Gatesitter Scene 1

I've been fascinated by the story of Peter, John and the lame man at the gate found in Acts 3. the man had been carried along all his life. He was lame from his mother's womb. He had received lameness from his parents; it wasn't his fault. But it was the only identity he was aware of and he had become just as lame socially, emotionally and spiritually as he was physically. He had sat all his life while wishing he could be free. He had become depressed and disconnected from those around him to avoid increasing his emotional pain. He felt deep shame and lived it out by begging, groveling for mercy from others who often ignored and gave him more shame.

He avoided eye contact with everyone because he felt worthless and helpless. Nearly everyone continually sent him identity messages that were deeply ingrained in his psyche – that he was just a pitiful beggar who sat all the time sponging his living off of others. No one was glad to be with him. No one wanted to touch or hold him close. No one cared about his heart and his feelings. This was who he was. This was all he knew.

And although in his fantasies he wished he could be free, everything believed by people around him said that change was impossible. His problems were too big to surmount. The best he should expect is to entice sympathetic friends to help him cope with his disability and just accept life as it had been dealt him. He was resigned to his fate. He would just spend his time outside the gate of God's house taking advantage of the heavier traffic at this location to beg.

His heart and soul longed to see inside the temple and be able to worship and praise God freely in His house like others. He wistfully desired to throw himself with complete abandon into worship and adoration of a merciful and loving Father. But was there even such a God like that? The God he had been taught about all his life was not very merciful and compassionate. This God of the Pharisees blessed the “good religious” people and cursed sinners and their children with sickness, physical defects and poverty. The God of the Jews according to the religious teachers was arbitrary and insisted on strict obedience to thousands of detailed regulations to earn His favor.

This man was shut out from God by stern rules enforced by stern people. And now he had nearly given up all hope. God must view him as too unworthy to heal. After all, for 3 ½ years Jesus had healed people all around the area and stories abounded of other lame men set free and made whole. But he had never been selected. He had always been passed by or was in the wrong place and missed every opportunity to see Jesus himself.

And now Jesus had been crucified and was no longer around. The future looked darker than ever. He was now resigned to just existing and accepting his lot in life. This must be his destiny. This must be God's will.

Sometimes as he sat outside the temple or was being carried by his few friends he would watch little children playing, running and laughing in the streets and alleys. This always created a deep aching in his heart. He felt a little envious of the freedom that little children seemed to enjoy in their spirit as well as their bodies. They seemed so uninhibited when adults were not frowning over them, and could express their joy not only with shouts and laughter but were not ashamed to celebrate just being alive with spontaneous dancing, leaping and running with glee. How he longed not only to be able to physically be free but to emotionally celebrate life like an excited innocent little child bursting with life and happiness and joy.

(click here for scene 2)

The Other Tree

God was just putting the finishing touches on the Garden of Eden in eager anticipation to turn it all over to His newest children. He had thought of everything for their satisfaction and joy. Everything in the earth was specially designed to stimulate their joy and satisfy every sense capacity of a human body and mind and spirit.

Then He anchored a permanent means of communication to Himself, a link to the Source of all life, right in the middle of this extravagantly stunning paradise. He secured it on both sides of the central flow of water and rooted it deep into the new soil. It was the most magnificent tree ever seen anywhere and it towered high above all the other trees of the garden. It could be seen easily from a great distance so it would never be difficult to find from any direction.

Although it was so tall, it also had broad, low branches that spread out farther than any other tree to the point that they seemed to deny gravity itself. And unlike all the other fruit trees of earth, this tree could bear multiple kinds of fruit. And the fruit had inherent properties that far exceeded the life-giving qualities of all other fruit or food of any kind. This tree and its fruit was somehow a direct link to God Himself. This tree had been imported from heaven, not locally produced.

As God stood with His angels admiring the finished Garden and His magnificent gift of the Tree of Life, He was about to leave in preparation for His crowning act of creation when He was interrupted by an all too familiar complaining voice. He recognized not only the voice but also the now too familiar pain in His own Spirit. Yes it was Lucifer again. He could never leave good enough alone. He was always insisting that God's perfect ways were not really complete and were somehow deficient. True to his now fallen nature he again began to question and criticize God's beautiful handiwork. But in particular he bitterly complained about his own restrictions laid down by God for his new realm of reference since he had been evicted from heaven.

Lucifer was about to launch into another whining tirade about God's unfairness when God stopped him and asked him to simply state what his basic request was. Lucifer responded that it was unfair of God to not allow him free access to the minds and domain of the soon-to-be-created humans. They would be unfairly sheltered from Lucifer's new “enlightened” concepts of living because there was no communication channels available to him. He had been strictly forbidden to visit with them or even to show himself to them in any way so as to protect their innocence and beauty. Lucifer railed that this was blatantly unfair and thousands of angels around him picked up the chant - “un-fair, un-fair, un-fair...”

God realized that once again questions were being agitated even in the minds of many of His loyal angels. Lucifer had for a long time now used his superior intellectual prowess to confuse and mystify many of God's created beings and draw their affections away from their Creator. So to prevent even further loss from His government and His heart He now asked what Lucifer might propose that would be mutually “fair” to both sides.

Lucifer – now Satan (the accusing one) – had thought long and hard on this one already. He knew how God thought and related to His created beings better than anyone and he already knew God would not grant him full access to this new planet. But he also was desperate to capture real authority and dominion somewhere in the cosmos so he could again have a place to call home as well as have a base to operate from. His long-term objective now was to capture one world at a time and spread his power through the universe in a grass roots rebellion. It had worked relatively well in the angel realm and he had seduced to himself the allegiance of one-third of the hosts of heaven. Now if he could establish a beachhead among the lower orders of created beings he could expand his authority into greater dimensions and regions of the universe.

So it was very important that he present a careful proposal that would force God's reluctant agreement by exploiting His mercy. Satan had insisted all through the conflict that God's mercy was really a sign of weakness, a flaw in His character. Satan had long since discarded mercy from his own nature and insisted that external performance based on internal reliance was a superior form of government. Self-government, independence, complete confidence in one's self and taking great pride in self-promotion was the real solution for satisfying one's own needs, he claimed.

Now Satan once again was ready with a plan. These new beings, he asserted, need to have a fair chance to choose how they want to live for themselves. Satan knew how much God valued free will in all His beings so there had to be an alternative from God that they could choose. And since God had chosen a tree as the link to Himself in this new world, Satan proposed that he too should be able to have a tree as an opportunity for the new beings to communicate and connect with his new kingdom.

God agreed that this plan was allowable. Satan then quickly insisted that he have an access tree planted on every inhabited planet in the universe in the name of fairness and freedom. God allowed for this request as well though the immense sorrow and pain in His heart was deepening continually. This terrible cancer of rebellion and multiplying false accusations against Him were continuing to spread and were destroying the openness and uninhibited love that God had created all these beings to mutually enjoy with Him and each other.

So God agreed to allow a second tree in the Garden to permit Satan access at that location only to the minds and hearts of this world's humans. God said that His own tree would be called the Tree of Life and Satan's tree would be the opposite – the Tree of Death.

But immediately Satan objected. This would not work for him. Deception was now his number one instrument of choice and a “Tree of Death” would be too hard for him to make attractive and seductive. He put forward several other very misleading names for his tree but God refused them all on the basis of honesty. God said that the name of the tree had to be truthful about its true nature so that humans would not be at a disadvantage. Finally Satan put forward a name that fit his philosophy while subtly masking the truth about the end results that God agreed they could use. Satan had insisted in his demands for a new government that his ways would lead to a better life and did not want anyone to think about the real consequences of cutting themselves off from the only Source of Life. He articulated that creatures could be self-sustaining and self-governing under his leadership.

So this new tree would have a very creative and intriguing name, one that would incite curiosity and maybe create some confusion, he hoped. It would be representative of Satan's new way of thinking and living; that every being could use his own ability to reason and think and create his own reality (a Tree of Knowledge), and that created beings could decide what was best for themselves and what would satisfy them (knowledge of Good) without reference to God, to His principles and ways, and without any help from Him (knowledge of Evil).

Then Satan presented the design of his tree to God and picked its location. This was certainly a moment of embarrassment for him to have to ask God to supply the creative power to bring Satan's tree into existence, but if anyone questioned his lack of ability to create he would simply assert that he would someday be able to do the same for himself when he would capture the throne of the Son of God.

This second tree would look in many respects much like the Tree of Life. It too would have two trunks that he would present as the two aspects of truly balanced knowledge. If given the chance to dialog and reason with these new beings he would insinuate that “simplistic” reliance on God for life was not really as fulfilling as they supposed. That to be truly satisfied, they needed to assert their own ability to explore life outside God's restrictions and discover real balance and excitement in life by fully exploring both what is good in their own thinking and figure out by experimentation what is bad for them so they can decide for themselves if God's ways are really best for them or not.

This Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil would also produce multiple kinds of very attractive fruit as well as sweetly perfumed flowers, and it would rise majestically to the sky. It pretty much was a close lookalike of the Tree of Life but in some ways was also clearly distinguished so that there would be no confusion as to which was which.

Next installment – the amazing mud-pie man meets the knock-out beauty queen and they get married.

passion vs. Passion

We all have sinful passions striving for the mastery in our lives. We have mistakenly been led to believe that the solution is to become devoid of all passion. We are attempting “salvation by subtraction”. We think perfection is the absence of sin so we must focus on getting rid of sin. This is one of the devil's most effective schemes. It is like trying to brighten a room by removing more and more darkness. (Huh?)

While it is true that we must relax our grasp on sinful pleasure fixes that mask our emptiness and pain, just letting go will not deliver us from sin. We need power. The passion of sin and selfishness has to be overcome – overwhelmed by the passion of God Himself. Darkness and fear can only be dissipated by light and love. We cannot produce it, but our will can open the doors and windows to allow it in.

When we begin to truly believe that God is passionate for us beyond all comprehension, it will be much easier to counteract and neutralize the passion of sin within us. The reason most churches are so impotent is because they are either completely devoid of passion or they have embraced excitement for their opinions or titillating emotions labeling it the Spirit of God.

We know nearly nothing of the real passion of God. We are clueless as to the intensity of His craving for us to be with Him and share His ravishing love. We focus on condemning sin and each other. We focus on knowledge and eat freely from the Tree of Knowledge believing it will produce salvation. We sometimes whip up human emotion and excitement in attempts to fill our emptiness of passion. But none of these produce real satisfaction so like all good addicts we either return for another fix of the same or look for even stronger medication for our souls.

But the passion of sin can only be overpowered and dissipated by a true revelation of the real passion of the Godhead. Dishonesty and deception can only be dispelled by vulnerable honesty and facing the truth about ourselves, both past and present, in the presence and context of the passion of God for us.

Purgatory and Transformers

Purgatory ironically may have a little more truth in it than most Protestants would ever admit. Of course, as a counterfeit based on a Satanic view of God this doctrine is very misleading of itself. But in at least one respect it highlights a truth that has been completely missed by most Christians.

In fact, the very observation that gave rise to this false doctrine still is a valid one. When people die here on earth that are safe to save in God's eyes, they do so in widely varying stages of knowledge and trust in God. I think nearly all would agree that most, if not all, who will be saved do not have a very clear understanding of the true nature of the Great War and barely have an appreciation for simple Salvation and the nature of God.

Given the fact, though little promoted, that God operates totally absent of force against free will, He will not suddenly suspend that principle of His nature for His convenience when we arrive in heaven after the Second Coming of Christ. He will no suddenly impart to us perfect characters and instantly empty our minds of all false ideas, pain and unresolved troubling memories. His overwhelming value for , and insistence on freedom for our will to induce us to love Him precludes this possibility.

It is very much like the operation of an electrical transformer. Two coils of wires are in close proximity to each other but must not touch each other for the transformer to properly operate. One coil of wires has high voltage passing through it while the other is completely devoid of power except as induced by the field effect induced by the first coil. This explains why sinful humans cannot see God's face without suffering death; it would be like touching the wires inside a transformer together.

In fact, this illustration fits quite well to this very issue. The more distant the two coils, the weaker the healing energy is transferred. Since there is an obvious need for much healing and resolution in the hearts of the saved and chosen when they get to heaven, there is great need to move their coils into closer proximity to the presence of God the Father to transfer much more grace and healing love into their hearts to effect a full restoration of His image in them in preparation for the final climatic Revealing.

This is what the millenium is all about. God is assembling all the “coils” who have accepted His offer and provision for them, to be with Him and the angels for a thousand-year healing service of worship, praise and reconciliation in very close proximity to the center of all power. Hence the need for the healing leaves of the Tree of Life and all the other arrangements for bonding, growing, maturing etc.

When all the “coils” are finally interconnected and fully united in one mind and spirit, Christ's body will be then ready for the final act that will stun the whole universe with awe and wonder. His body after one thousand years of growing into oneness, synchronizing with the heart of the Father, tuning up their instruments under the orchestration of Jesus Himself, will be ready at last to make a direct connection to the power source with no more need of an intervening transformer.

The introduction of sin created a fatal weakness in all created beings infected by it that necessitated the whole arrangement of a step-down transformer if they were to continue to exist. The whole history of sin and Salvation is God's immensely complex wisdom to restore as last the whole universe to operating at full power again without discarding any offending elements if they are willing to accept His authority and rewiring arrangements for them.

Jesus was publicly crushed into a coil by becoming a human so that the power flowing through Him could be created in us if we will live close enough to Him. The closer we come to Him the more life-giving power is induced in our coils to flow through our circuits.

Transformers work on Alternating Current – AC – rhythms of power. DC – Direct Current – does not induce power. Transformers synchronize the rhythms between both circuits. The Father might be planning a last to switch us over to DC which is much more powerful than AC. The wicked insist on keeping faulty AC wiring and cannot handle the exposure to the overwhelming DC at last.

7 Rules and Beliefs in Shame-based Families

1. Sudden, erratic, unpredictable interruptions of activity

   1. Messages that you are worthless, stupid, an idiot

   2. You never know when this is going to happen – its arbitrary

   3. Yelling, screaming, jerking around

   4. Everything always must remain under control – everything must be controlled

2. Never be wrong – never make a mistake

   1. Always do everything right

   2. Perfectionism – always be under control

3. Blame somebody when someone gets out of control

   1. Shame, yell, punish a child

   2. If parents are wrong, blame the kids or pitifully blame themselves

   3. Shame comes to children for parents problems

4. Deny that there are any problems on the inside

   1. Don't perceive – don't have an opinion

   2. Don't feel – have no feelings – “we don't feel around here”

      • no joy

      • no dancing

      • no crying

      • no anger

   3. Don't have needs – never ask a favor – be self-sufficient

      • inability to receive

      • pride

   4. Don't believe, think or dream for yourself

      • denial of aspirations

      • stuff and suppress all feelings and emotions

5. Never allow talk about any family problems

   1. Internalize all issues

   2. creates physical diseases caused by shame

6. Don't ever acknowledge a mistake

   1. Never be vulnerable

   2. Don't open your heart to anyone

7. Don't trust anyone – relationships are erratic and unreliable

These notes were taken while listening to the teachings of Craig Hill on Shame. These recordings can be ordered from Family Foundations - see Ministry Resources.

Questions on Deception

Increasingly over the last couple weeks I have felt more and more unmotivated and listless, both physically and emotionally. At first I attributed it to post holiday blues and tiredness from late nights with company, but in my mind that doesn't account for most of it. I have great difficulty getting my spirit energized to actively work on the house again. It seems like I have lost all my passion that kept me working long hours on it for the past nine months. This baffles me. Why do I need passion before I can get up and even do relatively small projects? I try to analyze what my mind is doing. It seems that a prerequisite to starting on a project is a mental formulation of many of the details and a vision of the completed job mixed with another emotion I can't quite identify that promises an end result of deep satisfaction.

That might possible account for some of my malaise since I don't seem to enjoy the highly elevated level of satisfaction for what is already finished that I thought would materialize. I thought that maybe its because I'm not completely finished yet, but now I doubt that. More likely it has to do with the fact that satisfaction is much more connected to relationships than it is to projects.

Another explanation that occurred to me after I woke up and 4:30 this morning with no chance of returning to sleep, was an idea having to do with spiritual detox symptoms. Is it possible that listening to all these sermons lately that have stimulated, challenged and disturbed my settled condition over the past couple weeks has created effects in my spirit similar to the physical effects of herbal detox in the body. These symptoms often elicit opposite conclusions from observers of this condition. Some say that the debilitation experienced while experiencing detox is due to negative effects from the treatment and recommend stopping and returning to a “normal” lifestyle to feel better again. Others would view these symptoms as encouraging signs of progress to be endured with the promise of better health and clearer mind soon to be enjoyed more than before.

Is it possible that listening to these spiritual things is stimulating and stirring up spiritual garbage in my system that needs to be flushed out? Or is it possible that my mind is being confused and even deceived by compelling false theories from sources outside my denomination and culture as my mind typically tends to suggest? One who is deceived does not realize they are being deceived and so cannot depend on his own mind to detect it.

It is always suggested that one should pray and test everything by the Word of God. But it is also implied that one's interpretation of that Word should not disagree with your own denomination's traditional views. But that too has elements that can make one ripe for deception. Depending on what denomination you currently subscribe to will determine the result of your questions. No denomination has a corner on truth, though almost all emphatically claim they do.

