THE REASON FOR MOST CHURCH DIVISIONS

Job, chapter 40, speaks so powerfully of the wickedness of pride. It is significant that this powerful failure was in Job, a religious pride that he did not see. The whole of the book of Job is to bring us to the realization that we can live for God under our own power and understanding and not know it. It speaks of the agonizing process by which God reveals to Job that he lived, unbeknownst to him, in a very powerful form of pride. A pride that kept God from revealing Himself to an entire culture. All looked to Job. He stood strong in what was right. The society around him was tied to his self-righteousness. As Job was brought down, the culture went down with him. This is proof his walk was not with God. Every leader must go through this process of letting God refine their heart and motivation. For some, they are changed more easily than others. For myself, it has not been easy.

It is significant that God's stern warnings about pride immediately lead to the BEHEMOTH. The behemoth is really BIG! It is the picture of a huge, immovable creature. It stands in the river. Verse 40:23 says,” When the river rages, he is not alarmed. He is secure, though the Jordan should surge against his mouth.”

There are two things here. Our son lives by a river. It overflowed, and we had to put sandbags around the house. It is a terrifying thing to see the power of a surging river. The behemoth opens its mouth presumably to casually drink in the surge that would drown any animal. Secondly, why the Jordan River? It is the most significant river in the bible. Joshua 3 tells it all. “The Israelites miraculously crossed the flooded Jordon River. Led by priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant, the water stopped flowing, allowing them to cross on dry ground. This event, occurring near Jericho, marked the end of their wilderness and a transition into Canaan.”

Let's look at what we have here. The Jordan River represents a “transition” river. Passing the Jordan represents a transition to greater revelation of the Kingdom of God. It is to be a miracle passing that can only happen as we live in Jesus Christ. The Revelation, bringing a greater understanding of God and His church, is greater than the rivers of struggle as we are transitioned from one glory to another. BUT there is a huge problem, the Behemoth is in the way and will not let us pass. So huge that we cannot circumvent him. We are blocked!

Who might a Behemoth symbolize? It could be a stubborn, unapproachable father, strict without wisdom, causing the children to rebel. It could be a boss with an autocratic attitude whose domination repels any discussion. Yes, but we are talking church. Oh no, not the church!

Remember, the Behemoth stands in the river, blocking the way. It is not the most sensitive creature. He is blocking the passage. He must be in charge. He surrounds himself with people he can control. Yes, it is easier to control people than lead them. He stands in turbid water; he is the Behemoth, and he is not going to move. I am talking about church leadership, but not solely about it. The leader may lead, but the people in the church are resistant. Many wonderful men and women leaders with a heart for moving on in the adventure of flowing with the Holy Spirit are blocked by people. There is pain in change; not all will embrace it.

LEVIATHAN

Then there is the monster of all monsters, the LEVIATHAN. This is the most powerful creature of the bible. Let's look at him for a moment. He is depicted as a huge, powerful creature. He is a multiheaded, twisted sea serpent or dragon. He symbolizes chaos, demonic forces that oppose God and his people. He is none other than the Great Destroyer. What I want to emphasize is his multiple heads and his twisting nature. He has the ability to twist the truth. He is like the one who came to Adam and Eve in the garden with the words,” Did God really say that?” He is, for lack of a better word, the dark shape-shifter of the underworld.

There are reasons why divisions stand, but in my view, there is a main one. First, let's look at the ideal. If a pastor has embraced the fact that he is the father of the church, he would rejoice when folks in his congregation surpass him in understanding. He would be overjoyed that, in his love and teaching, they have gone beyond him. Because of his faith and heart, the people crossed the river without being swept away. This represents the supernatural life. We need the supernatural life and leaders who want the miraculous. Without it, there is no adventure, and the church dries up. They see a river that cannot be passed. But the joy the pastor has in seeing his people on the other side, in a place of much greater peace and rest. All heaven, which has assisted such a leader, rejoices.

