OUR CHRISTIAN ARENA OF LIFE

Part three

When we meditating on the word of God day and night, there will be times when we will have no adversity and the word of God will be easily understood. That is the atmosphere of day. In the night time it means, we will be in a combat situation in our minds through outward pressures and it is then we must be consistent and continue to seek God. God doesn’t want us to hide in denial, but to face our enemy head on and take our authority over him in speaking the word of God to him.***

Let me try to warn and simply explain the seriousness of what can happen if, we do not allow the Spirit to secure us in the love of the Lord and have it continually flow through our heart and mind. A person who does not have a true knowledge of God can not walk in obedience to God’s decrees. When we allow the Holy Spirit to empower us to be obedient it is then that, we can truly experience God’s love. God’s love is empowered by God’s grace. When it is all said and done where there is no Godly anointed love, only fear and disobedience flourishes. When our true righteous position in Christ is not being taught, there is no spirit of God’s love being manifested.

The Apostle Paul reminded Timothy in 1Tim. 1:7 that, “God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power and of love and a sound mind.” When our minds are sound we can very clearly hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to us. As we are all walking under the shadow of death, we have to know how to walk in the Spirit of God. This has always been our warfare and the problem we all face as a born again believers.

Now you can’t help but see a trend that Paul was trying to communicate to Timothy in his second letter to him. He tells him in chapter 3:7-8 that a person can get into a state of “for ever learning and never being able to come to the true interpretation of the scriptures. He points out two such people who in the Old Testament went against Moses in him trying to fulfill his calling from God. These two people were called Janes and Jambres. Their minds had become corrupt and they had become reprobate concerning the faith.” This condition can happen to any Christian if they become slack in not guarding their heart where the issues of life are formed. Fear manifesting and taking hold in our hearts can produce a condition of becoming a reprobate.

Reprobate sounds like some perverted human being, when in reality it means, it produces an empty life with out meaning and purpose as God intended for the believer. When the born again believer does not hunger and thirst after God’s Righteous Spirit, he stays in degrees of this condition. This is why the majority of the body of Christ is lethargic and living in vanity and futility. We need to finally come to understand that we are either passionately seeking God or falling back from receiving God’s love through His grace. There is no place of riding a fence of anything that resembles a crisis Christian life style or a Sunday going to meeting life style or a I feel the emotional hype hairs of my neck rising on my neck life style or the I‘ll discipline myself and present my body as a living sacrifice after I get all my own self centered priorities done. All these type conditions and I am sure I have missed many other excuses are the manifestations of a fear driven life style and we have to guard against them.

David the King was a man after God’s own heart because; he had a passion to seek God with every fiber of his being. In Psalms 4:2 he was told by God as he was seeking an audience with Him which was his constant every day life style and heard God say to Him.

“O son of man meaning, (man endeavoring to live without God’s influence on his life directing him) how long will you show and display a behavior which is an example of your shame based nature and say that this is an example of my glory on you. How long will you love vanity and be pursuing a lying spirit? I want you to take this statement seriously and meditate on what I have just said.” The devil is the father of lies and devil’s lying spirit is the spirit of fear. When we are ignorant of God’s word the devil can manipulate and control us at his will. Our basic nature of shame that we were born with is vanity. Vanity in its true sense is void of Godly purposes and is nothing more than idolatry and a worship of self.

5. Evil means many things but primarily, wretched, inadequacies, to spoil, break done, and any attitude for harm and I can go on and on. It is evil in its true sense that crippled mankind in the Garden of Eden. Mankind took on the nature of the beast and only man becoming born again from above by having the Spirit of God come in and take up residence with in us, which will cause us to be able to change the savage beast with in us to God’s likeness.

We said earlier that the word Shepard is ra ah: meaning, to tend a flock, keep company with and make a friend. When we are deceived and do not know our true position in Christ, the one sheparding us is a task master. This is the outcome of being trained with religious indoctrination and a behavior focusing life style of making God into our image. The Apostle Paul in the book of Romans in chapter seven tells of the conflict that he had in trying to live the Christian life. He was having a warfare with in himself where he had a desire to obey God’s laws; however, he had an inadequacy with in himself.

He had no power to control his behavior and he confessed his weakened condition and was looking for help to be released from this attitude that he defines as being a wretched man with this inadequacy. Remember wretchedness represents an evil persuasion.

