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Hi Everyone,
I know there are people whom on this site have snubb me because of whom I been in contact with in the last few years. Thats ok. I visit a lot of sites, get teaching from a lot of different people, groups, and been in tent revivals to Phoenix stadium.
What I do want to say is that if I have wronged you in the past,
Please forgive me.
Thank you and may God bless you. Delete Comment

I must say, I have had some incredible experiences. Skeptics think I am making it up, skeptics are usually jealous, bitter, unfulfilled people. That said, are you ready for a ride?

I ran for a seat on the city council for the city of Pine Lake, in Pine Lake Ga. That's a matter of public record. How that came about is this. We had a property owner that did not pay taxes for four years and when the city forclosed, They were being nice, the bitter, small minded little fruitloop played the race card. I had just moved in, didn't know anything about the agenda, but they were carrying picket signs and I had always wanted to be in a protest march (I lived in Atl. GA from 1962-81 then 88-06) so I marched up and down Rockbridge Road. I felt like a hippy from the 60's., until I found out that this guy was a loon with a bad attitude and a lying sack of doo doo. The city almost lost their charter, there was a recall and the mayor was ousted, senators, reps, attorneys all came to Pine Lake and nearly all of the 600 residents begged these people to allow our city to continue. Those same folks became friends. We elected a new mayor. He worked very hard to rebuild our credibility, public trust and in turn all the political folks would make a pit stop in Pine Lake and campaign. We were in the news for almost a year, almost daily. Well, Mayor Al Fowler (public record) was accused of different things and there were those whom we called the "gang of ten" who were working to have him recalled. There was an open seat on the city council and one of his most staunch opponents Mimi Woods was running for the seat unopposed. About twenty of us got together and I got cast into the part of running for city council. This is not a joke, you have to register, pay money, have an FBI background check done, be fingerprinted, basically open a vein to be declared competent to run. I passed all that and began to garner support and hit the campaign trail. The whole one square mile of it. I remember one speech in particular. There was two special guests. One being Kent Alexander who is now the former Ga. State Attorney general, we went to high school together and Eldrin Bell, former City of Atlanta police chief, father to Justin Guarini the first first runner up in American Idol. Did I have a clue as to what I was doing? Nope, not one little clue. There in front of all those people I taught from God's Word. Put me behind a lectern and I can do no other. Well, after it was over, Kent came up and said, you know you don't stand a snowball's chance in hell, don't you? I said, yup, he said, but you need to be a preacher. That was good, I understood every word. Chief Bell came up next and said, if only polititians could be that godly, this country would be a different place. You need to come to Ebeneezer and get down, girl! That made me happy.

Outcome: Mimi Woods -120 votes

Janis Lang - 21. Frankly, it was twenty more than I thought I would get, so I was thrilled.

It was a great experience and it taught me what to look for in a candidate. And I made some powerful friends, judges, senators, representatives, a governor, attorneys, leaders in southern politics. I can still call on any of them were I ever to get in trouble or needed a favor. That's rather nice to have in the "bottom" of your purse.

If you want to see the most beautiful spot in Atlanta, google Pine Lake Ga, 30072 I lived at 423 Pine Drive three houses up from the courthouse.

I'm Janis Lang and I support this message. Pa dum bum

His name is Ronald James Johnson; he is 52 years old and grew up here in Anderson. He became a believer in 1975. He was a college WOW with someone the 14th and 16th Corps knows and loves; Marguerite Keil, in 1976. Who knew the world could be THAT small.

Over the years I’ve reworked all sorts of things from God’s Word. Some I see a little more clearly than before; others I’m still working. If you want to talk the word, I think you can post a comment to this blog. If that doesn't work go ahead and post a comment to my page or e-mail me at logos.live@verizon.net.

One of the cool things I saw this year was the difference between the Good Seed of the gospels and the incorruptible seed by way of which we are born again. The good seed of the gospels (Luke 8:5, 6) can perish. It was corruptible. The seed by which we are born-again, the spirit within, is like our Messiah incorruptible. Applying the truths of the sower and the seed must be in light of to whom it is written. It is always a brand new day for each and every believer and his Heavenly Father.

I’ve done a little work lately on:

• baptism with the holy spirit (and with fire – the hendiadys)
• LORD and Lord
• S.I.T. + INT = Prophecy in the church

(one of the things that arose from this last study was the importance of seeing from God’s word the Father’s view on the power of these manifestation of the spirit, and then acting)

The process through which a diamond is formed is a dirty, sweaty process completely unlike the glittering jewels they turn out to be. A diamond is unique in that it is one of the hardest substances known to man. That's why the word diamond is derived from the Greek work 'adamas' meaning indestructible.

A diamond is also unique in that it is formed from a single element: carbon. It is the only gem known that is composed of a single element.

Diamonds are formed under a tremendous load of both heat and pressure usually far below the earth surface. There is nothing pretty, delicate or dainty about the birth of a diamond albeit most of the earth has chosen it as the symbol of love, romance and wedding.

Ideally a flawless diamond would be composed solely of carbon atoms. This is very rare however. Since the birthing process is not a laboratory experiment but done in the melting pot of minerals found within the earth, diamonds many times contain trace amounts of these minerals. This leads to an interesting occurence. Rather than ruining the diamond, the run in with these minerals actually lends color to the diamond like the world famous Hope diamond which has a brilliant blue coloring due to its encounter with boron during its pressure filled growing process.

Remember that growth is a continual process not a one time occurrence. Of course there are times within our life where growth spurts cause us to look back and remark upon the differences but it is always a process. And although innocence and youth is most associated with childhood it is not always the purity that comes from going through the fires of living. Foolishness also is associated with childhood and it is something that does need to be rooted out before adulthood. But innocence and youthfulness need not be sacrificed on the altar of adulthood. Just consider the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. What child is this? Though our outward man perish, yet our inner man is renewed day after day.

Have a nice day after day after day…

If like myself, you somehow missed for many years, the simple fact that any interaction involving human beings is much less predictable than say, whether the sun will come up tomorrow, then it is quite possible that when you “came” to this “revelation”, as I did much to my chagrin while trying to bring a kind of balance back into my life: you may have subsequently gone on a logic-free diet. Let me explain in more detail using a common example I’ve seen in the Church.

