BORN TO BE

   For a long, long time, I have been a student of human behavior in order to learn more about people.  In this quest to understand human behavior, I have sought to find the answers to three questions:
      1.  Why do we think the things we think?
      2.  Why do we speak the words we speak?
      3.  Why do we act the way we act?
   Each person is a unique creation on the face of the earth, but how many people actually live their lives in a unique way? 
   For example, how many people think the thoughts that others think, speak the words that others speak, and act the way others act?  In this way, people are not even true to themselves, for they are living their lives as others live simply because they do not think  for themselves, speak  for themselves, or behave  in their own way because they have fashioned their lives after the lives of others. 
   Who are they?  We do not know who they are for they  do not know who they are because they are actually an imposter  while the real person that they are is hidden.  Instead of letting themselves come out, they let others  come out through them, and therefore their life is a fake life because they are not living according to their own thoughts.  In truth, they have never become the person that they were born to be. 
      "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations."  (Jeremiah 1: 5)
   In this Bible verse, we can see that God chose Jeremiah to be a prophet even before Jeremiah was conceived in his mother's womb!  Obviously, Jeremiah thought as a prophet thinks, he spoke as a prophet speaks, he acted as a prophet acts, and therefore his behavior was that of a prophet. 
   This begs the question:  What were YOU born to be?  Have you ever thought about that?  Have you ever thought that God created in you a talent to do something just as He created Jeremiah to be a prophet?
   This talent in you is a gift of God.
   So then, what are you doing with your life, or are you living your life as others live?  Are their choices your choices?  Are their thoughts and ways your thoughts and ways?  Is the way they act the way you act?  Or, are you living your own life, thinking your own thoughts, speaking your own words, and behaving to be pleasing to God?  Or, are you living to please others?  If you are living to please others, then you will think their thoughts, speak their words, and act the way they act.
   Taken further, if you are living to a religion, then you are thinking the thoughts of religion, speaking the words of religion, and acting the way your religion wants you to act.  If this is true in your life, then you are a puppet dangling on a string to religion.  Because your religion owns your mind, it will own your life.
   Therefore, what were you born to be or born to do?  What is the talent that was created in you?  Or, is there something you do that comes natural and you do it effortlessly and without education or special training?  You may not think about how you do it because you just do it without thinking about how or why you do it.  Then that is the talent God placed in you.
   God created you for a reason and for a purpose, and He created in you a talent to be magnified in your life.  Therefore, what is your mission in life?
   Like Jeremiah, God knew you before you were in your mother's womb. And God knows you better than you know yourself. 
   If you are not sure of the person you were born to be, or the talent that God placed in you, then ask God your questions.
        "If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.  But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering:  for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed."  (James 1: 5-6)

I AM TELEVISION

   I am Television.  Watch me.
   Turn me on and I will rob you of your time without you knowing or believing that I am a thief.
   Turn me on and you will be mine for as long as your eyes and ears are on me.
   I know you like me because you tell all your friends about me, and often you will invite them to come to your home to watch me.
   I know you like me because you clean my face and adjust my voice. 
   I know you like me because you have more of me in every room, and out on the patio where you grill food and watch me, and even in your garage you have me to watch while you work on your car.
   Sometimes you will take me fishing with you on your boat, I am there for you in the hospital when you are sick, and I am there for you in the barbershop while they do your hair.  Everywhere you go, in fact, you will find me there for you.
   I am Television and I am everything you want me to be just for you.
   Not only do I have your eyes and ears, but I also have your mind.  And I know when you get home you just can't wait to turn me on. 
   Without me, what would you do? 
   I told you I am a thief and you don't believe me because you believe that I am everything that you believe is true.  But because I tell you the truth, you think I am trying to trick you to believe that I am a thief. 
   I am television, I am a thief, I rob you of time, and you will find no love in me.  But I know you love me because I am where you spend your time.

