The word arena means, a place or a situation where there is an intense conflict of activity, ideas and challenges. When we have a conflict, there is a clash of principles that constitutes a hidden and open warfare for our spirit, soul and body. It has become obvious to me that, this country is becoming a religious nation rather then a Christian nation. That being man trying in his own endeavors to live holy rather then trusting in Christ‘s finished work at the cross. I can expect that to happen to people who are not born again. However, for the born again church to be living in lethargy and not understanding that, the conflict taking place in the spirit world verses our fleshly ideas are very real and we must learn how to operate with the correct strategies to be victorious and how to participate in our inheritance that God gave us the day we made Jesus our Savior.

I am convinced that the body of Christ needs to go back to 101 and be taught the basic principles of Christian living. It is obvious to see that, the majority of churches today have become a sheep pen with holding stalls for people teaching their own peculiar doctrines with no power to overcome the works of the flesh. It is the growing philosophy that quantity is better than quality. When we believe the bigger the church assembly the better, we have our priorities out of order. Unless the body of Christ gets their roots deep into their relationship with the Lord, the show will go on as usual.

We need to get real and understand that, we need some answers for what’s not only going on in our own lives today, but also for what’s taking place before our very eyes in the world around us. I ask the question, when will the body of Christ come together and stand with power to a lost world and live their Christian lives with God’s purposes being their first priority? What type of Christian family are we getting people saved into? I am grieved to say, that a majority of Christian churches have become a business of empire building rather then a house of prayer. If the body of Christ losses their salt and light, all people’s will perish.

We have a perfect example in the Old Testament of where Gideon was called on by God to go into battle and destroy the Midianites. The Midianites represent an attitude of strife and quarreling type people and God wanted him to go to war and defeat them.

In Judges Chapter 6&7 the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “O mighty man of courage.” This meaning, God told him that, he had the ability to face danger, difficulty, uncertainty, or pain without being overcome by fear or being deflected from a chosen course of action. Now let’s understand that this is the way God looked at Him, it was not the way he looked at himself. Gideon’s reply to the angel was, “If the Lord is on our side, why have we encountered all these problems and are not participating in all the promises that God has given to His people? We feel forsaken and we have come under the influences of the Midianites.” God then said, “I will send you to deliver the Israelite people. Gideon’s reply was, “I am the least and the poorest in my fathers house.

However, if I have found favor in your sight, show me a sign that I may know that it is really you talking to me.” When born again believers do not know their rightful position in Jesus Christ, their concept of themselves is one of I am poor and I have no rights as far as God is concerned. This is the body of Christ having a sin conscience mentality.

As the story goes on, Gideon had 32,000 men who started out with him to defeat the Midianites. During the process God purified them down to just three hundred which is only a remnant number of men. We see here that if we lean to our own understanding and do not learn to let go and let God, we will continue to do our own thing and have a poor self image of ourselves. Three hundred men against all those Midianites means that, God is creating quality of character and not quantity in church building

The gospel of kingdom living has got to be in operation in the personal experiences of the believer in there own arenas of daily living. We have the five fold ministries in the body of Christ and it is their giftings by God to ground and mature the body of Christ to minister the life of Christ in their families first and then the world around them. The church needs to start focusing on the individual believer and stop building more churches and bigger churches. Church as we see it is not where it’s at. What we have created are the frozen chosen. The vision and standard for what Christianity represents as been lowered to Jesus saves and the Christian church builds a business. Let’s now focus on one of the most read and preached on Psalms that was written by King David in the bible.

Psalms 23 represents the arena that the believer walks in and we need to focus our attention on our relationship with Jesus Christ. It reads, “1). The Lord is my Shepard and I shall not want. 2). He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters. 3). He is constantly restoring my soul. 4). He is leading me in His paths of righteousness in His Righteous Spirit. 5). Even though I am walking threw the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: 6). He is always with me and His rod and staff comfort me. 7). He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies; 8). He anoints my head with oil and my cup runs over. 9). With out a doubt goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.” Let’s discuss this Psalm and truly understand its meaning.

The word Shepard in the Hebrew is ra‘ah: meaning, to tend a flock, keep company with and make a friend. It also means to shear. When one shears they cut hair, wool, or foliage from the surface of something using a sharp tool. It also means that, you can deprive or take something valuable or prized away from somebody and they can be sheared of all belief in their own self worth and be changed as a result of stress operating in their lives. When this happens, they become led in a non productive way in receiving God’s love and favor. Pastoring or being a spiritual adviser in any form to the body of Christ is a serious business.

We have an example in the Old Testament where Samson had a gift given to him by God where his physical strength was in his hair. His flirting with Delilah caused him to actually be sheared of his hair and strength to do God’s bidding. This word Delilah in the Hebrew represents an attitude of being neglected and to undergo hardship as a result of being deprived of something, typically independence, freedom, or attention. It also makes us become less successful where we decline steadily, becoming less effective or strong in faith. This happens because we pine after something too long that is being denied to us. Proverbs 13:12 states, “Hope put off till a later time makes the heart sick, but when the desire is fulfilled, it is a tree with life.”

