Things We Can Learn From Folks In The Bible

Things We Can Learn from ...

… Folks in the Bible

M. T. Vessel

Prologue We’re living in significant times, and there are those among us who believe that things won’t continue forever as they currently are. While some people, uncertain whether there is a plan and design at all behind the world we see, wonder, ”If there is a God, why does He allow all the wars and killings, etc.?” others, who are sure of their religion, seem to see nothing wrong with the world as it is, and don’t really see a need for God to intervene at all. After all, they just signed a mortgage deal for a new 5-year building plan for their new church. So, while opinions are divided on whether the Lord should hurry to fulfill His Promises about returning to Earth as its rightful King in the Latter Days, there are certain things which indicate that big changes are impending, whether we want them or not. Biblical prophecies which have never been fulfilled, nor were their fulfillments possible previous to the 20th century, are finally finding their mates in our times, or at least we can see the stage setting for some, and we find more and more parallels between our lives and those of our heroes and biblical patriarchs we have read about, heard about or watched movies about. It seems as if all that happened to them, happened for a purpose, as if to teach those upon whom the Ends of the World have come, from their own example: Adam & Eve, Noah, Abraham and his heirs, on down to the kings of Israel and their prophets… They all have something to say to those who have an eye to see the parallels between their times and ours, and to those who have an ear to hear the voices of our forefathers, who, far from the primitive ape men as which they are described by our arrogant secular contemporaries, seem to have possessed values and a nobility totally foreign to their 21st century descendants. One of the great mysteries of the “Big Picture,” which we, from our individual levels call “life,” and which the world of the present day retrospectively calls “history,” and some believers have called “His-Story,” is that history, as it is, seems to repeat itself. I consider the Bible - at least the part of it that deals with historic matters - to be one of the most reliable sources of man’s history available, no matter how disputed its reliability may be among the secular scholar and Dan Browns of this world. And one of the clues in understanding the Bible is to realize that things weren’t really as different back then as they are now. Of course, modern man thinks he has “evolved” from the stage of “primitive men” of biblical times, but I belong to those who choose to doubt that world view and believe that there’s a lot we can learn from the folks in the Bible, a book I have now studied for over 30 years. The things that will be covered in this book once upon a time used to be common knowledge in what used to be called western or Christian civilization, and certainly there will still be folks around who will not have any need of it whatsoever, since they'll be familiar enough with the Bible and its characters to derive the lessons to be gleaned from them for themselves. However, the majority of young people we come across in our daily lives seem to indicate that on the other hand there's a vastly larger number of folks who don't really have a clue about any of this. First of all they doubt the veracity of the Bible, since its very first chapter, featuring the biblical account of Creation, is being undermined daily, as their heads are being filled with "knowledge" about all the millions of years it took for us to evolve from ape men into what we are today. In other words, the Bible is merely viewed as another collection of ancient fairy-tales, similar to Greek mythology, with superhuman heroes, and well, things we don't see happening in real life, and thus they couldn't have been true. The author of this book however, is naive and childlike to believe that "with God all things are possible," and that the things described in the Bible actually happened, and that we can learn a lot from them. In other words, I’m not one of those who apply the stories from the Bible as metaphors, but I relate to them as actual experiences that people in the past had to go through for our benefit, just as we are making our own experiences right now which may benefit future generations who might not want to repeat our mistakes. There are many people who share the faith in the accuracy of the biblical account, but they would not dare to believe that any of what happened "back in those days" could ever happen on a similar scale. Not many Christians believe in miracles. If we are to believe what the Bible has to say about the "time of the End," though, a time preceding Christ’s Second Coming, which He called a time of "tribulation such as there has never been" (Matth.24:21), then we do find indications that the people of faith who know their God in those days will "do exploits" (Dan.11:32) similar to those of their ancient biblical patriarchs (see Rev.11:5, 6).

Furthermore, the great apostle Paul, without whom Europe might have never come to see the light of Christendom, believed and taught that those things which happened to the folks we read about in the Bible "happened to them as an example for us, and written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world have come" (1Cor.10:11). In other words, they were not written down, nor did they happen for nothing, nor by coincidence, but God wanted to teach all of us something through the things that befell them. In my first study of this kind, "The Deeper Meaning of Everything" I talked about the things God wants to teach us through all the things in His creation. Here now is an effort to comprise the gist of the lessons that are there for us in the lives of the great men and women of God in the Bible, in hopes that others may benefit from it to an extent that will enable them to become such a man or woman of God, too. As a great evangelist once said, "The only Bible the world reads is the one bound in shoe leather." May we all put feet to the lessons that old Book has to teach us.

Things We Can Learn from ...

...Adam and Eve Ever since I was a boy, I was fascinated with the mysteries of our origins. I was craving knowledge about where we were coming from, as if finding out our origins were to give me some clues about who I was, where I was heading and what was to become of me. My first reaction to fill this hunger was that I asked my parents and relatives to buy me books about the origins of man, and I eagerly devoured the information I found in books giving me the theory of Evolution as a guidepost for who or what I was, and where I was supposedly going. According to Evolution, that was, actually and precisely, nowhere, since that's also where we had come from. The mother of each of our destinies was called Coincidence, for she had created us all by her random will and whim, and our future was just as obscure as the darkness and primordial soup from which we had all come. Religion, at that time, was a taboo to me, because I had been utterly disgusted by the sample of "Christianity" I had received at our local church, which had successfully converted me to atheism at the young age of 9 or 10. If "God" was anything like they portrayed Him there, who would want to have anything to do with Him? Luckily for me, the Almighty didn't hold the same grudge toward Me that I had with Him, and so, in His mercy, He allowed me to come across people a few years later who indeed displayed the quality, the missing essence that I was really looking for, which identifies each true Christian, according to Jesus' own words, "By this will all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." In time, my newfound faith also provided me with a clearer picture of our origins, although that was a very different one than the one I had previously adopted, and since I found it hard to imagine that I should have been lied to such an extent, it was tough for me to completely dismiss the notion of the "millions of years" that had been drilled into my head, which supposedly lay between now and our origins, and trade them for the 6000 years of world history we are supposed to have experienced according to the Bible. Only when I came across books by Creationists who dealt with the subject of Evolution on a scientific level, was I able to clearly see the awful truth: that what most people believe about our origins is actually nothing more than an intricately fabricated lie. I felt a bit like Neo in the movie "Matrix," when he first was told that the "Matrix" - what he had formerly known as reality, was nothing more than a carefully concocted illusion, a computer program fed into people's minds. The conscience of Coincidence is what frames most people's minds in the west, alienating us from God and the sense of purpose for our lives, and we indeed live in a mental "Matrix," a "prison for our minds." But once we follow the true history of our origins as laid out in the Bible, we discover why that is so, and we also discover that this was precisely why Jesus had to come to free us and "unplug" us from the Matrix. For the Big Lie had been around for a lot longer than Charles Darwin. We have to go all the way back to the beginning, to the first chapter of the only reliable history book I would recommend to my children or anyone sincerely interested in the truth. We have to go back to the experiences of our original ancestors, who were, thanks to God, not a pair of evolved ape men, but probably the 2 most perfect human beings ever created in the exact image of God.

And voilá, we've already landed at the very first thing we can learn from the history of Adam and Eve: that God is both, male and female. No, not the way you would perhaps picture it now, that perhaps He might be equipped with a double set of sexual organs. That's not what we look like, either, is it? No, what we can learn from Adam and Eve, and God having created them in His image, means, there is God, the Male, and God the Female: God the Father, and we know He also has a Son, and then, what most people don't know, is that the 3rd Person of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Ghost, would not have to be a third masculine Party at all (defying all reason, and all we have learned from nature, about God's, Nature), but that She, the Holy Spirit of God, is most likely to be the motherly part of the Trinity, not another "Uncle." Thus enabling us to understand how God made them in His image male and female. Not only can we assume that Adam and Eve were the most perfect humans ever made, but they also lived in the most perfect environment ever known to man, a Garden so heavenly that we refer to it as paradise, and we imagine that Heaven is going to be a lot like it. Adam's first job was to name all the animals, of which there were probably a few more kinds around than we know nowadays. But apparently, there was no rush. The next thing we can learn from Adam is, that apparently it is part of God's plan that every creature has a name. In fact, even before man created, we find God simply creating our universe by saying the words: "Let there be light," and there was light. Apparently there is great power in calling and naming things what they are, and I assume that one of the Devil's main tactics has been to reverse that game, to strip us of that power that lies in naming and calling things what they actually are by twisting them around and giving us a lie, a fake for them instead. Instead of a man, a descendant of the one God created in His own image, I have become a monkey, an animal. Not anymore lord over creation, but simply one of the mammals, destined for extinction. When Jesus came, He told things again the way they were, and thanks to Him, we can discern truth from lies. If we cling to His Words, instead of the lies we're being fed from His Enemy, then we'll know the truth, and the truth will make us free (John 8:31,32). Lesson number three we learn from Adam and Eve is destroying the myth and the lie that sex and sin are in any way originally related, since we find the shocking truth right there in the 28 th verse of the very first chapter of the very first book of the Bible, that the first commandment He ever gave to man, at least in order of appearance in His Book, is, "Be fruitful and multiply!" In other words, "make love!" Oh, and by the way, "they were both naked, and they were not ashamed" (2:25). In Genesis chapter 2, the author zooms back in on the details of the creation of man, and we find that there was actually a time span during which Adam was alone, the period during which he named the animals, and he apparently realized that something was missing. He must have noticed that there were 2 of every kind of animal, a male and a female, yet he didn't see another one like him around anywhere. I can imagine it must have been quite a pleasant surprise to wake up next to the most perfect female human being ever created. The next lesson we can learn from Adam and Eve, is, of course, the sad one that no matter how perfect things are, chances are that we won't appreciate what we've got, unless our hearts have learned to appreciate them. Sin hadn't officially entered the world until they actually disobeyed God and broke His commandment not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but it was already making its way into their hearts. How do we know that there is something better than what we've already got? What is it that causes us to be dissatisfied with what we have, makes us despise it, and makes us crave that new thing that we don't have yet? Our modern word for it is advertising. And the Devil was apparently the first one to avail himself of this weapon against the human heart and mind. The only thing Adam and Eve apparently did not have, since they were human, was divinity, and so, that's what the Devil used in order to make them discontent with the perfect way things were: he told them there was something missing. He first of all reversed the truth of God by the lie that they were not going to die if they ate of the forbidden fruit. Unfortunately, there's nearly always a little bit of truth in the Devil's lies: technically speaking, they didn't really die physically on the very same day they did eat of the forbidden fruit.

In chapter 2:17 God explicitly warns Adam that he would die on the same day on which he would eat of that fruit. What happened? Did God lie after all, or change his mind? Was the Devil right? Or could it be that God sees things slightly different than we do, even concerning things like life and death? According to our view, a person is dead when their hearts stops beating, their lungs stop breathing and their cerebral activity has stopped. When is a person dead according to God's view? When Jesus came, He radically altered everything we knew about death beforehand, because He not only spoke of Himself as "the resurrection and the Life," that everyone who believed in Him should never die, but He also had power over death, not only over the death of His friends, like Lazarus (which act of raising him from the dead coincidentally made Jesus' enemies determine to kill Him - John 11:53), but finally, over His own. There are some people who didn't get the point at all and figure that Jesus must have failed, since He was executed and died. Nothing could be further from the truth. That act of dying on the cross was the major purpose of Jesus' life: the sacrifice He had been ordained to make for mankind, even before the foundations of the world (Revelation 13:8, John 1:29). It seems as if Adam, by his disobedience and "original sin" initiated a process, brought a "curse" upon the world which made life on earth as we know it, a little bit more like death, especially in God's eyes. It seems as if life in disobedience to God, life out of harmony with God, life apart from God, in God's eyes is more similar to death than the true life. That's why Paul wrote that the curse which had been brought into the world through Adam's sin had been reversed by Jesus' sacrifice, at least for each one of those who accept that sacrifice, which also explains Jesus' promised of eternal life to all those who believe in Him. So, technically speaking, Adam did not die on the same day he ate of the forbidden fruit, in fact he continued to live until he was 930 years old (Gen.5:5), which was quite a common age in the days before the flood. But he brought death into the world, and he turned life for himself and for every human that was to descend from him into a state which in God's eyes was more comparable to death than life. In God's eyes, our lives are like living death, a state from which we desperately need to be saved, which is precisely why He sent His Savior Son. You might say, the whole thing has its advantages, though. In fact, they were evidently God's plan. First of all, for those who go for it, and whose idea of a good time it is to "play God" and be their own little gods, this is their day. God is like saying, "go for it!" And probably most people dancing on this ball are precisely doing that, pulling off their own little "god act," at least until they get sick of it. I suspect that Adam never really got the hang of it, because for him it was so obvious that he had blown it. After all, he had known the real thing and had now made a gigantic mess of things. What's the lesson out of all of this? Take God's Word for it, that it is so, just as He says, even if it may not look like it to you right now. Most people are not aware that there is such a thing as the first and the second "Book of Adam and Eve." In my undaunted curiosity about our original ancestors I simply could not resist reading them, and although there are certainly a few things in there that are hard to believe or comprehend, and I wouldn't be able to say without hesitation that they are authentic and on equal level of credibility as the Bible (although I personally assume that it's quite likely that they were written by Enoch, whose "Book of Enoch" is quoted in the Holy Bible [Jude 14,15], and was thus obviously revered as divine Scripture in the first century), there is another huge lesson one can learn out of those writings. And that is the lengths to which the Devil will go in order to deceive the children of man. He will really put on an act, concoct a "Matrix" and make you think it impossible that anyone would have the audacity to create a lie and a farce as outrageous as he does, but he really does. As Jesus said, he is "the father of lies," and he's extremely good at it. That's his art. And I personally doubt that anyone will successfully manage to go through life without ever falling for any of his deceptions unless they become aware of that danger, and of that ever prevailing spirit of "the Lie" that envelopes us. In the Books of Adam and Eve, Adam finally gets the point and starts asking the Lord about what's really going on when something "smells fishy," and lo and behold, the Lord is faithful to reveal to him every time, "Oh, yeah, that's just Satan pulling one of his antics once again. Don't fall for it." In my own life, I have experienced that God is equally willing to do the same for us: to reveal the spiritual background and causes for something happening in our lives. He will do the same for you if you're interested enough to ask Him.

There is yet another lesson we can learn from that tragic incident of the Fall of man someone else brought out, and that is, that it should have been Adam's responsibility to protect Eve from her act of disobedience against God, and that he should have prevented her from eating the fruit... But then I guess we all would have to be in that situation first to find out whether that isn't easier said than done. The good thing is, we can learn from their mistakes. Life as it is, I'm convinced, is a continuous learning process. It's school time for us, and we can learn from the experiences of our elders. The sad thing is that the Devil has managed to trick most of us into believing that those elders weren't even there, that they were monkeys instead, nothing much to learn from, and that we're supposedly the really wise guys now. Unfortunately, God's plan won't be able to come to its perfection and conclusion until he will have allowed man to experience the ultimate result of his "god-hood" over the earth. In "playing God," we are following in the footsteps of Lucifer (or Satan), the first rebel against God who went out to play god on his own, and since most of us did not accept Jesus, Who "came in His Father's name," I'm afraid a large part of the world is ready to receive one who "will come in his own name" (John 5:43). That serpent is out for a grand final act, deceiving mankind on the largest scale, ever, and I'm afraid there will be few who won't fall for him when that time comes (Rev.12:12). One more thing we can learn from Adam and Eve's tale is that God understands and loves us anyway. He has compassion. Even though there was nothing wrong with nakedness in His eyes, realizing that for Adam and Eve things now were different, and they felt uncomfortable with their new shameful and sinful conscience, to be walking about naked, He killed two (we assume) animals for them in order to provide for them their first set of clothes. It's good to know that God takes us where we're at. Wrapping up Adam and Eve's lesson for mankind in a single word, I guess the most adequate one would be responsibility. Adam and Eve were not aware of the repercussions on countless generations to follow, of their selfish (seemingly little) act of disobeying God in order to get something they wanted, something they didn't have yet, something they weren't even aware existed until they listened to the Devil's advertisement. Similarly, most of us are not aware to what extent we will influence those to come after us, or even the children who are watching us now. We smoke our cigarettes, we live our wasteful lives, we take things for granted, and pass on that sample of living for the here and now in a selfish manner to our children. Certainly we can't blame Adam and Eve for anything. None of us would have stood their test any better than they did. But we can nevertheless learn from them. We don't have to endlessly repeat those same mistakes of falling for the Devil's lies and temptations. We can reverse that process by telling the Devil, "Shut up, you old snake! I want to hear what God has to say!" Making it clear between you and the Devil that you know he's a liar and that you're not going to believe a single word of what he's got to say anyway is not going to solve all your problems. But at least it's going to keep you from making some serious mistakes you might make, which may not only affect you but others also. Striving to communicate with God, and believing and obeying Him no matter what cunning arguments the Serpent may come up with will help you prevent the repetition of "the fall of man" over and over again in your own life. If you decide you're going to believe and obey God instead of the serpent, you'll be choosing a different way, not the ways of death, which seem so right to a man (Proverbs 14:12), but the way of life. Jesus showed that way, that way of truth and of life, by being "obedient unto death" (Phill.2:8),and by following Him, we can each reverse the path of disobedience in our own lives, which was originally initiated by Adam and Eve. We can "get back to the Garden." As someone who considers the story of Adam and Eve more than just a story, and – this is probably where I’m going to lose the bulk of my readers – a historical reality, it only began to dawn on me recently that the gigantic wheel of man’s history, with all his great “accomplishments,” wars and conquests, revolves around an infinitesimal pivot of a seemingly ridiculously small sin: the sin of ingratitude. Had Adam and Eve remained content with what they have, history certainly would have taken a different slant. But just like all of us, our original ancestors were quite gullible when it comes to advertisement and the Devil’s cunning achievement to get us to compare between what we have and what we might have. And rare is the soul indeed that would not fall for the option of what they do not have yet. And thus, history is not much more than a continuous experience for all of us of the things we may have well done without, but we never would have known, if we hadn’t tried them: basically, anything evil. The knowledge of good and evil got us one thing: to know what evil is like, and, hopefully, it will wind up teaching some of us, if not eventually everyone, that we very well might have done without it. We just didn’t know any better before we tried it, that’s all.

(Heavenly Input on Adam & Eve)

Things We Can Learn from ...

... Cain and Abel Our next teachers from the Holy Book are the unequal brothers Cain and Abel. The Bible doesn't offer very much information about what exactly happened there between those brothers, but we get the gist that Cain was the rather tough guy, who easily got hot under the collar, was apparently easily aggravated by his younger kid brother, and he was the kind of fellow who had to prove that he could do it himself, extremely proud of his own accomplishments. He was a man fit for this world, where the "survival of the fittest" someday was going to become the credo explaining the very origins of the human race, giving an excuse to the "stronger" to slaughter untold millions who were weaker, less desirable and unfit to live, according to their own judgment. Even though Cain apparently knew God, he didn't seem to be on very good terms with him. Probably Cain was the type of person who was rather governed by fear of the superior than by love, showing that he must have spent some time listening to that old serpent, the Devil, who doubtlessly was still around, since that's the source from which our doubts about God come, "He doesn't love me, He only prefers everyone else," and that sort of thing. Abel was the affectionate type, apparently, and when it came the time to offer a sacrifice to the Lord, he did something which was to be a great symbol of the pivotal point of all of man's history: He offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, which was symbolic of "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev.13:8), God's great sacrifice of love for the world (John 3:16). Evidently, in those days, communication between the Lord and men still happened very freely, since we find the Lord communicating with Cain about his long face when it becomes evident that Abel's sacrifice has found favor in His eyes, while Cain's did not. The Lord warns him that "sin lies at the door" (Gen.4:7), as if He could already see what would happen, which He probably did. Again, the loss of Abel seems something terrible, the kind of thing that makes us wonder, why does God allow it? Why does He always take the good people away from us? Again, it seems that God's idea of good and evil varies from our own, including His view of death. If life is but a school, then we should rejoice for those for whom the bell rings earlier, and they can go home before us. They got the point. They don't need to sit through this school of life anymore. Sure, we feel hurt, forsaken, and we think it's mean, but if we can fully trust in the wisdom and goodness of God, then eventually, we will even be able to see death with different eyes. (Heavenly Input on Cain & Abel)

Things We Can Learn from ...

... Enoch There isn't all too much we find out from the Bible about Enoch, except that he "walked with God" (Gen.5:22), and accordingly, he "only" lived 365 years on this earth and then "was not; for God took him" (Gen.5:24). Apparently he was also a "fast learner," presumably like Abel, and others God can call Home from school earlier than the rest of us, and he simply wasn't needed down here anymore. He never even died, he was just taken. The only other person in the Bible to share this fate is the prophet Elijah, who ascends to heaven in a "chariot of fire" (2Kings 2:11). Apparently God has His special VIP type of saints for whom He personally sends a heavenly taxi to pick them up. Perhaps in Enoch's day they didn't even use chariots of fire yet, but things went so slow, they simply walked. They had enough time. Enoch just went for one of his long walks with the Lord one day and perhaps said, "Do I have to go home again now?" And maybe the Lord answered, "Not, if you don't want to..." and he took him Home instead. We'll probably find out some day how it really happened. I'm sure. According to the Bible, there are people who "will never see death" (John 8:51, Matth.16:28). In fact, the end of the world as we know it will appear in an event called "the Rapture" or the 2nd Coming of Christ, in which He will just call His believers to rise up into the air to Him (1Thes.4:16-18, Matth.24:30,31, Rev.11:12,15). What He has done for Enoch, He can do for others. As mentioned in the previous chapter, according to the Bible (and this book is being written on the premise that the Bible is true), Enoch, Adam's descendent in the 7th generation, contrary to our current concept of "primitive man," was able to write. He wrote: "Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all..." (Jude 14,15).

Things We Can Learn from ...

... Noah Enoch had a son named Methuselah, who was reportedly the man who lived for the longest period thus far known to man, a whopping 969 years, which was just a little but above the average of those days before the flood, though. Apparently Cain's descendants were behaving so terribly (Enoch, Methuselah, his son Lamech and grandson Noah were reportedly descendants of Adam's third son Seth) that God began to regret ever having made man at all. If we thought we were smarter than God, we could tell Him, "Well, You should have known better..." but in the end, God always finds a few who are worth all the trouble, after all. It's not that they are necessarily perfect, but at least they're crazy enough to believe in Him, instead of the Big Lie that rules the big, tough and strong who rule the world. Even when they start receiving such downright crazy instructions from Him as to build a gigantic ship, big enough to house a pair of every land animal in it, because something was going to happen that never happened before. In the Beginning, we read, "God had not caused it to rain upon the earth... but there went up a mist from the face of the earth and watered the whole ground" (Gen.2:5,6). Furthermore, we find in Genesis 1:6,7 the strong indication that God created the sky as a separation between the earth's surface and waters which were above. If you ever wondered where most of that water came from that was supposed to have covered the earth during the flood: it was above the atmosphere beforehand, and simultaneously the reason for the long lives of men and animals and plants alike, explaining the size of some of them, as from "prehistoric" findings and fossils. I guess, if one should wrap up the greatest lesson we can glean from Noah, it would be that "sometimes a man's just gotta do what he's gotta do," even if it may seem to be making absolutely no sense at all. We traditionally picture Noah surrounded by the wicked who mock and scorn him for what he's doing. According to the Books of Adam and Eve, most of the descendants of Seth remain on some holy mountain until shortly before the flood and were separated from the descendants of Cain except for a few incidents. There are certainly more things about Noah we don't know than what we do know of him. Most people figure it would have been too cruel for God to wipe out all of mankind. We sometimes tend to think better of ourselves than we really are. I personally trust God enough to know that He knew what He was doing, and believe that we'll all know someday that He knew best. Nevertheless, the events of the flood must have been quite a traumatic experience for Noah, or at least for some reason or other we find him turning to wine in his later days. Things were just never the same again, after the flood: The climate must have been severely affected. There must have been water everywhere for years, until it finally sunk deep enough into the earth to bring about the dividing of the continents and the forming of the oceans a few generations later, in the times of "Peleg, for in his days was the earth divided" (Gen.10:25).

Whereas at the beginning of creation, God had ordained plants to be the food for man and animals (Gen.1:30), many believe that it was now, after the flood, that man and animals started to become carnivorous. The life-span of man and beast drastically dwindled because of the disappearance of the protective layer of water that had been above the atmosphere beforehand. The signs of death and destruction must have been around everywhere for the first years, decades, if not centuries after the flood. No wonder Noah sought comfort in the drink (Genesis 9:21). Contrary to modern thinking and "openness," we find here a first indication of God's thoughts on homosexuality (Gen.10:24), when Noah curses his grandson, Canaan for "what he had done unto him," without giving any specific details, except that wine and nudity had been involved... (Heavenly input on Noah:)

Things We Can Learn from ...

...Abraham There are certain biblical events following the Flood, that we can learn from, such as the building of the tower of Babel; that if we try to build ourselves a stairway or tower to heaven, we might wind up extremely confused. But the one character that truly merits zooming in on next is doubtlessly Abraham. Chapter 11 of Paul's epistle to the Hebrews tells us that he "went out, not knowing where he went." Now, a lot of people may do that, but not everyone does it because God told them to. God had a message for Abraham, which basically meant, "Get outta here! You don't belong here. I've got something better in store for you." And we can derive from Hebrews 11 that this also applies to every child of God by faith since Abraham. He has a better place for us, and this world is not our home. God often requires of His men and women of faith to have a vision for things that no one else can see, an invisible goal that defies natural reasoning, and to get there, one has to follow Him step by step. According to Hebrews 11, that invisible goal has been the same for each man and woman of God throughout history: "a City whose Builder and Maker is God," (verse 10), of which we find a detailed description in the final 2 chapters of the Bible, Revelation 21 and 22. True people of faith are not patriots of any earthly country, but they consider their true Home to be somewhere else, not of this world. There are even a few things that we can learn from Abraham along the line of "things you shouldn't do," such as not mentioning to the king of Egypt that Sarai was not only his half-sister, but also his wife, but we assume that the Lord sometimes even uses our "mistakes" to bring about His will, or at least to teach us some valuable lessons. Abraham was an honest man, a brave man and a just man. When his nephew Lot wanted to part from him, he left the choice of terrain that was to be Lot's and his people's up to him. He wasn't bossy or "me-first" at all. He took the meek and humble road, and even came for Lot's rescue when he got in trouble. But the most outstanding lesson we can learn from Abraham is definitely the tale of Isaac, his son of promise who was to be the heir of his title, the second in the lineage of faith, who seemed not to want to be born for a long time. In fact he tarried so long in coming, that his mother didn't really believe anymore that he was going to come at all, when she was in her 90s. We find the account of 2 angels and probably the Lord Himself visiting Abraham and repeating the promise that he was going to have another son, beside Ishmael, whom he had had with his wife's made Hagar, on his wife's insistence. She probably figured, "Just in case the Lord's promise won't come true anymore..." She laughed when the Lord announced the birth of Isaac, and it was probably unheard of, that a 90 year old woman would get pregnant. After all, this wasn't like the good old days before the flood anymore. But she did get pregnant. And she did have a son; a miracle son. Maybe they named him Isaac ("laughter") because Sarah laughed at the Lord when He announced his birth, just to show that "he who laughs last, laughs best..."

But Isaac was also to bring some tears to old Abraham's eyes. Apparently there was a lot of scheming going on, on Hagar's part, since she figured Ishmael was just as rightful a son and heir to Abraham as Isaac. But he just wasn't the son of promise. He was rather Sarah's "contingency plan," just in case the Lord was only kidding about that son business... So, eventually, Abraham had to send Hagar and her (and his) son Ishmael off into the desert, which probably wasn't easy for good-hearted Abe. But the real clinch is yet to come. it is something that many people don't understand, and cannot forgive God for. They figure how could a true and righteous God of Love be so cruel to demand such a thing? One fine day, God asks Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice unto Him, the same way he would offer a sheep or a goat... Human sacrifice was not part of Abraham's religion, and this was indeed a very unorthodox thing for God to do. He asked Abraham to kill the very son of promise, the miracle son, the supposed forefather of countless millions. Had God gone bananas, finally? Abraham certainly must have started to doubt his "link" with the Almighty. But then, everything he had told him before had always worked out and turned out eventually; it always made sense in the end. So, he did it. Abraham was nuts enough to trust God, that He knew what He was doing in asking of him the unthinkable... the worst thing anyone could ever ask of a man who loved his only son the way Abraham did. Well, we all know what happened. Abraham took Isaac up that mountain, prepared the altar and the fire and all... he was really going to do it... and when it really turned out that Abraham was going to do it, he was going to get that far for his faith, defying all reason, all moral, and that he was willing to give up the one he loved most in the world for his God, the Lord When we consider that the most important commandment is to love God with all our hearts minds and souls, in other words, above all, and that in this commandment all the laws and prophets are fulfilled, as Jesus said (Matthew 22:26-40), then we can understand why God put Abraham through this test which would make him "the father of faith," and why God chose him as the patriarch of His own people, both - His people in the flesh of the past, as well as His people in the spirit, of the present. I think we can certainly teach our children that Abraham was one cool dude. (Heavenly input on Abraham:)

Things We Can Learn from ...

