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Are U Ready 4 Some Gulag?

Posted by David & Linda (Smith) Scovel on September 27, 2008 at 2:30am

Yesterday, some top prosecutors and sheriffs in the the "Show Me State" put together what they deemed the "Truth Squad." They set themselves up as the true watchmen of "truth" in regard to the Obama campaign. The possibility of prosecution for spreading falsities about the Obama campaign has become a present day reality. They have become the standard bearers of truth regarding this campaign. Those who say things about the candidate are threatened with prosecution for libel if deemed that they spoke with the intent to promote falsehood. Their stated reason for this is that "They will be reminding voters that Barack Obama is a Christian who wants to cut taxes for anyone making less than $250,000 a year." Now that's what I'm talking about. Bring it on.Check out the link at http://www.kmov.com/video/index.html?nvid=285793&shu=1C'mon people, how stupid has this populace become? Have we forgotten the lessons of the past century? Remember, when those dynamic deceptive despots ruled the other parts of the world. How many died at their hands. Millions? Hundreds of Millions? You can look back and see that the tactics were the same back then. Hitler had his Brownshirts (Sturmabteilung), his truth squad, that terrorized anyone who spoke anything about der Fuhrer in a bad light. Many were not seen after their revealings. Their warnings were squelched by the machine. Stalin. Mao, Castro, Pol Pot ... all had their "truth squads" to protect their legacies. In the end though, the world saw them for what they were. Agents of change, loose change.Now I am not saying that Obama should be put in the same category as these others I have spoken about, but it is interesting that we are now seeing this here in the "land of the free." We could be headed for an Obama Nation should this policy continue after the election is over. Maybe we are just be "Biden" our time as the hands move us closer toward the end of all things. The hands off approach to politics is usually a result that the candidate has bad or nonexistent policies to begin with. I am not saying that Obama is the right or wrong choice for this land. But I do understand the sovereignty of God in His order and timing of all things bright and not so beautiful. The Book still has to be fulfilled, and it still looks as though it will be in our lifetime. There are of course other alternatives, none of which really are a turn on. One could go with the "Son of Cain", yes that sounds like a good choice doesn't it? The other candidates, "Palin" the glory of the majors. She is kinda cute in a cutesy sort of way. Does she wear red? We know she rides... I digress.The framers of our Constitution framed it in with the Bill of Rights. One of these was the right of free speech. Free speech allows us to question and bring to light motives of the heart. We may not always like it, but one little match still sets to flight darkness even in the darkest cave. What I do find interesting, is that the left are the ones attempting to enlist these "truth squads." Yet they are the same ones that get belligerent when those on the other side speaks freely about our convictions. Aren't they reminiscent of the "thought police" that we had while in residence. One of our Teachers, kept reiterating that "Truth Needs No Defense!" Hey, I believe that's TRUE!I can here the Monday Night DFootball warmup with ol' Hank ................. Wait for it.................. ARE U READY 4 SOME GULAG? ARE U READY 4 A PARTY?.........David

