Lies

Lies

Integrity. It is worthy of every believer in Christ. Integrity is defined as the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness. Every believer in Christ who is considered as part of the body of Christ, can be sure that when push comes to shove, their integrity must win out.

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Proverbs 11:3

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The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.

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Whether you recognize it or not, lies lack integrity. There is no principle of good in lies, there is only selfish motivation. To lie is to create ease, or maintain power, or to deceive. But knowing this, we all are placed in circumstances where being honest can create loss, hurt, suffering, even devastation. Honesty in a world based on lies, comes at a cost.

Covetous is actually a basis for lies. Covetous is defined as wanting something that we desire, and maintaining it at cost to ourselves or others. The serpent lied to Eve to get his desired outcome. Jacob deceived Isaac to gain Esau's birthright. Judas lied to Jesus to escape repenting his treachery. What we value that stands between us and our faith, is open season to lies. And these lies we carry forward, and without repent, separate us from serving with integrity.

Lies turn what is holy into something that is wicked. For example, lies told to a loved one, take what is pure and turn it into something that must be maintained. This is the root of mistrust, divorce, abuse, and every other breakdown in our human relationships. This proclamation is defined best by remembering we should have the Father first in all our relationships. If we love the Father above all things, we have no reason to love others less. 

Love is full, and love is also foreign to the world and its ways. Love demands selfless sacrifice and sincerity in our existence. Here, we are raised to lie to keep from causing suffering in others. Jesus showed us that the opposite is what honors the Father. Integrity is valued above comfort.

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Matthew 12:47-50

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Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”

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He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”

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Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers.

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For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

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No matter the worldly cost, lies will only separate you from the Truth. There is no deception in the eternal conscience of God. So whenever you lie, you are working on your own will, and creating a distance that only repent and fruits worthy of that repentance will mend.

This topic is difficult for me, in the way that it is humbling. I have a co worker whose actions are against policy, and these actions can get our whole team in trouble. But because he is a bully, we all allow him to continue doing what he wishes, because none of us want the abuse he hands out. So our, my integrity is effected. And whenever I am at work and dealing with this man, my heart and mind is clouded, and my will fights against my faith in God. And because of this, I find myself reacting to what he says in an agreeable and false manor. I am lying to him while lying for his own sake! What a disaster! And now my heart is troubled and my work seems more like a burden, because I am.maintaining these deception. What I need to do, is confront him about his actions, and accept his abuse, for the sake of my integrity. In order for me to love him, I have to be honest with him. In order to love my coworkers, I have to accept the cost of honesty. In order to show the Father I put Him first, I have to have holiness come through me.

When a child learns that Santa Claus is not real, they realize that lies are a part of what love is to their parents. Parents lie to their children to protect them from hurt. This is how they express love. Then their children grow in that shadow, and the disease spreads. Our generation has even developed laws to ensure secrets are legal, and truth can get you jail time, or assassinated. Government officials, lawyers, corporations, even managers and supervisors, keep secrets in order to maintain authority. Our entire world is based on the power of lies. Darkness.

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John 8:44

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You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

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There is no reward for integrity, there is no worldly gain to be honest. Our integrity is the one pride we can silently have, because it is based on our belief that putting our love for the Father first is worth any amount of suffering we may encounter.

Easier said than done. We all are placed in circumstances where we fear loss for being honest and true. Maybe knowing that others also face this, will encourage you and I to step up and fight to keep our integrity. Pray for me, pray for us all.

Keep getting up

This letter is to bring believers into an understanding of their inner workings. I write it because I too suffer from an inability to maintain holiness. And when I stumble, I look directly at myself to blame, like I have failed my master. So what am I doing wrong?

Our reality is, this is exactly what the enemy expects, but what is not commonly known, this is also exactly what the Almighty God intended.

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Romans 7:21-25

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So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.

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For in my inner being I delight in God’s law;

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but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.

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What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?

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Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

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To be born again. This is what occurs when a soul is shown that it is attached to a vessel that binds it. And specifically, that vessel is literally renewing itself from the point of conception, because it is under the dominion of death. Our vessel, this flesh, develops requirements which turn into desires as it matures. And those desires are based on what our minds know, and what our heart feels. We exist to react. Our first birth is being born into death, Christ Jesus said that we must be born again, in order to enter the Kingdom. That second birth is a spiritual birth, being born into life.