The body of Christ can be sheared of their spiritual strength when God’s people are not being lead to independent thinking and are following denomination teachings that represent towers of Babel being built. Hebrews 4:12 tells us, “The word of God is sharper then any two edged sword and can accurately tell the difference between our own interpretation of scripture verses the Holy Spirits thoughts. In turn, when we let the Holy Spirit reveal to us God’s thoughts, we can see things that are not very clear and obvious in our own thought life and we can better plan our steps or course of action with success. The only thing that the Lord wants His people to be sheared of is our old man who He died for on the cross. When we function in un-righteous interpretations of God’s word, the old man becomes stronger. We will talk more about this when we discuss step four which is the foundation and core of Christian living.

Since Jesus Himself said that we are sheep that must mean that, it was His intension to make us respond with a trusting nature and follow a loving Shepard to have our wants and needs met. Sheep are not empire builders. Having a sheep’s nature gives God the authority to have His Spirit in us which performs heroic deeds so that, He can get the glory and not have us strut our own wares.

It is obvious to me that all of the five fold ministries need to be functioning in church assembling so the people can know how to become independent and sufficient in their own giftings to do the works of Christ in the market places of their daily travels. Leadership in any of these areas calls for a total humility and a giving of ones life for the need of the sheep. It is in bad taste and disgusting how the prosperity message is being preached on most of the Christian T.V stations. It has become a carnival of pitch people fleecing God’s sheep. The main thing needed in our Christian assemblies is for us to

We must follow the true Shepard of the flock and His counsel must be taught by the ones He has called to under Shepard His people. Unless this takes place, His body will constantly be in want and wander through life in barren places following mirages that end up lowering the position and standard that God intended for His people.

2). He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me besides still waters. I ask myself the question, how do we in all this chaos allow God to make us lie down? When one lies down, a person is in a state of resting. It sounds like a contradiction with all the many responsibilities around us going on in the world today. We have to go to work to pay the bills. Deal with road rage, make sure we compete with the Jones, deal with being told in some circles to be sure we don’t backslide and end up in hell, all types of sickness and disease, trying to raise our children, and the fear of all the other unknowns. Many of us are also dealing with great deep loneliness. Sounds like the life that we all have to deal with in one form or another, and I know that there are many things I have not covered. Over the years of my walk with the Lord, it seems like I am constantly coming out of a jungle and swamp of dangers like being caught in a hurricane and I am for ever trying to find a safe harbor to get out of the storm.

I am a man totally possessed and focused on every word that God speaks out of His mouth. Unless the word of God works and becomes a reality in the life of the believer, the body of Christ will stay as infants in God’s family and never walk in the freedom of the Holy Spirit. Too many people I have met over these many years live like an ostrich with their head in the sand. Who wants to get in touch with the struggles of life? It would be better to desensitize your mind with alternatives like drugs, sex, over eating, alcohol and anything that our own will can contrive so we don’t have to deal with the fear of surviving in this present day of chaotic insane adventures; that are being perpetrated in this dispensation of time on this planet.

Some of the T.V. programming is nothing but un-holy filth and perversion. In the Old Testament it tells us that Lot who lived in Sodom and Gomorrah grieved, worried and lived in an unsettled state at what was going on in the world of his day. Scripture tells us that as it was back in days of Lot it will be again in these last end times. We have no time left to play church and be followers for acceptance. If we intend to rest as this verse states, we are going to have to redeem the time for the days in which we live are evil.

It is not my intent to stay negative in this article and it would not be necessary if our outward challenges were not so threatening. We must be honest and identify the playing field of life that we are all dealing with and through necessity learn how to rest in all this confusion. This is not an impossible task if we are taught and learn how to let go and let God. When one redeems the time, it means to make something acceptable or pleasant in spite of negative circumstances or aspects. It also means to restore yourself to be favored or to be bought back by some one fulfilling a pledge or promise made to you. Jesus atoned for our sin and paid for it with His death on the Cross. This idea of accepting Christ as our Savior and having a born again experience is only the first step in having our spirit become revived to participate with the Holy Spirit as a Christian. It has been said a thousand ways that, unless a person is born again, he can not with intimate knowledge communicate with God as He intended and function with the characteristics of the Holy Spirit. This is our first miracle and participation with God with a promise of continuing miracles with Him.

It is the continuing miracles that God wants to give us that have motivated me to write these news letters. This idea of green pastures described in this verse represents, a place that is a home where we can have assistance and where we can have care and rest. It is like a new sprout of plant life that is developing shoots that are constantly being watered and grows rapidly as it is being tended. For this to happen, we must be 1. Led 2.besides 3. still 4.waters. The meaning of these four words in the Hebrews are, 1.Led: is nahal: meaning, to give off light or to be able to withstand anything and continue to do something in spite of all adversity and be kept from being harmed. 2. Besides: is al: meaning, led by Jehovah the Most High God. 3. Still: is nuwach: to be united as one in agreement with a common purpose. 4. Waters: is mayim: meaning, water or semen. This can only happen if we have been impregnated with God’s DNA. DNA passes along heredity characteristics from the father to the child.

