2012

12/3/11

Greetings,

                We are officially in the last month of the year. For the past eleven months we have been focusing on the power, the purpose, and the necessity of unity in the body of Christ. The reason we need unity is because many of the works that God wants to do in the coming years will require increasing degrees of unity among His people. Unity is not an end in and of itself, but it is a means to an end. We must begin to grasp this, it is imperative.

                After this month is over the focus of BRIDE emails will most likely be transitioning. I’m not yet sure what direction God will take these emails, but this will undoubtedly be clarified by the beginning of 2012. The year 2012 is going to be a major part of our discussion this week. There is quite a lot of buzz regarding what it will bring, and this week we are going to bring out some important elements.

I have a great deal of confidence that the enemy has big plans for the following year. Will it be the end of the world as some have suggested? Don’t count on it. The real danger of the year has to do with the astrological significance of the planetary alignment that will be occurring. What many don’t understand is that witchcraft in all its various forms and identities is largely based around the cycles of celestial bodies like the sun, moon, and planets. Without going into too much detail, suffice it to say that we can expect unprecedented coordination of rituals throughout the entire kingdom of darkness in an attempt to take advantage of the fact that our solar system will be coming into alignment with what is known as the galactic center.

                This alignment with the galactic center is something that only happens once every 25,920 years. To put this into perspective, if one were to hold a strict young earth view (meaning that they believe the entire history of events on earth is confined to roughly a 6,000 year period) then they would have to accept that earth has never experienced this alignment before. On December 21 of next year, our sun is expected to rise in perfect alignment with the galactic center pictured below. The galactic center is also known as the mouth of the ouroboros (the snake which eats its own tail according to esoteric belief).

                With such an astrologically significant event occurring there will probably be preparations throughout the year by the kingdom of darkness to make sure that full advantage is taken of this astrological alignment. So why should we be concerned? I think the answer is obvious.

                Whether people involved in darkness realize it or not, the very underlying structures of their respective belief systems will be pulling them together in the following year. These underlying structures involve the common beliefs in astrological alignments and their importance. In other words, I expect for the following year to serve as a unifying force within the kingdom of darkness among other things. Will the body of Christ step it up to shut down what the enemy is trying to do? I certainly hope so.

                A major problem that I have become increasingly aware of in the body of Christ is that we really don’t know what to rally around. At the most basic level, Christianity is divided into those that consider themselves evangelical and those that do not. To be evangelical basically means to believe that we must be saved by a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Obviously, groups that do not believe this have little business claiming to be Christian. Moreover, even if they try to unite with evangelicals, what are they going to effectively unite around?

                The answer is usually good works like feeding the hungry and getting medical attention for those that can’t afford it. These are good causes but the problem is that humanitarian causes do not require any form of spirituality whatsoever. Moreover, they can be done in the name of any god. The solution to the problem of unity in the body of Christ will not be found in figuring out ways to feed the hungry together. This must be done, but the calling of the church is higher.

                One of these major calls is spiritual warfare. There is only one group of people in the world that is capable of destroying the works of the enemy on a spiritual plane. This is the true church of Jesus Christ.

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds” (2 Corinthians 10:4)

The church must unite around the very purpose for which we have been placed into the earth. This purpose is actually to corporately come to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13). We will never achieve this by continually putting all of our efforts towards feeding the hungry and providing humanitarian aid only. There is so much involved in this, and it will require heavy duty warfare with the powers of darkness. Unfortunately, most Christian leaders know little of how to train people in or personally carry out heavy duty spiritual warfare. This leaves the body of Christ largely defenseless against large scale efforts of the enemy. At this point I’m going to put it plainly: the year 2012 will result in large scale efforts by the enemy.

So what are we going to do? I believe that it’s time for all of us to personally seek out training in our spiritual weaponry from leaders that are equipped. We are going to need it to face the coming increase in darkness. We also need to deepen our relationships with Jesus, without which we will never become effective spiritual warriors. We need to unite with those that are of a similar mind to begin to shut down the works of the enemy and establish righteousness. We need to open ourselves up to receive the truth about what the enemy is already doing and stop plugging up our spiritual ears when we get “uncomfortable”.

