WHAT ARE WE AFTER

In the Books of Acts in the town of Antioch of Pisidia Paul stood up in the synagogue on the sabbath and recounted the oral history of the Jews by saying, “And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.” (Acts 13:22) Now most Christians read this verse and make the quantum leap thinking David had a heart like God’s. Oh how wonderful that would be to have a heart like God’s, but how can we have a heart like God’s when Jeremiah tells us our hearts are deceitful and wicked above all things. No I do not think Act 13:22 is drawing the parallel of David’s and God’s heart, but is saying what we all must desire if we would be like God, we all must desire to be after God’s own heart. Do you see the difference? Not have a heart like His (even though this is God’s eternal intention) I believe this will never happen this side of heaven, but be must be after His heart. Did you know it matters what we are after? What my friend are you after? The answer is easy to see all one needs to do is look at our lives and our check book to see what we are after. Our lives reflect what we really believe not what we tell our friends or what we want to be. Our lives are a direct reflection of the amount of revelation and authority we have in God. And our check book tells the story of what we spend our treasure and riches on and what we think is important. Charles Haun always said, (as he got his wallet out of his pants and waved it at the congregation) “once God gets a hold of this (his wallet) He has all of us.” It is one thing to give God our heart (not much of an investment in that on our part) but it is another thing to give God our check book. What are we going after in the world and all of her distractions: religion, politics, sports, hobbies, shopping, gaming, watching TV, reading, leisure time, the list is endless or are we after the things of God: reading His Holy Scriptures, prayer, giving so that others may receive, good works with the reward in heaven, service, communion with God and our brothers and sisters, the list can go on, but it is not so endless. And why? Because the things of God will cost us something to partake of them. If we truly desire the things of God there is price we must pay to be able to partake of all of God’s heavenly glory. Most religions and denominations will tell you, just become a Christian and you will have God’s best for your life, well that is almost true (still a lie), but they leave out the part where we must lay our life down so that Christ can live through us. They conveniently gloss over the verses that tell us we must lose our life for Christ’s sake so that we can find it. Losing comes first my friend, finding second. They go to sitting in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6) with Christ, but never discuss John 12:24-25 where we must fall into the ground and die. I wonder why they do this? Well, they are not after the things of God, but after the things of the world. Religions of men and denominations at best only paint ½ of the truth this is why they are so destructive to the Body of Christ. I promise you my friend if you are really after the things of God it will cost you. To know God’s power it will cost you something (God gets to pick the sacrifice not us), to know God’s presence it will cost you something far different than to know His power, and I promise you by all that is Holy, if you desire to know God’s person it will cost you all you have. It will cost you your life, but that is okay this is God’s plan for our lives for us to die so that He may live through us, but for God to be able to live through us we must die to our selfishness, our self-seeking, self-life, and how do we do this by desiring the things of God (this is our choice) by having a heart that is after God’s.

In Psalms 42 we read, “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. 2My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? 3My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God? 4When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday. 5Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.” (Psalms 42:1-5) We sing a song about these verses, but few stop to understand what is really being said in these verses. Please notice the progression in these five verses: (verses 1-2) panting and thirsting (verses 3) tears and religious works, and (verse 4-5) repentance and inward sober reflection. I wonder why they made the song from the first two verses? The real message from God here is in verses 4 and 5. But, here in verse 1 and 2 the writer goes after the things of God with great longing and great desire pouring out his heart, but the writer ends these verses with, “when shall I come and appear before God?” What happened to His desire and thirsting? Reality set in. My friend when we have a real encounter with God we will not feel like singing and dancing our emotional projection will be done away with. The clamor of our striving and self-effort will be done away with. We at best will be happy just to be alive and content with our mouth stopped We have been reduced and now God can build in us His character and nature of looking and acting like His precious Son Jesus Christ. We like Isaiah will see God high and lifted up and His train will fill the temple of our heart, what a holy place in God. Oh God, how I want this more and more in my life, but I find I am alive to my self and my will. I hear deep teachings and know them to be true and desire so to possess what I hear, but in the end they slip through my fingers and all I have is a bowl of well wished. Please help me oh Lord.