Now, let's look at the reason most churches divide. People come into the church, and they grow to a place where their hearts and emotions crave more. But there is one obstacle, the leader. I was taught in bible college that we are to find all the leadership strength inside and lead from that premise. Boy, did they miss it. It is the opposite. In our weakness, God's strength grows in us. If you are the leader, you must be the weakest; it is here that the greatest resides. The Holy Spirit does not accept the wisdom of leaders who rely solely on past proven abilities. It is totally different than the philosophies both religious and secular have formed us to be. When we see strong people leading with self-made attributes that others like me do not have, we feel diminished in life. BUT, in weaknesses, we are all the same. God is so wise, what a Father. The apostle Paul said, "If I am boastful, I will boast about my weakness. God's strength is manifested in my weakness.” Yes, God is strongest in our weakness. This is easy to say, but living in this place is another story; it is the story of Job.

YOU SHALL NOT PASS

There is nothing more discouraging than growing in the Lord, and blocking the way is the BEHEMOTH. His/her presence is a negative force that says, “You shall not pass.” There are people who are really hungry for more. They are growing but are hindered. Sometimes it is leaders who will not even allow a different discussion on scripture or church protocol. Some denominations say you must attend their college and earn a credential before you are allowed to serve in a significant ministry. Some put restrictions on people who have been divorced, even before coming to Christ, and some put restrictions on women. There are many more examples I could add. This is extremely discouraging to those who are visionary or deep bible students carrying no credentials from a religious institution. Here is the trap set up by the Behemoth and Leviathan. It is brilliant. These folks, blocked from foraging on in faith and ministry, get angry and frustrated. The leader's attitude is, “It is my way or the highway.” These people have put years into this church, as well as a lot of money in tithes and offerings, only to reach a certain level of maturity and hit a dead end. This can be devastating. How bad can it be? The Bible says, “hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12. “The human spirit can endure sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?” Few things crush a person as being hurt in the church.

Guess who is waiting outside in the water, hiding in the reeds, waiting like an alligator wanting to deceive, hurt, and disgruntle believers. It is he, the greatest of all charlatans, the one with several faces (heads). The twister of truths, the angel of light, the wolf in sheep's clothing, the Leviathan. The stubbornness of the Behemoth/leaders has brought out something in the people that has always been inside them. We come to the grace of God with inner attitudes that need to be pastored out. It is a wonderful leader who seeks the love and wisdom of God to free people from hurt, rejection, anger and other troublesome inner issues. The Behemoth lacks the sensitivity and wisdom to free people. When folks who are hungry for more of God are cruelly blocked, these inner issues surface. With incredible dark wisdom and false compassion, Leviathan enters the stage. The trap is set for the destruction of God’s church. He knows that if the church is aligned with God, it means there will be a force on earth more powerful than he.

JUST START A NEW CHURCH

A slithering face of concern coils around the neck of those whose adventure in God has been blocked in hurtful ways and says the most devastating: "Why don’t you just start another church? It is Leviathan, and these people are now its prey. You have something inside he can manipulate: anger, discouragement, and rejection. It is repeated in history over and over; we, the church, blind in itself, have gone down the same roads of destruction for centuries. Many denominations, perhaps not all, have their roots in unresolved conflict. What does a Baptist on one corner, a Methodist on another, a Catholic and a Pentecostal filling in the other two corners tell you? All are saying Come in and meet Jesus. They have no communication or relationship with one another. Just think for a moment how this is interpreted by the world, yet we seem to be impervious to that thought. “Come to Jesus at our four corners.” Jesus has four parts divided among four churches, which flavour would you prefer? This Leviathan's work is in plain sight. We, the church, are content with this. His way is always to divide and conquer, and he has been very successful. He has outwitted the church, God’s expression on the earth. We have not realized how futile the church's witness to the world has been. I must say here, things are changing. It is in the working of the Holy Spirit in the church to crush this old serpent under our feet.

