Dennis Diehl




“Love Jesus or Burn Forever in Hell.” I first saw this wonderfully encouraging statement emblazoned on the roof of a barn in rural South Carolina. Actually just about where I would expect to find it.

Boy does this little bit of encouragement say reams about the either/or mentality that goes with many fundamentalist teachings. So here is the lesson for the day evidently. EITHER I love Jesus, which I assume means confess him, promote him and do everything he is thought to have said and taught, or burn, not just up, but FOREVER in hell. Whoa moma, what a choice and even better, what a reason to love Jesus! Obey out of sheer fear of annihilation. Spirituality doesn’t get any better than this!

In effect this would be the same as me, a loving parent, telling my kids, either you love your daddy, or I will kill you and not in a good or easy way. Any parent that was reported to have said this to a child would be arrested and probably loose custody of the child. But not “God.” of course. Now any real God would never have such a flawed “these are the rules of love” mentality and this is more a reflection of the human who thought it up as cute or threatening, depending on the desired effect. It’s also hogwash.

The bible often gives rather Taliban-like solutions to loving ones children. Sometimes a “rod of correction” is advised to get rid of children being children. That has proven to be a real hit in modern child rearing results. Opps, nuther pun there! This rod is supposed to “drive it far from them.” It can be used for anything from disobeying “god” to not agreeing with dad, even though dad is dead wrong, again. Of course it is a rule used to control and keep the tribe happy. Actually it makes them turn inward and resentful, or compliant until they have a chance to not be.

Why if we are lucky enough to live until Jesus comes again, we get to see that even He is coming with a great big Rod of Iron to bash his people and all people into submission. He rides a White Horse, no doubt, and pours out plagues, vials, trumpets and trombones upon the world until we all scream in pain, “Ok, OK, you win, we LOVE you.” Is it impossible for these kinds of gods and offspring to set up seminars or classes on why, we as humans can do better and live lives more peaceful and meaningful? Bashing never seems to work. Are we forever going to be motivated by fear of a good bashing so we comply, or as I like to stay, “sit down on the outside, but stand up on the inside,” and be duplistic? I guess so if we don’t come up with another way to be and think.

We’re even told in the Old Testament that as parents we should get up all our courage and stone to death our rebellious kids. Great idea! That’s been a chosen winner in effective child rearing practices through all of human family history. Of course, no parents of those kids would not have gotten old enough to have them under those guidelines either, but that’s another issue. What a great time the parents must have had actually getting to throw rocks at their own kids, and not just to scare them, but to kill them! You know how long it takes to be stoned to death? Long time.

Mom must have been beside herself with glee seeing the child beg for help only to have mom say “ha! You think that was a great hit, just watch this!” Maybe dad actually helped the mom get her shots more dead on as it’s not the kind of thing most parents practice. Or who knows? Wonder if they went out for dinner that evening and discussed how they could have done it better and whether or not they will miss Schlomo. I wonder if dad kept a stone on the mantel and whenever any of the surviving kids goofed off, he gave it loving glance and gave the kid a knowing smile? Maybe child rearing classes in the Old Testament included a segment on “Effective Stoning Techniques Should the Need Arise.”

Actually, a parent being required by religious law to stone their own child is beyond comprehension to me and certainly not a teaching any real god. No, these are pretty much made up gods with made up rules to instill fear. Definitely your “Love Jesus or Burn Forever in Hell,” mentality. So please, don’t stone your kids for being human and forget the rod of iron thing.

There is a lot of “love me or I will kill you,” religion loose on the planet these days. Other forms of this ridiculous idea are “Obey Me, or I will kill you.” “Believe me, or I will kill you.” And perhaps, “Give Dad a big hug, or I will choke your guts out.” All very effective and genuine expressions of a deep understanding of true love and compassion. Almost brings tears to my eyes thinking of how loved I am with this kind of love out there just waiting to pour itself down on me.