What an appropriate statement this is when we say that, we must be born again to gain eternal life as Jesus states to Nicodemus in the third chapter of John. Since we have God’s own nature in us, He becomes our father when we became born again into His family. It is our interaction with the Holy Spirit daily who nourishes us and matures us to become Christ like. This is how we are to emulate our Heavenly Fathers characteristics in thought, purpose and actions. Jesus who is our older brother gave His life as an example for us his brothers and sisters

This sounds to some, to good to be true and simple. I am convinced that we need to be reminded daily of our position as a born again believer by God because of all the chaos that side tracks in our lives. Maturity and security comes more rapidly when one understands that a person becomes eligible for a heavenly eternity through Jesus example of dying for our sins and us accepting His sacrifice.

The Apostle John in 1John 1:3 tells us, “Our fellowship is with the Father and His son Jesus Christ.” A father is one who somebody counts on for especially giving direction, comfort, and protection. Yes, Jesus saves. However, it is God our Father who shelters us and is the one leading us as Jehovah God in quite places of rest from the storms of life. Jehovah is the Hebrew name for God and represents all of His characteristics and all the needs that a child has for maturity.

3). He is constantly restoring my soul: When one is restored, they are being brought to an earlier and better condition and given new strength and vigor. Our soul represents our intellect, will and emotions. It is as we allow the Holy Spirit to define who we are and us coming to understand our human nature that, our soul can be restored. God’s love and mercy is relentless in restoring His children to a place of kingship and rule with Himself.

Proverbs 23:7 says, “What a man thinks on in his own heart that is what he will act upon and become.” The heart of a man is considered as the source and center of emotional life. This is where our deepest and sincerest feelings are located and an individual is most vulnerable to pain. It is where the center of a man’s character if formed and we learn about compassion and increase our ability to grow in sympathy and develop altruistic feelings. It is where we learn to become un-selfish and put other people’s needs before our own. A person who is going through the process of being restored by God is one who is beginning to identify how, Jesus restorers a man, not a man trying to restore himself. Restoration is not the manifestation of wealth and acceptance by others in any form. These are all by products of the process. Restoration in God’s sense means, are we having a fellow feeling with the trials in the lives of others. This is where we allow God to love us and in turn learn how to love ourselves and let that love spill over on others. Where we spiritually mature to look out after each other so that none of us will fall back from receiving God’s grace which is the power we need to live the Christian life?

As born again believers, our first priority must be us having a passion and hunger after God’s ways. We have to get serious and totally committed in seeking God’s grace and loving kindness, which is unending and there for the taking. The body of Christ with all of it saying that, they love God and by not presenting them selves as a living sacrifice in their relationship with Him will make them end up giving him lip service and their real hearts condition will never be totally restored as God intended.

I must regress here and define again that our human will is thoroughly unpleasant or an offensive thing. This is the direct cause of Eve’s séance with the Devil in the Garden of Eden. We must fully understand the disease that entered our soul the day we were contaminated by it from our greattttttt grand parents when they listened to Satan’s lies and fell from God’s divine influence. This concept of our sinful nature is the main disease of the soul as cancer is a ravaging disease of the physical body. Our salvation in Christ revived our spirit. However, our soul needs to be daily restored by the Holy Spirit and be continually washed by the entrance of God’s personally spoken word and our heart learning to have the same fellow feelings as Jesus heart.

When our teachings focuses on our outward behavior and does not work in unison with the Holy Spirit in discerning the needs of Christ’s body by focusing on our hearts condition, we end up going to heaven and live in eternity with God but, we go to heaven with no rewards as running our race of faith here on earth with integrity and Godly purpose.

This is more than a sad state of affairs and I do not believe that the body of Christ understands that, Jesus if He was still here in the flesh He would die daily for the world because, His love endures for ever and He never fails or gives up on us.

For me since I consider myself to be a slow learner, thank God for His patience and loving kindness that He never gives up on any of His children no matter where ever they roam. I believe if I know God to any extent that, it grieves the Holy Spirit how He is being misinterpreted and actually scorned in so many church assemblies and not allowed to be welcomed to meet the needs of the people He was sent here to deliver and restore.

Our fallen nature is a demonic miracle inflicted upon us by the Devil that has captured the souls of mankind. Paul tells the body of Christ, “to not forsake the assembling of our selves in these last days.” This is not to be taken lightly. We have a lot of little and large assembling but I question with reverent prayerful thought, how much is Holy Spirit led. We have to stop being deceived. We have some of the Devils top generals operating in born again assemblies. This is where we have doctrines of Devils being preached in one form or another. I know that this is not a popular message to many. However, it is time for the mighty man and women to awake from their diseased and drugged up state and become restored so that, they can begin to restore others.