For many years, since the Reformation, the emphasis in the Protestant Church has been on the accuracy of the Holy Scriptures. And what a wonderful revelation this was to so many of those great pioneers of that movement when they, coming out a completely irrational system, basically the Roman Catholic Church of the early Middle Ages, clung desperately and thankfully to the truth that the Scriptures are both understandable, reliable and consistent for both faith and practice. This was a revolutionary understanding after the non-distinct, subjective teachings of faith and practice that were so predicated on the relationship between an individual and the Church, specifically the Pope and his pronouncements.

So it is no real wonder that there was a subsequent rise in scholarship, the etymology of language and the birth of textual research. This movement spilled over into the secular starting with the Age of Reason (17^th century or 1,600’s) and culminating with the rational movement of the 18^th century (1700’s). These movements were bracketed by what we know call The Enlightenment which ended in about 1800.

This was the age of Shakespeare and the King James Bible. It was during these years that men starting to move beyond just discovering the old Greek and Roman philosophers and started to publish new ideas and treatises concerning everything conceivable topic under the sun. It was also the age that gave us 1^st comprehensive English dictionary as well as the 1^st Encyclopedia (cycle of knowledge). Finally it was during this time that modern science, the father of technology was wrestling with and conquering concepts like gravity, longitude and the idea of the cell.

So what kind of attitude ultimately prevailed in our Protestant Christian thinking? Well of course: scholarship, rationality and scientific research. So the 1800’s, while the secular world was actually rebelling against the Age of Reason and dabbling with the more emotional and organic ideas of Romanticism in Art, Literature and Philosophy, the Church had it’s greatest progress in the era of Biblical History and Textual Research. For the first time in history, we were reaching back through the vail of the so called Dark Ages and re-connecting with our Eastern Oriental Biblical roots. And of course since the majority of reliable texts were in the Greek language (the Roman Catholic Church having taken Latin for their own domain), Greek became the language of Biblical Scholarship and there was a revival in Greek learning, understanding and even thinking.

Now there were certainly some Estrangelo-Aramaic texts (the Hebrew of Jesus’s day) but even the Apostle Paul himself, although writing in Hebrew, probably translated directly the earliest manuscripts into Greek because he was the Apostle to the Gentile world. And quite frankly, there are places where Greek, is a more exact language than Hebrew.

Now this became for the Church a two edged sword especially in the area of the prophetic. If language can be said to be either more rational or more emotional than certainly the Greek would fall on the side of the rational and the Hebrew would fall on the side of the emotional. The Greek would keep the texts intact and open up the Scriptures to an entire world even as English as done in the past 400 years since the King James version with the message of the Gospel. But some of the Hebrew relationships and the shades of meaning that come along with a word like spleen in Hebrew which can mean two or three different things depending on context, get either lost or overlooked in translation. We get the gist of the message but we lose some of the beauty and depth of the written Word.

Thankfully we are no longer totally dependent on the Written Word for relationship with God, now having a more sure word of prophecy than even the Old Testament Law and the Prophets (Tanakh) as Peter tells us in his epistle. We know have relationship with God through or by way of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord. So the things that were hidden to both angels and to the Old Testament prophets, who wrote about the grace that would come unto us, is now freely available to both know (theoretical, rational) and experience (practical, emotional) in Christ Jesus.

Unfortunately some of us, have stubbornly or ignorantly clung to either or Greek or our Hebrew heritage, blind to or unaware of the Truth that today in Christ Jesus there is neither Jew nor Gentile, bond nor free, but all are one in Christ Jesus. This vestage of the Reformation in Greek texts plus the attempt in the past 50 years or less of sincere, well meaning Christians to bring balance back to the Church by clinging to all things Hebrew, even some things that have been rejected by God himself and superseded by the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ, have caused a new division in the Body of Christ which is not new but was there even in the Book of Acts when the followers of James, the Lord’s brother, in an attempt to show Paul their righteousness according to the Law, these “Jewish Christians” were “zealous for the law” and in their zeal some of the attempted to actually kill the Apostle Paul the former Pharisee who was handpicked and called by our Lord Jesus himself to lead these same former Jews, out of the bondage of the Law and into the greater understanding of the new life in Christ Jesus.

But for some reason, their irrational adherence to the letter of the law, caused them to shut their ears against the Truth and they became those of whom the Apostle wrote in Acts 28 that because of their hard heartedness to accept the Truth, “I turn now to the Gentiles.” As he wrote in another place, the letter kills but the Spirit gives life”.

It is my assertion, because of this and many other truths like this, which we have not had time to go over here today, that it is the Spirit of the Living God, alive within a person who has been born from above, that, if allowed and heeded, governs the balance between the emotional and the rational within man thus bringing peace within each individual soul, and consequently to the Body of Christ as a whole.

It is my prayer therefore, that the Church can come away from our uneducated fascination with all things Hebrew, taking the good but leaving the rest and that we can turn away from our overeducated coldness with Greek theological speculations and that together we can go up and find green pasture away from the city, up on the grassy hill where the true shepherd of our soul waits patiently to instruct us in His Ways which will validate both the Jew and the Gentile in a way that history itself never can.

There is one Body (the Church), one spirit (the gift to the Church) and one hope of our calling (Christ’s return).

There is one Lord Jesus Christ, one faith, one baptism (in his name).

There is one God the Father of all who is above ALL, and through all and in you all.

In Mathematics these involve two or more variables that we call numbers.

In Science, the application of Mathematics, these variables describe physical phenomenon like the inverse relationship between pressure and volume as discussed in Boyle’s Law.

In these two disciplines, relationships are somewhat fixed and distinct and therefore predictable with some degree of accuracy. Of course as one ventures farther into the physical world, i.e. the micro as well as the macro level, we find relationships between physical phenomenon that increases in both complexity and, to our finite human understanding, appears to be somewhat less fixed and distinct and therefore less predictable.

Of course this unpredictability is well known to the aficionado of the humanities and social sciences where one is almost surprised, at times to find any possibility of predicting anything with any degree of reliability anywhere near to approaching the exactness of a scientific or mathematical discipline.

Why is this? Well, the answer is quite obvious of course: humans. Homo Sapiens. We have met the friend and the foe and it is us.

Why is it that human beings are so unpredictable? Well some would argue that we are unpredictable. And certainly the social sciences try valiantly to predict using complicated formulas and analyses what outcomes to expect in a given situation.