STAY UNTIL YOU ARE BROKEN

Ouch, this is going to hurt. You will never be schooled or prepared for leadership more than when you are under a Behemoth. You will become wiser, more effective, and more trustworthy, and you will enter a better home life with far less religious conflict and struggle. Most of all, you will have God's stamp of approval and the power of the Holy Spirit eagerly working in all you do.

There is a saying that my wife knows is true, but does not like it, even though she wisely embraces it.”IF SOMETHING GETS TO YOU, THERE MUST BE SOMETHING IN YOU TO BE GOT.” I do not know how many times God turned the tables on me. “Look at that God. What they did bothers me so much that I stay awake at night thinking about it!” He has always said, “Forget about them or the things others do, why are you losing your peace over it? Let's deal with what is rising up in you.”

Here is the crunch. Mathew 21:44. “Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but those on whom the stone itself falls will be crushed.” Some translations say they will be ground into powder. Wow, this is heavy. Everyone must be broken from their own selfish, prideful ways. Jesus will help us. He is not just an example; in His inner tutelage, He helps us. My pride must fall upon Him. He is the Rock of Truth, and out of the brokenness, we enter into more inner release, we become more at peace with ourselves and others. The process is not pleasant, but those who will give themselves to it find out it is worth every bit of pain and anxiety. Resisting this process, which is within our willpower, will crumble us into dust. Truth will fall on us and crush us. You just can’t circumvent Truth. Sometimes, we are blind and fight the process that sets us free. The Truth is, finally, in a situation you realize you were wrong. This humbles you. You get back up and submit to the Truth you fought. This is falling on the rock (Truth) and being broken. You are in good hands with the Lord, and He will joyfully restore you to be better than before you were broken. Now, what does it mean if we resist change? The analogy really gets frightening. Broken pieces can be put back together; when stone is crushed to powder, it cannot. Stubbornly resisting Truth, fighting change, resisting all the grace and mercy of God to change, you can bring yourself to a fearful place. Deception is the thing in all of us that needs change. Only God is “Complete Truth,” we are not. We are only growing in that direction; we must continue to change from what we were. Could it be that one who resists the Truth and refuses to be broken and restored be crushed to a powder not by God but by their own resistance, and the result is they cannot be put back into any form?

Staying under a Behemoth is not pleasant, but neither is your reaction brought out because of him/her. Let Jesus help you with your reaction and attitudes. Use this opportunity to be free. You can come out of this as a wonderful spiritual father or mother in the Lord, even a wonderful pastor or any form of leadership in the church or in the world. The truth is, we all have some form of Behemoth. Any area of our life that we will not change will be a Behemoth to someone. Let the church leader standing in your way reveal your own heart so God can heal you.

THE FEAR OF THE LORD

If you are a Behemoth-type of leader in the days we are in, it is time to change. If members of your church are growing in Christ and want more freedom and even responsibility, you must hear them out. Maybe it is to preach or prophecy, to pray for others, to have home groups or some facsimile of group activities. To do things for God with excitement, seeing a future of some form of adventure and the inner expansion of the Spirit of God through activity, is essential. Sadly, some are in a denomination that requires credentials; perhaps you, as the father of your flock, must take up the challenge to change the status quo or make other drastic decisions. Remember, God is looking to see if you put your sheep/His sheep before yourself.