...Jacob & Esau Since there isn't very much additional information in the Bible about the life of Isaac, let's move on to his sons. As those familiar with the Bible will know, Jacob was the younger of Isaac's twin sons. Esau, the older, a hunter and more stout and rough fellow than Jacob, would have rightfully been heir to Isaac's legacy and the one to continue the bloodline of God's chosen people of the Old Testament. Why then is Yahwe, the Lord, the God of the Bible called "the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, instead of "...Esau"? Apparently Jacob was highly favored by his mother, and she urged and helped him to cheat Esau out of the blessing of the firstborn and his birthright. It is no coincidence that Jacob means "Deceiver." Esau teaches all of mankind a sober lesson of how easily things we despise can be lost forever to seemingly innocent, little and insignificant decisions. One fateful day, Esau returned from work just a little bit too hungry, and promptly sold his younger brother his birthright for some stew. He figured, "What good is my birthright if I die of starvation right now?" He probably didn't even really "mean it," and might have said later, "I was just kidding," but this crucial incident shows that there's no kidding around with God. He's going to take you at your word, and I'm sure there are going to be some things any of us will wish we hadn't said. Words are apparently real things in God's eyes; they have either creative or destructive power, as evidenced by the fact that He created the world through His Words, and on the other hand, the fall of man and the resulting curse, including death, came into the world through the tempting words of Satan. So, "a deal's a deal" when it comes to God, and He evidently took those words of Esau very seriously when he swore to sell his birthright to Jacob for a meal (Gen.25:29-34). Some would think it's odd that God should have preferred a liar, a pretender, a cheater, a deceiver, over an apparently hard-working, honest guy, but this just shows that God has a different standard for sin and righteousness than we do. It's not that He is advocating lying, and as we can clearly see from the years of Jacob's life that followed, God evidently let him taste some of his own medicine when he fell into the hands of his uncle Laban, who was an even greater crook than Jacob. But in God's eyes, Esau's sin was greater than Jacob's, and it is a very common one. It is that sin of putting material and temporal matters before and above the spiritual and eternal, giving greater importance to the physical, the creation, than the Creator. I’ve seen lots of people sell their spiritual birthrights during my life-time, forfeiting the eternal rewards promised for investing one’s life in God’s Kingdom and affairs for temporal pleasures or benefits. Today’s “messes of pottage” that the Enemy of our souls offers us in exchange for our birthright is a stew of more shiny temptations than have been in existence during any previous moment in history. It may be something as seemingly insignificant as a pack of cigarettes, or the favor of some person we want to impress and thus act in a way that will open up a gateway to a long, painful detour around the straight & narrow path of God’s will for us. Anything that we deem more important at any given moment than what really counts & matters can be a substitute god in our lives for as long as we allow that thing or person to usurp His throne and place in our hearts. Of course, a favorite, and among the top 10 of shiny temptations is security. By and large, people simply fail to trust God, and doubt that He’s able and willing to take care of us as well as we can

ourselves. That’s why people who cannot take care of themselves are sometimes happier than we are… They don’t have that pride to deal with. Esau apparently felt like he was going to starve, or at least feel uncomfortably hungry for a longer amount of time than he was seeing himself capable of, so he figured he had to do something to save himself. If he would have been serious about anything else but his own immediate need and desire, if he would have cared about his future role as the heir of God’s chosen, he would have hung on to that heritage. But he didn’t. And there’s more, lots more people like that around in the world right now than you know. If God's greatest desire is that we love Him, as seen in the greatest commandment of all being that which commands us to do so (see Matt.22:37,38), then the way we hurt Him most is evidently by despising Him and constantly preferring other "gods" before Him. In Esau's case, it seems he was one of those fellows about which Paul much later wrote, "…whose god is their belly" (Phil.3:19). His stomach was more important to Esau in that crucial moment than God, and since Esau preferred something baser and lesser over God, God chose to prefer Esau's lesser brother over him, who valued the spiritual things more, and so much, in fact, that he was ready to sin for them. The rest of Jacob's life is almost like one perpetual atonement for that sin. He has to flee for his life from Esau, falls in love with Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, who cheats him and sends the wrong bride into his wedding bed, Rachel's older sister Leah, who is to become the mother of six of Jacob's twelve sons, the patriarchs of the future tribes of Israel. It's also interesting to note that the name Israel was given to Jacob after a wrestling match against a mysterious super-human opponent; some say an angel, while it seems that Jacob must have thought it was the Lord Himself (Gen.32:24-31). Evidently, Jacob was the weaker party in that fight and it seems he came away from it with his thigh bone out of joint (v.25,31,32), and yet - as another token of the type of man he was - he clings to his superior opponent and refuses to let him go "unless you bless me" (v.26). His medal and badge of honor for having fought the divine is his new name, Israel, "Prince of God." Perhaps in this unusual experience the patriarch of the Jews had to go through lies one of the most important lessons for those of us who want to become princes and princesses of God: we must not let go prematurely and hold on until we obtain the blessing. In their book "The Enneagram - A Christian Perspective," Richard Rohr and Andreas Ebert describe Jacob as one of the biblical examples of the Enneagram's personality type THREE, the success seekers. While commonly this type of people is rather found in the business world, it shows that there are also spiritually oriented success junkies, as manifested so obviously in today's "showbiz" type of Christianity, especially in the US. (Heavenly input on Jacob & Esau:)

Things We Can Learn from ...

...Joseph Next in the line of our ancient fellow-students in the school of life turned teachers, whose lives have become living lectures for all of us, would be Joseph, the elder of Jacob's only 2 sons borne unto him by his beloved wife Rachel, of whom the Bible tells us that his father "loved him more than all his children..." (Gen.37:3). It seems unfair to us children of "enlightenment" and democracy who champions slogans of equality, that anyone, much less God, should favor one human being over another. We tend to resent tales about folks like Abel, Jacob and Joseph, who seem to have been somewhat more highly favored than their brothers, who seem to somehow rise above & stand head and shoulders above the rest of us. We'd prefer them to stay down here with us, in the morass of mediocrity, no different from us, not reminding us of the uncomfortable truth that there is another, possibly better way than ours. God is supposed to love everyone the same, & I'm sure He does. Yet why do we hear such phrases as "many are called, but the chosen are few?" What's so different about the "chosen" that makes God choose them from among us and exalt them above us all? It's obvious that they're not perfect, either: Jacob - a deceiver; Joseph - a bragger & spoiled brat. While it is true that to some extent we contribute to being chosen by our own choices for God, to do the right thing at the right time, some folks simply seem to be dealt a slightly different hand in the deck of cards in this game of life. For one thing, we all dream - as all of Joseph's brothers did, but Joseph's dreams were different, indicating that he indeed was different, too, and that God was going to use him in a special way. Being "special" or chosen by God for a specific task doesn't come without a price, though. Being favored by God and his father cost him the favor of his brothers. So much so that they hated him and were even ready to kill him, or at least sell him into slavery. Working as a slave in Egypt was soon to reveal what sort of a man Joseph was. While others might have succumbed to the advances made on him by his master's wife, Joseph showed integrity and refused. A "mistake," as some would say, which landed him in Jail, because the offended woman accused him of attempted rape. But even there he made the best of his situation and was favored by the person in charge of him (39:20). And even here it showed that God knew all along what He was doing - or allowing - and that everything is a part of His greater Plan. Joseph’s experience with dreams -an issue considered nearly totally irrelevant in today's society of accomplishers - finally brought him before the throne of Pharaoh, and from one day to another he was promoted from the dungeon to Viceroy - practically the most important man in the world, since Egypt was on its ascent to becoming the first world empire in history. While Joseph's brothers were spared the troubles and anxieties he experienced, since they continued lead normal lives as shepherds, God used Joseph's being "special" not only to save his entire family from starvation during the approaching famine, but also to put the children of Israel in a position where He knew the world was going to hear about them, and about what He was going to do for them and through them.

The gist of the principal lesson I learn from the life of Joseph is: yes, God does choose certain individuals for certain tasks, namely those who choose His ways over the "normal" ways of the average, but His election does not come without a price. Throughout history the elect of God have been known to have suffered persecution, rejection by their own people and hardships, nearly without failure. Perhaps that's why Paul says that "all who would live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution" (2Tim.3:12). (Heavenly input on [and from] Joseph:)

Things We Can Learn from ...

...Moses No matter what great and outstanding works a man accomplishes, even if he saved the entire world from starvation, given enough time, he will be forgotten. And so was Joseph. The centuries passed, and the descendants of Jacob-turned-Israel and his twelve sons populated the lush land of Goshen in the fertile Nile delta, the best land of Egypt. But it wasn't God's plan that they should remain there forever. And so another Pharaoh arose, who wasn't as kind as the one whose dreams Joseph had interpreted 3 centuries earlier, and in the eyes of this new Pharaoh, the people of Israel had become nothing but a nuisance. Because they populated so quickly, he imposed birth control on them, and we all know the story of how Moses escaped the fate of tens of thousands of his fellow-Jews (although this was before the time they were known as such) by his mother's wisdom to obey Pharaoh's command in her own way, namely by putting her baby into a basket, before giving him up to the Nile. Thus Moses became the Jewish "Prince of Egypt," having been found and reared by one of Pharaoh's daughters. But one of the main lessons we learn from Moses' life is that God does not choose the "Princes of Egypt" to deliver His people, but strange and lonely old shepherds, who would think of themselves as the least likely candidates to deliver anyone. The young, ambitious hothead Moses only made a mess of things when he tried to play the "deliverer" or defender of his people, and as a result he had to flee into the wilderness. It's interesting to note here that by today's judgment, especially that of our youth, a person is already considered half dead by the time he turns 40. However, the Bible considers Moses still a "young man" at that age. Thus we're not surprised when he turns out to spend another 40 years in the wilderness, herding sheep. (Seems as if there are a lot of shepherds among the lineage of God's people: Abel, Abraham through Jacob... even Moses didn't get around it). It is here that Moses receives the real training he needs to become the deliverer, the mouthpiece of God that he is meant to be. He had to get to the point where he would let God do the work through him. By the time God recruited him out there in the wilderness, to lead His people out of Egypt, Moses probably had already resigned to his fate that he was going to spend the rest of his life quietly herding sheep, and God Himself had to practically persuade him into taking on that job, which by all natural reasoning would have been an impossible task for an 80 year old man, who probably didn’t even speak the language of his own people well, having been reared by Egyptians, and having spent the past 40 years abroad. Moses felt anything but ready for the job, and it seems as if God uses his sample to flash a message at us that that’s the kind of people He prefers to use: not the self-confident, big shot hot heads who can’t wait to do all the talking and preaching and busy bubbling in some sort of religious show-business, but the quiet types who know they don’t stand a chance in a life-time to do it on their own. All they know is that God told them to do it, and that He’s going to have to lead them step by step.

The number one requirement for any servant of God is that he needs to learn to listen. One must first hear God's voice, before he is able to pass on God's Words. And like so many others of his kind, we find that Moses isn't exactly received with red carpet treatment when God finally sends him back to Egypt. Just like many true prophets of God today are despised and rejected by the majority of Christianity. Just like today, the captive Israelites in Egypt didn't want any old weird shepherd from the desert to tell them any strange doctrines of burning bushes and voices of God. They were slaves to the rulers of this world, but at least they had some sort of safety, and they weren't going to put their lives so quickly into the hands of this old man they knew little about, who wasn't even married to one of their own kind... Only when the miracles of God started happening, and the plagues started falling around the Egyptians' ears, they reluctantly started paying heed to Moses and respecting him. Maybe they were scared that the same things that happened to the Egyptians might befall them, otherwise. But as the history of the 40 years that were to follow shows, the children of Israel never really followed Moses with their hearts. They doubted, murmured and complained and rose up in disobedience and rebellion against their anointed leader time and again, and when they reached the Promised Land, they were too scared to conquer it. God was so upset with them that He sent them to wander through the wilderness for 40 years instead, until nearly the entire older generation was wiped out, and only their children were allowed to enter into the land that was to be their home. Moses had to plead with God on occasion not to wipe them all out and start all over again with another people, because they were so stubborn and rebellious. This is a quite different picture than the one traditionally conveyed of the Exodus, but it's what one will truly find out happened, if they read their Bible. Here was another "special" person whom the Lord had chosen and anointed to be their prophet and leader, and yet relatively few followed him with their whole hearts. If the chosen people would have had their choice, they would often have rather returned to Egypt as slaves than follow that old madman and His God. Paul tells us about this very incident, "all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come" (1Cor.10:11). The human heart hasn't changed for the better since the days of Adam and Eve, nor Moses, nor since the days of Jeremiah, who later wrote, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jer.17:9). It certainly hadn't changed by the time Jesus came around, nor His apostles, many of whom became martyrs to the cause of God, the first of which, Stephen, reminded them, "Which of the prophets have your fathers not persecuted?" (Acts 7:52). And if you ask me, it certainly hasn't changed in thir "era of enlightenment," either. We think we're different than those "savages" 2000 or 4000 years ago, because we have modern technology and democracy. But if you peek beneath that thin veneer and look at the carnage our "enlightenment" spells for the poor of the world, and when you see people's reactions to the voices and mouthpieces of God, you'll know the only difference is that things have gotten worse. You may not hear much about it, or even if you do, you won't say much about it, just as the German people didn't say anything when the Nazis hawled off the Jews during the 3 rd Reich. They figured the authorities knew what they were doing. We always do. "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution" (1Tim.3:12). Nothing has changed about that. If you don't believe that religious persecution is happening in the 21st century, you don't know the history of The Family International, or have never been to VoiceOfTheMartyrs.com, or maybe you’ve never heard what happened to the Branch Davidians in Waco at the wake of the Clinton administration, or missed the more recent news about the plight of the FLDS church in Texas… The persecutors of today always only look bad in the history books of tomorrow, never at present. So, what's the big lesson we learn from Moses? That it's not the high and mighty whom God chooses, not the promising "Princes of Egypt," but the weird old shepherds from the wilderness, and that those shepherds are usually only received and followed quite reluctantly by the majority of their flock. It's not an easy job, and not one to be desired, to be a leader of God's people. God's people are a peculiar people, anything but a perfect people, and one needs to have a lot of patience with them. The one time Moses finally ran out of patience and showed his anger cost him his ticket into the Promised Land. We sometimes resent our godly leaders, and resent the fact that they should have anything from God to tell us, any new commandments we should obey. While we obey our worldly superiors without reluctance, and willingly slave away for them, just in order to stay alive, when it comes to obeying God and His chosen

ones, it's as if the very rebellion that caused Lucifer to fall enters into our hearts and make us resist their godly authority over us. As John, the only of Jesus' apostles who was miraculously spared a martyr's death, wrote: "This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil" (John 3:19). Whatever light God sends us, we nearly always seem to prefer to dwell in our old darkness. We resent, resist, reject the light. Only once we allow the light to fully enter and we fully enter into the light and yield to it, only then are we ready to truly be used by God, and in return become part of those who are rejected by the masses... It's harder to get Egypt out of the people than to get the people out of Egypt. (Heavenly input on Moses:)

Things We Can Learn from ...

...Job Although Job wouldn't be our next candidate according to the sequence of the books of the Bible, it is believed that the Book of Job is one of the oldest manuscripts of the Bible, and has only been placed in the position before the Psalms, after all the historical books in the Old Testament, because of its poetic nature, along with the Book of Psalms, Proverbs, etc. The Book of Job teaches us that "causeless the curse shall not come," (Prov.26:2), but that for every trouble that does befall us, there is a spiritual cause, and behind many of them is very likely to be found the scheming of our old foe: Satan. Most people blame their troubles on God, or, as a very whitty columnist whose article in response to some atheists’ published rantings I very much enjoyed, put it: "Bad boy gets his knuckles slapped by nasty old nuns and ergo concludes: there is no God." While it is certainly a pity that those who profess to be the people of God very often lack the very quality which would identify them as such (see John 13:35), and I have personally come to the same conclusion for similar reasons in my life, namely at the age of 10, it is also up to us to wake up from that temporary delusion and to mature enough to realize that only a "fool hath said in his heart, 'there is no God'" (Ps.55:1). Job teaches us that although God may allow certain troubles to befall us, it is not He Who would have wished to bring them upon us in the first place, but very often the Devil who is begging for God's permission to test us, because he wants to prove to God just how "good" we really are. One fine day when all the (angelic) sons of God, evidently including those fallen ones like Lucifer, assemble in the Presence of the Lord, God makes the "mistake" (without which we wouldn't have gotten the lesson) to boast of His servant Job, bragging that there's no "gooder" fellow around on earth. Satan, obviously not very fond of God's crowning creation (for he was told that their seed would bruise his head - Genesis 3:15), jumps up and says, "Well, it's no wonder he's so good. You've got him well protected with a wall of angels. But allow me to touch him, and you'll see just how righteous and obedient he's going to be!" (See Job 1:8-12). So the Lord allows Satan to touch Job's possessions, all of which Job promptly loses by one calamity following another, but still he remains faithful to God. So Satan asks God for permission to touch his body, and thus we get the rest of the Book of Job: the conversations of a diseased man who had and lost it all, sitting on a heap of ashes with God and three friends of his who try to comfort him (though not very effectively), all culminating in Job's gloriously stubborn refusal to give up his faith by stating, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him" (Job 13:15). In other words, "even if God kills me, I will keep trusting in Him anyhow." Greater faith was only seen manifested by Abraham, who in effect said, "Even if He asks me to kill my only beloved son, yet will I trust and obey Him." The message that lies hidden in the Book of Job, though, is much more a question of our own idea of justice and righteousness vs. God's. Was it fair that God would allow such evil to befall a righteous man? His friends kept insinuating, "Come on, Job, you must have done something wicked to deserve this. Tell us what it is!" But in the end, the Lord Himself comes to Job's aid and tells Job's "comforters" to shut up. He hadn't done anything wrong. It was all just a test. And he passed it with flying colors. So much so that God gave Job back twice of all that he had lost. The message for all of us in this tale of suffering is: Cheer up! There's a purpose for the things you're going through! God isn't just being mean. He's just bringing out the best in you. In the process you may find out that you weren't quite as good and perfect as you thought you were, in fact, you may just realize how

imperfect you really are. But that's the perfect ground for God to start using you in a greater way than ever before. Those crucifixions of our lives always result in a resurrection that surpasses whatever you've been before. The fires of those trials and testings bring out the gold in us. Anything else will burn away. The message is: Hold on another day! You won't regret it! Think about Job! (Heavenly input on Job:)

Things We Can Learn from ...

...Samuel & Eli There are a few lessons strewn throughout the historical books of the Bible following the story of Moses before we ever get to Samuel, about the unorthodox ways of God to empower His people, as seen in the conquest of the Promised Land of Canaan, particularly its great city Jericho, and how God has His people everywhere, even among the enemies of His people, as seen in Rahab, also showing that He apparently thinks differently about professions men and women choose, since she was a prostitute. There are lessons on honesty, integrity here and there, and that it pays to obey God, or one might bring a curse over their own kind. God will even make the earth stand still for us, if the situation warrants it, and many a boy has been inspired by the awesome tales of Samson, showing that it's better to keep a secret, sometimes, and that God gets some of His greatest victories out of seeming defeat. Then there is the tale of Gideon, who put together an army of 33.000 men but God told him to send all but 300 men home, with whom he went on to win the battle in an unconventional way. God's way. We also find tales of how God used different women, like Jael and Deborah, to defeat the enemies of His people, and how He will gladly accept one of another race as pure in heart as Ruth among His own, even in the lineage of His own Son. But since it would be more of a task than the one I've decided to take on with this project to compile every single lesson one can glean from the Bible, I'll fast-forward to a man who has been a source of wisdom, awe and inspiration to me, personally, Samuel the prophet. Once again, as with Abraham's wife Sarah, God shows that He bring forth fruit where there was no fruit, when Hannah, a woman without children implores the Lord so vehemently for a child that Eli the priest suspects that she must be drunk. But when he finds out that she was only desperate, he blesses her, and the Lord finally grants her heart's desire and gives her a miracle son, Samuel. Hannah does not keep the desire of her heart selfishly for herself, though, but gives back to the Lord what He gave her in the first place (what a lesson for all of us!). She takes the young boy Samuel back to Eli and chooses the best possible destiny and profession for her son that any truly wise and loving mother could: to become a servant of God Almighty. Most mothers nowadays would prefer their sons to find a profession that rakes in a good amount of money so they can show off with their offspring before all the other mothers. Hannah wasn't like that. And perhaps because Hannah had so willingly given that child back to the Giver, the Lord also gave a special gift to Samuel, at a very early age: the gift of hearing His voice. At first Samuel is perplexed and thinks it's Eli calling him, but when it happens repeatedly that this voice calls Samuel in the middle of the night, Eli finally teaches young Samuel and attitude that would make each of us so much richer. He tells him to say, "Speak, Lord. Thy servant heareth" (1Sam.3:9). Most of us have the attitude, "Hear, Lord; Thy servant speaketh." And thus we find in Samuel the "child prophet," who, at an early age, has God revealing things to him that He isn't even able to tell His priest. Maybe there are some things God would like to tell us that we don't want to hear. We all have our touchy and taboo areas in our lives that we don't want anybody - not even God - to mess with. But then again, God often won't get around dealing with those issues, if we're His children, and if we won't listen to what He has to tell us about it, He'll raise up someone else, even a child, if need be, to convey to us His message.

In Eli's case, his Achilles' heel is his two sons who "knew not the Lord" (2:12). If you're having trouble with your offspring, find comfort in the fact that there have been others before you, like Eli. It is hard for us sometimes to accept just what has become of our "own flesh and blood," when we see our children turn away and stray so far from all that we know to be right. Maybe God was already hinting here at a truth that He was going to proclaim openly through His Son: "It is the Spirit that brings life. The flesh profiteth nothing" (John 6:63). We would like to take pride and glory in our flesh, our carnal off-spring, and some of us are blessed with children we can be proud of. But if you're not, this doesn't always necessarily mean that God has forsaken you. It's true that Jesus said, "By their fruits ye shall know them," and to some extent, our children help us to come to conclusions about what manner of person we are. But when you sincerely want to bring forth good fruit for God and don't seem to manage to do so in the physical, there is still the option of bringing forth god fruit in the spirit. You can share your knowledge of God with someone and let your words become seeds that bud in their hearts and bring forth the fruit of a new convert, a new believer, a new child of God. And so, even if Eli was never able to pride in his flesh and blood sons, he was certainly instrumental in rearing Samuel, the prophet-to-be who would anoint Israel's first king, as well as their second king, doubtlessly the greatest they ever would have.

Things We Can Learn from ...

...David and Saul It wasn't God's own idea to give Israel a king, but the people's wish. They wanted to be "like all the other nations" who all had a king. They figured they didn't amount to much of a nation if they didn't have a strong and tough and mighty king at their top, instead of all those weird prophets, priests, judges and an invisible God. The other nations around them had at least idols they worshipped that could be seen. But this God of theirs only existed in the stories they heard from their elders, about Moses and the Red Sea, but those were the days of the past. Much like today, when all the miracles of the Bible strictly belong to the past or even better yet, need to be explained away scientifically. And so, the Lord finally relented to let Israel have a king to look up to, if they didn't want to look up to Him. But He warned them that they might regret it someday, because a human king wasn't always as easy to handle as a divine Ruler. It was another matter of "flesh or spirit." The people refused to adhere to a spiritual King and wanted one of flesh and blood instead (1Sam.10:19). And so the Lord led Samuel to Saul, a fellow who at first didn't think very highly of himself. In fact, when he heard that they were coming to make him king, he hid himself (1Sam.10:21,22). But as the years went by and the battles were won, Saul slowly changed and became proud. Proud enough to "know better" sometimes than to wait for the prophet, or do all that he said the Lord wanted him to do. He listened to the voices of popularity, as is so often the case in politics, rather than the voice of God. And rejecting and disobeying God's Word was Saul's mistake that finally caused God to look for another man to govern His people. Again He picks a shepherd boy, maybe to hint that He Himself was and is the Good Shepherd. Once again we find a boy endowed with courage and love for God way above the average. This kid isn't afraid of lions nor bears nor giants, is such a talented musician that he is summoned to play for the king, and they lyrics to his songs are so powerfully anointed that they remain a source of inspiration for millions of Jews and Christians alike, even 3000 years later. He was almost too good to be true. It's really no wonder that some folks have their doubts about the veracity of the Bible. But then again we have similar people living in our times who accomplish great feats for God: Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Dorothy Day... It's just that they don't ascend to positions of political leadership anymore in today's world. But David's life wasn't perfect, either; nor was he. What started out as a promising career ended abruptly when Saul became insanely jealous of him. He had already been told that the kingdom was going to be torn

from him and given to another (15:28), and it was as if he knew that it was going to be given to David. After all, Samuel had already anointed him as the next king of Israel when he was just a boy (16:11-13). And so, political competition forced David to suffer the same fate as that of millions of men and women of God throughout all ages: the fate of a refugee, one who was persecuted, and outlaw. But apparently, there were other outlaws around who banded with him, others who had seen the less favorable results of the people's demand for a king. David even had to flee to the camp of an enemy nation to his own country for some time, and he certainly must have felt forsaken sometimes, and he certainly must have suffered from the injustice of it all. After all, he had meant no harm to anyone, which he proved when he spared Saul's life repeatedly when he could have killed him. He respected Saul as the rightful and anointed king as a loyal subject until his death. But even when all his dreams finally came true and he finally became king over Israel, his troubles were not over. First of all he found to be in trouble with his own hormones when he fell in love with the wife of one of his soldiers and was punished with the lost of their first child together for having seen to it that Bathsheba's husband was killed in battle. Later he had to flee from his own son, Absalom, who wanted to be the king himself,and couldn't wait for his father's death to become the rightful heir. Another classical case of parenthood over a delinquent child. All in all, David's life shows that God's people are anything but perfect. There's lots of intrigue happening there, brothers killing brothers, sons betraying fathers, and people suffering the consequences for their sins. It's not what we would expect from God's people. We'd expect them to behave in a more civilized manner. After all, if God is perfect, why can't his people be perfect, too? But God never said that His people were a perfect people, only a "peculiar" people (Deut.14:2). And is it any wonder? If you were the Devil, where would you try to wreak the most havoc? You don't have to worry about the folks you've already got in the bag! That's why sadly find some of the saddest cases of dissention, rivalry and intrigue right among God's people both of today and yesterday. Some of the outstanding lessons we can learn from the life of the prophet king David are that God does not go by outward appearance (16:7) when He chooses His anointed, and that He will even call a sinner "a man after His own heart." We also learn that suffering seems to be inevitable, even for the most glorious of His heroes; in fact, their suffering brings forth the very sweetness that comforts generations to come. It wasn't the great works and feats of David that have inspired and strengthened us most, but something he himself and his contemporaries may have considered a relatively insignificant "by-product" of his life: the Psalms. There are hundreds of songs re-telling the inspired words this musician, poet and prophet originally authored thousands of years ago, making the Psalms one of our oldest cultural heritage which is still being put to use in today's forms of artistic and cultural expression. (Heavenly input of David & Saul:)

Things We Can Learn from ...

…Solomon One of the lessons we can learn from the life of David’s successor to the throne of Israel, his son Solomon, is that you can never take it for granted that you’re going to stay on the straight and narrow, even if you’ve got just about everything going for you. Solomon was off for a brilliant start when he asked God not for riches or power, but for wisdom, and God was so proud of him that he gave him all the other things on top. Unfortunately, Solomon’s wisdom did not keep him from straying from the Lord’s path, and it’s questionable, whether any one of us would have been able to withstand the manifold temptations Solomon saw himself subjected to. Of course, he did so by his own choice, just as we all have to make our own choices. But personally, what I glean from this is, that sometimes “more is less.” In other words, even if God is as generous to bless you with untold riches and fame, even though you may not have asked for it, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you should heap on yourself every possible luxury you can. After all, most of us know what a challenge it can sometimes be to please a single wife… but 700? That’s asking for trouble, even in as Chauvinistic a society as pre-Christian era Judaism! I’m sure that Solomon must have had some struggles along the lines of making up his mind as to whom he was going to please: God or (wo)man. But there is a story that illustrates this point even better than the fate of Solomon, who had it all, and because he had it all, in the end caused his kingdom to lose it all… (Heavenly input on [and from] Solomon:)

Things We Can Learn from ...