But the fly in the ointment of all these theories, for the pure scientist, seems to be the potential irrationality of the subject matter, i.e. human beings. At any given point in time, although it would be completely irrational to do so, we will make decisions that overthrow all attempts to categorize and codify human behavior.

For some this irrationality lies in what we call the emotional state of man arguing that man is a dynamic, albeit somewhat unstable, mix between the emotional and the rational.

The emotional seat of man is usually associated with the belly or the gut is can be described by the word “feeling”. The seat of rationality (although some would argue that this is a purely theoretical construct) is usually associated with the brain or mind of man.

Furthermore some thinkers and social scientists, especially in the fields of human behavior and psychology, have gone so far as to associate these two seemingly poles of humanity, rationality and emotion, as being more closely associated with either the masculine or feminine gender. This is such a historical, cultural phenomenon in both Eastern and Western Civilization that I hardly need to tell you any of you which is considered the more masculine trait and which is considered the more feminine one, do I? All value judgments aside for the time being, that’s an interesting fact wouldn’t you say?

But whether the irrationality of human relationships can be traced to the balance (or lack thereof as the case may be) between the rational, thinking side of man and the emotional, feeling side of man, I cannot say. Perhaps passions would be a better indicator of behavior and I’m not clear that passions are always derived from either one or the other: feelings or thoughts.

And there’s that word decision. Decisions are so often in our daily discourse associated with the rational or thinking mind. But how many gut-level decisions are made? Marketers and sales professionals tell us that most of us are influenced strongly by our emotions when making buying decisions.

So wherever decisions are made (in the heart perhaps?), it seems that they can and are influenced by one or both of the classical understanding of human motivators: rationality and emotion.

Perhaps this is why human behavior is less predictable than other observable phenomenon in the physical world like the motion of planets, or the growth of a plant or the effect of gravity on the trajectory of a ball hurtling through the air: we can make choices. Some say that this makes us a free will agent and in some sense, the distinction between the animal species and the human species (Darwin be damned), lies in this very area of free will. Again, I am limited, as are all of us, in speaking about this from a purely human perspective since I must think, feel and hypothesize from within the very vessel about which I’m trying to speculate on. But as one who admits to the authority of the Holy Scriptures (the Judeo-Christian Bible, as it were), I have a belief that informs me of the truth that yes indeed, it was certainly man’s free will in the Garden of Eden that has led to all kinds of chaotic, cosmos busting effects.

So, after all this dancing around the subject, suffice it to say that relationships can be volatile, unpredictable and irrational. I believe this is a statement that any married couple, and certainly many non-married couples, would affirm from their experience. Can you relate?

Well 2007 was an excellent year for foraging far and wide and my boots are well muddied and the lab is quite piled high with artifacts for collating and codifying. Here is a brief sample of some of the diverse discoveries, still covered in dust and in no particular order, from a year spent well:

The pastor went on to describe the process of dying that historically has occurred in the institutional church. You may be familiar with the example he cited of those magnificent cathedrals all through Europe, many of them built to accommodate congregations of four thousand, where the average Sunday attendance is about twenty-eight. This was his summary of their decline: God invests his message in a man, which becomes his ministry. Then the ministry becomes a movement, implemented by machinery. Then a monument is built to an institution. And finally it becomes a mausoleum.

Excerpt from Dying in the Institutional Church – Elaine Stedman, Ray Stedman’s wife – Peninsula Bible Fellowship, Palo Alto, CA

Without Dad to confirm his manhood, the boy over-bonds with Mom, and later looks to women to define his destiny and save him from the crippling shame of fatherlessness. He's afraid to get close to a woman, for fear she'll discover his inadequacy and reject him. He's afraid to get close to a man, for fear men will take advantage of his weakness. It's hard for him to grasp a sense of calling or purpose in life.

Blaming Dad, who was himself abandoned by Grandad, only leaves a man alienated, bitter, and angry. Who can a man go to in order to get what he missed from Dad? Many of us have tried to get our masculinity from women, but it doesn't work. But we can't get it from other fatherless men, either.

When a man realizes that no human being can meet his need, he's ready to get real at last and cry out for his true Father God.

I think I got this from Gordon Dalbey at http://www.abbafather.com

There are two spiritual forces at work in the Universe. One is only Good and the other is a deceptive power, using good only where and when it fits its greater destructive purposes. And make no mistake about it, the contrast between these two forces is extremely PERSONAL.

Much of contemporary wisdom tries to convince us that there are spiritual forces and principles that once you unlock the secret, can be utilized at your beck and call. Modern teachers refer to these like George Lucas does in Star Wars as a kind of universal force with a light and a dark side. This portrayal renders the force itself impersonal, a kind of universal mind or law that works like gravity for saint and sinner alike. THIS IS A LIE.

Beginning to a yet unpublished essay (of mine) entitled: The Uncertain Way: The Art of Living the Spiritual Life in a Deadly World

“The value of the myth is that it takes all the things we know and restores to them the rich significance which has been hidden by the veil of familiarity… By putting bread, gold, horse, apple, or the very roads into a myth, we do not retreat from reality: we rediscover it…By dipping them in myth we see them more clearly.”

C.S. Lewis speaking of Tolkien’s work on The Lord of the Rings

Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor—
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So, boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps.
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now—
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.

Poem Mother to Son by Langston Hughes

I hope we’ll all be able to meet again at the end of 2008 and the best meeting place would be at the Lord ’s Table when he returns to bring the Kingdom of God to earth. But if we are not so blessed, then I hope that each one of you keeps climbing and, for God’s sake, don’t turn back.

King of Jesters and Jester to the King!

Then Jesus said to the Twelve, Do you also wish to go away?
Then Simon Peter answered Him, Lord, to whom shall we go?
You have the Words of eternal life. John 6:68

What follows is a paper written after I was asked to discuss my position regarding the Rapture or the Return of Christ. It is a bit lengthy, but I trust it will be stimulating in that my views have changed since I first took the Foundational Class on Power for Abundant Living forty years ago.

"The Rapture or the Return of Christ: Articulating My Position"

Whether referred to as “the Rapture” or “the Gathering Together,” or somewhat irreverently called “the Big Snatch,” Christ’s Return has been a passion of my heart for more than 40 years, and lately this “enduring flame” seems to be burning even more brilliantly, since I have participated in or officiated at numerous funerals during that time. Sometime ago the question was raised as to where I stood with regard to the Return (Pre-Trib, Mid-Trib, or Post-Trib). I was asked if I believed that the Christ’s Return would occur before the Great Tribulation or during the Great Tribulation or after the Great Tribulation had begun. This question caused me to assess my position and motivated me to respond more fully to the question as to where I stand regarding this issue.