If you are standing in the way of your people's spiritual adventures, you are a Behemoth and at enmity against God. This is not a good place to be in. If there is no adventure of faith in the church, many will end up back in the world. Often, the church has called them backsliders, but in many cases, it is the church itself that has backslidden. Jesus said, Mark 7:13 “You nullify the word of God by your traditions that you have handed down.” Clearly, you cannot put new wine in an old wineskin. Many church members don’t want to know that what was done in their time wasn't meant to last forever. Sometimes, pastors must deal with church members who are settled in the old ways and are blocking God's movement. This is one Behemoth; the other is the leader, resistant to dealing with those who cling to empty old wine skins. The spirit of control that a leader must deal with in the church is a big deal. Pastors rise and fall on whether they will have the courage to deal with it. This scenario really messes up new believers. Good leaders must have the courage to bring the church from the establishment of the church by leaders involved in a past movement, but who will not accept the new. I cannot say this enough: if the church does not meet the needs of Love, joy, fun, laughter, and, most of all, the sense of family, there is major dysfunction covered up by dead religion, and someone is responsible. I do not want to belabour this, but perhaps it is most important. People are coming in from a broken world, and much of its dysfunction is because the church has been fractured and not willing to rectify the results of Behemoth sending the church to Leviathan. We must take a good, hard look at how the world sees us. A very old and wise theologian has said,” The only way darkness can grow in the world is when the church has lost its light.”

BEHEMOTH BONDS

This is difficult for what I am about to say. When Behemoth-type leaders get together, there is the danger of creating one of the most serious and influential bonds in the body of Christ. This is the kind of agreement that often starts new denominations not sanctioned by the Lord, or keeps old ones in an old, unchangeable wineskin, impermeable to change. I came to the Lord in 1972, and I was almost 20 years old. I was a part of the Jesus People Movement. At 25, I attended a Bible College and graduated. I am an old man now, having been with the Lord for 54 years. I am not one with an axe to grind. I have made just as many mistakes as anyone, perhaps even more. When I meet the Lord, I want the totality of my heart to be won before this meeting. So there is fear of the Lord in me as I say what I am saying. Many pastors do not become close friends with folk in the church, but do with other pastors. We were taught this was the way it should be in bible college. This is another very damaging way to lead the people. I have found that many ministers have little in the way of friendship or trust with members of the congregation, in any significant or intimate way. This is not found in the ministry of Paul or, certainly, in that of Jesus. There was a far more intimate, yet holy, relationship between Jesus and the women who ministered to him than with the disciples. Jesus even had favourites. We were told in school that this was not wise, yet He had the twelve, then had the three closer than the other nine, and then there was the one the Bible says Jesus loved, John. I am not saying that leaders dissociate from other leaders and remain only within the confines of the local church; on the contrary, it is important to maintain associations. This is one important way for churches to come together in unity.
We, as bible college men and women, were trained to have only deep, meaningful friendships with other ministers. Is there not anyone in the church worthy to build a bond of friendship that goes beyond the minister-congregational relationship? If you have not cultivated this in the church, you are failing; you are just a professional counsellor of whom Paul said there are ten thousand of you.

However, there is another side. It may be that no one in the church wants a closer relationship with the pastor. Some just like to keep all things professional. Still, if called to that church, the pastor must seek God to change the status quo. If a church is totally resistant to change, any new people coming in will be hindered. Perhaps there are times to shake the dust off your shoes and leave. But not until God frees you from all the agitation that stubborn people can bring up.

SPIRITUAL FATHERS AND MOTHERS AS LEADERS

IF YOU ARE NOT A FATHER OR MOTHER TO YOUR PEOPLE, YOU ARE NOT A LEADER. THERE IS A VERY GOOD CHANCE YOU ARE A BEHEMOTH. 1 Corinthians 4:14 Paul says,” I am not writing this to shame you as my dear children. Even though you have ten thousand guardians (counsellors) in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ I became your father through the gospel. Therefore, I urge you to imitate me.” Wow, that says a lot. I am not talking about my present time; in the past, I was with several pastors who saw the church they were pastoring as a stepping stone to other things. They crushed the people when they suddenly announced they were leaving for another church; some went for a step up in the denomination. I ask you, does a true father think this way? At this time, their pastor's heart was revealed: they were a Behemoth in heart. Without sensitivity, they crushed the faith and hope. The people thought of the pastor as a father. They have blocked the river. Many will not have faith again in a leader who “uses hearts.” Yet these leaders had great fellowship with other leaders. Why are we so blind to the hearts of people whom we set ourselves up as leaders to be trusted? Talking about this hurts me too much. Let's move on.