READING & WRITING

   Reading and writing are the two greatest skills people can learn.
   If people will learn to read, they can educate themselves and learn anything they want to learn.
   If people will learn to write, they can communicate with people when people are out of the range of their voice.
   By learning a language, people can learn to think in that language.  But if people do not know a language, how in the world would they think?  Isn't it true that we think in words and in sentences? 
   If people do not know how to read or how to write, they will always be dependent on others to tell them what to do and what to believe.
   For example, if people do not know how to read, they can be told the Bible is a lie and they will believe it. 
   At the same time, however, some people know how to read, yet when told the Bible is a lie, they will believe it because they are dependent on others to tell them what to do and what to believe; therefore, they will not read the Bible to make up their own minds because they are slaves to others who tell them what to believe.
   If people do not know how to read or write, how will they know the difference between truth and lies?  They will not  know because all they know is what they are told by others.
   Thus we can see that if people do not know how to read or write, they are easy targets for others to manipulate and control.  At the same time, when people are persuaded not to read the Bible, then they are also easy targets to manipulate and control.
   One such person to gain from learning to read and write was Abraham Lincoln.  Mr. Lincoln never went to school.  He was taught to read at home by his mother reading the Bible to him.  By learning to read, Mr. Lincoln educated himself.  By educating himself, he became a lawyer, a United States Senator, then he became President of the United States.
   If Mr. Lincoln had not learned how to read, he could have remained in the backwoods of Kentucky and the world would have never known his name.
   But by learning to read and followed by learning to write, Mr. Lincoln wrote one of the most important documents in the history of the United States, The Gettysburg Address.
   Please know, too, that the Bible is the greatest book ever written about the greatest story ever told.  Read it for yourself and make up your own mind.
  

THE SNAKE

   How often do people treat strangers better than they treat the people they know the best? 
   Does it also seem strange when the better some people get to know you, the less they want to know you better?
   A snake drew that line in the sand:  which side is he on?
   Relationships are built on a common ground, or a common interest.  When two people meet, they search for a common interest.  If they discover they have a common interest, they will continue to find even more common interests and the relationship will grow.  But if they find no common interest, they will part ways and move on.
   A snake is a strange creature.  He is a loner.  He does not want other snakes in his life.  The only time when a snake desires another snake is when he needs a female for procreation in order to produce more snakes.  But when his precreation is complete, he abandons the female and continues his loner life.
   Some people are like snakes.  They are loners.  They do not desire a common ground to get to know other people better.  His life is an island unto himself, for his only interest in his life is himself.  He avoids questions from others to get to know him better, for he does not want others to know him better.  He does not want others to know his secret life.  He will tell others about his education, his achievements, and he wants others to see his possessions, for all of this gives him an air of importance.  Other than that, he will remain silent, recoiling within himself, just like a snake, to protect his secret life.
   A snake will not talk about his inner-self:  how he feels or how he thinks.  He does not want others to know about his feelings, his fears, his anger, his jealousy and envy, his insecurity, or his failures.  He does not want others to know about his heartaches or heartbreaks.  These are things internal, which he guards and protects.  He will, however, talk about things external, such as the weather, cars, restaurants, sports, etc., for these are not a threat to his secret life. 
   Obviously, a snake has no interest in a common ground with others.  After all, why should he?  He has lived a secret life all of his life and he is not about to change.  To change would be a sign of humility, or weakness, but because the snake is proud  he wants others to believe that he is strong, or even a pillar of the community. 
   Obviously, too, a snake lives with a false image:  he wears a mask, for the image he presents is not the image he has of himself.  By choosing to live the life of a loner he avoids the risk of people knowing him better, or discovering that he is not as he presents himself to be.  Therefore his friendships with people are fake friendships.  Because of his power of deception, however, others will be charmed by his personality and led astray to believe that he is some kind of wonderful, which he wants them to believe.  Because he is too proud to admit that he is what he is, which is a snake, he will keep himself busy when he is alone to avoid thinking about other people:  for his thoughts are about himself and his world.
   Therefore being a fraud, everywhere the snake goes he deceives others to believe that he is not a snake.
   The greatest deception of Satan is found in the fact that he has the power to deceive people to believe that Satan is not a real living creature:  that Satan is only a myth. 
   Isn't it strange when people say the Bible is a myth they also say the same thing about Satan?
   Truthfully, if people are not followers of God they are followers of Satan because they have been deceived by the power of the snake.
   How easy it is, then, for people to be like snakes:  as they believe they can hide their secret identity from people, they will also believe they are hiding from God.
      "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:  Fear God, and keep his commandments:  for this is the whole duty of man:  For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."  (Ecclesiastes 12: 13-14)
   My friends, we are living in a world of snakes.  Therefore seek Christ and let Him help you in your life and He will fight your battle against the snakes.  That's all I have done and He has helped me to have a better life.
  
  

HOW WOULD YOU FEEL?

