they go out of business.

The Federal Reserve banks won back the ability to pint money out of thin air and loan it to our government. This was different from the Kennedy policy, which was to print money as treasury notes back by silver, rather than by the Federal Reserve, backed by debit.

So the big winners were the military industrial complex, the CIA and the big banks, just to name a few. I now believe that this evil has spread through out our government and across the world. I recommendation is this, take action America. Save your democracy and freedoms while you still can.

In the meantime, if you would like to catch up on the prior postings of this series please use the following links:

Possess-the-Vision

Dad-Comes-Home

Take-a-Leap-of-Faith

The-Meaning-of-Choice

Seeing-the-Devil-at-a-Young-Age

I-Dream-that-i-was-Like-Superman

Premonition-of-an-Automobile-Accident

Tags: God, JFK, political, spiritual warfare, Spirituality

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My Encounter with a Brick Wall

Filed under: ESP, Spirituality, spirtual warfare — 1 Comment

June 9, 2010

My Encounter with a Brick Wall

In my previous posting (Possess-the-Vision) I communicated that I was going to present the spiritual experiences of my life that led to the creation of the Possess the Vision Mission Statement (PTV Mission-Statement.)

The experience I am about to communicate to you took place while I was in grade school. It will prove to be quite unbelievable to most people, and to be perfectly honest, would have been disregarded by me as well if it were not for all of the other unexplained spiritual experiences of my life. It is the story of a warning that comes from God in the form of a dream and then is followed up by an intervention from God.

The Morning Star Rising on the First Day

Prior to becoming a teenager I had a series of experiences that were quite unusual. It all started when I had a dream that I came to a brick wall that blocked my path. In the dream I tried to get past the wall in many different ways but was unable to do so.

In my dream I found myself continuously searching for a way that would get me past this obstacle. For example, I would search for a way through the wall by looking for holes or week spots. Not find any I would then search for a way around the wall but only found impassable dead ends. After that I searched along the base of the wall only to find no way under it. Next, I contemplated how I might be able to go over the wall, but I could not manage it. Once I had tried all of the possible ways to pass by the wall, I would start back at the beginning and complete the cycle of searches over again. I just kept searching and searching, over and over again without success. Even worse I had this dream several times over the course of several months. Frequently, the dream would last through the night, ending when I awoke still trying to find a way to the other side.

One evening I joined up with some of the kids in the neighborhood who were hanging out down the street. Interestingly, some of these kids were the ones who had the great laugh on me in the bogeyman story (Seeing-the-Devil-at-a-Young-Age). An addition was that one of the boys had an older brother present. We were standing around and talking when the older brother suggested that we all go down to Hastings Street.

I was by far the youngest and had no idea what Hastings Street was or why anyone might want to go there. Much later in life I found out that it was one of the highest crime areas in Detroit. It was a black section of town in which anything and everything was happening. The other boys all wanted to go, so I jumped in the older brother’s car for what I thought would be a nice ride.

As we drove along, the older brother started to take big gulps from a bottle of flavored vodka that he had stashed under the driver’s seat. It seemed that in no time at all he was quite drunk. In fact, by the time we got to Hastings Street he was a sloppy, goofy drunk and way out of control.

I was in the back seat sandwiched between two of the other boys as we cruised very slowly down Hastings Street. Looking out through the car windows I saw large groups of people walking and seemingly just hanging out on the street. There were women in fancy clothes standing on the street corners and under streetlights. There were bars with their doors propped open that spewed out the loud music being played inside.

For some reason our totally intoxicated driver started to sing in a very loud voice, “Don’t shoot until you see the whites of their eyes.” Being very amused with himself, he followed his newly created song with a loud belly laugh. Then he rolled down his window, hung his head out and sang as loudly as he could, “Don’t shoot until you see the whites of their eyes,” and again he followed up with another belly laugh.

I remember being embarrassed at first. But after a few renditions, I started to become quite concerned because of the inappropriateness of this activity, especially in this neighborhood.

To make things worse we couldn’t get him to stop. He just kept repeating his homemade song and laughing again and again. Now the other boys started shouting at him and telling him to shut up but he ignored their comments and continued. Then they threatened him with violence and promised that they would collectively jump on him and beat the crap out of him if he didn’t stop. No response. Then they actually started slapping him on the head when we came to the stoplight.

The light was red and we were nervously waiting for it to change to green so that we could start moving again. When the light changed and we had crossed the intersection I gasped at what I saw through the windshield. A chill went down my spine as the car slowed down because of the red brick wall that crossed the entire roadway. It was the wall I saw in my dream.

There was obviously no way around it on Hastings Street either, so we initiated a u-turn. But our inebriated driver was having difficulty making the turn. As we were about halfway through the turn I could see men coming out from between the buildings and out of the alleys in front of the wall. They were carrying weapons in their hands, baseball bats, lumber, and tire irons. As I looked around I could see that they were coming at us from several directions.

In the meantime, our drunk driver stalled the car after having turned it back toward the light. He tried restarting but the engine did not start. It turned over and over again, but did not start. I looked and the men were getting closer. The groaning sound of the car’s starter was now slowing down as it became obvious that the battery was rapidly losing power.