Now it is important (if you want to know where I am in God) to know I am more a Quietest more along the line and teachings, as far back, as St. Augustine, Father Lawrence, Francois de Salignac de La Mothe-Fenelon, Mike Molinos (Fenelon’s student), and more modern John Wright Follette and Walter Beuttler (both Charles’ teachers), Charles Haun (my teacher), and then me. But the line does not stop there, anyone I disciple probably will walk in this way out from the teaching they have received from me. You know it does matter who your teacher is. In these lives runs a thread of teaching and understanding that believes as we are quiet and still before the Lord (waiting before the Lord), during our solace reflection and meditation on God can we really hear from Him, when our mouth, desires, hungers, thirst, and thoughts are still and silent before Him then our spirit can rise up from the depth of our soul, then will we hear from heaven. In the Psalms again we read, “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:10) and so many more verses that encourage us to quiet our spirit so that we can come to know God who speaks to us (1 Kings 19:12) in a small still voice. Oh no my friend it is not an emotional or mental projection to God, but an inward swelling of our spirit pushing up and out of us towards God who put this desire in us to touch His heart. My heart within me drops when I hear Christians justify their emotional presumption with, “Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. 18And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;” (Ephesians 5:17-19) These three verses have nothing to do with singing songs in church, but here Paul is encouraging us to “be filled with the Spirit” and to make “melody in our heart to the Lord.” Why do we think this is about singing songs in church? The direction of our heart melody is always to be to the Lord. Oh no my friend this is not singing songs or playing musical instruments, but communion (no words required heart to heart) with the Lord, by the Spirit of God. Communion with God is a thing of the Spirit where our heart is fine-tuned and then in tune with God. Our spiritual growth and development will never happen in our lives if we continually press into God with our emotions and feelings which are deceptive and always will mislead us astray from the truth of the word of God. Peter also takes up this thought when he said, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: 3If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” (1 Peter 2-3) How can we do this? First, by desiring the “sincere milk of the word” where-by we can grow learning the basics and fundamentals to achieve an elementary level of spiritual development that we can use to build on to be able to take on the meat of the word of God. The word “sincere” here (Strong’s #97) means unmixed, unadulterated, and pure. This “milk of the word” must not be mixed with the things of the world nor with our flesh if we are going to grow spiritually and establish healthy understandings and principles in the Lord. Spiritual things that are not mixed and adulterated by other contaminated teachings. So many young Christians from the start are taught a denominational religious dogma that sets them up for frustration and ensures they will always stay a babe in the Lord. Sadly often I believe this is out of design, who wants their kids (young Christians) growing up and asking their parents (religious denominations) some hard questions or wants to see their kids leave the nest (church) for what God wants for their lives, because if they do leave valuable hands to work around the home (church) will be lost. And second, we must walk in obedience and submit to what God has for our lives, then and only then can we “taste the Lord is gracious.”

My friend we must be after the things God is after, we must have a heart after the things God has a heart for. Many of my friends ask me if we are not to use our emotions to make our approach to the Lord then why did God give us emotions? Well that is easy, God gave us emotions so we could have a compassionate heart and feel sadness for those people who are lost and undone without His precious Son Jesus Christ not so we can thrill our “selves” at church when the music gets rocking or at some Christian rock concert. The same reason God gave us arms to reach out and care for people and legs so we can travel the many miles around the world to share the Gospel for Him not to up jump up and down and spin around like some top, how foolish to think so. And an understanding deep within us to be able to know the Creator and to be able to appreciate the beauty of a sunrise or sunset He has created. I have learned over the years when I am feeling weak in my emotions and in my self-strength I am usually moving correctly in God, but when I am feeling good and strong in my emotions and my self-strength I find myself getting off track and not going after what God is going after. My friend what are you going after? Written by David Stahl