Well, at any rate, just kidding. “Love Jesus or burn forever in hell,” is a pathetic statement of what is wrong with fundamentalist religious thinking. It’s all fear, shame and guilt based. It’s key motivator is fear of consequences if one does not comply, and it so often neither works nor inspires compassion or encouragement. I’d love to meet the kids of anyone that would paint on a huge barn roof, this little bit of sage Biblical advice. I wonder if they ever come home to the farm for Thanksgiving or Christmas, or dads birthday? I wonder if they even sends cards? I wonder if they are close to their parents or enjoy their company and perspectives on how life works and what to do when it doesn’t seem to. Naw, I bet not. I bet these kids were stoned to death long ago.

Charles Crosby




Now, I hope to reach people of all levels of Holy Spiritual maturity with this article, whether the Father God is, right this minute, beginning to call you, or you have been a faithful follower of the Lord Jesus Christ for many years. To those of you who are long term believers and have been fortunate enough to find and belong to a grace filled fellowship, I say to you, you are truly blessed, but please read on as there will probably be something new for you here anyway.

Grace – why grace, what is it for? Why did Paul always greet the Churches in his letters with the opening remarks in 1 Corinthians 1:3 “Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”? Could it be that together with the message of the free undeserved gift of eternal life in the Kingdom of God it was the most important aspect of the Lord Jesus Christ’s message and the reason for His coming? Yet in so many fellowships, it is at best misunderstood, and at worst, completely ignored and not preached at all. Why is that, and why is the word ‘grace’, in Paul’s salutation, accompanied by the word ‘peace’? Quite simply, because without fully understanding grace and living fully under grace you will never fully experience the total peace that Paul refers to in Philippians 4:7 as “the peace of God that passeth all understanding.” We have to be totally free of guilt and reproach in order to know and experience this peace. Without fully understanding what grace is you will never be at peace as a Christian. Are you one of these unfortunate people?

I was a member of a legalistic cult, known as The Worldwide Church of God, for seven years, where the ministers behaved like Pharisees and regularly laid guilt upon us through Old Covenant teaching i.e. trying to get us to keep the Old Covenant Law under our own strength. We, the congregation, were as those described in Galatians1:6 (foolish Galatians) only most of us, in all fairness, had never heard the original true message of grace in the first place. In defence of the cult, what I will say is that we learned Old Testament scriptures very thoroughly indeed, which in itself, as a study, was not a bad thing. I will also add at this juncture that cults do not have a monopoly in legalism – they are not the only grace killers, but I have digressed somewhat – just a little about my background.

To give us a sense of what is important to God, the word ‘Grace’ appears 131 times in the New Testament (The King James Version), and the words ‘Kingdom of God/Heaven’, 109 times. By contrast, the word ‘religion’ appears 5 times. In three cases of the use of this word it accurately refers to the Jews and their legalistic ritualized religion. In the other two uses, it means praise and worship in one and in James 1:27 it is referring to pure religion which, in this context, is really love in action and not religion at all. James here, though, is mocking religion not sending it up. From this evidence alone we can easily deduce that religion is of man and not of God.

So what is so important about Grace? Well, to those being called as well as to those already called, it’s all-important. It’s all about Jesus’ sacrifice – His once for all time, for all sins, sacrifice. Jesus took all of our sins with Him to the cross, all the sins we have committed in the past, all the sins we have committed today and all the sins we will commit in the future.

Psalm 103:11-12 For as the heaven is high above the earth [so] great is the mercy toward them that fear (love and revere) Him. As far as the east is from the west [so] far hath He removed our transgressions? (Brackets mine)

Under grace our sins are not only forgiven but also forgotten, and all of them, not just today’s and yesterday’s but our future sins too. We must learn the above truth about the all encompassing nature of grace and take it on board or we will never fully grow in faith and reach our full potential. In Luke 18:8 the Lord asks this very question, the second part of verse 8 “Nevertheless when the Son of Man cometh (returns as King of Kings), shall he find faith on earth?” (Brackets mine) This is what Jesus will be looking for, not how many Saturday or Sunday Sabbaths you are keeping or have kept. The Pharisees, with their religious mind set, were not a first century phenomenon; they are still with us today. 2 Timothy 3:5 “Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof” – the men of the Christian Religion.