Consider that the whole earth is built around an extremely hot core. In the same way, a united body of believers will effectively unite around an extremely hot core. I challenge you to be part of that hot core, because the moves of God that are coming are going to be built around forerunners that are hot, powerful, and well able.

“And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.” (Numbers 13:30)

Discussion

1.       Is unity an end in and of itself?

2.       Should we be worried that 2012 is the end of the world?

3.       What is actually going to happen on December 21, 2012?

4.       Who is the only group of people capable of truly destroying the works of the devil in the spirit realm?

5.       Are you an effective spiritual warrior, why or why not?

The Illuminati

11/12/11

Greetings,

                I want to begin this week with a question. Have you ever heard the phrase: if it were a snake it would have bit you? This phrase is usually used to describe a situation when an individual completely overlooks something that is right in their face. Think about a time when someone in your family asked you to get them something and then told you exactly where it was. When you went to get it you looked in the area, glancing right at the thing (whatever it was) and then went back to them claiming it wasn’t there. Aggravated, they dropped what they were doing to take you with them and fetch the object from exactly where they told you it was. Only at that point did you realize that if it were a snake, it would have bit you.

                There are proverbial snakes in the world today. What many in the church don’t understand is that they are already getting bitten by them. They look them in the face regularly, but are entirely blind to what is actually going on. They do not have the discernment to recognize what they are looking at, nor do most want it.

                I am going to present shocking information. It is my prayer that the majority that read this will receive these difficult things. The absence of knowledge contributes to the destruction of God’s people. Therefore, those things which are spoken of in darkness must be heard in the light.

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” (Hosea 4:6)

“Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.” (Luke 12:3)

The fact of the matter is: The Illuminati are real.

If you thought this was just a fictional organization or the stuff of conspiracy theorists you couldn’t be further from the truth. The goal of the Illuminati is global domination. They are the masterminds behind the New World Order… at least on the human side of things.

Before I go any further you are inevitably thinking, “Hold on… that is a bold claim. Where is the evidence?!” Here is a list of sources that will undoubtedly change the way you view this world. I am heavily burdened by the level of ignorance pertaining to these things. This is especially true because I already know that I am called to be a leader when all of this “hits the fan.” So here is the evidence, not only for the illuminati, but also for mind control, secret operations, non-human entities, underground base activity, bloodlines in the kingdom of darkness, parallel dimensions, and the infiltration of the church. The fact of the matter is that most of us have been blind to so much for so long. Many of the following links are interviews: WARNING, there will be some graphic details that are shared. I do not recommend playing the following links with young children around. These first two links come from ex-illuminati born-again believers.

Svali (Ex-Illuminati)

Mary Ann (Ex-illuminati)

The following links are auxiliary as they will give a wide range of information involving many more issues converging around the illuminist agenda. Not all of these sources are Christian, so the interviewees may not all have perspectives that are in line with Scripture. Take these stories with a grain of salt.

Keith Truth on the Illuminati - Christian

Doug Riggs (nephilim mothers) - Christian

Mark Philips and Cathy O’Brien (the reality of mind controlled sex slavery)

Brice Taylor (mind controlled sex slavery) – VERY GRAPHIC

Judy (Project Monarch mind control survivor – online blog) – VERY GRAPHIC

Robert Duncan O’Finioan (mind controlled early generation super soldier)

Aaron McCollum (super soldier overview)

Michael Prince (mind controlled super soldier)

                This seems to be how it works. The illuminati are a group of generational Luciferians that trace their lineages back to ancient civilizations (although traditional research provides an official modern day inception of 1776). They operate in secrecy through the use of occult science. They have infiltrated all levels of government, free-masonry, media, banking, and other areas of society with their members. This seems to be their pattern of relaying their agenda from generation to generation:

1.       They marry according to bloodlines and compatibility

2.       Their children are abused (in every way imaginable) to create dissociation in them

3.       The abuse fractures their core person (spiritual/soul level) and allows for the creation of multiple personalities rendering them victims of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)

4.       Their personalities are programmed, structured, trained, and often demonized for the overall purpose of executing agendas with the goal of bringing about a “New World Order.”