Paul’s conclusion was in Romans 7:24-25 when he states, “I am unhappy and living with an utter disgust and hatred for myself, and I am wretched or feeling very inadequate. Who will deliver and release me from the oppression and stress of this mental torment and conflict of interest in my mind? O thank God He will through Jesus Christ, the anointed one who is our Lord. So I finally come to understand that, with in me, if I continue to try and obey God’s laws in my own strength, it will only bring more inadequacy and a loss of me having a vital joyous and prosperous life in Christ.

Paul found His answer through being honest with his growing pains and came out of any denial by confessing his need. You will notice here that he referred to Jesus as being his Lord the anointed one. There is an absolute total difference between making Jesus our Savior and making him our Lord. Savior in the Greek means, a deliverer and a healer. The word Lord means, supreme authority, master and controller. Jesus as Savior tells us that he can and does deliver but, it is only as we cooperate and submit to His control and supreme authority that we can grow and mature as He intended.

Yes, Jesus saves and restores us back into the family but then, we have to be raised and nurtured in the Righteous Spirit of God our Father so we can have the true knowledge of His ways. 11 Peter 3:18 tells us that, “we have to mature and grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” We have everyone preaching Jesus saves and people get saved. However, when are we going to spend the effort on helping people to know Jesus as Lord the Anointed one and not let our shame and wretchedness be considered as the glory of God? This shadow of evil is not hovering over the believer and playing a game. The consequences and the penalty for the believer are too great to take our salvation for granted.

God’s grace and the Devils fear are very real entities. As the Lord assures us, where ever we roam His grace and love will pursue us. As relentless as the Holy Spirit is to restore and grow us up, the devil is also determined to destroy and steal everything God has given us. Let’s not be naive and be deceived, our walk under these two influences are very real and we do not have to hide and be afraid, we just have to commit to a total surrender to God’s direction and learn about him.

1. Always: meaning, at all times. Once we are born again we become inseparable with The Lord. Paul in Romans 8:35-39 states, “Who shall separate us from Christ’s love? Shall suffering, affliction or tribulation, calamity, distress, persecution, hunger, destitution, peril or the sword? Scripture tells us that all the days of our lives we are dying daily and it looks like we are sheep being led to be slaughtered.

However, even though it looks from the outward appearance that this is true, we are more then conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through Him who loved us. For I have been persuaded beyond a doubt and am sure. That, neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all of creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The American language could not describe our security and dilemma any better then what Paul just stated. Unless we understand our position as righteous people in Christ, no one can become persuaded. There is a security like the oxygen surrounding us in the atmosphere. There is a protective hedge that we can live in with God however; we must have a living reality of it. Since we are under demonic influences at all times and our minds are being bombarded by all these perils constantly, we must be actively pursuing an understanding of how to walk in the Spirit. Experiencing the love of the Lord is not head knowledge that God loves us. It is a living relationship with some one you can identify with in all situations.

2. His Rod and Staff: meaning, a scepter, ruler ship, or to endow someone with power and authority and a walking stick for support and sustenance operating with in a protected hedge. Remember, “God’s scepter is His righteousness” which is the power of God with all His seven characteristics which he gave us the day we became a born again believers. If you take a good look at this interpretation, it is Christ actually alive having His perfect way living again with in our physical body wanting to do the same miracles He did when He walked the earth but now through us. How more intimate can you get with a person?

3. Comfort: meaning, to console, to pity or to forgive someone who has done some wrong and to give them relief from pain or discomfort. We need to identify what is this discomfort that God wants to relieve and comfort us in. When somebody has pity on some one they show a merciful attitude at all times. As Paul stated the dilemma that he considered himself in when he said he was a wretched man and having a conflict of interests going on with in himself, so are we.

In Acts 9:31, Paul the Apostle was teaching the churches that were founded by him in that day in Judea, Galilee and Samaria and there was a peace operating with in these assemblies because, they were being edified by growing in virtue, wisdom and piety. This was taking place because, they had a reverential fear of the Lord and they were being comforted and being exhorted by the Holy Spirit and the church was continuing to grow as God intended.

This word edified in the Greek is oikodomeo: meaning, to be a structure, or to be a house builder. Remember we said earlier that the Apostles and Prophets were called on by God to lay a righteous foundation with Christ being the chief cornerstone of the building.