When I thought that it would stop turning over altogether I noticed that groups of angry men were getting much closer. It was then that a horrible thought came to me—it was possible we could all die here and no one would ever know what happened. Just when I was about to give up hope, and seemingly on its last turn of the engine, the car fired up. The engine was now roaring, apparently due to the accelerator being floored. Our driver now seemed very sober, dropped the shifter down into first gear and we peeled away. But by now the angry men were now running alongside and behind the car. I watched them just a few feet away slamming the car with their bats, two by fours and tire irons. The sounds of these weapons hitting the sheet metal of the car were horrific. We finally started to pick up speed and pull away from the angry mob that chased us down the street. I am sure that if we had been there just a few more seconds, our fate may have met a quite different ending.

In looking back at this incident, I know that the dream of the brick wall was another warning from God. But then just exactly what could I have done? I did not have to get into the car but then how was I to know that it would lead me to the brick wall? There is no way that I could have known!

Perhaps it was God’s way of letting me know that He was there watching over me and protecting me from harm. Let’s think this through for a moment. If there was no dream, then I would just be one of six lucky guys who escaped from a potentially horrific circumstance that they got themselves into. But because there was dream, (in fact a series of persistent dreams), means two very important things. First, that a force greater than I knew that this event was about to happen. And second, that this force was able to change the circumstances that may have led to an ill faded outcome. If that were not the case then we would not have been in danger and therefore there would be no reason for the dream at all.

But there is a bigger message as well. I believe that the brick wall that crossed by path had a bigger message. I believe that the road way represented my life and that the brick wall represented its premature ending. My search for a way around the wall was a reflection of my will to live. Therefore, the message is clear. The forces of evil are planning to abort your life. Although I did not know it at the time, it was an attack of spiritual warfare. This was the second time I had looked death in the eyes (see I-Dream-that-i-was-Like-Superman)and it would prove not to be the last. The next attempt will leave no doubt as to what was going on. We will tell you about it in one of our future postings.

In the meantime, If you would like to catch up on the prior postings of this series please use the following links:

Possess-the-Vision

Dad-Comes-Home

Take-a-Leap-of-Faith

The-Meaning-of-Choice

Seeing-the-Devil-at-a-Young-Age

I-Dream-that-i-was-Like-Superman

Premonition-of-an-Automobile-Accident

Tags: Christianity, ESP, God, Ministry, religion, spiritual warfare, Spirituality

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PREMONITION OF AN AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT

Filed under: Covenant, ESP, Faith, Ministry, Possess the Vision, Spirituality, spirtual warfare, the Holy Spirit — 5 Comments

June 4, 2010

The Morning Star Rising on the First Day

PREMONITION OF AN AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT

My mom and dad would take us to visit my aunt’s family from time to time. We looked forward to these trips because we got to play with cousins our age.

Their house was about an hour’s drive across town and we were driving home late one night after one of our visits. I was tired and was trying to get some sleep in the back seat of our car. I had my head propped up against the interior wall on the driver’s side when I started to doze off. Then suddenly, I quickly awoke with a start sensing that another car was about to crash into us at the precise point where my head was resting.

Thinking about my feeling for a moment brought me to the conclusion that I was just imagining things and so I ignored the sensation and tried to get back to sleep.

But when I did I found that the experienced just kept happening over and over again and so I told my mother about it. She reaffirmed that I was in fact just imagining things and recommended that I dismiss these thoughts from my mind and try to go back to sleep.

So, I made another attempt to suppress my fear and get some sleep but the fact was that the sensation of an impending crash became very strong again and I could not help but pull my head away from the side of the car. This time the result was different however, as an auto came crashing into our car exactly at the point where my head had been resting just a second before. The accident turned out to be minor, and thankfully no one was hurt.

Still, I had to wonder about what the outcome may have been if I had not pulled my head away at the last second. The jolt of the collision was substantial so who knows what had been avoided. I suppose I could have sustained major injury to my head or neck, or perhaps even worse.

In this case, I heeded the warning and made the right choice. Still, at the time I can remember about wondering about where these warnings were coming from and why.

Just to make things clear, I now know that these were warnings from God who was protecting me from harm. I know that each of us is born with a purpose and that the devil will try to abort that purpose in any one of a multitude of ways. So please pay attention to these messages from God and act on them. Your immortal life may depend on it.

Tags: Christianity, Covenant, ESP, God, Ministry, spiritual warfare, Spirituality

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I DREAM THAT I WAS LIKE A SUPERMAN

Filed under: Faith, Ministry, Possess the Vision, Spirituality, spirtual warfare — 4 Comments

June 1, 2010

The Morning Star Rising on the First Day

A VISION OF A JESUS-FILLED WORLD COMING TO PASS

In my previous posting (Possess-the-Vision) I communicated that I was going to present the spiritual experiences of my life that led to the creation of the Possess the Vision Mission Statement (PTV Mission-Statement.) The experience I am about to communicate to you took place while I was in grade school. It will prove to be quite unbelievable to most people, and to be perfectly honest, would have been disregarded by me as well if it were not for all of the other unexplained spiritual experiences of my life. It is the story of a warning that comes from God in the form of a dream and then is followed up by an intervention from God.