When denominational indoctrination takes place in an assembly. Beliefs are being taught through doctrines or a system of social beliefs that are a closely organized system of values, and ideas forming the basis of a social, economic, or political philosophy of programs. This is done especially with the goal of discouraging independent thought or the acceptance of other opinions. This is nothing more than controlled slavery and arrogant manipulation.

We need to be Holy Spirit restored not denominational indoctrinated.

This verse alone is the foundation that all Christian growth and the receiving of God’s love, divine favor and kindness can be built on. When this is understood by the believer the whole body comes together as one.

Ephesians 2:20 tells us, “This doctrine of Righteousness was established and taught by the first apostles and prophets who were called on by the Lord to nurture and ground His body with Christ being the chief cornerstone. When this is taking place the whole building fits and is framed together and grows into a place for God to live in. In turn, we have a living relationship with God through the working of the Holy Spirit who lives with in us.” When any other doctrine is implied or sullied with fleshly interpretations, the body of Christ is led as sheep to be slaughtered and they live their whole life in a watered down weak life style with no intense passion to seek and discover God’s best for their lives.

Their can be no greater tragedy that can befall a born again believer when this is taking place in any form in any Christian assembly. Just because a person says that their a follower of Christ or that Jesus name is mentioned in services in many churches in this country does not mean that, righteousness is being preached in these assemblies and people are walking in God’s Righteous Spirit. I am greatly saddened to say that, the world and a majority of born again believers are greatly deceived in understanding what a born again Christian represents as far as God is concerned. Since righteousness is the foundation and principle thing to walk in, we must prayerfully and with much patience wait on God by seeking Him and allow the Holy Spirit to interact God’s Righteous Spirit in our lives daily.

The meaning of righteousness means, justification (absolved from all sin of the past, present and future,) innocent (free from evil,) holy (set apart forever unto God. This happened because of the transformation that occurred in us when we became the new creature in Christ the day we became born again. When we accepted Jesus sacrifice on the cross, His very act and us allowing His Spirit to permanently come and make a home with in us empowers us to live obedient to His commands. Prior to being born again we had no will power in our own strength to not violate His commandments.

It’s very difficult at times to realize that God looks at us as innocent and holy in His sight every day, because we have to deal with being tempted to look at our faults and failures as we walk with the Lord. We have to be reminded by God on an every day basis, of how much He cares for us.

It is our hunger and thirsting after Him that makes us realize what our righteous position represents in His sight. This constant reminding by Him of how highly He esteems us helps us to clearly understand those areas that He is trying to change in our lives so He can make us be like Him. It makes us experience peace and joy in our walk with the Holy Spirit and in this way; it is acceptable and pleasing to God because, we are prospering as He intended. He cries over us when we fail and rejoices over us when we prosper. Scripture tells us that, “Unless we are skilled and have come to understand what righteousness is, we will continue to live as babes because we lack the know how of living in a righteousness mentality in Christ.”

Jesus did not save us because of us trying to live up to some religious moral code. God knew that man could not be trusted to help save himself. This was the sickness that we inherited from Adam and Eve because of them breaking covenant with God in the Garden of Eden. They became self righteous with in themselves because, they hid from God and went into denial and their fig leafs that they put on represents them living in a religious moral code of conduct.

It is God’s pity and mercy and His premeditated plan of uniting Himself to man without us doing anything and we need to rid ourselves of any idea that we have to do something to earn His favor and love.

Adam and Eve found fault and judged them self and tried to clean up their act by covering their nakedness with fig leafs. When we function in an attitude of finding fault in ourselves or others, we operate in a self righteous mentality which is pure religion and un-godliness. Religion in its true sense is a set of beliefs that people live by in seeking God, built on a philosophy of pulling God down from heaven and having Him conform to our image or life style. This is demonic in nature and one can become obsessed or possessed to the point of it totally sapping a person’s strength and stops them from having a healthy, independent, excitement and adventures life with Jesus Christ.

Heb.1:8 states, “God’s scepter or measuring stick in his kingdom is righteousness. God’s scepter is the power of God with all His characteristics which he gave us the day we became a born again believer.

When we flow in the righteousness of God’s Spirit, we live in the seven characteristics of the Holy Spirit which are found in Isaiah 11:1-5. It states, “Out if the linage of Jesse who was David the Kings father will be born Jesus who will have the spirit of the Lord resting on Him. The seven characteristics resting on Jesus were, 1. Wisdom, 2. Understanding, 3. Council, 4. Might, 5. Knowledge, 6. Reverence, 7. Obedience. Because of this condition resting in Him this made Him have a quick understanding and His delight was in being reverent and He had an obedient fear of the Lord. Because of this type of thinking He did not judge things by their outward appearance or by the things that He heard.