Without question I believe that the Return of Christ is imminent. This bright hope is one of the threads woven through my most recent collection of poetry Stone upon Stone: Psalms of Remembrance. In the title poem I build an altar of twelve stones of great significance in my life. The twelfth stone is described this way:

Final stone of hope, capstone to complete my life,

standing on tip-toe, awaiting the golden note,

blessed hope of Christ’s appearing in my lifetime.

Such a belief indicates that I would be categorized as a “Pre-Trib” believer, that is, I believe that Christ will return before The Great Tribulation period. After considerable deliberation, however, I must admit that “I am Pre-Trib with modification.” Allow me to elaborate.

In 1998 I sensed that Christ was going to return during the Feast of Pentecost, based on my reading of the Scriptures and a series of Biblical teachings by Marilyn Agee. Although I have continued to look for Christ to return with eager anticipation, I have tempered my desire to know precisely when the Rapture will take place. The poem “If the Lord tarries. . .” reveals a change in attitude following a number of times when the Return of Christ did not occur when I had thought it would.

“If the Lord tarries” and “If the Lord will”:

May these phrases ever be my preface.

With each decision may I learn to be still

And never presume to know your desire.

Though I may read your Word and apply

It diligently to my heart to do

All you ask of me, some secrets are not

Mine to know. Once more you tell me to watch,

To prepare my heart and to look above.

Whether I understand or misconstrue,

I cannot deny I have tasted of your love.

God is still faithful and His Word is true.

In my heart the hope continues to burn,

As yearn even more for Christ’s return.

Clearly “no man knows the day nor the hour”; however, following the description of the Gathering Together in Chapter 4:13-18, the Fifth Chapter of I Thessalonians begins with a reminder:

But of the times and seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write you.

For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

For when they shall say, “Peace and safety;” then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

Ye are all children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night nor of darkness.

Therefore, let us not sleep, as do others, but let us watch and be sober.

We are also exhorted “to watch” “And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.”(I Thessalonians 1:10) In Luke 21:29-36, Jesus said, “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”

In our emphasis upon what has been characterized as a “new season”, we must remember that the Return of Christ could actually usher in the fullness of that “new season.” In my mind this is “the finish” toward which we are all striving. In his teaching series on “The Rapture of the Church”, Dr. David Jeremiah made the statement that in Bible times before the arrival of a king, ambassadors were sent to prepare the way and announce his arrival. In a similar manner we have been sent as “Ambassadors for Christ” to herald the coming of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who will gather us together in Him to reign on high forevermore.

Herein lies one of the modifications of my “Pre-Trib” belief. Without question, I believe that Christ will return to gather “his bride.” But in a similar way that Eve, the first bride, was taken from the body of the “First Adam,” so the “Second Eve,” the “Bride of Christ” will be taken from the Body of Christ, the “Second Adam.”

Incidentally Eve was taken out of Adam on the evening of the last day, the 30^th, of the month of Elul. During this month the trumpet (shofar) is sounded every day to warn the people to return to God in repentance except on the last day. On that day there is silence in anticipation of the coming Feast of Trumpets which commences the following day, Rosh Hashana, which marks the New Year, both the civil year and the religious year in Jewish culture. Psalm 81:3 refers to this time:

Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.

When Jesus said, “No man knows the day or the hour” in Matthew 24:36, to the Western mind, this saying is said to mean no one knows when Messiah will return. To the Jewish mind, however, this phrase was an idiom referring to Rosh Hashana, meaning that Christ will return at some future Rosh Hashana. Sometimes called Yom HaKeseh, which means the Day of Hiding or the Hidden Day, Rosh Hashana is derived from the Hebrew root “kacah” which means to conceal, cover or hide.

So what I’m saying is that there will be “two raptures,” one of which is spoken of in terms of Noah, who represents a type of rapture that is mentioned in Matthew 24:37-39:

But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

The extraction of the Bride, this “falling away” from the Body represents God’s judgment on the Church. As I Peter 4:17 declares, “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” This judgment will be a wake-up call to the Church to repent and to change to become what God intended for her to be. In order not to be left behind when Christ returns again, the Church will correct herself and align herself to be in God’s will.

The taking away of the bride of Christ will actually stimulate great growth and development. In a similar way that pruning a tree produces more abundant fruit, so will the purging be comparable to that which Jesus spoke of in John 15:

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

Every branch in me that beareth not fruit He taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

In a sense, those gathered from the Body of Christ could represent “a kind of firstfruits,” (James 1:18) spoken of in I Corinthians 15:20-23:

But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

If part of the Body of Christ is raptured with the first appearing of Jesus Christ, what about those who remain? Is there another phase to the Rapture or will those who remain have to endure the Tribulation in its entirety? Jesus speaks of this time before his coming in terms of Lot as well as Noah. The extraction of Lot from Sodom and Gomorrah is another type of rapture, the Pre-wrath Rapture.

Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;

But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.

Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.

Remember Lot's wife. (Luke 17:28-32)

The second part of the Return of Christ involves what has been described as the Pre-Wrath Rapture, which will occur on “The Day of God” or “The Millennial Day of the Lord.” This event is referred to in Revelation 16:14 which says, “For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” There is a reference to Gog’s army of Ezekiel 38 and that the Lord will fight for Israel. This time frame is also mentioned in II Peter 3:12: “Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?” The Pre-Wrath Rapture precedes the Day of the Lord “in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heart, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” (Revelation 8:8-10 and Zephaniah 2:3-5 speak of the asteroid that will impact the earth as a demonstration of God’s wrath on this day)

One of the most revealing parables regarding the Rapture or the Return is that of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13), five of whom were wise and five of whom were foolish. Sometime ago I read a fascinating discussion of this parable in Be the Bride: Volume 3, a wonderful treatise by Daniel Rydsted on the Rapture or the Return from the perspective of individuals in the Body of Christ preparing themselves for the Return of the Bridegroom for his beloved. It was one of those life-changing works that challenged and charged the reader literally to strive to fulfill the title of the book and “Be the Bride.”