This is where the spiritual comes in. The soul, that is truly life, is not born because of the flesh. The soul is a spiritual slice of a larger sum. That sum has its own image which we were created from. That image is conceived, and the flesh reacts to it. The world, being bound by time, reacts to life by attempting to destroy it. It is this process of renewal that is the law of division and emulation that brings our cells into form and function. The natural world is also under this law, and we are bound by it.

The flesh, this vessel, is enslaved by its development. What that means, is that every individual is bound by desires that are natural to their flesh, and essentially, a result of their bloodlines. This is not saying that we are guiltless, but it is to say that not every desire is the product of our own doing. God, knowing the function of the vessel worked in opposition to the light, created commandments that contradicted our nature. It started with Adam, his disobedience sent us on a journey to overcome this flesh, and conquer death on its terms.

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1 Corinthians 15:21-26

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For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.

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

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But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.

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Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.

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For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.

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The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

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Back to us. Jesus died for the sins of mankind. He was sent to be the first to overcome what could only be overcome by maintaining the Father's will into death itself. By doing so, the natural law of creation was overcome. And the new world was created. Yes, the new world has come. There is a path set out before us that did not exist for us before the ascension of Christ.

This path has a gate, and that gate is Jesus. What that means is, we can leave behind our reliance on this vessel and its desires, and set our heart and mind and soul on what is the light of God. We can deny ourselves in the confidence of the unseen qualities of God, and because of grace, we are able to be forgiven our transgressions as we move forward in a maturity. Without faith in what Jesus has done, there is no real understanding of what our purpose is. Our purpose discover and observe the qualities of holiness through the strength our Shepherd showed.

The end result of faith in Christ is the destruction of death. At that point, everything that has been created to sustain death, will also be destroyed. Heaven and Earth will no longer exist, and will be replaced by a Heaven and Earth that are eternal.

The Kingdom will also be subject to change, as what is holy will no longer be challenged, or in opposition to natural law. The Kingdom will be handed back over to the Father, which means the holy conscience of God will be of His Oneness. The reason is, at this point, what is holy will already be the foundation of this new creation. What then? I have no idea, and honestly, I will just be thankful to be whole in spirit and mind.

Our inner workings run in opposition. As believers we are in constant contradiction with our nature. The term 'longsuffering' is a term well suited for our day to day. The term 'persevere' is also a term well suited for our day to day.

I will personally try and remember this the next time I start blaming myself for faltering. We are not perfect yet, no. But the more we do focus on what is perfect, the stronger our body and desires reflect this. We are on the winning side, as our faith can move mountains, and all our enemy can do is call us out by our sin. Forgive yourself and be forgiven. Keep getting up.

Two kinds of Wisdom

James 3:13-18

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Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14

But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.

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Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.

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For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

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But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

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Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

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James explains this to the Jewish people who were considering or had claimed Christ Jesua as the Messiah. The topic was important because Jewish people who were active in their religion, saw all knowledge as wisdom, and they also saw their decision and reasoning as divine, because they believed that following the ordinances, and commandments of their religion, made them carriers of God's righteousness. This because they claimed self control over their passions through their self proclaimed divine reasoning. And this sense of piety follows them to this day.

If our reasoning had the capacity to claim righteousness, then there would have been no reason for the blood of the Lamb of God. If the mediation of Moses was enough to bring souls into the presence of the Father, then the Holy One would not have been prophesied to come. Our reasoning is only capable of awareness of sin, not the holiness that replaces it. In order for us to witness the wisdom that comes from heaven, we must have faith it is available to us if we set ourselves aside.

Pride and envy are self righteous by nature. Yes, having knowledge from experience is wisdom, but it is not pure, not holy, but is incomplete and biased, as it is wholly based on perception and circumstance. And add to this, that knowledge of a sin, only gives way to variance of it.

For example; A man used to steal everything he wished, but stopped, when he found out is was wrong. But now, hungry, he steals only what he needs to survive, and considers this commitment righteous or at least forgivable.

Another example: A business woman knows murder is wrong. But she gets pregnant years before she would be able to properly support the child, so she has an abortion, and considers this righteous or at least forgivable.