He judged things with a righteousness spirit operating with in Him when it came to sensing the hearts of the poor and the meek and the people who were oppressed as He walked this earth. He also rebuked the oppressing spirits by speaking God’s word and defeated them and He did this by wearing righteousness as the girdle of His loins and faithfulness was the girdle of His reins” The meaning of this is,

We need to understand that, Jesus the man had to allow the power of God to operate in Him so He could walk in righteousness when he walked the earth. Too many Christians that I have met do not understand that, Christ gave up His position of safety and power in heaven to become a man like us. Therefore, He can now relate and have a fellow feeling with our trials and sufferings, so when we now call upon Him, He can empower us to live with the same victory He did in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus followed the leadings of the Holy Spirit; He lived by an inner voice directing Him and not by any outward manifestation of sight or sound. When we truly understand that we were baptized or totally submerged spiritually into God’s Spirit, it’s then that we will start to operate as He did in these seven characteristics that Jesus had resting on Him. Before we continue, let’s define these seven characteristics of the Holy Spirit which is our inheritance that we received from God the day we became born again.

The word arena means, a place or a situation where there is an intense conflict of activity with ideas and challenges. When we have a conflict, there is a clash of principles that constitutes a hidden and open warfare for our spirit, soul and body. It has become obvious to me that, this country is becoming a religious nation rather then a Christian nation. That being man trying in his own endeavors to live holy rather then trusting in Jesus finished work at the cross. I can expect that to happen to people who are not born again. However, for the born again church to be living in lethargy and not understanding that, the conflict taking place in the spirit world verses our fleshly ideas are very real and we must learn how to operate with the correct strategies to be victorious and how to participate in our inheritance that God gave us the day we made Jesus our Savior.

I am convinced that the body of Christ needs to go back to 101 and be taught the basic principles of Christian living. It is obvious to see that, the majority of churches today have become a sheep pen with holding stalls for people teaching their own peculiar doctrines with no power to overcome the works of the flesh. It is the growing philosophy that quantity is better than quality. When we believe the bigger the church assembly the better, we have our priorities out of order. Unless the body of Christ gets their roots deep into their relationship with the Lord, the show will go on as usual.

We need to get real and understand that, we need some answers for what’s not only going on in our own lives today, but also for what’s taking place before our very eyes in the world around us. I ask the question, when will the body of Christ come together and stand with power to a lost world and live their Christian lives with God’s purposes being their first priority? What type of Christian family are we getting people saved into? I am grieved to say, that a majority of Christian churches have become a business of empire building rather then a house of prayer. If the body of Christ losses their salt and light, all people’s will perish.

We have a perfect example in the Old Testament of where Gideon was called on by God to go into battle and destroy the Midianites. The Midianites represent an attitude of strife and quarreling type people and God wanted him to go to war and defeat them.

In Judges Chapter 6&7 the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “O mighty man of courage.” This meaning, God told him that, he had the ability to face danger, difficulty, uncertainty, or pain without being overcome by fear or being deflected from a chosen course of action. Now let’s understand that this is the way God looked at Him, it was not the way he looked at himself. Gideon’s reply to the angel was, “If the Lord is on our side, why have we encountered all these problems and are not participating in all the promises that God has given to His people? We feel forsaken and we have come under the influences of the Midianites.” God then said, “I will send you to deliver the Israelite people. Gideon’s reply was, “I am the least and the poorest in my fathers house.  

However, if I have found favor in your sight, show me a sign that I may know that it is really you talking to me.” When born again believers do not know their rightful position in Jesus Christ, their concept of themselves is one of I am poorest and I have no rights as far as God is concerned. This is the body of Christ having a sin conscience mentality.

As the story goes on, Gideon had 32,000 men who started out with him to defeat the Midianites. During the process God purified them down to just three hundred which is only a remnant number of men. We see here that if we lean to our own understanding and do not learn to let go and let God, we will continue to do our own thing and have a poor self image of ourselves. Three hundred men against all those Midianites means that, God is creating quality of character and not quantity in church building

The gospel of kingdom living has got to be in operation in the personal experiences of the believer in there own arenas of daily living. We have the five fold ministries in the body of Christ and it is their giftings by God to ground and mature the body of Christ to minister the life of Christ in their families first and then the world around them. The church needs to start focusing on the individual believer and stop building more churches and bigger churches. Church as we see it is not where it’s at. What we have created are the frozen chosen. The vision and standard for what Christianity represents as been lowered to Jesus saves and the Christian church builds a business. Let’s now focus on one of the most read and preached on Psalms that was written by King David in the bible.

Psalms 23 represents the arena that the believer walks in and we need to focus our attention on our relationship with Jesus Christ. It reads, “1). The Lord is my Shepard and I shall not want. 2). He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters. 3). He is constantly restoring my soul. 4). He is leading me in His paths of righteousness in His Righteous Spirit. 5). Even though I am walking threw the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: 6). He is always with me and His rod and staff comfort me. 7). He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies; 8). He anoints my head with oil and my cup runs over. 9). With out a doubt goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.” Let’s discuss this Psalm and truly understand its meaning.