The wondrous thing about this once for all and all time sacrifice is that it is only half the story. The Lord Jesus Christ’s death took away our all our sins but His Resurrection gave us life, a new life and a new identity as a new person, a life of freedom, free from guilt, no more reproaching ourselves and most importantly an opportunity to grow in Godly confidence and faith. We cannot grow in Godly confidence without living under The Lord’s true grace – it’s impossible! Furthermore, this means we can then be confident in Jesus’ love and unconditional acceptance of us His friends and brothers just as we are provided we have repented and confessed our sins at baptism.

Finally, and this may shock some of you, after our initial repentance and keeping a repentant heart (a right attitude toward sin) or looking after our new heart of flesh, no more confessing of sins is needed; no more asking forgiveness, and no more penance, what ever that means. I never could figure that one out and if I were you I wouldn’t even go there!! (Please see my article: “Is Repetitive Confession of Sins Biblical?”) Let us now get one or two things straight, because under Grace we now have a new identity and that is what it’s all about – identities. This means we are Born Anew, a completely new life; we are now Born Again, we’re new people. Read the wonderful story of Nicodemus John 3:1-13. I never tire of it.

Now, when the Father looks down at us from Heaven, He sees not us, with all our sins and imperfections, but the Lord Jesus Christ, who is perfect and in us through the indwelling of Holy Spirit – this is grace. As and when we do sin, even willfully, Jesus is there to intercede for us with the Father. (Roman Catholics please note, not Mary as she is asleep or dead in her grave and knows nothing. Furthermore she will continue to know nothing until she is resurrected when The Lord Jesus Christ returns to this earth in power and glory. Please see Ecclesiastes 9:5 to learn what happens when we die). If we continue in willful sin He will even sort that out too. (Please see my articles: “Are Christians Going To Heaven?” and “What Does it Mean – To Sin Wilfully? – Parts 1 & 2)

Now I have covered quite a lot of ground so far on this crucial topic and I can hear the flagellators crying “heretic!” and groaning at the thought of realising that they may have to admit to the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ has done everything for them, but will they? They will probably reach for their Bibles and immediately quote John’s letter:

1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

The thing is, is this verse countering what I have said in the above paragraphs? No, definitely not. The first chapter of John’s letter is not written in the same style as Paul’s letters and, perhaps, is not a letter at all, but more of a sermon. Now this evidence is crucial, for the first chapter of 1 John is addressed to a different audience from those in the second chapter, which is where a lot of ‘experts’, Bible intellectuals and theologians go wrong. The opening verses are a declaration of John’s witness and personal experience of the Lord Jesus and of the opportunity, for those who believe, of eternal life, and the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Light – verses 1-5; but to whom is he declaring this information? Those who were already believers or already Born Again would have known this information. People don’t declare old information they only declare new information or news; something that has not been heard before.

Time was precious, even in the first century, and John would not have wasted his time preaching to the converted. John was speaking to non-believers or those who were beginning to show an interest in the Good News or those being called. That is why he is declaring it, as if, for the first time because his audience will have not heard this message before. As stated, in verse 8 we read “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves…” Those born again in that congregation would have already known this and would have confessed their sins previously at the time of their baptisms; again, why would John preach this message to the converted? Once born again, we have a new heart – a repentant heart; we now think differently. No, these verses are aimed at the unconverted – those who may be saying they have no sin.

Back to verse 3: “that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us…” Please, note this and, note it well, because John is saying: “that you may join us.” These people are not yet church members, they are potential converts – they are not established believers and they are not yet members of The Church. All John is saying to them is this; you can no longer carry on living the way you are, denying that you are sinners or thinking that you are not in need of redemption. He is explaining that they must decide to put their old lifestyles behind them, they must confess their sins, admit their wickedness and not try to kid God or themselves that they’re without sin. Quite plainly, John says to them again in verse 8 that if you say you have no sin then you are lying to God, your fellow man and even to yourselves.