There are countless facets to the Return of Christ. One of the fascinating connections centers on Moses and Elijah, both of whom appear with Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration along with Peter, James and John. That appearing can be viewed as a foreshadow of the gathering together, in that the encounter involves both an individual who died, Moses, as well as one who was “caught up to heaven” while he was alive, Elijah. I am, thus, in the process of closely examining the records of the Transfiguration from Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and I am attempting to connect those accounts with the Rapture of the Church.

I have by no means offered a full discussion of the Rapture or the Return of Christ and its various facets, but I have attempted to generate a discussion of some of my views on the subject. In actuality I have not even begun to scratch the surface. I am grateful to have been inspired to think more deeply about the subject and to attempt to express my views that I am still in the process of clarifying. God’s Word ever exhorts us to patiently wait for Christ’s Return, and I close on that hopeful note:

Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.

For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.

For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.

Now the just shall live by faith. . . (Hebrews 10:35-38)

Lonnell E. Johnson

Columbus, Ohio

January 1, 2008

John,

OK, OK, OK, like usual you rain on my parade and my time to wonder about the TWI former Leader of Leaders is now over regarding reconciliation.

But I am still wondering why you drop out of the Priesthood. I am going to get a background check on you and until you are cleared, I am going to make sure Doug McMullan keeps his goats and sheep away from you.

The Rock of Ages was cute… Did Hope come up with that line? Are you getting quick witted in your old age? Who is going to call Doug and let him know the Party Is On?

I can see it now, back in Sindey, Ohio Fairgrounds when we were all in tents and it rained like cats and dogs. Or when we moved to HQ the first year and we worked our ass off getting ready. Hell, Doug will have us clearing the back forty, stringing wire, building a waste water facility, etc., etc,. etc,. Next thing you know Monty Hobbs and Art Poling will be back bossing everyone around.

Charlie Quillen will have break out his old Way International Security outfit. You have me laughing out loud….

This made me remember the old group of friends we had back then. Such as, Bill Greene, I do not want you to say anything negative about him. He made his life’s choices and I hope him well. Boy, do I have found memories of him… What fun he was and always could make us laugh.

Would it not be great to have a cold beer or two (3, 4, or more) with him. I bet he could make us laugh until we cried… He was always good for a great story.

Will John you did it again. I hate doing it, but I must admit, you have done a good job with this site. You made me reflect and for that I thank you and wish you well…

Your friend, (of course it should be without saying, Let’s Keep our Friendship from a Distance!!! GOAT LOVER)

Dale

(For the benefit of other readers, John and I are having great fun catching up and teasing one another; please don’t think that we are doing anything to harm each other or that we are mad at each other).

Now back to my reply to John’s comments:

John,

Your comment on my blog reminded me of Dan Akroyd comments on Saturday night Live when he would say, “Jane you ignorant slut, once again you got it wrong”. Now John, I have to say, “John, you ignorant goat lover, once again you got it wrong”.

You went right to the conclusion… You might be right but I doubt it… and that is only because you said it and I would be remorse if I ever agreed with you.

John, wondering is like to cooking vegetable soup. It is best when you cook it slow and let it take its time to develop that delicious taste.

For instance lets wonder if a few of the top leaders actually saw benefit by coming together because it made business sense. (Let’s forget the spiritual sense for a while)

Let’s wonder if these top executive would think like the executives of IBM and Cisco for an example.

These executive come together from time to time because they want to alien themselves to accomplish one or many strategic objectives. Let say that the top leaders of these break off segments from the Way saw that it made sense to come together because they could buy Gunnison or even Headquarters. Let’s say the Way was in financial trouble and together they could collective benefit from such an acquisition.

Or maybe they came together and one leader discovered his strengths were in managing and the other was in visionary and recruiting. Do you see the point…? Just wondering?

John, never says never because with the right resource and talent anything is possible. You talked about software & technology development over past few years. Now let’s think about that. Because of the internet and because almost anyone has access to it, people do not have get their information from just the leaders. Look at you, even you can read and make up your own mind. (What a minute, I better ask Hope if that is OK. I remember you did have trouble coming out of the rain).

Sorry, back to the point, because of this site you put up, just maybe a ground swell could get started and people would make things happen.

Leadership and change does not always have to come from the top leaders of an organization. Most good ideas in business come from the people that are touching the customer not always the executives. Again, hoping you see it is nothing more then wondering…

I remember after my 2^nd corps evaluation that I had made up my mind something was very wrong with the organization. I was being told that I had quotas to meet and I was expected to do more. I was volunteering my time and money because I choose to give freely. I wondered back then, why someone would not appreciate what I choose to give. I often wondered how the leadership got confused with someone that was not on the payroll vs. someone on the payroll.

I recently was wondering why someone like Doug McMullan would spend his hard earned money to fight for visitation rights at the Way?

(I would tease him like I tease you John, but I wonder how long it would take him to come to Louisville and kick my ass. So I think I will just tease you and leave him alone… I don’t have to wonder if he could kick my ass even at his age. I would bet on him against a twenty year old)

After reading Shari Weirwille profile and seeing her kids are still involve in teaching the Word, it may me wonder what our children will accomplish? I wonder if they will learn to think for themselves and still do great and mighty things for His Highest.

I wonder why I have so much fun teasing you.

I wonder if after John Linder retires or leaves Headquarters if he will apply for a job in Mayberry? OK, I am sorry I should never make fun of Mayberry.

Will it is Christmas Eve and I am wondering why I even care about replying to you. Even if you were right in all of your conclusions, I just think there is so much to wonder about.

For instances I was wondering how you married a Saint like Hope because you truly are a wonder…

OK, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays and I do love you.

I will be waiting for your reply.

Love and Kisses,

Dale

I wrote the first piece a couple of years ago and still find it apropo and funny as hell. It's mostly a true account. It is a little long but there is some shorter stuff following. Enjoy!!

The Christian Shroud Richard Hodge

You were twelve when you began your quest. What exactly it was you were searching for you weren’t sure, but you were absolutely convinced that whatever it was, it was out there in the world. It was a search for truth, or so you thought, and your goal was enlightenment, or so you believed. Knowledge, wisdom, understanding, faith, hope and love, were terms that seemed to fit into your quest, but you weren’t sure where.

