Fantasies

 Like waking up from the longest dream

How real it seemed
Until Your love broke through
I've been lost in a fantasy
That blinded me
Until Your love broke through  -  Keith Green

I was in a strip mall the other day when I came across a large group of people, mostly in their 20's gathered outside a video game store. Many were sitting in camp chairs, waiting for the store to open. I'd seen this same scene before when some new video game was being offered, and people were rushing to be among the first to purchase it. I was amazed, as I always am, that so many people would be so invested in giving so much energy and attention to something that wasn't real, that was a fantasy. I remember when these games were marketed as "virtual reality." The emphasis was on how the game made everything seem so real, even if it wasn't. There's teaching and wisdom for us here if we're willing to see and listen.

Keith Green's song, Your Love Broke Through was one of the first I became familiar with after I met Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. The lyrics are powerful and I identified with them so strongly. In Scripture, a blind man given sight by Jesus is asked by the Pharisees to explain just who Jesus was. The man said that he was no scholar but that he could declare this; "Once I was blind, but now I see." That's exactly how I felt after coming to the King. I was seeing what I had been blind to for so long. I was seeing how all of my life had been given over to seeking pleasure and fulfillment in a world system that was passing away. Seeking what could only be temporary and never retained in eternity. I was pursuing the fantasy that I could fill the emptiness of my life with relationships, pleasure, drugs, entertainment, and on and on. I pursued this fantasy with all my heart and all I came to was the reality that none of them provided lasting joy. It all came to a head on the floor of an apartment crowded with fellow partiers, with me surrounded by people yet feeling completely alone. I had no idea that even then His love and grace was pursuing me, and a few weeks later, as it did for Green, His love broke through. I woke up from my own "longest dream" to the reality of Christ, and life has never been the same since.

All of us pursue fantasies in this life. Success in our professions, possessions, in relationships, in sex, in a seemingly infinite array of addictions and habits. None satisfy for long. We're always longing for something more, but we're blind to the reality that the something more is Him, who all the while is pursuing us. Who, if you don't yet know Him, is pursuing you.

What fantasies, even as a believer, have you been lost in? All those young people clamoring for the newest game, will soon be back at the store clamoring for the next newest game. So will you, in one way or another, until His love breaks through to you. I pray that it will now. May the fantasies you've been lost in end and the reality of His wonder be yours. May His love and grace break through to you.

Blessings,
Pastor O

Whirlwinds

 "The Lord answered Job from the whirlwind." Job 38:1....."Only those who meet Him in the depths can know Him deeply. You will encounter Him in the winds that shake your life." Chris Tiegreen

God is moving in our culture, nation, and in the nations. There can be no disputing this. On college campuses everywhere, bastions of secular humanism and atheism, an awakening is taking place amongst the student population. I Just viewed a video made by a family of believers in Massachusetts. They showed the long line of traffic for those that were heading to their church, and as they arrived, an equally long line of vehicles exiting the church's first service that day. The narrator said that in all their life in that area, they had never seen anything like it. Things like this are happening everywhere, and it is a wonderful thing and prayer for such a move of His Holy Spirit has been fervent for years, even decades, but it is not random. I believe it is God moving in response to the whirlwinds that have been assaulting our culture for a very long time now.

Whatever your view of the martyred Charlie Kirk, if you watched any part of the nearly two hours of sheer worship that started his memorial service, you witnessed that something powerful was happening. Something otherworldly. People who were present, many of them unbelievers, commented on how the atmosphere was supercharged with peace, joy, hope, and wonder. 100,000 were in the stadium. Millions more watched in their homes or in gatherings. Thousands came forward to receive Christ in the stadium, only God knows how many more came to Him through what they saw and were swept up in.

I say all this because the root of this heavenly invasion of the earthly realm came out of the whirlwind of not only Charlie Kirk's assasination, but out of the ongoing tragedies we have witnessed throughout this nation and the world. People are sick with sorrow and fear as a result of the violence, murder, and destruction that is everywhere. The response of a segment of the church has been to go to their knees in prayer and cry out for Him to move upon our sin sick world. Out of these whirlwinds, He is answering, and I believe, it is only the beginning.