5.       Their created personalities (alters) conduct all of the hidden, dark activity of the cult while “normal” personalities come in to present during the individual’s everyday life.

6.       The “alters” of these individuals have all of the occult powers and skill sets programmed into the individual. They conduct all of the abuse, rituals, and missions, while the person retains no memory of what they are doing. This allows one mind controlled generation to program the next, all the while leaving the spiritual hierarchy of darkness in complete control.

7.       The fact that the many of these individuals retain no memory of what they are doing allows the enemy to seed his people into the church, key areas of society, the military, the education system, etc. The people themselves often have no idea about what occurs when their “alters” are presenting. This also allows the enemy to seed “sleepers” into society that are programmed to “awaken” under certain planned scenarios like the bringing of martial law to America and the arrival of antichrist. A whole lot about this can be gleaned from the book The Black Awakening by Russ Dizdar.

This pattern is the very similar to the techniques used to create sex-slaves, super-soldiers, “Manchurian candidates” and other assets as revealed in the testimonies above through avenues like MK-Ultra in the US and Project Mannequin in the UK. These methods have been refined in the past 70 years through black research beginning in Nazi Germany and continuing into this country under project paperclip.

This is what the church is up against now. In our very pews, neighborhoods, education system, government, military, etc. are members of an extremely wicked cult (and its sister organizations) that may or may not have any idea what they belong to. The highest level bloodline illuminati are members of royal families. Added to this is the non-human side of things—something that is harder to explain. It ultimately boils down to fallen angels and their children… they are not “aliens.” When I speak of “children” I am not just referring to direct angel to human offspring as discussed by Doug Riggs, who works with deprogramming nephilim mothers. “Children” also includes second and third generation hybrids, clones, demons, and genetic abominations that come as a result of genetic experimentations by angels. This is referenced in several of the eye-witness testimonies included above. These things were spoken of by the prophet Daniel when he said “they” would mingle themselves with the seed of men.

“And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.” (Daniel 2:43)

The current church is primarily looking to leaders that are scared to death of the things discussed in this letter. The average leader in the body of Christ is absolutely unequipped to deal with the implications of this activity. Even those that are willing to acknowledge these issues won’t be caught speaking out about them, and if they do they are most likely putting all of their hope in a pre-tribulation rapture. Finding leaders that are prepared to equip the body of Christ to prevail through these things has been close to impossible—until now.

God is building an army that the world does not yet see or follow. When the leadership of institutionalized religion fails, true leaders will arise. Under them the church will come to inevitable unity because like I have said—it is not optional. I am not afraid and I do not plan on being “evacuated.” I am a leader of the church of the last days and I know that there are others like me. There is no escape, just a job to do.

Discussion

1.       What are your thoughts after listening to Mary Ann?

2.       What are your thoughts after listening to Svali?

3.       What are your thoughts after learning about the history of the illuminati?

4.       How can unity help the church to become more effective in confronting the enemy?

5.       What are you learning from the other testimonies linked to this letter?

Vision and Eschatology

10/8/11

Greetings,

                This week we are going to talk about vision, context, and how it relates to unity. Have you ever heard this line before?

“Get out there and do something for God!”

It may be full of passion, full of conviction, and heartily spoken, but at the end of the day the question must be asked: what is something? We must have a definition of what we are doing for God because it enables us to cast vision. According to the Bible we will have major problems without vision.

“Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” (Proverbs 29:18)

My vision is to promote unity in the body of Christ worldwide and assist in the creation and development of sheep nations. For those unfamiliar with the term “sheep nations,” these will be entire geographies where the kingdom of God reigns in and through the hearts of men. When I say that I’m going to get out there and do something for God I know exactly what something means. As long as I hold fast to the vision, spiritual death will remain far from me. Moreover, those that come alongside me will have no question as to what we are trying to do.

I personally believe that in this hour, possibly more than any other time in history, the requirement upon the church to be strategically effective is huge. I also believe that our ability to be strategically effective in this hour is going to rest heavily upon our ability to properly divide the word of God on the topic of eschatology. Eschatology is simply a theological term denoting the study of last things.