…The Young Prophet and the Old Prophet Two nameless characters in the 13th chapter of the first book of Kings teaches us one of the saddest and yet most remarkable lessons we can glean from the entire Bible, at least for those who feel called to be servants or prophets of God. It’s a very sobering lesson, and thus should not be missing in this book, even if the men by whom it is brought may be totally unknown to us. It illustrates in another way what I was trying to portray as the most significant lesson I glean from the life of Solomon. It’s that you don’t have to accept everything life hands you. In fact, sometimes you shouldn’t. I’m not going to retell the story, since you can read the chapter for yourself. Probably you’ll find that this is one of those stories after which you’ll put your fists to your sides, shake your head at God and say, “How could You be so utterly unfair?” It took me a few decades until I finally got the point that – as with all His other “atrocities,” God also meant well with us in teaching us a very important lesson, even if it cost the younger prophet his life. In my own life, the lesson has taken on immense significance at one time or another, because – as is the tricky point about this story – often those who come closest to causing us to err from God’s path are not our adversaries, nor the people we don’t like, but the folks we look up to. The blatant lesson in this is something God has told me personally over and over again. It’s really only 100% safe to rely on Him alone, and no one else. But as I said, this only applies to those whom God has personally chosen to serve Him, to whom He has spoken personally, and revealed His will. Most people will need some kind of leader or shepherd to tell them what to do. But if God has called you to be a prophet, you had better double-check with Him everything even your “older prophets” tell you to do, just to make sure that it’s also what God wants for you! When we look at established religion today, and we wonder how in the world it could have ever veered so far away from the path Jesus and His early disciples cut out for us, a path in which they were personally led by the leading of His Holy Spirit, which caused them to win sometimes thousands of converts in a single day, all of whom “lived together and had all things in common…” the dream of any Communist (see Acts 2:44, 45); there were no church buildings in which they worshiped God, because they knew that He doesn’t live in temples made with hands (Acts 7:48, 49), but “ceased not to teach and preach daily in every house” (Acts 5:42)… If we see the contrast between what is and what should be when it comes to Christianity and the way it has been practiced for the past 16 centuries, then we may begin to get a glimpse of why that old lesson was so serious. If we would listen more to God and His Word and what He has to tell us, in order to let others, be they pastors, preachers, heads of churches, or men (and women) of whatever title lead us astray from the path God clearly laid out for us in His Word, then history, I’m sure, would have taken a different course. The more you get to know God’s people, the more you’ll realize why He said, “My people are a peculiar people.” The modern common word for peculiar; I guess, would be “weird.” And there’s a reason for it. God wants us to look at and rely on Him, not people. Most of us are fairly sociable folks. We go by what other people do, and what they say or think about us. We try to please people, and we aim at being respected by them. As far as we’re concerned, God has one big disadvantage in comparison to our fellowmen: we can’t see Him. So, it comes a lot more natural to us, trying

to please people (and sometimes bending over backwards in our attempts to do so), whom we can see, rather than a God we cannot see. The problem with that, and it’s a very common problem, is that we tend to make a god out of people: their opinions of us, our status with them, etc., and it boils down to having another “god” before Him; in fact, dozens, hundreds or even thousands of them. And we know from the 10 Commandments that God won’t tolerate that. It takes a strong man to buck the tide of the general consensus, let alone to turn down a tempting offer from an elder, solely based on a conviction to obey something perhaps slightly controversial that God has shown him personally. So, if you don’t want to share the younger prophet’s pitiful fate and spiritually die and find yourself torn apart by the brute beasts of this world, you had better stick to whatever it is God has shown you and laid on your heart to do, even if the whole world tells you something different, and that may include even the leaders of your own congregation. They may not deliberately lie to you, as the old prophet in the story did, but they may nonetheless tell you to do something which may not be God’s personal will for you, if you have been receiving his revelations of His will in your life. One way to find out and make sure is to ask Him. The young man of God could have stopped to pray, “Lord, is this older brother here telling me the truth, or is it a test from You?” Especially when something anyone tells you contradicts what God has already told you, there is no degree to which you shouldn’t go in order to double-check and make sure that this is truly God’s will and His voice. Heavenly input on the young & the old prophet:

Things We Can Learn from ...

...Jeremiah What follows the life and era of king David is the sad decline of the nation that once was God's people to their doom through disobedience and lack of respect for the One Who had made them great to begin with. Beginning with one man - who could have been the wisest man on earth - succumbing to the temptation of other gods - so much like Adam and Eve's temptation in paradise: Solomon, who had it all, but lost the kingdom because he wasn't satisfied with all, he wanted more. Among the kings that followed there were some good, some bad, some who tried to do the best they could, but generally, the people's hearts had strayed from God. They may have been going through all the motions of worship: they had their temple, they had their rituals, just like today, but their hearts were far from Him (see Matth.15:8). And so, once again God shows that He can make exceptions to His own rules. Just as He allowed Moses to have a wife who was technically speaking a "gentile," or chose Ruth, though not of Jewish blood, to be among the ancestors of not only the greatest king Israel ever had, but also His very Son, so He saw fit to use a heathen nation to chastise His own people for their disobedience. One man who warned Israel of that fate was Jeremiah. But what do you do when you're one among hundreds of "prophets," and you're the only one who's constantly preaching "bad news?" As far as "success" with people or in his "career" as a prophet goes, Jeremiah was a total failure. He was a total loser when it comes to popularity. He was "out." His "friends" on myspace.com would have barely amounted to a handful. What was he doing wrong? And yet, why is he the one left standing among the saints and prophets of God and His prophecies counting among the Holy Scriptures of Judaism and Christendom, while all those other "prophets" of his time who prophesied peace have vanished into oblivion? It seems like Jeremiah was onto something. Something odd and peculiar not very many people really care about called the truth. When it comes to the truth, people who are into this sort of thing end up quite lonely sometimes. The truth is sooo un-popular! We all want a world of lovey-dovey, sun and fun, and partypoopers who tell us of impending doom aren't very welcome. Especially when they try to tell us that our doom is directly connected to our own sins. What do you do with such people? Get rid of'em! Toss'em in the hole. Which is precisely what they did to Jeremiah. It was the Babylonians, who Jeremiah had warned the Jews for years were going to conquer Israel, who finally released him from imprisonment, while his fellow Jews were taken away as captives to Babylon. Heavenly input on Jeremiah

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...Daniel There are certainly things we can learn from Ezekiel, whom God commanded to bake his bread on dung, to show the people where they were headed spiritually, of Isaiah, who was told to walk naked to show that the nation of God was going to be stripped, or Hosea, who was to marry a "fallen woman" to show that although God's chosen bride was acting like a whore, He still considered Himself married to her. But the next major and outstanding star on the event horizon of God's panel is doubtlessly Daniel, the great prophet in captivity. Daniel’s life shows that one can live piously and make the best of things, even when your entire people has been dragged away by an enemy force as a punishment for its sins. Or that - contrary to what some seem to believe - God does not exclusively care about the Jews alone. For He wanted His message to be heard in Babylon, similarly to the way He once used Joseph to make His greatness known in Egypt. The first lesson we can learn from Daniel and his 3 friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, is that you don't have to eat everything the Devil serves you. If you know that God has given certain rules, and you believe they were given for a purpose, then you can stick to those rules, even if common sense would give you every excuse not to. Daniel and his friends could have said, "Uh-oh, if we're going to complain about this food, we're probably going to get in trouble!" But instead, they told their superior that they would only eat bread and water, and if they wouldn't look healthier than all the rest after 10 days, then they would eat the food that was served them (which obviously wasn't kosher). Next Daniel shows us that there is no such thing as "impossible" to God. Like many folks in high positions, the king of Babylon seems to have tended toward somewhat unrealistic expectations of his subjects when he demands that his scholars and soothsayers should tell him a frightful dream he had, but that he forgot. He wanted to know what it meant. He knew it had been something significant. But it took a miracle of God to come up with the revelation what the dream had actually been. But God did that miracle for Daniel and his friends, and subsequently was catapulted into a top position at the Babylonian court, quite similar to Joseph in Egypt, centuries before. The king's dream was indeed significant, since it showed how the empires which were to rule from Daniel's day on until the End, were going to deteriorate, not improve, as we may be tempted to delude ourselves. In the dream, the Babylonian empire was pictured as a head of gold, followed by arms and a chest of silver, signifying the following world empire of Medo Persia, loins of bronze (Greece) legs of iron (Rome) and finally, one last empire mixed of iron (totalitarian governments) and clay (democracies), which was going to be hit by a rock slung from the sky, destroy the entire body of man's reign over the earth and grow into a mountain that filled the whole earth, the eternal Kingdom of God. In other words, in God's eyes the quality of our governments is by no means "evolving," but deteriorating. While Nebuchadnezzar was a king prone to the usual side effects of top politicians, and eventually became totally insane for seven years during which he acted like an animal, eating grass, he eventually repented and

become a truly godly ruler, making Babylon - in God's eyes - the best empire to have ruled the world of all those to come. Unfortunately, his successor didn't show forth the same wisdom and integrity and was found "wanting" in God's balances - he lacked what it took - and thus observed the fulfillment of his father's dream with his own eyes when the Medo-Persians took over Babylon. Darius the Mede was a godly ruler who allowed the Jews to rebuild their city wall and temple in Jerusalem, and we can see thus why God would consider him and his empire "silver." Alexander the Great was still okay. It is said that he was shown manuscripts of Daniel's prophecy about him (Dan.8:21) by the Jews and decided to spare them. Now the Romans were a little less tactful in their world conquest and ruled the world with a rod of iron, but then again, isn't it so that we get the kind of government we deserve? As with Babylon, the Jews refused to believe their prophets in the case of Rome, refused to submit, and consequently saw the destruction of their country, including their beloved temple. But what about the iron and clay mystery? The Bible indicates that there is yet one world empire and one world ruler to come, and he will be the last before the establishment of God's final and lasting Kingdom on Earth. The "rock" that's going to "hit" him and his World government will be Jesus, when He returns (1Peter 2:6-8). Apparently, the Antichrist, as the Bible calls that final world ruler, will raise up an "image" of himself which he will demand the world to worship, similarly to the way Nebuchadnezzar has an image of himself erected in his honor, which the people of Babylon are supposed to bow down to. But just as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refuse and are yet spared from the king's punishment, and as Daniel is spared from the lions' jaws for "breaking the law" by praying to the true God, so will God also be with His children of the End, those who will have to go through the "Great Tribulation" (Matthew 24:21), preceding the Second Coming of Christ (Mt.24:29,30). Heavenly input on Daniel

Things We Can Learn from ...

...Jonah Though Jonah is only considered one of the minor prophets, and not very relevant to the history of what was until then "God's people," in fact, many modern Theologians and scholars place Jonah's tale entirely into the realm of fiction (for whatever mysterious purpose anyone would have concocted that wild story to remain a mystery), yet this very fact seems to confirm God's pattern as I see it - and thankfully many others, namely, that God does not only love one certain kind of people, but all. - And Jonah has for a long time been one of my personal heroes. Some find it hard to believe that a man should have actually been swallowed by a whale and survived the ordeal, but apparently Jonah wasn't the only one. Until the last half of the nineteenth century, there was no archaeological confirmation of the existence of the city of Nineveh, lending further weight to the assumption that "Jonah" was just another figment of the fantasy of those religious nuts who wrote the Bible. Until it was unearthed one day. Still, the textbooks of particularly catholic clergy and theologians view Jonah's tale as fictive, but of course not as much so as the even more incredible account of Creation in Genesis 1. But of course, then there are those who question the existence of any of those men the Bible talk about altogether, including Jesus... After all, we're all living in such an enlightened world today! As for me, I believe my good old friend Jonah. For one thing because I can relate to him. I'm so much like him. I know exactly how he must have felt when God called him to preach to a people he possibly didn't know very much about, and he evidently didn't like very much. After all, they were heathen gentiles, pagans. So what if they die? No, Jonah booked a ticket in the opposite direction instead, and consequently, being outside of God's will, had to insist on his fellow travelers to toss him into the sea. I can imagine that he wasn't very much concerned about his own survival. "Just end this nightmare!" And there, in the belly of the whale, he finally came to the enlightenment that "Salvation is of the Lord!" It's not by anything we can try to do ourselves, it's the Lord Who is going to have to do it through us and for us. Why, He's even the One Who has to give us the grace to obey Him and do what He says, when it comes down to it. And so, finally Jonah went where before he did not want to go and preached to the pagans in Nineveh. After all, what did he have to lose? Nobody knew him there, and after 40 days God was going to destroy them all and he would never have to deal with them again, his job would be finished and he could go home, right? Right?!? Well, as Isaiah, the naked prophet tells us in his message from God: "My ways are not your ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways..." (Isa.55:8, 9). God sometimes works in mysterious ways. Usually, in fact. Besides, in the verse right before this message Isaiah says: "Let the wicked forsake his way... and return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him and...abundantly pardon (Isa.55:7)."

What's the worst thing that can happen to a prophet of doom? When the doom doesn't set in as predicted, right? Of all the nasty things in the world God could have done to him, that was the one. The Ninevites - of all things - repented, and God spared them, and Jonah felt like going out in the garden to eat worms. In fact, he went out of the city and wanted to die. But God miraculously caused a gigantic pumpkin to grow so fast and tall that it would give him shade. It cheered Jonah up a bit, probably thinking, “Well, at least the Boss still does eke out some ol' magic for me, doesn't He?" But then God sent a worm which ate up and destroyed the pumpkin, and Jonah again was torn in shreds. The lesson was evident: he was making such a fuss about the pumpkin, but couldn't have cared less if all those thousands (120.000) of Ninevites had died... Unfortunately, a lot of us tend to be that way. We love our cars, our computers, our gardens, our dogs, more than we do certain people, especially people who are strange to us and different. But the gist of being a prophet, a child of God, or simply a good person lies in loving others, for in loving others, we also love God (see Matthew 25:40).

Things We Can Learn from ...

… John the Baptist Originally, there wasn’t much that occurred to me to write on John the Baptist. It almost seems to be too cliché-laden, for a book (even a free eBook) in Bible characters, to write something about John the Baptist, that wild and wooly character, that always gets a special slot in the Jesus movies and children’s Bibles (particularly, perhaps, in those editions issued by Baptist churches). But there may be a lesson or two to learn from John the Baptist that hasn’t been covered yet by the average commentator on biblical personages. We all know that he was obviously not your average politically correct type, climbing up the social ladder. Put him in today’s society, and he’d received a warm “Welcome to the club” from those labeled “weirdo,” “religious fanatic,” or “prophets of doom.” (Those who know me personally may suspect now that the reason I wasn’t intending to write anything about him must have been the fact that I might not have seen anything special about him, being such a weirdo myself.) But obviously, Jesus needed him to prepare the way for Him. Some of His first disciples came from the ranks of John’s followers, and when John met Jesus, he was humble enough to testify that He was going to be the Big Star on the religious scenario, and not himself, and summed it up with the great classic expression, “He must increase, but I must decrease (John 3:30). This must not have been entirely easy for him, or it wouldn’t have, had he not been a thorough and sincere man of God, considering the fact that he must have known Jesus basically all his life, since they were relatives. Their mothers were cousins, and we can read up on the emotional encounter of the two pregnant women in the first chapter of Luke. However, later on during Jesus’ public ministry it seems that certain things John heard about Jesus must have cause him to doubt. After all, this Jesus was heard to live a completely different life-style than the ascetic life John had chosen for himself in the wilderness. He even attended dinner parties of tax collectors for the Roman enemies, had been seen associating with non-Jews, and even had friends among the hypocritical religious leaders (Imagine the gossip: “Gee, John, I heard this Jesus fella is up to some weird business...”). So, when John sends some of his disciples to Jesus to ask Him, “Are You the One we’ve been waiting for, or are we to expect yet another?,” Jesus replied briefly that his disciples should report to John what was evident:

the blind, deaf, leprous and lame were being healed, the dead were being raised and the poor were having the Gospel (Good News) preached to them, “and blessed is he who is not offended by Me” (Matth.11:2-6) Jesus then goes on to declare who John was, in God’s eyes: God’s messenger to prepare the way for the Messiah, the greatest man to have been born by a woman… and yet, He adds, and one can only conclude that it was because he had the audacity to doubt Jesus’ veracity and Messiah-ship, when he of all men, should have know better: “He that is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he” (Mt.11:12). The lesson is a sober one: you can have all the best cards dealt to you that are available in the Casino Royale, of being some religious celebrity. But if you don’t watch very carefully what you say or do, and by what criteria you form your opinions and make your judgments, or even allow doubts to settle in your mind, whatever you are on earth may not amount to all that much once you get to the Kingdom of Heaven, where God will judge you by what you did and made out of what you had and were given. It may turn out that the least in Heaven would have done a better job with your gifts than you. This may be my personal interpretation of the most outstanding lesson we can learn from the life of John the Baptist, but maybe it will at least give you something to think about. Rick Joyner, in his book “The Call” had some interesting observations to make on the subject “who’s the greatest in Heaven,” and I’d recommend it to anyone who’s interested in God’s way of seeing things… (Heavenly Input on John the Baptist:)

(Only a Few of the Gazillions of) Things We Can Learn from ...

...Jesus Without a doubt, the one biblical Character we can learn most from, and in fact the One about Whom we will probably never stop learning, and as John, His apostle said, all the world could not hold the books that could be written about Him, is Jesus. Of all the great role models from the Bible, Jesus is certainly the greatest and best, and if we follow Him, learn of Him and assimilate and virtually absorb Him to become more like Him, then we will actually resemble and represent Him in this world, which will also mean that we might share His fate. One mistake that some people make in reading the Bible is that they categorically say, “The Bible is God’s Word,” and give equal weight or importance to each of the individual books of the Bible, regardless of their source. Or when there is a situation where certain Scriptures contradict each other, they just choose to adhere to the one they happen to prefer. I personally do believe in some sort of a hierarchy or classification of priorities when it comes to the books and characters of the Bible, especially when it comes to Jesus. The words of Jesus in my opinion outrank any statement of the prophets or apostles, since He was obviously more than just one more of them. That is why, when there is a contradiction between, say, a passage in Proverbs and something Jesus said in the Gospels, I always give greater weight to the words of Jesus, Who also said of Himself, “A greater than Solomon is here.” There are so many aspects about Jesus; so much wisdom in Him, that one doesn't even know where to start. But what sets Him apart from every other human is that, according to the Bible (John chapter 1, for instance), it is He through Whom the rest of us were created. He is called “the beginning of the creation of God” (Rev.3:14), and John refers to Him as the “I Am,” (= Jehovah, Yahwe or Jah) the name of the Jewish God of the Old Testament, which was the “blasphemy” for which the Jews killed Him. So, that rules out His role of a great philosopher, because, as C. S. Lewis already pointed out, He was either a lunatic, or truly what He claimed to be: the Son of God. But in this book, I want to emphasize not so much on what He stands for spiritually, but a little bit more on the human aspects of Jesus, and the things which we, as humans, can learn from Him as a Person, those that you and I can relate to. The Bible tells us that "He was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Heb.4:15). Since we all come equipped with certain weaknesses we are especially prone to, Jesus shows each of us a way to overcome our sins and weaknesses. He gives us a model of what to do and how to act when we are tempted and faced by our particular weakness, our "thorn in the flesh" or "sin which doeth so easily beset us." "Looking unto Jesus" we can cast those aside and aspire to the place where He not only points us but also guides us, for He is with us every step of the way (Mt.28:20) and has been there Himself.

Perhaps one might consider it unrealistic that Jesus should have experienced each temptation exactly the same way we did. He certainly did not pass exactly through each same experience during His human life that every other living person did, but the basics. As far as the details go, since He is connected to His children, His followers and believers, whom He has also called His friends, and even His bride, I personally am convinced that He is actually able to see the world through our eyes, to experience what we experience, to feel as we feel. "We have not an high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted as we are" (Heb.4:15). If we are to believe Him at all, then we also have to believe this. He feels for us. He feels with us. He cares. He knows exactly what you're going through and thus is perfectly equipped to help you, better than any psychiatrist or therapist can. But you must believe this in order to avail yourself of His services. The life of Jesus bears a message to each one of us, each type of personality. He ran the race and fought the fight in a way that we can learn from, if we listen. Jesus calls the zealous endeavourers among us to righteousness exceeding that of the Pharisees (Mt.5:20) and "good works" that come from a reconciled heart, not from compliance with duty. He teaches those among us striving for perfection that “perfection always runs across the collapse of our own moral efforts and self-established ideals. Only the experience of God's unconditional love leads to the realization of our own sins, brings about repentance, and makes conversion possible. A key paradox of the Gospels is that we become perfect by accepting our own imperfection. We must recognize that it is part of the process of growth, that we make mistakes.*” He is the perfect role model to those among us who seek to do good, as He teaches us to do good for the right reasons, and truly unselfishly without any hidden agendas to manipulate and “what’s in it for me’s.” To the achievers among us Jesus gives a call to true success, so entirely different from what we in our earthly ambitions consider success and achievement. The culmination and peak of His “career” was the cross, the great paradox that we just won’t comprehend unless we commence to grasp and perceive with eyes of the spirit, rather than our carnal minds. He achieved that greatest victory of all through an apparent defeat and showed us that such victory can only be achieved by invisible riches, such as faith, the true and lasting currency of God. Although Jesus was probably the greatest Rebel against and labels of “normalcy” that we as mankind have created, He did it in such a true way that it should remind any of those of us who seek to stick out from others, that you don’t achieve being different or special by trying to be so. His level of authenticity is unreached by any of us who pursue artistic careers or try to rise above the norm through our behavior or extraordinary actions. In my opinion, true authenticity can only be achieved by following, absorbing and assimilating Him, the very Author of authenticity, and His totally unique sample. For the intellectuals and thinkers of the world, Jesus lived a message that teaches us that love is greater than knowledge. Action is more important that acquiring more knowledge. What we do is more important than what we may think or say or believe. In respect to the “silent majorities” among us, who just “do as we’re told,” there is no clearer sample than that of Jesus’ life to show us just how much more important it is to obey God rather than men. Maybe that’s why He kept reminding His disciples – and all of us – not to be afraid, not to fear, because He knew that it would take extraordinary courage for us to truly follow in His footsteps, instead of falling for some earthly fake authority, creating a cheap counterfeit of what His Kingdom is truly supposed to be like. While Jesus showed through His life-style that it is indeed a good thing to enjoy life – and He did so to such an extent that earned Him the reputation as a “winebibber” and “glutton” – He also has a clear message to the hedonists among us, who make pleasure their purpose in life, as He is also a Man Who can weep and face the ugly sides of life, not to mention the cross He chose, with which He would deliver us all from our miseries. * (Quote from the chapter “Jesus and the Enneagram” of the book “The Enneagram – A Christian Perspective” by Richard Rohr and Andreas Ebert)

Although called the King of kings (and a non-believer may sometimes question what earned Jesus that title, since there was evidently nothing during His earthly life that would earn such a superlative rank) and doubtlessly the ultimate Authority in respects to both the authorship of the world (including all of us) (see John 1:1-14) and its future (Rev.11:15), yet Christ, with His living sample of humility clearly gave a messages to the “bossy” leader and ruler types among us, showing that His idea of who truly is the “greatest” differs quite vastly from ours, most of the time. Finally, for the passive and the pacifists among us, Jesus also showed that there comes a time when a man’s gotta do what he’s gotta do, and there comes a time for action, even for an open declaration of war on evil, when we can no longer silently stand by and do nothing. He showed that there is a price to pay for true peace. If Jesus is truly God made flesh as most Christians believe, then the danger in our relationship with Him lies exactly where it has always been concerning our relationship with God throughout the ages. We create our own false images of Him in our minds. Probably the commandment not to make ourselves an image of God was given because God knew that even centuries after the worship of images and idols hewn out of stone, people would still continue to worship not what He really is, but just their own idea of Him. And unfortunately, this seems to be the case with Christianity, and what most of established Christendom has “made” of God and Christ. The true nature of God, and thus of Jesus, are buried under a heap of rubble of traditions and false concepts and teachings, often not based on the Scriptures, but man-made interpretations of them, and it takes really getting to know God as He really is, in order to discover what lies beneath that rubble. Unfortunately, discovering the true nature of Jesus requires determining that the commonly portrayed picture of Him is clearly what He is not. “Forget what you know” and what you’ve been told about Him is a good slogan. The best way to really “get” Him is to read His own Words with the fresh mind of a child, believing Him with childlike faith for what He says, and when He promises, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and you will find,” you’ll believe Him for it, and you’ll know that He hasn’t stopped talking 2000 years ago, when John finished writing the Book of Revelation (as some claim), but that He’s got lots more yet to give and tell you, personally (see Jer.33:3). Unfortunately, the most blatant lesson we seem to learn from the life of Jesus, when we look at the 2ooo years that followed His earthly life, seems to be that we haven’t learned anything much at all from all that He was trying to teach us. The church seems to have taken on the same position as the Pharisees took against Him, and after a few centuries of furious persecution, the church eventually moved from the arena into the grandstands and has often become the very persecutors of the true followers of Christ. Once again, the proverb seems to fulfill itself, “The only thing we learn from history, is that we never learn from history.” (Heavenly Input on Jesus:)

Things We Can Learn from ...

…The Scribes & Pharisees While the Scribes and Pharisees, as mentioned throughout the Gospels as Jesus’ primary opponents, are not exactly the type of people we can look up to, for all that they may have known from the old Scriptures and the laws of Moses, as Jesus Himself said, “What they say, do, but don’t do as they do, for they say it but don’t do it,” there are many lessons on what not to do we can learn from them. For one thing, it seems to be not such a hot thing to really be conceited about one’s knowledge. In a world in which Satan is the ruler, and as such, having every possible medium at his disposal to spread his propaganda, how sure can we really know of anything that we know? The Pharisees were so sure of what they knew, it didn’t even occur to them that they possibly may have been wrong. When Jesus healed the man blind from birth in John chapter 9, the chapter ends with Jesus telling them that their problem is that they think they can see, instead of admitting that they’re just as blind as everybody else. The truth of the matter is, sometimes when you’re so dead sure you’re right, it can sometimes turn out in the long run that despite of all you thought you knew, you were simply dead wrong. You may figure, “No, God would never be as dumb to make the mistake to use such a person,” but find out in the end that God was smarter than you and knew something you didn’t. It may turn out that God may see things differently. In fact, so differently, that it might turn out that you haven’t been seeing things clearly at all, in fact, when it comes to the way God sees things, you were practically, basically blind. It takes an event such as happened to one employee of the Pharisees described in the book of Acts, who was persecuting the Early Christians with such blind rage, which he considered “godly zeal,” until it fell “like scales from his eyes” (Acts 9:18) and he was finally able to see things clearly. (Heavenly Input on the Scribes & Pharisees:)

Things We Can Learn from ...

…John (The Apostle) The interesting thing about New Testament heroes is, that they already profited from the legacy, the lessons passed on, and the example left to them by their heroes, the Old Testament characters we covered previously. Just as we find the resemblance of Elijah in John the Baptist (and Jesus even said that John the Baptist was the Elijah that was promised to the Jews), so we find the resemblance of King David, the Beloved in John, the beloved disciple of Jesus. John was so intimate with Jesus that he apparently even laid his head on Jesus’ chest during the last supper, without anybody considering it strange, or, if they did, John didn’t seem to care much about it. He was absolutely loyal to Jesus. More so than Peter, whose loyalty at first didn’t prove to be any deeper than words. John was the only disciple of Jesus mentioned at the crucifixion – it says of the others that they all fled – and consequently (?) he was also the only disciple who didn’t die a martyr’s death. And yet, as much as most of us admire John or wish we were like him, he wasn’t perfect. But he is the disciple who told us that although no one is perfect, one day we will be, because by God’s grace and through Jesus’ sacrifice, we are going to be like Him. John also revealed to us the simple essence of God in three simple words, consisting of altogether of 9 letters: “God is Love.” Grasping that childlike truth puts things into perspective for us and shows us that God doesn’t care about our religiosity, nor even our pious works, church attendance, or whatever we try to do for God in our own strength, but whether we love Him, and if we do, prove so by loving one another. Although Matthew and Paul give us further verification of those all-important principles, it’s probably primarily thanks to John and his having been around at the right time and place, that we can grasp this most important of all truths about the essence of God. No one seems to bring home the point of Who Jesus really was – or is – as well as he did, either, as he goes back to the beginning of the Holy Scriptures as he starts out his personal account of his time following the Lamb of God around on earth with the words, “In the beginning…” Roughly 4000 years after creation (according to the biblical timeline), John gives us another aspect of what happened “in the beginning.” We see that God Almighty was not alone, or even if they were Two, in Whose image(s) man were created male and female (Gen.1:27), there was a Third, Who “was in the beginning with God, and Who was God” (John 1:1,2). In fact, John states, that it was He, the Son of God Father and Mother, by Whom all things created. They left creating this place up to Junior, as He spoke the universe into being, according to John, and when He finally became flesh and lived among us, it was apparently an experience that would change everything, both for Him and us! John told us not only what God is, but He also told us Who God is: the great sacrilege and blasphemy for which His enemies killed Him was that Jesus of Nazareth was actually the very Son of God, the One with God from the beginning, equal with God.

