If we do not invite Him today to live His life through us, we will discover that we have not changed, and God will use the ensuing failure to bring the point home.

Romans 7:18, For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.

Because of how religion infiltrates the Church, so few have a doctrine of failure. There is one very big problem with this: We all will fail! Most are emphasizing a one-time fix, meaning that some understanding or some conference will free a person from all future conflict. It is not so with us. Our system not only allows for failure but plans for it. The Epistles are written because Christians are failing, they are not getting it, but most importantly they have moved away from their focus on Jesus. Without their failures we would not have those books. We have all learned as they did through their failures. If they learned through theirs, is it not true that we will learn from ours? Do any believe that the early Church didn’t have failures? Paul uses the occurrence of believers’ going to temple prostitutes to explain the principle of oneness. He didn’t tell them they were hopeless; he told them why they should not be doing it and to stop. Peter was a tremendous failure after being taught by Jesus for three-and-one-half years. What do we learn about soul strength in our attempts to serve God from his example? What did he learn? If you are prepared for failure, when it comes (and it will) you will not have to enter into condemnation, unbelief, and become a Galatian. The flesh doesn’t change, but that really is a beautiful thing, because if I don’t want to walk with Jesus, I will be the same mess I was before . . . well, actually worse. With Adam’s life in me, wearing sin was natural. With Christ’s life in me, wearing sin is very abnormal and miserable. The hardest thing to get across is that we are not improving, but only abiding longer. I know a man that was in a mental institution, came to see Christ as his life, and as Christ flowed from him, people could see Jesus. However, he believes in a one-time fix, and now when he isn’t abiding he still acts very psychotic, but now it is more of a Christian psychosis and more “acceptable.” Well, amen. An elephant can live up to 100 years, and the reason it dies is this: It has six set of teeth. As it wears out one set of teeth, the next set comes in, and so on until it has no teeth, can no longer eat, and it dies. We, like the elephant, have many sets of spiritual teeth for eating at different stages of our life. There are teeth for the milk of the early things and teeth for the later things, and one day we will leave this body. Until then there is always something to chew, and if we chew long enough we need a new set of teeth. We have chewed long enough on heaven vs. hell. It is time to chew on the fact that Christ is in us. As we by choice invite Him to live through us, He will today, but for today only. I am not saying He is coming and going; I am saying we must choose to relate to Him in a certain way. If we do not invite Him today to live His life through us, we will discover that we have not changed, and God will use the ensuing failure to bring the point home.

No one can be born again by the will of the flesh, insidious in its ability to take the eyes off of Jesus.