THE ESP EXPERIENCES

After I entered elementary school, I started to encounter things that could not be explained by the laws of physics. Some would call these strange experiences extrasensory perception (ESP). For example, I would dream things that would come true and know things that were to happen before they occurred. You know, I would have a premonition of things to come. Here is an example:

I DREAM THAT I WAS LIKE A SUPERMAN

One night I had a dream that I was standing in the middle of the street where I lived, and an oncoming car drove toward me at a high rate of speed. Rather than run out of the way to escape, I braced myself and extended my arms toward the car to absorb the impact. The car sped directly into my outstretched hands where amazingly, it was stopped dead in its tracks.

The car was a gray 1940’s model with a V-shaped hood that culminated in a rounded point at the exact point where my hands contacted the car. I could see my hands against the gray automobile just as one would see them through their own eyes, and I was in awe of what had happened. I remember having the feeling of extreme physical strength and I imagined that this is what Superman must feel like—knowing that you can muster unbelievable power and use it to achieve incredible feats. I truly felt invincible.

A few days later, I was playing with one of my friends who lived down the block. We were flying a new helicopter/saucer toy that he had just received. The helicopter was simply a bladed saucer sat on top of a handle that launch the saucer into the sky when the string was pulled.

We were having a great time; my friend would launch the helicopter, and I would try to chase it down and catch it before it hit the ground. On his last launch he pulled the string with all the strength he had, and the saucer soared high into the air, high above the house tops. Just then a strong breeze kicked up that carried the saucer out into the street. Being totally focused on catching the saucer, I started running after it as fast as I could.

As I was not paying much attention to where I was going, my friend’s mother started shouting to me, “Joe, don’t go into the street. Joe, stop!” I remember hearing her words, but they seemed faint and very far away. I was in the middle of the street by the time I caught the saucer. It was then that I could hear my friend’s mom screaming for me to come back. I turned and looked up the street and there it was, the gray car of my dream had now turned into a nightmare, as it speed toward me. There was no time to get out of the way, so I simply held my arms out in front of me, just like I did in my dream. I could hear the tires squealing in response to the locked brakes. The car hit my hands and stopped. Unlike the dream however, it was evident that it was not my power that stopped the car. I realized that I was not all-powerful as I believed in my dream. The car had knocked me backward even though it just barely touched me. I stood there and watched the hood of the car rock back and forth in reaction to the sudden stop. I did see my own hands against the hood of the gray car just like in my dream though. I then realized I just looked death square in the eye.

My friend’s mother ran toward me screaming at me to listen to her. Somehow her voice grew distant again as I wondered about my dream that had become reality. How could a dream possibly come true? Why were the real-life details being so accurate on one hand while the feelings of power and strength are so wrong? Something stopped that much sooner than it otherwise should have, but it sure was not me. I did not know what to think about this when it happened. As fast as the car was moving, how could it have stopped so quickly?

The body of Christ – On Earth as it is Heaven

Was it possible that some power that I did not understand stopped the car? Was it possible that this power also tried to protect me from this circumstance by giving me the dream in the first place? Or was it a notice to me that that there was a power here to protect me? If so, was it possible that nothing could harm or hurt me? If so, then the big question had to be why?

Well, being like many young boys, I spent about five minutes thinking about it before I filed it in the back of my mind where it was not thought about again for quite a long time.

Looking back on this event now I can say that God intervened in my life and that it was His spiritual power that protected me. If one were to take this event as one single isolated incident, then I would have to say that perhaps this was simply just a coincidence. But as it turns out, it was far from an isolated event, but rather was just one of a string of unbelievable experiences that either communicated a message to me or protected me from harm.

So, what does this have to do with the vision? Fundamentally, it shows that we have a heavenly Father who loves and cares for us and who is willing and able to use His power to protect us. This is especially true of those who put their trust in Him and follow His direction (I did put out my hands like I saw in the dream.) I believe that it teaches that spiritual discernment can be achieved if we have faith and pay attention, and I believe that our decision based upon our discernment are critical to our overall welfare and relationship with God.

I know that much of this may be a stretch right now to believe this tale but stay tuned as we share more about what happened to me in future postings.

May God’s blessings be upon you!

Papa Joe, and remember to:

A VISION OF A JESUS-FILLED WORLD COMING TO PASS

Tags: Christian Love, Christianity, church, Covenant, God, Ministry, religion, Religious, spiritual warfare, Spirituality

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Seeing the Devil at a Young Age

Filed under: Ministry, Possess the Vision, Spirituality, spirtual warfare, The Meaning Of Life — 6 Comments

May 26, 2010

Seeing the Devil at a Young Age

The Morning Star Rising on the First Day

The experience I am about to communicate to you took place prior to the time that I started grade school. It will prove to be quite unbelievable to most people, and to be perfectly honest, would have been disregarded by me as well if it were not for all of the other unexplained spiritual experiences of my life. It is the story of the first time I saw the devil and it was a warning that there was evil hiding out there trying to undermine my life.

Jesus Tempted in the Wilderness by the Devil

My sister Kathy and I happened to be playing in our front yard one day. Near by, a number of older boys were just hanging out on our neighbor’s lawn. Looking back at the event now, I suspect that these boys were bored and wanted to have some playful fun with us by telling us scary stories about the bogeyman, hoping to get a rise out of us.