John tells us that in Him, the Word, the logos, lies all the information we need to come to God, and if we stick to His Word, the information He gives us, then that information will make us free, and it will cause God – both, the Father and the Son – to live in us and empower us to do the humanly impossible. If there ever was, is, or will be a way out of the Matrix, this is it. (Heavenly Input on John the Disciple:)

Things We Can Learn from ...

…Peter Perhaps one of the most valuable things we can learn from Peter is that God loves us unconditionally, and that He forgives us time and time again. He takes us where we’re at & loves us just the way we are. Maybe we have a hard time learning the importance of forgiveness until we realize just how badly we need forgiveness ourselves. Peter was a dude like us, in many aspects, perhaps a little more impulsive than some… Not everyone among us would be the first to step out of the boat & walk toward Jesus on the water… He had what it took to be the first to try it. Apparently, He was also the first to make it clear Who He believed Jesus to be: the Son of God, not just some prophet, holy man or healer, but the Messiah (Mt.16:16). According to Linda Goodman, Peter was an Aries, the star sign she refers to as “the child of the zodiac,” and Peter is perhaps the perfect example of how we’re all really nothing more than just a bunch of kids running around here, without much of a clue about what we’re actually doing, and only occasionally, and purely by God’s grace, do we actually manage to get some things right, when we allow Him to help us or actually do it through us altogether… Aries is simultaneously a very masculine sign, which would confirm what women always say about men, how they never seem to grow up… Apparently, there does come a time when we do grow up and mature, thankfully, and learn from our mistakes, as did Peter, evidently, which should give us all hope, and a goal to look forward to, because we cannot take it for granted. Not everybody gets there… (Heavenly Input on Peter:)

Things We Can Learn from ...

…Judas Probably the most classic example of one who didn’t “get there” or “make it,” one who muffed it just a little bit too bad to be able to be reconciled with himself or the rest of the world during his life-time, was Judas. Judas is what we all don’t want to become, and yet the bitter truth is that there’s more of him in us than we are often willing to see. Like King Saul of old, Judas is the perfect example of the one we don’t want to be like, the epitome of the “loser” type who commit suicide and quit the game, but that wasn’t their sin. Judas’ sin is unfortunately closer to home than most of us would have the guts to admit to ourselves. He was deceived. It’s so much easier to believe and receive and accept and follow the lie, whispered and hissed at us by the Enemy of our souls, than the often painful truth, that two-edged sword from the mouth of our Savior. Judas is an example of one who listened to the Devil, instead of to the voice of God, and there have been other pitiful cases in his footsteps since. Once the Devil has lured them into carrying out his plan, he drops them like a hot potato, and their conscience makes them realize what they have done, proving to them that they were played for suckers, and it usually leads them to suicide, the only way out. While these are sad cases indeed, I think that the very fact that the Devil rejects them shows that they’re not his, and they don’t belong to him, but they are, after all, God’s children. Daniel describes that some will be raised to everlasting shame and contempt, but nonetheless, they will be raised. I’m not of the type who sympathizes with the likes of Judas Iscariot, but I do believe that God is Love, and in His infinite Love, going way beyond anything we could ever fathom, He also forgives those of His most wayward children. (Heavenly Input on Judas:)

Things We Can Learn from ...

…Paul Of course, one of the most obvious lessons from Paul of Tarsus’ life is that you never – absolutely never – know who it is that God might use, so it pays not to put anyone in boxes, not even the enemies of God’s people. There is no limit to the degree to which God can bring about change in a man (or woman)’s life, and we should never offend God by trying to limit His power or put Him in boxes of what He can do and what He can’t. He will probably surprise us every time. Fact of the matter is, He can even recruit a former enemy and persecutor of His people to do a job that He has been wanting His people to do all along, but they simply won’t. By the time Paul came around, most of the Early Church Christians (and that was even before they were called Christians), were ministering almost exclusively to fellow Jews, and mostly right there in the good old Promised Land… Some of them were contending that they would have to observe the old Jewish rituals, like the circumcision, and certainly the food regulations for Jews, and since it had been ingrained into them not to mingle with gentiles, pagans or heathen, their Lord’s commandment to “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature” (since non-Jews sometimes didn’t amount to much more than “creatures” in some of their minds), didn’t come quite as easy to most of them as their Founder would have liked. But Paul was the first to really get the point. Perhaps because he knew the Scriptures so well, he also knew the impact that the coming and death of Jesus had, and he was the first to grasp that Jesus’ coming symbolized the total break with the old law and covenant, so he was the most serious about implementing what it meant, namely making God’s children out of all nations and races, and no longer just reserving that right for Jews. It’s questionable whether the Christianization of the world would have even successfully taken place the way it did without Paul, and he was certainly a key figure in that process. As the New Testament writings show, he didn’t always have the full approval or trust or support from his brethren, but sometimes had to take a stance against them or their opinion based on his knowledge of the Scriptures alone. He knew what was right and did it, no matter what anyone said. He certainly must have found comfort in the Scriptures, too, knowing only too well the story of old king Saul (his namesake) who had unjustifiably persecuted young David for nearly all his life, and yet how David remained loyal to him, even to death, and always respected him as the rightful and anointed king and authority over Israel. Paul might have been justified to just start his own “church” or “group,” where he wouldn’t have had to put up with people insisting on preserving old Jewish rituals, as it might be the common fad and fashion nowadays, but he remained loyal to the Jerusalem church and only laid a foundation for others to build on after he was gone, without seeking credit or honor for himself. Paul should definitely be a reminder to all of us, that God doesn’t cling to any orthodox and treadmill ways, but He’s a revolutionary God Who constantly uses new methods, new ways, new styles, and a kind of people we may have never seen before. God’s modus operandi could definitely be labeled “apart from the norm,” so we shouldn’t be too surprised and shocked when He comes up with new voices and methods that strike us as totally unorthodox and “never seen before.” God is an advocate of change, and He uses people like Paul in order to bring those changes about.

(Heavenly Input on Paul:)

Things We Can Learn from ...

…The Devil Undeniably one of the most intriguing characters in the Bible, and doubtlessly its greatest villain, is the Devil. Since – unlike the human characters described in this book so far – he has never been born as a human on this earth (although he obviously possessed a substantial number of humans throughout history, and from the looks of it, the worst of those episodes is yet to come), we feature him last, also because his story hasn’t really been told yet completely. It isn’t finished yet. Nonetheless, there are too many lessons on what not to do that we can learn from this character as to miss out on this opportunity. The Devil makes his first appearance in the Bible as the Serpent who tempts Eve to disobey God’s only commandment in Eden, not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and thus, after Eve seducing Adam to do likewise, causing the Fall of man. Nothing was the same again for this world, for mankind, and certainly not for Adam and Eve, after having made their acquaintance with the knowledge of evil (since obviously that must have known the good before they ate of the tree). By following Satan’s recommendation and believing him, rather than God, Who had told that that they would certainly die the day they would eat from that forbidden fruit, it was as if they gave Satan power over all of creation, bringing the curse over the world that we only find lifted in the very last chapter of the Bible (Revelation 22:3). However, the Devil’s story starts before his appearance in Eden. In the “Gospel of Bartholomew,” a book that was not included in the Bible during the council of Laodicea in the 4th century, during which the books of the Bible were compiled, we find an account of Satan’s fall. In this story, God had demanded of the angels to bow down before man, whom he had just created, but the Devil (and those who chose to follow him) refused. After all, why should a being as powerful as an angel be asked to bow down before a creature as fragile imperfect as a human being? We cannot guarantee that this account, supposedly given by Jesus’ disciple Bartholomew is true, but the story does give us a helpful clue that it was pride what caused Satan’s fall, which we find confirmed later, in Isaiah 14:12-14. Apparently, man’s choice to obey Satan, rather than God, gave him so much power over this earth, that when Jesus was tempted by him in the wilderness, the Devil offered him all the riches and kingdoms of the world, if He would worship him, because, he said, they were given into his hands to give to whomever he likes (Luke 4:6). In Matthew 12:31 Jesus calls him the “Prince of this world,” and Paul takes it one step further and names him “the god of this world” (2Corinthians 4:4).

Consequently, “the god of this world” is worshiped by many, and the Devil has many advocates, who openly defend his cause, calling his fall a “sacrifice,” and by enlightening all our minds, having become the true savior of us all. I’m not talking about obscure little occult sects, but you can read what it says in Lucifer’s defense of the website of the Lucis Trust, one of the primary “think tanks” of the United Nations with branches that list people like Bill Gates and Bono (of the Irish Rock Band U2) as their heroes of modern times. It is the Bible, though, that shows us the real face of the Devil and the true role he plays in God’s Big Picture, as we move a little forward from Genesis to the Book of Job. Here we find Satan listed among all the “sons of god” who have access to the throne hall of God, and when God boasts of His righteous servant Job, we find in Satan the “accuser of the saints” (s.a. Rev.12:10), who demands that God should give him permission to touch and tempt Job to see how righteous he really is. Consequently, Job loses everything: his wealth, his family and his health, only to regain everything in double measure once he is found tried and proven before God. How many times do we wonder what in the world is going on when we find all hell break lose in our lives and there’s no end to calamities and everything seems to go wrong? Well, as the Bible says, “Causeless the curse shall not come,” and we can always assume that there is some spiritual background for our sufferings, most likely instigated by ol’ Lucy himself, who just can’t stand to see people happy. Often we blame God for allowing it, and there is a danger of becoming bitter against God in the face of our trials and testings. But that’s precisely how and when our faith is tested to show whether it’s of pure gold (Job 23:10) or like paper money that won’t stand the heat of inflation. But we already covered the things we can learn from the life of Job… In Ezekiel 28 we find hardcore evidence for the fact that Satan seems to be heavily involved in this world’s politics, since here we find a prophecy addressed to the king of Tyrus and yet one of the most detailed biblical descriptions of the Devil at the same time (Ez.28:12-19). One of those interesting details is that Lucifer had originally been created with musical instruments within his being, which, in connection with the title “Prince of the Power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2) may explain to what extent Satan is using the media, and particularly, music, in order to influence the masses on a larger scale than ever in our modern but dark times. The fact that Ezekiel’s prophecy against Satan is yet somehow directed at the earthly king of ancient Tyrus gives us a clue that throughout history the Devil has been using people to do at least part of his dirty work here on earth. The culmination of all this is his final appearance as the Antichrist, a man whom he will fully possess during the last 3 ½ years of history as we know it, to rule the entire world with a greater amount of power and control than ever before available, thanks to modern surveillance technologies and the ample preparation the Bush administration (thanks to Think Tanks like Lucis Trust and many others) are giving him with their phony “War on Terror.” Here the Devil will show his “best,” and bestow his version of “heaven” or Utopia upon mankind, a time which Jesus called “great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world, … nor ever shall be” Matthew 24:21), a time so dark and dreadful that only He will be able to save us out of it by bringing an end to the Devil’s game. It will show that the Devil’s motives haven’t been all that pure all along. He may try to come across as the big “savior” of man, and a bringer of “enlightenment,” but once given the chance, he will only turn out to be the most ruthless of all dictators, showing just where the knowledge of good and evil will lead without God. In fact, this one lesson will probably be the most important lesson to be remembered by the entire universe for all of eternity to follow, because, after one brief “comeback” at the end of Christ’s foretold 1000 year reign on earth (Rev.20:1-3, 7-10) there will be none of this antics anymore forever: no more wars, no more death or pain… (Rev.21:4). - One happy ending with one painful lesson that should stick with all of mankind – and all other creatures of God – for eternity. In addition to what each of the great (and small) men and women of God throughout the ages will have learned to pass on to generations to come, including you and me.

(Heavenly Input on Satan:)

Heavenly Messages about (or from)…

(Unless otherwise indicated, Jesus speaking. If you should be confused by the fact that Jesus speaks of some of the Old Testament characters as if He had been there, just take into consideration the verse where He said, “Before Abraham was, I Am.” – John 8:58)

…Adam & Eve I tried to spare Adam & Eve the fall, but that’s just the way humans are: They’ve got to give in to their cravings until they grow wise & mature enough to resist the temptation. One of the main causes for things getting worse is man’s lack of appreciation for the good things. The disability to ever be ‘content in whatsoever state’ they are... And, just like with Adam and Eve, when they don’t appreciate what they’ve got, I might have to take it away from them & let them fall into a situation that makes them a little more desperate, a little more appreciative. I gave Adam the garden, but I didn’t take over the gardener’s role for him. That was his part. You wonder, how come, if I’m all-knowing, that I still have to test people? Why did I have to test Adam & Eve or Abraham with Isaac? Well, those are just the rules of the game, if you’d like to call it that, for I have purposely set Myself not to know certain things so we can find out. When Adam & Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, they didn’t die physically, but they let the Devil snuff out the flame of their spiritual life through their disobedience, and it took a long time and lots of hard work and effort to re-kindle it again, only to shine even warmer & brighter in their hearts afterwards, never again to be taken for granted. To look for details that “aren’t so” in My Word is one of the Devil’s oldest tricks. “Hath God said so? Ye shall not surely die!” And he was right: they didn’t. At least not right away. But the punishment was there, & I tell you, it was worse for them than death. When death finally came for Adam & Eve, it was like sweet relief from the pain & suffering they had brought upon themselves & the whole World by choosing to believe the Devil’s lie over My Word. So, the Devil will always find something I said he can point his finger at & gleefully say, “See? Not true!” to get you to discard the whole message, so you won’t believe & receive it, but rather believe his version. But you’ll be the one suffering the consequences. Whether you’ll die right away or later: you will know one day that your death – your spiritual death & decline – occurred the moment you chose to doubt My Word & disobey... you were just buried later. As perfect as things were in the garden of Eden, at one point, they just weren’t satisfied with it anymore, humbly having to care for the garden, having to obey God... no, there were some more glorious promises, that sounded a lot more exciting... “what was it the serpent said about, ‘ye shall be as gods’? – Now THAT sounds interesting. After all, don’t we deserve some of that attention ourselves for all our good hard work? Why do we have to give all the glory & attention to God?...” So, the age-old question remains: who are you going to believe? The serpent? Telling you, you are gods yourselves, worthy of attention, glory & praise whenever you crave it, because you are good & you deserve it? Or Me & My book that says that you are all sinners & there is nothing good about yourselves, but the heart is deceitful above all things & desperately wicked?... Meaning that, if you believe & obey Me, & humbly do as I ask, you WILL receive My praise in due time, & I will supply all your needs for love & affection, but as soon as you start focusing on your needs, your desires & wants & they become your prerogative, that’s the moment you lose it all. Look at the drastic results of Adam & Eve’s choice to listen to the Devil in the Garden & eat of the forbidden fruit: all mankind is still paying the consequences for that after 6000 years! Adam was observed by the entire Spirit World to see how he would tend & care for what he had been put in charge of: the Garden and Eve. Unfortunately, he didn’t manage to protect Eve from disobedience, as one book author brought out, but idly stood by while he listened to the serpent seducing her & thus had to be demoted to tending harder terrain than the lush Garden of Eden.

Eve also had to adjust & cope with a few sacrifices. The children she had borne before the fall had come without any pain, but from now on she was going to deliver children in pain... Ever since the Garden of Eden the Devil has managed to persuade you people to rather believe in his voice than mine, because his option is usually the one which sounds more attractive to you! There is apparently more in it for you, if you choose the Devil’s option of disobedience. But is it really so? There seemed to be more in it for Adam & Eve to choose to eat of the forbidden tree: more knowledge, a new taste, and the serpent even said, “Ye shall be as gods“! Now, THAT sounded interesting! But what was the reality? Curses, pain, thorns & agony ever since, in trade for paradise. Even Adam & Eve, the 2 most perfect people ever created, under the most perfect conditions, were not completely happy & satisfied without acquiring heavenly hearts first, the pure hearts that simply come through the purging process of this life. People automatically tend to think that they would never be as dumb as Adam and Eve to allow themselves to fall for the Devil's lies, but that's already the first lie they swallowed right there: "Oh, I'm never gonna be that dumb!" Well, you might have another surprise coming on that one, when you'll find out one day how often and how easily you fell for the Devil's fairy-tales! Adam & Eve will look like heroes to you then, by comparison! Just like with Adam & Eve, what's got to change is your own ungrateful attitude of your own heart, & you must learn to appreciate & praise Me for the little things, even if they're not perfect, in order to really learn to appreciate the better & eventually the best & perfect things! There are too many people out there who defend nothing but their own little truth. That's the result of Adam & Eve believing Satan's lie at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, "Ye shall be as gods." The problem is that when you have millions or even billions of little "gods" running around & everyone of them having their own "truth," it's pretty hard for those who are not as conceited to find out what to believe in and what really is the truth. Blaming Eve, or womankind in general continuously for the result of what happened, is one of the causes for a lot that's going on in the world, & one of those devilish schemes I'm trying to expose right here: the Devil tempts you to blame them and you become resentful. He gives you an excuse for not loving them and you fall for it! There IS no excuse for failing to love! To love is the one and only commandment. Adam wants to impart to you some of the lessons he's learned! Compared to the purity Adam & Eve had experienced in the Garden, all else was husks. All they wanted was get back to the garden, and the thrills and pleasures of this sinful world were only shadows in comparison. But you can look forward to the Garden & you can start enjoying the wholesome, pure ways of loving of the future right now, & be aware of not letting any of the defilements of the world enter in. Keep it pure! The real thing is the spirit. The flesh is the counterfeit, the fraud, the fake... the reign over the realm that the Devil promised Adam & Eve. It's a little playground where you're able to play "god" for a little while... until you get tired of it & decide you prefer to let Me take over that part in your life again. Some of the things you know today weren't necessarily always clear to all the angels. When Adam & Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, not all of them were aware of the fact that this was what had been expected. So, these things can be a test of faith sometimes. When it seems like God has failed, only those who loyally believe in their hearts that He really IS infallible can keep believing, trusting and obeying Him. But why should I withhold the same freedom of choice that I gave Adam & Eve from the Church*? Why should I painstakingly see to it that the Church is "perfect," without the option of failing, (and I'm talking about every single individual), when that is the overall, grand plan? You see, the plan is to show how I can use you, how I can work through you, in spite of your weaknesses. * (Referring to no part of organized or established religion, but the Church as in the original meaning of the word, “ecclesia,” “the called out ones,” the chosen body of believers, who choose to go God’s way.)

In the Garden of Eden the situation was too perfect, too smooth, and too easy for them, there was no need to get desperate, and they felt no need to watch out for temptation, to seek Me as fervently as Adam did after the fall. You all have the same great-great-great-great-great....grandfather, Adam, and after that, Noah, so, you're all one big family, so to speak. Now it's your choice whether you want to accept your place in that Family and do what you can to help your brothers & sisters or not. Or whether you prefer to play the Devil's game & do it his way: "I take care of myself, and if that means I have to take something away from my 'brother,' I will not hesitate to do it!" Then you can join his family, but it's not going to be anywhere near as fun, and the rewards aren't going to be near as good as they are going to be for those who choose to be on My side & do it the loving way, the helping way, the considerate way. It's not difficult to disobey My voice, as you find out from the story of Adam & Eve in the Garden! It didn't take the Devil a lot of persuasion. The only question is, have you been falling for his lies & his tricks enough times to have learned the lesson of what truly is best for you, to be able to resist his temptations? Or are you still not any smarter, any wiser, & still fall for his input, his version of the story, his alternative, his compromise? The bad times draw you closer to Me, make you realize you can't do it without Me, make you appreciate Me and the fact that I'm around. Life in the perfect environment, the Garden of Eden, wasn't exciting enough in the long run to keep Adam & Eve from the temptation of disobedience. As long as everything was so easy & perfect, they didn't really realize how badly they needed Me. Just as I had put Adam in charge of the Garden, and in charge of the animals, I had also placed a certain responsibility on him over Eve. It's not as if women weren't responsible for making their own choices, but men are still responsible to help women make the right choices, or at least their wives. In fact, everyone of My children & brides is responsible to help others and each other to make the right choices, that's what being a "brother's keeper" is all about. Adam and Eve had already come to know the good, the truth, everything I had presented to them, which I had declared as good. For them to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil meant for them to discover the other side, the darker side, the knowledge of that which was not good and was not the truth: the knowledge of evil and of that which is a lie. That's all Satan really had to offer: the lie, the illusion, that which man thinks he knows. The knowledge of evil, the "knowledge" that Satan brought into the world by tempting Adam & Eve to disobey Me, is nothing but an illusion; a lie; a deception. They may think it's fact, and they may call what they consider knowledge to be reality, but reality as I know it is something quite different. What happened is that they swapped programs. The first one was the "good" program, My program, the program of truth, but it didn't satisfy them. man has always needed a cause to fight for, and thus, something to fight against; some challenges and adversities to tackle, before he was ever going to be able to truly be happy, and that's what's happening in this life. If it all comes for free, if it all comes too easily, then they tend to take it all for granted, and thoughts start popping into their minds of "what if I were my own boss?" So, down here, on earth, everyone can experience that "what if" game, of what happens when I'm not in charge. Of course, while you're at it, and if you should ever get fed up with it, you can switch to a different mode again, the mode of accepting My leadership, after all; My guidance & My loving light for your life. The Enemy always makes what you’ve already got look like nothing, compared to all the elusive things he would offer you, ever since Adam and Eve in the Garden. They didn’t know they were living under the most perfect circumstances possible right there, they fell for Satan’s lie that there was something better than that, and that they deserved something better than that, which I was withholding from them, and consequently, things got a lot worse! Adam had to tend the garden of Eden, and you've got to tend the garden and guard the flame of your heart! You've got to protect your garden, your plants from blithes and make sure they're being watered plenty, and

you've got to keep that fire in your heart burning! Like Adam, you walk through this savage garden, surrounded by all the animals, some of which are so much bigger and taller and stronger than you, equipped with greater survival skills, but you don't find your mate among them. But suddenly you wake up one day and find next to you one just like you to accompany you through this life's journey, to love and be loved by, to share with and learn with and from, as well as to teach, or simply to sit at My feet together and learn from Me. Everyday is a little bit like the first day, when understanding and clearly seeing and hearing first began... It's not as if everything you learned previously is all there, right away, but you have to re-activate that knowledge, that conscience, re-establish your tie of love and trust with Me... That is somewhat part of your handicap, with which you must live. There is no way around it: you must spend that time daily with Me, or you'll just drift off in the meaninglessness of mere survival, the way so many others do, living lives without meanings. "Giving up is just about the equivalant of the original sin." Adam & Eve gave up resisting the temptation, they gave up resisting evil, they gave up making that effort to strive to obey Me at all costs... They gave up on believing Me and chose to believe the Devil's lies instead. Sometimes all you've got to do is hold on to the right thing when you've got it: the truth, the right way, the good work, and refuse to give up, refuse to be distracted and stopped, no matter how hard the Devil will try. It sounded pretty convincing to Adam and Eve, when the Devil told them that they weren't really going to die if they ate from the fruit of that tree. And the fact that they didn't die physically right away made it a lot easier for them to continue falling for the Devil's lies plenty of times after that. It took them learning to see more than just what your carnal eyes will tell you to distinguish that I had really told them the truth, that spiritually, they had died on the day they had eaten from that tree, and that it was the Devil who was the deceiver and liar, not I. But just as in Adam and Eve's case, unfortunately it usually takes most people some similar, eye-opening experiences and lessons about where the path of disobedience, the path of the Enemy's deception, will lead them. I never meant for you or anyone to try to figure it all out by themselves. Ever since Adam, I've always wanted man to look to Me for guidance and reference, to show him what's going on, what went wrong, and how he's gotten himself into a mess that only I can fix, when it all comes down to it. Humanity is one big family, everything anyone does always affects the others in a way: you all proceed from the same ancestors, Adam & Eve, who proceeded from Me, and thus, you're all connected, as much as the illusion of many separate entities may seem real. It's true that not all may be children of God yet, but it is your duty to see to it that they get a chance to become children of God. With Me, you’re back in Eden, and you shouldn’t really have to be looking toward the serpent’s temptations for satisfaction and fulfillment, because the only thing that keeps you from happiness is your failure to realize and appreciate what you’ve got and make the best out of it! The Enemy likes to keep your focus on the fictional way in which they could be better, causing you discontent with what you have… Wasn’t that his tactic from the very beginning? Adam and Eve could have chosen to be content with what they had, and things would not have gotten infinitely worse. They could have chosen to be thankful for the paradise on earth they had, instead of following that inkling the Enemy placed in their minds, that I was withholding something better from them… The Devil is like a salesman trying to persuade each of them of his products. He tells them, “What you’re looking for is this… And we have exactly what you need!” He’s the ideal sales manager, ever since the beginning: He made Adam and Eve “realize” how insufficient and inadequate their Home in Eden was, and what they needed and were looking for, was something much better: a world fashioned by their own ideas,

governed by their own rules, where they were going to be able to play god themselves and wouldn’t have to kowtow to anyone else (except him, of course, in the long run, but he didn’t tell’em that!). Adam and Eve could have chosen to be content with what they had, and things would not have gotten infinitely worse. They could have chosen to be thankful for the paradise on earth they had, instead of following that inkling the Enemy placed in their minds, that I was withholding something better from them… The Devil is like a salesman trying to persuade each of them of his products. He tells them, “What you’re looking for is this… And we have exactly what you need!” He’s the ideal sales manager, ever since the beginning: He made Adam and Eve “realize” how insufficient and inadequate their Home in Eden was, and what they needed and were looking for, was something much better: a world fashioned by their own ideas, governed by their own rules, where they were going to be able to play god themselves and wouldn’t have to kowtow to anyone else (except him, of course, in the long run, but he didn’t tell’em that!). But there are those who would like to get back to the Garden somehow, who would not like to repeat endlessly the same mistake Adam and Even made, and those are the kind of folks who are looking for Me.

… Cain & Abel Choose today whom you will let have rule over yourself & your life: My unselfish, humble, giving, yielded & truly sacrificial Spirit that expects nothing in return, or the carnal attitude of, “I deserve this for what I am & what I’ve done.” One is the spirit of Cain, the other is Abel’s. Are you ready & willing to be a martyr, which means witness, or are you going to kill others with feelings of envy, jealousy & selfish wants, because you just think you deserve more than that? Cain & Abel were brothers. There will always be those brothers who go the way of Cain, the way of the flesh..., the way of showing how strong they are in themselves & what they can accomplish... “Not like that wuss, Abel, with his Lord... Pah! They’re gonna show the world what strong is! Not those pitiful weaklings who are constantly ranting on about spirituality & stuff. The flesh, man, the flesh is what rules! Just look at those mighty cool people on TV, man, that’s where it’s at...” It's time you decide who's your hero: Abel or Cain? To begrudge someone else their every little bit of recognition, appreciation or commendation from Me or someone else? That's the way of Cain, the killing way. It's the spirit of false obedience. It's pretending to want to serve Me, but only wanting to do it their own way. Like Cain. And the last thing they will understand is why in the World I can be so stupid and unfair & prefer people like Abel and their dumb little sacrifices... I've had to make it a challenge. I've made it thus that this "treasure hunt" of life wouldn't be all too easy. I'm not telling everybody: "Hey, everybody; the treasure’s over here! Come and grab your rewards!" That is, I often do tell them, but they won't believe! They won't believe, because they've already been conditioned by the Enemy, the great "party pooper" and his lies that "there is no treasure!" "There's only this dull life, and the only reward you'll ever get is the money you'll get in exchange for the work you do, and that's it!" "The only reward you'll ever get is that which you earn with your sweat!" Well, that's his variation of the game, and since it appeals to a lot of people - ever since Cain - I let them have their "fun" and let them find out which is better: the Enemy's rules or Mine. Do not be plagued by envy and comparing... don't look at what one has got that maybe you haven't got; don't look at who is more deserving in your eyes! That Cain & Abel jealousy & envy is being created like this, listening to the Enemy's lies of who's really more "deserving." That's a very dangerous tune, the very tune of pride and the Devil himself: the song of Judas!