Another example: A Muslim or a Jew is being tortured and told the torture will end if he eats some pork. In pride of his forefathers and his religion and in devotion to God he refuses to eat, and dies tortured.

If your actions cause another to sin, it falls on you, becomes your sin. If your actions are based on your perception, instead of acting on what you are shown in the humility of selflessness, you only increase sin.

Having said all this, the Law set out in the holy books is good for instruction. But because of the ministry of Christ Jesus, we know that the Holy Spirit, which carries all righteousness, will place on our hearts and minds the holiness that glorifies the Father. This, because in humility, we deny ourselves, so that selflessness can rule in the moment.

Having a sense of earthly self control is folly. Sin is ever increasing in the world, and only those who rely on faith, will be able to serve lovingly. So who is wise and understanding among us? Those who deny themselves and listen for the Spirit of Truth.

Judgement has begun

1 Peter 4:17

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For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

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And,

“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,

what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

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So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

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"For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household"

"For it is time for judgement to begin"

This is a very revelatory statement. I have never heard a ministry support this, it is only because of the word that was set upon me that I sought to bring this to you. When I was brought into the body of Christ a number of years ago, I witnessed the voice of more than one heavenly form being spoken either over me or directed to me. And one of the most disturbing statements was, "I leave you to judge your father."

The profound understanding that judgement has begun already, brings us into clarity as to what the end times actually mean. For example, the dead shall rise from the grave to be judged. We can see now that this began around the time of Christ rising from the grave. Jesus broke the gates of Hades, and in his victory of death, ministered to the dead, and those who would believe, rose with him. This from the time of Able or perhaps even Adam, onward.

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1 Peter 4:4

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They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you.

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But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

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For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.

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Bringing us to today. As what was said to me was that my earthly father was then being judged, we can be confident that those who perish are already being awakened and set before judgement.

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Romans 2:5-8

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But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 6

God “will repay each person according to what they have done.”

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To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.

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But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.

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There is a deeper understanding to be recognized here. The reason that repentance was ministered, is so that people would learn to recognize what was wrong in their actions, and correct themselves from it. Not only does this serve to create understanding and leave room for righteousness to come through them, but in judgement we are rewarded because of it.

Judgement is upon us already. I personally struggle with the ease of sin, and I will have to make an account of this before the one who fulfilled righteousness. All the things I need to deny in myself, will be set before me to deny, and it will increase, till I can not bare it on my own, but will need strength that is beyond me to overcome with. The same is certainly on you.

Judgement Day is not to be seen as a day of sorrow, it is a day of redemption, for those who have walked the path that Jesus set out for them. Take your faith seriously. Make the Father a priority by observing the love commandments set out by Christ Jesus. We do not know when death comes, but we certainly do know now that judgement awaits.

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Suffering for Love

1 Corinthians 13:13

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And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

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Are you homeless? Are you hungry? Thirsty? Are you ill or terminal? Are you alone and childless? Are you in mourning or divorced? Are you persecuted or living in fear?

When you are suffering, how can you show God you love him?

In our day, we have to look at what is important to God. To God, we are capable of carrying in our hearts and minds holiness that is the Holy Spirit. Like an empty vessel, we are to fill ourselves with unseen qualities of holiness. If we focus instead on our suffering, we are filled with meaningless thoughts and feelings that actually separate us from holiness. God wants to see that we can set ourselves aside, and that we can sincerely grasp and yearn for His righteousness. So how do we show God we love Him? By putting Him first.

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Job 2:6-10

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The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.”

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So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.

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Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.

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His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!”

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He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”

In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

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Our lives have no real meaning. Our lives find purpose in truly setting our hearts, minds and souls on putting God first. And in order for this to happen, in most cases, what we have previously put between us and the Father is stripped away. This is the only way to test our sincerity before the heavens. Yes, God knows the heart of a man, but how great is it for God to witness our choices when they put Him above all.

So why then does suffering not end? God wants us to remain sincere. A child who starves his whole life remains pure from the ways of man. A homeless man who dies from exposure remains pure from the comforts that would separate him from God. We do not see these things, but God who knows what is set before us, knows what will keep us from Him. This understanding does not mean that we are not loved, it indicates we are loved beyond our own reasoning.