Perhaps you're experiencing your own "whirlwind" right now. Like Job, all you seem to know is pain and heartache. Do not try to run from it. Run to Him. Bring your brokenness, your sorrow, your devastation. In the whirlwind, listen for Him. He is speaking, moving, and acting. If we trust Him in the whirlwind, we'll grow deeper in Him. If we trust Him in the whirlwind, we'll grow stronger in Him. If we trust Him in the whirlwind, we'll see His glory and His victory. Press into Him. He has things to show you and do in you that you wouldn't believe if He told you. He really does bring beauty from ashes, joy from mourning, and garments of praise from a spirit of heaviness.

Blessings,
Pastor O

Be Still

 "Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10

I know many who will say that this verse is a treasured one to them. Count me among them. Yet, I'm not sure we have really understand what He is saying in this.

I think most of us believe He is telling us to stop all movement, to be at ease and at rest, and then, as a result, we will have a deeper understanding and knowledge of who He is. I think there is good reasoning in this, but it goes much deeper than we know. The original language here gives as the root meaning for "be still" as "let go." That puts a completely different meaning upon it. God is not telling us to simply stop all movement, both outwardly and inwardly, He is telling us to let go, to fully let go of everything that is happening in the moment. We let it all go....into His hands and out of ours. Whatever it is that is coming against us, be it fear, danger, need, or person or spirit, we let go of the threat, all of it, into His care. His total care. Being still can be challenging to us, but letting go can seem impossible. That takes a surrendered trust. Especially when it's to a God that we know far more by reputation than by experience.

This is where the second part of the Scripture takes on a much deeper meaning. I believe the Father is telling us that if we dare to let go of whatever it is that is stealing our peace and joy, we will not just experience more of His peace and joy, we will experience Him. We will know Him in much deeper ways than we ever could while we held onto the problem and tried to "worry" it out by our own strength.

There's an old saying, much used, that says, "Let go and let God." That's good advice, but even better is this, "Let go and know God." Let go and behold what He does in response to our trust. Let go and learn of Him in ways we never knew before. Let go and enter into a deeper walk than we've ever had before. Wonders await in the trials of life, but the doorway to discovering them begins with our letting go.

Blessings,
Pastor O

Drifting?

 I saw a simple statement today. It merely said, "Noah's Ark didn't have a steering wheel." A simple statement yet a profound one. At least, profound to any who will take some time to think about it.

Now, if you know the biblical account of Noah and his Ark, you know that God directed Noah to build it, giving specific directions and measurements. He gave him specific instructions as to who should be with him on the ark. He told him when he and his family and all the animals he had been instructed to gather were to be on board. He told him exactly when he should close the doorway as the floodwaters began to rise. In time, the land was fully covered by water and the Ark was afloat, but afloat to where? We're told of no rudder or steering mechanism. All the Ark could do was drift on the water, which it did for a great deal of time. All they could do was go in the direction that the waters took them. All Noah and his family could do was trust the God who directed them into the Ark. Trust that He would get them to where He desired them to go. They did, and He did, and there's a teaching for us there.

We are called, in Christ, to be led of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit rarely gives any long range information about where He is leading us. The only "rudder" He gives us is His Word and His still small voice. It can often seem like we are drifting aimlessly, but we're not. He's at work, leading us through calm seas and stormy ones. Our part is to trust Him and obey Him, and to keep close to Him, following step by step. He will get us to where He means to in the best way and time. We'll be tempted to try and steer our lives according to our wisdom and understanding, but the end of this is always destructive on some level. 

The ancient Israelites wandered the wilderness for 40 years, seemingly going nowhere. Yet that was an illusion. All the while He was leading the way and constantly at work within them, transforming a people into what He desired them to be. We will have our own wilderness times. We'll have periods in our lives where all we seem to be doing is drifting aimlessly. If we are truly following Him, His call is to trust Him. He knows the way we are going, and the Way is in and through Jesus Christ. God's plan and purpose for Noah unfolded with the receding of the waters. There was never a moment when He was not directing the currents that carried the Ark. Neither will there be a moment when our own life currents will not be controlled and directed by Him. What seems to be is not our reality. He is. We can trust Him. He knows where we're going, and He is the Way, the only Way to get there. And He is with us all along the Way.

Blessings,
Pastor O

Himself

 "To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness." Isaiah 61:3

We live in a fallen and broken world and grief and sorrow are real and terrible consequences of that world. All of us will come face to face with sorrow. The great tragedy in what is already a tragedy is that so many will come to it and live in it....alone. Yes, there will be friends and family who console us, but will have their own lives and sorrows to deal with. After some time, they'll move on. Our grief will not. This is why the above verse from Isaiah is so powerful, because it is so true.