More importantly, in chapter 1 verse 10, John also says that we make God a liar as well and His Word is not in us. These passages are here to help bring new converts to true repentance i.e. to help them realize that in their fallen condition they need redemption and to know what is involved in order to become a Born Again true believer and follower of Our Lord Jesus Christ. All the Lord is looking for, is that God given change of attitude towards sin, a one and only confession, and then a continuing repentant heart. This means an ongoing willingness to change as He empowers us and guides us, not our “personal self-improvement program,” “our getting ourselves ‘right’ with God,” “our participation,” “daily cleansing,” “salvation by progress,” “sanctification by process” or “boot strap DIY Christianity” as I call it.

The words of the first chapter of 1 John should be extremely challenging and thought provoking for those coming to the Lord, and if accepted, then euphoric for new believers, but, and this is a big but, if these words are preached or taught as binding on those already Born Again, they are blasphemous and lethal, and will literally put that believer back into ******* and legalistic slavery.

In chapter two, of 1 John he continues his message to new converts and ***** in Christ, repeating some of the basics of the first chapter, but by verse 8 of chapter 2, he has shifted the emphasis by explaining that the darkness has past and they are now walking in The Light. By verse 12, he speaks to these new converts by telling them their sins are now forgiven; notice, not some of their sins, but all of their sins. In verse 13, his message shifts again, and it is now aimed at the older members of the church, here called fathers, but the correct word here is elders for we have only one Spiritual Father. In the same verse he also speaks to the young men of the church. We have, therefore, in 1 John a letter that is not only addressed to non-believers and newcomers, but also to people at different stages of maturity in the Faith.

OK, I have now come to the core issue of this study and the main question, which is – do we as Born Again believers have to continually and repetitively keep asking the Lord God for forgiveness and endlessly confess our sins to Him? Let’s stop and think about this for a while. I have already quoted God’s Word that Our Lord took all of our sins with Him to the cross. If that is the case, and I know that it is, then why do we keep on reminding Him of our latest sins? By doing this we are really saying to Him:”Here you are Lord, here are some sins you forgot to take with you to the cross.” Now is this a blasphemy or not? To me it most assuredly is. Here is another question: If you are still confessing your latest sins having already confessed you were a sinner at baptism, what do you expect The Lord Jesus Christ to do with your latest sins? He dealt with those sins at the cross so that at the point of your calling he would accept your confession. At that point in your life He forgave you all your sins, how many times do you need forgiving?

I now, no longer confess my sins to Him, and I will now give you the Biblical reasons why. Let us move onto 1 John 3 verse 1. As Born Again believers, we are now loved and accepted sons and daughters of God. Verse 2: he who sins breaks the Law and yet, verse 3, Jesus was manifested (clearly visible and apparent to the mind), to take away our sins – all of our sins, not just some of them. Verse 6 – now get this: “Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not;” how does that work then? I have not stopped sinning, I am human, but then I have not stopped trusting and believing either. Doh! Of course! I am abiding in Him if I keep on trusting and believing, so even though I sin, I don’t sin as far as the Father is concerned. He sees only the new Born Again man with Jesus Christ in me via the Holy Spirit, and not the old me. I am not going to argue with Jesus Christ and the Father over that, are you?

John then reaffirms this in verse 9: “whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin: for His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin because he is born of God.” I’ll repeat my question: How does this work then? It works because He took all of our sins to the cross. This includes all of today’s sins and tomorrow’s as well. If He took them all then we must be perfect in His sight. Quite plainly if He didn’t take them all then we are, horror of horrors, still in our sins. The bottom line of this is, if we, as believers, are still confessing our sins and asking for forgiveness of our sins, we are trampling all over His Sacrifice. We are forgiven – period, there are no steps, stages or phases to forgiveness, we are either forgiven or we’re not forgiven and that’s it.