My conviction is that I must follow God and His Word above any denomination or allegiance to any personality. I believe that – at least theoretically. But it still feels uncomfortable right now and raises many questions about the reliability and susceptibility of my own mind and heart. What about the danger of attending seminars presented by ministries of churches who don't accept “truth” as we view it? How much danger is there of imbibing false ideas and becoming deceived by submitting to ministry sessions in those environments? Many would insist that it is against God's will. Many would insist it was God's leading.

After a successful detox of the body a person typically feels much better and healthier than they have in a long time. The same may be true spiritually but there can also be a euphoria experienced in deception that comes from a sense of freedom and release. This is very strong and similar to the joy and freedom of true spiritual liberation. There is always disagreement about identifying the real deal. Many use denominational labels as the trusted factor to determine what's true. Others look for certain results as fool-proof indicators of true ministry.

I guess I have to trust God personally to finish what He started and expose deception whenever He choses. If I cannot trust denominational labels and I cannot trust my feelings and I'm not sure who to trust around me to be undeceived; about the only option left is to relax and ask God to have His way in me.

Love-slaves

Jesus is passionately eager to “make love” with me – with everyone individually – and quench His desire for intimacy. God is love. He is the source and origin of all love found anywhere outside of Him. He designed us for this kind of relationship with Him and gave us marriage as a practice relationship to prepare us to better understand what He wants us to experience with Him.

I want, by my response to His luring advances toward me (Hosea 2:14), to unleash the passions of God and bring satisfaction to His heart. Doing so will also bring me deep joy and satisfaction. But my focus must be on satisfying His heart and His desires, not mine (Luke 17:8). The more purely I focus on making God's eyes light up with joy with no thought for satisfying myself, the more fulfilled and satisfied I will be.

This is the secret that Paul and all the early disciples discovered. They became “love-slaves” to God, consumed with eager desire to satisfy the deep hunger of God's heart at any cost to themselves. They became caught up in God's passion, consumed by His love and in the process became foreigners and strangers to this world.

O God, make Your heart my consuming obsession! Show me your face!

Reconstituting the Word

Why is it that some people are so interesting when they speak in person but seem so dry when you only read their material, while others are just the opposite; their writing seems powerful but in person they seem unimpressive?

In the first case I think that maybe it is the spirit within yourself that is used to reconstitute the writing. To reduce expression to writing is to lose much of the passion, emotion and meaning that can only be communicated via other right-brain oriented means like facial expressions, tone of voice, body language and other sensory stimulations. Written words by necessity often have most of the passion missing that must be re-introduced by the reader to correctly understand its true meaning. But a big problem lies in that there are different kinds and nuances of passion and if the wrong emotion is used to reconstitute written words a completely different construct is given to its meaning. Or, if one insists that the words never had any other substance to them than the driest, simplest reading provides, then their original intent is all but lost.

God's Word must be reconstituted with God's Spirit – the revelation of His passion – or we will never begin to understand its meaning. And when we use our own passion, which is inherently from Satan, to understand God's written Word, we end up with all the myriads of false ideas about God, religion and ourselves that now fills the church and the world.

Ingredients for Hell

We are to be channels, conductors of God's power and passion, not just end-consumers and hoarders.

“Worship is giving God the best that He has given you. Be careful what you do with the best you have. Whenever you get a blessing from God, give it back to Him as a love gift. Take time to meditate before God and offer the blessing back to Him in a deliberate act of worship. If you hoard a thing for yourself, it will turn into spiritual dry rot, as the manna did when it was hoarded. God will never let you hold a spiritual thing for yourself, it has to be given back to Him that He may make it a blessing to others.” (My Utmost 1/6)

If we hoard for ourselves God's blessings they will begin to poison us like the rotting manna. Those who insist on becoming end receivers of God's gifts without releasing them to move on to another will create the condition that is one of the essential ingredients of hell. When God's power is fully unleashed on that final day of revelation, those who are purified conductors and cling to no blessing but only to the Source of blessing Himself will shine with the intensity of suns. Those who cling to self-interest and refuse to release the life that comes to them will find themselves ablaze in torment because they are experiencing a dead-short.

Community is a circuit where each part shares and passes on the power.

“Then they will go forth and look On the corpses of the men Who have transgressed against Me. For their worm will not die And their fire will not be quenched; And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind.” (Isaiah 66:24 see also Mark 9:44-48)

“The worm will not die.” As long as it resists God's love and will not die it will suffer torment. The fire cannot be quenched. The passion of God simply cannot be extinguished by our resistance to it. Notice that the text does not say “the worm cannot die”, it says “will not die”. This is purely an issue of choice.

How can the wetness of a worm extinguish the fire of the sun? Unless the worm is transfigured into a thread of gold and purified to become a superconductor, it will only writhe in torment and anger at the seeming nonsense of the heat inherent in the power of the sun.

If you cannot express yourself on any subject, struggle until you can. If you do not, someone will be the poorer all the days of his life. Struggle to re-express some truth of God to yourself and God will use that expression to someone else. Go through the winepress of God where the grapes are crushed. You must struggle to get expression experimentally, then there will come a time when that expression will become the very wine of strengthening to someone else; but if you say lazily - “I am not going to struggle to express this thing for myself, I will borrow what I say,” the expression will not only be of no use to you, but of no use to anyone. Try to state to yourself what you feel implicitly to be God’s truth, and you give God a chance to pass it on to someone else through you.

Always make a practice of provoking your own mind to think out what it accepts easily. Our position is not ours until we make it ours by suffering. The author whoa benefits you most is not the one who tells you something you did not know before, but the one who gives expression to the truth that has been dumbly struggling in you for utterances. (My Utmost for His Highest Dec 15)

Who am I?

I am seeking to discover the true identity that God designed inside of me before I was even born. I realize that my outward manifestations often do not convey my true identity because of many misconceptions about life, about God and about my true identity still lurking in my heart. This internal confusion too often eclipses in my mind what God designed for me. But in my continuing pursuit of personally discovering and unmasking my real identity as seen from God's viewpoint I have written down a few things that I feel are true. I want to see myself more clearly in harmony with how I am seen when viewed from heaven's perspective and I desire to be more consistent in living out this identity in all of my relationships with others.

Given this context, I am...

A man who desires to live from his heart in caring tenderness for others, especially his wife and children as God does with him.

An industrious person who enjoys working, creating new ideas, building and improving physical structures and learning new skills.

A sensitive, caring person who is learning to live from his heart and make himself more vulnerable and transparent to people with whom he desires to have bonds of trust and friendship.

A musician who expresses his soul and innermost feelings through various forms of music that cannot be expressed through words.

A writer who listens to the voice of God in his soul and mind and shares these thoughts with others.

A friend who is learning to better listen to the hearts of hurting people, joyful people, people in varied emotions who need support and encouragement or just companionship.

A man who is discovering the meaning of real joy and desires to be willing to be there for people when they need someone just to go through an experience or emotion alongside them.

A caring person who believes in the power of close family bonds where each person will trust each other and differences or conflicts will be addressed in a spirit of reconciliation with the goal of restoration to close ties of love and affection.

A man, a father who never wants anything or anyone to hurt or threaten any of his children.

A husband who wants his wife to feel loved, safe and fulfilled.

A man who wants to express love and affection openly without inhibition or fear.

A person who desires to be filled with pure and holy passion, devotion and love for God and for his family and friends.

A man who keeps his natural desires and lower passions under control so that they will be expressed appropriately and effectively.

A man of honesty and integrity who values truth even when it hurts.

A man who wants to listen and learn from wise people who can help him grow and mature.

A man who desires deep, lasting bonds of love with other people that are revealed in acts of thoughtfulness, kindness and sympathy and that will stay firm in any crisis.

A man whose heart is morally upright and pure and is learning how to relate in healthy ways to others to demonstrate his affections while respecting the proper rights and feelings of those he loves.

A man who firmly believes in the Atonement already in place created by God through Jesus Christ so that all of our sins are forgiven and wiped away, all of our guilt can be released completely and immediately when we believe in it, and all of our relationships can be healed with His love.

A Christian who has committed himself to the pursuit of knowing God's heart intimately, His feelings, His view of reality and living in His love for him.

A father who draws out of each of his children with tenderness and persistence the special gifts and characteristics that God placed in them at conception.

A man who seeks to discover the real reasons that lie behind the surface and uncover the hidden beauty in each person with whom he connects, especially his family members.

A child of God who accepts the forgiveness of God which enables him to love others with a spirit of forgiveness free from bitterness and resentment.

A person who is learning to be more congruent in his expressions, learning to be less afraid of what others think about him and more attuned to what God sees in him.