If our eschatology is wrong, the vision that we cast will be inadequate to accommodate the impending circumstances. Let us use an example. We are going to consider two random football teams. The first team is the Cleveland Browns and the second team is the New England Patriots. Let’s take a fictional look at how their respective coaches cast vision to their teams.

Brown’s coach: Alright boys! I am just as unenthusiastic about this game as you are. Remember, if you make mistakes, God still loves you. It does not matter how the game goes because we’re going to be teleported into outer space before the game is even over. Are you ready!

Patriots coach: Alright men! We’ve been practicing very hard. Today we are going to remain focused on the goal: executing the victory. You must believe that this game is already won. Offense, you get across that goal line like your daughter’s life depends on it. Defense, your goal is to gain more yards than the offense. This is the vision. Are you ready!

After reading the two visions, which do you think is more effective? First of all, the Brown’s coach is addressing his team as children, setting a low level of expectancy. The Patriot’s coach addresses his team as men, setting a high level of expectancy. God calls us to maturity, but many leaders suppress the spiritual growth of their people by casting faulty vision that takes people nowhere. They put no demand upon their flocks.

                Furthermore, the Brown’s coach is out to make a good show. The vision he casts is completely illogical. It cannot yield victory. The catch is that the Brown’s coach doesn’t expect to be around to finish the game. He casts a vision based upon his understanding of the future. As a result of his limited foresight, he assumes that certain things will take place, thereby tainting his ability to cast a vision based around victory. His vision is based around escape and he is promoting cowardice. Unfortunately, if people are trained to escape, when hardship comes they will look for a way out.

“Let no one deceive or beguile you in any way, for that day will not come except the apostasy comes first [unless the predicted great falling away of those who have professed to be Christians has come], and the man of lawlessness (sin) is revealed, who is the son of doom (of perdition)” (2 Thessalonians 2:3)

The Patriot’s coach has enforced discipline and practice among his ranks. They are prepared to win. When he stands before them to cast the vision he declares their victory. He makes no plans for escape. He is in it to win it and his team will follow his lead. His vision is based upon a proper understanding of why they are going onto the field. They are going out there to play hard, to stand face-to-face with a determined opponent and come out victorious. No one is leaving until the last play has been carried out. His vision is fixed on the prize, and he has planned properly in order to attain the declared victory.

If you haven’t figured it out already, I am speaking in part to the debate between pre-tribulation and post-tribulation rapture theology. The rapture is the point in time when Jesus returns for his church and we meet him in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Casting vision in this hour that is based around pre-tribulation rapture theology is akin to playing football like the Browns. Casting vision based around post-tribulation rapture theology is akin to playing football like the Patriots. Who do you think will perform better?

The Bible has a lot to say about the last days. It speaks of a coming antichrist, a false prophet, and great plagues that will shake the world among other things. A pre-tribulation rapture approach to this teaches people that they have no responsibility to be spiritually, psychologically, or emotionally prepared to deal with these things. They are taught about escape. This is the most backwards approach to the Christian faith possible.  We have the victory in Jesus Christ, why would we have any need for escape?

My vision is intended to be effective under the circumstances involved with going head-to-head with the darkest forces ever released into the earth. Those that come alongside me will be trained to think like champions and not like cowards. I will see to the creation and development of sheep nations in the face of the antichrist agenda. To this end I will work to establish unity among the body of Christ because it will be necessary. How do you want to “play ball?”

Discussion

1.       According to the Bible, what happens when there is no vision?

2.       When you consider doing something for God, have you defined what that something is?

3.       What are you going to do to allow God to speak His vision for you to you?

4.       What is the vision of BRIDE Ministries (my vision)?

5.       When you consider your approach to Christianity, is it closer to a Brown’s approach or a Patriot’s approach?

The Joseph Generation

9/17/11

Greetings,

                I often hear talk about a “Joseph generation”. This is phraseology amongst Christians which describes a group of individuals that God is raising up to have the attributes modeled by the biblical Joseph. The story of Joseph is found in the latter part of the book of Genesis.