A WARNING TO THOSE STARTING REACTIONARY CHURCHES

If you are starting a new church out of a rejection or other unresolved issues in your heart that a Behemoth/ leader caused to surface. You are heading for BIG trouble. The thing you despised, the lack of sensitivity, the stubbornness you saw in a willful, stubborn leader, brought up your own deep, settled issues not yet dealt with in your own life. You will repeat history. A good chance you, in a different way, will become what you thought you left. If you lead others, you are as responsible for the collateral damage that will occur as the Behemoth you were frustrated and angry with. Forgive, let go. In most cases, I would say stay under difficult leaders until they stop getting to you. Of course, if immorality is involved, everything changes. But that is not part of this discussion. If you stay in this difficult situation until all you have in your heart is asking God to have mercy on the resistant leader He has placed under you, there is a much greater chance of building a healthy, loving congregation.

FINAL STATEMENT

Yes, I am older now. I have the privilege of looking back on the years and sharing my journey with all. I have no bones to pick. Most of what I share that may have some wisdom is because I have fallen on the Rock, my beloved Jesus Christ, and been gently picked up, held, and restored more times than I want to recall. I hope, before I leave this world, that I have guided the church toward being the Family of God. This truth has been at the heart of my life. I was shown this in a vision more than 54 years ago. I was a black sheep. At 18, I was given a vision when God broke into a powerful spiritualist seance. I had been searching for reality in many new-age experiences. It was not until an old friend told me about Christ. In this seance, I sought God, and He gave me this vision. I have written about it on my website. I saw something I never knew existed. In this vision, there were grandfathers and grandmothers, moms and dads, teenagers and little children, all under a higher light. They were peaceful; it was so wonderful it felt otherworldly, and a word I did not know came to me: tranquillity. I never knew such a thing existed. The definition is “a peaceful, calm state, without noise, violence and worry.” God showed me this is what He is like, a family. Still, it took me two more years to give in to the love of God found in Jesus Christ. Jesus proved himself to me. I knew if I kept searching, I would be a hypocrite. The Fatherhood of God and His church as a loving family has been, for me, the thing I cannot stop looking for in the church. From Genesis to Revelation, God is known by one supreme word. 
FATHER

Matured innocence is the goal
A state of inner being few understand
The innocence of a child's likeness
Is to be embodied in wisdom
The child and the sage become one
Who can resist a child
Truth delivered without prejudice.

Constant training
Constant testing
Darkness runs from a holy desire
To be an untouchable
The result of the purifying fire
A good conscience
Who can judge an honest man

Being broken and crushed
It makes the wine sweet
Intoxicated with freedom
From perplexing inner strife
Experiencing love in the eternal light
The soul set free
When darkness comes for you
It will not find a kindred spirit inside.
Repelled by the Spirit of Life
It must look for another.

NOW!

DRAW YOUR SWORD
YOU ARE READY
LIGHT HAS WON
WITH YOUR DARKNESS DESTROYED
ENEMIES OF LOVE AND FREEDOM
TREMBLE IN YOUR PRESENCE
CRUSHED BY YOUR WORDS

SELFLESS LOVE
SOLDIER OF GLORY
WARRIORS OF LIGHT
THE KINGDOM HAS COME
THE TRUTH HAS SET YOU FREE!
THE WORLD AWAITS A SOLDIER LIKE YOU

Dan Chappell

​My older brother was a high school teacher, and I saw how the often thankless task of educating students took a considerable toll on him. From what students have said, he was an outstanding teacher. He turned down the promotion to principal several times and just wanted to teach. Pat passed away at an early age. He often said the parent's involvement in their children's education was "MIA," missing in action.