When our righteous position is being laid, it is only then that we can grow in virtue which is the power of the Holy Spirit empowering and laying the instruction of how the body of Christ is to be fitted together. It is only through the Holy Spirits wisdom operating in the believer’s life that can produce piety which means, a loyalty to parents. If we are learning the ways of God our Father who is our parent, we will find that, no matter what you teach or preach about, the Holy Spirit is constantly showing up in the scriptures as the one behind the scenes maturing and teaching Christ’s body. This edifying is not to be taken for granted and we must allow the Holy Spirit to make us aware if we are doing it our way or His way.

1. Prepares: meaning, to put things in order and to furnish and to be an expert in warfare. Let’s remind ourselves again that, we are in a spiritual warfare. There is no way to defeat the devils devices in our own strengths. This Christianity that we were born into the day we made Jesus our Savior was not just an commitment to stop us from going to hell and to just have the feel goods in church settings and the like. My ten years of recognizing that I was sinning and breaking God’s commandments and the fear of going to hell before I became a born again believer should have come to an end the day I met Christ.

This happened when I personally at the age of twenty five had an encounter with Jesus through the Holy Spirit. The last forty years has been a wilderness walk of experiences with the Holy Spirit of at times, having a raging warfare of being changed from the inward out. This born again experience that we all have been brought into, if you have been saved brings us into a world of warfare for ourselves our families and the people we come into contact with daily. When we are discipled by leadership that does not proclaim what our righteous position in Christ represents, a believer never becomes edified. That is why the majority of the churches today are not affecting the young ones because, they are still teaching an Egypt type existence as the Israelites were in bondage in the Old Testament to Pharaoh and that whole culture of wandering in the wilderness for forty years and never submitting to God’s leadings.

2. Table: meaning, a meal of forsaking some things and to be reaching for other things. It also means to live long and earnestly seek the ways of the Lord. I ask you, what type of meal are you eating at your table in a spiritual sense?

3. Presence: meaning, a counterpart, one who predicts, explains or declarers and one who praises. A counterpart is one who fits together with our born again nature. It is only as we allow the Holy Spirit to come along side and have an intimate relationship with Him that we can walk in this oneness. We need to learn how to practice the presence of the Lord at all times.

4. Enemies: meaning, adversity, to be in emotional pain, besieged and oppressed and an entity wanting to shut us up, by us not knowing our position in Jesus Christ.

When a person is besieged, they become surrounded and imprisoned in a certain arena of their life and they are robbed of the excitement and adventure to dream and envision God’s purposes for them.

God gives us the weapons of His righteous Spirit where we will have the know how to let Him deliver us from our own life style; and be molded into His life style. We do this by always learning how to recognize the Holy Spirit leadings in our lives and cooperate with His commands. While we are cooperating with Him, we are constantly under attack by an enemy that wants to imprison us in our endeavor to fulfill our destiny as God intended. We have people in the body of Christ having conflicts in marriages, child rearing, additive immorality and curses that have been passed down from prior generations of all kinds.

As I write these articles at times, the awareness and the substance of the spiritual world which can not be touched or seen with our physical senses becomes more real and it intensifies my desire to get God’s understanding and favor, which is what I consider to be the core of all life. When you compare eternity to our temporary time on this planet the only conclusion you can come to is that, man has a higher purpose then to just go through the mundane tasks of surviving from day to day. Unless we step back and are remind by God and those who know Him and have experienced His presence, life goes on in its minuscule time periods and we never get in touch with what our life is really worth.

The main theme through out the whole bible is of a Personal, Holy and Loving God trying to console and provide a place of royal rein with His children. The thing that amazes me over the years is that, I run into countless number of Christians who love God and seek Him but not according to the real knowledge and fellow feelings of His heart. Scripture tells us how are people going to believe unless, God sends a preacher or teacher who will explain His ways. The world has become a rat race of bad news and more bad news. Sometimes I don’t know what it’s going to take for people to just sit down and cry for God’s presence and allow His intervention in the noise and confusion that has erupted on this planet.