Job 34:15, “All flesh would perish together, And man would return to dust.” John 1:13, “who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
No one will be born of the will of the flesh. It is impossible. For in the flesh are the senses of man that constantly need feeding. One may think of them as instinct gone amuck. Senses in the body are given attention either by pain or reward, feeding or starving, or consciously avoiding or obsessing on. Either way it is in being activated that they are kept alive and in charge. The greater truth is that the senses want to be activated; the lesser truth is how they are activated, which is by eating from the tree of good and evil. The desire for food (wish fulfillment or fantasy) will keep senses alive just as much as condemnation from eating too much. Look at the anorexic or observe the obese, and both scream “flesh in control.” An overwhelming desire for sex or the condemnation of looking at porno both scream that the flesh has regained control. Thinking of oneself as intelligent or stupid are both still flesh. Again, flesh is simply the senses in control. The east denies the flesh in an attempt to appease it and the west feeds it in an attempt to appease it. Of course, the west doesn’t have a choice in that nothing is enough to satisfy it, nor does the east really choose, since there is ultimately no way to withhold from the flesh. Nevertheless, the flesh is flesh and is hostile to God. Now, why does flesh desire to be in control? It is because flesh desires man to be flesh-centered. If man becomes Christ-centered, the senses of flesh would not be fed but would be sublimated to Christ. The flesh can never be more than a slave, and a rebellious one at that, for by the works of the flesh will no flesh be justified. No one can be born again by the will of the flesh, insidious in its ability to take the eyes off of Jesus. The flesh constantly screams for attention and has a thousand methods at its disposal to get it. Believers and non-believers alike have flesh. The saddest thing is to witness someone who has abandoned his will to flesh. Like a tick, flesh will feed until it explodes and destroys itself. I meet many Christians that struggle with the sin of homosexuality but are not homosexual, and if you were to meet them, you would never guess what their particular deed of the flesh is. However, meet someone who has, by choice, yielded to that area of the flesh, and it is evident in his or her body. Just a few minutes with that person reveal to what they have yielded their flesh. Now, why would God put us in flesh? I am not talking about a physical body, but the desires of the senses that reside in the physical body. Well, it has been said that the greatness of a man is not determined by what he does but rather by what he refuses to do. The man who feeds his flesh through adventure and the procession of praise for victory or the mockery for defeat is not as great a man as he who says, “Not my will but Thy will be done.” Having flesh and its senses allows man the unique opportunity of choice, of living on the earth but not being of the earth, of living to God and not to senses, and the discovery of something higher in this life, spiritual fulfillment. Flesh, or rather the call of the senses to stay alive, is a constant reminder that we must move our eyes to Jesus. It is another stronghold allowing us to stay focused. If God is for us, then who can be against us? Again, the flesh is never a friend; you may buffet it and make it a slave, but it will never be a friend. The flesh is a strange thing in that it cannot live on its own but must live on something that is living. It adapts to resemble the thing on which it lives, but it isn’t really a living thing. When man dies, the fleshly condition of the man dies. It is weird.

Over the course of the years I have attended, witnessed, and been told of a variety of meetings and experiences that simply cannot be witnessed to from the Scriptures. Attempts to verify and legitimize them through the Scriptures are made; however, most often this ends in a distortion of the Bible. So what about such meetings and experiences? Those that have such experiences will vehemently fight for them as valid experiences of the Spirit. Though the expressions are not consistent around the world, “other” type experiences are. Some witness to having teeth turn gold, others to a cross turning to gold, uncontrolled laughter, pictures of saints that exude a fragrant aroma that heals, falling down and passing out, prophecies, people turning to pigs through prayer, and much, much more. I have heard many accounts, all told with sincerity and conviction. Again, what about such meetings and experiences? First, I must keep it all in perspective. In short, I really don’t care. Why? Not because I don’t care for the people, but because even if the experience and meeting were legitimate, it wasn’t my meeting or my experience, so why would I argue a position? It is too easy for all of us to move into pride. While Jesus was with the disciples, they were one. Take Jesus out of the center of any conversation and there will be division. I wouldn’t sacrifice my relationship with Christians over an experience that someone else had. Therefore, we approach such experiences without an agenda. I am not trying to prove or disprove. In comparison with my fellowship with a believer, I don’t care. Therefore, I will often go quiet if I see that my observations would cause a division. This approach won’t satisfy those that want to fight for the truth. However, the truth is not any experience, but Jesus. This brings me to the second point: a meeting or an experience does not create a heart for Jesus, but it does reveal one. Camping on this point has helped me, for I see both types of people attending such meetings. One person goes for the spectacular, for the seeking of the experience, all in the hope of creating a heart for God or obtaining a shred of proof that he is acceptable to God. This person is most open to deception. Some with this attitude are even leading the meetings. Perhaps we could liken it to “Christian pornography.” The purpose of pornography is to stimulate the fleshly body, albeit unnaturally. The body is to be stimulated by one’s mate, not another in the form of a picture. In the same way, the mind, will, and emotions belong to God and are to be stimulated by His Spirit. However, Christian pornography would be allowing something other than God to stimulate the soul. Many in seminaries are addicted to “intellectual pornography,” for they are always looking for the thing that will stimulate the mind. Many organizations are driven by men who have their wills stimulated through fantasizing about great works, or “pornography for the will power.” Others are into “emotional pornography” through the stirring of the emotions in a meeting or an experience. It is unnatural to go to a meeting seeking something to stir the soul other than Jesus. When those with such a heart are describing the experience and are questioned, they will immediately shift course and say that it is all about Jesus. However, His name was never mentioned in the course of the description. Instead there was a forceful presentation of the experience and the meeting. This is a revelation of the heart. Remember that Jesus did miracles and generally told the people to be quiet about them. He didn’t want to attract people who were attracted by miracles. Actually, I believe that a false teacher is used of God to reveal false hearts. I don’t mind if people go running to them, for they are seeking something other Jesus. Christian pornography, those things that stir the soul, are like the picture; they are a substitute for the real Person. In talking to a Pentecostal Pastor and a Baptist Pastor, I asked the same question. “Go back 20 years and think of the people in your church. Where are they today? How many are still moving forward?” Both pastors gave the same percentage; both have the same “results.” One can only conclude that it is not doctrine that allows for forward movement, but the grace of God and the choice of man. Therefore, the doctrine of a meeting can be completely wrong, but we must not neglect those that attend such meetings, for the revelation of the motives of their hearts. Faith is an amazing thing. If you believe that God will meet you at the Baptist church, will He? If you believe that God will meet you at the Pentecostal church, will He? If you believe that you will meet Him in the mountains, will you? He is everywhere. He can be found in any place at any time. Therefore, good-hearted people go to strange meetings and meet Jesus. Their hearts are revealed. The proof is in their lives. I have known those that have had very abnormal experiences, and yet it is obvious they are moving up in Jesus, talking more about Jesus, promoting Jesus, and not pushing the experience. What do we say to such things? Well, amen! I don’t have to understand it to witness to it. I know people personally that were, outwardly, going nowhere until the experience came and something changed. They became Christ-centered. In conclusion, meetings do not create hearts, they reveal them. Go to any meeting with the right heart, and your heart will be revealed. Go to the weird meeting wanting to create some kind of heart, and any manner of thing can happen. That is why people with a right heart come away from really strange things blessed, and those with a wrong heart are led further astray.