   In twenty-five words or less, what would you and your family do without Santa Claus and Easter Bunny at Christmas and at Easter?
   How would you feel if people came to your birthday party and gave presents to everybody but you?
   How would you feel if people came to your tomb once a year and placed their flowers at other graves?
   In less than one hundred years, Santa Claus and Easter Bunny have robbed people of the truth of Christ at Christmas and Christ at Easter.
   How quickly has a generation been turned away from truth all because of two animated creatures from the imaginations of men?
   Do you see the hidden danger of the imaginations of people?
   If we say we believe in the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ, does our behavior indicate that we have forgotten two of the most important days in the life of Christ?
   If we say this doesn't matter, this part about Santa Claus and Easter Bunny, how many children would weep if we should tell them that Santa Claus and Easter Bunny died?
   Would it be fair to say that we have taken the two most important days of the year and given these two days to ourselves?  After all, who gets the presents?  Who gets the toys?  Who gets the new cars and beach vacations?  Who gets the new shotguns, fishing rods, suits and dresses and candy?
   At Christmas, would it be fair to say that people prefer a reading of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas instead of the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the Bible?
   At Easter, would it be fair to say that people prefer singing Here Comes Peter Cottontail  rather that Up From the Grave He Arose?
   When wise men came to Jerusalem and stopped at King Herod's palace, they asked for directions to the house of Jesus:
       "And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him:  and when they had opened their treasures, they presented him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh."  (Matthew 2: 11)
   The house of Jesus is in Heaven today.  Has anybody ever asked you for directions?
   Or, how would you feel if your friends totally ignored you twice a year because they had forgotten the way to your house?
  
  

JESUS: the Preacher

   Jesus was an excellent teacher and preacher among people.
   Jesus was a quiet man, never seeking to draw attention to Himself. 
   Jesus did not major in showmanship.  He never raised His voice, never stomped or ran all over the place, and never wore a fancy suit or a priestly garment. 
   Jesus never asked people for their money and He never used His name to amass a personal fortune.
   Neither did Jesus create a religion that would become a financial empire with the power to rule over people and nations, which is a dictatorship.  Jesus never did that.
   When Jesus came out of Nazareth, the only possessions He had were the clothes on His back and the sandals on His feet, which He lost on the day He was crucified in Jerusalem.
   All Jesus did was preach about His Father in heaven and the love of God, in His quiet manner, and thousands of people believed in Him and became followers of His teaching, for there was something about Jesus that they liked.
   At the same time, there were other people who hated Jesus for talking about the love of God; for they knew if people followed Jesus, these men would lose their power over people.
   Strange, but doesn't that sound much like the world we live in today?  For all the teaching and preaching about Christ today, many people are exhibiting the same behavior as those people back in Jerusalem two thousand years ago.  For there is something about the name of Jesus that bothers  people.  At the same time, leaders of religion believe they will lose their congregations if the people rise up and follow Jesus.
   Jesus is Truth.  Jesus is the Light of the world.  Some people believe in the Light of Christ and become followers while others are blinded  by the Light and remain in darkness
   Even when Jesus was on the cross, He was still preaching while giving His life:  this time to two thieves.
   There was something about Jesus that was different two thousand years ago, and there is something about Jesus that is different today.  If people, therefore, will believe in Jesus, they will also become different.
   What can we say about Jesus, the Preacher?
       "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name that is above every name:  that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in the earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."  (Philippians 2: 9-11)

GOD IS MY FRIEND

   God is my friend and the way I get to know my friend better is to read the Bible.
   The Bible is the word of the Lord, or words from the mind of God.  God already knows my  words because He can read my mind.  But because I believe the Bible is the word of the Lord, I can read the mind of God by reading the Bible.
   In like manner, for you to know me better, then you must know the words of my mind; but if I do not tell you the words of my mind, then you will not know me better today than you knew me yesterday.
   On the other hand, if I want to know you better, then I must know the words of your mind; but if you do not desire for me to know you better, you will keep your words to yourself and I will not know you any better today than I knew you yesterday.
   If you say I am your friend, but if you do not want to know more about me today than yesterday, do you think you will know me better in the future? 
   Not likely.  Even though you will see me from time to time and for years to come, the only thing that will change about me will be my age, the clothes I wear, and my possessions; but to you, I am the same me you have known for a long, long time.  Even though you have had no interest in knowing me better for years, will you still say I am your friend?   You could say that, too, but because all you have ever known about me is my appearance in front of your eyes, and that, to be honest, is all you have ever wanted to know.  When I leave your presence, however, you will not miss me because I was never a friend; instead of being a friend, I am only a familiar acquaintance.  You can continue to say that I am your friend, however, but I will say you were never my friend because you never knew me better because you never wanted  to know me better.
   This is perhaps how most people gauge friendships:  from what they can see in front of their eyes---and not from what they can know from a person's heart.
   To say that God is my friend, if I ignore the Bible, however, I am also ignoring my friend.
   Jesus said,
     "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.  Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth:  but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.  Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you...."  (John 15: 14-16)
   So you can see that Jesus is also my friend, and I can know my friend better by reading words from His mind in the Bible.  But if I choose not to read about Him in the Bible, then I have also chosen to ignore my friend.
  In like manner, if you say I am your friend, yet you have chosen not to know me better after years of knowing me, then you have chosen to ignore me even when I am in your presence.
  God does not ignore me.  Christ does not ignore me.  Because I have faith in the Bible, my faith is therefore in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. 
   There is no friendship greater than the friendship of people with God, Creator of the universe!
  