It is the same with the government. We must tone down our one-sided accusatory charge and acknowledge failure on both sides. At crucial times, we, the people, have been MIA, casting all the blame for poor decisions on those we voted in.

Governmental authority over our nation, schools, policing, etc., have resulted in a situation in governance like a bird with one wing much larger than the other. The nation's people have relinquished the responsibility to partner with their employees, our public servants. This abandonment began long ago and has culminated in our multiple current crises.

We are now transitioning towards a form of governing with a track record of extreme control. The church, yes, the church, has been MIA. Scripture tells us that our involvement in all aspects of life will improve the earth.

In bible college, a professor had said Christians should stay out of politics because it was too unholy. This "doctrine of abandonment" was prominent in most church organizations. Only in recent years has this begun to change. 

Christian denominations have historically persecuted each other, often in prolonged violent wars. Today it is primarily in verbal form. The criticisms back and forth between religious groups on the internet tell the world that we can't get along with one another. Why should anyone listen to us? However, a remnant is dissociating itself from this destructive activity. We have yet to see how they will awaken the unchurched to the Goodness of God in a significant way.

Every societal failure has its genesis somewhere in the church's history. Let me explain. Socialism/communism is God's heart. We can work hard, spend money and look vociferously for the next experience that would trigger a release of adrenalin, giving an all-too-brief fleeting experience of watered-down euphoria. Sooner or later, the nagging "inner person" is never fully satiated, affecting every part of us. It is deep in the soul where no one else can see that the Creator brings us home to His Heart.

The early church 2000 years ago exemplified the outward results of the inner beauty that bonded them together. The Christ they crucified came back to Love them, and that Love elevated their being to a place never experienced since the beginning of time. It was an encounter with the Love of God. Intrinsic personal issues of the mind and heart preventing the essential need to belong to a healthy society by the Grace of God were no longer a hindrance. They were free inside, and the fear of transparency was gone. It was the power of forgiveness. Forgiveness from God. Forgiveness to others for wrongs and forgiving ones self of personal failure. God's Love in Jesus Christ brought back the union between the Creator and the Created, the Father, to His Children.

The Jews who became Christian in this first century were put out of the synagogue and lost their jobs, homes and any source of income. The motivation, being self-preservation, was transformed into concern for their brothers and sisters. Wealthy Christians, no longer consumed with the benefits and security of prosperity, sold properties and gave the money to leaders who dispersed it to the needy.
The Bible says,  "They had all things in common." 

For the first time in human history, true communism emerged, and it was a creation of God, not man. 
Many would try to copy this in history. The need to belong to some form of community is the most compelling force of human nature. Without the Love of Christ in people's hearts, you have an engine with no oil, and it will run for a bit then relationships begin to break down. Human Love without God does not have the continuous regenerative power to bring an evolution of healthy growth. God's desire is not that His community be like a political ideology. His people together would be like a wonderful functioning Family. 

What made the early churches' communism different from Russian, Chinese, Cuban, and other attempts to bring a relational utopia to humanity is that the early church was motivated and empowered by God. The purpose was to demonstrate His Love and reveal the incredible destiny that awaits those who receive Him. He Loved Jesus, and their relationship was seamless. If you saw Jesus, you also saw God in Him. To know Jesus, you are to be a True communist.

The heart of communism must be sacrifice, not forceful control. God gave His Son in Love to all, even those full of hate, with the desire of His UNCONDITIONAL LOVE TO CONQUER EVIL. 

Communism is an intrinsic need in humanity's heart. Few live without the need to be part of something without others to share the experiences of a relationship. Without God's Love and Power, humanity can only create a counterfeit. History shows us the false attempts to recreate the knowledge of the early church without the Love, Wisdom, and Power of God.