Love is Brown

Posted by Bob Martin on September 26, 2008 at 6:10pm

"Love is Brown!"by Sam GrahamWhen I was a younger man, embarking on life's seaI ran into a wise old friend whose life was full and freeHis life had oft' inspired me, for in the Word he dwelledHis wisdom touched everything he did, and he ruled his household well.I asked him for some sound advice to help me on my wayAnd I saw the twinkle in his eye as I listened to him sayAh, you seek to understand love, I see, like most every other man.You sing and laugh and dream of it, so tell me if you canGive it just a little thought, then straightly answer meIf you could only see it, what color would love be?Oh, that's easy" said I, "Blue just like the sky.So big and all encompassing, so lofty and so high.But wait, it might be green like leaves upon a treeThat show the world there's life inside for everyone to see.Or gold that sets men's hearts afire, or white like new-fallen snow.Or red that courses through our veins, to make our bodies glow."My friend patiently listened, the twinkle still in his eye.He slowly raised his eyebrows, then said to me, "Nice try ...But lad I fear you've been misled, I hate to put you down.There could only be one color for love," and he smiled as he said, "Brown.""You're kidding me," I said laughingly, tipping back my hat."Dirt is brown and mud and muck--what's so beautiful 'bout that?""Exactly," said he, "It's easy to say you love someone when skies are blue or grass is greenOr the dawn is gold, cheeks are rosy and snow makes a fairyland of things.But do you love him enough to pull him out of the mud if he is caught right in the thick?To wade through the slime and cold for him; will you nurse him when he's sick?And though you may get muddy in the try, will you give your best till he makes it through?Well, if you're willing to do this for him, then surely you love him true."You see my friend, love is more than beauty; and if you want to wear its crown,Then you must be willing to wade the mire of life.You see. . . Love is brown."

We Won't Get Fooled Again?