  

A LIAR

   A liar's character is lying:  lying is what he does best.
   A liar is good at lying:  he has been doing it all of his life.
   A liar uses his personality to deceive people to believe that he is truthful.
   Sometimes a liar gets caught in a lie; sometimes not.
   If a liar gets caught in a lie, he will tell another lie to defend his first lie.  If his deception is successful again, he will get away with another lie; but if he is caught in the lie, he will act as if he is remorseful to avoid penalty.
   Getting caught in a lie will not stop the liar from continuing to lie, however, because lying is his character, and he will return to that which he does best.  Since lying works for him, he keeps lying.
   A liar is a good actor, a good pretender, and a good hypocrite:  for he is all three in one.
   A liar is a deceiver in that he wants others to believe that he is the person he is pretending to be.
   A liar does not want to talk about his inner-self---his thoughts, his feeling and emotions---because he does not want others to know what he thinks about; neither does he want others to know how he feels about anything.
   A liar is a master of deception and he will operate through multiple personalities to accomplish his will---speaking like a child to children; speaking like an adult in the presence of adults.
   A liar is silent and sneaky, like a snake, and he can be loud and roaring, like a lion.
   A liar likes for people to like him, and therefore, at times, he can be charming and cute.
   Above all else, a liar is proud.  Above all else, he is proud of himself:  proud of his education, his achievements, his possessions, and his money. 
   Because he is proud, a liar will never admit his faults, mistakes, errors, sins, because a liar believes that he is never wrong about anything.  If questioned or challenged, he will get angry and roar like a lion.
   A liar lives in a false identity, such as a secret agent, because his entire life is a work of secrecy.
   Who is this person with a false identity?  Who is this person behind the mask?
   Jesus said,
      "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do:  he was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own:  for he is a liar, and the father of it."  (John 8: 44)
   Because we can believe in the words of Christ, we can also believe that a liar is a child of the devil; for a child of the devil will never speak for Christ---unless he uses the name of Jesus to get money because money is important to a liar.
   Remember Judas Iscariot?  He traded his soul for a bag of money.
   A liar is therefore trading his soul to walk with the devil, for he is doing as his father does:  lying.
  
  
  
  
 
  
  

THE DANGER OF IMAGINATION

     More people believe in religion more than they believe in any other institution on the face of the earth, and more people give money to religion than they give to any other institution, making religion the wealthiest institution in history:  to the tune of billions of dollars in the form of cash, silver and gold, real estate and property acquisitions, and interest on investments---making religion the greatest get-rich scheme ever invented from the imaginations of men.
   As stated previously and many times, religion is not real, but is only imagined  to be real in the minds of people because of the power of deception.
   Every religion is different, with different gods and goddesses, yet every religion accomplishes the same goal:  to deceive people from knowing God!
   For man's ultimate goal is to be a god and to be in control of his life apart from God---so much, in fact, that man created his own religions and appointed men to act like gods:  misleading people to believe that they have the power to prepare people for life after death, which only robs them of their souls.
   This system has had great success for more than six thousand years, and this system is still highly successful today---tricking poor people with little educations as well as tricking wealthy people with college educations.
   Apart from the knowledge of God, people will believe just about anything they are told to believe because of the power that abides in deception.
   Who, then, sits at the head of an organization that has so much power over people?
   It is certainly not God  because God is not a deceiver.
   Deception begins with the story of fairytales!
   For example, if people in churches do not know the Bible, how will they know if the minister or priest in the pulpit is telling them truth? 
   They will not  know. 
   Because their faith is in the person in the pulpit, they will also believe in his words; and since their faith is in him instead of in God, they will not know the difference between his words and God's words because they have no  faith in the Holy Bible.  If he tells them the story of Adam and Eve is a myth, or a fairytale, they will believe him because their faith is in him and not in God; whereas, if their faith was in God, then they would know that God does not tell fairytales in the Bible!      
   Therefore, since they believe in the minister or priest, they will keep the fairytale in their imaginations and keep believing it, and thereby continuing to be deceived.
   The greatest danger of imagination is found in the truth that fairytales can keep us from knowing God because our faith is now in the fairytales. 
   The life of Jesus Christ is not a fairytale, and the Bible is our only source of truth about Christ.  But if people have no faith in the Bible, then they will continue to believe in fairytales, just as they will continue to believe in their ministers and priests. 
   "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."  (Hebrews 11: 1)
   Where, then, is your faith?  Is your faith in Christ, or is your faith in the words of men or in fairytales? 
  