Over the course of the years I have attended, witnessed, and been told of a variety of meetings and experiences that simply cannot be witnessed to from the Scriptures. Attempts to verify and legitimize them through the Scriptures are made; however, most often this ends in a distortion of the Bible. So what about such meetings and experiences? Those that have such experiences will vehemently fight for them as valid experiences of the Spirit. Though the expressions are not consistent around the world, “other” type experiences are. Some witness to having teeth turn gold, others to a cross turning to gold, uncontrolled laughter, pictures of saints that exude a fragrant aroma that heals, falling down and passing out, prophecies, people turning to pigs through prayer, and much, much more. I have heard many accounts, all told with sincerity and conviction. Again, what about such meetings and experiences? First, I must keep it all in perspective. In short, I really don’t care. Why? Not because I don’t care for the people, but because even if the experience and meeting were legitimate, it wasn’t my meeting or my experience, so why would I argue a position? It is too easy for all of us to move into pride. While Jesus was with the disciples, they were one. Take Jesus out of the center of any conversation and there will be division. I wouldn’t sacrifice my relationship with Christians over an experience that someone else had. Therefore, we approach such experiences without an agenda. I am not trying to prove or disprove. In comparison with my fellowship with a believer, I don’t care. Therefore, I will often go quiet if I see that my observations would cause a division. This approach won’t satisfy those that want to fight for the truth. However, the truth is not any experience, but Jesus. This brings me to the second point: a meeting or an experience does not create a heart for Jesus, but it does reveal one. Camping on this point has helped me, for I see both types of people attending such meetings. One person goes for the spectacular, for the seeking of the experience, all in the hope of creating a heart for God or obtaining a shred of proof that he is acceptable to God. This person is most open to deception. Some with this attitude are even leading the meetings. Perhaps we could liken it to “Christian pornography.” The purpose of pornography is to stimulate the fleshly body, albeit unnaturally. The body is to be stimulated by one’s mate, not another in the form of a picture. In the same way, the mind, will, and emotions belong to God and are to be stimulated by His Spirit. However, Christian pornography would be allowing something other than God to stimulate the soul. Many in seminaries are addicted to “intellectual pornography,” for they are always looking for the thing that will stimulate the mind. Many organizations are driven by men who have their wills stimulated through fantasizing about great works, or “pornography for the will power.” Others are into “emotional pornography” through the stirring of the emotions in a meeting or an experience. It is unnatural to go to a meeting seeking something to stir the soul other than Jesus. When those with such a heart are describing the experience and are questioned, they will immediately shift course and say that it is all about Jesus. However, His name was never mentioned in the course of the description. Instead there was a forceful presentation of the experience and the meeting. This is a revelation of the heart. Remember that Jesus did miracles and generally told the people to be quiet about them. He didn’t want to attract people who were attracted by miracles. Actually, I believe that a false teacher is used of God to reveal false hearts. I don’t mind if people go running to them, for they are seeking something other Jesus. Christian pornography, those things that stir the soul, are like the picture; they are a substitute for the real Person. In talking to a Pentecostal Pastor and a Baptist Pastor, I asked the same question. “Go back 20 years and think of the people in your church. Where are they today? How many are still moving forward?” Both pastors gave the same percentage; both have the same “results.” One can only conclude that it is not doctrine that allows for forward movement, but the grace of God and the choice of man. Therefore, the doctrine of a meeting can be completely wrong, but we must not neglect those that attend such meetings, for the revelation of the motives of their hearts. Faith is an amazing thing. If you believe that God will meet you at the Baptist church, will He? If you believe that God will meet you at the Pentecostal church, will He? If you believe that you will meet Him in the mountains, will you? He is everywhere. He can be found in any place at any time. Therefore, good-hearted people go to strange meetings and meet Jesus. Their hearts are revealed. The proof is in their lives. I have known those that have had very abnormal experiences, and yet it is obvious they are moving up in Jesus, talking more about Jesus, promoting Jesus, and not pushing the experience. What do we say to such things? Well, amen! I don’t have to understand it to witness to it. I know people personally that were, outwardly, going nowhere until the experience came and something changed. They became Christ-centered. In conclusion, meetings do not create hearts, they reveal them. Go to any meeting with the right heart, and your heart will be revealed. Go to the weird meeting wanting to create some kind of heart, and any manner of thing can happen. That is why people with a right heart come away from really strange things blessed, and those with a wrong heart are led further astray.