Unless the body of Christ develops a spirit of excellence with in themselves and come to understand that, this born again world that they entered into the day they made Jesus their Savior has real substance. We can not any longer take for granted and ignore God’s presence by not participate in the warfare going on all around us. We have to start making a difference for our families and the other people around us. If we will teach the fundamental doctrine of righteousness of the gospel it will equip the body of Christ to know how to practice the presences of the Lord. We are not talking about corporate worship in church on Sunday morning or where ever. This has to be a continual every minute of the day relationship with the Holy Spirit. You can not learn how to be a tenacious empowered Christian from Sunday morning bible class of forever being taught, fulfill your obligation and go home to the every day problems of making a living and then show up at church and get your Sunday morning fix the following week.

David the King said, “Taste and see that the Lord is good” I ask you, “have you really tasted and seen?” When you really taste, the desire for excellence and passion with an every day commitment starts growing if, it is being watered with the true word of God and not man making God into his image with a fig leaf mentality. When we practice the presence of God, his glory on us delivers us and empowers us to be overcomers with Him.

A. Anoints: meaning, to satisfy, give abundance and make us fat because, we are learning that obedience is better then our sacrifices of trying to be holy in our own endeavors. The meaningless un-anointed displays going on with in the Catholic and Protestant assemblies in their endeavors to get God’s favor is a shameful display of our fallen nature, in the sight of God. When one lives with an attitude and participates in any type of sacrifices, they lose in giving up something valuable by giving away or selling something below its value. Our value in God’s eyes has to become a reality in our lives so that, we are being delivered from the shame based nature we received from birth.

In the Old Testament they sacrificed animals to atone for their sins. Once we become born again that type of system of worship ended. We need to understand that the anointing on our lives that God gave us the day we were saved; and ushered into his kingdom, is never taken back by Him. Things that are anointed are set apart as special unto God and empowered in His courts for service and a ruling position with him.

When one does not know their righteous position in Christ and flow in the anointing, they live in this sin conscience mentality and the bible says they live in apostasy. Apostasy is a falling away from receiving God’s grace for our faults and in turn we continue to live in this shame based nature and sin conscience mentality. What we actually do is de-value ourselves in our own eyes. God sees us righteous = (blameless, free from evil and set apart for His use) in His eyes and in reality we don’t believe Him. I have been totally persuaded over these many years that if, the Christian community really understands how kingdom living really works, the sleeping church will awake and start doing the works of Jesus.

B. Head with Oil: meaning, be fruitful, excellents, a priestly calling, or ruler and to be waxed. A born again Christian who knows who he is in Christ acts like a ruler and performs the duties of a priest in God’s courts daily. Rev.1:6 states, “Jesus has appointed and ordained us as kings and priests in His service.” As we are being delivered daily from our shame based nature, we need to have a meek and teachable spirit which empowers the Christian for service too mankind. When one is meek it does not mean that they are a coward, but that they have a quite and a submissive spirit because of their deep root relationship with the Holy Spirit. Even though the storms of life rage and trials become stronger daily, there is an inner assurance of how to let go and let God operate in their lives. This is the inheritance that we all must emotionally participate in daily.

When the storm was raging as Jesus and the Apostles were crossing the sea, Jesus was asleep in the boat but the Apostles became afraid, panicked and woke Him up to calm the circumstances. Unless we see what position and favor we have in God’s sight, we will never speak to our circumstances with power and calm the storms of life. Scripture tells us that those who know their righteous position in Christ must speak it out of their mouth and let their attitudes be either yes or no, not maybe. As this attitude grows in the believer and they become persuaded and this causes fear and double mindedness to be cast out.

When we speak to a circumstance whether it is between our mates or family members or friends, we speak to the completed answer and do not participate in the self pity argument and bondage of the problem.

When a person becomes waxed, they become plentiful and produce a Godly light and salt or vigor to bring wisdom and understanding of God’s ways not only to a dying world without Christ but also, to a lethargic born again church because, they become easily molded and shaped in their character with a more trusting nature. Because of becoming easily molded, there is a quality of courage and fearlessness that arises accompanied with a very sensitive nature for other peoples feeling. We become cautious to have a hearing ear and a very attentive awareness to the inward voice of only what the Holy Spirit is saying to us. This is what a meek spirit produces. This is a person becoming independent and God showing them how to become inter-dependent with others. This is the true nature of God and how we learn what the real love of God is all about.