  

CHILDISH WAYS

   "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child:  but when I became a man, I put away childish things."  (1st Corinthians 13: 11)
   Religion is a childish thing because religion is the place for children of all ages.
   Religion does not want children to grow up, to become adults, to think for themselves, nor to make decisions for themselves because religion wants children to remain children all the days of their lives.
   Religion wants children to remain obedient to ministers and priests, obedient to the laws, rules, and regulations, as well as obedient to the rites and rituals.
   Religion wants children to do as they are told to do and to live as they are told to live.
   Religion wants children to sit on the pews, open their mouths and say "Ahhh" and be fed by the ministers and priests.  They are not to feed themselves.
   Religion wants children to get in line, to receive their reward for being obedient, such as a piece of bread and a sip of juice, then to run along home and be good boys and girls.
   Religion then wants the children to return to the building, to take their place on the pews, and to once again open their mouths, say "Ahhh" and be fed again by their ministers and priests.
  Religion does not want children to become ministers of Christ, or ministers of the Gospel of Christ, but to become ministers of religion:  but to speak for the religion because, to them, the religion is above Christ and thereby the ultimate authority in their lives.
   Religion wants children to remain obedient to the religion and not to Christ.
   Religion does not want its children to read the Bible, but to remain obedient to their books written by men.
   When people come to Christ, however, something happens:  they become adults.  They stop living and acting like children.  They begin to think for themselves.  They begin to make their own decisions.  Christ allows us to do this because the Lord is not a dictator.  The Lord is our Great Shepherd.  Where He leads us we will follow, whereas religion drives people like cattle to the slaughter.
      "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:  old things pass away; behold, all things are become new."  (2nd Corinthians 5: 17)
   Obviously, if you want old things to pass away and all things to become new, give Christ a chance!


  

GOD? WHICH ONE?

   The word "God" is subjective.  "God" to some people is not necessarily the same "God" of all people. 
   For example, the "God" of Hinduism is not the same "God" of Buddhism.
   Because religions are inventions from the imaginations of men, the "Gods" of all religions are also inventions from the imaginations of men.
   "Gods" of religions are all different, however, and there is not one "God" that is the "God" of all "Gods" since all of them are gods of imagination.
   If we ask people if they believe in God and they say yes, perhaps we should ask, "Which one?", or, "What is his name?", or "Tell me about him."
   To believe in God of the Bible, people must believe in the Bible.  But if people do not believe in the Bible, neither will they believe in God of the Bible.  So then, which "God" do they believe outside of the Bible?
   Moreover, if people in Christian churches or Christian religions do not believe in the Bible, neither will they believe in God of the Bible.  So then, which "God" do they believe?  At the same time, why should they believe in Christ when Christ is written in the same Bible that they have chosen to reject?
   If the Bible is divided in Christianity, is God also divided?  And what about Christ?  Do we divide Him with a part for Protestants, with a part for Catholics, and with a part for Mormons?
   Pontius Pilate said, "What shall I do then with Jesus, which is called Christ?"  (Matthew 27: 22)
   The question we should ask at this time is:  Which Jesus do people want Him to be?  Which Jesus do people want to believe?  Should Jesus be the same Jesus for Protestants, Catholics, and Mormons?
   Keep in mind:  without the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the New Testament of the Bible would have never been written.  What are we going to do about that?  Do we rip the New Testament out of the Bible?  If we disregard the New Testament, because it is in the Bible, are we saying that the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus never happened?
   Perhaps we should ask, is it possible, just possible, that people have their faith in Protestantism, Catholicism, and Mormonism instead of having their faith in Christ?  If this is true, then what do they need the Bible for?  If they remove the Bible, can they still have Protestantism, Catholicism, and Mormonism because their faith is not in Christ?  Of course.  If they do not believe the Bible now, why do they need it?
   In two thousand years, have people successfully converted Christ to religions?  Instead of people believing in Christ by simple faith, have people deceived people to believe they must first believe in a religion to get to God?  If so, then they must answer the same question of Pontius Pilate:  What will they do with Jesus, which is called Christ?
  The Bible is very clear:
      "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus."  (1st Timothy 2: 5)
   Do you believe that?