I would only add to this one thing. There are moments when each of us can show compassion or mercy. These moments are opportunities for us to be loving of others. Christ Jesus spoke many times about such things. Give freely what can be given, a glass of water, food, clothing, shelter. Because these acts are the seeds of hope for some, as much as they are acts of faith for others. Pray for everyone to be more loving.

But the understanding of putting the Father first, is the greatest of understandings. We all have different roles in the body of Christ. Every soul has challenges, every soul suffers to show they can put Him first. Some struggles are visible, some are not. It is not for us to change this, it is for us to embrace. Life is hard when you take God seriously. Love is selfless. Love is kind.

Idolatry in 2019

Acts 15:29
You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.
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Colossians 3:5
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
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Ephesians 5:5
For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person--such a person is an idolater--has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
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Food sacrificed to idols is one of the few things that Gentiles like us are warned against. I want to elaborate on this in today's letter. As in our generations, food sacrificed to idols is indeed very active.

Idolatry is consistent with evil desires and greed.  A greedy person is one who resorts to any means necessary to gain, even at cost to others. So in terms of food sacrificed to idols, these greedy people are using food to gain in immoral or impure ways.

In the wealthier nations, we have chains of eateries and food and drink outlets that are called franchises. They supply food and drink that is convenient and served for a price. They have become much like an authority, as some have incredible buying power. They have processing plants and storage warehouses, logistics, and great multitudes of workers and professional administraitors. They are an entire industry, all based of their desire to gain profit off the food that grows from creation. They sell shares to their idolatry and those who placed their confidence in them, gain wealth.

So the food that comes from them is fully born from greed. This makes the purchasing of this food, a sacrifice to such idolatry. And just like anything else worldly, what you place confidence in, there is where your heart resides.
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1 Corinthans 6:10
nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
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Those who are among these idolaters, are not acting out of love, but are gaining out of greed. They do not recieve from the Holy Conscience of God, they do not know the Kingdom. And when we support them, we acknowledge this idolatry over the sufferance that we should be carrying to honor our master, Christ Jesus.
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The following is not from me. I found it during my research on this website: http://www.ecclesia.org/truth/money.html

Capitalism is a license to steal; the government simply regulates who steals and how much. Most of the governmental codes, rules, regulations, ordinances, statutes, public policies, etc., are designed to regulate those partaking of the ways of the lex mercatoria, the Law Merchant. That law, as distinguished from God's Law, is a private law.

The law recognizes the fact that men will naturally overstate the value and qualities of the articles which they have to sell. Kimball v. Bangs, 141 Mass. 323, Morton. C.J. ; Mooney v. Miller, 102 id. 220; Gordon v. Butler, 105 U.S. 557, Southern Development Co. v. Silva, 125 id. 256.

The world continually encourages everyone to join with and obey the Law Merchant. It continually offers the benefits of the world. When you look to man for your benefits, a duty attaches to you and man becomes your lord, lording over you. The "bait and switch" of the crafty serpent is this: the resulting duty greatly outweighs the benefit received! They can only give you a portion of that which they take from you to begin with! So you end up with less, and you give them more power because they're keeping a large percentage of it. And remember, the beast has no power except that which it is given by its obedient servants.
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I encourage you to consider what has been shared here. I live in a consumer driven economy, and the confidence(faith), placed in this system is nearly 100%. This nation is lost to idolatry, and its people are born into enslavement of it, yet celebrate it. And what is worse, is developing countries seek to conform to it, believing this pattern of existence is progress. The body of Christ is surrounded by darkness, many consider this darkness as light.

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Together

Colssians 2:5

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For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.

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What a glorious statement of Truth. "I am present with you in spirit".

This week I have been again invited to numerous nations to minister. And again I have declined, but I always say, "We are all attached to the same Holy Spirit. The same understanding is available to us all. This is how it is with the Body of Truth, which Jesus is the Head of.

Paul knew this, and spoke freely of this. We are all equally represented by the Holy Spirit.