               Joseph’s father was Jacob (whose name was later changed to Israel). Joseph was one of twelve sons sired by his father. The offspring of these sons became the twelve tribes of Israel. Several things set Joseph apart from his other brothers. For one, he was the son of his father’s old age (Genesis 37:3). Two, he was the first born of his mother Rachel. This is the wife that Jacob wound up working fourteen years for! When Rachel died giving birth to Joseph’s younger brother Benjamin it set Joseph apart even more (Genesis 35:16-20).

                Joseph’s favor began with his father. As the story of Joseph continues we find that favor was with him no matter where he went. When was sold to an Egyptian slave owner he had favor and even when he was falsely accused by the Egyptian’s wife and sent to prison he found favor. The verses below show the favor he had with his father, the favor he had with his Egyptian master, and the favor that he had with the warden of the prison.

                “Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children because he was the son of his old age, and he made him a [distinctive] long tunic with sleeves.” (Genesis 37:3 AMP)

“But the Lord was with Joseph, and he [though a slave] was a successful and prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.” (Genesis 39:2 AMP)

“But the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him mercy and loving-kindness and gave him favor in the sight of the warden of the prison.” (Genesis 39:23 AMP)

The favor that began with his father followed him into every situation and circumstance. Joseph was also granted prophetic insight that unfortunately ignited violent opposition from his brothers. When he was seventeen years old he dreamed dreams and began to “cast the vision” before he had time to process it and communicate it out of a right spirit. Though the dreams were true, the implications were too much for his brothers to handle. Both of his dreams prophesied that the day would come when his father and brothers would all stand before him and bow (Genesis 37:7-10).

The reason why Joseph ended up becoming the slave of an Egyptian (and ultimately put in jail) was because his brothers not only rejected him but conspired against him. They threw him into a pit and then sold him to slave traders and told Jacob that he was dead! Sounds pretty terrible right?

I acknowledge that there is a generation in the earth today that carries the mantle of Joseph. They are going to excel in business. They are going to bring enormous amounts of wealth into the kingdom. They will have wisdom beyond their years and operate according to prophetic clarity. They will have enormous amounts of favor and they will be great assets in the hands of God.

However, before all of this is true the Joseph generation will be rejected, kicked out, given the left foot of ministry, declared a “threat,” and told that they are bringing division to the established order of things. They are going to be betrayed by those closest to them, they will find themselves isolated, and in some cases seemingly left without hope. As a matter of fact, some of the very people that preach and prophesy about a coming “Joseph Revolution” are guilty of suppressing and rejecting the “Josephs” that God has sent them.

The mantle of favor and excellence that is upon the Joseph generation is awe-inspiring. However, arising Josephs will find the most immediate and painful opposition from the very spiritual family that they belong to. This should come as no surprise.

The good news is that the day finally came when Joseph was released from prison and brought before the Egyptian Pharaoh. He was presented before Pharaoh in order to decipher Pharaoh’s dreams. After being told the dreams, the Lord revealed to Joseph that there would be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. After Joseph interpreted the dreams he was made second in the kingdom of Egypt and put in charge of preparations for the coming seven years of famine.

Sure enough the famine came and eventually left Jacob and his household without food. When they realized that they were out of food they sought to purchase some from Egypt (as many other people were doing). In order to do this, they had to go through Joseph. To make a long story short, the day came when Joseph’s dreams were fulfilled. However, when it became understood that God had allowed for everything to happen—unity was reestablished between Joseph and his family. 

“And he fell on his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. Moreover, he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers conversed with him.” (Genesis 45:14-15 AMP)

Not only was unity established, but provisions were made that would not have come about any other way. The entire tribe of Israel was permitted to move into the land of Goshen and live on Egypt’s resources for the duration of the famine. Moreover, his whole family received favor from the Egyptian government.

When we are talking about a Joseph generation we are essentially saying that the anointing and mantle that rested upon the historical Joseph is now being placed upon an entire group of people within God’s kingdom. While it is true that this mantle comes with favor, prophetic clarity, an anointing to produce wealth, and an assortment of other benefits and blessings, it also comes with a price and a mandatory period of testing. Many that have a “Joseph mantle” will face rejection, persecution, and opposition. Nonetheless, in the end God will work all things to the good of those that love him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). He will work through the adverse circumstances that His Josephs experience and use them to create provisions for His body that would otherwise not occur. In the end, one of the most powerful ramifications of the Joseph revolution will be the unity that manifests as a result.