Raised to believe in God in the Christian tradition, it was their God and Christ and Holy Ghost that you sought. If God could be found you were sure that it would be within Christendom’s bounds. And so you searched with limitless determination and intensifying fervor.

Little Mary was not the best student in Sunday school, she usually slept through the class. One day the teacher called on her while she was napping, "Tell me, Mary, who created the universe?" When Mary didn't stir, little Johnny, an altruistic boy seated in the chair behind her, took a pin and jabbed her in the rear. "God almighty!" Shouted Mary The teacher said, "very good," Mary fell back asleep. A while later the teacher asked Mary, "Who is our lord and savior," but, Mary didn't stir. Once again, Johnny came to the rescue and stuck her. “Jesus Christ!" shouted Mary, the teacher replied, "very good," and Mary went back to sleep. The teacher asked Mary a third question. "What did Eve say to Adam after she had her twenty-third child?" Again, Johnny jabbed Mary with the pin. This time Mary jumped up and shouted, "if you stick that damn thing in me one more time, I'll break it in half!" The teacher fainted.

It all began with some sage words from your mother. You had come home from church with a question as to who was right, the bible or the man who taught it. Your mother’s response, “Christianity is very simple, but men make it difficult,” became the guiding principle of your quest. It was much later in your journey that you learned that according to the bible, “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.” However, it was your mother’s simple statement that solidified that truth in your heart.

At the time, you were attending a low Anglican church. This church observed all of the dogma and doctrine from its origin in the Church of England, but with less ceremony and ritual. The Apostle’s creed, the stations-of-the-cross, and the reverence of Mary the mother of God were mystifying, and just fascinating enough to hold your wonder. The contradiction of taking teachings without accepting the whole tradition, though, did not sit well with you. Neither did the apparent discrepancies between the doctrine that was taught and its proclaimed source. “Why does the church teach that sins have to be confessed to a man, when you told me that’s not in the bible?” you asked your Sunday school teacher. The answer, disconcerting to you even at the age of twelve, “because that is what is held in the tradition of the church.”

A Baptist minister, a Roman Catholic priest, and a Jewish rabbi were discussing how each carried out the bible verse “give unto God that which is God’s.” The minister did it this way, “I draw a circle on the floor, toss the collection money in the air, all that lands inside the circle is God’s and the remainder is mine.” “I do something similar,” piped the priest, “Only everything that stays in the circle is mine and God gets the rest.” The rabbi proclaimed, “I have a better system. Forget the circle. I throw the money in the air. What God wants, he keeps, and the rest is mine.”

It was 1972 out on the west coast, and churches were experimenting with new ways to draw young people into the fold. A Roman Catholic church about four blocks from the Anglican church started holding noon masses with rock and roll music. It had a cross on the roof, pews and a crucifix in the sanctuary, a choir loft and stained glass windows, all familiar items, and somewhat comforting. Roman Catholicism was the parent that spawned the Church of England and the Anglican and Episcopalian denominations. Maybe here, at the source, you surmised, would be the truth you were seeking. Besides, mass at noon meant sleeping in on Sundays, and rock and roll music is a lot cooler than those stuffy hymns at the Anglican church.

You enjoyed the music, but little else. The people in the congregation that you associated with, and especially those in the youth group, were living double lives. All prim and proper in church, they raised hell the other six days of the week. Nice people, for the most part, and they sure could party, but the duality got wearing, and you decided to take a break from church altogether.

A team of archaeologists was excavating in Israel when they discovered a cave with the following symbols carved on the wall: A woman, a donkey, a shovel, a fish, and a Star of David. Deciding this was a unique find; they chopped out the piece of stone and took it to the museum where archaeologists from all over the world came to study the ancient symbols. After months of conferences, a meeting was held to discuss the meaning of the markings. The president of the society stood up and pointed at the first drawing and said: "This looks like a woman. We can judge that this race was family oriented and held women in high esteem. The next symbol resembles a donkey; so they were smart enough to train animals to help them till the soil. The third drawing looks like a shovel of some sort, which means they had tools to work with. The fish means that if a famine had hit the earth whereby the crops didn't grow, they would take to the sea for food. The last symbol appears to be the Star of David, which means they were evidently Hebrew." The audience applauded enthusiastically. Suddenly a little old man stood up in the back of the room and said, "Idiots! Hebrew is read from right to left. This is what it says........... 'Holy Mackerel Dig the Ass on That Woman!!'

The hunger, however refused to go away, and so you looked for somewhere to get fed. A schoolmate suggested his church, a high Anglican affair steeped in tradition. Nine one ton bells in the belfry, an original Raphael painting in one chapel, a solid marble baptistery, a twenty foot tall tapestry of Mary with threads of pure silver and gold among its beautiful colors, all leant to an atmosphere of reverential awe in the sanctuary. The effect on you was at once intimidating and a source of wonder. The ritual of the mass, from the spreading of the incense and the chanting of the initial procession, to the genuflecting and responsive mantras, to the use of real wine during communion, served to deepen your amazement and raise your hopes of finding your truth.

The youth group leader, a young priest who spent his formative years in the wilds of the 60s in Haight-Ashbury, regaled you all with tales of how God worked in his life. Unfortunately Father Retter had few answers for you as to how to recognize God working in your life. Though not openly condoning drug use, he was not particularly fervent in his castigation of it either. Sure that Father Retter recognized that you and your group often attended church while under-the-influence, you were also sure that he was just glad to have you in church. Your group of friends, after all, made up the only youth group that graced the hallowed halls of that cathedral.

So this young priest is about to give his first public sermon. Nerves frazzled, he goes to the bishop for advice. “Calm down my son,” he said, “just make sure that you do communion before you preach.” He went on, “when preparing the communion wine, add a little vodka to the cup that you will drink from. Not too much though, because you will have to drink all of the remainder.” The young priest followed the bishop’s instructions and, after communion, rose up to preach. The sermon was impassioned and the congregation responded accordingly. The priest was exceedingly pleased with himself and approached the bishop after the service to ask how he had enjoyed the sermon. The bishop responded, “While the effort and enthusiasm were wonderful, there were a few errors that I must correct.” After clearing his throat he continued: “First of all son, we do not refer to the holy trinity as ‘Big Daddy, Junior and the Spook’. The cross is not ‘the big T’. Jesus and his disciples are not ‘JC and the boys’. There is a taffy pulling contest at St Peter’s next week, not a ‘peter pulling contest at St Taffy’s’. And finally, dear boy, we prefer to refer to the mother of God as the Virgin Mary, and definitely not as ‘Mary with a cherry’.”