Why not be grateful for what you have, instead, trusting in My righteousness, that I will give you a just reward for whatever you deserve, in your time, and why not simply be happy for those one who are being blessed, and rejoice with them, instead of falling into the trap of envy? Can you see it now? - The purpose in it all? - The difference between Cain and Abel? The vanity & senselessness of the striving for carnal perfection and of lack of trust in Me? The brotherly jealousy that Cain fell victim to, and which comes straight from the Enemy is the opposite of brotherly love, which rejoices in whatever your brother has got, even if you don't have it yourself... It's the selfishness of thinking you should be the one endowed with that blessing, which unfairly was given to others and withheld from you. One of the first steps to become a true believer is to find the real meaning of the word "to believe," which comes from the greek word "pistevo," which means to "drink in." It's the act of receiving and drinking in that makes a true believer out of you, an act way too difficult for someone too full of themselves to sit still and listen, to want to receive any advice or wisdom from anybody else. It's a task too hard for someone too selfsufficient to be needing anybody's advice or help. They're the type of believers like Cain, who get angry at anyone insinuating that they can't do it on their own. They've got to do it their way. They make their sacrifices to Me in their own way, they sacrifice what they deem worthy of being a sacrifice: not that which I would really like, but some self-created effort of their own hand, some product of their hands and sweat they can pride in and show off before Me and the whole world: "behold what I have accomplished!" For anyone to insinuate that they're not on the truest of truest ways, and that by any chance they might be mistaken about anything infuriorates them. It's better to let them go their own way. There's not much you can do for them. Isn't it sad when somebody is too full to receive? Cain and Abel were both believers. One loved Me and the other one didn't. He only did whatever he deemed right in his own mind, and demanded that I should be pleased with it. He was too full of himself to care about what I wanted. Yes, it is sad. It was sad that Cain killed Abel. It looked like a terrible defeat, right there, at the dawn of the history of mankind. It broke their parents' hearts. It shattered and shook everyone - their whole family, and all of Heaven. It looked as if I had failed and made a mistake somewhere. "No, this can't be it, Lord!" "How much hatred there is between humans... what lack of love." Isn't that what you're saying, too? "What a lack of love! This can't possibly be it, Lord! Surely You must be making a mistake in saying that this Family is the best You've got..." And the descendants of Cain continued to wreak havoc on earth until I had to extinguish them all... Another seeming defeat: All of creation drowned and destroyed... never to be the same again. Another seeming mistake. It's almost as if I had to admit that I had made a mistake. The mistake of granting humans the liberty and majesty of free choice. Isn't that what unbelievers hold against Me all the time? "If God would really be just and righteous, He wouldn't allow all that, He'd put an end to this! It almost looks as if He's siding with the bad guys by tolerating what they do. Why, it's almost as if He's one of them!" And so, all those self-righteous critics of Mine think they'd all do a so much better job of running this world, if they were in My position. But all the while, they're not even realizing that I am letting them run the world. What they're really saying is, "You should give the power to me, not them." The only problem about that is that it's usually the bad people in this world, with all their ambitions and burning zeal to be its rulers, who also come up with all the zest and the drive to do something about their goals, their ambitions and plans, however selfish or ill-motivated they may be, while all those other, oh-sorighteous people usually just stand by passively shaking their heads, and hardly ever do anything to change things! People have the chance to either be like Cain or Abel. Some still seek to impress Me by the amount of fruit they bring to My altar. But I am so much more pleased by the offering of the sacrifice of what's most precious to you. To most people, that's their time.

Cain was always upset with Me, constantly on the Enemy's channel, thinking he knew better than Me... It's dangerous to be on that kind of channel; to be harboring that sort of familiarity toward Me where you can't respect Me anymore, nor anyone else, for that matter, because your own ideas differ from Mine, and you think things ought to be handled and done differently. Flesh-people have different criteria. What's important for them is not My way of doing things, My standards and criteria, not the slow plodding of building a man's character. They're always looking for fast, visible fruits and results of their own muscle or wit, so that they can pat themselves on the back and show how much they deserve whatever it is they desire - much more so than their younger brothers or sisters, the weaker ones... the sort of folks who don't get things rigged up in their own strength but have to rely on My grace. Most people nowadays can relate to Cain's way somehow, and the Abel-types have become more and more rare... the meek, who shall inherit the earth. Most religious or saved people nowadays don't rely on Me and My grace as much as they rely on their own wisdom, knowledge or abilities. After all, man considers himself so able and so knowing in this day and age. Self-righteousness led Cain to believe that he was more worthy of My honoring him, and that he deserved it more than Abel. He was judging things by his own criteria, not by Mine, and he refused to accept Mine. Pride stands in the way for so many to ever find the truth. Why should you have something better, something greater, something more real than they? After all, aren't they doing all these things that should entitle them to the blessing, the truth, or whatever - the anointing - much more than you? That's the way Cain thought, and the memory of his righteous brother plagued him for the rest of his life. You may kill the prophet, but you can't kill his truth. The simple and silent truth that his righteousness exceeded yours, for all your vain striving... For it requires humility to receive it, and obedience to enact it simple yieldedness to Me, and quite simply, once again, love. It's very, very sad when there's war between brethren, but as you can tell from history, it's what the Devil has been up to since the beginning. There will always be repetitions of the story of the fate of Abel and Cain, in different forms, as long as the Devil is around... The way of the majority, the way of the flesh, is the way of Cain, and the path of the minority and of the spirit is that of Abel… Your job is to contribute in helping the undecided to choose their path from among the two. - Either Mine or that of the vast majority of those who follow the flesh, the ego, the way of self… in many aspects, the way of Satan himself.

…Noah Just like Noah worked hard in spite of what anyone thought or said, so you must work hard to prepare for the calamities that are about to befall the World. And just like Noah needed My exact instructions in order to be able to build the first ship in history, so will you, if you wish to survive the flood of iniquity. One of your testimonies in the time of trouble will be that you’ll be more prepared than the large rest of people ... hopefully, that is, IF you prepare. Of course, if you listen to the voices that say, ‘aw, it’s never going to happen’ or that make you worry about how stupid it’s going to look to have survival food stocked up when there’s no crisis... Remember Noah! It took some time before the flood came, but when it came, it came. And no matter how ridiculous it looked when he got all those animals into that crazy wooden construction, those who scoffed, wished they were inside when it started pouring... He who laughs last will laugh best; since the days of Noah and all throughout history. If I had not flooded the Earth in Noah’s times, you never would have seen this day. Noah and his family, when they were building the ark, had a big & fearsome job to accomplish in preparing themselves and the world for judgment, and though they were living during relatively peaceable times, it was everything but business as usual. They needed My instructions. They had to fight doubt & discouragement. Abraham, Noah, and a good many others were in the same boat. I know your temptation to wonder whether so many could be wrong after all. But that's precisely why I said that the days before My coming would be like unto the days of Noah. When the flood came, it washed away the entire population of the world, except for Noah and his family. So, don't be amazed that the vast majority of people are headed to perdition. It's another scheme of the Enemy, that pacifistic, "Oh, God couldn't be so cruel" scheme of lukewarm church Christians. While they're getting away with slaughtering the innocents for lucre and power on a larger scale than ever, surely God would never be as cruel as to allow such a vast number of people to be misled into their doom, so, accordingly, if He wouldn't allow them to be misled, they can't be that wrong after all, and if they're not wrong, they must be right, which means you should be listening to them, and maybe there's something wrong with your unconventional & controversial, iconoclastic way, after all. Why am I allowing them to be misled? Because they have chosen to believe a lie. "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." (John 3:19) Don't be like those who didn't get into the boat with Noah because they were too busy with the usual affairs of life, their courting and eating and drinking... If you can see the changes happening on the horizon, you better start preparing for them, and not wait until they're here! And one of the best ways to prepare for them is to let others know about them now, before they come to pass, so that they can prepare also, and help you to prepare, too. People have got to see you busy at "building an ark," making preparations for the rain, even though they may not see it coming as clearly as you do, so that when it comes, when it's going to start pouring, they will know that you have been prophets among them. It's expected of you to be warning other people, to talk to them about it! Anything else would be a sin! Discern the spirits. Seek wisdom. In the silence you will hear things that really count and will make history. Here on the mountain! Not down in the valley. They're going to be washed away by the next flood, the coming flood of the Devil's lies & iniquity that only relative few will be spared from, as Noah and his family, or Lot and his... Refuse to go the way of the world, refuse to be colored by their influences, refuse to accept their standards! Question everything you hear, except what you know comes from My good, wholesome sources! And impart what you've been given to others, to those who will listen to and receive you. I'm teaching you about the worldly crooks who try to make money of others' need for love & companionship & exploit their loneliness & longing for love. "As it was in the days of Noah: they married & were given in to marriage and took not heed until Noah entered into the ark, so it will be in the days preceding the coming of the Son of Man."

It must not have made sense for people that Noah was building an Arc on dry land, and on top of it, housing thousands of animals in it... Even so you see a lot of people deserting you and running off the holy mountain, following the lures of this world... The Devil knows how to get them and how to tempt them. Yet, when the flood came, it sure was a good thing that Noah had built that thing, wasn't it? And even so, when the Devil's flood of iniquity and lies is going to sweep this world for it's greatest hour of temptation yet, you're not going to be sorry you've been investing your time in building your faith.

…Abraham Imagine how it must have looked to onlookers, to Sarah & the intimate relatives, when Abraham was off to sacrifice Isaac. It still looks atrocious to men! Well, but this was My test, which made him the Father of faith, for greater faith than this, to be truly willing and ready to sacrifice your own most beloved son to obey Me, has very rarely been found. You can do miracles, move mountains, heal the sick & raise the dead, and it still won’t amount to that kind of faith. For it looks most irrational to the whole world. How could they know, that the God of the universe was going to sacrifice His only Son, and He was asking Abraham, ‘would you be willing to go that far?’ And He was showing the world a little glimpse & example of what He was going to do Only once Abraham was willing to sacrifice & yield that which he loved most dearly, was I able to bless him mightily to become the ‘father of faith’... And likewise, I cannot tell whether you truly love Me first until you’ve really lain your Isaac on the altar. Letting go of the person you love most in all the world is a painful process, & if some people may still wonder why I ever had Abraham pass through such a cruel test, now that you’re in the middle of that very same test you wonder all the more, but one day you’ll see the perfect sense in this. I often give you your Isaac, only to ask you to give him up for Me again, to test whether you really love Me above all. If one uses this situation as an excuse to quit, then they will only show that they didn’t have what it takes in the first place: the necessary amount of love for Me. Just like I gave Isaac to Abraham: the fulfillment of all his desires & My promises to him, the heir of My covenant with him, the one to fulfill all that I had spoken, and yet I asked Abraham to give this very son of promise, this embodiment of all that was important to him back to Me, to sacrifice him, to kill him, to let Me take him away out of his life again, even so it is with all of you: everyone has the choice whether they're going to let the things I have given them, their boy- or girl-friend, their children, wife or husband, become their new god, the thing they live for, the thing that all their actions revolve around, or whether they're going to give it back to Me every day, lay it on the altar & put Me first, willing to sacrifice their most dearly beloved... Only those with great faith can do that, but only those with great faith are going to become the heirs of faith. If Abraham would not have been willing to sacrifice Isaac, you never would have heard of him, it's as simple as that. I would have had to look for another Abraham, one who would have been willing to put Me first & surrender & sacrifice that to Me which he loved most in all the World... In a very real way, this sacrifice greatly enhanced Abraham's love for Isaac. It showed to him how blessed he was, every day, after this, to even have him, because I could have also taken him away from him. Now that he had shown that he would not even withhold his very son from Me, now he could love him with a love that was pure, purged of any selfish intentions or motivations. He loved him with a love that daily cried out to Me in thankfulness: "God, I thank Thee for this son whom You have given me, and whom you have asked from me, and I have not withheld him from you, and for this son that you have given back to me, even again, a second time!" It was a love from then on that was through & through drenched in gratefulness, drooping with humility & tears of joy, a love enhanced & beautified by utter submission to Me, a love that was only passed by Abraham's love for Me. It was a factor that purified his love greatly. That's the kind of pure love that is necessary, in order to make it for Me in this life and death game of faith, beloved! A love that says to the one whom you love: "I love you, but you are not mine, but have only been given to me by the Lord, and I am willing to give you back to Him at any time He requests you. I love you so much because God is giving us this great love for Him in the first place. He has loved me as much as to give you to me, and I will love Him

back & give you back to Him any time He asks, and this in return, will again, strengthen and purify our love for each other: my love for you, your love for me, and our love for Him..." Now you wonder, well, what is your Isaac then? Your Isaacs are all the little things that seem to get so important to you that they drag you away from Me and My service. Whatever it is during any given day that just seems to become more important than Me, be it in any kind of form or shape of your music ministry, or your own desires... What it all boils down to for each of you, is: are you willing to lay down your own desires on the altar, in order to serve Me and further My Kingdom? The more you learn this, the more you are willing to sacrifice your own desires, and the more you will learn to do this not grudgingly, but willingly, and joyfully, the quicker you will learn what it truly means to be a humble & willing servant of Mine, & a true & dedicated disciple. As long as you are ridden by your own selfish wants, lusts & desires, why, you're not that different from anyone else in the World. And you aren't, really. You've got the same desires. Abraham had the same desires to have a family, as any other man in the World. But the difference between those like Abraham & the rest of the World is that they can say, "See, I've had the same desires as you, I'm the same kind of material as you, but I've had to learn to put the Lord first, before that natural desire of mine. We've got to learn to give back to God that which He gives us in the first place, to show that we're thankful to Him, that we acknowledge that it all comes from Him, and that we learn not to take each other for granted, for that way we will only hurt each other. But when we give each other back to the Lord, it enhances our love for each other, it makes our love grow and grow and grow..." Usually people take whatever options sound best to them, as in the case with Abraham & Lot. Lot chose the valley, & consequently got himself into trouble in Sodom, remember? I'm challenging you to stretch your spiritual muscles & limbs into new, more exciting areas & changes, higher plains. Everybody involved in this equation needs to stretch their muscles of faith & trust in some area. The thing to do is to focus on Me & keep your focus on what's up ahead, not the easier, more comfortable option, IF you want to follow in the footsteps of Abraham, the father of faith, & be part of his heritage, a bearer of the crown of those who chose My highest will & option. Take the mountain! Like Abraham, like Joshua, like Caleb. And let the rest of the weaklings, half-hearts & compromisers settle for the valley & the low-lands. The acid test is always whether they seek that which is their own or that which is Mine. They will only be able to withstand the Enemy's attacks with doubts & negative thoughts if they really focus on what I want, & not their own selfish little desires or selfish little families, or whatever it is they're most concerned about. It's a fine line, because everybody has their ministry or "Isaacs" that are of utmost importance to them. The question is only whether they're willing to surrender & give them back to Me, or whether they will try to selfishly cling to them & "protect" them from Me, not letting Me touch them. You see, the test I've had Abraham pass with Isaac was actually a lot more relevant to all My followers of all ages than meets the eye. Nearly everyone has their own little family, with their own little "Isaacs". Those who will say, "No, never will I allow You to touch my Isaac" will sooner or later fall away, because they simply haven't got the faith nor the love for Me that it takes to follow Me all the way. Only those who wholeheartedly say, "Lord, whatever is mine is Thine... take it & do as You wish..." those who trust Me to this extent, are the ones who will make it unto the end. It's an ongoing test, and sometimes I may give you brand new Isaacs in brand new situations, where you say, "Lord, I'm tired of forsaking my Isaacs to You. I have forsaken so many already, don't take this one away from Me also..." No, life isn't going to be perfect - ever - in this present life, and I ordained it this way in order for you not to cling to this World & this life with tooth & nail, but so that you would - like Abraham - seek a better place, a City Whose Builder & Maker I am - your true Home. This World is not your home, so you might as well quit looking for the perfect place in it, and the perfect situation, where everything is going to be as you wish. (See Hebrews 11:8-10). I delight in doing My miracles when they seem all the more impossible. I waited for Abraham & Sarah to grow in age beyond the point where it was humanly & commonly possible to have children until she conceived Isaac. Remember, she laughed at My Words, but that laughter turned into flesh & blood!

Abraham was willing to trust Me, that I knew better what was the best concerning his son, that My hands were the place he was going to be best cared for, even if I asked something as absurd of him as to sacrifice him unto Me. Evidently Abraham had enough faith to believe that even if Isaac would die, it would be better for him than what could have happened if Abraham had disobeyed Me. I use what nobody else thinks I can use: when Abraham was of old age, he was tempted also to think that the promise I had given him must have been meant to be interpreted in some other way, not in the typical, carnal or physical way he originally expected, because, after all, that would have required a miracle of the kind the world had never seen yet. You've got to have faith for miracles of the kind the world has never even seen yet. I'm still going to surprise you! Don't look at your own flesh & limit Me by saying I can't use you anymore, you're too old! Remember Abraham and Moses, both of whom I used at an age when they both wouldn't have expected anymore to be used by Me so greatly... You must see in a completely different way than the way the world sees! Pioneers must have vision to see what no one else believes! How much of your own life are you willing to pour into your child? That's all Abraham had to work with to become the Father of faith: one child! Abraham had to walk that way, he had to climb that hill, he had to be willing to sacrifice Isaac, in order for Me to stop him and say, "It is good. I know now that you truly love Me." That's the road of faith. This doesn't mean that I will ask the very same thing of all My children, but it means, be prepared to sacrifice, be prepared to risk to lose everything, be willing to give it all up, for only in this way will you obtain the great blessing and inherit My promises of happiness! Abraham saw his own body as good as dead, but he staggered not at My promise through unbelief, but still brought forth the fruit of his loins miraculously, the promised heir, and so it is also with this tree that you see, as you see it, as good as dead, no fruit, no life, no love, no Spirit. But stagger not at My promise through disbelief, but believe that I am able to bring to pass what I promised, even if the tree is as good as dead. It took Abraham years until he would see the fulfillment of the promise. And as Sarah mocked My messengers in her heart, and doubted that I would bring it to pass, you look & don't see it. It's impossible, you say. But you must not give up prematurely! Look at this tree, this body, as good as dead, but stagger not at My promise through unbelief, but believe that I am well able to perform that which I have spoken, because all things are possible to him that believeth & with Me nothing shall be impossible. I know, it’s hard to trust sometimes, that a God of Love would ask you to do such irrational things, or would use such unconventional methods, but that’s why only those with great faith can really trust Me - and My Word, for that matter. Some people consider the Abraham/Isaac episode an atrocity that doesn’t really belong in My Word. They didn’t really get the point. Don't look at your body as good as half-dead, as Abraham could have done. Don't mock My promise. If I have said it, I can do it and I am more capable of doing it than you're willing to have Me do it!

…Jacob & Esau Nobody knows how great an effect even the most apparently insignificant deed or sentence might have... So many things are being caused by seemingly unimportant & insignificant causes, like Esau’s birthright going to Jacob over a haphazard commitment to trade it in for a stew... So, be careful with your words, actions & your behavior…

Don’t let the Devil tell you that you’re not good enough to deserve answers to your prayers! Just beat those distractions the best you can & wring yourself through to Me in prayer & don’t let go until I’ve blessed you, like Jacob! And I will bless you, When I say, "Roll ye away the stone," or I give you a burden or an idea to do something, then do what thy hand findeth to do with thy might. Even if I'm having you wait for the fulfillment and the mate of these promises like Jacob had to wait for Rachel... what is that to thee? Ye have need of patience! The important thing is to keep trusting in Me, no matter what, knowing that whatever happens is good for you, and the closer you stay to Me and the more you love Me, the better it will be for you - whatever happens. The names of all the 12 tribes & sons of Israel are written on heaven's gates, not just the name of Joseph... Even if it seems unfair, like the crookedness of Laban, to cheat Jacob into marrying Leah first, before Rachel... if it hadn't happened, there would have only been 2 sons of Israel, not 12. Zooming in on carnal things, and this has been blurring your vision of the spiritual things. In your pursuit of your desire, you have neglected your spiritual view and insight, your vision. And thus it easily happens that you see things not quite as they are, especially if you don't look carefully enough. Finding out the truth takes time, and you have to be willing to spend time on it. You can't just give it a quick glance & say, "Nah, that's not it," just because you don't like the looks of it. When Esau came back hungry from the hunt, all he saw & cared about was the food that Jacob had prepared, and that's all he wanted at that moment. He couldn't care less about his birthright at that moment & wouldn't waste a second thought on it. But I want you to act thoughtfully. Jacob the Deceiver may have been a deceiver, but he still inherited his father's birthright. His father, Isaac, might have preferred to give the birthright to the one who was truly the firstborn, to Esau, but You must grant Me the right & majesty to determine which weaknesses I consider more tolerable. And when somebody deceives in order to gain advantage to their own end, it still isn't as big a sin in My eyes as when someone puts the affairs of this life before Me. Esau was the (spiritual) patriarch of millions, nay billions of short-sighted people who settled for what they could see, the immediate filling of their bellies. Jacob, though a sinner and deceiver, became the continuation of the heirloom of faith. So, continue in the footsteps of your father Jacob, and become, like him, a prince with God and men, even if the struggle and the fight maim you. Continue fighting the fight, the battle of your destiny & don't give up like all those other quitters & settlers-for-less, the millions, like Esau. Jacob desired to have something that wasn't really of that much use in the practical, as far as the here & now was concerned. He was mainly desirous of the spiritual title and heirloom of Isaac's blessing. Of course, the birthright was a big thing for people in those days, but it wasn't something that young folks were all to concerned about, and, evidently, Esau didn't care about it all too much, to begin with, at least not at the time he made that deal with his brother. At first Jacob was pretty selfish, concerned primarily with the things he wanted: the birthright, then Rachel for a wife, etc., and you know he cheated, too, in order to get the first. He was being cheated in order to get the second... He had to eat some of his own pie: "Have a taste of what it's like to be cheated." But after years and years of working under someone like that, you eventually begin to change and start turning from a Jacob, a deceiver, into an Israel, a prince of God. What is that process that gets you there? It's the purging process. It's the wrestling with God process and not letting go before the blessing, and finding out which of the two is stronger. - Finally winding up saying "Uncle" and "You win" to God, and surrendering to Him, giving Him the respect which truly is His due. You never hear much about those who took the easy way out, who didn't dare to take the challenge. Esau, who took the easy way out of selling his birthright in order to fill his stomach on that one fateful occasion, didn't become the hero and patriarch of My chosen people, but Jacob did. For him, there was no such thing as "backward" or settling for less.

…Joseph (Joseph:) Hey there. I hear you're having some trouble with your brethren. I hear you're even feeling a little bit like in exile, and that partly due to - just like in my case - some older brethren's failings. Well, you can look at it whichever way, but the fact remains that both, your sufferings and mine, were ordained by the hand of the Lord, and in the end, it couldn't have happened any better way. The time in Egypt resulted in making Israel a greater and richer nation, a force to be reckoned with, of truly called-out ones from the System of their day, carrying with them valuable experiences from their servitude in Egypt. Things would have never been the same without these experiences. And so it is with you. If you would be taking with you many great spoils & material riches from your personal time in Egypt (which isn't quite over yet, as it seems), you would easily see the Lord's hand in it. But look at it with the eyes of faith: You have gained spiritual riches, and nourishment, from the storehouses of which you've got plenty to share with your brethren now, and many are feeding from it and are basking in the sunshine and the warmth of the fire, made from the wood you gathered, and you're helping them through this cold, spiritual winter, and a time of famine. So, don't be offended or surprised if they mock you or don't know what to make of you and your coat of many colors, your strange & odd little ways... Accept the fact that they're going to have to take you for what you are, and likewise, stretch your own muscles of tolerance when it comes to your brethren. It's not enough to just be different. It's important to make a difference, to strive to be different in an uplifting way, a positive way that takes the initiative to make a positive difference. I was tempted to just resign while in prison and passively sink into the abyss of self-pity. But thankfully, the Lord quickly had me snap out of that, because He had given me a job to do. Now, I could not see what that was, but that's faith. How could I possibly ever imagine while I was in prison that one day I'd be Pharaoh's 2nd hand, & practically the most powerful man in the empire that ruled the World? Always keep in mind and focus the job the Lord has for you, that's greater than anything you could imagine right now, and that He's preparing You for right now, through all you're going through right now, to do a better job at ruling the World some day. You will be righteous and fair rulers because you will have gone through sufferings yourselves that will have shown you the other side, that will enable you to relate to those that might also suffer and be plagued by doubts, or hurt by others. Blessed are the peacemakers. How do you make peace? By forgiving and taking a step towards the others, trying to understand, and trusting the Lord for the rest, the part you can't understand. He made all of you. He must have known what He was doing, didn't He? Haven't you learned that He does all things well? So, even in creating you and those others with all your flaws, and putting you in this situation where you'd have to learn to get along, He must have known what He was doing, right? And don't worry, Heaven is full of oddballs! Guys like you will really feel at Home here, because the place is just buzzin' with oddballs & seeming nutcases like yourself, the nutcases that really made the differences in the World that brought about God's perfect plan. The wild & wooly dreamers that saw the things no one else dared to see, that were even ridiculed by their own brethren... If you avail yourself more of our help, you will have more faith & courage to be that bold, to tell them your fancy dreams in spite of what they might say. Maybe I wasn't always the wisest or discrete in choosing who I was going to share my far out visions & dreams with, I wasn't the most cautious, but the Lord used that boldness later in order to get me where He wanted me: right beside the throne that ruled the World, and that's where you're going to wind up too, some day, along with those brothers & sisters who never would have dreamed that you would ever make it there, along with them, just like you may be having a hard time picturing them as that which they're supposed to be, and, by the grace of God, they're going to be. In fact, a lot might depend on you, as to whether they're going to make it or not. In my case, the Lord used me in order to ensure My entire family's survival. Be sure you don't miss any golden opportunities for ways in which the Lord might want to use you in order to ensure your family's survival! Never think that because you're locked up in some dungeon or prison cell, along with criminals and the scum of the World, that God isn't going to be able to use you there. You never know where you might end up next, if you seize the opportunity, stay open to His limitless possibilities & just keep trusting that He knows what He's doing! It pays to have crazy faith and to not limit the Lord in any way when it comes to His plans for you. (Jesus:) I allow the lean years to draw people back to Me, to cause sinners to repent & make things right, as I caused the sons of Israel to return to their brother Joseph in humility and repentance.

Remember that the greatest need & hunger is for the spiritual riches, and be wise - like Joseph - to store up spiritual wealth to share with the world during its leanest years it will have ever seen. The greatest famine I want you to prepare for is the spiritual famine.

…Moses I’ve set you apart in this place to focus on Me, get ready for your ministry by licking the Devil, like I did in the wilderness. Remember? ‘If you don’t get alone with the Lord & lick the Devil first, you might as well forget it.’ I was in the wilderness for 40 days & nights. Moses spent 40 years in the wilderness to prepare for his ministry of leading My children out of Egypt. He had to be so strongly connected to Me that he wouldn’t be too disappointed by what he saw among his brethren. You’re like Moses running away from a very hectic, active, stressy & busy life in Egypt & coming to the wilderness to learn to do nothing but tend sheep for 40 years... I had to get Egypt out of him first, see? If Moses, a mighty prince of Egypt didn’t make it without Me, be sure, your chances are less than less! You never wanted to be a prophet? Welcome to the club! Moses, Jeremiah, and a lot of others never wanted to, either, but like this whatever they had to say at least wasn’t just their own idea. You have to be so sure it’s Me you’re even willing to suffer & die for it, you know? That’s the conviction of ‘Here I stand, I can do no other!’ The drastic thing that got Moses out of Egypt was the big mess he made of things in killing the Egyptian & having to run for his life... What will it be with you? What will be your big mess to get you running out of Egypt? Moses’ walk out into the desert on his own was the only way to get him to My holy mountain. How can I use those in such ways who close themselves to anything supernatural as being witchcraft? What if Moses had said, “No, Lord! Don’t have me do that magic trick with the staff & the snake: they’ll think that’s witchcraft!“ After all, the Egyptians were able to do the same thing. But in the end, My serpent ate up theirs & I proved that My power was greater than theirs... So, or similar to that it will be during the Endtime. The Devil will have a lot of power, but yours will be greater! It already is! I’m just in the process of teaching you how to use it! All you've got is My Word, and a desire to obey Me. Now, what will you do with that challenge? What is that in thy hand? None of My prophets was ever really enthusiastic & thrilled about giving My message to the people. Moses, Jeremiah, Jonah, they all had to be persuaded & sometimes even tricked by Me to get them to do what I wanted. To become an undesirable, one of those outrageous religious fanatics that spread those controversial truths, messages of doom... extremely unpopular. But what can I say? "Hold fast that which thou hast lest any man take thy crown!" Remember that Moses was 80 by the time he was ready for the Exodus. The breaking process: Moses had to go & become a nobody for 40 years after having been quite an important somebody. It nags on your pride, but that's exactly what I'm after: the dismantling of your pride. I know it hurts. And your pride resists it, like a tough beast you're trying to kill but that won't give up so easily. It resists & fights. But only the humble can truly bring refreshment to the thirsty souls of others. Only the humble gain their trust to really be able to reach down into their hearts and to lead them to Me, the Answer to all their pains & heartaches. "God resisteth the proud but giveth grace to the humble." Only the humble can fully walk in God's grace, and overflow with it. Humility and grace walk hand in hand. Look at the kind of mob Moses had to work with. Only 2 of them inherited the kingdom, the rest perished, and the fulfillment of the promise was inherited by their children!