AT THE END OF GOD'S LINE

Often times we mistake God’s longsuffering for His faithfulness. Now that is worth repeating again, often times we mistake God’s longsuffering for His faithfulness. Did you know there is a plum line of righteousness and truth we must walk correctly in to exist in God? I wonder why we think we can do and say whatsoever we want to say and do and think we are existing in God? Oh no my friend existing in God is far more than just going to church, paying our tithes and offerings, singing in the choir (or a special number on Sunday morning), or working around the church. Existing in God is an understanding and a knowing of how God operates and functions and this only comes to us by way of our daily submission and obedience to God’s word and His ways. At the heart of this submission and obedience is our requirement (in God) for us to discipline (a nasty word to most Christians, and me too at times) our thought life, desires, and our selfish, self-seeking ways. Alone, by our self effort, nor with religion (what most Christians use to make an approach to God) can we discipline ourselves enough to be able to walk with God, but only with the power of the Holy Spirit moving in our lives can we ever hope to be able to walk in the ways (exist) of God and come to know Him as He desires. Isaiah shares these words with us, “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. 17Judgment (translated instruction, discipline, and punishment in that order) also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet (leveling tool or instrument): and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.” (Isaiah 28:16-17) Of course Isaiah was prophesying of the coming of Jesus Christ the “foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation:,” but please notice the end of verse 16, “he that believeth shall not make haste.” The word “haste” (Strong’s #2363) is translated to make haste or hurry, here to quickly lay a foundation. Now God does not build on man’s foundation, nor should we. God always builds one stone at a time as the stone is fitly joined into the foundation and if the stone is not the right shape or size the builder (God) will fashion the stone until it can fit into the foundation. Verse 17 tells us what God will do if we in “haste” lay a foundation, “Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet:” Now please do not think this judgment from God is spiteful and vindictive, oh no God’s judgment for those who love God is meant to cleanse or wash and prune our lives. And those who do not love God, well God’s judgment is a reward (what we have earned) of punishment for our disobedience and waywardness. This not God’s intention, but make no mistake my friend God will keep us on the line only for so long, He will allow us to play fast and loose only so long then with a mighty heavy hand God will come to us personally or a nation (like America) and execute His holy righteous judgment. I really believe the church (for years) has presented God’s judgment wrong so that many could manipulate and control people. Did you know people will willfully give all they have and even lay their lives down for someone who says they have the power to withhold God’s judgment or they will pray for them and God will heal or bless them? I have seen this for years. Oh no my friend God does not operate like this. The heart of God’s judgment for man is for learning and without this “judgment” (instruction, discipline, and punishment) moving in our lives we will never be able to build correctly on the “sure foundation,” our foundation will always be unleveled, uneven, and not plum. Our lives will be a wreck every relationship we build will crumble like a house of cards. Everything we try will never come to completion and purpose in God, oh we may have some success (in man’s definition), but the end that God has planned and purposed will never manifest because it has been built on a foundation not of God.