A man devoted to discovering the passion of God woven throughout all of the Word of God and waiting to be unleashed in the lives of those who join him in pursuit of mining the Word.

A man striving to become one in whose spirit is no guile and no deceit found is in his mouth.

A man who is being led by the Spirit of God on his journey to eventual full realization of his present true identity as one of the sons of God. (Rom. 8:14)

A man who firmly believes in God's amazing ability and plans to work all things together for good to those who love God. (Rom. 8:28)

A man of grace who is eager to cover a multitude of sins by not engaging in gossip or spreading damaging rumors about other struggling souls.

A father with a soft heart of kindness and compassion for children who need a supportive, loving family that God sends into his life.

A man who daily seeks the wisdom of God to know how to respond appropriately with a spirit of kindness reflective of God's Spirit.

A father who has faith in his family and friends and believes in them, encouraging them to grow and mature into the noble, fulfilled persons God created them to be.

A humble man who at the same time is not afraid to “brag”, or acknowledge his intimate relationship with God. (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

A man who seeks to learn from others, both from their strengths and from their failures.

A person who is willing to learn from his own failures while not becoming overwhelmed with discouragement and forgetting who he is.

A man of faith, not only in God's good intentions and ability but faith in those around him to respond to the grace and kindness of God's compassion and infinite love.

A patient person who seeks God's perspective when things don't seem to be going well.

A devoted husband who pursues the heart and affections of his lovely wife, cherishing her above all other women in his life and being ravished in her love.

A caring man who is learning to not be afraid to reveal his emotions in public.

A saint, who is a recovering sinner trusting totally in the character and identity of Jesus Christ as the basis of his relationship to God and to others.

A believer who gives all of his pain, fears, guilt and problems to Jesus believing that one Person is enough to experience the pain and loss created by our sins and I do not need to re-experience that again.

A man who deeply desires bonds of true love and affection with other people who are seeking to be real and open themselves.

A person who is not ashamed of the identity that God has created him to be.

A man with a soft heart for children and elderly people and desires to serve and protect their hearts and bodies from harm.

A person ever in pursuit of discovering true reality and striving to be a real, genuine person of integrity himself.

A man who desires to be bold for God's reputation and be willing to speak in His defense even when it is unpopular.

A man who thinks outside the box, unwilling to accept “canned” answers or be content with platitudes and empty words.

A Christian who wants to passionately know the real truth about God and sweep away all the confusing lies amassed in religion to reveal the beauty and glory and magnetic attraction of the true God of love.

A man sensitive to pain and sympathetic to others who are suffering.

A man who wants to be used by God to be an authentic witness of the ability of God to transform him as an experiment of grace.

A son of the Most High in whom the Spirit is working a transformation, shaping him through difficult and sometimes painful experiences to reveal the beauty of Jesus to skeptical onlookers.

A person who values beauty everywhere it can be found in God's creation.

A man who trusts God when he can't see through the dark and can't feel His presence just then.

A person who longs for real community and closeness with others who are being led by the same Spirit of the Father, whether or not they profess to know God.

A perceptive friend who desires to stimulate the uniqueness and specialness in those with whom he has influence.

A man who is not ashamed of his body, but seeks to care for it, protect it and keep it healthy and strong so that it can be used as a house for God to live in.

A man of peace who desires to live in peace with everyone under the protection and blessings of God's covenant with him.

A man who is not ashamed of his infirmities and limitations.

A person with weaknesses and liabilities that needs honest-hearted, caring friends to remind him, encourage him, give him perspective and support him in his everyday life and point him to Jesus.

A man who lives to honor his good name and trusts God to defend him when falsely accused.

A man with humility received from God and a willingness to be a friend, a confidant and a companion for everyone that God places on his heart.

A man who knows that the only true goodness in his life is only reflective of the merits and beauty of Jesus whom he is learning to become like through God's transformational power.

A man who desires to learn the lessons of life through the experiences that happen to him and become more able to encourage and support others who find themselves in similar difficulties with compassion and humility.

A man of prayer who carries on instant messaging with God on a regular basis to stay in tune with what God is doing and thinking.

A disciple of Jesus who is being mentored, tutored and groomed as one of the sons of the Almighty.

A gentle man who believes that force is never a means for good and that the true power of love is superior at all times to its counterfeit of force though it often takes longer to see external results.

A child of God who desires to be fiercely loyal to the One who has redeemed him from the power of sin and death and is transforming him into a glorious prince of the Almighty.

A man jealous for God's reputation and desires above all else to be an example of the work of Jesus in his heart with honesty and openness.

True identity is not found in self-esteem or in collecting what other people think or say about me. That is the perceived identity that is constantly asserting itself as the truth. But my real worth and identity can only be unveiled as I spend time listening closely to the Spirit of God revealing to me the many facets of value that was implanted by God into my genes and designed to reflect something of His perfection and beauty. The more I know God the more I will know the truth about myself.

Education and Training Resources

Links to Online Resources

This is a list of ministries and speakers that we have personally been blessed by over the past few years, ministries that provide training and education for healing of painful memories and helping to resolve inner roots of external problems.

Herb Montgomery

In my experience I have found Herb to be the clearest presenter of the gospel as it is in Jesus more than anyone else I have listened to. Herb not only has very clear understandings and presentations of the sometimes confusing concepts in Christianity, but it is also very evident that the passion of God that he talks about so often emanates from his own life.

I highly recommend downloading and listening to his sermons from his website and allowing the Spirit to use these messages to inspire and amaze you with the life-changing insights that God has given this young man.

Renewed Heart Ministries

Thrive - The Life Model by James Wilder

Jim has provided many excellent resources for understanding how the brain works in relationship to the Christian life, coping with trauma, natural development of maturity stages and bonding to others in community. His work is based on not only solid Biblical principles and understandings but also on the latest in brain research and brain scanning technology. His insights provide an excellent foundation for understanding why other ministries work so effectively by giving you the background picture of what is really going on inside the head. This information is well worth the listening. One of the best series is called Joy Bonds. His recent book Living With Men provides an excellent and comprehensive understanding of all the stages of maturity. The book Living From The Heart Jesus Gave You, (The Life Model) is a short but concentrated overview of many of the basic concepts. Jim Wilder is also an educator that trains many counselors, psychologists, business people, pastors and ordinary people who are interested in helping others come to freedom and begin to really thrive.

Recently he has started to release a series of materials designed for local use and training and for churches to more effectively minister to hurting people and to create more genuine bonding in community. I also highly recommend the Munchie Series, Kingdom Snacks, a series of teachings recorded from a class that Jim conducts each week that are very insightful. All of these things can now be found on his website at Lifemodel.org or links from that site.

Other material can be purchased from Deeper Walk International which is a source of materials from many other speakers as well. Phone 877-467-4222

Deeper Walk International

Theophostic Ministry

This ministry developed by Ed Smith is simply a very organized prayer ministry that focuses on helping people find hidden lies embedded in memories that lie at the root of current problems. It is highly effective and Biblical-based even though it is attacked by some who don't have a clear understanding of what is really being taught. Training videos are available from their web site. Phone 270-465-3575

Theophostic

Good News Tour

This is a network of people, speakers and websites dedicated to spreading the good news about the truth about God's character and what He is really like. There are excellent resources and downloads available from their home page and from the links that can be followed from there.

Heavenly Sanctuary

Love and Respect

This is a powerful ministry both for couples and singles. It is for anyone wanting to better understand how the opposite gender thinks and receives messages. This is one of the best resources yet that I have seen for enriching a marriage and many other relationships. I highly recommend ordering the weekend seminar on DVD from their web site and attending one of their live conferences held around the country. Emmerson Eggerichs and his wife Sarah are dynamic and personal, presenting very practical and unusual insights into how to motivate others by meeting their deepest needs. Phone 1-877-DECODES (To place an order)

Love and Respect

Family Foundations International

This ministry headed by speaker and teach Craig Hill has a wonderful wealth of resources from their web site and well as various teaching and ministry seminars conducted all over the world. His Biblical insights on Covenants, Marriage, personal spiritual struggles, relationships, blessing etc. are a tremendous help for anyone desiring to grow in knowledge and healing. I encourage you to attend at least one of their seminars and I will guarantee your life will be changed.