The word Shepard in the Hebrew is ra‘ah: meaning, to tend a flock, keep company with and make a friend. It also means to shear. When one shears they cut hair, wool, or foliage from the surface of something using a sharp tool. It also means that, you can deprive or take something valuable or prized away from somebody and they can be sheared of all belief in their own self worth and be changed as a result of stress operating in their lives. When this happens, they become led in a non productive way in receiving God’s love and favor. Pastoring or being a spiritual adviser in any form to the body of Christ is a serious business.  

We have an example in the Old Testament where Samson had a gift given to him by God where his physical strength was in his hair. His flirting with Delilah caused him to actually be sheared of his hair and strength to do God’s bidding. This word Delilah in the Hebrew represents an attitude of being neglected and to undergo hardship as a result of being deprived of something, typically independence, freedom, or attention. It also makes us become less successful where we decline steadily and become less effective or strong in faith. This happens because we pine after something too long that is being denied to us. Proverbs 13:12 states, “Hope put off till a later time makes the heart sick, but when the desire is fulfilled, it is a tree with life.”

The body of Christ can be sheared of their spiritual strength when God’s people are not being lead to independent thinking and are following denomination teachings that represent towers of Babel being built. Hebrews 4:12 tells us, “The word of God is sharper then any two edged sword and can accurately tell the difference between our own interpretation of scripture verses the Holy Spirits thoughts. In turn, when we let the Holy Spirit reveal to us God’s thoughts, we can see things that are not very clear and obvious in our own thought life and we can better plan our steps or course of action with success. The only thing that the Lord wants His people to be sheared of is our old man who He died for on the cross. When we function in un-righteous interpretations of God’s word, the old man becomes stronger. We will talk more about this when we discuss step four which is the foundation and core of Christian living.

Since Jesus Himself said that we are sheep that must mean that, it was His intension to make us respond with a trusting nature and follow a loving Shepard to have our wants and needs met. Sheep are not empire builders. Having a sheep’s nature gives God the authority to have His Spirit in us which performs heroic deeds so that, He can get the glory and not have us strut our own wares.

It is obvious to me that all of the five fold ministries need to be functioning in the church assembling. This will enable the people to learn how to become independent and sufficient in their own giftings to do the works of Christ in the market places of their daily travels. Leadership in any of these areas calls for a total humility and a giving of ones life for the need of the sheep. It is in bad taste and disgusting how the prosperity message is being preached on most of the Christian T.V stations. It has become a carnival of pitch people fleecing God’s sheep. The main thing needed in our Christian assemblies is for us to

We must follow the true Shepard of the flock and His counsel must be taught by the ones He has called to under Shepard His people. Unless this takes place, His body will constantly be in want and wander through life in barren places following mirages that end up lowering the position and standard that God intended for His people. 

2). He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me besides still waters. I ask myself the question, how do we in all this chaos allow God to make us lie down? When one lies down, a person is in a state of resting. It sounds like a contradiction with all the many responsibilities around us going on in the world today. We have to go to work to pay the bills. Deal with road rage, make sure we compete with the Jones, deal with being told in some circles to be sure we don’t backslide and end up in hell, all types of sickness and disease, trying to raise our children, and the fear of all the other unknowns. Many of us are also dealing with great deep loneliness. Sounds like the life that we all have to deal with in one form or another, and I know that there are many things I have not covered. Over the years of my walk with the Lord, it seems like I am constantly coming out of a jungle and swamp of dangers like being caught in a hurricane and I am for ever trying to find a safe harbor to get out of the storm.

I am a man totally possessed and focused on every word that God speaks out of His mouth. Unless the word of God works and becomes a reality in the life of the believer, the body of Christ will stay as infants in God’s family and never walk in the freedom of the Holy Spirit. Too many people I have met over these many years live like an ostrich with their head in the sand. Who wants to get in touch with the struggles of life? It would be better to desensitize your mind with alternatives like drugs, sex, over eating, alcohol and anything that our own will can contrive so we don’t have to deal with the fear of surviving in this present day of chaotic insane adventures; that are being perpetrated in this dispensation of time on this planet.

Some of the T.V. programming is nothing but un-holy filth and perversion. In the Old Testament it tells us that Lot who lived in Sodom and Gomorrah grieved, worried and lived in an unsettled state at what was going on in the world of his day. Scripture tells us that as it was back in days of Lot it will be again in these last end times. We have no time left to play church and be followers for acceptance. If we intend to rest as this verse states, we are going to have to redeem the time for the days in which we live are evil.

It is not my intent to stay negative in this article and it would not be necessary if our outward challenges were not so threatening. We must be honest and identify the playing field of life that we are all dealing with and through necessity learn how to rest in all this confusion. This is not an impossible task if we are taught and learn how to let go and let God. When one redeems the time, it means to make something acceptable or pleasant in spite of negative circumstances or aspects. It also means to restore yourself to be favored or to be bought back by some one fulfilling a pledge or promise made to you. Jesus atoned for our sin and paid for it with His death on the Cross. This idea of accepting Christ as our Savior and having a born again experience is only the first step in having our spirit become revived to participate with the Holy Spirit as a Christian. It has been said a thousand ways that, unless a person is born again, he can not with intimate knowledge communicate with God as He intended and function with the characteristics of the Holy Spirit. This is our first miracle and participation with God with a promise of continuing miracles with Him.  