THE AMAZING POWER OF TRUTH

   Jesus said,
       "If ye continue in my word, ye are my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make ye free."  (John 8: 31-32)
   How, then, shall we become disciples of Christ?  "If ye continue in my word,"  according to the Lord. 
   If we do not continue in the words of the Lord, then it is impossible  to become disciples of Christ:  at which time it will also be impossible  to know the truth and to be set free.
   I am learning that not everybody is interested in knowing truth for the simple reason that they want to believe that they cannot be wrong. Because they do not want to be wrong, they find the truth to be bothersome, from which they will turn away and continue to believe in their own words, or they will continue to believe in the words of others:  for the words of the Lord have no value in their lives.
   Judas Iscariot went to church with Jesus for more than three years, then traded his soul for a bag of money.  Because he valued the money more than his soul, he ceased to be a disciple of Christ because he refused to "continue in my word"  as Jesus had said.  Obviously, Judas was not set free because Judas had no interest in truth.
   How many people, like Judas Iscariot, cling to a bag that has more value to them than own souls?  That is of more value to them than the value of Christ?
   How many people, like Judas Iscariot, go to church with Jesus?  Yet, how many of them never read, never study, and never believe in the Bible?  How many of them are not disciples of Christ because they will not "continue in my word"?  And how many of them will not "know the truth" and be set free?   How many of them cling to a bag whose content is of more value than their own souls?
   How many people, like Judas Iscariot, just go to church, but have no intention of following Christ?  For if they believed in the Lord, they would speak for the Lord; but because they never speak for Christ, this indicates that their hearts are in the content of the bag.  There is something in the bag that they refuse let go.  There is something in the bag that they cling to.  What is in the bag?  Only they can answer this question.
   Jesus also said,
      "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?  Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"  (Mark 8: 36-37)
   The words of Christ are truth; and the words of this world are the words of this world and nothing more.  The words of this world have no eternal value; but the words of Christ will last forever.
  

THE AMAZING POWER OF WORDS

   Writing is speaking words on paper.
   Not only that, but your invisible voice travels with your words to a written format, and, as people read your written words, they will also hear your voice speaking to them the words you have written on paper.
   Your words, therefore, have power.  Your written words are the same as the spoken words that come out of your mouth.
   Obviously, if you are not able to come to see me to talk to me, then talk to me by writing a letter to me in your own words.  And if I am unable to come to you to give you my answer, then I can write a letter to you in my own words and that is same as me being in your presence.
   For example, you do not need to be in my presence to speak to me.  You can speak to me in your written words which is the same as speaking to me in my presence.
   This truth could not be more clear than the written words of the Bible, for these are the words of God, spoken from the heart of God to the writers who have been chosen to write for Him.  For the writers of the Bible do not speak about themselves; they are God's journalists. 
   Therefore, when you read the words of the Bible, and listen carefully, you will hear the voice of God speaking those words to you.
   When you read the words of Jesus speaking in the New Testament, you will hear the voice of the Lord speaking those words to you.
   When I receive a letter from a friend, I hear my friend's voice speaking to me.
   When I receive a letter from my sister, I hear my sister's voice speaking to me.
   When I receive a note from my wife, I hear my wife's voice speaking to me.
   In your own words, no matter if you speak or if you write, you have the power to build people up as well as the power to tear people down because your words will go forth and accomplish the intent of your heart.
   Your words have power.  Be careful how you use them. 
   In closing, when you read the words of the Bible that is the same as hearing those words spoken from the mouth of God in heaven, which is the same as the Lord being in your presence and face to face. 
   The amazing power of words:  only God could think of this because this is beyond the power of human thinking.
     