Discussion

1.       What do people mean when they make reference to a Joseph generation?

2.       What are the benefits of being part of the Joseph generation?

3.       What are the burdens of being part of the Joseph generation?

4.       Why will the Joseph generation produce unity?

5.       Do you see yourself as part of the Joseph generation?

Forgiveness

8/20/11

Greetings,

If you’ve never heard about a woman named Corrie Ten Boom then it’s time you did! She has an incredible story of forgiveness, which is the topic of discussion this week. The fact of the matter is that unity among the body of Christ requires forgiveness. We are all human, and even the most spiritual among us do things that can be offensive or hurt others. If we refuse to forgive offenses, we effectively refuse God’s ability to work forgiveness in our midst.

Corrie Ten Boom was a World War II Holocaust survivor. She was taken to a concentration camp for hiding Jews in her house during the Nazi occupation of Holland. I need not go into the details of all that she faced while she was there. Her whole family was imprisoned, but both she and her sister were sent to the notorious Ravensbrück concentration camp. Corrie survived while her sister did not.

She became a preacher after receiving a miraculous deliverance from the concentration camp. After some time had passed, her preaching took her back to war torn Germany. On one occasion she was speaking in Munich on the topic closest to her heart—forgiveness. After she finished, a man made his way to the front to talk with her. It was none other than one of the most abusive guards from Ravensbrück. This was a man she was forced to stand before naked, shamed, and starved. The flood of memories caused Corrie’s blood to stand still. Although he did not remember her, she remembered him. Nonetheless, he asked to hear it from her mouth that he was forgiven for the sins he had committed as a guard. She did.

Her testimony is so powerful because it shows the limitless power of forgiveness. Some of us have a hard time forgiving the driver that cuts us off in traffic. Yet the power of forgiveness is as infinite as God Himself. There is no offence that is beyond forgiveness, and Corrie Ten Boom is an incredible illustration of this fact. How can one forgive another human being that showed only abuse, torment, and utter disregard for their humanity? The answer is only through the power of Christ.

As Christians, we can never get away from the fact that Jesus came so that we could be forgiven. Sure He came to heal us, to set the captives free, to give sight to the blind, and so forth. However, all of these other works are meaningless apart from our forgiveness and reconciliation to God. Jesus even explained that he healed so that men would know that He had power on earth to forgive sins.

“And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”” (Mark 2:1-12 NKJV)

It is clear from this account that the purpose for healing the paralytic was to prove that Jesus had the power to forgive sins. He came to forgive us. How often do you go out of your way to forgive someone else for all the offenses they have committed against you? The ultimate call of Christians is to be lovers of God and men. However, this rests entirely upon our ability to forgive like God forgives. Quite frankly, it is impossible to allow the love of God to flow through us towards someone we refuse to forgive. The un-forgiveness not only blocks God’s love flowing out of us, it puts us in bondage as well. Furthermore, we have a clear warning in scripture.

“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:14-15)

Forgiveness isn’t an option for Christians. It is a requirement. It doesn’t matter what’s been done to us or how horrific the abuse has been. Corrie Ten Boom proves to us that nothing is beyond God’s ability. With His power at work in us, forgiveness is possible in any situation. With Christ you can forgive the friend that turned their back on you. You can forgive the employer who treated you unfairly and unjustly fired you. You can forgive the mother that didn’t protect you. You can forgive the partner who walked out on you, who abused you, who cheated on you, or who blamed you for every problem they have. You can forgive the person who molested, or even worse, who raped you. With Christ, all things are possible.

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13)

Forgiveness is required for unity in the body of Christ. When we forgive, walls come down and we find deliverance. We find a new ability to embrace God’s love towards others and we walk free of the oppression that un-forgiveness enforces. When we release forgiveness every relationship in our lives will see improvement because it allows old wounds to be healed. If you have been harboring un-forgiveness, today is your day to forgive!