Posted by Steven Budlong on September 23, 2008 at 7:33pm

Dear Way Corps,I remember Dr. Wierwille saying that the two most evil things in life are religion and politics. And in my life I have seen this statement play out over and over again. I have seen it play out in all sorts of places. One place where I did not expect to find it on first glance was in the workplace, right? Haven’t you heard that the workplace is not the place for religion and politics? I have, but its all there. See, religion and politics are strange bedfellows, and we would be fools to think they don’t travel together everywhere.There are only a handful of institutions that genuinely respect the right of the individual to exercise free will within the bounds of decency and with respect to others. Most institutions have an agenda. It may be subtle, but it is there and you pick up on it. Say you start a new job. You enter a new work environment and you immediately fall into the culture of the place; what’s okay, what’s not okay, who do you please and what are the rules. Hopefully by the end of the day you have a sense of what is going on and you may think, “Gee, I am so glad to be working here,” or “Hey, this is not what I signed up for!” If you find yourself thinking the latter you will need to do a quick analysis and decide if you should stay or leave. Often we stay because we need the money or we have no other options or we are too proud to admit a mistake or we rationalize something silly and say, “This will be great for my resume!” Resume, what resume? You’re kidding, right? This is your life we are talking about, not a piece of paper. A resume is a piece of paper that lists your talents, achievements, education and so on. At best it is bait for a job interview or a conversation starter when that time comes. I have read plenty of resumes in my lifetime and I have learned to read between the lines and see the spin, the lies and the false credit that is so often shamelessly swiped from others. And there the candidate sits with a smirk assuring himself and myself that all of these accomplishments were his and his alone. But I digress…So before you surrender your soul to an institution ask yourself if the personal cost to you is worth it. That is something only you can decide. Sometimes the adventure is worth a very steep cost and sometimes it is not.So how would God have us really run things in this land of the free and this home of the brave, in our schools, offices and shops? The question might be asked, “How does He govern?” And the answer might be found in The Word:But Jesus called them [unto him], and said; ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:25-28)So here we see two forms of government. The first is man’s, which exercises dominion and authority over others. It is not unlike what Adam had when God gave him dominion and authority over all the living creatures on planet earth. But Adam transferred his God given rights over to Satan, didn’t he? And what does Satan do with dominion and authority? Well, what does any really good Lord of Darkness do, he exercises them as it pleases him. And he uses them for his own gain, his own ends, his own pleasure and he keeps mankind bound to the whipping post flogging him and saying, “you really like that, don’t you?” And after a while he gets numb to the beatings and considers that the Looney Lord of Darkness really does have it right, he really is trying to help by beating some kind of sense into him, teaching him a lesson or two. And he identifies with his tormentor and not with Christ. That is called The Stockholm Syndrome, which quite simply describes the behavior of kidnap victims who, over time, become sympathetic to their captors. We get the name from a 1973, hostage incident in Stockholm, Sweden. At the end of six days of captivity in a bank, several kidnap victims actually resisted rescue attempts, and then refused to testify against their captors. Sound familiar?In religion you see this too. I call it the subtle abuse of spiritual power. It is when a leader