I did not buy into any of their stories and boldly proclaimed that there was no such thing as a bogeyman. They contended that they in fact, were witnesses to each of the stories they told. When their personal assurances did not sway me, they told even scarier stories than the first ones. After listening to them patiently I continued my defiance by simply restating my assertion that there was no such thing as a bogeyman.

But these boys sensed that I was not as positive in my belief as I let on and they called my bluff. They told me that the bogeyman was hiding between two of the houses near the end of the block. They told me that if I had the courage to walk down the block and take a look for myself, that I would find the bogeyman waiting there for me. I was very scared; after all, I started thinking that perhaps they were right. I resisted their challenge at first, but after they taunted me with words like, chicken and Fraidy cat, and used a few other words I did not understand at the time, I decided that I had to go and look for myself.

Despite being quite frightened, I took the time necessary to develop precautionary tactics. I thought that if there was a bogeyman between the houses that he had to be hiding there so that he could capture me if I got to close. So, I formulated a plan in my head where I would run across the street on a diagonal in order to get a view from a safe distance on the other side of the street. I knew that I had to start immediately so that the bogeyman, if it existed, would not have any warning to prepare for my arrival. So, without any hesitation I bolted out into the street running with my head down as fast as I could.

Much to my surprise, I could hear my sister running right behind me. When I got to the targeted position where I could see between the houses from across the street, I stopped and quickly turned for a look. To my horror there it was, right where the neighbor boys said. It had been hiding between the houses, hunched over to avoid detection as it was taller than the houses. Somehow I knew that it was waiting for unsuspecting kids like my sister and I to come by so that it could pounce and devour them. It was a monster, looking something like the dinosaur, Tyrannosaurus Rex. It just stood there stooped over between the buildings looking at me in obvious in obvious anger and disgust. For some reason it was apparently unwilling to come out from between the houses to get us.

Upon seeing this monster I lost all control and started screaming in horror. I began running back across the street as fast as my legs and flailing my arms in the air. I could hear my sister screaming as well as she followed behind me. Since I ran with reckless abandon, keeping my head down, I was shocked at what I found when we finally returned to our starting point.

The boys who induced us into this adventure were literally lying on their backs and were laughing so hard that they could no longer stand. There they lay, holding their aching stomachs in pain due to the extended laughter.

My first reaction was that they believed their deception had worked. But, I also thought that they did not know what I knew—that there was a devil just down the block and that it was waiting for innocent kids like me. What they had projected in apparent jest, turned out to be the truth. I knew that what I saw was real and this fact would be verified by later life experiences.

Jesus is Tempted on the Mountain

I did not tell this story to anyone for almost fifty years. How could I? People would certainly think that I was nuts. In fact, it never would have been told if it was an isolated event. However, it was definitely not an isolated event, as you will find out in subsequent postings. Rather, it was a warning of the truth that the devil is real and is out to destroy us and the purpose for which God created us. I should have heeded this warning of truth about the existence of the devil. Unfortunately I did not and had to suffer the consequences that will also be described in subsequent postings.

Please do not make the same mistake I did. Be careful of what you believe, and be cautious about the choices that you make because your life hangs in the balance. Do not be careless in disregarding the spiritual messages that you receive, but rather seek for an explanation. Know that God is trying to communicate to you in various forms and that these communications are often unbelievable by our physical world’s norms because they are spiritual truths. Also remember that even Jesus was tempted by the devil so expect that we also will have to make choices that demonstrate our belief in God. We will go deeper into all of this as we progress with our postings.

Tags: Bible, Christianity, church, Covenant, God, Jesus, Religious, spiritual warfare, Spirituality

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DAD COMES HOME

Filed under: Possess the Vision, Spirituality, Uncategorized — 4 Comments

May 1, 2010

I previously communicated that I would present the spiritual experiences that are foundational to my belief system, and that is instrumental in the creation of the Possess the Vision initiative.

This first story is not very mystical, but, it provides a powerful message. Look at this story as a parable, a story told in earthly terms to communicate a heavenly message. The translation is this; we have a heavenly Father in heaven that will love and care for and protect us throughout our life journey. It doesn’t matter how many mistakes we make along the way.

With that said, here is my story of the day that my dad came home from World War II:

DAD COMES HOME

I’m not sure how old I was when my dad came home from World War II. I know that my sister was born in March of 1947, so my dad likely returned in the summer of 1946, making me less than two years old.

But the experience of his return was so magical that I can still view it in my mind’s eye, even today. My mother and I were waiting expectantly, standing behind the screen door of my grandfather’s house. Mom had been telling me for quite some time that my dad was coming home, and I was expectantly looking out the screen door for his arrival.

I remember the peacefulness and pleasantness of that summer day, as I peered over a wood board that I used for stability. Mom was holding onto the door handle, ensuring that I would not jar it open.

Then I heard my mom’s voice, “There’s your daddy; there’s your daddy.” I looked down the sidewalk, and sure enough, I saw this tall thin man walking toward us, wearing a Marine dress blue uniform. I saw stripes on his sleeves, and combat ribbons on his chest, and he had tilted his white hat off to one side, conveying to me, “I’m special.”