. If someone has their name blotted out of the book of life, it is because they specifically wanted it erased.

Deut. 29: 20, “The LORD shall never be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the LORD and His jealousy will burn against that man, and every curse which is written in this book will rest on him, and the LORD will blot out his name from under heaven.”
Rev. 3:5, ”He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. 6He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Rev. 20:15, “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
From the foundation of the world it was God’s desire that none should perish. God even sent His own Son to that end. Therefore, from the foundations of the world everyone has their name written into the Lamb’s book of life. It doesn’t seem to be a matter of choosing Jesus one day and then rejecting Him the next, thus having one’s name blotted out of the book of life. However, there is a choice to stop believing in Jesus. It is interesting that children want to believe in Jesus. In fact, they have to be taught not to believe in Jesus. It is not so much that we make a choice that gets our name in His book; rather, it is that we make a choice that gets our name out of His book. I often hear from people, “One day I just stopped believing.” Unbelievers like to lay all blame at the feet of God and yet maintain their freedom to choose what they want. If someone has their name blotted out of the book of life, it is because they specifically wanted it erased. It is getting the desire of the heart. God will not go against the heart, and if the heart wants out, it can get out.

A prominent philosophy that is expounded is that of fatalism. Simply put, it teaches that life is meaningless since everyone ceases to exist, and man is powerless to change that. Therefore, if you are of a mind to, take everything that looks good to you, or just suicide out of the mess.

Solomon examines this approach in detail. In fatalism, choice is not an issue; as man travels toward nonexistence, what is chosen–good or bad–cannot be an issue. We ask ourselves the question, “Are there absolutes in life?” We concluded that there were two. Faith is an absolute. Every single person lives in faith, for it is impossible not to make some kind of statement that shows belief in something that cannot be seen. Second, fact is an absolute. Fact is not any individual’s perception because mankind, independently of one another, will observe the same thing. All men with functioning eyes have seen the sun. Therefore, the sun is not perception but fact. Consequently, there are two absolutes on the earth, faith and fact. Where faith and fact meet we will find truth.