begins to manipulate the follower. It is when there is an agenda other than Christ. It is when a good thing becomes a cult. But what is a cult you ask? Well, here are my observations. You have a cult…When research begins with the answersWhen an individual is elevated above the doctrineWhen the propagation of an organization is more important than the needs of its peopleWhen the sacrifice of one can be justified for the good of the manyWhen the student cannot question the teacherWhen the follower cannot question the leaderWhen individuals cannot challenge rulesWhen people are obstructed from seeking outside counsel or a second opinionWhen one person’s tastes are imposed on othersWhen fear has replaced loveAnd when you are violatedAnd the list goes on and on. We have seen it all, haven’t we?Since I am blogging and since I am on the subject of spiritual abuse, you have to watch this. This is a link my sister sent me. Funny, sad or frightening? You decide. Then come back and finish this with me, okay?http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/the_soup/b29938_more_soups_on_what_hath_god_wrought.htmlNow for the refreshing part. What is God’s take on governing? It is simply selfless service, preferring one another in love. It is dying to your self that you might live unto him. Throughout the gospels Jesus describes the Kingdom of God as nothing less than a government operating by freewill offerings, voluntary and loving participation and the perfect law of liberty. Jesus practiced and preached self-government. His was a powerful and non-violent movement of the people, by the people, and for the people. He changed history by changing the relationship of man over man to God over man, with himself as the mediator. Much of what our country was built upon comes from the scriptures; we know that, we were taught that. Rejoice in the liberty wherewith Christ has set us free and don’t be entangled again… don’t be deceived… get up, get out and do something for Him. Yeah, the one who is going to enhance your liberty, not subject it to the will of men. Remember, when you are serving men, you can’t always be sure whom or what they are servants to. You might want to be careful about that.Yours In Christ,Steven C. BudlongOops, one more thing! Lets end this with the words and lyrics of The Who, lets all power down our computers while singing “We Won’t Get Fooled Again!” You with me on this? Great song, no?We'll be fighting in the streetsWith our children at our feetAnd the morals that they worship will be goneAnd the men who spurred us onSit in judgment of all wrongThey decide and the shotgun sings the songI'll tip my hat to the new constitutionTake a bow for the new revolutionSmile and grin at the change all around mePick up my guitar and playJust like yesterdayThen I'll get on my knees and prayWe don't get fooled againThe change, it had to comeWe knew it all alongWe were liberated from the foe, that' allAnd the world looks just the sameAnd history ain't changed'Cause the banners, they all flown in the next warI'll tip my hat to the new constitutionTake a bow for the new revolutionSmile and grin at the change all around mePick up my guitar and playJust like yesterdayThen I'll get on my knees and prayWe don't get fooled againNo, no!I'll move myself and my family asideIf we happen to be left half aliveI'll get all my papers and smile at the skyFor I know that the hypnotized never lieDo ya?YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!There's nothing in the streetLooks any different to meAnd the slogans are replaced, by-the-byeAnd the parking on the leftIs now the parking on the rightAnd the beards have all grown longer overnightI'll tip my hat to the new constitutionTake a bow for the new revolutionSmile and grin at the change all around mePick up my guitar and playJust like yesterdayThen I'll get on my knees and prayWe don't get fooled againDon't get fooled againNo, no!YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!Meet the new bossSame as the old bossCopyright 2008 Sojourner Media, LLC