Discussion

1.       Are there individuals that you made a point to decide you wouldn’t forgive today?

2.       Are there individuals that you know you have to forgive after reading this letter?

3.       What prevents you from forgiving both lists of individuals from questions one and two?

4.       How do you think God feels about your answer to question three?

5.       Are you ready to forgive both lists of individuals? If so use the following format speaking the prayer out loud.

Father, today I choose to forgive (name) for (list each individual offence they committed against you). Thank you that as You have forgiven me, I have forgiven them. I receive Your healing from every wound they have caused me. I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Sin

8/13/11

Greetings,

In my letters I usually spend a lot of time talking about concepts that are new, revolutionary, and often challenging. However, sometimes it is necessary to hit on concepts that are not new or exciting. Sometimes we need to get down to the bread and butter—so to speak.

It is my conviction that one of the greatest barriers to true unity is personal sin. That’s right; we are going to spend this entire letter discussing sin. The fact of the matter is that when a believer who is on fire for the Lord tries to be around a person that is under guilt or condemnation because of un-dealt with sin, it often leads to problems. The guilty party, in an attempt to cover their issues, will often reject or even lash out at the man or woman of God.

So what constitutes sin? Sin in a theological sense means to miss the mark. Imagine a target board with a bull’s eye. Sin is like when a person shoots an arrow and the board and misses the target. The target is the standard spelled out in the Word of God. Anything that comes short of this is sin.

Sin is your enemy. It’s an enemy of God as well. God doesn’t hate people but He does hate sin. Consider what he says of the deeds of the Nicolaitanes in the book of Revelation.

“But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.” (Revelation 2:6)

Who were the Nicolaitanes and what were the guilty of? They were a sect of Christians whose primary theological error was that they believed things done in the flesh had no effect upon the health of the soul or spirit. In other words, they believed that once a believer received the free gift of salvation by grace through faith they became free to sin in whatever capacity their heart desired. God hated their deeds. The following is an extraction from a Wikipedia article about them:

Hippolytus of Rome states that the deacon Nicolas was the author of the heresy and the sect. Several of the early church fathers, including Irenaeus, Epiphanius, and Theodoret mentioned this group. Irenaeus discusses them but adds nothing to the Apocalypse except that "they lead lives of unrestrained indulgence.” Victorinus of Pettau states that they ate things offered to idols. Bede states that Nicolas allowed other men to marry his wife and Thomas Aquinas believed that Nicholas supported either polygamy or the holding of wives in common. Eusebius said that the sect was short-lived.

There are many Christians today that come to the conclusion that sin is okay. They justify it, nurse it, and come up with religious excuses for it if necessary. However, when unity takes place according to God’s agenda, the removal of sin and the institution of unity will go hand-in-hand. Consider one of my favorite passages:

“Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13)

Is it possible to come to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ while nursing an addiction to pornography? What about the Christian who is having sex with two or three people while they can’t conclude which one they love more: their spouse, their boss, or the children’s nanny? Give me a break. It is easier for a passionate Christian to watch gold dust manifest during a prayer meeting than to unite with a group of Christians that have major issues with sin. I say this literally.

The following passage gives us a list of sins that are defined as sin in the New Testament. Let’s take a look.

“Now the doings (practices) of the flesh are clear (obvious): they are immorality, impurity, indecency, Idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger (ill temper), selfishness, divisions (dissensions), party spirit (factions, sects with peculiar opinions, heresies), Envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21 AMP)

                I used the Amplified Bible in order to make this passage read as clearly as possible. For some reason when it comes to sin, Christians quickly begin to get confused. In order to bring a little further clarity let’s take a second look at verse 19 from the King James Bible:

“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness” (Galatians 5:19)

I would like to do a word study on each and every one of these offenses to God but space simply does not permit me to do this. Here’s the point: Get the sin out of your life. This is my three-step plan for success.

1.       Admit that what you are doing is wrong and repent.

2.       Ask God for His grace to never want to do it again.

3.       Repeat steps one and two every time you sin until the sin stops.

It is wrong to get drunk. It is wrong to curse at others including your spouse. It is wrong to entertain perversity and this includes pornography. It is wrong to have sex outside of marriage because this is fornication. It is wrong to commit idolatry by putting your children, your job, or you car before God. It is wrong to practice witchcraft even if the activity is a “family tradition.” It is wrong to give into jealousy and lash out against another Christian because their anointing or relationship with God makes you “uncomfortable.” The sin must stop in order for true unity to enter in!