His face was tan, and it accentuated his white smile. His steps had a spring in them as he moved confidently toward us. He started running as he turned up our walkway and then sprang up the steps onto the porch. Mom opened the door, and the two wrapped their arms around one another in a long embrace, kissed, and swayed back and forth.

I remember standing between them, looking straight up at them, for what seemed like a very long time. I started contemplating tugging on my dad’s trousers when suddenly, he looked down at me, bent over, and picked me up. I then became a part of the hugging party. My dad was home!

So that is the story. Those who earnestly look for the Father will find Him. For those who wait for Him will find that He comes to them. For those who wait for the promise of His existence will find the one true love that you have yearned to know.

Tags: Christian Love, church, God, possess the vision, Spirituality

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Home Page

Filed under: Uncategorized — 2 Comments

April 24, 2010

Read about my my book, “Possess the Vision,” by following this link: Possess-the-Vision-at-Amazon

Click on any of the hyperlinks below to view the postings of your choice:

The-Tabernacle-is-Prophetic-of-Jesus

Jesus, Moses Discuss the Fulfilment of Tabernacle Prophesy

The-Tabernacle-Courtyard-and-Jesus

The-Tabernacle-Holy-Place-is-Prophetic-of-Jesus

The-Tabernacle-Most-Holy-Place-is-Prophetic-of-Jesus

Striving-to-Become-like-Jesus

Jesus-is-the-Way-the-Truth-and-the-Life

The-Tabernacle-and-Jesus

The-Tabernacle-Courtyard-is-Prophetic-of-Jesus-a-Review

The-Tabernacle-Fence-and-Gate

The Tabernacle Courtyard

Jesus-is-the-Way

The-Altar-of-Burnt-Offerings

The-Activities-at-the-Altar-of-Burnt-Offerings

Jesus-is-the-Altar-of-Burnt-Offerings

Jesus-is-the-Lamb-of-God

Jesus-is-the-Good-Shepherd

The-Brazen-Laver

The Holy Spirit at the Baptism of Jesus

The-Baptism-of-Jesus-and-the-Brazen-Laver

Being-Born-of-the-Spirit-and-the-Brazen-Laver

Jesus-gives-the-Living-Water-of-the-Laver

True-Baptism-Reveled-in-the-Reflections-of-the-Laver

Lessons-from-Jesus-our-Brazen-Laver

Jesus-the-Laver-Washes-His-Disciples-Feet

Jesus-Gave-us-all-he-had

Jesus-the-Brazen-Laver-Reveals-our-Destiny

Reflections-of-Jesus-Regarding-Service

Jesus-the-Laver-Teaches-do-what-ever-it-takes

Jesus-the-Laver-Teaches-Disregard-Status

Jesus-the-Laver-Teaches-Lead-by-Example

Jesus-the-Laver-Teaches-Personally-Touch-People

Jesus-our-Laver-Teaches-that-we-will-be-Tested

The-Tabernacle-Courtyard-is-Prophetic-of-Jesus-a-Review

The-Holy-Place-of-the-Tabernacle

The-Table-of-Showbread

Jesus-is-the-Bread-of-Life

Jesus-is-the-Bread-that-came-down-from-Heaven

Applying-the-Attributes-of-Jesus-our-Table-of-Showbread

Applying-the-Principles-of-Jesus-the-Bread-of-Life

Jesus-is-the-Light-of-the-World

Applying-Jesus-the-Golden-Lampstand-to-our-Lives

Jesus-and-the-Golden-Altar-of-Incense

Jesus-is-the-Golden-Altar-if-Incense

Jesus-Resists-the-Devils-Temptation

Jesus-Heals-the-Sick-and-the-Lame

Jesus-Casts-Out-Demons

Jesus-is-Victorious-over-an-Evil-Establishment

Jesus-is-Victorious-on-the-Cross

The-Victory-of-Jesus-Empowers-us

Victory-in-Spiritual-Warfare-Through-Jesus-our-Golden-Altar

Spiritual-Warfare-Requires-Prayer-and-Fasting

Jesus-Prays-before-Battle

Your-Prayers-at-the-Golden-Altar-have-Great-Power

Put-on-the-full-Armor-of-Jesus

Jesus-Leads-us-to-the-Spiritual-Promised-Land

Jesus-our-Tabernacle-Leads-us-to-the-Promised-Land

Jesus-Leads-us-to-the-Promised-Land

The-Purpose-of-Spiritual-Warfare

The-Spiritual-Warfare-of-Jesus-Requires-Unity

Why-we-Should-enter-into-the-Spiritual-Warfare-of-Jesus

Have-Perfect-Faith-in-Jesus

Perfect-Faith-brings-down-the-Giants-before-us

Jesus-is-the-Holy-Place-of-Empowerment-and-Truth

Jesus-is-the-Life

The Priest in the Holy of Holies

The-Ark-of-the-Covenant-Overview

Finding-Jesus-in-the-Holy-of-Holies

Above-the-Ark-of-the-Covenant

Inside-the-Ark-of-the-Covenant

More-on-the-Ark-of-the-Covenant

Jesus-is-the-Ark-of-the-New-Covenant

Jesus-is-the-Fulfillment-of-the-Law

The-Cross-of-Jesus-is-the-Rod-of-Aaron

Jesus-our-Priest-Forever-According-to-the-Order-of-Melchizedek

The-Road-to-the-Promised-Land-Requires-Jesus-our-Covenant-Provision

Jesus-and-the-Covenant

Jesus-is-the-Way-to-the-Promised-Land

Jesus-is-the-Spiritual-Journey-of-the-New-Covenant

Jesus-Prepares-us-to-Enter-into-His-Spirit

The-Spiritual-Duty-of-the-Warrior-Nation

Jesus-is-the-Reward-of-the-Spirit-Filled-Warrior-Nation

Jesus-and-the-bride-of-Christ