The words that I gave to Moses were never as appreciated by his own immediate generation as they were by the generations to follow later. That's just the way it has always been with most of My saints: during their life-times, they were rejected, and only later, in most cases, after their deaths, were they recognized as the saints & great men they were. The first Jews rejected Moses, in spite of the great miracles I performed through him. He had his faithful few who supported him, but the majority resisted him and provoked him to anger. But because he allowed them to provoke him, he also missed out on the blessing of entering the Promised land together with them, so, let this be a warning to you: if you don't want to miss the blessing, don't let them provoke you! Regardless of whether it's going to get better or worse, don't let it provoke you. Don't let anyone provoke you. If you see something going on that you think is wrong, just carry it before Me, and see if it will provoke Me to anger, and I will deal with it accordingly. But don't disappoint Me by taking matters into your own hands. There's a greater lesson to be learned here, from Moses' anger, than meets the eye. He failed the test to let Me handle the situation... Having begun all this great work not by his might nor his power but by My Spirit and miracle-working hand, was he going to complete it in the flesh now, and was that going to be the bottom line: a man's wrath? It's never your own personal affair, what concerns My kingdom! If My people are failing Me in some ways, even if you feel it's manifested in the way they're treating you personally, never take it personal, never deal with it on your own terms (for that's how you made the whole thing worse in the first place), but hand it to Me, and let Me deal with it! It's My affair. Make sure you're being a good sample, a good representative of Me, and stand back and get out of the limelight & let Me deal with it on My terms! It's no use, taking the rod of wrath into your own hands & to lash out words of anger, just commit it to Me! In order to get a man out of Egypt, I've always had to stop the flow of business as usual. Moses wouldn't have left for the wilderness if he hadn't killed the Egyptian, if everything would have continued on the way it had been... You have to fight for your freedom meekly. The way Moses did. He knew he was in the minority, & that he could have easily been wiped out by Pharaoh, so he had to make sure that it was indeed I fighting for him. There was no way on earth he could have won that battle by himself, in his own strength, power or wisdom. It had to be Me. It took Moses 40 years in the wilderness to learn not to care about his own concerns anymore, to become indifferent toward them... to get to the point where he couldn't care less about his own life anymore, whether he lived or died, where all his former & youthful ambitions were forgotten, and only one thing counted: the will of his Creator. That's when he was ready to hear My voice & see My Holy Fire & experience My presence, and to carry out his job for Me. Getting Egypt out of Moses was precisely what took so long: the worldly attitudes toward things, & their viewpoints... Moses was useless to Me when he was strong & powerful & respected, but that I was able to greatly use him when he thought of himself as nothing. This life wasn’t meant to be altogether pleasant, as much as you seek pleasure in it. Look how and where Moses died: in the wilderness, unable to enter the promised land, as a result of his own mistake. The valuable thing to have gained out of this both for himself and untold generations to follow is the lesson. It’s more important and valuable than the pleasure - the temporary, fleeting pleasure he might have experienced, had I granted him to enter the promised land. The real Promised Land is not in this world. Your real and final and ultimate satisfaction, fulfillment, peace or goal, whatever you may be trying to achieve, won’t be found in this world or life. This life will always be imperfect, because I want you to continue to seek the truly Perfect. I don’t want you to be satisfied with anything this temporal world has to offer. This world is not your home. I want you to continue seeking a better place, and ever striving toward that one, ever following the heavenly vision I give, the fulfillment of which can simply never be found in this world. So you shouldn’t keep seeking it here, either.

There was a time for Moses to be ready for the Exodus, but there was also a time when he wasn't ready yet. There's a time of definite, visible anointing, and there's a time of preparation, of finding out where it's not at, how not to do it, which mistakes not to make. Moses did lead the children out of Egypt successfully, eventually. Although it did take them a lot longer to get to the Promised Land than most of them were prepared for. Are you prepared for the long haul? It also took 40 years until the Israelites were desperate enough to finally call Moses back. It got to the point where they saw him as their only hope, and then they were finally ready for what he had to say. As long as they're still pampered and spoiled by the riches of Egypt, they'll never listen to you! They don't even realize that they're in bondage and slaves of their own sins… If you're going to anyone in the opposite direction of the System, then you'd better know where you're guiding them, or at least that they can fully trust the One Who is guiding you, like Moses, when they walked out into the wilderness and toward the Red Sea. At first there was still lots of doubt, but once they had crossed the Red Sea on dry ground, they knew they had witnessed an authority unequalled, and that this Authority was very likely to guide them safely into the Promised Land. Let Moses be an encouragement to you, since he didn't think or feel he had very much authority when he started out. He was very unsure of himself and felt somewhat like a failure for having lost his former position and having wound up as nothing more than a shepherd. But it had to be absolutely My authority and My power alone on which his was based and founded. It wasn't Moses leading them, it was Me through Moses. There was a genuine purpose for Moses having to wait in the wilderness for 40 years before he was ready for his job for Me. There was something to learn there in the stillness that you simply don’t learn out on the busy streets of the markets and high places of this world… There’s something you learn in the silence, in that void and lack of all the usual noise and clamor that you don’t learn anywhere else, but it’s the only thing ever worth learning, ever worth keeping going at. All else is like dust in the wind…

...Job Like Job, I can bless you twice as much in this life, if you pass this fiery trial & hang on, like he did, saying, ‘though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him!’ Only few have the great faith ascribed to Job, those who can say, ‘Even if it looks as if God is breaking His Word & breaking His promise to Me, I will still trust Him!’ Only few deem themselves less righteous than God & think in their hearts that they wouldn’t have done it better in at least this, that or the other aspect. It’s easy to trust when all goes well, but remember the testings of My servant Job, for these trials are all common to man. Since the beginning & the days of old I’ve had to allow your enemy to test My children, to see whether they would still trust Me even when all goes wrong. Only those with great faith, like Job, can continue trusting, even when it seems like all goes wrong... I want you to realize that you can still give more. Just like Job had to realize that there was yet more to give, more to learn, more goodness, more righteousness than what he had before I tested him. I have been raising a new army, a new generation of fighters out of the old. The Enemy has been mocking Me, and just as with My servant Job of old, he was saying about them, "Just give them to me for a while, let me tempt them with my distractions, my lures & the enticements of the world, and you'll see, they'll forget You, they'll all turn their backs on you! Let me twist their minds with worldly thoughts & doubts, and see what a 'mighty army' You will have left when I'm through with them. You'll see, they won't care about You!"

But I have had faith in you, and though many have left indeed, whose hearts weren't fully with Me, I believe in you! And I'm calling you all back to life this day, as it were from the land of the dead: "Come away from her, My children, she has nothing to offer you! Come on back to the land of the living!” Learn to trust, even when the person closest to you is saying the opposite. Do you think Job wasn't attached to his wife? Yet he didn't follow her advice when she told him to curse Me & die. Listen to your heart! Remember Job! Okay, he did have some lessons to learn on self-righteousness, as you do, but the one responsible in the first place for his sufferings was the Enemy. He's the tester & tempter to see & find out who of My children & brides really mean business, & who could be easily dissuaded to flunk out & serve him instead... "Surely this man wasn't blessed by the Lord..." "Surely he must have done some awful wrong..." That's what Job's friends & "comforters" thought about him, too. Stop worrying about what people will think or say about you! Can a man be found more righteous than God? For sure there can be found plenty who think so. Why do I take away so many innocent & sheer "perfect" saints, you wonder? Why don't you let them live?" But who's to say or judge who has run the race & finished their testings in this life, and who's not? Are you the judge of these matters or am I? Some people have won their battles, stood their tests, & they only have one last test to pass, one final enemy to overcome: death, the final foe. And often, like Job, they may find themselves wondering, "What have I done to deserve this?" Or "Why me, Lord?" Or they wonder if this is really fair, whether this is really righteous, & people wonder, "What kind of a God lets these things happen?" And they come to the conclusion that either there is no God, or that I must be cruel and unfair. But that is again, as in so many things, the carnal way of looking at things. People don't see what's supposed to be the point in getting older, either, becoming weaker with age, & they wind up in a midlife crisis, wondering what that's supposed to be all about now. But it does make sense, if you look at it from My viewpoint. The whole lesson of life is that spirit is superior to flesh, even though it may initially not look like it. And another very fundamental lesson in life is for man to learn that My righteousness exceeds his own by far, even though it may also not always look like it, and even if I attach many hard tests, which will make people question whether I really am righteous or know what I'm doing. This is the ultimate test to find out whether they really believe that I know what I'm doing, and whether they can say, like Job, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him." This is the faith that overcometh the world. This is the faith that overcomes even the final enemy & laughs in his faith & says, "Death, where is your sting, grave, where is your victory? Even though He slay me, I know whom I have believed, and whosoever liveth and believeth in Him shall never die, for he that believeth in Him, though he were dead, yet shall he live." "What happened?" It's a question to which many people - most people - only receive an answer once they get Here. "Where did I fail? Where did I get off the track? What did I do wrong?" Or simply "what happened?" A life starts out quite promising, but then, somewhere along the track they lose the vision, the faith or the zest and they slide down the hill. "What happened?" Well, as you know from the story of Job, it's usually your Enemy who's responsible for, or involved with a lot of what happened. Like the evil old man, Mr. Potter, in "It's A Wonderful Life," who unbeknownst to the hero of the story found his money & kept it, and thus caused many problems & trials... that's the way the Devil works, too. He sees an opportunity to work his evil plan, to exploit others in order to spread out his power & convert innocent villages, homes and entire countries into one big "Pottersville." I'm in control. And there's nothing that happens to coincidence to any of My children. At the same time, this doesn't mean that everything is always going to be perfect that I allow to happen in My children's lives, as you well know. Then there's the Enemy, who will test you as he tested Job, to see just how far you'll walk with Me, just how far you'll still trust Me, even when it seems like everything goes wrong.

Physical loss can lead to greater spiritual gain. Look at Job! He thought he was pretty righteous & as close to Me as you can get, and yet he found out, through his loss in the physical that I allowed, that his relationship with Me had only been scratching the surface beforehand, whereas now he was getting really deep with Me and got to know Me in a much more profound way than ever before. And that's what I want with you, too. There is more, so much more I want to give you, pour into you and share with you, and if physical loss and withdrawal is what will get you into a position of willingness and receptivity for these things, then so be it. The Devil knew what he was talking about when he said, "Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life..." (Job 2:4). How much of all that I've given you would you now trade for a secure life? How ready are you to compromise, just for a life lived in ease & plenty? "It is good," even if it may not seem that way to you, and then it really is only one step further to thanking & praising Him for it, for the bad, even if you may not fully understand it's purpose. Like Job said to his wife: "Should we receive the good from His hand, but not the bad?" (Job 2:10) He was a great man of faith. There's still a lot for you & others of this spoiled generation to learn from the likes of Job. People sometimes tend to see themselves as victims, wondering, "why me?" They would like Me to be easier on them, & tend to ask, "why hast Thou made me thus?" Or at least, "why are You allowing this & that to happen to me, ... why me, when I've already experienced so many hardships?" …Parallels to the life of Job... Share with them those Scriptures about suffering, how important & valuable your sufferings are in My sight... Most people are oblivious to the fact that I gave it all to them in the first place, as Paul said, "what hast thou that thou didst not receive?" (1.Cor.4:7) But they think it's their own possession somehow, and they've got a right to withhold things from Me. Don't you know that I can take it all away from you in an instant? Like I did with Job: your health, your possessions, your cattle, your family... even your life. It's all Mine to give and to take in the first place. So, what do you think you can withhold from Me? I'm asking you to forsake your own inclinations, perceptions, views & feelings ... old attitudes and streaks of independence... Those who justify themselves condemn themselves with their own mouth (Job 9:20). Those who quietly ponder their own sin and rely on My mercy, those are they who are justified by Me. One thing you can always be sure of: your suffering is never in vain. It always has a purpose, it's always happening for a reason, and a good one, so bear it with dignity or at least the trust and confidence that I know what you can handle and what I'm allowing, okay? "When He hath tried me I shall come forth as gold" (Job 23:10).

…David & Saul Why was it such a great sin for Saul to spare the king (of the Amalekites) & cattle? - What were his motives? Mercy? No, vainglory. One proud choice to disobey a seemingly minor instruction of the true prophet cost Saul his kingdom... Parents sometimes make the mistake of giving their kids something that they like or want too quickly, but it often spoils them & the amount of appreciation & gratitude they could have developed otherwise... You still tend to do that, even with adults. You've got something, and you want to share it right away. But I like to wait & see whether they will really appreciate it. Then there's the factor of rushing ahead in the flesh & not waiting for Me, which amounts to screwing up big time, as Saul did when he didn't wait for Samuel. These are all lessons related to waiting on Me. You can't advertise God and Mammon. You can't serve 2 masters. But many people are too much in a rut to stop in order to even realize these things. They don't take the time to stop, look and listen for Me to show them these things. They keep busy, busy, busy, pursuing the distractions. They don't really take the time to absorb and soak in My Words, but actually - when it comes

down to it and to the application of them - rather tend to ignore them in essence, which is what Saul did, and describes the behavior and attitude of most Christians. (Spirit helper*:) You are not alone! It’s not like the Lord is sending you out against this army of Goliaths all by yourself. But you see, that’s the difference with REAL faith, the kind David had: He was so sure of the Lord’s presence and power in him, he didn’t see the way the rest of Israel were looking at Goliath, as this gigantic, superior, fierce enemy. David saw in him no match for the Lord. And that’s the kind of faith you must have, too! Believe that no matter who or what is opposing you, it’s no match for the Lord. No matter what the difficulties, no matter how huge the bills, no matter how adverse the circumstances, none of it is a match or a challenge to the Lord. No matter how bleak the night, how terrible the approaching danger or threat; nothing, nothing is too hard for the Lord, and you have to learn to walk in the firm knowledge of that, for only with this kind of faith it’s possible to please the Lord! (* Spirit helper: a departed saint or angelic being in heaven, fighting on the Lord’s side and for His Cause by helping those of us fighting for His Cause on earth)

(Jesus:) The longer you stay small, out of sight, out of range, you can be like an independent little guerrilla fighter, like David, who was able to run around Goliath, while he could hardly move in his heavy armor. You feel like, ‘how is a weakling like I going to make it through those times?’ Well, by My miracle working power, the same way all the other weak-in-the-flesh prophets of mine have made it through all times. ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit.’ That’s the little strength that shall save you. Not your own puny strength. But if you invest what little strength you have, to connect with Me, you’re tapping into a Power Source that’s unbeatable, invincible, like that song, ‘If you’ve got God with you, you’re unbeatable, no matter how small you are...’ It’s David & Goliath all over again. So, are you willing to be My courageous little David, a shepherd boy with a sling shot, facing the greatest giant ever to come upon this Earth? ‘Big Brother,’ indeed. Well, remember those rocks in the river. You can step on them to cross the river, and you can also hurl them at his face, like David hurled the stone at Goliath. I'm the Master Rock, & I will always supply you with more rocks & I will put them right at your reach, wherever & whenever you need them. I'm with you always. Right here. Young David stood up against, defied, and slew Goliath alone, while the entire rest of the army of God's people stood back in fear. Of course, I allowed this to happen to glorify My power, and illustrate that the battle is won by My power, not by flesh. So, if you feel alone and despised, perhaps even unimportant, or at least considered unimportant by God's physical army, cheer up, you're not the first and not the only one, and you're in good company. This was only the beginning of David's woes and odyssey of ups and downs, highs and lows, triumphs and persecutions... But in all this he never failed or neglected to remember Me. I'm having to withdraw the tender & gentle blessings, the comforts & the luxuries, and I'm having to love you with My rod and with My harshness instead, and you will see, it will bring much better results! You will sing like King David: "Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now have I kept Thy Word. It is good for me that I have been afflicted that I might learn Thy statutes." You only learn to truly keep My law of love by the afflictions I'm letting come upon you! It's sad, but it's true, that's the sinful nature of man's heart! King David made some pretty grave mistakes just following his gut & going after the woman he fell in love with, and yet, nonetheless, I've used this to bring about My will and Israel's succeeding king. I still called David a man after My own heart. When Nathan the prophet came before David, to reprove him for having stolen Bathsheba from Uriah, by seeing to it that Uriah would get killed, there was no way for Nathan to tell beforehand whether David was going to be "in the mood" to receive any such message, or whether he was going to receive it at all. But he obediently brought the message before him, anyway. Of course, he also wisely had asked Me to show him how to best present it, and he did so in presenting a parable, a story that I knew was going to appeal to David, since he had such a strong sense of righteousness & was a fighter for the underdog.

But it shows again that people often do not see the whole truth about themselves. He was barely aware of ever having done anything wrong. He hypocritically would have refused to ever see that he was just as unjust & guilty of exploiting someone weaker as those unjust people he had learned to hate & had vowed to protect others from. It took Nathan to open his eyes. When Nathan came to King David and told him the story of the man who had many sheep and yet stole the one lamb from the other fellow, the only one he had, David didn't see himself at all in that description and got all stirred up in (self-)righteous indignation, and boy, was he shocked when Nathan said, "Thou art that man!" He held the story just like a mirror in front of his face, to show him his own ugliness in the spirit. As soon as someone reaches the top, they often lose that original fire, that spark, sometimes even their righteous zeal. Like king David: as long as he was small & persecuted, he was desperately calling out for Me & dependent on Me for his very life, he was the epitome of righteousness. But once he was king, he even abused his position to become the very persecutor of one of his most loyal subjects, Uriah. It is inevitable, it seems; power corrupts. The amount of love in what you did is what counts, not the dead statistics. They're just numbers. So, don't hide behind numbers, don't glory in them, only glory in love, and in how much you're able to truly live in and convey My Spirit each day. That's why I got so upset with David's counting the soldiers of his army: he was trying to put his confidence in numbers, instead of Me. Don't put your faith in numbers, but in Me! It's like the "abundance" of riches, of money, that some people have on their bank accounts and think that that's what their life consists of. Their life and its value basically consists of a number: the amount of money they have on their bank account. Your true value is determined by the amount of My Spirit you allow to flush through your life. How much do you allow others to be touched by Me through you? How much do you really give in order to be able to say you did your best, you gave your all? How much do you have left? Are you doing and giving all you can? That's what counts to Me. King David didn't always have the best & noblest fighters on his side, whereas some of the noblest warriors of Israel were sometimes on the side that happened to oppose him at a time, such as Abner. It is a great privilege to be one the "right side" and under the anointed leadership of My choicest vessels for this day & age, & some people simply choose to stay loyal to whoever they're fighting for, simply for the sake of loyalty itself & because they haven't learned any better; they don't know any better. Many of those who followed Saul, even in his pursuits of David, only became loyal servants to David once Saul was dead and David's anointing as king became "official" and plain, open in the sight of all. Those seeming defeats make you dig down deep in the dirt, like a man digging a well, and they prime the pump that makes the heavenly water flow; heavenly water to refresh generations to come. King David hardly thought that the Psalms he wrote would be such a vast source of inspiration, wisdom and comfort to generations to come... Yet they were the honey that came forth through the crushing and twisting of his life, and it has been a source of comfort beyond all measure to innumerable souls. Was it worth it? Everything can change. The factors can change, the parties involved can change, the cards can change. Those who formerly were against Me can change and work for Me instead, as it unfortunately works the other way around, as evident. King David had to learn this during his life-time, as those who he thought to be his allies, his country, his people, turned against him and became his enemies, so that he was forced to seek refuge with his former enemies. Trust in Me alone, never in any earthly institution. Your friends of yesterday can become your enemies of tomorrow and vice versa. The only thing that changes not and you can rely on is My being on your side. It took David quite a few years of persecution, of hiding out, of enduring the ill treatment from Saul, and many valuable experiences, before he was ready to be the leader I wanted him to be, and even then he made some mistakes that some might call fairly grave.

The true power and proof of divine authority lay not in young David’s voice, harp skills, nor any of his other skills – although his boldness to defy lions, bears and giants were certainly a manifestation of My Spirit in Him, and a result of his strong faith – but it ultimately lay in his gift of prophecy as evident in the lyrics and words of his psalms, which are still unequalled in all Jewish and Christian literature. In fact, they are much more valued by Christians because of their manifold messianic implications, often too obvious to deny for the rejecting Jews… It always has to be some lonely shepherd boy out in a field with a few sheep, out in My creation, to whom I can entrust the truth of truths of the day, certainly not to the high priests in their synagogues, temples and tabernacles. Just like with young shepherd-king David of old, your greatness does not lie in your talents and skills, but in the magic of My wonderworking words to you. That’s where your future lies, and the true greatness of your ministry. David had a much greater impact on the world through the lyrics of his Psalms than he had through any other feats of his. It was the still, small, quiet voice of the whispers of My Spirit and truth, that echoed throughout history in a more lasting, persisting and powerful way than any of his great an mighty feats. That is the magic of the Spirit, and all the magic you need. There were always those who would listen to My true prophets and stayed obedient to Me, and those who weren't. There was always a good side and a wrong side: the house of Saul and the house of David; the children of disobedience and those who stayed true to My voice. Everyone must make those choices.

… Solomon Solomon went astray because he didn’t have to go through the hardships his father had to go through, which made him appreciate the kingdom, for he didn’t just receive it by birth, he couldn’t take it for granted, because he had to suffer persecution even from loved ones before he could inherit it. The flesh profiteth nothing; it is the Spirit that quickeneth. Who will deliver me from the body of this death? He that soweth to the flesh will reap also the corruption of the flesh. I know that in me – that is in my flesh – dwelleth no good thing. For what I now live in the flesh, I live in the faith in Him Who hath loved me & given Himself for me...’ All these verses - and there are lots more –reveal the shadow of the flesh, the futility & the nothingness of it all, as Solomon said (– and he was one of the most blessed in the material realm of all My children –) ‘all is vanity.’ And see where the blessings in the material realm led him: to spiritual ruin. So, it is truly more blessed to live a sacrificial life of hardships & sufferings than a life of ease & surplus. When things are rough & tough, that’s when I’m blessing you the most. There is more to be understood & more to be achieved in the field of, as Solomon put it, “getting understanding” (Prov.3:13; 4:5,7). (Solomon:) Yes, I sometimes got tired of women’s antics, & so I just let them have their way to “have my peace...” I was generous, & if it was in my power to “spoil” them, I would... I had been raised in the Lord’s light, & though I had seen some manifestations of the darkness, I hadn’t experienced it myself. So, when I came to the point where I thought I had explored every possible angle of the light & the Lord’s truth & wisdom, instead of opening my heart & eyes of faith to receive more of what the Lord had to reveal, I let the Enemy dupe me into believing that the only further knowledge I could gain was from the dark religions my women from foreign lands brought me. They bewitched me, for I was not on guard. You are being quite on guard in this aspect, but in many cases you’re trying to deal with spiritual problems when you think you’re on to something, before you have really pinned it down for sure, you shoot too early & thus often miss the mark, only leaving the “victim” wounded & causing more lament & crying & disaster

than you had before. If you’re going to be a spirit hunter, you’re going to have to lay still & wait until your prey clearly exposes itself. And then, when the Lord says “now!” you pull the trigger. But if you go around, immaturely shooting in every direction you’re suspecting a bad spirit, you’re wearing those out you’re intending to help & deliver, & they’re becoming your victims, too, instead of just the Enemy’s, which would have been bad enough already. In order to gain greater understanding of women: talk less, listen more; move real easy, quietly, smoothly, softly & slowly. Don’t stomp through the thicket, giving yourself away as a novice hunter, or those demons are just going to play with you & tease you! They go, “over here!” & you shoot... & often cause more damage than good. So, you want to acquire understanding? Here’s the first requirement: silence! Just keeping quiet, listening, not giving any good advice for a change, much less lecturing, & you’ll be amazed at what you’ll learn. Of course, if you can’t keep quiet & listen long enough, they can’t help but think you’re not even interested enough in finding out about them & trying to understand. Just remember, in order to understand, you must listen. And don’t always answer right away whatever comes to your mind. Let it sink in. Pray about what you’ve just heard. Learn from it. Take the time to deal with every point & every statement. Find out what it means. What’s the hidden language & what’s the Lord’s insight on it? THAT’s the way to learn & gain greater understanding! (Jesus:) Everything that happens, happens as an "ensample" to those who will come after you, and someday somebody is going to profit from what you're experiencing right now! Nothing is lost, really, nothing of all I allow is ever in vain, so actually, Solomon was wrong about that. It may be vain to collect or strive for worldly possessions and riches or knowledge, but it's not to be understood as "So what's the use of it all, anyway?" There is a use in it all, even in the sample of where that kind of thinking led Solomon, namely to stoop to the dark side in search for ever more knowledge, experience and wisdom, and in the end, what he believed turned out to be true for him: it was all in vain! The best & safest thing to do is to just stick to what I told you, that you've got to be a child if you want true wisdom & just "do it cause Daddy said so," & trust that I have a perfect plan & purpose in everything. There's no use worrying about Me making mistakes or, "perhaps God was wrong on that one..." "There is a greater here than Solomon" applies to all those who embrace My simple, childlike wisdom, the wisdom of love and obedience, which is higher than knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up but love edifieth (1Corinthinas 8:1). A greater one than Solomon said this, because he (Paul) had seen that his own knowledge had all been false & had to be tossed all over, in order to be born again & become like a child once again. "Forget what you know" was the name of the game. And especially forget about the evil lies of the Devil! You sometimes tend to limit Me and My riches in your mind & think there isn't much left to learn, to find out, that you don't already know. But that is a big deception indeed! You sometimes even sympathized with Solomon, and were able to relate to why he would stoop into the dark wisdoms, when he had exhausted all the available knowledge obtainable from good books already. It's a difficult test, because knowledge can definitely be one of the Enemy's greatest temptations, and it takes a lot of self-discipline to stay on the straight & narrow of the simplicity of My Gospel. You can see My wisdom in keeping some of the distractions from you that Solomon finally succumbed to. It's just a fact that My voice is much better heard and perceived in the silence than surrounded by others, especially those who still soak up whatever pleasures and enticements the world has to offer.

…The Young & the Old Prophet I teach you to overcome your fear of man, your tendencies to deny your own convictions of what you believe is right, or things that I have shown you to be right. Remember the old and the young prophet. I’m teaching you to stand up for the convictions for the things I’m showing you personally, for your link with Me, because, ultimately, when it comes down to it, what is the most important thing every child of God must learn, and every generation has to learn it individually? To hear from Me, find out My personal will and act on it, because, sooner or later, that’s all you will be able to rely on. Remember what I told you about the old and the young prophet... you cannot toss aside everything I have told you. This is the acid test for you to show how much you really trust the link & channel you’ve got with Me. You will need that security very soon, the assurance that I will not lead you astray, that indeed I talk to

you, and I use you. And though you have battles & weaknesses, like everybody else does, you can rely on this channel for safe and secure instructions, and you must follow those, according to your own faith and amount of grace given you, and not anyone else’s. Wherein lies the old prophet test? It lies in not hearkening to the words of man, but unto My Words. Not to esteem the words of man higher than Mine, but to always turn to Me, to ask Me to help you discern, to be your touchstone. "What is it they have said now? Lord, is this Your saying or is this their own saying?" The young prophet sometimes is better off not listening to the old prophet, but just to listen to Me and keep My counsel in mind and My voice and guidance in focus. Because if they manage to get you to fall or compromise or trip or stumble, then it won't necessarily be their responsibility, but your own, since you could have just stuck to My instructions. All they'll do is bemoan your fate and say, "too bad they didn't make it." You could have kept your eyes on Me. For God's sake, follow God! You've got to see Me in it all. Otherwise you're sunk. What could have possibly motivated the older prophet to lie to the younger prophet… Was it really My Spirit and all My doing in order to test the younger one? Or was there a bit of competition involved? Some of that religious spirit that always resents some new upstart coming along, threatening to take away their job? Maybe the younger prophet felt a little bit of hostility coming across from the older prophet, maybe some of the “godly jealousy” and fear of losing his job, so when the older prophet told him it was alright to eat again, he wanted to make sure that he didn’t hurt his feelings even more, and that he would keep his friendship and favor, so, he wasn’t going to say, “Wait a minute, maybe I should check back with the Lord on that one!” You must realize that physical encounters are always spiritual ones as well. Everybody you meet carries a spirit around with them, one that will either lift you up or knock you down, and you have to discern which is the case with each one. Some may seem to want to lift you up, but because they caused you to lower your guard and take your focus off of Me, it turns out to be a trap from the Enemy, which may not have been their intention, but it’s just a sobering lesson for you to stay tuned to Me. You cannot let people affect you to an extent greater than My effect on you! It’s a matter of putting the creation above the Creator, which is idolatry. If you show that anyone’s opinion of you matters more to you than My opinion, it shows and proves that I am not Who or what matters most to you, but that you have other gods before Me, which, as you know, I simply cannot tolerate. It’s all a test of your loyalty to Me. “Will he keep his heart set on Me? Will he remain loyal in spite of the temptation?” More often than not throughout history, as you know, the sad answer to that question has been “no.” What I’m looking for especially, is people who will reverse that often-observed course of destiny, and who will make a yes out of that. A reversal of that generally observed pattern of destiny that so many have followed before but one chosen and special one chooses to break out of that pattern to set new standards, a new standard of greater faith, greater obedience, greater loyalty and greater love for Me than his predecessors.