Discussion

1.       What is God convicting you of right now?

2.       What is the three-step plan for getting sin out of your life?

3.       Can true unity come without dealing with sin?

4.       Who were the Nicolaitanes?

5.       Does God hate the sinner or the sin?

Vision and Unity

8/6/11

Greetings,

                This week we are going to discuss the power of vision as it pertains to unity. There are three types of vision. One is the kind that we have because of our eyes. For many people this is the only type of vision they have. If they see a golden brick and you ask them what they see, they will tell you they see a golden brick. It they see a pile of cow dung and you ask them what they see; they will tell you a pile of cow dung.

                Although this is a type of vision, it is not the most important type of vision. The Bible talks about something called the eyes of our understanding.

“The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians 1:18)

The eyes of our understanding allow us to have greater sight. They allow us to have vision of spiritual realities and potential. This kind of vision is far beyond the vision that our eyes will give us. When someone has true vision, they can sit in front of a golden brick and when asked what they see, they will tell you that they see a resource. When they sit in front of a pile of cow dung and you ask them what they see, they will tell you fertilizer.

This is the kind of vision that God wants us to have. When we don’t have it, it’s actually offensive to God. This is what God was referring to when He said:

“Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not” (Jeremiah 5:21)

How can a person have eyes and not see? It isn’t because their physical eyes don’t work; it’s because they have no vision. The eyes of their understanding are shut. However, once we get beyond the vision of our physical eyes there are really two additional types of vision. There is limited vision, and then there is God’s vision. Both of these are better than no vision, however only one requires God.

There have been many visionaries throughout history that have done great things without God. Conversely, there have been many Christians throughout history that have done nothing even though they had God. Do you see a problem with this picture?

Some people believe that Christianity consists of saying a prayer of conversion and becoming a faithful attendee of a church. Is attending a church regularly a vision from God, or a beneficial habit? The answer is that it is a beneficial habit. God never intended your faith to climax at a weekly church service. God has a vision for your life that you are responsible to pursue. In light of this, many people wonder why there are so many problems in the church. Consider the following passage:

“Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” (Proverbs 29:18)

Visionless Christianity is a death wish.

Now that we have established the importance of vision in regard to our faith, we are going to consider it in light of unity. Whenever any great societal or cultural change came about, it required people. It may have started with a few visionaries, but ultimately many people wound up creating the change that the visionaries saw. It is impossible to execute vision without generating unity. I have a vision to bring about unity in the body of Christ. However, the purpose isn’t the unity in and of itself. There is a greater purpose and a greater vision.

Many people have no idea what this world is about to face. Continual increases in earthquakes, tornadoes, fires, and various other types of natural disasters including famine are coming (Matthew 24:6-8). In addition to this, the trans-humanist agenda is pushing the boundaries of “what it means to be human.” The development of enhanced humans having genetic enhancements, synthetic biological implants, robotic components, nanotechnology that impacts them on the cellular level, and artificial intelligence uplinks, are quickly becoming science fact. Of course, we will eventually see the rise of an antichrist figure who will seek to enforce satanic principles and agendas upon the world.

A change is coming to the world, and ultimately there is going to be a great divide between light and dark. Unity within the church will be required to successfully transition into the darkest age humanity will ever see. Part of this transition will involve the agenda of creating sheep nations—entire geographies where the kingdom of God reigns in the hearts of men. This is why my vision is to promote unity in the body of Christ worldwide and assist in the creation and development of sheep nations. I see what is coming, but I also see God’s solution.

In this hour God is giving larger and larger visions to those that will listen. These visions will ultimately produce God’s vision for the church. It is spelled out so clearly and so plainly that it is impossible to miss. However, it is so big we know it can only come from Him.

“Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13)

Discussion

1.           What kind of vision do you have: none, limited, or God’s vision?

2.           Why do you believe this is the type of vision that you have?

3.           What do you think you need to do in order to expand your vision?

4.           What is visionless Christianity?

5.           What is God’s vision for the church?