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Colossians 2:2,3

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My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ,

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in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

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The Kingdom is the Holy Conscience of God. And when we are seeking, what we seek comes from the Kingdom. We know this because the fullness of the spiritual fruits are identical for each of us. The only difference is a glorious difference, we as individuals act on these fruits in the moment we are in, thereby adding our uniqueness to what is coming through us.

When I sense you, even from a distance, and only by your words, I am being shown through the Holy Spirit what strength of Christ is with you and what weaknesses remain for you to overcome. It is the same for all who listen first. This is how we are united, humble and faithful. We thrive and bloom from being able to lift one another up, confirm things we witness in each other, and discern these things wholly on what we are shown through the Holy Spirit.

It is this way in heaven. I always return to this anecdote:

When a new song is created in heaven, all the angels know the song, and sing it in unity, without having heard it before. This is because they are all a part of the holy conscience, and everything they do glorifies the Father.

We may not be capable of this yet, but, we only lack the awareness. Even by reading this letter, your mind is now more aware of what you are a part of. It is moments like this that open doors in the Body of Christ. Pray on this.

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Gathering Sheaves: Opportunities to show Compassion

There are times, when what we do to maintain ourselves in life, can lend to an opportunity to help another. From a family member, to a stranger, there may be someone who we can be generous to. Not just giving them a meal, or some clothing, and carrying on with our gains, no. More than this.

In life, stability grants those who have it, a comfort that they soon take for granted. Yes, they may be thankful for it, and they may work hard to keep it. But what sets those apart who love the Father, are those who treat others how they would have themselves be treated.

When a person is lacking in this world, it is very likely they are lacking in other aspects as well. The inability to support themselves affects their confidence, affects their hopes, and in their desperation they feel like a burden. When a person is in this state, others sense this, and have a tendency to avoid them. What Jesus and the Father want to see from us, is that we overcome ourselves, and sincerely make efforts to treat others in a way we would have ourselves be treated, if we were in such a circumstance.

Widows and orphans and those who are helpless to overcome their situation; these are the groups of people we are called to look out for. We must remember that it is not a temporary solution that is required, but guidance, mentoring, and every aspect of assistance that will supply what people in these type of circumstance need. As the old saying goes, " give a man a fish he will eat for the day, teach a man to fish, he will eat for a lifetime."

Compassion is limitless, what is limited is our own capacity to serve. So what understanding is being supplied here is, we must look out for those set before us, and see opportunities to not just sustain them temporarily, but support and nurture them into stability of their own.

Further, when we give of ourselves in this way, we do not look for compensation to the cost of time and effort and resources it brought upon us. It is better to give than to receive. Amd what we give of ourselves in our sincere efforts is fully recognized by the Father, as we are acting on faith we have in this lesson we were shown by His Son. There is nothing you have in this life that is more valuable than the capacity for mercy and compassion.

Gathering what you have earned in this life is meaningless. Gathering what you have learned from wisdom is eternally golden. Gather then, that which does not expire when you do. Selfless acts of kindness are good, but to help another to overcome their circumstances instead of just maintain it, is mature spiritual understanding.

Love is selfless, love is kind. Allow others to witness God's righteousness through your efforts to treat others as you would have yourself be treated.

Hallelujah.

Crowns

There are five different crowns mentioned in the New Testament. These crowns are awarded after the final judgement. I believe there is more than five, but the five that are known of, give us an impression of what our goals are.

1. CROWN OF LIFE
2. INCORRUPTIBLE CROWN
3. CROWN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
4. CROWN OF GLORY
5. CROWN OF REJOICING

CROWN OF LIFE

Referred to in James 1:12 and Revelation 2:10; it is bestowed upon "those who persevere under trials."

Jesus references this crown when he tells the Church in Smyrna to "not be afraid of what you are about to suffer... Be faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life."

INCORRUPTIBLE CROWN

Also known as the Imperishable Crown, and is referenced in 1 Corinthians 9:25. This epistle, written by Paul of Tarsus, deems this crown "imperishable" in order "to contrast it with the worldly awards Paul's contemporaries pursued". It is therefore given to those individuals who demonstrate "self-denial and perseverance".

CROWN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

Mentioned in 2 Timothy 4:8, and is promised to "those who love and anticipate" the Second Coming of Christ.These Christians desire intimacy with God.