We seen this divine spiritual principle in salvation and especially in the spiritual growth we are to have moving in our lives after we complete kindergarten. The writer of the Book of Hebrews shares “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ (kindergarten), let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, 2Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.” (Hebrews 6:1-2) We are to go on “leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,” but most Christians camp out here in verses 1-2 all of their lives waiting for Jesus to come and take them to heaven, well that is not God’s idea. God has much more than salvation for us. And for us to be able to walk in what God has (and expects) for us we must move on from the elementary things of the faith. Now we must not forget what Jesus did for us on Calvary (this must be an anchor that always grips our heart), but we must not allow the “principles of the doctrine of Christ” to be the central focus of our Christian life, there must be spiritual growth and development in our lives if we are to come into the stature and fullness (Ephesians 4:13) of Christ. In John we read, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) Now do not believe (as some preachers teach) Jesus removed sin from the world, no He did not, because if He did then there would be no sin in the world. All we have to do is take a honest look at our heart condition, ambitions, and motives or watch the news on TV or read the paper to see sin is alive and well in the world. But Jesus did something more important and even harder than taking “away the sin of the world,” He took upon Himself the sin FOR the world. John 1:29, in the Greek says, “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and says, “Behold the Lamb of God, the one taking up the sin of the world.” The words, “one taking up the sin of the world” indicates that Jesus alone bore the entirety of sin as He took upon Himself (not removed them) the sin of the world and made a way for us to be free of sin, death, hell, and the grave. It was such a completeness that it is written, “He was made to be sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21) Do you see the difference? Believe it or not John the Baptist did not see the difference. After serving as the fore runner for Christ, in prison, John (Jesus’ cousin) said, “ . . . having heard in the prison the works of the Christ, sent by his disciples, said to him, Art thou the coming one? or are we to wait for another?” (Matthew 11:2-3) John was at the end of the line God had for him. We all have an end some sooner than others, some more painful than others, but all will come to the end of the line God has for us. Again in Hebrews we read, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1) Please notice the writer of Hebrews encourages us to, “let us lay aside every weight and sin which easily besets us.” Every weight is not sin. There are two things moving here in Hebrews 12:1, weights; those things that are not sin, but cause us to get off track like our wrong motives, hard hearted heart condition, wrong ambitions, desires even our plans and dreams that are not God sponsored and of course our sin. Now we know how to take care of sin in our lives, we have already talked about Christ taking upon Himself the sin of the world, but how do we take care of those weights that so easily beset us? That too is easy, by us studying (not just reading) the word of God. When we read the Bible (God’s words) the words contained on the pages are Spirit and life to our mind and soul. And as we study the word of God (if we have the right heart condition) the Holy Spirit will be able to wash us of our negativity and wrong thinking and clean our heart of impurities. Jesus described this process in John 15. Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” (John 15:1-6) Now the word “purgeth” (Strong’s #2508, to cleanse of filth impurity) in verse 2 is not a pruning or cutting away from the vine, but a washing or cleansing. If God cannot wash us of the dirt of this world and our selfishness and self-centered heart then God cannot use us. The more we study (not read) the Bible and the more we allow the Holy Spirit free reign in our heart and mind the more we will be able to “lay aside every weight that easily besets us.” Please notice verse 3, “Now ye are clean the word of God which I have spoken unto you.” And please do not miss the warning (take heed my brothers and sisters) here in verse 6, “If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” If we do not abide in Christ we are “cast forth” or picked/stripped from the vine because we have withered, we lack the power and strength to stay connected to the vine, and look “men” not God, but “men gather them and cast them into the fire and they are burned.” Many today in the church would say God would never do this, well my friend do not tell Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11) or anyone else in the Bible where God’s judgment has fallen on them. Take heed my brothers and sisters. There is a cleansing and a washing in God so that we will be more fruitful, but so true also my friend there is a stripping/picking away, a gathering, and burning for those God brings to the end of their line and turns their back on God. Please do not be deceived by the “once saved always saved” doctrine. Yes, if we stay connected to the vine and live by every word that proceeds out from the mouth of God nothing will be able to remove us from God’s hand, but if we once were saved and walked with the Lord (the Bible is full of examples) then we turn our backs on God we will wither (no mechanism to receive strength from the vine), be gathered by men, and burned up. Make no mistake my friend God has a line for all to operate on and loves to bring us to the end, not to see us flop around or squirm, but to see us stand and withstand in His might enduring, in Christ, all that He and life throws against us.