I have come to see this verse in a much deeper way of late. We tend to read it as God giving us something to counter our pain. Doing something that deadens it or makes it go away. I understand this verse, and I think correctly, as doing something far greater than that. In it's promise, He gives us Himself. He pours Himself not just over our grief, but into it. Into us. Into our mourning He comes. He is our consolation and comfort. He is the beauty that takes the place of the ashes of our loss. He is the joy that resonates in our hearts and spirit in the deepest places of our suffering. He is the Praise of the Kingdom of God that overwhelms the spirit of heaviness and darkness. He gives Himself, and He doesn't remove Himself from us. He promises to never leave or forsake us. Others will, no matter how well intentioned they may be. He will be a permanent presence and Almighty counter force in the midst of our suffering. He will not cease the giving of Himself in the midst of all that we face in life.This is the beauty of the Gospel. He gave Himself for us and He gives Himself to us. Every moment of every day, He gives Himself to you and to me. 

Wherever you are on your journey, whatever your need may be, He longs to show you the power of His promise. He will be your portion. He will be your consolation. He will be your healing. He gives Himself to yourself. Will you receive Him? Will you discover how rich and deep this promise is? How rich and deep all His promises are.

Blessings,
Pastor O

Explanations

 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4

I recently listened to a conversation between Pastor Greg Laurie and Franklin Graham, the son of Billy Graham. They were discussing the awful assasination of Charlie Kirk, a man being greatly used by God to take the Gospel of Christ to a young generation desperately in need of His truth.

Graham asked Laurie how do you answer people who have questions as to how God could allow such a terrible thing? It's a question we all come to when we witness tragedy invade the lives of people. Why didn't God stop it? Why didn't He intervene? He could have, but He didn't. How could he allow such an evil act? Laurie answered with something that really struck me with its deep but simple truth. "We don't live on explanations. We live on His promises." 

This is not dodging a difficult question. The truth is that no explanation would ever satisfy us. It would only leave us with more questions. Some points need to be made here. First and foremost, we need to understand that we live in a fallen world where sin and evil abound. The history of civilization bears this out. Evil is real and it is rooted in sin, which is the result of the fallen human race's rebellion against God. That this is so is proven by the hatred that has always been directed towards those who present His truth about the human condition and that the only remedy for it is Christ and Christ alone. Charlie Kirk was killed by a man who hated him. Social media was filled with posts that celebrated his death, that celebrated cold blooded murder. Kirk was not the first and he won't be the last. He was preceded by a long line of martyrs, all who followed in the footsteps of Christ, who Himself was murdered by those who hated Him and His message. Again, sin and evil are everywhere in this fallen world and we have no defense against it because we are born with the same disease that infects this world. Christ came to set us free from this curse, but we have refused to believe that we're under it, and we refuse to believe Him.

I go back to Laurie's answer. We don't live on explanations. We live on His promises. We live on His Word. Evil and sin abound in this fallen world, but He has promised that His grace abounds more. Joseph, the favorite son of Jacob, was sold into slavery by his brothers who hated him for it. He endured great injustice in Egypt, but God worked through it all to use Joseph to save not only his family and nation, but countless Egyptian lives as well. When he was reunited with his brothers he told them that what they meant for evil, God turned into good. In this fallen, broken world, where evil does abound, His grace and goodness will abound more. Much has happened in my life that others meant for harm, but the Lord has turned to good. He has always done so. He will always do so. One day, He will explain it all, but till then, trust Him. His promises are true. Every one of them. Hold onto Him. He will bring them to pass. In it all, claim the promise of Psalm 18:46, "The Lord lives, blessed be my Rock."

Blessings,
Pastor O

Naked Evil

 Jesus said that the devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy the human race and most especially, the people of God. We who call ourselves followers of Christ know this, We're aware of the evidence of this throughout human history. There has always been naked evil in the world since sin first entered the human race through Adam in the Garden. Do we, the church, have any response to it?