A Silly But Serious Question

Posted by Steven Budlong on September 19, 2008 at 4:40pm

Dear Way Corps & Fellow Saints,Yesterday I received an interesting question from a friend of mine. She and her husband deal in vintage posters, the very rare and high-end stuff. I thought I would share the question and my answer. It has a lot to do with our culture and how we rush to judgment in labeling people, places and things. I have learned that we often get it wrong, very wrong, even dead wrong.I also remind myself of what Dr. Wierwille always said, “Just because it’s labeled pickles on the outside doesn’t mean its pickles on the inside.” Now, understand that in my writing this response I know that Amy's husband will read it too. He is Jewish and she is a Christian. Spiritually they are unevenly yoked, and they know it, but they really do care about the world and our futures.The title of the email was “A Silly But Serious Question.” Here is part of it:Hi Steve,It was so good seeing you this weekend. Here is my silly but serious question (Please Don't Laugh). If Evangelicals or the Christians that are Rapture-Ready believe that the end is here, and are warning that Barack Obama is the antichrist, and that we need to fight him, than why would they oppose his candidacy? Wouldn't they want to endorse him so that Jesus will return?I know that this is probably just a fundamental misunderstanding of the Bible on my part, but I keep hearing about Obama the antichrist, the messiah, etc… Thanks for indulging me.AmySo how do you respond to that? I have talked the Word with them as well as politics, religion, popular culture, the arts and personal stuff. Although we deal professionally, they are my friends and they know where I stand. They know that I believe the scriptures are my only reference for truth outside of myself. What I found interesting about the question is they did not label me among the “Rapture-Ready-Evangelicals.” I liked that. I never liked being lumped with Jesus Freaks, Catholics or Protestants either and I have run from labels ever since I was ejected from The Way. I am a Christian first.If people want to know about my heritage I ask them, “Do you want the myths or the family tree?” Then I say, “I am an American.” If people want to know about my politics I tell them I was born into a Republican family but consider myself a Constitutionalist. That means that I as a citizen have a “contract” with my Government called the Constitution. And I read the Constitution as if it were (for it is not) The Word of God. What does it say line by line and word by word? How do you interpret those words in light of the context or having been used before? What were the cultural implications stapled to those words (we use to call them orientalisms, remember?) and can they be applied today? What is “to” us and what is “for” us? And so on and so forth.So here was my answer:Amy and Charles,Regarding Evangelicals they operate on fear, not love. Beware. The Christian right is just as wacky as any extremist group. Some Muslim extremists use the Koran; Some Christian extremists use the Bible, or more specifically the Book of Revelation. Some Jewish extremists use the Torah. All are forms of Fascism and Fascism says, "I am and therefore you are not.” Well, you know what happens when someone declares, "you are not!" You end up with discrimination, persecution or a holocaust.Communism is really no different. Communism says, "we are but we have no need of you comrade.” They both send you to the same place with different names. Call it Auschwitz or call it the Gulag.Anyway, regarding the Anti-Christ, the Bible says he will not be revealed until he enters into the temple in Jerusalem. That temple is likely not yet built (the second one was destroyed in 70 A.D. by Rome) and it stands to reason that when it is rebuilt no Gentile will have access to the inner sanctum, which is why some speculate that the Anti-Christ will be Jewish, as was the Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, Jewish. But then again times change and being politically correct even in Israel, is a big deal. So Gentiles may have access despite the Law of God. Wait/Stop/Pause -- right here on this very point... I am speculating. And I need to stop and tell you that speculation can only be offered as opinion but never as truth. We have to, in all matters, discern between speculation and truth. Truth is limited to us by what God has revealed in the scriptures. In Deuteronomy it says that what God has revealed unto us is for us and our children's children down the line of time. But most Christians can't separate truth from speculation. That is why religion in general is such a mess of poorly digested and regurgitated doctrines.The Bible also says to the Christian living at the end of “man’s day”, fear none of this, for no man knows the times or seasons of the Messiah's second coming in G L O R Y, for the Day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night. It will not be understood until it comes to pass. You see the first coming of Christ was as a man, as the "promised seed" of Genesis 3:16. That is why Israel did not recognize him. The Judeans expected a warrior king like David, to put down the armies of Rome and reclaim David's throne. They did not discern or divide the two aspects of Christ's coming in Isaiah. It says they "wrestled" with this in the scripture; namely Christ's suffering as the son of man and his Glory in his coming as the Son of God. And in between these two events is “now!” That is where we live, in the "now."The other mistake Christians have made is to claim Jesus is God as Jehovah is God. But it can't be, for that is idolatry and the Old and New Testament cannot contradict each other. The term "trinity" does not appear in the Bible. It was not canonized as Christian until 325 A.D by the Council of Ephesus under the watch of the most questionable Emperor Constantine (a soldier, politician and emperor mind you, hardly a Christian first). So for me, I place "Trinity" down there with Christmas, Easter, Santa Claus, Bunnies and Chocolate Eggs. They are all pagan. Christians have confused the unity of God, His Son, His Children, His Creatures and His Creation with the myths of the Romans, Greeks and Hindus, all of which have three gods in one person and one god in three persons. They call this "a (or the) mystery of faith". Well, do you really think one plus one equals three and one? Just how far will that get you in life, much less a check-out line?A son may have the nature and authority of his Father, but that is different than being one and the same. Remember, "unity" not "trinity", and then the Old and New Testaments will fit together like a hand in a glove.And So Obama is not likely to be the Anti-Christ, let alone the Messiah. He is just an American doing his best with what he knows. Like me, God will judge him according to his heart, works and conscience. I hope that helps.”Truly Yours,SteveThat is how I replied. That is how I see it. I don’t want to go into the scripture here and there and teach or debate what I want to communicate. I just spoke the truth as I remembered it and now they can choose whether to believe me, hear me again or mock me (ouch, I hate it when they mock me). Yes, they can choose just like we can choose in November. For me, what is important is whether my contract with the government will be strengthened or weakened. I do not care about labels. That is why God told us to try the spirits. Check out what is really going on behind those masks people wear. That's what discerning of spirits is for. It is for knowing what is going on behind the curtain. So I will choose. Will you choose? And what will you choose... hmmm??? Your vote, your voice really does count. You really are God's best and it really does all add up in the end. We'll see!Respectfully Yours,Steven C. Budlong