Phone 303-797-1139

FFI

Bill Liversidge

Bill is a leading teacher of Inductive style Bible study. A number of very good sermon series are available from Creative Growth Ministries on topics such as the Holy Spirit, Freedom in Christ, parables of Jesus etc. He interweaves many fascinating stories from his years in New Guinea throughout his sermons. Many of his teachings are interactive with the audience. Phone 661-827-8174

Creative Growth Ministries

Biblical Concepts in Counseling

This ministry was developed by John Regier and is very Biblically oriented. Counselors take people, usually couples, through typically 3-5 days of prayer and intensive, focused work to uncover roots that block intimacy in relationships, especially marriage. He outlines ten Strongholds that are problems areas and explains in detail each one and how to be set free by God's grace. Training videos are available from these web sites also. Phone for John Regier's new ministry, Caring for the Heart 719-572-5550 --- Phone for Biblical Concepts 719-574-4840

Caring for the Heart

Biblical Concepts

Light Bearers Ministries

The main speakers for Light Bearers are Ty Gibson and James Rafferty. They have very good sermons available both through their sales department and also downloadable from their web page in MP3 format. I highly recommend getting at least one series by Herb Montgomery. His presentations all revolve around a very healthy and unusual picture of God seldom heard from most speakers.

LBM

Atone4Peace Ministry

Kevin & Rose Ferreira were born and raised in South Africa. They both have Masters degrees and are both Certified Christian Conciliators with the Institute of Christian Conciliation, a division of Peacemaker Ministries in Billings, Montana. Kevin & Rose have worked together in mediation for more than five years and have traveled throughout the United States for the purpose of resolving conflicts and restoring relationships. They travel to where you need them to be of assistance. Listen to Kevin & Rose on the radio: Their program, "LifeQuest for Peace" airs each Tuesday at 9:00 am PDT/12:00 pm EDT on Lifetalk Radio. Go to www.lifetalk.net and select the "Listen Live" button on the top left hand side to listen on the web. To check if there is a station near you click "Stations" in the left hand column. Phone 269-208-3853

AtOne4Peace

Clarissa Worley Sproul

Clarissa is a powerful speaker and has a clear grasp of the Gospel. She has a very effective ministry and her series on The Great Teachings of Jesus is available on her web page. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to receive a clear understanding of practical Christianity.

Clarissa Worley Sproul 6935 Battlecreek Rd. Salem Or 97317 Phone 503/793-3846

Clarissa's Web Site

Peacemaker Ministries Peacemaker Ministries is an excellent source of material both for personal growth and for learning how to help others deal with conflict. They have wonderful resources for children, churches, home schools, families, legal conflicts etc. You can read or download many articles from their site by going to Resources and clicking on Articles for a long list of excellent and helpful information. Phone (406) 256-1583 Peacemaker

Elijah House

This ministry is based on teachings and insights from John and Paula Sanford. They have a number of excellent teaching videos available from their web site that deal with practical problems and give remarkable insights as to why we do a lot of the things we do.

Phone 800-788-2131

Elijah House

Jean Sheldon

Jean Sheldon is a professor in California with some wonderful insights into very ancient Mideast culture and how early developments in civilization have given us false foundations of thinking that prevents us from understanding many things about how God operates and what He is really like. She presents some very important and advanced views of God that I believe are the shape of the future. She does not have too many resources other than a few seminars recorded but mostly recordings of Sabbath School classes where she shares her insights. These recordings can be purchased from Sound Reflections – 707-965-2020 or email soundreflections@hotmail.com

Recommended Reading

Books that have blessed me.

 Could It Be This Simple

by

Timothy Jennings

This is a very eye-opening book about how the brain and religion relate to each other and how healing can take place. It is also an invaluable resource for revealing much more truth about what God is like and how He relates to us. I highly recommend this book and other materials from the web site. You can purchase this book from the author's web site at Come and Reason or at Amazon.com.

Who Switched Off My Brain?

by

Carolyn Leaf

This is another very eye-opening book about how the brain works and its relation to religion. If you want to understand practical steps to freedom and know how your mind works this is a must read. Check out the other resources at the author's web site.

The Truth About Lies and The Lies About Truth

by

David Takle

This is a powerful book written by David Takle that deals with some of the most fundamental issues at the core of reality and sin. This book will make a person really think if they are willing to take a serious look at their own belief system and understand some of the reasons why we do the things we do. I highly recommend this book but you may find yourself wanting to read it more than once. You can purchase this book from the web site Lifemodel.org.

My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers

This little devotional book has been around for many years but is a classic. I heard about it numerous times over the years and finally had to get a copy to see what everyone was talking about. Since then I have not stopped reading it every day, and that has been maybe 5-7 years now. There is a revised, updated version but personally I prefer the original - it is more blunt and clear to me and how I need to hear it. You can read it online if you want - just click here.

Living With Men by James Wilder

This is the best resource on all the stages of maturity and what is involved at each level that you can find. It is easy to understand and is full of wisdom.

Why Am I Afraid To Tell You Who I Am? And

Why Am I Afraid To Love?

by John Powell

These two books along with other books by this author are extremely helpful for understanding our feelings, where they come from and many of the reasons for problems in our relationships. Books that you may want to read more than once.

Sacred Companions by David Benner

This book is a wonderful resource for anyone wishing to participate in a deep and meaningful group experience even if just with one other person. It contains many very important insights about relationships and can greatly enrich your personal experience of God's presence. I also highly recommend Surrender to Love and any other books by this author. He is one of the most respected authors of Christian literature today.

Series Studies

The Book of Romans - start here The Gatesitter - start here

Dictionary of Religious Word and Terms

Home-Grown Dictionary

of

Religious Words and Terminology

in

Useful, More-Understandable English

This list is being compiled and updated from words that in my growing process have confused and baffled me for much of my life. I have been blessed over recent years by insights from various sources that have greatly enlightened my understanding on many of these terms. These insights and revelations have helped to clarify the beauty and congruity of the truths behind these words. As my understanding has progressed my appreciation and affection for God has also grown, many of the subtle but pious sounding lies embedded in many of these terms has been exposed. As I have learned and applied the more accurate and consistent definitions back into passages containing these terms I am amazed at how different and exciting and fresh the Bible has become for me. This is a flexible list of terms and phrases that will grow and change with further understanding. If you have suggestions of clearer explanations or want to see other words included, feel free to leave your comments and ideas.