…Jeremiah This is your ministry, to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant (Jer.1:10). It didn't really sound like "yeah, that's me" to Jeremiah, either, when I told him that I had set him over nations & kingdoms. With some of My prophets & servants, such as King David, Joseph of old, or Daniel, this could have been more obviously true, but Jeremiah was just a humble prophet, and so are you. You're a nobody, as far as the world is concerned, and yet, upon the likes of you hinge entire fates of nations.

…Daniel When Daniel & his friends were brought to Nebuchadnezzar's court, they refused to eat the king's food. They only wanted bread & water. Sometimes it's better to just stick to bread & water than all the stuff the System has to offer. Just because the System has to offer it, doesn't mean that you should take it! You don't have to

take every temptation the Devil hands you, do you? Remember, the fruit of the forbidden tree was knowledge. The wrong kind of knowledge. Some things you wouldn't want to know. Why get to know evil, when there's so much good to know? There are so many things to learn about & from My Word... Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in Babylon refused to eat of the king's food & preferred to only eat bread & water instead, and after a week they were looking healthier and stronger than the rest of the students. Not all that the world has got to offer is necessarily good for you! So, blessed and wise are they who are satisfied with the relatively little I've got to offer, compared to the abundance of the world, but which is clean and kosher and wholesome, whereas the abundance of the world will only deceive you and make you sick. And if you have a closer look, what I've got to offer nowadays isn't even all that little. So the problem really isn't a lack of abundance, but rather that people usually tend to yield to the temptation & curiosity for the other side. They think there's more to discover over there, on the other side of the fence. My ways are above your way, and what I am doing right now you cannot see clearly yet. Just like some of the revelations I gave to Daniel and My other prophets, which didn't make any sense to them in their own time. Their greatest "fans" and readers lived in the distant future. In fact, the only ones who would ever understand most of what they wrote, would live in the distant future... That's the kind of vision you need to have, and what you've got to keep in mind. What you are recording and putting down may not necessarily be all or exclusively for your contemporaries.

…Jonah You’re walking towards a pitch-black, gloomy night, so gloomy that it can be compared to the inside of the belly of the whale, like Jonah, and only I am out here in front of you. I can see through the dark, but you can’t. You’re blind without Me. So, don’t be unfaithful & neglect your time with Me. You need it, and I need you. I can’t do the job without you! When I sent Jonah to Nineveh with My Word, saying that I would destroy the city in 40 days, what was more important to Me, My Word or the lives of the people? Well, by My actions I proved that the people were more important, even though Jonah was very wroth with Me & upset. Even so, I want you to learn that the most important thing is love. You're just going to have to change your attitude about those people out there, have less of a "Jonah" attitude towards them, and more of a "Jesus" attitude, the attitude of a shepherd that would give his life for the sheep. Was Jonah a false prophet, just because Nineveh wasn't destroyed after 40 days? Jonah was not a false prophet. But similar to you, he was pretty upset with Me, because I may have made him look like one in the eyes of some... at least that's what he thought. Do you really think any one of the citizens of Nineveh who had repented in order for Me to spare the city, for one moment thought that Jonah was a false prophet? Well, they may have forgotten the warning after a while, which is why you won't find Nineveh on today's maps, but Jonah was worried about his reputation for no reason. So, are you also worried a lot about your reputation and what people may think of you if you're going to be one of those "weirdoes," and beggars for Christ? It's My world, My creation, and I can do with it what I want. If I have pronounced its doom for an earlier date, similar to the way I told Jonah to predict Nineveh's downfall for an earlier date than it actually turned out to happen, and if I choose to change My mind because I can see new hope in the people, perhaps precisely because of those warnings I have My prophets utter, then, what is that to thee? Why does that cause you to doubt Me? Does My mercy cause you to doubt? Jonah would have wanted Me to kill those people, like I threatened I would, but all I wanted was threaten them. Scare them a little bit into believing and repenting. It's your job to get people to listen to Me! And don't just say, "Uh, but they won't listen anyway," because that's what Jonah thought, too, and wound up with the surprise of his life! Remember Jonah!

Like Jonah, you're finding out that I'm a lot more merciful, a lot more patient and long-suffering than you thought. So, instead of just giving them a brief warning and sit back and watch the destruction, you're having to deal with them and their endless amount of differences for what seems to you like an endless amount of time... Oh, yes, and you're mad at Me, sometimes, for letting all of this drag on for so long and for putting you through all this. But - on the other hand - aren't you glad for all it taught you already? You only came to know Who I really am in recent years, after realizing that if I'm putting up with all their quirks, then I must be putting up with yours, too, and that I really must have a lot more love for you guys than you were ever able to fathom. (Jonah:) "Salvation is of the Lord" means, only the Lord can save you! He's your only way out! There's no use looking for relief elsewhere, hoping you'll find something better... You just have to come to grips with the fact that you wound up there, in the very particular situation you're in, for a purpose. It's so to speak your "destiny," the particular circumstances the Lord needs you to pass in order to learn the specific lesson He wants you to learn. It's about having the guts to say what you believe is the truth. There was no way for me to tell the people of Nineveh diplomatically that their city was going to be destroyed. It was the truth, & it had to be told, and you know how I wound up in the belly of the whale because I originally refused to... I thought I had deserved something better than that. I didn't feel like this was what I wanted. But hey, if you're in this line of work, if you're supposedly serving the Lord, it's simply not about what you want. What counts is what He wants. That seems to be clear in theory, but not really in the practical... If the Lord tells you He wants you to carry this cross, you still try to find ways & excuses around it. He says, "don't be afraid of the pain." You always try to numb the pain. You thought the battle as over & you were already celebrating, but as far as the Lord sees it, you're by no means done yet. It's not as if vacation time was here. Things are only starting to get rough, & you can't rest on any laurels. The Lord has given you a message and a certain conviction of truth. But your attitude is, "Oh, but they won't listen, anyway!" That's what I thought about the people of Nineveh, too, neither did I care for them very much, either. You and I, we're very much alike. You care about certain things more than about people... You hate to have to deal with them. It's tedious for you. Believe me, I can relate to it, but I can also say that it's worth it. People can become quite grateful once you've warned them and saved them from their fate. They are grateful if you open their eyes. You refuse to tell the truth to the lost & those to which the Lord has sent you & ordained to give the truth, but then you wonder or wind up surprised because you're not being welcomed with open arms for preaching to those who have already got the truth. It's never as fruitful preaching to those who already heard the truth & should know better. See, the Lord knows in His mercy, that it would actually be better for you, less painful, to preach to those who haven't heard yet. It's your carnal mind that tells you differently, and of course, the Enemy is always there to tempt you to disobey the Lord's better judgment. He always “knows better” or tries to get you to feel like you know better than the Lord... What finally convinced me was that there was no other way, Salvation was found no other way, happiness, bliss & fulfillment was found no other way than the Lord's way; that's why I finally said, "Salvation is of the Lord!" In other words, only in His way is there Salvation, is there happiness, is there a meaning, a solution to the problems. Running away from them isn't a solution. The only way is to confront them, to face the job the Lord has given you, even if it makes you cringe & pains you just to think about it. It's like saying, "You're right, Lord! Your way is good for me! This way here that You've ordained before me, I don't like it, but I come to see now that it's good for me, I'll take it. It's the only way that's going to work!" He's the only One who knows the way out of whatever mess you may have gotten yourself into. His way is the only way out, the only Salvation. One just needs to accept it. You need to embrace the pain, that which you see ahead of you & dislike, you need to take it as from the Lord, take it from His hand & say, "I accept." See, it looks pretty ugly to the Lord, that spirit of disobedience, that unwillingness to go His way & do as He tells us, & sometimes the only way He can make us see the error of our ways is to dump us in some pretty ugly situation, to open our eyes & make us see the consequences of our choices.

You're not taking up every opportunity to preach His truth, His warning message, especially not to the people you ought to. You're quite preoccupied with the failure of your own people, but just as with Israel, the Lord Himself will take care of that. You just worry about your job & the "Ninevites." The Lord knows how to deal with His own. Your job is to find and warn those who are not yet "His own," who have not yet found Him, but who would like to become His, if they knew how. The path you chose led you here. It was a good path to choose, but you must also walk it until the end, you can't just walk half the way to your destination & then quit. "It’s one thing – just to stick!" "Salvation is of the Lord:" it's the only way, the Lord's way, the way He put before you & then stick to it & not quit! That's the message! "Never, never, never give up!" We're all in the same boat! We're all in it for Him, and what we went through, we went through for your purpose, to learn from it. He knew you'd need it to make it!

…John the Baptist John the Baptist didn't say of himself that he was a prophet, but a voice of one crying in the wilderness, "Make straight paths for the Lord", in other words, "Prepare for the Lord's coming!" Which is, in essence, what I also want all of you to do. You're My Elijahs & voices in the wilderness, telling the people to prepare for My 2nd coming. With John (the Baptist)... we had been friends and relatives; we had known each other from our youth! That he would doubt Me was a stab to My heart! Sometimes those who should know better, because of all the wisdom and heavenly counsel that they were given, all the miracles involved in their story, or the "cards they've been dealt," those will be judged more harshly, if they fail to make the best or full potential out of it than those who were expected to fail because of the character traits & weaknesses they were given... In a way, John was counterproductive to My ministry of forgiveness, when he was publicly condemning Herod for his relationship with Herodias, which eventually cost him his head... There was a lot of pride, "professional jealousy" and self-righteousness involved in all of this, too. Many pompous & glorious ministers of the faith will be (and have been) shocked in heaven, when they'll see a little poor nobody receive a much greater reward than they did, because they squandered their chance for a high reward by destroying the good they did with that evil root of self-righteousness! John the Baptist, who was living a rather ascetic life-style compared to Me. In fact, this was one of the reasons why John himself doubted Me, he could not understand how we could be so different in this aspect. What I will need in order to help Me to really take over the world, (and) what I will need for the world to be their final warning are no compromisers, no half-hearts, no doubters of My truth, but stout believers: Johnthe-Baptist-like characters, perhaps more than John-the-Beloved types, or rather: a perfect blend of the 2, but without neglecting the rougher nature of politically incorrect John the Baptist! If you feel as if you’re generally deteriorating physically, then cheer up, because it means you are fulfilling John the Baptist’s discovery, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” If your flesh is deteriorating and diminishing, then it means that My Spirit in you can prosper and come to the fore more.

…Jesus What do you think it means when it says ‘...in all things tempted like as we are...’? - A-L-L. Was I ever jealous or sensitive, you wonder? Or prone to negative thinking? Yes, I was tempted by them all, but the Father gave Me the power to overcome them. Even so, He can and will give you the power to overcome them, it just all depends on how much you avail yourselves of that power.

Sometimes I grew impatient with My followers or with some people. I did have to deal with anger more in My younger years. One sin that's related to anger, - and anger can sometimes be a manifestation of it - is self-righteousness. Sometimes we see someone behave in a certain way, and we think we have an equal right to act the same way. I was sometimes tempted with thoughts of judgment in a premature way, before I was really "ready" to be a Judge, so to speak, which is a very common & natural thing to happen during many people's youth. Usually, what helps one to get over this, is to experience other people's anger, to witness how ugly it can be, and how it hurts to be at the receiving end of it. Having seen other people display their anger from a child's viewpoint and the viewpoint of a weak human being helped Me to be more merciful, and to be more "slow to anger," so to speak, more longsuffering. Pride was a sly & subtle enemy to overcome, since it was My goal and destiny to become an eternal, living symbol and sample of humility, God's Lamb slain, in humble surrender & yielding. And although this was My nature all through My life, naturally, the Enemy tried to tempt Me with pride. But he also had to do this during My earlier years. One perfect example of this is when My parents missed Me & I had stayed back at the temple without their permission... The age of 12 is a very dangerous time when one is very easily prone to pride. One begins to think of himself as very smart and superior to others, even to one's parents. Actually, it was the Holy Spirit Who had to set Me straight on that one & check My heart about this attitude. It's kind of hard to know you are the Son of God, and not be tempted by pride. But I was reminded of the fall of Lucifer, how it was pride that caused it, and I was reminded of the purpose for which I had come into the world: not to lord it out over anyone in pride, but to humbly lay down My life for the sins of the world. I learned a lot about pride, all of which helped Me to understand how much wiser it is to be humble, how much purer, how much more happy one can be if he simply does not allow pride to take root in his heart but lets humility dwell there instead. Humility was clearly the better choice and the better path, and I saw that very early in My life. You know that if there's one thing I stand for, it's truth, and I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. Consequently, there have been only very small & minor incidents during which I was tempted to tell an untruth, to slightly exaggerate something. I also learned these lessons very early in life. Once you have battled against the father of lies & looked through him, and once you have seen poor pitiful human souls be victims of lies, deceit & untruth, it's pretty hard to fall into that same trap yourself. But I have been tempted in this point, too, and you may learn about these incidents in greater detail, latest when you're with Me in My Kingdom. This kind of stuff is future educational material, and it already is, in Heaven. Envy was a sin that was easy to fall prey to as a relatively poor young carpenter's son, when confronted with the riches of others. Then again, it was fairly easy to overcome, remembering or being confronted with those who were yet much worse off than us: the lame, the sick, the really poor; and if one had a grateful heart, it was easier to see one's own blessings & it became harder to be envious of others. Also, being the Son of God and blessed to be Heir of untold spiritual & eternal riches, it soon became evident that envy was a result of looking at things in the flesh, through carnal eyes, & losing sight of the eternal, the unseen. Envy could be overcome by looking through the eyes of faith, at the inheritance of the Father's Promise, - indeed, of all that the Father held and had to offer... It made all that the world had to offer look pretty puny in comparison, which is also one reason why the Devil wasn't successful at tempting Me with all its riches, even at one of the very weakest points in My life, when I felt completely empty and drained and virtually on the brink of starvation... One of the ways in which I was tempted by avarice was being tempted to withhold of My spiritual riches & all that I've had to give; not so much because I wasn't a cheerful Giver, but more for reasons of physical exhaustion; sometimes the tendency to feel a little bit like they didn't deserve it, and at other times mixed with the temptation to just be lazy. It's easy to be stingy with some and then again extremely generous with others, and we have to be careful to not be partial in our sharing, not to act from a sense of personal preference, allowing some to indulge in our love and goodness and all we have to offer, while being more stingy with others, but to equally shower everyone with the same blessings, or at least the same opportunities to be blessed. On the other hand, sometimes there is a justified and necessary withholding. Avarice can be overcome by the sheer determination to give, to continue to pour out one's life without measure, without holding back, a determination to give all.

Certainly I was tempted by fear, one of the Enemy's most effective weapons & one of the greatest manifestations of his power. I was tempted by fear before I faced My darkest hour, the night in which I was betrayed, and since I already knew before what was going to happen, this wasn't the first time I had to face that Enemy. Being the incarnation of an all-powerful God, to experience fear was the epitome of the opposite of everything I was in the Spirit. Fear is one of the sins that have the greatest grip on humanity, next to pride, and since I was to free mankind from it, I've really had to conquer it. Of all My temptations, I confess that fear was one of the strongest, although I was generally a courageous Person and One Whom others probably would have considered fearless. But there were those moments of temptation when the Enemy just knew how to rub it in and to drive it home, that I, My flesh, My body, was going to be in his hands for a certain time, and that there was nothing not even the Father could do about it, or could do to help Me then... The fear of death, the fear of pain; not the fear of actually dying or what was to come afterwards, but the fear of that hour, that cup, which, if it would have been possible, I would have preferred to have it pass from Me... But it was to be, it had to be, I had to go through that! I, the Epitome and Embodiment of faith, Who had walked on water, Who had raised the dead, Who had disappeared from within the midst of My enemies, Whom angels served and to and through Whom God Almighty spoke and Moses and Elijah had appeared, I was to be subject of fear, in order to free all of mankind, all of My brothers and sisters, from the grip of the same. There were some who accused Me of intemperance or gluttony. They called My a wine bibber and a glutton; and it may be true that I indulged more in the good pleasures this life had to offer than some of the holy men people had known before, like John the Baptist, who was living a rather ascetic life-style compared to Me. In fact, this was one of the reasons why John himself doubted Me, he could not understand how we could be so different in this aspect. Maybe you could say I was sometimes tempted to live a little bit of heaven on earth and to have a little bit of the share of the heavenly life while I was still on earth. I've had to watch it. I've had to keep the balance. I've had to learn to be sober & vigilant, for My adversary, the Devil was walking about as a roaring lion, and he was out to devour Me. I didn't care about the accusations of the people, but I also knew that this life wasn't the end, My destination. So, the pleasures of this life were not My reward yet, there was something much more to come; and yet I knew that all things were Mine, and I wanted to give My disciples - including you - a sample of the life to be lived in fullness and abundance, although some Christians nowadays tend to take this to the other extreme & go overboard on this & actually tend towards downright covetousness & greed. Lust... since I was a Man of Love, you might say that this was one of My more difficult temptations, but as the Bible says, I was tempted in all points as you are, yet without sin. Whatever I did, even when tempted with these things, I did it without sin; I did it with love. What kept Me looking forward, instead of looking at something I may have been missing out on, was the great and immense need, the job that was there to do. There are just more important things to do, and there'll be plenty of occasion for this part of life afterwards... You might say that in My case this temptation was related to the temptations of envy, since I knew I wasn't going to be able to live out a carnal relationship such as marriage, but keeping the vision on My future bride & My spiritual bride made it worth it all & helped Me overcome that temptation - although You have to realize that I'm just giving you a very brief, analytical rundown of things that were actually intense matters of the heart, and when it says "tempted, " it really means tempted. It wasn't just a brief thought that I was able to brush off with the wave of a hand. They were intense and very real battles, deep and emotional battles & trials, and as the everlasting school of Life continues, you shall have opportunities to benefit from My lessons (on this topic) further on up the road... Finally, you'd like to know in what aspect I may have been tempted with laziness. Well, there was that temptation to just not want to go & pour out to certain people, because I was tempted to feel they weren't worth it, the type of laziness that's mingled with a little bit of self-righteousness and a little bit of spiritual avarice or stinginess. It's the "what's the use" attitude... I knew what was in their hearts, and I knew who was going to make it and who wasn't; so, knowing that some people were going to squander the Father's inheritance didn't exactly motivate Me at first to pour out My life, My Words, My energy to them. But what helped Me overcome that temptation, was a glimpse into the spirit and into the future, that there were going to be precious souls like you, who, even though they would squander My grace, My Words, My Love, even My sacrifice and Salvation, yet they were going to

pan out in the end and contribute precious lessons learned & valuable gifts to their fellow humans though their experiences. You never know who that person might touch, or (who they might) become, that you feel tempted to refuse to give the Words of life to, because you feel just too lazy to confront their initial rejection or to deal with their sins, their lack of faith & lack of conviction, their lack of courage. Having been tempted in all points like you also helped Me to see that there wasn't anyone for whom it wasn't worth it to overcome that temptation. If you know that everyone with whom you share My Words will be worth it in the end, then it will help you overcome your laziness & temptation to withhold, more easily. And if you know that I've been going through these same temptations, you can know that I have overcome and through Me you can also overcome. You can benefit from My power, the power that I gained in part through overcoming your very same sin. You can know that I've done it and so can you, because I've done it. You can stand on My victory! By being a partaker of My life, My flesh, My body, My blood, you can also be a partaker of My victory - the victory over all sin that I gained for you and all mankind - all of those who will avail themselves of that offer, that gift. All you've got to do is make them that offer. One overcame for all. Because I overcame, you can overcome, and because you overcome, others will yet overcome, etc. "Learning obedience" for Me meant to learn to love even more than I had before I came to Earth; and seeing, feeling and experiencing the whole thing the way humans do, changed pretty much everything for Me, as far as My viewpoints, ways & abilities of relating to them were concerned. You can have all the wisdom of a God, but without love, it's still not the same. Part of the love the Father had for the World in sending Me to Earth was manifested in His teaching Me through this experience to relate much better to you. When it comes to this world, I’ve always been strange & weird, not because I am weird, but because they’re so far away from the way things are supposed to be. They’re so far away from My standard of love, so deep into their darkness, the light scares them half to death. I never demanded anyone's blood, but I gave Mine freely, & even told My disciples that they would have no part in Me unless they would eat My flesh & drink My blood, which turned quite a few of them away from Me temporarily! They did come back later when they realized what I had meant by this, when they saw, & when the Holy Spirit revealed it to them, how the Scriptures had to be fulfilled & how I had to give My life, in order to save them, that by My blood they were going to be saved, no other way. Some had expected the Messiah to be a great deliverer in the flesh, who would cast off the Roman yoke from their neck. But I was "only" a Deliverer in spirit, Who would free them from a much greater yoke, though, than the Roman yoke, namely the yoke of their own sins. That is not something that appeals to pride, nor the flesh, nor to anyone who settles for this temporary world. This only appeals to those who are weary of this world, who know that it has got nothing to offer them. My name means "Savior." My cry and My call to mankind is to "Come, let Me save you!" I want to save you wholly & entire, I want to cleanse and heal all of you, your mind, your body, your heart, your spirit... your soul. I have come to bring change; a change of each & every life, a change of direction for each & every man and woman as well as for mankind in general. My message was and still is: "repent!" Which means, "turn around! You're going the wrong way! You may think you're going the right way, but I'm telling you something different! Now, who are you going to believe? Here, this is the right way to go: follow Me, and I'll show you!" It was relatively easy to preach "love your enemies, do good to them that hate you & pray for those that despitefully use you and persecute you." But that night I was taken, and when I suffered on the cross, I had to prove that I really believed what I had been preaching, and that's the showdown where it will be manifest how much of a real Christian you really are, when it comes to showing how much you're really capable of loving your enemies. There ARE absolutes! I know, because I'm One of them.

I wasn't as much of an "accomplisher" type as I was a Friend to people, hearing them out, visiting them, caring for them, healing them, helping them. Being a helper is what it's all about. When I came and died for mankind, everything changed. The New Testament was the new way. The new way is the meek way, the humble way. Just like many people are going to be shocked when they'll find out that I really am Who I claimed to be, there are those who are going to be shocked to find out who My closest friends are. They were already shocked when I was on earth! My friends were not the religious people! My friends were ordinary, simple folks, simple enough to receive My love & what I had to give! My best friends were ordinary sinners, not those who condemned others for their sins. Some of them were also victims to self-righteousness every now & then, that religious zeal & desire for exclusiveness, but they quickly learned that that was nothing at all that I would encourage: whenever one of My disciples came up with any notion of being better than someone else, I openly rebuked them. When they tried to keep the children away from Me, indicating that I was too busy, too important, too holy, too high & mighty to be bothered by children, I rebuked them, because that is not what I am! When the sons of Zebedee thought that they probably were going to have the closest place to Me in heaven, I rebuked them & taught them that that's not where it's at. You wanna be the greatest in heaven? Be the servant of all! The curious and superficial in My days said, "Let's go and hear the miracle preacher!" They were after some kind of kick, & they were in it for the loaves and fishes, or some diversion and entertainment of sorts. But they were living in the lie, that's why I, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, had nothing to offer to them. They were living in the way of death, the way of the flesh, the way of the lie, the way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof is destruction and death, but they were firmly convinced that their way was the right way, the way of life, and My way was the way of death, and when I was finally crucified, it seemed to confirm to them that they had been right. That's why they all screamed, "crucify Him!" They wanted Me to die in order to prove that My way had been wrong, and theirs was right! And for 3 days and nights it seemed as though they had been right. It seemed as if the Devil had won, but when I rose, that's when the true story really began, as My power was multiplied manifold in My disciples. Sometimes you've got to overcome death first, in order to really break through to life. Well, that's what I did for all of you! I have overcome death for you, I plucked out its sting, so that you could all partake of My life - My unending life, life eternal, life forevermore, life ever-increasing. I never imitated the System's way; I came up with My very own, straight-forward and direct way. My way was love, truth and humility. Adapt to My style instead of theirs. It's tough to go My way, because it means being willing to take the pain, instead of dishing it out. It means to be ready to receive the ridicule, ready to be laughed at, instead of being the one who ridicules and laughs at others. It means taking up the cross yourself, instead of nailing others to crosses with your words.

…the Scribes & Pharisees It’s not from the head or knowledge that I want you to teach, but with love, determination and conviction of the heart, with power & authority, not as the Scribes. If I would have stopped for a minute to care about what people thought of Me, I never would have driven the money changers out of the temple, and there are many other things I wouldn't have done. I might have been embarrassed when the harlot came to wash My feet with her tears, but I couldn't have cared less about what the Scribes & Pharisees thought of Me, because I went by standards of the heart & not the clichés and superficial standards of the people. The Scribes & Pharisees constantly accused Me of having broken this & that jot & tittle of the Law, when they failed to see the overall & most important aspect of it completely. The pricks they felt on their conscience by all the things I told them were finally too much for them. They rejected the truth I told them about themselves, justified themselves in their own minds & thus allowed the Devil to completely persuade

them that I was indeed the culprit, not they, and that there was only one way they were going to stop the pain & nuisance that My Words were being to their hearts, and that was to kill Me. One of the things the Scribes & Pharisees hated Me most for and would not forgive Me for was the type of people I considered My friends: Romans, tax collectors for the Romans, harlots, adulteresses and humble fishermen, instead of them, the "noble elite" of the "righteous". See, the problem is often the distorted way in which some people see themselves, their false self-image. The humble sinners are often closer to the Kingdom than the self-righteous Scribes & Pharisees, those who were ultimately responsible for My death. After I found out where the learned & elders were at, the Scribes & Pharisees, & those who should have known better, I went out to seek a few unlearned men to educate them in the Father's ways from scratch. Find those in whom there isn't that much System brainwashing you have to undo first until you can fill in anything new. Find those who don't have an attitude of, "I'm not searching anymore; I've already got it!" The Scribes & the Pharisees even saw the Devil in Me! They accused Me of being a devil, and so the modern Scribes & Pharisees of the churches accuse those with greater freedom than they have, of the same. What's important, is - as I told My disciples - that your righteousness exceeds that of the Scribes & Pharisees, that your sample is a better one than that of the phonies & hypocrites, that your faith is something more real & living than their false & dead religion! The leaven of the Scribes and the Pharisees, who made My law of love of no effect with their traditions. The leaven of doing it the "proper" way, the way that's accepted by the System, that won't have you stand apart as those who are despised and looked down on. They want to be accepted and looked up to in this world. But that will have been their reward. Those who will be rewarded in heaven will be those who will have suffered persecution for Me, who will have been despised for Me, and "hated by all nations for My name's sake." I was living and practicing all they had known and been studying about in theory for all those years, having come to the conclusion that it probably couldn't be done at all, and here I came along and proved them wrong by simply doing it. I need you to be aware of the "leaven of the Scribes and Pharisees," and of all the differences between the gospel of bondage they're preaching, and yours, of true liberty. The leaven of the Scribes and Pharisees looks very yummy and inviting. So much bigger, sweeter and more tasty than what you've got, that relatively lean and flat loaf of bread baked without any of the leaven of inflated egos and "better than thou" self-righteousness. You should first ask yourself, "Do I really want this? Do I really want any of that taste of the leaven of the Scribes and Pharisees?" Are you going to risk having your pure, unadulterated truth infected by the leaven and virus of selfrighteousness? And even if they're going to fail to infect you, are they going to manage to make you feel bad and inferior and as if you had less than what they've got? Since when are My followers, My disciples, My prophets, supposed to be concerned about their popularity? They’re only supposed to be concerned about doing their job for Me, of reaching the lost of the world with My message, that’s all. Of course those who are not doing that job are going to resent you, just like the Scribes and Pharisees resented Me, and you know there are lots of Pharisees nowadays. The Pharisees never would have suspected the motley fishers, tax collectors & other followers of Mine from lower strata of society than themselves to become the ascending world religion, while theirs was about to be wiped out! It was wiped out because it was worthy of death.