CORRECTING OUR ERRORS

Karen and I like going to the Farmers Market (a market where there is fresh vegetables, crafts, and sometimes country or blue grass music) on Saturday before we go shopping at the commissary, the military food store I talked about in my last article. One of the reasons we like the Farmers Market is we get to meet our good friends Dale and Linda from Whispering Dove Ranch whom we buy our local honey. Well, one Saturday we stopped by and purchased four bottles of honey, a bar of goat milk soap, and chatted awhile. I enjoy talking with Dale about bee-keeping, something I would love to do if I had the time. So we said our farewells and off we went to the commissary. We shopped (a part of our weekly ritual) and when Karen was paying for the groceries she noticed she forgot to give Linda the check for the honey and the soap, well Karen was mortified she could not believe she forgot to give Linda the check. So I said no problem we can call them and let them know we will get the check out in the mail and Karen said no let’s drive back to the Farmers Market 15-20 minutes by car. I said no let’s call and see what they want us to do. So reluctantly Karen called (I was driving) and Linda said, please stick the check in the mail Monday, no problem, but there was a problem in Karen’s eyes she made a mistake and it had to be corrected as soon as possible. Yes, it could wait until Monday, but why wait until then. Karen said it was her good Catholic up-bringing that kicked in and she was compelled to make it right. Knowing Karen’s sense of morals and heart condition I would think my Protestant friends could learn a lot from my Catholic friends. So in the end we drove back to the Farmer’s Market and Karen gave Dale the check, error corrected. Now this was a minor error, but if we look at the remedy of the error through the eyes of the Scriptures we will learn a truth that will benefit us far beyond just correcting an error. When we miss it in God it is never about just correcting a mistake or error. We look at sin and say, we must not sin. Now this is true, if we are sinning we must stop, repent (flow in the opposite direction) and then try to correct the error. One can never repent and try to correct the error unless they stop sinning. Now I know that sounds simple, but if we will be honest with ourselves and others we know this to be true. Never think the act is what God calls the sin oh no. The act is only the wickedness and disobedience in our heart that manifests itself by doing what God told us not to do. God says, do not lie and we lie. God says do not commit murder and we commit murder. The list goes on. The act of lying and murder is not the sin, but the doing of what God said not to do. Anytime we do what God told us not to do we have sinned, we have missed the mark, we know what is right to do (because the Bible tells us) yet we do not and we sin. It is like it does not matter what we do for God that counts, but how we do things. Well sin is no different. Did you know sin was the biggest topic Jesus spoke on? Yet we seldom hear a message on sin, not a sermon (a moral or religious story you can apply to the Bible), but a message (thus sayeth the Lord) from God. Could it be sin is not important anymore to God? I think not. We focus on the acts, but God focuses on our heart condition, our intentions, and our motives, there my friend is where the heart of sin resides.

In this article I would like to look at two areas, the first is the heart condition we must have to be able to repent and then correct our errors and the second is this thinking in the church that says it is okay to make a mistake or error. Let us begin to look at the heart condition of true repentance. In Corinthians Paul shares with us, “For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season. 9Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. 10For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. 11For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.” (2 Corinthians 7:8-11) Did you get that, “For Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation.” I wonder what “Godly sorrow” looks like? If you cannot tell me then there is a good chance you have never experienced this sorrow and not really saved. I would think “Godly sorrow” is more of an inward feeling of devastation then just feeling bad. When we see what sin has wrought in our lives and the eternal sublime truth of who we are apart from God it should drop us to our knees as we too like Paul say, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:24) This discovery, by the power of the Holy Spirit, of who we really are should kill us, bring us to tears, wailing and sobbing, snot running out our nose, but that is not what we see in church when someone (rarely happens any more) comes to the Lord, they make a commitment after they repeat the sinner’s prayer. Well my friend the sinner’s prayer is something man made up so that they will not have to follow the Biblical format of leading someone to Christ. Paul taught, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10) Confessing (agreeing with God what He is saying about us is true) with our mouth and believing in our heart God raised Jesus from the dead is the only format that will lead us to salvation. And when we really confess we will understand, we will see, we will know of our shame and waywardness from God and it will kill us. Repeating after someone is NOT “confessing with thy mouth.” The words “thy mouth” is an utterance from the heart since thoughts of a man’s soul find verbal utterance by his mouth. Jesus taught, “O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” (Matthew 12:34) Make no mistake my friend, whatever is in our heart will come out our mouth. We will be known as God knows us. We must speak true and honest words from our heart to be saved. And not repeating some words on a card, but words (from our heart) like I am sorry and really mean it from our soul. I am afraid many people have been deceived by the sinner’s prayer, thinking they are a Christian, but knowing all along they lack the evidence and power of the normal Christians life. Man is not dumb, he knows when he has something genuine, but I wonder why many people are content with the type and shadow of salvation when they could have the real McCoy? This too is why many fall out of the way so fast, they were never really on the way, no foundation of salvation was laid, no recognizing the cost Jesus paid on the cross, and no counting the cost we must pay to be numbered as a Christian. Oh no just make a commitment, well my friend this is dead wrong. Denominations like to make it easy, just repeat after me, they get more folks that way who have money, well it was not so easy for Jesus it cost Him His life. God does not care about our money, unlike many denominations, He is after our heart something which is far more valuable.