It is the continuing miracles that God wants to give us that have motivated me to write this article. This idea of green pastures described in this verse represents, a place that is a home where we can have assistance and where we can have care and rest. It is like a new sprout of plant life that is developing shoots that are constantly being watered and grows rapidly as it is being tended. For this to happen, we must be 1. Led 2.besides 3. still 4.waters. The meaning of these four words in the Hebrews are, 1.Led: is nahal: meaning, to give off light or to be able to withstand anything and continue to do something in spite of all adversity and be kept from being harmed. 2. Besides: is al: meaning, led by Jehovah the Most High God. 3. Still: is nuwach: to be united as one in agreement with a common purpose. 4. Waters: is mayim: meaning, water or semen. This can only happen if we have been impregnated with God’s DNA. DNA passes along heredity characteristics from the father to the child.

What an appropriate statement this is when we say that, we must be born again to gain eternal life as Jesus states to Nicodemus in the third chapter of John. Since we have God’s own nature in us, He becomes our father when we became born again into His family. It is our interaction with the Holy Spirit daily who nourishes us and matures us to become Christ like. This is how we are to emulate our Heavenly Fathers characteristics in thought, purpose and actions. Jesus who is our older brother gave His life as an example for us his brothers and sisters

This sounds to some, to good to be true and simple. I am convinced that we need to be reminded daily of our position as a born again believer by God because of all the chaos that side tracks us in our lives. Maturity and security comes more rapidly when one understands that a person becomes eligible for a heavenly eternity through Jesus example of dying for our sins and us accepting His sacrifice.

The Apostle John in 1John 1:3 tells us, “Our fellowship is with the Father and His son Jesus Christ.” A father is one who somebody counts on for especially giving direction, comfort, and protection. Yes, Jesus saves. However, it is God our Father who shelters us and is the one leading us as Jehovah God in quite places of rest from the storms of life. Jehovah is the Hebrew name for God and represents all of His characteristics and all the needs that a child has for maturity.

3). He is constantly restoring my soul: When one is restored, they are being brought to an earlier and better condition and given new strength and vigor. Our soul represents our intellect, will and emotions. It is as we allow the Holy Spirit to define who we are and us coming to understand our human nature that, our soul can be restored. God’s love and mercy is relentless in restoring His children to a place of kingship and rule with Himself.  

Proverbs 23:7 says, “What a man thinks on in his own heart that is what he will act upon and become.” The heart of a man is considered as the source and center of emotional life. This is where our deepest and sincerest feelings are located and an individual is most vulnerable to pain. It is where the center of a man’s character if formed and where we learn about compassion and increase our ability to grow in sympathy and develop altruistic feelings. It is where we learn to become un-selfish and put other people’s needs before our own. A person who is going through the process of being restored by God is one who is beginning to identify how, Jesus restorers a man, not a man trying to restore himself. Restoration is not the manifestation of wealth and acceptance by others in any form. These are all by products of the process. Restoration in God’s sense means, are we having a fellow feeling with the trials in the lives of others. This is where we allow God to love us and in turn learn how to love ourselves and let that love spill over on others. Where we spiritually mature to look out after each other so that none of us will fall back from receiving God’s grace which is the power we need to live the Christian life?

As born again believers, our first priority must be us having a passion and hunger after God’s ways. We have to get serious and totally committed in seeking God’s grace and loving kindness, which is unending and there for the taking. The body of Christ with all of it saying that, they love God and by not presenting them selves as a living sacrifice in their relationship with Him will make them end up giving him lip service and their real hearts condition will never be totally restored as God intended.

I must regress here and define again that our human will is thoroughly unpleasant or an offensive thing. This is the direct cause of Eve’s séance with the Devil in the Garden of Eden. We must fully understand the disease that entered our soul the day we were contaminated by it from our greattttttt grand parents when they listened to Satan’s lies and fell from God’s divine influence. This concept of our sinful nature is the main disease of the soul as cancer is a ravaging disease of the physical body. Our salvation in Christ revived our spirit. However, our soul needs to be daily restored by the Holy Spirit and be continually washed by the entrance of God’s personally spoken word and our heart learning to have the same fellow feelings as Jesus heart.

When our teachings focuses on our outward behavior and does not work in unison with the Holy Spirit in discerning the needs of Christ’s body by focusing on our hearts condition, we end up going to heaven and live in eternity with God but, we go to heaven with no rewards as running our race of faith here on earth with integrity and Godly purpose.

This is more than a sad state of affairs and I do not believe that the body of Christ understands that, Jesus if He was still here in the flesh He would die daily for the world because, His love endures for ever and He never fails or gives up on us.