A philosophical system that has only faith is as erroneous as one that only has fact. To simply say, “I believe,” is error. To simply say, “I have the facts,” is error. Truth can only exist where there are both. Hence, what one believes must be proven by the facts. Fatalism is error, for it believes that man ceases to exist. It dose not have the facts to prove it.

There is only one system wherein faith and fact meet perfectly. Actually, it is not a system, but a person: Jesus! In Him we see faith and fact flowing perfectly together to form The Truth! What we are asked to believe is proven in the facts of daily life. It isn’t right for someone to ask you to believe without facts or to walk in the facts without faith. When Jesus appeared to the five hundred, there was a perfect blending of faith, as they were awaiting Him, and fact, He was raised from the grave. In Christ these two absolutes merge, and we have the confidence that there is something beyond the grave.

It is believed by those who need to make a choice that they cannot. We believe that it is impossible in certain areas of our lives to choose to be different. Many simply believe that they are stuck with their obsessions, addictions, anger, self-righteousness and all the other deeds of the flesh.

They are like the person standing outside of their house in the snow, holding the key to the locked door, and screaming, “Would someone please let me in!” How can the believer be stuck, be locked out of victory, when they are the only one holding the key?

Let me illustrate. One man said to me, “I am addicted to porno!” At that, I responded, “I bet your family is sick of watching porno with you!” He replied, “Oh no, I never look at it around them!” My question is simple, how can he be addicted if he can choose when and where he watches the porno? How can a drug addict not be able to choose against the drugs when he chooses to purchase it and chooses to do it out of sight?

We hate to be confronted with this truth but we are doing exactly what we want, exactly what we choose to do! We are not unable to choose; we simply don’t want to choose the right thing. We are in unbelief and are constantly choosing. We have to pick between the words of Jesus and the voice of the flesh.

We CHOOSE the flesh. It is an inescapable fact. We are where we are today, all because of personal choice. Some will argue, “It wasn’t my choice to be molested, to have an alcoholic parent, to be emotionally and verbally abused, to be abandoned, to be unloved, and more.” All quite true and at first you reacted out of instinct. However, after maturing you have chosen what your reaction/lifestyle toward the event will be. After getting the proper information we may choose to remain victims, to not see God working, to blame others, to make those around us miserable, to make others pay, to live in self-hatred, to try to undo the past by duplicating it.

Two people have a common, horrific, event in their lives. Years later, one is sweet and the other sour. Why? We want to avoid the obvious, we want to give excuses but the fact is choice. One believed choice was greater than the past. The other did not.

“And behold, there arose a great storm in the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves; but He Himself was asleep.” Matt. 8:24

This night, I was thinking of two things. First, the story of the storm in Matthew 8. Jesus is asleep, the storm comes, the disciples are frightened, and they call on Him. Shouldn’t we always call on Him in a storm?

However, they call on Him and are rebuked. Why? Jesus had permitted the storm for their perfection. The process was interrupted by unbelief. Jesus stopped the storm, He did a miracle, and all that at their bidding. But it was not a positive. It is not a revelation of their greatness but their unbelief.

Instead of crying out for the storm to stop, they should have crawled next to Him and gone to sleep. They should have rested in the storm. The storm would not have touched them either way. The storm was not the issue; what the storm could perfect in them or expose in them was the issue.

It is interesting that in today’s Christianity calling on Jesus and forcing a miracle is proof of spirituality, but the opposite is true. You have a rebellious child. You are in a storm and you have a choice. Call on Jesus to stop it or lie down next to Him and rest. I know which one you will do!

The second thought was this. We have prayed to share in the power of the resurrection, the fellowship of His sufferings and to be like Him in His death. What is the fellowship of His sufferings? It is many things.