Over the years, the church drifted from the glorious experience of personal intimacy with God and, therefore, one another. The need in humanity for what the church formally had soon became filled with the directives of an often corrupt hierarchy. History validates this. The Roman church at one time ruled much of the known world, and of this leadership, a good number of Popes were highly corrupt. They were not alone. Very few church doctrines refer to the beauty of the early communistic church with a desire to give into the necessary change to emulate it. 

Another statement coined by the early church was, "they were all in one accord."

If there seems to be one constant in church history, it is division. The church has left the house empty, and fraud has filled it. Fake communism is projecting itself as the saviour of humanity. Few dare to declare that this philosophy is responsible for over 100 million deaths and the untold number of those beaten into submission. You can try to tweak this to fit western culture by burying a history of censorship and silencing contradictory perspectives, but the same results will emerge. 

When a prominent so-called democratic government leader openly states how he admires tyrannical communistic governments like China and Cuba, is there a better alternative to argue his point on the world stage?

Compare the control of people by fear of reprisals to the early church being motivated by love side by side. Which would draw you? We have been distracted by rapture theories. We quote the scripture," The Spirit and the Bride say come." Could this mean, "come to unity together in the Spirit first?" The cry from Heaven is for the church to again be in one accord as the first church. The Bible says the last church will be even more glorious than the first. World leaders will see our Heavenly Communism working and desire it.
​
Deeply buried but never lost throughout the centuries is this vision of God's Kingdom expressed by a community of lovers, The Church. 

IT IS BEGINNING TO EMERG!

Dan

Saviour in a Syringe

I once found a saviour in the push of a syringe
She loved me as a mother carrying me away
We danced together in a long euphoric binge
Little did I know her plan was my soul to decay

Life pushes its marvellous and spectacular drug 
Shaping and forming you to become an image
The dollar has no concern about your grave being dug
no place for peace all is just a constant scrimmage

A parent still an orphan inside, grieved by failure
No good legacy comes from a wounded heart
Tossed by storms in turbulent seas, just a lost sailor
An empty suit, a shadow, does life have a restart

I have good news to save your slavish meaningless life
For I have been all I have said and much more
There is one who lived all the pain, anguish and strife
What He has done will cause your soul to soar

You can test me to see if I am an insecure fabrication
All I can say is that God paid the hefty price
In this crumbling world, there is a trusted foundation
It's God's Love and Truth in the Lord Jesus Christ

​Life is a syringe there are uppers and sad downers
There is always hope for that super-lasting "hit"
A Utopia, Shangri la, that perfect lay the story of mourners
Without Christ, this world for you will never fit.

             I WAS NOT PREPARED

This work I did as a young man I thought had prepared me for many things I would encounter in my future. I was wrong.

First my older brother passed away then my father and in this last month both my mother and younger brother died. My wife Deb and my lives have been on hold for several years taking care daily of sick and dying family members. They are all gone. I am the last.

When my younger brother passed a deep sorrow rose up from deep within my soul. This grief  comes out of nowhere bringing tears. I believe it is for all my family. The great consolation I have is I believe I will see them in heaven. The every day care that took a tremendous toll on me was a privilege and not a sacrifice.
                                
                 FREEDOM

Perhaps freedom may be the wrong word to some. You say everyone has died and now you are free. Yes, they are in heaven. Do I wish they were still here not in pain? Yes. We all must live and die. The big question is this, HAVE WE REALLY LIVED. It was the process of dying that brought my family to know the Creator and His life giving presence.

In all my years, since I gave my life to Christ, He has carried me and Loved me even when I felt I did not deserve it. He has forgiven me for all my wrongs and has taken me as a father would take a son. Many have asked how I am still standing and do the things I have had to do. I must say the ability came from my Heavenly Father. He is waiting for you to call on Him.

He will come.

Our eyes are to the future, freed from former responsibilities. We look to what the sovereign Love of God has for us. Everything is a preparation for the next stage in life.

Please pray for us that we will be in the right places at the right time. That the joy of the Lord will be our strength and that Wisdom and Mercy will guide  us.