PRAYER

   "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)
   Prayer is the pipeline, or the communication channel, to God; and the best way to communicate with God is to find a quiet place, be still, and stop talking.  Now is the time to listen. 
   Since I have been writing the 7th Highway, for example, I have always sought God for each and every story that I have written.  In so doing, I will tell you that it is God who taught me the difference between God and religion.  I did not learn this by myself.  And I will also tell you that it is God who has taught me about the power of human imagination.  I did not learn this by myself. 
   As a result, the door of the 7th Highway swings on two hinges:  1) the separation of God and religion, and (2) the power of human imagination.  For these are the two topics that I have written about the most for five and a half years. 
   When I began writing the 7th Highway, I was not looking for this to happen.  All I knew at that time was that I wanted to write about God, about Christ, and about the Bible.  And all of this knowledge that God has shared with me began when I began to pray:  when I chose to remain silent and let God do the talking.
   God's ways are silent ways, and God's ways are amazing ways. 
   If people, therefore, will submit their minds to God in silence, they will experience the amazing ways of God.
   Today, this is all I can tell you about prayer.  But if you are serious about God, then seek Him in prayer.  Be silent, listen, and when you ask in the name of Jesus, be prepared to experience some amazing things to happen in your life. 
   This is your life, my friend, and nobody knows you better than God. 

A CLONE OF RELIGION

   The human brain is born without knowledge.
   Who began to fill your brain with knowledge?
   Who, for example, began to fill your brain with the knowledge of religion?
   How do you feel about having this decision made for you and to know that their religion is your religion---built in your brain by others and without your permission?
   How does it feel to be a clone of religion?
   Do not be deceived:  for the knowledge of religion is not the same as the knowledge of God.
   The knowledge of God begins with God, but the knowledge of religion begins with man.
      "In the beginning,
          God created the heaven and the earth."  (Genesis 1: 1)
   In the beginning, God did not create religion because religion was created out of the imaginations of men.
  

SPORTS & RELIGION

   Professional sports is all about money.  The games, the wins, and the championships do not matter, for these are illusions  they use to get fans hooked to get their money.
   Religion also uses illusions  to get people hooked to get their money.
   Sports teams and religions are rich and stay rich because of the power of illusion:  none of it is real, but it looks real in the eyes of the fans and in the eyes of the congregations of religion.  They believe it is real and therefore they keep giving their money.  They have been deceived and they have been tricked.
   But if the money of professional sports and religions disappeared, the teams and the religions would collapse and fall because they operate under the power of money. 
   The only difference, however, between professional sports teams and religion is found in the fact that religion gets their souls.
      "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of this world, and not after Christ."  (Colossians 2: 8)

WILL A MAN ROB GOD?

   Is Jesus Christ real in your life, or is He no more than an image of your imagination?
   We must admit that Santa Claus and Easter Bunny have great power. 
   Created in the 20th century, these two animated characters have accomplished everything they were invented and sent forth to do:   to rob Christ of His glory---
         To rob Christ of the glory of His birth
             as well as to rob Christ of the glory of His resurrection.
   In the minds of little children, adults have done an excellent job of teaching them to believe in Santa Claus and Easter Bunny---while ignoring the teaching of Christ.
   To be honest,
       Do you know more about Santa Claus than you know about Christ?
       Do you know more about Easter Bunny than you know about Christ?
   If this is true (and if you will be honest) would it be fair to say that Christ is a stranger to you?  That He is a stranger because you have never met Him?  Because you have never met Him you have no desire to know Him better?  Because Christ is not real to you, is this why you have never told your children about Him?  After all, what would you tell your children about a stranger?
  Is it also possible that the same people who taught you about Santa Claus and Easter Bunny are the same people who taught you about Christ?  And because Santa Claus and Easter are images in your imagination, would it be fair to say that Christ is also no more than an image in your imagination?
      "Will a man rob God?"  (Malachi 3: 8)
   To answer the question, yes, a man will rob God.
   As long as people devote their attention and affection to Santa Claus and Easter Bunny, instead of Christ, they will not devote their attention and affection to Christ, for Christ, to them, is an image and not real.  For in their minds they see three images:  Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, Christ.
   In so doing, they will rob Christ of the glory of His birth as well as rob Christ of the glory of His resurrection.