C. My cup runs over: meaning, a container or portion that is satisfied and that is rising in value because of our relationship with Jehovah God by us again living in His characteristics. By the born again believer allowing God’s righteous spirit to flow through them; they will have an awareness as God intended of His all around security and sovereignty. When a born again believer comes into the reality of knowing a sovereign God with intimacy, who has power and supreme authority, there grows an independents and a freedom inside them and they are able to with stand any outside interference and be come free and know they have the right to self-govern themselves with the Holy Spirits leadings.

To the born again church that does not understand their righteous position in Christ, these people who have become independent are looked at as boat rockers and nonconformists. It is us participating in these first eight verses that will produce the ninth verse that we will be talking about. True maturity in the believer manifests it self with a full assurance and vision in their entire being of this outcome coming to pass. We need to learn to worship the person of God rather then the presence of God.

The Holy Spirit is a living being that one can know and have fellowship with. On the reverse side, a supernatural spirit that is felt to be in a near by arena of our lives could cause us to think, it’s the Spirit of God where in reality, it is only a mirage and it has no anointing on it. For God to walk among His people, His people need to seek His face at all hours and get to know Him intimately.

A. Surely: meaning, a constant reminder that we can be secure and delivered from fear in it’s many forms, with a certainty no matter what and when ever. Phil. 2:12 tells us to “Work out our salvation in fear and trembling. For it is God which works in us to give us the will to do his bidding and then He empowers us to do His will.” We are talking about to types of fear here. The first type is a feeling of anxiety and of an unpleasant feeling of apprehension or distress caused by the presence or anticipation of danger. By working out our salvation with fear and trembling, we have a reverence for God and a showing of respect and to be in awe of someone.

In Ephesians 6:5-6 Paul tells the Ephesian church “ to be single minded in their hearts and to not be a person being a people pleaser type Christian, by trying to be accepted and be man.” The perfect example of singleness in mind and heart is found in Acts 2:46 when it says, “the early Christians day after day they would regularly assemble in the temple with a united purpose and in each others homes, they gathered and broke bread including the Lords supper. They partook of their food with gladness and simplicity with a generous heart. In turn, God added to their number daily, those who were being saved.”

This temple gathering was a far cry from our obligated gathering of Sunday morning and evening and Wednesday night bible study. The structure for Christian’s growth to full maturity is us staying in a learning atmosphere of the presence and personal influences of the Holy Spirit at all times. There should be no obligation in any form in our Christian arena of life. We need to operate at all times under the influence of the Holy Spirit because, we need him to assure us how anchored we are in Christ. There is no way to live in this surety if we are living by having an obligated lifestyle of doing our Christian duty at church and then, living in any type of survivor mode mentality during the week. The church building should be a place that needs to be always open for the needs of all age groups for ministry and service to the poor and needy and for the young as a example of the commitment and tenacity needed to be a born again believer doing the works of Christ in our market places of life. This is going to take all the body of Christ to function in their places and be built up into a holy edifice as the bible tells us we are to be.

This one person Pastor rule mentality that has been handed down over these many generations was never what God intended. The burden of ministry can never be carried by one man rule in a position of authority.  This has to be a family effort of God building His church or the church will be laboring in vain to do God’s will and have His favor.

If the structure is being built as God intended, the surety of a Christian position becomes more of a reality and they begin to really live with the deep down awareness that, nothing can separate them from the love of God. This is what stabilizes all Christian growth. In Romans 8:31-39 Paul the Apostle very graphically identifies the surety of our relationship with God when he tells the Christians in Rome, “If God is for us, who can be against us. Since He gave us His own Son to die on the cross for our sin and shame based nature will He not now give us all that we need to run our race of faith. Who is it that can put any blame and condemnation on us when God is the one who saved us by His grace and mercy? Who will separate us from experiencing the love of Christ? Shall grief or anxiety, or ill treatment from people or the fear of not having our bills paid and going hungry, or exposure to violent acts of harm against us?

If you read these verses with a discerning careful attention to this definition, you have to come to the conclusion that, this covers every circumstance that the believer can be confronted with in his daily walk with the Lord. There is much to say here, however two things I want to point out. One, Paul had to be going through a living relationship with the Holy Spirit daily because, he had to constantly be persuaded that if God was for him who could be against him. Two, he refers to Jesus as Him becoming his Lord. As I said earlier, Jesus must represent more to the Christian community of only being our Savior; He must be becoming our Lord and Master.