However, there is one thing that it must certainly be. If we are parents, we must have a child that refuses Him. That was His greatest suffering. All the created children of God, every one, to the last man, refused Him. We must share in it. We begin to see just how deeply He suffered. We begin to understand the gospel. We will share in all things, suffering, death, and the power. Suffering comes before the power. We don’t like what is happening, but we refuse to be taken out of it.

We must refuse to ask Him to quiet the storm before the storm has perfected us.

What does it mean to live for Jesus? That is a good question. I don’t sit here as someone who knows all the answers, but I can give you my own experience. I find that to live for Him is just simply enjoy Him. It’s not about what I do, or don’t do. He wants to simply enjoy me, and allow me to enjoy Him.

When God revealed to me that He was not interested in changing me, but all He wanted to do was love me, the response this generated in me was amazing. I have come to see that His love for me has absolutely NO agenda. 1 John 4:8 says that God is Love. Because I know that God is Love, then I can look to 1st Corinthians 13 where God tells me what Love is. God equals love, so: God is patient, God is kind, God is not envious, God is not self seeking. As I read through that list of what God is, I have to ask myself, “Is this the God that I know?” My answers are often, “No!” Now, at that point I have a choice. I can stick with my false idea of who God is, or I can take God at His word and believe what He says about Himself.

But for me to enjoy Him, I first must know Him. The more I know Him, the more I love Him. The more I love Him, the more I want to know Him.

“And Peter answered Him and said, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ And He said, ‘Come!’ And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me!’ And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’”
Matt. 14:28-31

Why did Peter assume that Jesus wanted him to walk on water? What made Peter think that he was to participate in the spectacular? Why is Peter making Jesus prove Himself?

Well, here is the awesome thing about choice; you can have what you want. If you want to be “like” Jesus, He will let you try. Jesus was already going to Peter. Why did Peter want to go to Him? What was in it for Peter? Let Jesus come to you; He has started the journey, and He will get to you.

In every other religion it is man going to God. But we know that Jesus comes to us, and if we break the order, we drown. No man has the power, system, or even the faith for the journey to Jesus, Who is the greatest. As the greatest, we cannot find Him. He must make the journey to us. Our doubt and lack of faith will always be revealed. I believe it is better to acknowledge our doubt, and little faith, and let Him come to us. He will find us; He found the disciples in the midst of the storm.

Your True Nature!

In the village next to the Niger River I had noticed a cage holding one lone, odd-looking eagle. All the basic features were there; the body, neck, and two-thirds of the wings were white. Yet the end of the wings and the head were black. I was told, “That is a white eagle.” You could understand my confusion, since it had black on its wings, and the head was completely black. Upon questioning I was told, “It is a young white eagle; as the bird grows, the white will push its way to the tip of the wings and beak. The mature bird will be completely white in the end.”

Again, all things created are preaching Jesus. The DNA of the bird dictates that it will be a white bird. As the bird grows, it expands into what it really is in fact: a white eagle. It doesn’t become a white eagle; it is a white eagle even when the black is on it. Growth and maturity will force out what does not belong to the very nature of the bird.

The head is where thoughts of the flesh hide in hopes of manifesting themselves. The black on the wings, our unbelief, is the only thing associating us with earthly living. Would it in any way be possible to stop the growth of this bird? No, but if it remains caged, the expression and exercise of its growth and maturity would not be seen.

This white eagle gives me hope. First, it will grow, and what it is will be revealed; it has no choice. Second, God will not keep it captive. There will be a mounting up in the fullness of time.

Imagine giving birth to a child if its actual growth was in your hands, being up to you to make it grow. Wouldn’t you be a nervous wreck? You can’t make a child grow, for that is God’s work. Likewise, you don’t make yourself grow spiritually! That is God’s work, a work that He has ordained by writing into your very DNA that you are a child of God. In the end, you cannot make one hair [one feather] black or white. Your “color” is the outgrowth of the new nature that He has given you. Christ’s life is written into your very nature.

By the way, eagles devour the serpent and are feared by all the other little creatures that sneak about.