Bless	To speak well of. To reveal one's true identity as designed by the Creator. Empowerment for success. To praise and honor one for their real value.
Condemnation	Condemnation is closely related to shame and unworthiness. Condemnation, contrary to many people's opinion, does not come from God. It originates in the accuser of God's people, Satan. Condemnation is counterfeit conviction. Jesus made it very clear in John 3:17 that He did not come to condemn but to save. Condemnation is rooted in fear and is designed to crush hope out of our hearts and fill us with despair.
Confession	Confession is maybe one of the most misunderstood terms in religion. It is important to understand what it is not as well as what it is. It is not groveling in humiliation rehearsing all the bad things one can think of about himself. It is not grudging admission of guilt under duress. That may be a form of confession but is not genuine confession marked by true repentance. When understood from its original root confession is very simple. It is simply agreeing, that's all. This is linked directly with conviction. When the Holy Spirit impresses us with what is real as opposed to what we believe or feel and we choose to agree with God's view rather than our own we confess. That's all it means – to agree. That also makes it much easier to understand what it means to confess Jesus before the world or when Jesus said He would confess us before the Father. When we are in agreement with Jesus He can confess (agree with) us before all of heaven. When we agree with the truth about God and Jesus and ourselves that He shows us we confess Him before men. (Matt. 10:32)
Conversion
Conviction	True conviction from God is when you are impressed with what really is, what is true about your condition. It is often countered by excuses and diversions but it will still persist to impress us with God's view of ourselves, our surroundings or what is true about God. We can be convicted about something that is wrong, about sin or lies or dysfunctional behavior. We can also be convicted about what is true and beautiful, what is beyond us and transcendent. Conviction of sin comes by contrasting truth with what we are thinking or believing. Conviction is strictly the work of the Spirit of God and not something humans should attempt to do to someone else. There is a lot of confusion on this point. But since humans cannot see what is in another's heart they can never correctly create redeeming conviction in another person. The closest we can come to convicting another is by living fully under the influence of the Spirit and allowing Him to speak through us when He indicates it is the right time. Even then we must be very careful not to elicit conviction in their heart but stand by while the Holy Spirit uses all means at His disposal to awaken the conscience of the other individual and bring them to accept repentance. Conviction is based on love as its foundation. Sometimes when we are so conditioned to only give our attention to what we fear God will use fear to get our attention focused on Him. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. But conviction based on fear is only a transition step to more mature convictions of the beauty and glory of God's overwhelming passion and perfect love for us.
Covenant	This is a very large and important concept that would take much more space to unpack than what is reasonable here. In short though, a covenant is very different from a contract which is what our Western minds are most familiar. A covenant is unilateral rather than bilateral; a person entering into a covenant is bound by their promises and obligation irregardless of whether the other party in the covenant maintains their obligations. A Blood Covenant is a commitment entered into for life and breaking of that covenant elicits a consequence of death for the violator. Witnesses to a covenant do not relate to the parties like witnesses or lawyers would to a contract. Rather, witnesses for a covenant are bound to make sure that either party maintains their loyalty to the covenant itself; in other words, the witnesses are looking out for the interest of the covenant, not the parties. As such, the witnesses are bound to enforce the terms of the covenant without bias for either party. They are to hold both parties to the covenant accountable to fulfill the promises they originally made when they entered into the covenant with the other party.
Deserve
Faith	Faith springs up and thrives when we focus on the truth about what God is really like, His character and how He really feels about us. Faith is actually a state of mind that grows naturally out of a healthy relationship with someone who is trustworthy. It is not something that we have to work hard at producing, but is the natural kind of trust that is evident in a small child toward a loving, protective emotionally balanced parent. Luke 17:5-10 is a blueprint for how to experience true faith. Here the disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith and Jesus' answer lays out the kind of relationship that will naturally foster dynamic faith. In that context faith occurs – it is not worked up.
Faithful	Faith is a confident, positive belief in someone. Faithful is to be full of faith. Faithful when applied to God means constancy, reliability, hope and belief in our eventual response to His love and His attractions. Faith on our part is a spontaneous response in kind to the faith that God has in us combined with a growing awareness of His trustworthiness. When we are faithful it shows that we are filled with that responsive kind of faith reflective of the faithfulness and goodness of God.
Fear	This word can easily be confused with the kind of fear that we associate with terror or distrust. However, when we are instructed to fear the Lord, it means having a deep appreciation for His awesomeness, majesty and power. Nearly every time God or angels show up in Scripture to talk with someone, they have to be told not to be afraid. God does not want any fear in our relationship with Him, for fear distorts our perceptions about God. God is love and perfect love expels all fear, for fear has to do with torment and God is not into tormenting. (see 1 John 4)
Forgiveness	Forgiveness involves a transaction carried out in our heart and mind. Whenever there is a perceived offense, forgiveness will be needed. Offenses create a sense of debt which is usually linked with pain. This pain can lodge deep in the heart and have roots in a memory that will fester over time causing even more pain and producing irritation in many relationships. Attempting to mask over this problem with simplistic forgiveness does not resolve it anymore than putting a band-aid over a deep splinter will cure the wound. Our hearts tend toward resentment and bitterness as our pain lingers on and we might desire revenge, to inflict at least as much pain if not more, back on the person that wronged us. We may desire this secretly or openly, but it is a natural reaction of human nature when we experience offenses. Forgiveness involves a decision in the soul to face our inner pain without avoiding or ignoring it. It involves truthfully acknowledging the offense and how it affected us. Then forgiveness moves to the next step – it takes full ownership of that inner pain and lets go of blaming others or holding the offenders responsible for our pain. It is not until one takes full responsibility for their own feelings, decisions and reactions that they can be free to take the steps necessary for healing. As long as we blame others for our pain we are held hostage by it. Unforgiveness empowers offenders with control to manipulate our hearts and block our healing, even if they are long since dead and gone. When we choose to cease allowing offenders control over our pain by accepting full responsibility for it ourselves, we then can take that pain that and offer it to God, who alone has the power and grace to exchange it for mercy, peace and healing love. This process is the essence of forgiveness. Forgiveness is letting go of all animosity toward an offender. It is releases all rights for revenge. It takes ownership of our feelings and empowers us to view reality from a new perspective. It is trusting the God of perfect justice to settle all offenses in His way and in His perfect timing. One problem in understanding forgiveness is that it is something of a catchall word in English for a number of very different words in the original languages. When this is examined carefully it is seen that God never holds an offense so He does not need to forgive to let it go. His forgiveness as far as His heart is concerned is always a present reality. However, another aspect of forgiveness – the cleansing of our own hearts of the shame, guilt and condemnation resulting from sin is in need of grace from God. When we ask Him to forgive us, we are not asking Him to change His mind about us but seeking Him to cleanse us from our fears and guilt and confusion about Him and how He feels towards us. When both parties enter into forgiveness, reconciliation can result. This creates a new dynamic in the relationship and healing and bonding can take place.
Glory	This is an ever-expanding definition continually increasing and expanding. Glory has to do mainly with character. When Moses asked to see God's glory God focused almost exclusively on descriptions of His character. However, intense exposure to such character has the effect of producing physical exhibitions of light glowing from the body as the Israelites complained about when Moses returned from that experience. Jesus spoke much about glory, particularly as reported by the disciple John. Glory involves love, the very essence of God's nature. Glory is also intimately tied to the perceived worth of something or someone. Worth is what produces trust or faith which in turn can amplify glory or contribute to it. In that sense glory is also defined as a person's reputation.
Grace	The word Grace for many has become so heavy with religious weight and confusing emotional baggage and legal implications that it may be easier to define it using the term graciousness. When we think of a person who is extremely gracious, we think of someone who is welcoming, polite, considerate, thoughtful, looking out for the interests of everyone else, making sure people are taken care of, their needs are met and their happiness is enhanced as much as possible. The more we begin to see God in this light the closer we come to perceiving the true meaning of His grace.
Guilt	At the most basic level of explanation, guilt is a dis-congruity between the intellectual, information-based left brain and the experience, emotion, spirit-based right brain. The real problem can be on either side. If the heart simply knows something has to be true but the intellectual belief system has something contradictory on file that is not really true, the mind will experience some level of discomfort and uneasiness that we know as guilt. Similar feelings will result when our emotions or experience does not align with what in our mind we know to be true. There are two kinds of guilt commonly known as real guilt and false guilt. Real guilt occurs when we are not aligned or synchronized with what is really true, with the unchangeable principles the govern the universe. This guilt can prompt us to accept conviction from the Holy Spirit and be reconciled or realigned with reality. False guilt usually occurs when our habits of thinking, feeling or emotions are so ingrained by culture and conditioning that they refuse to release us into peace when we choose to believe what is real and true in spite of them. John referred to this problem between our heart and mind in this passage. We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God. (1 John 3:19-21 NAS95) see condemnation
Heart	The heart is a very slippery, evasive part of our make up that is very difficult to describe clearly in words since words involve primarily a left brain function. The heart may reside mostly in the right brain though it is most likely more extensive than that. The heart is largely where our emotions reside along with many of our deepest experiential beliefs and longings. It is the core of our identity and uniqueness. It is the gem that lies at the center around which God created all the rest of our being to protect, contain and nurture. Since religion has for the most part evolved into mostly an intellectual information oriented system of beliefs, the heart has become eclipsed and mostly forgotten except for a lot of loose but powerless jargon thrown around in religious circles. Teaching us to live transparently and honestly from our heart is one of the primary goals of the gospel and the plan of salvation. Many who have grown weary of the hypocrisy of those in organized religion who profess to represent God but do not live from their heart have left religion and rejected the church to embrace lifestyles that more freely allow them to be honest about what they feel on the inside. They are the ones that Jesus liked to hang out with and was roundly criticized for doing so. But Jesus connects easier to people who are real wherever they are found than with those who have great pride in their piety but refuse to acknowledge the emptiness and pain stuffed under many layers of deception. Both groups need His healing love to restore them to wholeness but the first group are more often likely to respond to His grace than the second. An almost completely unattended truth is the existence and condition of God's heart. We are designed with hearts to synchronize with God's heart and with each others. This is where we find our greatest joy and satisfaction.