Northwest Missouri State University

Posted by Tom Kelso on September 16, 2008 at 12:36pm

A young man from a fellowship in Kansas City is now going to school, as a Freshman, at NWMSU. I drive 40 min. down to this fellowship in KC every Sunday. I teach every other Sunday. Northwest Missouri State University is an hour in the opposite direction from where I go to teach fellowship. I would have no problem driving up to the University on a regular basis to start a fellowship there. But, it would be great if there was one other believer who was a student to make it available to have manifestations. Does anyone know of anyone who is now going to NWMSU?Thanks in advance.Tom Kelso

Why Blog or... Please Read

Posted by Steven Budlong on September 12, 2008 at 5:38pm

Why Blog?Steven C. BudlongSeptember 12, 2008I like this place, this Way Corps site. I really do. My thanks to John Richeson for setting it up. What I like about it is the friendliness of it. I see no backbiting, bitter words, anger or character assassination. The discussions aren’t stupid and nobody is memorializing their pets or favorite celebrities. The noise and static of life sends me here. I feel like I am waking up at The Way International in the early seventies. I call the late sixties to the early seventies, the Golden Age of The Way. It was a time of possibilities. I for one really believed we could move the Word Over the World, did you? Just the joy of saluting old friends makes my day. And I feel safe. I feel like I can stick my neck out. And, I have decided to speak up and begin blogging. Why blog? Well, let’s start with some background. If you don’t know me I will give you a very brief and humbled bio.I was born in 1956, grew up in Harrison, Rye and Larchmont (all in Westchester County, New York). My father was Clarke Budlong and Mother “Bobbie” Budlong. She was Family Corps Five, and fell asleep many years ago. My Dad passed last year. They were a lot of things to me, good and bad. I have two sisters, Gale Budlong and Carrie Hauger. Gale is my older sister. You can find her here. My younger sister, Carrie was married to Rev. Wayne Merrill. They are both godly women. I first came to the Ministry when I was 14, through my sister Gale. I started PFAL with Bruce Mahone in 1970, but "tripped out" because I did not think it would help me spiritually (and those were my exact words!). About that time I began a long fall down the rabbit hole and got into sex, drugs and rock & roll. My family moved to Columbus, Ohio, in 1971, and later that year, thanks to the Winegarners, I was reconnected with The Way. I was a Branch Coordinator in High School and continued my work for the Ministry through my years at Denison University. I studied a lot of things but majored in East European and Soviet Studies & Cinema. It was a double major. Since then I have gone back and forth to Russia and spent a lot of time sojournering in strange places around the globe, usually on somebody else’s nickel. Now what do Soviet Studies and Cinema have in common since the Soviet Union is no more? A lot! I will tell you about “Faith and Lies” later. It is one of my upcoming films.In my senior year of college I married the lovely Terry Moore and we took off on a long strange trip called life. After college I was partially successful at starting a film company with a silly name. I worked a bit too on weapon systems… Minute Man II's and III's and Titan Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. Rough years led to The Way Corps and the Corps was one of the peaks of my life. No regrets there. Lots of learning both good and bad. I came out alive (I have been a thread away from death three times, but those tales come later). Some of you may remember The Teacher film and Rock of Ages ’84. Those were mine, along with a number of other things like Niatross! I knew Dr. Wierwille kind of well. You may ask me if he was “One of a Kind?”, well… as far as human beings go… you decide! I even lived in the Wierwille home for three weeks. He trusted me with his legacy in part, that is the film I mentioned. He let me into his life to a certain degree and he told me and he showed me things about himself that were interesting, admirable and quite disturbing. I don’t need to tell on him because he told on himself. Hmmm, what’s that you say??? Have you not read his Tombstone, “I Wish I Were the Man I Knew to Be.” You know, the great puzzling statement that summed up his life. Doesn’t that say it all… like “I’m leaving with a lot of regrets and I surely hope skeletons don’t come out of the closet and into your face. I hope things stay quiet and hope nobody points out all the bad things I did…”Well, what do you do with that? Just what do you do with that!!! Bite and devour one another... or move on? I will explain to you in small morsels what I have done with that… later, okay? Because I have a responsibility to you, okay? “What responsibility?” you ask. “To speak the truth in love,” I say.So maybe he didn’t tell on himself, he just knew all the boomerangs he threw in life, and at us, were coming back at