…John Did you ever notice that it only mentions John as being there at the crucifixion & John being the only disciple who didn’t die a martyr’s death? You can carry your cross by helping others to carry theirs, & in so doing, you help Me carry Mine. There are those who forget about their own burdens & crosses for the sake of others, & in order to help them carry theirs. That’s turning the power outwards instead of inwards, which has a secret, greater reward: the joy & happiness of truly living for others. That’s what it’s all about. My way to Calvary was not for Myself, but for countless others, yes, even for the High priests & those who hated Me the most... for You & each & every soul ever to be born into this World. It’s a spiritual thing. But you can help Me carry that cross by doing whatever you do unselfishly to help others make it in their struggle up their personal hill of Golgatha. I've got a heart for those like John, the only one who didn't desert Me in My darkest hour, when all the others ran. Self-preservation was their game. But not John's. His devotion was stronger. John, as you can see from the things he wrote, was definitely one of those who learned that love is above all, & he reminded the brethren of the importance of love & to love each other. John understood that if I was the living Word of God made flesh, you have to consume Me to become a part of Me. He repeated it over & over again in his gospel.

…Peter It’s one thing to say you will always believe in Me, but an entirely other whether you will go the road of one that puts Me first in their life & is willing to forsake all to follow Me (Lk. 14:33). Like Peter who asked Me, ‘How can you doubt my love & loyalty for You, Lord? Even if everyone else forsakes You, I never will!’ And you all know what happened. I rebuked Peter sharply, just a short while after having praised him before all... One minute he was declaring Me the Son of God, for which I praised him & practically made him the leader of My church, and the next moment I had to rebuke the Devil speaking through him... So, watch out who you are letting use your tongue and who you’re allowing to speak through you. Always be on guard, and claim the promise I gave you, that I would constantly fill you to overflowing with My Words, My Spirit & My love (Jn.7:38)! Remind the Devil of that when he comes around to try to use you for a channel of his message... his little sarcasms or worldly attitudes. Keep washing your heart & mind with My Word & My positive input! (Some people) seek not the will of the Father, just like Peter didn’t when he was trying to convince Me not to go to Jerusalem to be crucified. Imagine if I had let him! The greatest and most important mission in the entire history of man could have been foiled! If you go in My full anointing, then you’ve already won! But it’s a little bit like Peter walking on the water: the moment you get your eyes off Me & you start looking at yourself & you lose the anointing of My Spirit, you’ll sink. "Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired to have thee, that he may sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith fail not, and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren!" And he did! He wasn't tossed about by the Devil forever. There came a time when he was converted & he strengthened his brethren & became a leading & major supporting pillar of My church! Often those who make their dedication to Me so very vocal turn out to be the ones to deny Me before men, like Peter in the night I was betrayed. When he had vowed just a few hours earlier that he would follow Me even into death, he hadn't really considered that the moment to prove it might be closer than he thought.

How ready are you to truly follow Me wherever I lead? Do you really have what it takes & are you really ready to give what I ask? You're quick to pull out a sword, like Peter, when he cut off Malchus' ear. But I have told you to "bless them that persecute you & pray for them which despitefully use you…" I'm asking you to remember that I endured much more contradictions of sinners against Me, so that you may learn patience, meekness & humility from Me & not come across as hostile to people. Remember that I came not into this World to judge or condemn them, but that through Me they might be saved. It's a little known or acknowledged fact that Simon Peter had a wife, and if he had a wife it's safe to assume that he also had children. And yet he forsook all to follow Me. He must have had the faith that the Father was going to provide for them somehow, right? That making the decision to follow His Son, Who had just helped them to catch the biggest load of fishes they had ever caught in their entire lives, was not going to result in his family starving. Doing nothing but trusting Me is a little bit too much to ask of you, is it? You see your funds shrinking to a bare minimum and you start freaking out, & like Peter, you decide you should go back to doing what you've always been doing, back to the old way of doing things, back to leaning on the arm of the flesh... When Peter was offended because I recruited a tax collector as one of My disciples, he had to learn that I don't make a difference: a sinner is a sinner, and if you believe in Me, you're already forgiven. I could not spare Peter the shame of having denied Me thrice, because he was just thinking too highly of himself, and likewise I could not spare you your numerous falls, which bring you back before My throne with the right and appropriate attitude and on your knees, instead of patting yourself on the back. I knew that Peter was going to deny Me, and yet I never stopped loving him…

…Judas Though your intentions might be good, you can sometimes just wind up in futile counteracting against the will & higher purpose of God. Judas was a good example for this. Instead of letting go, letting God have His, howbeit irrational & unreasonable sounding way, he had to try to bend things the way he thought they should go. Folks who think they know better than God can sometimes be the very voice of the Devil himself. Judas wasn't strong enough to withstand the Devil. He was full of doubts about Me, even though he saw Me perform countless miracles, and he saw in Me what he considered weaknesses: allowing to have the precious ointment "wasted" on My feet, instead of selling it & giving the money to the poor... this was also selfrighteousness. Thomas doubted, too. Peter allowed the Enemy to speak through him, too, and resisted Me. John and Andrew were also eaten by pride and religious zeal at one time, and they all had their weaknesses. What made them endure to the end was My grace, and - in some ways also the fact that they did not want to end up like Judas, the one who had been too weak to resist the Enemy! That dandy bad example certainly served a multiple purpose! They all knew they did not want to become traitors to My cause like he was; they wanted to remain loyal... anything but share that fate! Judas had to betray Me in order for Me to die for mankind. If it hadn't been him, it would have been somebody else.... So, even if somebody makes the obviously wrong choice, the right attitude to have about it is not a self-righteous, judgmental one, where you separate yourself from them totally, with an attitude of "I never would have done that," but rather one of knowing that it could happen to anyone to fall like that, & that it's only My grace that can keep you from falling. Thinking you're better doesn't help any. It's only a temptation that makes things worse.

I have given those dandy bad examples - like Judas - for My disciples to know that that’s not the way to follow. The end of his way made it plain that his path was the path of destruction, and thus it shall be with all those who follow Satan’s way and who fall prey for his temptations for personal gain or in order to save their own lives, their own well-being. He that saveth his life, the same shall lose it in the end, but he that loseth his life for My sake, the same shall save it. Those that cling to and hold on to their own lives, trying so hard to preserve them in their own strength, will only find out that they’ve been losing out in the end, while those who freely give of their own substance with disregard of their own loss, they will inherit a hundredfold what they were willing to give. I took on Judas as one of My 12 disciples fully aware of what he was going to do. I died for Judas, too, meaning that I forgave him. I had to forgive him in order to be able to die for his sins… In the end, he’s forgiven, like anyone else who accepts My sacrifice, even if after much wrong-doing, much blame and guilt. Of course, he’s not exactly the great hero that some make him out to be – probably because there are so many folks nowadays who are just like him – but he is forgiven and his sin is gone. I took it. Sooner or later you’re going to marvel at how everything is wonderfully connected and intertwined in My Big Picture… And… believe it or not, even so it is with these Judases and the ones who need our forgiveness the most. They are an essential part of the Big Picture, and you are connected to them within that picture. There is a relation, and their destiny and fate is dependent on your capacity to forgive them.

… Paul Do like Paul & glory in your weakness! (2.Co.12:9,10) You never know which Saul, no matter how hard he has been kicking against the prick, might turn into a Paul, because of My miraculous intervention in answer to prayer. There are those out there who are desperate & starving for what you’ve got to give. So, why try to stuff it down the throats of those who already know it all & are rejecting it? It’s senseless! It’s the same mistake Paul made in going back to Jerusalem to preach to the Jews for the hundredth time. They had heard it many times & rejected it. They were weary of the truth. And yet, because Paul wanted to be recognized by them and impress them, he lost his freedom & his life in the end. Don’t let those you wish to impress kill you spiritually. So what if I use those who have been used by the Devil in some way before? Wasn’t Saul, who later became Paul, a persecutor of My children, & thus heavily used by the Enemy? And yet, because of his great sin, there was also a great repentance, and I used him more effectively for My cause in the end than any of the other disciples... Don’t be like those who try to put Me in a box or try to dictate who I’m supposed to use or not, who I am supposed to save and who not... It’s just self-righteousness. Rather glorify Me for every miracle I do in the lives of others, especially in the lives of those who went astray, to bring them back to Me & My service, often to be used more mightily by Me than ever before! Just because (some people) had been recruited by the Enemy's folks & used by them in certain instances, doesn't necessarily mean that they're unconditionally doomed to hell. Look at Paul! He persecuted My early followers & was personally responsible for the death of some of My saints. But I forgave him & opened up his eyes. And in a way, I still do that with a lot of people, sometimes during their life-times, and sometimes when their lives are over. Paul had been duped & been used by the Enemy and his people, too, because he hadn't been given an opportunity to see the truth yet. Strangely enough, people who have been formerly used by the Enemy, can sometimes accomplish more for Me than those who have been "in My way" faithfully over many years. Some accredit Paul with being the major factor in Christianity gaining any significance at all in history, and it's true: I've had to resort to some drastic measures & recruit him, because I saw that My own disciples were not doing it. They weren't getting the point. They still clung to the old Jewish customs & traditions & rituals, and to the Jewish people, even

though I had shown them by My own sample that I also came to save the Greeks, the Romans, the Samaritans and all the Gentiles. Only after Peter & some of the others saw Paul's success with the Gentiles, they also, reluctantly at first, started to witness & preach to the Gentiles & not only the Jews, and that's why you're here today. Remember what infuriated Nero in (the film) "Peter & Paul" the most? That some were saying that Paul was the most important man in the World. Not the great ruler of the Roman Empire, but a little Jewish preacher from the edge of the World... It's still the same: not the big rock stars or movie stars or pompous politicians are really the important people, but My little pivots, on which the axis & the wheels of history are really turning. There were many great & pompous men in Nero's day, but who remembers them? But the Peters & Pauls are now recognized as the real stars, & thus will it also be in the future. The Britney Spears' & Michael Jacksons & George Bushs are going to be obscure & unheard of then, but everyone will know about My Family. So often, folks get impatient & their urge to get something done in the flesh so they can pat themselves on their backs drives them into a spur of feverish activity in which they sometimes get so involved that they don't even notice My voice anymore, or that the Spirit and anointing has departed from them & descended on someone else... maybe someone they didn't really like or trust, maybe even a former enemy, like Paul... Paul and My other apostles were not always swimming in wealth, although there were times of bounty through the forsake-alls of new disciples, and everyone had all they needed because of having all things common (Acts 2:44, 45). Why do you think Paul was the lonely pioneer to go out & preach the gospel to the heathen while the rest of the church was enjoying all that fruitful fellowship in Jerusalem? Nobody wanted to leave all that voluntarily. It took an oddball like Paul, who often felt rejected by the rest of the church, criticized, and had nothing to go on except Me and the fact that his ministry did bear fruit in the long run. Talk about a man with a vision: Paul had it, and he did what he could, although at times he hardly could see any good come out of it, and he also had his time of going back to making tents... Paul worked for years, feeling rejected by the church in Jerusalem, and by My original disciples. But in the end, they all followed in his footsteps & continued his work. Sure, he felt discouraged at times, too! But he just kept doing what he had to do. "Yea, woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel!" Paul didn't have a lot of physical sample or training to rely on. (Yet) he accomplished more for Me than the other 11 who had walked with Me and had seen Me in the flesh! He relied on the Spirit! Some conversions I even have to see to Myself, because none of My children would ever have the faith to approach certain people with the Salvation message, like Paul for instance! I had to see to his conversion Myself, basically! Nobody would have given him a chance! You've got to give more people a chance, and more than one chance, too! Don't immediately put them in your "well, I tried, but they didn't want to" drawer to leave them there permanently... If you seek Me in everything, if you make an effort to see Me and glorify Me in everything, then everything is sanctified! That's why Paul was able to eat with the former pagans he had won to Me! Their customs were totally different from the religious Jewish customs he had been brought up in. But because he had been a victim of extreme religious self-righteousness & narrow-mindedness, he saw the liberty, the freedom, the liberation from the law that I had brought! It took Paul to drive home that point to the church, & some still haven't got it! Paul saw that the church was to become something bigger than just a bunch of Jews having found the Savior & received the Holy Spirit. Those who don't realize that the royal heritage I'm speaking about is a spiritual one are actually lagging far behind those pioneers like Paul, who did what My church was supposed to be doing, way before the rest of them got the point. What determines how much of an old bottle you are is how much you cling to the flesh. How much do you allow any sort of physical advantage to minister to your pride? The more you realize that “the flesh profiteth nothing” (Jn.6:63) and that the Spirit is all that matters, the more of a new bottle you can

become. But first you've got to allow Me to shatter your old bottle attitudes, mindsets & carnal dogmas you cling to, that which you "know" & think you're so sure of. If you feel like you're not "officially sanctioned," don't worry about it. Remember folks like Paul, who weren't either, for the longest time... He should be a source of hope, courage and inspiration to you. Rejoice and glory in your afflictions, trials and adversities, as Paul and Peter taught. They had gotten the clue. They saw - over years and decades of experience - how My machinery works, and how evil is always merely used in the life of My saints to turn into something good. Paul became such an outstanding fighter for Me (because) he had been fighting on the other side before, and knew the Devil's tactics inside out. He knew what the pitfalls were he had to look out for, and there was no more compromise for him. Paul saw the greater Law beyond, which the short-sighted, who only look into the temporal realm can't see: My greater law of grace. Paul openly rebuked Peter for his hypocrisy when he first “played along” and ate with the converted gentiles and then refrained and distanced himself again when the other brethren from Jerusalem arrived. But Paul didn’t hold that against him forever, nor stayed bitter about the older brethren’s attitude, but he adhered to My principle of forgiveness and lived a sample of it in cooperating with the brethren to his best abilities. It’s certainly not so that he established his own cult, but an essential part of My church, and a flock that he did not intend to keep for himself. Even though there may have been substantial differences between his views and the Jerusalem church’s, (along with the initial understandable reservations they held against him for having been their persecutor, formerly), he never allowed those to interfere with his vision to establish My church, and not some group of his own. He was loyal nevertheless. He was a man of unity. His modus operandi may have been a different one, and in some ways may have looked “independent,” but by the end result you can tell that it wasn’t an effort of his own to rake in honor and glory for himself, but he really, sincerely just wanted to do My work according to the best of his abilities; he just did what he knew he had to do, not for himself, but for My sake, and when he was gone, the brethren kept building on the foundation he had left them. Just as back in Paul’s day, there are those who want to preserve the status quo, thinking that all things will continue as they were. Only those who are really in tune with Me know that that’s not the way it’s going to be in the long run, and they must help prepare others and help them to adapt to the winds of change. The conservative forces resist those voices of change just as much as they would resist the winds of change, except that they’re powerless against the winds. They think if they can silence the heralds of change, they might keep the change from happening, but that’s not how it works, because the more they try to silence My voices, the harder I will have the winds blow to prove them right. Knowing how people in leadership positions can be, you can figure that some of the old, established leaders, were also becoming a little jealous of Paul, and rather than giving his new ways leeway and the official okay, initially they clung to their old ways, until I took those conservative forces out of the way. It wasn’t always easy for Paul to deal with that, but his loyalty was very much comparable to that of David in respect to Saul, and just like Paul’s sample is a comfort to you, so was David’s example to him. Paul’s loyalty to the Early Church resembled David’s loyalty to Saul, and it became clear that Paul wasn’t seeking his own glory or his own good in what he was doing, but that he was seeking the greater good of the Kingdom, just as David, centuries earlier, would have given his own life for Saul and the good of the kingdom, rather than seeking his own advantage. Paul didn’t want to be like Saul anymore, and so he focused on David instead, and was going to learn from the righteous, becoming the persecuted, instead of the persecutor. Paul had a lot to make up for. He knew he was responsible for the death of some of his brethren, and that he had better make up for it. “He that hath been forgiven much, the same loveth much.” How much have you been forgiven? How much do you love? Sometimes, when there is less to forgive, there is also less passion, less gratitude. Paul was extremely grateful for the pardon he had found in Me, and My readiness to pardon; the liberation from the whole guilt-religion and scheme that he had been subject to all

his life, and that’s why he recognized like no other what exactly the big difference was that I had brought onto the whole picture of humanity, or rather, the big picture of the relationship between God and humanity. He realized the big change and shift from works over to grace.

… The Devil As soon as the Devil opens his mouth, a lie comes out. He may cunningly mix it with a bit of truth, so that you might believe him, and he comes across as the defender of the mistreated, the champion of the underdog, trying to get you to show weakness when you should not, and again, trying to get you to harden yourself when you should not. One thing you need to know about the nature of the Enemy is that he never plays fair. He’s the first to scream, ‘That’s not fair!’, and will be the first to break the rules. Those who cling to the old ways of the flesh are going to reap the destruction of the flesh. He that liveth by the sword shall also die by the sword. They’ll find out that they have been puppets in the hand of the god of this World, the god of war, of hate, of pride, and of all that is an abomination to Me. I want you to see right through him! He will have no power over those who will see right through him. Time will expose him for what he really is, and when he is gone, time shall be no more. The devil is the epitome of a politician. And the way he campaigns to gain ‘voters’ & supporters for his cause is by an ugly smear campaign against his Opponent: Me. So, he spreads all those lies about Me, about how unjust I am, how unloving, how unmerciful I am, and oh – what’s one of his favorite words?- Unfair! And subtle & sly as he is, he manages to convince quite a few with his propaganda. But don’t listen to, much less believe his rap about Me not loving you! You mean everything to Me! Don’t let the old punk tell you anything else! I love you more than you’re able to fathom. The Enemy is the author of confusion, of self-righteousness, of contradictions, saying things but never really meaning them, much less keeping his word. The Devil is an artist of his own kind, and his art is to perfect selfishness & disguise it in a cloak & veneer of self-righteously being convinced of the saintlihood & faultlessness of the selfish person, only able to see the faults in others. THAT’S the perfection of the art of Lucifer, that’s his masterpiece: PRIDE! He easily finds entrance into the hearts of those who don’t constantly remind themselves of how frail their foundation is when they base their lives on their own goodness. The Devil has become a master at subtly spreading his message, camouflaging it in cloaks of ‘independence’ & ‘individuality.’ In this day & age, the Devil has greater power to exert over the masses the pressure to conform. His subtle message is: ‘Don’t dare to be different, or you’re going to be ridiculed, you’re going to be cast out, you’ll be one of the losers!’ The Devil has to offer some kind of superficial option to appear different, to create the illusion of freedom. But once you get a closer look you find out that difference is only skin deep. When I return, it will be like somebody snipped their finger & the spell of the hypnotist is broken. His illusion is NOT reality. Even though there are a lot of hypnotized people out there who are convinced that what they are seeing right now is real, your magic is much stronger than the evil magician’s, & you can free people from Satan’s spell & wake them up out of their trance! Refuse to let fear – his greatest trick – have any grip or power over you whatsoever! The Enemy likes to operate incognito. If you would always recognize his voice as being his, you wouldn’t fall for it nearly as often... But often his sneers come camouflaged as the voice of ‘reason’ or as your own thoughts. He persuades you very subtly to adopt his opinion & view of things, like a very smooth & diplomatic talker, who manages to talk people into his own view by making them think that his opinion is their own.

Satan’s art & witchcraft consists in making mountains out of molehills, big monsters out of tiny little bagatelles. Small, tiny seeds of dissention which grow into ugly big giants & demons of discord, hatred, disunity and jealousy, and what have you... whatever divides, whatever drives a wedge between My people, My chosen ones, he knows that that's all he needs in order to render a potentially powerful threat to his kingdom useless, or so weakened by comparison, that he won't have to worry much anymore. The Devil would like to sneak in & grab the glory for virtually everything that’s pleasant under the sun. What matters is that you give Me the glory! Refuse to give it to him! The Devil is always telling mankind that I’m cheating you, just because I don’t tell you everything there is to know all at once, when he’s the biggest cheat & liar of all times – in fact, the father of lies. He’s going to appear as the great ”savior” from all My supposed injustices; I am the culprit in his version of the story, & you are all My victims... poor abused guinea pigs, who are never being told the whole truth by Me. I’m not telling you lies, he is. And in order to distract from the fact that he’s such a blatant liar, as usual, he points his crooked finger at Me, accusing Me of not telling you the whole truth. No matter how good you are, you could never be perfect enough for him to stop accusing you in the ears & minds of others. Look at Me: I was the most perfect sample there ever was, and yet he was able to turn the mob against Me. To look for details that “aren’t so” in My Word is one of the Devil’s oldest tricks. “Hath God said so? Ye shall not surely die!” And they didn’t. Not right away. So, the Devil will always find something I said he can point his finger at & gleefully say, “See? Not true!” to get you to discard the whole message, so you won’t believe & receive it, but rather believe his version. But you’ll be the one suffering the consequences. Whether you’ll die right away or later: you will know one day that your death – your spiritual death & decline – occurred the moment you chose to doubt My Word & disobey... you were just buried later. Ever since the Garden of Eden the Devil has managed to persuade people to rather believe in his voice than Mine, because his option is usually the one which sounds more attractive! There is apparently more in it for you, if you choose the Devil’s option of disobedience. But is it really so? You don't have to take every temptation the Devil hands you. The Devil is trying to come up with more & more perfect counterfeits & substitutes & distractions all the time: more & more perfect entertainment, shows, computer games, movies, System music & sounds, all available by remote control, so you don't even have to move or do anything to get instant satisfaction; more & more perfect tasting food with artificial flavours, made to even "top" My natural flavours I have put in foods naturally, more & more perfect drugs & narcotics... He's trying to literally spoil people stupid so they won't ever want to get off of their fannies to do anything else but indulge in his "perfections". After all, who needs anything else, if you can have all these "perfect" pleasures & entertainments? Who wants to deal with real people, when the faces & bodies on TV are so much more "perfect"? Who wants to deal with real life when the thrills & kicks he can give you are so much nicer, easier, better? Well, there's only one thing about it all & that's that it isn't real. It's all fake & phoney, & you're enjoying it all on borrowed time & money, while in reality he's cheating you out of your lives, your time, your energy and your touch with reality. He's even come up with his very own counterfeit love. But in the end, none of that will ever truly satisfy, & when all this artificial "perfection" will have left the World high & dry, he will come up with his ultimate counterfeit: his plastic one-World religion, the "perfect" System, without any more evil, without any more money, without anymore crime... "Welcome to Utopia!" The Enemy hates My predictions & visions of the future & tries to ensure that the opposite is going to happen. His attitude is, "Oh, yeah, did God say so? Well we're going to see about that!" And he tries all he can to foil My plans. The Enemy never foresees the benefits of the backsliding he causes. He's only concerned with the temporary defeat & delay he causes. After all, he knows he can't stop Me; all he can do is try to delay Me & My plans by throwing a few monkey wrenches into My machinery, frantically trying to delay & postpone

My future, because he knows the future will bring his doom. He knows the Endtime events will trigger a chain reaction that is going to wake up & bring back to life many of those he has successfully lulled to sleep. There seemed to be more in it for Adam & Eve to choose to eat of the forbidden tree: more knowledge, a new taste, and the serpent even said, "Ye shall be as gods”! Now, THAT sounded interesting! But what was the reality? Curses, pain, thorns & agony ever since, in trade for paradise. That's the difference between the Enemy and Me: while I gave My blood to be shed for the World, he only takes. I am the Giver, he's the taker. He thinks the World is His for the taking, but the truth is that everything of value has its price, and I have paid the true price. Yes, he will also leave his place in heaven, not voluntarily, like Me, but because he will be cast out. But instead of laying down his life, he will be the greatest taker of lives there will ever have been, like I said, a murderer from the beginning (Jn.8:44). So, you do have a dangerous enemy, which is why life isn't something to be taken lightly. It's dangerous to underestimate your enemy or pretend he's not really there, to just avoid thinking about him or the threat he poses, or to wishfully think that he probably won't care too much about you, and if you leave him in peace, he'll leave you in peace, too. He hates you too much to leave you in peace, and he will either try to lull you to sleep with all his lures, hypnotism and temptations, and cause you to let your guard down, or he will ferociously attack you with all he's got. His goal is the same in either tactic: your destruction. It's up to you which way you will allow him to combat you. The slow & subtle poisoning by posing as your "friend", bringing into your life all the tempting things that will cause you to lower your guard & defense against him, or the open confrontation. There is no peace with the Devil. If there's one enemy it pays to rather fight openly and not seek a moment of truce with, it's Satan. Otherwise you'll regret it. Any moment of compromise, any moment you don't openly declare war on him and fight to the finish, will be a moment that will weaken you! You've got to be constantly on guard against him, beware of his presence as the enemy of your soul constantly, and never let down your guard, never think, "oh, well, he's not really that bad... if I just close my eyes, he'll go away & perhaps he'll ignore me if I ignore him!" You can ignore him safely by focusing on Me for your protection, that's alright. But never think that he's not there or that he's not out to destroy you. That's the mistake that some have made. They underestimated him. They figured, "oh, well, he's not really as evil or nearly as dangerous as he's always hyped up to be..." Or they figure that maybe the others were too weak, but they're strong enough to withstand his temptations. They won't give in to him. They're different... But little by little, one compromise will follow another, and he'll find your weak spot, and you can always count on him to be a real Judas & traitor & to stab you in the back when you least expect it, when you're weakest and let down your guard. I in you am so much greater than he is... he's like a tiny little dwarf in comparison. You shall see it one day, and all the world will wonder, "What? This little nincompoop has terrorized this world for so long? That ugly little dwarf? That's the one we worshiped and by whom we were awed, thinking he was so great?" It will fall like scales from their eyes, & some will laugh at this atrocity, others will cry. Satan has been given certain power to change things in order to influence your perception of things. You see the truth in a certain way, and he says, "Oh, yeah, really? Let's see if those things be so!" And he makes certain changes in order to shake your foundation, that what you perceive as the basis of your concept of everything. Hasn't this been his concept from the beginning? "Hath not God said?..." And he is very persuasive & powerful in deceiving you & trying to get you to doubt & "forget what you know" in his own way. It is good, because like this, anything you built your faith on that was not the true foundation will be eroded, and all that's left is the solid rock truth of My Word. If I had to go out into the wilderness, in order to resist the temptations of the Enemy and overcome him, how much more so will you have to do it. Fighting and resisting the Devil instead of giving in to his temptations and nudges is what it's all about; not missing the mark (the essence of "sin") because you've allowed the Enemy to distract you. You've got to deal with the Devil & make it clear between him and you on whose side you stand, and that he won't have a chance anymore trying to get you over to his side. Otherwise he'll keep trying and trying. He tempted Me, "You don't have to go through all this suffering! You can stop it all right now! Make an end of all this nonsense! Life is to be enjoyed..." Life was meant to be enjoyed, but never on his terms!

The Devil's first appearance in the Garden of Eden was with the intention to get Eve to doubt My Word. "Hath God said...? Surely NOT! Surely it is NOT so!" And he has been following that same scheme ever since, and your test in this is to either stay faithful to My voice, or believe "intuitions," which are often tainted by popular opinions, which often come straight from the Devil. The Enemy of your soul is very sly and knows how to make his lies extremely attractive. People tend to think that they would never be as dumb as Adam and Eve to allow themselves to fall for the Devil's lies, but that's already the first lie they swallowed right there: "Oh, I'm never gonna be that dumb!" Well, you might have another surprise coming on that one, when you'll find out one day how often and how easily you fell for the Devil's fairy-tales!

Epilogue (Jesus:) Remember the common attitude people had throughout history, toward those that I had anointed and raised above their own heads in some way: Moses - "Who made thee to rule over us?..." Joseph - "Here comes the dreamer..." Nehemiah - "Come down from that high and mighty wall of yours..." Samson - he wasn't exactly popular during his lifetime among his own people, and subject to criticism and gossip, especially because of his affection for women, particularly women that were not really part of the "clan..." Gideon - "Who does he think he is, sending the rest of us home again, and how does he think he's going to win a battle against an army with 300?" And then the prophets... What makes you think that they were ever popular? Look how the people rejected Me, their promised Savior, and how they resisted Paul, My greatest apostle and mightiest tool in My hands, without whom Christendom never might have spread the way I had intended. Oh, sure, all the rest received their rewards and fulfilled their special parts and places and niches to fill, and there are no grudges for not always having appreciated My specially chosen and anointed ones. But I'm just telling you, you're not alone in the history of folks whom I used, that somehow looked a little weird or "off" to the rest of the in-crowd, the "mainstream" of My followers, so to speak... They were the outcasts of the outcasts... The ones considered weird and "untouchable" by those the world considered weird and untouchable. That's why they often raised their very own crop of followers of Mine to Me. They didn't rely and wait on the support and popularity from their ranks. There were always those special few who chose to play the tunes that I gave them to play, that didn't always say what others wanted to hear, but what I wanted them to hear and chew on. That's the price of eternal fame, versus the mediocrity of those who just flow with the current trend and hit the nerve of popularity of the times... If you're a follower in My footsteps, your fate will in many ways be similar to Mine. You won't always be a success with everybody. There will always be those who oppose, resist and reject you and all you have to give, just as they rejected Moses, the prophets and Myself, and nearly each and every one of My true apostles throughout history. Popularity is one of the first things that has to go on the offering plate if you're out to serve Me.