Jesus is the Light of the World

Jesus-and-the-Cherubim

Jesus-is-the-Mercy-Seat-where-God-Dwells

Jesus-is-the-Son-of-God

Jesus-is-the-Lamb-of God

Jesus-is-the-Resurrection-and-the-Life

Jesus-Rises-from-the-Dead

Jesus-Appears-to-His-Disciples-after-His-Resurrection

Jesus-Ascends-into-Heaven

Jesus-Reigns-in-Power-Forever

Jesus-is-the-Door

Jesus-is-the-True-Vine

Jesus-is-the-Alpha-and-the-Omega

Jesus-the-Great-I-Am

Jesus-is-the-Miracle-Worker-in-us

Jesus-Gives-His-Life-for-Others

In-Jesus-We-are-Prepared-for-Battle

Jesus-Demonstrates-Spiritual-Warfare

Jesus-Enters-Spiritual-Warfare

Jesus-and-the-Ultimate-Temptation

Jesus-is-our-Model-for-Victory-in-Spiritual-Warfare

The-Second-Temptation-of-Jesus

The-Last-Temptation-of-Jesus

Jesus-Teaches-by-Way-of-Parables

Jesus-Provides-all-that-we-Need

Possess-the-Perfect-Faith-of-Jesus

Jesus-Follows-you-into-Ministry

Inside-the-bride-of-Christ

Death-is-only-a-part-of-Life

Preparing-the-bride-of-Christ-for-Jesus

The-bride-of-Christ-Revealed

The-Unification-of-the-bride

The-Tabernacle-is-Prophetic-of-Jesus

Why-Jesus-Came

Our-Call-is-to-be-like-Jesus

A-Path-Toward-Knowing-Jesus

The-Prophesy-of-Christ-is-Found-in-the-Tabernacle

The-Spiritual-Nature-of-Jesus-Words

Jesus-is-the-Way-the-Truth-and-the-Life

Becoming-like-Jesus-the-Way

The-Unity-of-the-bride-of-Christ

Christianity-and-the-Politics-of-Abortion

Christianity-and-the-Politics-of-Education

The-Divided-Christian-Heart

Pray-that-you-are-Sent-into-the-Harvest

Jesus-Sent-His-Disciples-Out-Empty-Handed

Expect-Miracles-in-the-Name-of-Jesus

Do-What-Jesus-Did

What-is-Christian-Love

Jesus the Good Shepherd

Christian-Love-Suffers-Long

Christian-Love-is-Kind

Christian-Love-Does-Not-Envy

Christian-Love-does-not-Parade-Itself

Christian-Love-is-not-Puffed-Up

Christian-Love-does-not-Behave-Rudely

Christian-Love-does-not-Seek-its-Own

Christian-Love-is-not-Provoked

Christian-Love-Thinks-no-Evil

Christian-Love-Bears-All-Things

Christian-Love-Believes-All-Things

Christian-Love-Hopes-All-Things

Christian-Love-Never-Fails

Love-the-World-with-Christian-Love

The-Meaning-of-Life

Jesus Ascends into Heaven

Christian-Love-Requires-Freedom

The-Loss-of-Eden

The-Love-of-Jesus-Saves-Us

The-Meaning-of-Life-is-Manifest-in-our-Choices

Why-our-Choices-are-Important

How-Can-God-Forgive-What-I-Have-Done

Do-We-Demonstrate-Love-Like-Jesus

The-Meaning-of-Life-is-Found-in-Love

The-Calling-of-Jesus-is-our-Calling

Do-we-Have-the-Love-of-Jesus-in-our-Heart

Jesus-is-the-Choice-of-Love

The Tabernacle Is Prophetic Of Jesus

The Tabernacle was built to be the earthly abode of God: the place where God would dwell among His people. By looking at the following diagram you will be able to see how the Tabernacle was organized.

tabernacle-diagram2

There will also be pictures associated with the folowing text that may help in visualizing what the tabernacle may have looked like.

: The Tabernacle

The Tabernacle

Moses built the Tabernacle in strict conformance to the specifications given by God. For example, in the following scripture God gives Moses a detailed list of items that are required to build the Tabernacle:

Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering. And this is the offering which you shall take from them: gold, silver, and bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats’ hair; ram skins dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood; oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense; onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate. And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it.” (Exodus 25:1-9)

Statements like this one are frequently found in the scriptures written by Moses. Many of these references emphasize building of the Tabernacle precisely to God’s instructions. This fact suggests that the form and content of the Tabernacle is extremely important to God; that perhaps it is designed on a heavenly model, one that will enable Him to dwell among His people. If this is the case, then the Tabernacle must be prophetic of the Christ who would also come to dwell with God’s people. Over the centuries the intention of God to dwell with His people did not change as even today, He continues to strive to restore the relationship man lost with Him at the fall. Therefore, the scriptures that define the specifications, processes and objects found in the Tabernacle reflect the will of God to abide with us, and as a result, must also be applicable to the attributes, words and life of Christ who was sent to accomplish God’s intention.