STUCK ON YOU

   Are you living the life you want to live for the rest of your life?
   Chances are, you are trying to live the dream you have imagined your life to be.
   If this is your dream, you will dream no more.
   If this is your dream, you have closed the door to an endless list of possibilities of the life you could live, an endless list of things you could do, and an endless list to the person you could become that is greater than you are today.
   In five years, you will still be dreaming the same dream you are dreaming today.
   In five years, you will still be believing the same things you believe today.
   In five years, you will still be doing the same things you are doing today.
   If this is your dream, all you are doing is watching the sun go up and watching the sun go down.
   If this is your dream, all you are doing is waiting for things to happen because you will never make things happen.
   If this is your dream, then you are stuck on you.  You are a prisoner in your own mind, shackled to a dream that leads to nowhere but to yesterday.  You are thereby stuck in yesterday's news, yesterday's blues, and yesterday's views.  The things that thrill you today will be the same things that thrilled you yesterday. 
   If this is your dream, nothing has changed since yesterday:  and nothing never will!
   Tomorrow morning, you will awake to begin a new day.  But tomorrow will not be a new day for you because you lived it yesterday.
   But what about faith, you ask.
   What about it?
   Faith is for the future, not for yesterday. 
   To have faith in God for the future, you must come out of your imagination, for it is there where you are stuck on you and still dreaming the endless dream of yesterday.
      "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."  (Hebrews 11: 1)
  

UNTIL THEN

   The Bible is the most important document the world has ever known, yet only a remnant of people on the earth today read it and believe it.
   But if people will read and believe the Bible, they will come to know God for the first time.
   Until then, Christ will be no more than a stranger they have heard about---and of less value than Santa Claus and Easter Bunny.
      "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.  Amen."  (John 21: 25)

CHARACTER

   Character is not built in the arenas of life.  Character is an inside job, built by ourselves.
   If a golfer, for example, never changes, his game will never improve; and the most he will accomplish will be no more than a hitter of golf balls because the arena of golf will not change his character.
   If a church member refuses to change, he will do no more than he is doing now because the arena of church will not change his character.
   If a person lies and cheats in life, he will lie and cheat in golf because his character remains the same; and if he lies and cheats in life, just as he lies and cheats in golf, he will also lie and cheat in church because his character remains the same.
   Thus we can see:  just because a person moves from arena to arena, his character will remain the same until he chooses to change himself on the inside.  Until then, no real change is possible.
   Jesus said,
      "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."  (John 3: 3)
   And again,
      "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven."  (John 3: 5)
   Therefore, the born again experience of the believer in Christ must be internalized by the believer.  It is a change that will be produced on the inside of people, not on the outside.  It is a change that will be wrought by Christ, and not by ourselves.  It is a work that we are incapable of doing, and it will only happen when people submit their minds and their hearts to Christ and Christ alone.
      "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:  it is the gift of God:  not of works, lest any man should boast."  (Ephesians 2: 8, 9)
   Knowing, then, that the Word of the Lord is true, we should be able to believe that it is impossible for people to permanently change their character by themselves, for this change must be produced from heaven above, and which they must be willing to accept.
      "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:  old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."  (2nd Corinthians 5: 17)

COOKIE-CUTTER CHRISTIANITY

   Would it be fair to say that we have manufactured churches to be exactly as we want them to be and to be no more?
   We have carpet floors, padded pews, and padded kneelers, and we like that.
   We have statues and statuettes, portraits and pictures, and we like that.
   We have dangling chandeliers and candles that glow, and we like that.
   We have golden vessels on communion tables that reflect the light, and we like that.
   We have heating and air-conditioning systems, for our comfort and pleasure, and we like that.
   We have musical programs designed to fit, on time and on cue, and we like that.
   We have ministers and pastors, dressed in fancy suits and priestly garments, and we like that.
   We have tidy little messages wrapped in tidy little bows, and we like that.
   We add a word of fun, a spark of laughter, to sermon and song, and we like that.
   We like to repeat the words we have been taught to repeat, in unison and harmony, and we like that.
   We like to be in and out in sixty minutes, and we like that.
   After that, we like to drive our fancy cars to our fancy houses, turn on our fancy televisions, and watch our fancy sports teams delight our souls.
   If the pulpit is supposed to be the place where the Bible is taught and preached, where is the Bible in churches today?  Where does the Bible rank from the pulpit to the pews?
   Is there really much difference in churches across America today?
   Does any church across America stand up and stand out as different from all the rest?
   If people in churches believe the story of Adam and Eve in the Bible is a myth, what message does this send to people outside churches from those within who say they are believers in Christ?
   Have we reached the age of Cookie-Cutter Christianity?
   Have we reached the age when every church looks like every other church all in a row?
   Have we reached the age when the behaviors of the people outside church buildings are no different than when they are on the inside?
   Have we reached the age when the behaviors of people inside church buildings are no different than all the people gathered together in the same congregation and under the same roof?
   Have we reached the age when people in churches are simply not interested in evangelism?
   When was the last time you prayed for Christ to save the soul of one person?