CROWN OF GLORY

Discussed in 1 Peter 5:4 and is granted to Christian clergy, who "shepherd the flock in unselfish love being a good example to others" 1 Peter 5:2-4.

CROWN OF REJOICING

Also known as the Crown of Exaltation, or Crown of Auxiliary.[2] Delineated in 1 Thessalonians 2:19 and Philippians 4:1, it is given to people who engage in evangelism of those outside the Christian Church. In the New Testament, Paul earns this crown after winning the Thessalonians to faith in Jesus.

I took all that information from an outside source. I do not consider it Spirit filled. But what I am about to share, I have had placed upon me to give to you.

Crowns are not literal crowns. Crowns are recognitions of qualified authority. In the body of Christ, we all serve in ways that are unique to one another. But each of us describe a certain quality of the authority of Christ.

The Crown of Life is a showing of faithfulness. The Incorruptible Crown is a showing or reliance on Christ's strength. The Crown of Righteousness is a showing of hope and love. The Crown of Glory is a showing of selflessness and obedience. The Crown of Rejoicing is a showing of fearless intention.

A crown is a defining characteristic of the Holy One of God who became like man. These crowns are earned, and cannot be argued by anyone. Once we are raised as new creations, these crowns will define us, as characteristics that are pure, and full. Until that time, these characteristics are of the holiness that comes through us, despite our imperfect condition.

These crowns will define us with eternal traits that have been tested. We will have then, the ability to use these inherited traits of Christ, in whatever is set before us. These unseen qualities will come with authority that carries power that the Holy Spirit will recognize. As the Holy Spirit is with us forever.

Knowing these crowns are waiting, is encouraging. Something to focus on when we are down-hearted, or feel alone. We are able to honor God, we are able to bring glory to His House. We are deeply loved. Create in yourself room to remember what we are working towards. We are working towards going home, and to celebrate and be celebrated. Keep your eye on the finish line.

The Most Serious

A Christian man wants to show compassion to a hungry beggar. In order to do so, he must steal from his employer.

A Christian woman wants to show mercy on a married man who she caught in an affair. In order to do so she must lie to his wife.

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What is it to sin knowingly to show mercy or compassion? To know you are going to act against what your faith tells you is righteous, in order to do something your heart and mind say is loving. This is a most serious topic.

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Exodus 19:15

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Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.

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How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”

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And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”

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Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”

19

And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

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What else will distinguish us from those around us, if we have to sin to be loving? What is it to bring the light into the darkness? Well, I say to you that there are circumstances, that certain sins do not lead us to death. "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."

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1 John 5:16

16

If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that.

17

All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.

18

We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them.

19

We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.

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There are certain times in our lives when we must remember the mercy and compassion of our God, and take a blind step of faith. To truly risk ourselves, to show love, selflessly, and even at cost of sin. This is not common, this is not normal, but it does happen. The danger of this understanding is very real, and this lesson must be given with this caution.

Why caution? Because those who would use this lesson to their own advantage. They would say that to sin is a path to love, and that is saying there is darkness in the light. Which is fully unacceptable.

But there will be circumstances, where as believers, we must consider that it is better to face judgement of a sin made, then to allow another to suffer. I am saying, that in some cases, to sin to show mercy will bring us into judgement, yes. But that if we show mercy, we may receive it, ..may. So what is it to risk eternal judgement for the sake of another? Love, selfless love.

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John 15:12,13

12

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

13

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

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"I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." And further: "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy."

So let us deeply consider the ramifications. To knowingly sin to show mercy, to knowingly sin to show compassion. To risk eternal judgement so to act lovingly. What is this but an act of great love. What is more, it is taking a leap of faith in our understanding of the qualities of mercy and compassion. Love is sacrificial, selfless.

There are very seldom a circumstance where a sin does not lead to death. I believe if we must sin to show mercy, or if we must sin to show compassion, we will be judged, yes, but if our sincerity and awareness are known to God, that mercy or compassion will find us too.

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1 Peter 4:8

8

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

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Consider this lesson. Do not fall into the temptation to make excuses for sin. But if you do come into a circumstance where doing something loving requires you to sin, consider it will mean judgement of your act.

May the Father deeply enrich those who contemplate His mystery.

Amen.