: Jesus, Moses and the Tabernacle

We are going to look at the Tabernacle scriptures as they are prophetic of Christ. If Jesus is the Christ then the attributes and characteristics of the Tabernacle must be clearly demonstrated in His words and deeds. What we are about to reveal is that there is a precise correlation between the Tabernacle and Jesus. It is for this reason that we will use the scriptural specifications for each component of the Tabernacle to prove that Jesus is the Christ. In the process we will also uncover many hidden attributes of Jesus that will serve to help us better understand His nature.

: The Ascension of Jesus

Remember that Jesus claimed to be “the Way, the Truth and the Life.” By referencing the diagram above we can see that these names (the Way, the Truth and the Life) are also used to identify the entryways into the major compartments of the Tabernacle. The Way leads us into the Courtyard,

: The Tabernacle Courtyard

the Truth leads us into the Holy Place,

: Priest in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle

and the Life leads us into the Most Holy Place.

priest-and-holy-of-holies

It should also be noted that the Tabernacle is constructed in such a way that these passageways must be entered in this prescribed sequence. Therefore, the Way must be entered prior to entering the Truth, and in turn, the Truth must be entered prior to entering the Life.

What we have discovered here is that the words of Jesus that proclaim His identity lead us directly to the Tabernacle. Therefore His claim is that He is the portal into the places that God designed as the place to dwell with His people here on earth. Therefore, our plan is to investigate each of these three chambers in an effort to identify what it is that Jesus is leading us toward. What we will find is that Jesus is drawing us into a closer relationship with God the Father. Jesus uses the Tabernacle as a road map for us to understand what it is that we will find when we enter into a personal relationship with Him. We can proceed into Jesus with confidence because the actions and words of His life demonstrate that He is a far superior substitution for each and every component of the Tabernacle. This proof is a major focus of this blog and the teachings that accompany it will lead us into a much better understanding of who Jesus is. This in turn will lead us to grow and strengthen our relationship with Him.

From a bigger picture point of view, we are about to discover that the structure of the Tabernacle will communicate that there are three separate and distinct levels of relationship that a person can have with God. That these relationships can only be obtained in a prescribed sequence that corresponds to chambers of the Tabernacle. In fact, we will develop a progressively deeper relationship with God as we enter each successive chamber and find the gifts that God has waiting for those who seek Him with all their heart.

While all of this is quite mysterious at a high level, we plan to present the details in subsequent postings. For now we will present a high level overview of our journey through the Tabernacle and its correlation with the life of Jesus. With that said let us start with the Tabernacle Courtyard. Readers of this site can use the following sections as a index to the content of this blog.

The Tabernacle Courtyard

: The Tabernacle Courtyard

Our presentation of the Tabernacle Courtyard is found in the following posts:

The-Tabernacle-Courtyard-And-Jesus

The-Tabernacle-Courtyard-is-Prophetic-of-Jesus-a-Review

The-Brazen-Laver

The-Baptism-of-Jesus-and-the-Brazen-Laver

Being-Born-of-the-Spirit-and-the-Brazen-Laver

Jesus-gives-the-Living-Water-of-the-Laver

True-Baptism-Reveled-in-the-Reflections-of-the-Laver

Lessons-from-Jesus-our-Brazen-Laver

Jesus-the-Laver-Washes-His-Disciples-Feet

Jesus-Gave-us-all-he-had

Jesus-the-Brazen-Laver-Reveals-our-Destiny

Reflections-of-Jesus-Regarding-Service

Jesus-the-Laver-Teaches-do-what-ever-it-takes

Jesus-the-Laver-Teaches-Disregard-Status

Jesus-the-Laver-Teaches-Lead-by-Example

Jesus-the-Laver-Teaches-Personally-Touch-People

Jesus-our-Laver-Teaches-that-we-will-be-Tested

The Tabernacle Holy Place

: The Golden Altar is directly in front of the Most Holy Place

Our presentation of the Tabernacle Holy Place is found in the following post:

The-Tabernacle-Holy-Place-Is-Prophetic-Of-Jesus

Jesus-is-the-Life

The-Ark-of-the-Covenant-Overview

Finding-Jesus-in-the-Holy-of-Holies

Above-the-Ark-of-the-Covenant

Inside-the-Ark-of-the-Covenant

More-on-the-Ark-of-the-Covenant

Jesus-is-the-Ark-of-the-New-Covenant

The-Cross-of-Jesus-is-the-Rod-of-Aaron

Jesus-our-Priest-Forever-According-to-the-Order-of-Melchizedek

The-Road-to-the-Promised-Land-Requires-Jesus-our-Covenant-Provision

Jesus-and-the-Covenant

The Priest in the Most Holy Place of the Tabernacle

most-holy-place

Our presentation of the Tabernacles Most Holy Place is found in the following post:

The-Tabernacle-Most-Holy-Place-Is-Prophetic-Of-Jesus

All of these links will also lead the reader toward a better understanding of the objects found inside each of the major chambers of the Tabernacle. They will also lead toward a better understanding how each object is prophetic of the coming of Jesus.