What about the Lord’s Prayer I hear you ask? Am I saying then that The Lord’s Prayer is not for Born Again believers? In a word, yes, because it was delivered to those who were not yet Born Again, they were still under the Law. Even the Lord Jesus Christ was under the Law whilst He was in the flesh and walked this earth; Matt. 6:9-15. Verse 12: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” This statement is a conditional remark. Life under the Law was strictly conditional, do this and do that, don’t do this and don’t do that, in order to be forgiven. Now we are under Grace, we are free to choose. Because we are now forgiven, it should be natural to forgive, not forced or coerced. It should now be unnatural not to forgive. How can we not forgive knowing what He has done for us? Please read the story of the wicked servant in Matt. 18:23-35.

Now let’s go to the last verse of this study, 1 John 3:3 which I believe says it all: “And every man that hath his hope in Him purifieth himself even as He is pure.” There you have it in one verse, and if you keep your hope and trust in Him you are as pure as the Lord himself. So if we are pure through keeping our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ how can we confess sins – where is the need to confess sins? We are literally asking the Father God to forgive transgressions and sins He cannot see.

I hope this will be of help to all who read it. Watch this space for further studies.

Patricia Nordman




Me:
Jesus, it’s me again. Forgive me for bothering you so much, but this problem is eroding my innards. I had a terrible row with him today–again. Sometimes I really despise him. Of course, as you know, being a good Christian, I didn’t tell him. Heavens, I have offices in the church, and I have to be careful of my image. . .

Jesus:
Image, my all-seeing eye! That’s ridiculous. I saw your heart, and it was one big spiritual aneurysm. It was only my grace that kept it from blowing bits of poison through your rotten system.

Me:
O Jesus, how can you say that? Why, he started the whole thing. He always does, spending ten-dollar bills on ten-cent problems. Why does he do that?

Jesus:
Never mind what he does. I’ll take care of him in due time. It’s you we need to patch together here. Remember that sentence your friend wrote for you, “Meekness is the lack of self-justification?”

Me:
Well, yes. In fact, I have it right over my desk and I read it every day.

Jesus:
It isn’t doing you much good, is it? Now, for your penance I want you to repeat that sentence once every hour.

Me:
But I left those “works” years ago! I thought we weren’t supposed to do that penance bit. . .

Jesus:
I’m the High Priest and I’m telling you, repeat that sentence twice an hour for arguing about it. Now, that card you spotted in the grocery store. . .

Me:
Yes, Jesus, that was really unfair. You didn’t give me any time to get my wits together to tell him off. Why, that card hit me right in my madness!

Jesus:
It was supposed to. I sent my Holy Spirit down there just before you went storming into the store, and had him inspire one of the clerks to put it where I knew you couldn’t miss it. You see, I know your habits, even the one of lingering in front of card racks.

Me:
But Jesus, that card?! It looked really neat, though–so colorful. “GOD LOVES YOU!” Wow! Like you said, I couldn’t miss it. And then when I read what it said inside, “And what’s good enough for God is good enough for me!” Well, Jesus, I got your message. I bought it and put in on his desk.

Jesus:
Good! You did just what I wanted you to do. You followed the promptings of my Spirit, finally.

Me:
It did help. He came in and apologized after he read it. But I’m still mad at him!

Jesus:
That’s a good word, mad. Of course you are. You’re filled with pride and selfishness.

Me:
But Jesus, you just don’t understand. . .

Jesus:
Now don’t start that canard. I died for you, lady–no, woman–no lady would act the way you did that day. As for my not understanding, nonsense. Remember, I walked that same earth, and human nature hasn’t changed much, unfortunately. I got murdered by people who thought they were doing the world a favor. You only got chewed out.

Me:
I got spit out!

Jesus:
Well, remember – I got spit on. But anyway, see what it’s done for you. It’s sent you to my Word. And it’s humbled you a bit. We do need to work on that. But at least you’re searching and praying, and I’ve been rushing my Holy Spirit to you to clean up that cesspool in your heart.

Me:
Mercy, Jesus! Is it that bad?