him and his legacy and his successors. And…. ah ha, yup… now there is a really good topic for all of us… LEGACY. We will get to that one later though. We will talk about OUR legacies. Ouch! Remember, what goes around comes around.So we enter The 12th Way Corps and do HQ, Emporia, Gunnison, LEAD and a dash of Rome City to see Mom. Terry and I are both the spokespeople for our Corps at graduation and we go to Manhattan, and not Manhattan, Kansas, thankfully. I had asked to go to Manhattan or LA. I knew saints in both locations working in the film industry. The ones I knew in Manhattan were working and the ones I knew in LA were talking about working. So we got lucky and went to Manhattan, known also as New York City. What heaven and what hell, yeah, and in the words of Jerry Garcia, “its a long strange trip were on man” because I still can’t seem to get out of Manhattan, even though we now live in Connecticut. We ran a Territory until I refused to pledge allegiance to a man or organization. Then I had the horrors of people coming to me after this terrible play they had been lassoed into which was a knock off of John Travolta’s “Staying Alive,” and saying things like “I feel like I have been deceived.” WOW, what do you do with that? Well, I spoke the truth in love and said “you have been deceived…” and, that is whole other story (and a very serious teaching on the ethics of the use of allegories and fables in media).!So we wrapped up Manhattan, moved to Westchester raised two kids and I go into spiritual bubble wrap. I sense the carnage. I hear the wreckage. I read the obituaries and I mourn the loss of the Ministry… I mourn what “could have been” if we had really behaved like one body with Christ as the head. I don’t blame anybody. I learned to be accountable to myself and clean up my side of the street and I climbed from under the rubble, or so I thought, only to find myself in a vortex of haze. Then there are the stories of my professional life, my personal life, my family life and on and on.So back to the question, “why blog?”Let’s start with now. Now I am a filmmaker, but I am a Christian first. I frequently get told I should do a film on this subject or that subject and I generally respond with "is that so?" And then plow through the drone of the other person’s really bad idea. What I would like to say is "if your idea is so darn good why don't you make the film?" But I am often too kind and put up with the bad storytelling and nod understandingly.See filmmaking is storytelling. If you want to be a filmmaker study art, photography and history and fill up your cache with knowledge of people, places and things. Leave the junk out. Have something to say. Then you can tell other people's stories or you can be really honest and tell your own story or stories. So that’s what I am going to do.I have decided to use this blog to address the household of former friends, acquaintances and true brothers and sisters in the Lord. I am going to stick my neck out and not be afraid. I have a lot to say. You don't have to read, comment or agree. But if you would like to yell at me, yell at me in private first. That is the polite thing to do. Please send all rants, fiery darts and BS to me personally. My email is stevenbudlong@earthlink.net. I will try to respond but I can make no promises. You see my life is a tsunami of things to do, places to go, people to meet and see. And, oh yes, obligations, obligations and obligations. But I know I have to tell you what I have been privileged to see, hear, experience and learn about body, soul and spirit through my life. God has been gracious and merciful to me and I have seen and heard and know things I want to share with you. There, I knew you would understand! I am full and it is time to get it out.What most people will not understand is that when you are true to your subject you must be truer to God. Sometimes I don't like what I uncover and have to ask God whether to reveal it or leave it alone. I will just tell you what I am permitted to tell you, whether it is dictated by God, wisdom or discretion. You decide what to do with the information. Along the way I will share with you what God has taught me because it may help you. It is my nature to teach. It pours out of me and I love it. I have been silent too long. I have been turtled in my shell hoping the noise would die down, but it hasn’t. I want to remind The Way Corps that you, we, us and all of the other saints around us were the best God had for our times. And maybe we still are. Yes, maybe we still are. We still have things to say, fires to light and words to throw. Most of us still believe in the integrity of God’s Word and I for one have not denied my Lord. When he comes again, he is looking for one thing and what is that, do you remember? Not your bank account, professional status, home, cars or kids. He said “When I come again will I find faith in the earth?” Do we slumber or do we awake? You choose. As for me, I am getting out of bed.Your True Friend & Brother in Christ,Steven C. BudlongCopyright 2008, Sojourner Media, LLC