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Jesus is the Choice of Love

Filed under: Christian Love, Faith, Jesus, Ministry, The Meaning Of Life — 1 Comment

April 8, 2010

Jesus is the Choice of Love

The world is a stage where we demonstrate our choices for either good, or evil. God stopped eternity to give us time (there is no time in eternity) to give us an opportunity to demonstrate where we choose to spend eternity.

Things are not like they we in the Garden of Eden where the perfection of God was everywhere. In the garden all but one choice was good. In addition, there was no knowledge of evil except for the forbidden Tree of Good and Evil. So, I would think that things were easier then. We only had one thing to avoid.

Adam and Eve in the Garden

Things are much more difficult now. God’s perfection is continuously being destroyed by the activities of man. There is only one choice for good and that is the Tree of Life that is Jesus. One the other hand the knowledge of evil is everywhere as people seem do evil without conscience. People seem egger for the evil choices that make them feel good, or that lead to riches or that make them seem important in the eyes of others. All of these can become stumbling blocks for Christians as well. Even Jesus was tempted by these things.

Jesus Tempted in the Wilderness by the Devil

But one thing is certain and that is we all have the power to choose and we demonstrate our choices every day. We choose to either love or to hate, to reveal the truth or lie, to save life or to kill, to be a friend or an enemy, to help others or to help ourselves, to live for God or to server the devil. The choices are all up to us. The power is in our hands.

Our choice to follow Jesus is the difficult road, the road less traveled; the narrow path if you will. It is the choice of love (see our postings on love). It is a difficult path to walk down because the world does not understand why anyone would do it. It makes no sense to them. They see self giving love as illogical. Since they live in darkness they can not comprehend the light of God.

Those who take the road less traveled will find themselves on a genuine search to find God by following the pathway to His door. They will find themselves doing His will, attempting to become like Him, knowing Him and having a personal relationship with Him that lasts forever. In this relationship they become one with Jesus. They will find that our life here on earth is to prepare the way for His return in a similar way to that of John the Baptist, who prepared the way for His first coming.

Tags: Bible, christ, Christian Love, Christianity, church, Covenant, God, Jesus, Ministry, religion, Spirituality, The Meaning Of Life, theology

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The Calling of Jesus is Our Calling

Filed under: Christian Love, Jesus, Ministry, Spirituality — 1 Comment

April 2, 2010

The Calling of Jesus is Our Calling

The calling for those of us who follow Jesus is that we demonstrate His compassion and love.

As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. (John 15:9 – 13)

Jesus Sheds His Blood on the Cross

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. (John 15:13)

That we take action based on the empowerment of His Holy Spirit to bring life changing impacts on the lost world.

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark16:15 – 18)

Saint Peter Healing the Cripple - Raising Tabitha - Masolino

That their diseases be healed, that their pain be eliminated, that their demons be displaced, that life be restored, that their sins be forgiven and that their relationship be restored with the Father. In this way we will have demonstrated through our life choices how we are changed from what we were before we accepted Jesus as our Savior.

For believers the law has no impact when we are following of the Holy Spirit into truth, light and life. The Holy Spirit brings compassion and love into our hearts and this replaces the need for formal laws to govern our behavior. For it is written that Jesus came to fulfill the law and in this regard He taught His despises as documented in the following passages from Mathew:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Jesus Speaks to the Multitude

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

The Transfigured Jesus With Moses And Elijah

Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.

You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Jesu and the Adulterous Woman

If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.

Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.

Jesus Nailed to the Cross

And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.

Jesus Prays in the Garden at Gethsemane

Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces. Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Jesus Knocks

For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall. (Matthew 5:3 – 7-15)

The passages above go far beyond the law provided by Moses. The law will remain as a reminder from God to the world as to what is good and what is evil. But Jesus commands us to change our hearts such that we have no desire for evil. Following rules in an effort to get into heaven does not make your heart acceptable to God. It is our heart that he wants us to change! This is what we strive for in attempting to by like Jesus. We strive to change our hearts such that we no longer contemplate doing evil. When we reach the point where we have no desire to do evil, then there is no evil in us and as a result the devil has no power over us.

In reviewing the scripture presented above we find Jesus communicating many of the characteristics of true love in His sermon. I have outlined them here as an easy reference and review:

1. Merciful
2. Pure
3. Peace maker
4. Bold in the Lord
5. Steadfast in the Lord
6. Being visible for the Lord
7. Non Judgmental
8. Reconciled to brothers
9. Promising nothing
10. Non resistive
11. Going the extra mile
12. Giving
13. Loving all including enemies
14. Not drawing attention to self
15. Forgiving
16. Creating treasure in heaven
17. Positive
18. Putting God first
19. Letting God provide
20. Seeking God
21. Seeking improvement
22. Asking God
23. Doing on to others as you would have them do unto you
24. Seeking the narrow path

Tags: Bible, Bride of Christ, Christianity, church, God, Jesus, religion, Spirituality, The Meaning Of Life, theology

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