We will never be able to come to salvation unless there is an understanding of our need for “Godly sorrow” so too we will never be able to correct the errors (saying or doing something against someone) we make unless we come to an understanding of our need for repentance (stop making the error) and restoration (try to make it right). Now I am not talking about sin here we have discussed the remedy for sin, but they both require the same thinking process to remove them from our lives. When many people correct an error there is no real repentance, most are sad because they got caught not because the Holy Spirit has convicted them of their error. This is why they are doomed to repeat the error again and again. Yes, the Holy Spirit will convict us of not only our sin, but of the errors we make. How wonderful is this? The error is corrected only when we feel remorse and sorrow for our error and then try to make things right. Both processes must be moving in our attempt to correct our errors. If we only try to make things right (like what most people do) then the price in our heart we are to pay to remember our shame and folly will not be there and we will fail in our heart. If we only remember the shame and folly (not to speak of the condemnation we heap on ourselves) and not try to make things right, then we forfeit the joy and wholesomeness we always feel when we do the right thing. Can you imagine the joy Karen felt when she handed Dale the check for the honey? You will only be able to feel what Karen felt, if you have done what Karen did. Some churches ignorantly sing, “I want to dance like David danced” well my friend you will only be able to dance like David danced, if you went through the things David went through. Oh how we like to dance, but forgo the going through of things.

There is another area on this topic the Lord would have me briefly touch on. In James (one of my favorite Books) we read, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 16Do not err, my beloved brethren. 17Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:14-17) Now “err” is not error, they are distinctly different. An error is to make a mistake (mild or malicious), but to “err” (Strong’s #4105) is to cause to stray, to lead astray, lead aside from the right way, and to go astray, wander, roam about. Brethren we must not cause “err” for our brothers and sisters. I believe this is one of the biggest failures of the denominational churches today to lead people astray from the truth of the Gospel and indoctrinating them into the denominational doctrine, customs, and traditions of men. This is what was going on in the church of Jerusalem. False teachers had infiltrated the church by 48 A.D., “err” had already crept in and defiled the brethren, sounds like today. The Preacher in Ecclesiastes knew what he was saying when he said, “there is knowing new of the sun.” My friend take heed God takes “err” very serious. God personally will show up and defend His word and His church He is building. We must be very careful (take great heed) not to stray ourselves, but more important not to lead people astray from the truth of the word of God. You know I tell the kids at the school where I work as a substitute teacher we must think right, it is not okay to keep making mistake after mistake, oh thank God for grace, but that is not God’s intention for us. Grace is there in case we need it (and I am glad it is) but God’s intention for us is to do it right the very first time and not make an error to correct. Written by David Stahl