For me since I consider myself to be a slow learner, thank God for His patience and loving kindness that He never gives up on any of His children no matter where ever they roam. I believe if I know God to any extent that, it grieves the Holy Spirit how He is being misinterpreted and actually scorned in so many church assemblies and not being made welcome to needs of the people He was sent here to deliver and restore.

Our fallen nature is a demonic miracle inflicted upon us by the Devil that has captured the souls of mankind. Paul tells the body of Christ, “to not forsake the assembling of our selves in these last days.” This is not to be taken lightly. We have a lot of little and large assembling but I question with reverent prayerful thought, how much is Holy Spirit led. We have to stop being deceived. We have some of the Devils top generals operating in born again assemblies. This is where we have doctrines of Devils being preached in one form or another. I know that this is not a popular message to many. However, it is time for the mighty man and women to awake from their diseased and drugged up state and become restored so that, they can begin to restore others.

When denominational indoctrination takes place in any assembly. These beliefs being taught represent doctrines or a system of social beliefs that are a closely organized system of values, and ideas forming the basis of a social, economic, or political philosophy of programs. This is done especially with the goal of discouraging independent thought or the acceptance of other opinions. This is nothing more than controlled slavery and arrogant manipulation.

We need to be Holy Spirit restored not denominational indoctrinated.

This verse alone is the foundation that all Christian growth and the receiving of God’s love, divine favor and kindness can be built on. When this is understood by the believer, the whole body comes together as one.

Ephesians 2:20 tells us, “This doctrine of Righteousness was established and taught by the first apostles and prophets who were called on by the Lord to nurture and ground His body with Christ being the chief cornerstone. When this is taking place the whole building fits and is framed together and grows into a place for God to live in. In turn, we have a living relationship with God through the working of the Holy Spirit who lives with in us.” When any other doctrine is implied or sullied with fleshly interpretations, the body of Christ is led as sheep to be slaughtered and they live their whole life in a watered down weak life style with no intense passion to seek and discover God’s best for their lives.  

Their can be no greater tragedy that can befall a born again believer when this is taking place in any form in any Christian assembly. Just because a person says that their a follower of Christ or that Jesus name is mentioned in services in many churches in this country does not mean that, righteousness is being preached in these assemblies and people are walking in God’s Righteous Spirit. I am greatly saddened to say that, the world and a majority of born again believers are greatly deceived in understanding what a born again Christian represents as far as God is concerned. Since righteousness is the foundation and principle thing to walk in, we must prayerfully and with much patience wait on God by seeking Him and allow the Holy Spirit to interact God’s Righteous Spirit in our lives daily.

The meaning of righteousness means, justification (absolved from all sin of the past, present and future,) innocent (free from evil,) holy (set apart forever unto God. This happened because of the transformation that occurred in us when we became the new creature in Christ the day we became born again. When we accepted Jesus sacrifice on the cross, His very act and us allowing His Spirit to permanently come and make a home with in us empowers us to live obedient to His commands. Prior to being born again we had no will power in our own strength to not violate His commandments.

It’s very difficult at times to realize that God looks at us as innocent and holy in His sight every day, because we have to deal with being tempted to look at our faults and failures as we walk with the Lord. We have to be reminded by God on an every day basis, of how much He cares for us.

It is our hunger and thirsting after Him that makes us realize what our righteous position represents in His sight. This constant reminding by Him of how highly He esteems us helps us to clearly understand those areas that He is trying to change in our lives so He can make us be like Him. It makes us experience peace and joy in our walk with the Holy Spirit and in this way; it is acceptable and pleasing to God because, we are prospering as He intended. He cries over us when we fail and rejoices over us when we prosper. Scripture tells us that, “Unless we are skilled and have come to understand what righteousness is, we will continue to live as babes because we lack the know how of living in a righteousness mentality in Christ.”

Jesus did not save us because of us trying to live up to some religious moral code. God knew that man could not be trusted to help save himself. This was the sickness that we inherited from Adam and Eve because of them breaking covenant with God in the Garden of Eden. They became self righteous with in themselves because, they hid from God and went into denial and their fig leafs that they put on represents them living in a religious moral code of conduct.  

It is God’s pity and mercy and His premeditated plan of uniting Himself to man without us doing anything and we need to rid ourselves of any idea that we have to do something to earn His favor and love.

Adam and Eve found fault and judged them self and tried to clean up their act by covering their nakedness with fig leafs. When we function in an attitude of finding fault in ourselves or others, we operate in a self righteous mentality which is pure religion and un-godliness. Religion in its true sense is a set of beliefs that people live by in seeking God, built on a philosophy of pulling God down from heaven and having Him conform to our image or life style. This is demonic in nature and one can become obsessed or possessed to the point of it totally sapping a person’s strength and stops them from having a healthy, independent, exciting and adventurous life with Jesus Christ.

Heb.1:8 states, “God’s scepter or measuring stick in his kingdom is righteousness. God’s scepter is the p