Hell	This word has been used to translate different original words that mean different things. Sheol is the word in Hebrew that is usually translated as Hell. In the Greek the two words, Ge-henna and Hades are both used. Sheol and Hades both mean basically the same thing and care must be taken that tradition should not unduly influence the interpretation of these words. What they mean quite simply is “the grave” or the place of death where all life and consciousness cease. Gehenna on the other hand was an actual place outside of Jerusalem where people took their trash and garbage to burn very much like our “landfills” today except they didn't take so much pains to cover it with dirt like we often do today. They simply kept fires burning continuously for years on end as they added daily to the refuse to be burned. Of course, as one could easily imagine, this created quite a revolting odor and created an environment that was most unpleasant to linger near. Given the radical difference between these two meanings one must be very careful to know which original word lies behind the reference to Hell in any particular text to properly understand the meaning it is conveying to us. And contrary to the biases of the translators, none of these carry the implication of a time-eternal torturing of conscious souls of lost sinners by an angry God. That is a doctrine straight from the wicked mind of Satan himself and has been most successful in destroying the reputation of the true God of love and compassion.
Holy	This is another one of the most misunderstood words in religion. Leaving all preconceived notions of this aside, Holy simply means completely dedicated to something or someone. An excellent illustration is an analogy of a “dedicated” telephone line for a fax machine. In the purest use of the word Holy, that telephone line could be called holy. Holy always must have an object toward which it is directed, it does not stand alone. In the above analogy, the phone line is dedicated for the exclusive use of of the fax machine and no other uses. When men and women are “holy unto the Lord”, they are completely and exclusively devoted to God for His use alone.
Humble	Not seeking to exalt one's self; preferring others above one's self. Freedom from pride through having a secure sense of value and identity from God. A secure sense of identity sets one free from a need to draw attention to one's self. A humble spirit is really a sign of freedom from emptiness, a sign of inner satisfaction that only results from a vital connection with Jesus that satisfies our cravings to be valued and loved.
Humility	Initially a sense of sin and unworthiness leading us to repentance. It then takes on a new form as one senses their immense worth in the eyes of Jesus freeing them from needing to seek value and validity or affirmation from any other source.
Iniquity	Iniquity and sin are often spoken of together in the Bible. Many people think they are more or less the same thing since it is not commonly known what this word means. But iniquity is different than sin in an important respect. Without going into a whole study on the word which is outside of this venue, iniquity is the internal “faults,” hidden predispositions (2 Cor. 4:2) that are passed down generationally (Ex. 20:5) that cause inward compulsions to particular types of sin. They are a false identity, a belief in lies about ourself, that is passed down from our fathers before we are born. They are dealt with in the soul by choosing to forgive our fathers for passing them to us, taking responsibility for them by confessing them (agreeing that they exist within us), renouncing them before God and receiving forgiveness and cleansing from Him. Isaiah 53:5 defines two different 'penalties' that Jesus paid for us on the cross – one for sin and another for iniquities. The effects of sin produced wounds, an external thing. In bearing our iniquities He was bruised, an internal, hidden wound that may not be seen from the outside at all. Because of this He is able to heal both problems in our lives because He took the consequences upon Himself so we could be healed.
Joy	Joy and the need for joy is rooted into the deepest parts of our brain and our heart. It is connected to our attachment circuits and is actually now known to be the greatest craving of every human being born into the world. Joy is the feeling the heart and mind experiences when the person recognizes that he or she is the sparkle in someone's eye, when they are the object of someone's focused affections and interest. Joy is the experience of being loved and accepted and cherished irregardless of circumstances or history. Joy is when someone is genuinely glad to be with you. Joy literally gives us strength, both emotionally and physically. Because joy is rooted in someone's gladness to be with me, I can experience joy in any circumstance or emotion or condition if someone is simply glad to be with me in those emotions and circumstances. Joy is not always necessarily happiness. Joy can be experienced during times of intense sorrow, shame or even anger. When another person cares about me enough to enter into my emotion with me and go through the experience with me as a caring friend, I experience what joy is all about.
Judgment	Judgment is the revealing of our opinion about God, not God's decision about us. Judgment is the exposing of what was previously hidden, a revelation of what are the true motives, feelings, thoughts and secrets hidden in the heart. In addition, the purpose of judgment is for two things: to vindicate and to expose. Revealing the real truth about God's motives, actions and attitudes in contrast to the many insinuations and lies about Him exposes the fraudulent nature of the charges against Him and vindicates Him thus salvaging His reputation. In the process, judgment also exposes just how evil, deceitful and and devious His accuser has been. As the real truth about God is fully exposed in judgment and the real truth about all those who have accused Him is revealed plainly, all the affections and tolerance and sympathy that has ever been felt for Satan or his ideas evaporates as it becomes completely clear in the minds of all that God is always fair, just, righteous, good and loving without exception. Thus judgment is the process by which sin will be forever eradicated from the universe never to recur because all will be completely convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that God's ways are best and are truly righteous.
Justify	Justify in one sense means to vindicate. The interesting thing about justification is that to be effective it must always come from another source. When one tries to justify themselves they immediately come under suspicion further complicating their dilemma. To be justified or vindicated one needs credible witnesses and clear evidence to convince others about their integrity. This requires humility restraining one from seeking to justify themselves while relying on others to speak in their behalf. Another sense of justify means to 'set right' or restore to a proper position or relationship. We justify this text when we align it with the left margin. Likewise, when we are put into proper alignment with God's righteous character we are justified or set right with God, thus making us safe to live in His powerful presence.
Justice	Biblical definitions of justice are in stark contrast to what nearly everyone assumes this word means. Popular notions around this word almost always involve punishment of abusers or violators of the law. But a careful study of justice in the Bible reveals that heaven's definition of justice focuses on setting things right for those who are oppressed, setting captives free, restoration to wholeness for victims. This is not a focus on 'getting even' or inflicting suffering on those who have done wrong. Counterfeit ideas about justice involve human cravings for vengeance which likewise is a greatly misunderstood concept. God's justice is restoring fairness, not seeking retribution or punishment against offenders. True justice is restoration.
Kingdom of Heaven
Know	This is a word that opens up much deeper revelations about the true nature of God's feelings for us and our potential relationship with Him. Many times when the Bible uses the word “know” what is really meant in the original language is a very intimate kind of knowledge based on the most intimate possible relationship. Genesis 4:1 is an example of this where it states that Adam “knew” his wife Eve and she bore him a son. When this view is applied to many other verses where we are instructed to “know” God these verses take on a whole new dimension. Jesus says that to know God and His Son is to have eternal life.
Law	In God's kingdom the concept of law is different than in the kingdoms of this world. God's laws are all actually principles, natural laws that we see in nature, science and every other aspect of life. The kingdoms of this world operate on artificial, imposed, arbitrary laws that require punishment imposed by enforcers. This is foreign to the way heaven operates, for the principle of heaven is the law of love alone.
Legalism	Insistence on remaining spiritual infants or children under the rule of Law and denying – even defying – the need to grow up into maturity. Legalism is an obsession with one's legal standing while giving little care to issues more oriented toward social relationship. Legalism is a focus on making sure that the right formula is followed so that one's legal standing is correct. Legalism views life from the standpoint that keeping rules are more important than relationships and that breaking rules must always be followed by arbitrary punishments. Legalism minimizes the importance of relationships while elevating the importance of behavior and all things external. Legalism thrives on fear, guilt, shame and condemnation. Legalism is a strong diversion preventing many from truly trusting the heart of God or coming to know the real truth about Him.
Love	Love is the out-pouring of one personality in fellowship with another personality. (Chambers, Oswald: My Utmost for His Highest December 12) Love is other-centeredness, an outward focus on blessing others more than one's self. Love views others as more important than self and is willing to pour out one's resources to the point of even being willing to die if necessary so that others may live.
Lust	“I want it now!” This can involve nearly anything, but basically it is a demand to have something or someone immediately instead of relying on God to supply and fulfill our deepest longings.
Meekness	A willingness to refrain from justifying yourself when under attack or false accusations. It is trusting God to vindicate you instead of attempting to vindicate yourself. This does not necessarily involve a need to change your position if it is validated by God's Spirit. But meekness involves a trust in God's ability to work things out in His ways and timing instead of trying to protect and prop up our own reputation. Meekness is closely linked with humility and both of them require a secure sense of identity and value apart from what others think that is rooted firmly in a reliance on the value God has for one. With a secure sense of value based on what God thinks, one can have the peace necessary to be meek and humble.
Mercy	The Hebrew word translated mercy comes from the root word used for the womb. This conveys the idea of God being like a mother whose gut feeling is that of tender love, compassion and protectiveness toward her children. This would involve many emotions including a sense of intimate nurturing along with powerful and deep affections. When we say God is merciful in essence we are saying God is 'wombish'.
Mind	The term mind is most often used in connection with what is now known to be primarily left-brain functions. This is where we process intellectual information, where we reason, analyze and store retrievable information on demand. This is where we store the libraries of information collected from books, teachers and other resources of intellectual instruction. It is the base where we store our opinions of what is right and wrong based on analytical information. However, it is now known that during periods of intense emotion and stress that an “untrained” brain will literally shut down this side of the brain and will revert to experiential memories to guide in reactions until the crisis is over. At that point the left brain will come back on line and openly wonder why the previous actions or words occurred since they were completely uncharacteristic with the beliefs and ideas stored in the left-brain libraries. The mind was given partly to be a screener and “virus checker” for the right brain. The beliefs and concepts fed into the mind need to be true according to how we were created to function to synchronize the growth and nurture of the heart. When false ideas are cherished in the mind the resultant dissonance with the right brain causes uneasiness and guilt. But when the heart and the mind are in full agreement on any issue they lock into a state of harmony and synchronization that makes them unchangeable through any and all circumstances.