Ah the beauty of the west coast in the 70s. The hippy generation was still very much entrenched, the open attitudes toward sex and drugs predominated, and Go Ask Alice was still taught in high school English classes. You were first introduced to hashish at the age of eleven and quickly discarded cigarettes as a waste of time. “If I am going to smoke,” you told your friends, “I’m damned sure going to get something out of it.” Trying to fit the near religious experience of getting stoned with the condemnation of drugs in religious circles, you rationalized, “if it is natural it must be of God and is therefore put on earth for man to use.” This fit conveniently with the psilocybin mushrooms that sprouted on the lawns in your neighborhood every spring, and the ease of growing marijuana with the latest all natural—therefore godly--hydroponics techniques.

“God creates and man rearranges.” Margaret Hodge

As you traveled across the country for the next few years, alcohol, drugs and churches—it didn’t matter what kind—were a constant part of your life and the closest that you came to God was stoned out of your gourd, alone, atop a mountain in Newfoundland, bathed in the sunlight filtering through the trees, embraced by a soft breeze, with the sights and sounds of the forest caressing your senses, and you felt really alive cause…suddenly you had to piss, big time! Ah the joy and relief of that simple, natural act of release.

The head nun tells the two new nuns that they have to paint their room without getting any paint on their clothes. The one nun says to the other, "Hey, let's take all our clothes off, fold them up, and lock the door." So they do this, and begin painting their room. Soon they hear a knock at the door. They ask, "Who is it?" "Blind man!" The nuns look at each other, then one nun says, "He's blind, he can't see. What could it hurt." They let him in. The blind man walks in and says, "Hey, nice tits. Where do you want me to hang the blinds?"

A binge alcoholic, you quit drinking at age 21, scared because the blackouts increased in frequency and length. The final straw was the night that you finally went home with the girl you had been pursuing for about six months on what would be her last night in town. The necking at the party is vivid, the clutching and grabbing on the ride to her place seared in your mind, the foreplay that began at her door and continued into the bedroom still clear in your memories, and then…you woke up across town in your own bed the next afternoon. Julia and her family moved out of town that morning while you slept, never to be seen by you again. As to what actually happened that night….

A Brit, a Frenchman and a Cuban are viewing a painting of Adam and Eve frolicking in the Garden of Eden. "Look at their reserve, their calm," muses the Brit. "They must be British." "Nonsense," the Frenchman disagrees. "They're naked, and so beautiful. Clearly, they are French." "No clothes, no shelter," the Cuban points out, "they have only an apple to eat, and they're being told this is paradise. Clearly, they are Cuban."

You tried a Baptist church for a while, but grape juice and Wonder bread, just did not seem to fit with the idea of holy communion, the teachings were pretty generic, and you didn’t find yourself any closer to your truth.

The new minister's wife had a baby. The minister appealed to the congregation for a salary increase to cover the addition to the family. The congregation agreed that it was only fair, and approved it. When the next child arrived, the minister appealed again and the congregation approved again. Several years and five children later, the congregation was a bit upset over the increasing expense and a rather loud meeting ensued. Finally, the minister stood and shouted out, "Having children is an Act of God!" An older man in the back stood and shouted back, "Rain and snow are Acts of God, too, and we wear rubbers for them!"

At the age of twenty four you took a class on principles of biblical research. Mostly this included principles of language and understanding the eastern culture in which the stories of the bible are set. The most impressive thing about the class was the PhD’s teaching that, “you don’t believe because I or any man says it, you believe because you take it and study it and make it your own.” Inspired, you truly began to re-search the bible, including going to the old extant texts as much as possible. You also looked at eastern culture to put the scriptures in context. Now things started to fit. Now the religious facades began to fall away and reveal truth. Now your search had found a course.

Two priests died at the same time and met Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates. St. Peter said, "I'd like to get you guys in now, but our computer's down. You'll have to go back to Earth for about a week, but you can't go back as humans. What'll it be?" The first priest says, "I've always wanted to be an eagle, soaring above the Rocky mountains." "So be it," says St. Peter, and off flies the first priest. The second priest mulls this over for a moment and asks, "Will any of this week 'count', St. Peter?" "No, I told you the computer's down. There's no way we can keep track of what you're doing. The week's a freebie." "In that case," says the second priest, "I've always wanted to be a stud." "So be it," says St. Peter, and the second priest disappears. A week goes by, the computer is fixed, and the Lord tells St. Peter to recall the two priests. "Will you have any trouble locating them?" he asks. "The first one should be easy," says St. Peter. "He's somewhere over the Rockies, flying with the eagles. But the second one could prove to be more difficult." "Why?" asketh the Lord. St. Peter answered, "He's on a snow tire, somewhere in North Dakota."

Jesus Christ is not God; the dead are not alive, the euphemism used is a sleep that will end with Christ’s return; only three creations in Genesis chapter 1; the world became without form and void but was not created that way; animals posses the same soul life as humans; God’s image is spirit; one manifestation with nine parts given to all for profit; Jesus born September 11, 3BC; his ministry was about eight months, not three years; He was crucified on a tree with no cross piece; Jesus never touched the cross until he was nailed to it; five crosses on Calvary not three; Jesus died about three o’clock on a Wednesday and got up on a Saturday after 72 hours in the grave; Judas was forgiven by Jesus and was present at the ascension…so much becomes clear, so much logically fits, once the shroud of institutionalized religion is stripped away.

1Th 5:21Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

With freedom from the stultifying constraints of controlled religion, you found yourself able to investigate outside the confines of denominational Christianity. After hosting a Siberian Shaman in your home, investigating the teachings of the Koran, perusing the Bhagavad-Gita and the Book of Mormon, looking at the Zoroastrians and the Midianites, extended discourse regarding Native American beliefs and Christianized Judaism, interaction with representatives of numerous Christian denominations, and in depth study of the bible, you are approaching your truth.

Pr 4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

Wisdom is the correct application of knowledge. Understanding only blossoms after wisdom is attained. Love is the convictions that you hold in your heart. Faith, or believing, is the action that you take on those convictions. And hope is the promise of a brighter tomorrow because of the love and believing that you put into today. God can be found everywhere and missed anywhere. Echoes of your mother’s words ring in your ears, His way is simple though not always easy.