Yesterday, a man named Charlie Kirk was ruthlessly murdered simply because someone didn't just disagree with him, they were filled with hate for him. He had to be eliminated. Last month, an innocent young woman from the Ukraine was ruthlessly murdered on a subway by a deranged killer while commuters looked on and did nothing. The woman sitting near the victim glanced at her after she was attacked and then looked away. Every weekend in the streets of Chicago, large numbers of people are ruthlessly shot and killed as violence and murder rules those streets. In the Russian-Ukraine war, a dictator who is truly the face of evil, ruthlessly wages a war that has now claimed nearly 2 million lives. Again, what is the response of the people of God, of the followers of Christ? I believe that in too many ways, it is that of the woman on that subway. We glance at it all, and then we look away.

We look away because we are consumed with ourselves, our families, our affairs, our comfort and our safety. Might I add, even with our "ministries?" We glance at the growing evil in our midst, and then look away, absorbed completely in ourselves. As long as the evil is not touching us, we're not that concerned. We just see it as proof of His soon return, when He'll take us all away and out of it all. And all the while, Christ is weeping....and we're not.....unless it happens to touch us.

In the movie "Gettysburg," confederate general Robert E. Lee says, "We are awash in a sea of blood, and it must end." My friends, our culture, nation, and world are awash in that sea right now, and it must end. It is our part to lead the way in its ending. Author Chris Tiegreen writes, "A blinded world needs us to stand, to fight, and to pray." We cannot go on looking away. We must confess our sin of indifference, repent of it, and attack evil with all our might, using the weapons of the Kingdom of God and not the world. Living on our knees and being the Church Triumphant. It has to start now. It has to start with me and with you. Will it, or will we just keep looking away?

Blessings,
Pastor O

Enemies

He prepares a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. Psalm 23:5  "For every enemy of your soul there's an answer." Anonymous

I recently watched a short video where an elderly lady spoke of what she envisioned when the words of Psalm 23:5 came to her mind. She said what she "saw" was herself, sitting at His table, while He personally served her a feast of spiritual riches that nothing on this earth could compare to. She said that as she partook of that feast, in fellowship with her Lord, all of the enemies of her life, rejection, depression, anxiety, and fear, were directly across the table from her, forced to watch her eat of His heavenly riches, helpless to prevent it. Each of them, true enemies of her soul and each with the desire to destroy her life, sat powerless and helpless as His great favor was upon her. 

The great enemy of the human race and most especially of the followers of Christ, is of course, Satan. He hates what God loves and God loves the human race He created, and most especially does He love those who have placed their faith in His Son. He's an enemy dedicated to our destruction, and he has seemingly endless weapons to use against us. The ones the good lady lists are certainly among his favorites. Untold millions, even in the Body of Christ, are tormented and held captive by them. So powerful are they that men and women seek every remedy known to man in order to be free of them. As a result we spend a fortune on various drugs and even more on professional therapists, yet the enemy almost always seems to retain the upper hand. We may be able to quote Psalm 23, but believing it and living out as a life promise is another matter altogether. Our enemies of the soul will not cease to come against us, but they are a defeated enemy. Defeated not by us, but by Jesus Christ through His death and resurrection. The cross and empty tomb are the seal of His, and our victory.

What enemies seek to destroy you this day? Would you dare to believe all the promises found in the 23rd Psalm? Would you dare to face them all in the power of your God? Would you dare to believe that He really will prepare His victory table for you and in their presence? While they, totally impotent, can do nothing but watch.

In the book of Job it is written that He "gives songs in the night." Author and Pastor Louis Giglio had one such song given to him by the Holy Spirit during a time of great personal anguish. He began to sing it in his own night hours. I share it with you as one we can sing as well: Be still, there is a Healer. His love is deeper than the sea. His mercy is unending. His arms are a fortress for the weak. Come to His feast. Sing this song. His promise is that as you do, your enemies are disarmed and defeated, while you stand in victory. As the old hymn lyric goes, "It's the song of the soul set free." May you sing it today....as your enemies sit powerless before you.

Blessings,

Pastor O 

Dark Places

 "Search me, O God, and know my heart." Psalm 139:23......"I want to follow Jesus by moving into the dark places in my heart." Larry Crabb

When we think of "following Jesus," it's usually with an emphasis on the outward aspect of doing so. We will follow Him to the places He leads us in ministry, in relationships, in job choices, stewardship, and life choices. We're committed to following Him to those places. Places that are outside of ourselves. Places we are going to but have not yet arrived.