Tidbits of Truth - 3

Posted by Gary Cendroski on September 11, 2008 at 5:53pm

Hey all you wonderful people!Think you've got a handle on the HOLY SPIRIT field? Consider this. If you don't pay attention to something as simple as the possessive pronouns used with the word "spirit" in the Bible, you're missing something in a big way. This isn't new research. It's simply paying attention to what you're reading. Take, for instance, I Thessalonians 5:23. If you pay more attention to the number you wrote next to the word "spirit" in your Bible so long ago than you do to the word "your" in the verse that God inspired, you probably think the word "spirit" there refers to the gift of the HOLY SPIRIT. Well, let me ask you a few questions about that. Does the term "your...body" in that verse refer to the body of God? Does the term "your...soul" in that verse refer to the soul of God? Now brace yourself. Does the term "your...spirit" in that verse refer to the Spirit of God? Do you get it? The word "spirit" there refers to the spirit of man, not the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God is referred to in Scripture as "His Spirit" (Ephesians 3;16), and the spirit of man as "your spirit," "my spirit," etc. Your spirit is your spirit and His Spirit is His Spirit and soup is soup and apple-butter is apple-butter. Do you really think the Apostle Paul would pray for the Thessalonians that the Spirit of God within them would be preserved blameless? As if God's Spirit could ever be somehow tarnished by our behavior!Oh my God! Do I really mean that man is born with a body, a soul, and the spirit of man? Uh...yes. Is that revelation really so earth-shattering?Now, as you read your Bible, keep in mind what you learned in elementary school and I just reminded you of and apply it when you see the word "spirit." This one simple thing will blow your mind and God will teach you things that will amaze you about the HOLY SPIRIT field, if your heart is still open to learning and you're still spiritually hungry.By the way, if you can write holy spirit with all small letters, then I can write HOLY SPIRIT with all capital letters.The HOLY SPIRIT is the power of God our Father that He uses as He reaches out to touch His creation in some way. It's not a person in itself, nor does God ever relinquish ownership of His Spirit to anyone. It is given as a gift to believers as a help and a trust, but it never ever belongs to you or me. It belongs to God. It was, is and always will be His Spirit. Jesus said the Father would "give" the Spirit to "abide" with us forever, not belong to us forever (John 14;16). We are strengthened with might by His Spirit in our spirit (the inner man). Thus, even in the new birth, the Spirit of God is referred to as "His Spirit," not ours.

Happy Birthday, Christ Jesus The Lord!

Posted by Steven Budlong on September 10, 2008 at 1:41am

Tomorrow, September 11, is our Lord's birthday. In the minds of men it is the day America was attacked by Islamic Fundamentalists. In my mind it was the day the devil initiated an all out war on the God's Saints. Remember, things that are literal can be figurative but they can also be both.We have forgotten how to read the Word. We have forgotten the importance of figures of speech. We have taken some things so literally that some still watch the heavens for "signs". The truth is that the signs (as signs happen to be) are all around us. The "signs of the times" are playing in the cinema, on your kids computer and on your iPod. Like Joel has said, the old men have been dreaming dreams and here they are... all about us. They shape and wash our culture. But we look past them and say "where did they ever come up with that!" My how we slumber!One of the things we were not taught in The Way Corps, were the keys to understanding biblical prophecy. The keys are not hard. They start with one fundamental truth that can be found in Habakkuk 2:1 - 4. Look it up, for I will not spoon feed you the Word of God. Look it up and you will see that prophecy will not be understood until it comes to pass. At that point it speaks, the literal words are fulfilled. Like water rippling across a pond it may appear to have applications at other points in time, for God's use of time and man's use for time are two different things. In history there are well over sixty noted dates where Christians gathered together to await the Lord's return. The Jehovah's Witnesses got it wrong in 1914, and several subsequent times thereafter. They were making stabs at the date based on man's reasoning. Don't laugh. Some of you have done it too. To understand prophecy you have to look at the "whole" Word of God. How has he spoken, to whom, when and why. Is it addressed to you or for you? And, is the holy spirit your teacher, your true teacher? Does he show you "things to come?" Why you? And what should you do with that information?If I were a cult leader I would pick September 11, 2008 for the return. Why? because it has all of the literal and figurative events wrapped around it and I would relish the idea of being right, like hitting the lotto! I guessed it, I figured it out. I am special and God has spoken to me. Even the math is reasonable, seven years to the day from the initiation of Satan's wrath.Since I am not a cult leader I will remind myself that no man knows the time or the season and that the Day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night. And I will rest my hope in Him, that when he comes to gather together His Body, then it will be time for the Bride, true Israel to come forward. Hey, did you know that there are more Jews in New York City, than in Tel Aviv? Curious, no???Anyway, let us be thankful for the whole Body of Christ, and pray fervently for them day in and day out. Pray for the Saints in India, pray for those that sleep to be awakened and pray that we watch with all diligence and listen, really listen to the promptings of the spirit. Jesus Christ said, you are my friends if you do whatsoever I command you. Wouldn't that be a great birthday gift to him... a little bit of obedience??? Happy Birthday Lord!

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Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.