B. Goodness and Mercy: meaning, as a noun, a living entity or person who has our health and welfare as being their top priority and their affections are focused on our behalf. It also means to be courteous and be treated as an equal and to pitch a tent and live in peace with a person. As an adjective it means, to be shown a loving kindness, which puts away ones shame. Shame as we have defined it earlier meaning, an emotion that combines feelings of dishonor, unworthiness, and embarrassment which is caused by an evil entity having control over our lives. If we do not learn how to be influenced by God’s goodness and mercy, our shame base nature can not daily die in us and, we never come to understand our righteous position in Christ.

C. Follow me: meaning, God running after us in hot pursuit with a passionate and high intensity for fellowship.

D. Days of our lives: meaning, from one sun set to the next, at all times, at what ever age we are in and forever.

E. Dwell: meaning, to sit down in a quite marriage, to become established and to tarry. When one tarries, they stay in a relationship of expectancy with a person.

F. House of the Lord forever: meaning, to remain permanently at present and for our entire future.

Our human nature was made by God to be possessed and controlled by a higher nature then our own. As we submit and come under God’s Authority it is the only way to our wholeness and a calling that God ordained on our lives from the beginning of time. No man is a god unto himself. Our shame based nature has a will of its own and is a hostile enemy against the Holy Spirits leadings. Our human nature will either gravitate to demonic influences or live by every word that comes out of the mouth of God and his persuasions.

Since the majority of the born again church has not become independent in their freedom in the Holy Spirit, they are still focusing on their and other peoples behavior and trying to correct it with religious efforts. Unless we finally come to operate in the anointing and discern things with the mind of Christ that we received the day we were born again into the kingdom, we will continue to operate in our own denominational revelation of truth and never come to understand who our real enemy is.

We who are born again need to be operating in born again assemblies where we are under the influence of the teaching and preaching of our righteous position in Christ. It is this influence that keeps us focused on the power we have for doing the signs and wonders as Jesus did in His walk, when He was on the earth. As long as we concentrate on all of our faults and things in our lives that we have to stop doing and things we have to start doing, we will always stay in a fixing up mode and never grow and mature to know who we are in Christ. Their was a time when we needed to hear that we were breaking God’s commandments and sinning. This should of caused us to repent and let Jesus empower us with His Spirit and allow Him to come and live and make a home in us. Unless righteousness is being taught and flavored by the Holy Spirits influences, the born again believer can not flow in the Spirit of forgiveness which holds and matures the believer to greatness as God intended.

When we never understand how to have the awareness of a forgiving Spirit for ourselves, we inflict this same unforgiving spirit on others. Since we were already forgiven at the cross, we should be being taught that we have been totally forgiven and be living in the spirit of our forgiven state that is alive with in us.

I believe that the majority of the born again church have fallen in love with their own press clippings. The true standard of our born again relationship must be raised to the point that we know for a fact that, the Lord Jesus Christ is the one who we are raising up to draw men to Himself and that, we are not raising a weak watered down gospel of man leaning to his own understanding. There are no short cuts of “I will put my hand to hunger and thirst after God today and then take a vacation until the next time there is a crisis in my life.” The word of God is so clear and packed full of answers of how to allow the Holy Spirit to have full reign in a believer’s life.

Let me leave you with one last thought. God will never give up on anyone no matter where ever they roam and no matter how hard they try to hide in the darkness and not come into His marvelous love of light and comfort. God’s favor is always available but you must allow Him to show it to you, so you can receive the outcome which is His blessings. What makes the Christian life so rewarding is that God’s favor never ends and therefore, His blessings are continues. I am convinced by my own walk all these years with Him that I have just gotten a small glimpse of His goodness, mercy and the love that He has for me. There is a comforting presence that I have tried for years to put into words and my vocabulary is inept in doing so. Even though I can’t describe it as I would like, it’s as if there is a hedge of comfort and security always there that I can curl up with and even though the storms of life rage if I get still, God gets me to a safe harbor to wait out the storm with him. I am convinced with out a doubt, if we who are born again believers mature to really understand how secure we really are in Jesus Christ, it will usher in His return to this earth.