This is certainly a part of what it means to follow, but I think that true following begins with following Him inwardly. Following Him to the inner part of our being, to our hearts, and to all that may be found there. Even the dark places that we don't want to see, or even admit are there. Going there can be a painful and terrifying journey. In fact, it's guaranteed that it will be. 

Scripture says that King David was a man after God's own heart, yet that same heart was also home to a great deal of corruption. David lusted for a woman who was the wife of another man, raped her, impregnated her. When he was unable to convince her husband to sleep with her and so cover his sin, he had him killed, taking his widow for himself. David loved his God, but with a divided heart. He also loved much that was not found in God at all. His inner corruption led to an encounter with God. He saw His broken state and in surrender, invited God to search and cleanse his heart.

So many of those who say they follow Him, who profess to love Him, are doing so with divided hearts. In truth, every one of us, when we come to Him in faith, come with hearts that have had many loves and many idols. They remain because we cannot cleanse them ourselves. If we could, we would not have needed Jesus Christ. If we have set our hearts to follow Him, then the first steps will have to be over what's in our hearts. What idols and other loves reside there that set themselves up against our love for Him? What attitudes, behaviors, habits and addictions do we cherish but that draw our hearts away from Him? What darkness exists, what sin resides there that constantly fights against His Lordship? None of us can really know this. Scripture says that is so. God does, and through His Holy Spirit, He will search out those places of darkness and idolatry, and then it will be our part to surrender them to Him for His cleansing. This is called sanctification, which is our being set apart for Him alone. Until this happens, we may seek to follow Him, but we will repeatedly stumble over the very things within our hearts that keep us from fully being His.

If you wish to follow Him, will you follow Him into your heart? Will you, will we, invite Him to search out our hearts, to expose every place of darkness, every idol raised up against Him? Until we do, we'll never really be a follower of Christ. We may admire Him, even care for Him, but we're not truly following Him. May our prayer be today, and every day, "Search my heart Lord, expose any darkness and idol, and lead me in Your way. Today, and every day."

Blessings,
Pastor O

Welcome Back

 "Let us examine and probe our ways, And let us return to the Lord." Lamentations 3:40

What we now know as "Contemporary Christian Music" which has become a very big and lucrative business, began with groups of "Jesus People" in the late 60's and early 70's. They had no big record contracts, nor did they command set fees to sing and minister. They went wherever He led them and sang for whatever people would give, and if they gave nothing, they still went and ministered. One such group was Love Song, and I just listened to their song, "Welcome Back." I was struck as I am whenever I hear it, by the lyric, "Welcome back to the things you once believed in." It's the call of the Holy Spirit to all of us who may have, to some degree, wandered from living out that which we say we believe. His Spirit will always call us back, and we will be welcome.

This world we live in has more distractions than ever before and the enemy of our souls works through every one of them. Add to that the very real matters of life and all the needs that come upon us in that life, and it is so easy for His presence in our hearts and minds to be crowded out by them. Where might that have happened with you, with me?

For the most part, we don't intend for this to be so. Not many make a conscious choice to leave His presence. It happens in degrees. The fervor we once walked in dulls and our sense of Him does as well. Other things occupy our thoughts. He who once was central to everything in our life has been placed on the fringes of our lives. We get there by degree......and we're so unaware that we're always dying by degrees as well.

Are we willing for Him to search our hearts and lives to bring out where this has been happening in us? Do we really want to be confronted with where we've wandered from Him and how far? He won't bring condemnation with Him, but He will bring conviction. He will also bring His song. A song that calls us back to His heart. A song that invites to come back to Him and live again in the fullness of what we once knew and believed. Can you hear that song right now? How do you respond?

He may have lost the place in your heart that He once had, you will not lose your place in His. His song calls to you. Will you come? Will you hear His still, small voice whisper, "Welcome back!"

Blessings,
Pastor O

His Table

 "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows." Psalm 23:5

Perhaps one of the saddest truths for the people of God is that we may spend a lot of time praying and yet never really connect with Him. There are many reasons for this. We can pray from selfish motives, for our own personal gain. We can pray out of a sense of duty, mouthing many words and even Scriptures, yet our hearts and souls are never really engaged with Him. We pray, and then we "hang up" and quickly disengage. We're all guilty of it. For too many of us, it's a consistent pattern.