Name	In Near-Eastern cultures the concept of a person's name is always connected to a person's character and personality. It is also very much linked to a person's reputation. So when we speak of God's name, we are really referring to either His reputation, His character or possibly both, depending on the context.
Obedience	All true obedience comes from the heart that is transformed by the love of God. He does not value any forced obedience, for such obedience always produces in the heart a spirit of rebellion. True obedience is the loving response of cooperation from the person who is coming to see God's character of love, compassion, goodness and perfect righteousness.
Overcome
Patience	Waiting for God's timing instead of insisting on our timing.
Propitiation	Literally it means the mercy seat, which was the covering on the Ark of the Covenant which contained the Law of God inside. The mercy seat had two covering cherubs or angels worshiping over the Ark and it was where the visible presence of God was most evident. This is where reconciliation takes place between estranged parties; where mercy brings together sinners back into fellowship with God. Another word is atonement, for on the day of Atonement the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled on the mercy seat. The true meaning of atonement means to reconcile, to bring into at-one-ment those who were previously hostile to each other.
Religious	Human systems of belief in a supernatural being or power.
Repentance	Repentance is a word greatly misunderstood among most Christians that varies widely with differing teachings and beliefs. While the Bible instructs us to repent and be baptized, it also teaches that repentance is a gift that has to be received and exercised, not something that we can just work up and act on whenever we decide to on our own. It is important to know that it is the goodness, the kindness of God that leads us to repentance, not fear or terror of impending punishments. (Rom. 2:4) While it is true that the original root word in Greek for repentance means to turn or to change direction, this term refers to a change of mind, a change in our fundamental way of thinking. This is something that is accomplished inside of us by God, not something we can create on our own. Many people mistakenly believe that repentance involves a great deal of effort to try to change their bad habits and be good. But true repentance is a change of heart performed by God's Spirit with the results being exhibited in our choices from that point on. It is a heart-oriented experience more than an external religious performance. While repentance is something that must be performed by God within us, it cannot happen without our choice to willingly embrace it. And the purpose of repentance is to bring glory to God, to vindicate His reputation. (Rev. 16:9)
Righteousness	This is one of the most misunderstood and vague terms in all of religion. It is usually thought of as related to “good” behavior or treating people right. That idea is rooted largely in the narrow legal view of religion from purely an external and intellectual perspective. The true understanding of righteousness is best perceived in the character of God Himself. Jesus said that only God was righteous. Righteousness is what God is and encompasses all that God's character exhibits. Righteousness is wholeness, rightness, goodness, fairness and everything associated with those things. It is a description of an internal condition with external symptoms flowing from that condition.
Sacrifice	Willingly giving for the benefit of others. Sacrifice involves denial of self, letting go of something of value. Sacrifices in the Old Testament usually pointed forward to the greatest sacrifice, that of Jesus who gave up His life to reveal the real truth about God. Sin produces death, and sacrifice absorbs that death so that the life of God can come back into our lives.
Salvation	From both its root term and its usage throughout the New Testament, salvation is best understood primarily as the idea of salvaging or restoration. It is both the plan and the process whereby God is restoring humans to their original function and design in which He first created them to live. This involves primarily restoring the proper function and role of the heart to govern the way we live, think and relate. When mankind entered the experience of sin their heart was dis-enthroned from its proper place in the life and intellectual head knowledge became dominant in artificial religion. In other cases the baser passions become the dominant controlling force, but either way the balance of the brain and humanity's relationship to God was thrown all out of whack and something called a “sinful nature” or “lower passions” became the driving force in selfishness that has infected every human born since that time. With the heart largely disconnected from the mind and also perverted by lower passions that were never intended to rule the life, humans came under the control of Satan and were then helpless to extricate themselves from his abusive tyranny. Salvation is God's amazing arrangement to bring back all humans willing to cooperate with His provisions into proper alignment both internally and externally so they can once again experience wholeness (holiness), perfect peace, joy and perfect synchronization with the rest of God's perfect creation. Many religious people have gotten the notion that salvation is primarily about getting themselves into heaven so they don't have to live in pain or be bothered by people they don't like. Thus the concept of salvation has become very ego-centric and selfish and totally human oriented. They have largely lost sight of the real issue in the great controversy taking place – namely that God has been charged with cruelty, unfairness and even heinous crimes and as a result His reputation is on trial. In this context, salvation is not only about restoring humanity to its original design but also restoring God's place in the hearts and affections of all His created beings. Salvation is closely linked from its root to the word salvage and means very much the same thing. It conveys the added nuance of rescuing from loss and destruction. It means to restore something or someone to their original design and function and purpose. Salvation for humanity is God's plans and methods for restoring us to the purpose and function for which we were originally created. But in Revelation we are also told that salvation belongs to our God. God's reputation has also been terribly damaged and it too needs to be restored. God is so incredibly wise and loving that He is carefully guiding everything to eventually restore all of creation back to not only its original design but to a state even better that it was before. When the terrible experiment with sin is finally resolved and settled, salvation will be complete in restoring the humans who cooperated with God's plans back into a condition and relationship with Him far more intimate and inseparable than would have happened otherwise. And through the process of redemption God's reputation will also be restored to a condition more beautiful and awe-inspiring than it was previous to the creation of this earth.
Sanctify	To narrow the attention and focus down to what is most important. Jesus sanctified Himself by focusing on His mission and would not allow any distractions to divert His attention away from that one purpose. We are to be sanctified, dedicated, focused so that nothing else will draw our attention or affections away from what God has for us to do.
Saved	There are two concepts involved in this word, neither of which is the common thinking among churches today. The first is the aspect of healing as in a healing salve. God is in the process of healing us from the disease of sin, saving us. The second involves rescue. To be saved from having been taken hostage involves rescuers risking their lives to intervene with hostile forces to deliver us from the hand of our oppressors. Both of these have to do with radical changes needed in our lives here and now. God is seeking to save us now and here, not sometime off in the distant future. Going to heaven is for those who have already entered this process.
Sin	The Bible has definitions for sin that can be used but that often have been abused and misused resulting in much confusion. The most often quoted definition is found in 1 John 3:4 where it states that “sin is the transgression of the law.” Romans 14:23 is a less familiar but I believe more helpful definition of sin. It states that whatever is not from faith is sin. Taken together and understood in the context of the true meaning of salvation, it can be seen that sin is a condition in the heart, of being out of right relationship with God, the source of all life. Because faith can occur naturally in a right understanding and relationship with God, then it is easy to see that sin will show up outside of that condition. Because the law of God is a description of God's character, His identity, then anything crosswise to God's ways and perfect character would be sin. Transgression means to be crosswise. Another misunderstanding about sin is the lack of differentiating between the condition of sin and the resulting symptoms of that condition acted out in our behavior and relationships. Many identify sin as only the outward manifestations of the condition of sin and believe that if the symptoms can be eliminated then sin is under control in their lives. But sin is systemic in nature and cannot be eliminated or overcome by treating the symptoms. Sin is rooted deeply in the psyche of every human being born since Adam and Eve sinned in the beginning. It is only by the implantation of a counter-nature by the supernatural grace of God in conversion and complete trust in the righteous merits of Jesus Christ alone for our redemption that sin can be brought under control and curbed in our lives. It is by the mysterious but very real choice of dying to our selfish natures every day and allowing the Spirit of God to make us alive in Christ that we can be free of the stranglehold of sin from within us.
Soul
Spiritual
Sulfur	Tracing this word back to its roots in the original languages one finds that it can mean 'flashes of divinity.' Sulfur burns very hot and very brightly. Thus it has been used to describe instances where the fire of God is encountered. But though it refers to an element we have here on earth that does not imply that it is a kind of physical fire that burns things like our sulfur might do. The subject of fire is one that must be diligently studied out to discern its true meaning in Scripture.
Transgression	Transgression is best understood by disassembling the word and looking at the parts carefully and then putting them back together. Trans means to go crosswise to, to cut across what is normal or natural. Gress has to do with direction or movement as in regress, progress, retrogress etc. So trans-gress means to move in a way that is crosswise or out of harmony with something or someone. Transgression is to be out of synchronization.
Truth
Wrath of God	This most misunderstood term is covered much more extensively by reading the various notes under the label of “Hell”. But briefly and simply, if the Bible is allowed to supply its own definitions this will ultimately be understood to be actually God's very intense passion rather than the demonic type of anger that humans are so familiar with. The original word that is improperly translated “wrath” could more accurately be translated passion and in fact in some instances is translated by some versions as passion as in Rev. 14:8. If one were to replace every instance of the word wrath with the word passion it would reveal much more accurate revelations about the God that is in charge of the universe. Another even clearer understanding of the nature of God's wrath is found in Romans 1 and several other places where this definition appears. Romans 1:18 begins the rest of the chapter by stating that the wrath of God is revealed. Then in verses 24, 26 and 28 it states that God gave them over to the natural results of their evil choices. Other places this word translated 'hand them over' is used to describe what God did with Jesus at the cross. He was handed over for our transgressions to die as He became sin for us. Thus we see that when God's wrath is displayed it is the last thing He does – He lets go, He sadly releases those who have so permanently rejected His attempts to save them that there is nothing else He can do.