                    LOVE, DAN

My father was with the merchant navy. I grew up in a historical war environment. He knew so much about the war he could have taught it in school. I remember a relative got ahold of some old films about the holocaust. I was maybe eight years old, too young to understand, but I felt from the adults the shock as in abject silence they viewed what must have been one of the worst things the eye could behold. It was the uncovering of the concentration camps.
 
I always wondered how a society could end up in such a state of blind, arrogant elitism, dehumanizing whole segments of people.
 
In my attempt to find the answer to how we as "normal" folk could be programmed to blindly, systematically destroy others, seeing them as inferior, I visited the concentration camp in Dachau just outside of Munich. I saw the ovens, the piles of shoes and clothing and viewed the pictures on the wall documenting this unbelievable cruel insanity. Being a history student, what happened in Germany was perhaps the worst atrocity of humanity against humanity, but it was by far not the first, nor will it be the last. I support keeping the concentration camps open as a reminder of what unbridled power in the hands of a few can do when few will rise in opposition.
 
My friend told me what it was like in the Hitler Youth, which surprised me. "It was kind of like Boy Scouts in America where we learned morality and stealing was wrong, and doing good to your neighbour was good. Of course, we listened to our great Germanic leaders, and they were bastions of righteousness to be idolized and emulated in every way."
 
History fills in the gaps. Instilled in them was the propaganda; they were the master race destined to rule the world. Jews, Gypsys, the Slovic nations were all inferior. But the Jews were the scourge of the earth. There was to be one World Order, remove all Jews from the face of the planet. There can be only one chosen race, and it is not the Hebrews to whom the Bible says God gave great favour and destiny. It was the Third Reich.
 
In Hitler's new Germany, the ownership of children was removed from the parents under the guise that it was necessary for the government through their teaching facilities to ensure the utopic future of the Father Land. To do this, the government must raise them.
 
There is always a mixture of good and evil in deception. Do not steal, do good, honour your government leaders and slip into the narrative, hate the Jews.
 
We must also take ownership that large segments of the Christian churches in Germany endorsed Hitler's most atrocious actions. After all, they believed it was the Jews alone who killed Christ and must be held accountable. It is my firm belief it was the church that failed long before German totalitarianism rose to power. Hitler filled a vacuum in the nation's heart left by a lost, political church.
 
THE ONLY WAY DARKNESS CAN GROW
IS WHEN THE CHURCH HAS LOST ITS LIGHT
 
As the church of Jesus Christ was in darkened Germany, it also has been in our modern world. However, I firmly believe that the church in our day is getting brighter, and its pure light will expose the darkness, but even more than that, it will be a community of great love and freedom under the watchful eye of our Father in heaven.
 
The Kingdom of God implores us to take a stand for what is proven to be good, entering into all the areas of life, especially politics.
 
There are forces today that are usurping parental authority. A young teenager in places can get an abortion without parental permission but can only get their ears pierced with parental consent. Another political leader said parents have no right to be involved in their child's education, and it is up to the institution alone. Powers are reaching over the parental headship of mom and dad and indoctrinating the children with contrary views with the hope that it is too late when the parent finally realizes what is they have instilled in their kids. External forces can eventually direct a new generation to shape a future the parents disapprove.
 
The right of parents to contribute to their child's education in places, as I said, is deemed unacceptable.
 
Social engineering is experimentation on our children. Is there a final destination? Do they know where they are taking our children? Do they know what the end product will be? Or in the end, will they say, "Oops, sorry things did not turn out in the way we did not know where we were going." (this is not a sentencing error)
 
"Give me your child, and by the age of seven, they will be mine forever." You heard this before. Who are they today is the question?
 
HISTORY WILL REPEAT ITSELF IF WE LET IT!
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THE GREATEST EVIL IS WHEN GOOD PEOPLE DO
NOTHING
 
DAN