I don't remember who said this about the above verse, but I have it written in my prayer journal, "An overflowing cup means the King adores you and doesn't want you to leave His table." Yet we, you and I, always seem very anxious to leave His table. We have this attitude in our so called "devotional times," and we have it in our times of corporate worship. We disengage from Him easily and quickly, if we've even been engaged at all. We don't know how to linger in His presence, and worst of all, we don't know how deeply He longs that we should.

Of late, due to some things that I've been walking through, things I know He has allowed, I've been seeking to reverse this in my life. Too often I've hurried out of His presence in order to get on to other things. Things that, though I would never say it, are more important to engage with than Him. What has been the cost to me? What has been the cost to you?

In too many ways concerning the things of the Spirit, we are all ADD people. We have a very difficult time focusing on Him for any real length of time. In His love, He will go to any length to correct this. He is constantly calling us to His table, and we may accept His invitation, but we are always looking for the opportunity to get up and get on to other things. So, our cups never do overflow. In fact, our cups are usually empty or almost empty. And we suffer the consequences of that.

When we leave His table, we often end up at another's table, and that table is always destructive. We pay a heavy price to dine there. We may try to fill our empty cups there, but we only end up thirstier, hungrier, emptier. Isn't it time to not just return to His table, but to dwell there?

His invitation, His call, is going out. It's always going out. Do you hear it? Will you come? He longs for your presence. Do you long for His? He means to fill your cup with never ending joy, peace, and blessing. The blessing of Himself. Come to His table.....and may we, may you, never leave.

Blessings,
Pastor O

How?

There's a song lyric from Jesus Revolution icon Keith Green that has gained deeper meaning for me than ever before. The words are, "How can they live without Jesus? How can they live without God's love?" Some events have taken place in my life and the life of my family that have made these questions more real than I could have ever believed.

About a week and a half ago, I was on a website that connects people with their high school classmates. While doing so, on what I felt was a whim, I decided to look up two girls that I had dating relationships with during the years 1970-71. Neither were intense love affairs, but I had greatly enjoyed the time spent with each. It had been 55 years since I had seen or had contact with either, and though they'd been special, I hadn't thought much about them for a very long time. In any event, initial curiosity led me to do some deeper research on each. What I found is what made Green's lyrics so impactful to me.

The first was a young woman of true and great beauty. The kind of beauty that you just knew would bring her much favor in life. I had always thought that she would marry well and have that kind of storybook marriage and family. What I found was shocking. I discovered that her husband had died at the age of 46, leaving her a single mother of 3 children. Then, over the course of the next 5 years, she fell victim to cancer, and this awful disease took her life, also at the age of 46, leaving her three children alone. Most devastating of all, I discovered that her youngest child, a daughter, died at age 35, apparently by her own hand. Her two brothers survive her. I cannot begin to imagine the pain this family has experienced and continues to experience.

I remember the second young woman as a very bright, vivacious, and feisty girl. She was great fun. I did not discover nearly so much about her, though I know she is still alive, is married, and has a son. I know that she's walked through the loss of loved ones, and apparently, that her son has suffered some great setbacks in his life that had to have been heartbreaking for his parents, for her, to witness. As I discovered all this, I wondered, how have they weathered the deep cuts and wounds that life can bring, that it does bring?

What I found myself with was a prayer burden for the two remaining sons of that beautiful young girl and for that vivacious young woman who has also walked the road of sorrow. Did that widowed mother of three know Him? Did she leave this realm with, or without Him? Do her sons? Does that mother with the troubled son know Him, walk with Him? Do they face life and its pain alone, or in His love? I don't know, but I have committed to pray that they would. Fervently pray that they will. Even more, I have been given a deeper burden to pray for so many of my friends who are walking through life without the saving, empowering love and life of Jesus Christ. We have no way of knowing when our lives will end. The only question that matters is, will they end in fellowship with Him, or without Him? Eternity depends upon it.

I mentioned my family. There are things happening there that are heartbreaking. I have always prayed for them, especially those without Him, but my prayers for them have been inflamed with a deeper passion than ever. I long to see them come to know the healing, the wholeness, and the love of Christ. They, and the souls I mention above. As I pray, Green's lyrics speak louder than ever; How can they live without Jesus? How can they live without God's love? How does anyone in this broken, fallen world, live without the conscious awareness and presence of His love given us in Jesus Christ? HOW? Merciful and loving God, reveal yourself to these, to all....even you as you read this. If you don't know Him today, how CAN you live without Him?

Blessings,

Pastor O