The time has come for St. Peter's annual three-week vacation, and Jesus volunteers to fill in for 

him at the Pearly Gates."It's no big deal," St. Peter explains.  "Sit at the registration desk, and ask each 

person a little about his or her life.  Then send them on to housekeeping to pick up their wings."  

On the third day, Jesus looks up to see a bewildered old man standing in front of him.  "I'm a simple 

carpenter," says the man.  "And once I had a son.  He was born in a very special way, and was unlike 

anyone else in this world.  He went through a great transformation even though he had holes in his hands 

and feet.  He was taken from me a long time ago, but his spirit lives on forever.  All over the world 

people tell his story."  By this time, Jesus is standing with his arms outstretched.  There are tears in his eyes, 

and he embraces the old man.  "Father," he cries out, "It's been so long!"  The old man squints, stares 

for a moment, and says, "Pinocchio?"

Pr 17:22                 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine

An Illinois man left the snow filled streets of Chicago for a vacation in Florida. His wife was on a trip and was planning to meet him there the next day. When he reached his motel in Florida, he decided to send his wife a quick e-mail. Unable to find the scrap of paper on which he had written her e-mail address, he did his best to type it in from memory. Unfortunately, he missed one letter and his note was directed instead to an elderly preacher's wife whose husband had passed away only the day before. When the grieving widow checked her e-mail, she took one look at the monitor, let out a piercing scream, and fell to the floor in a total faint. Her family rushed into the room and saw this note on the screen:
DEAREST WIFE:
JUST GOT CHECKED IN.
EVERYTHING PREPARED FOR YOUR ARRIVAL TOMORROW.
P.S. SURE IS HOT DOWN HERE!!

If you liked that, you might like these:

Traveling

Traveling through the distant nearness

Through a wall of sound

I perceived a sudden clearness

Spite the panic all around

Riding the rails, chasing their tails, blind leading the blind

‘Twas a moment of introspection

‘Twas in the right direction

I am alive!!

I breathe, I touch, I think, I feel, I discern

Yet so limited

In knowledge, wisdom, and most of all comprehension

Experience is my teacher

And the words of wiser men

Or are they simply men who’ve gone before

With the same questions

And lack of understanding

Mistaking their experiences

For all encompassing truth

The road to enlightenment, the way, the truth, the gospel

As I wend my way down the path of life

My pace slows as the years go by

My vision grows more distinct

What was once a blur is clarified

There’s more to see with an open mind

Unencumbered with religion, free to roam and glean from all sources

Liberty allows me to seek my God

To find my God

To experience my God

To share my God

Demi-Gods

Hey now to all you demi-gods sitting in your ivory towers and talking smack ‘bout being on the fast track. Not caring who you step on on your way to the top, or how far they drop, long as you get to your place. Back stabbin’ and money grabbin’ is your way of life. Fancy clothes and fancy cars, decked out like movie stars, think you’re special, think you’re good, think you’re better than us.

Makin’ your deals at others expense, no stranger to violence--not always physical. You have your agenda, you’ve built your rationale, the means don’t matter, just the ends. Craving worship, you call it respect, but your loyalties are fickle, based on “what can I get?” Money’s your god, and the power it brings, but you never have enough people or things. They’re the same to you, people and things—objects to be used; abused; then cast aside.

Inhabiting the streets, and the courtrooms, and the boardrooms, and the pulpits, and the capitols; you weave your webs, traps for the innocent, or the gullible. Taking advantage is the way you live, robbing others of their joy in life.

You’re no better when all’s said and done, we’re cut from the same cloth, every one. So get off your high horse and take a real look at life, and notice all the misery and strife--caused by you. Stop steppin’ on people, help them up, we all deserve to taste the good.

So who’m I talkin’ to, who’s this about: If the shoe fits…….well, you know the rest.

If it Weren’t for People the World Would be Perfect

If it weren’t for people the world would be perfect

What other species pollutes the air they breathe, the water they drink, and the land they live on

Or poisons themselves with chemicals and calls it enjoyment

Or kills other creatures for sport

Or calls a place paradise, then changes it to something else

Or hoards for simple greed

Or hates and discriminates for no good reason

Or drives other species to extinction in the name of progress

But if it weren’t for people,

Who would enjoy the beauty of a sunset, or the majesty of a mountain

Or praise the creation or the Creator

The ?

So, do you remember Mr. Spock and the Vulcan mind-meld?

We always called it the mind fuck.

Just thinking about fucked up minds melded to the thoughts and ideas of others

How did football get to be soccer in North America?

Consider political correctness and massive mind control

Who picked a ray not native to our area as the symbol for our baseball team?

Mull over religious thinking and the appropriation of freedom

Where are the 3 days and 3 nights in the grave between Good Friday and Easter Sunday?

Ponder our mainstreamed, career-oriented system called higher education

What is the real meaning of a degree, BS=bullshit; MS=more of the same; PhD=piled higher and deeper?

Contemplate the condensing of human habitations into structures akin to rat warrens

Do social skills increase with proximity, do we know each other better?

Reflect on the mercenary hue that stains the fabric of our society.

Does he who has the most toys when he dies really win?

Life is Amazing!

The floating continuum of lost and idle thoughts

That distract from the search for truth

The draining of mental power and independent ideas

That turns individuals into masses

The double-tongued political rhetoric

That accustoms us to deception and outright lies

The mercenary media circus

That presents unattainable goals, and convinces of unnecessary needs

The politicized, institutionalized religion

That fills their coffers but not our souls

The permanent scarring of the natural world

Raped in the name of progress

And yet…………

Life is amazing!

Your truth can be found if only you will seek

Take hold of your individuality

Turn off the brain drain and think for yourself,

Expand your horizons and feed your intellect

Politics is a compound word

Poly means many and Ticks are blood sucking creatures

Be not deceived

Money may make the world go around but the love of it is the root of all evil

Money is a thing, things are to be used, people are to be loved

Set your own goals, define your own needs, be happy

I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his

seed begging bread. (Ps 37:25)

Follow your heart and fill your soul with good things

If a place is a paradise, how is changing it, progress?

The world is a beautiful place, enjoy its richness

Attitude determines outcome, what you put into something is what you get out of it

Clichés yes, but even clichés sprouted from a germ of truth.