Jesus:
Indeed it is. You can’t see it, but I can. Speaking of mercy, do you realize it’s my mercy that keeps you from doing even worse things? Have you ever thought to thank me for that?

Me:
O yes, Jesus! When I look at what other people do, why, I’m so grateful I’m not that bad!

Jesus:
You Pharisee, I didn’t mean it that way. There but for my grace and pardon, you would be doing all manner of unrighteousness. And you certainly didn’t win any celestial points with that awful outburst last week. You know, woman, if you would just keep quiet you’d stay out of a lot of trouble. To borrow back from Shakespeare who I inspired anyway, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” And because of my dreadful experience with Pilate, I inspired Shakespeare to write this, too: “The silence of pure innocence persuades when speaking fails.” Only you aren’t pure innocence.

Me:
But Jesus, I didn’t even do what he kept saying I did. Silence surely would not have convinced him.

Jesus:
Did all that yelling help? Remember when I stood before Pilate and said nothing? My friend Matthew recorded that Pilate marveled greatly at that silence, because it’s so human to defend ourselves. I didn’t do a thing to deserve being hung on a cross. You’re far from innocent, and when you are accused wrongfully you scream inwardly and outwardly. Shock him and say nothing. He’ll marvel at your silence, believe me.

Me:
Well, I suppose I didn’t have to make that wisecrack about his German distemper when he hit me with that “You and your Irish temper. . .”

Jesus:
Yes, I should give you a permanent stiff upper lip for that one. The trouble is, even if you never said it you’d think it, and it’s the thought that gives birth to the deed, always. That was one of the purposes of my Sermon on the Mount: clean up your thoughts and then you’ll clean up your act.

Me:
I know, Jesus, but if only he…

Jesus:
Oh, there you go, with your “but if onlys” again! There are no excuses and no exceptions. You’re supposed to be my portrait just as I’m the portrait of my Father. It’s an affront to me when you insult one of mine, and you certainly insulted him that day. He’s my child, remember?

Me:
Well. . . I’m sorry, Jesus.

Jesus:
Yes, I believe you. Of course sorry has several connotations, but I’m Love and I’ll accept it as true repentance. Now, let’s see what we can do to help you better understand forgiveness. One very important thing, it’s unconditional, absolutely no strings attached.

Me:
Do you mean that no matter what anyone says or does, I’m supposed to drop it all as if it never happened?

Jesus:
That’s it!

Me:
Impossible, Jesus. . .

Jesus:
True, but that’s without me. With me all things are possible, and that includes a brand new heart of love, and a new mind, too: my mind. My friend Paul had lots to say about the mind. Study Romans 8:6: “To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” Your mind can’t be at peace when it’s filled with **** and resentment.

Me:
Yes, Jesus. I have to admit I haven’t been too peaceful since this last row.

Jesus:
Of course not. But you can free both of you by forgiving him. Besides, I have promised the earth to the meek and humble, and the peacemakers I call my special children. But before you inherit the everlasting earth you need to change your character. It may shock you to hear this, but if you can’t get along with him and forgive him here, you may not have a hereafter!

Me:
Somehow that doesn’t seem quite fair!

Jesus:
But that’s the way it is. Why did I die for your sins in which you persist? I did it because I love you. Why can’t you forgive for the same reason? But – I have to stress that I don’t love your sins, and I can’t excuse them or allow you to excuse them.

Me:
But Jesus, if it’s someone else’s fault. . .!

Jesus:
Oh, there you go again! Besides, how do you know that? You may be just as much at fault as the other person. It’s your reaction that tells on you. Your pride is piqued so you lash out. If you had a humble spirit and if you think about me and the sacrifice I made for all of you, these things wouldn’t get your goat so much. Speaking of goat, you humans have a gift for making scapegoats of others when the fault lies within your own noisome spirit. You’re acting like a goat, you know–very unruly. Read up on sheep and remember that I plan to put the sheep on my right. The goats will be out in left field.

Me:
Yes, Jesus. I feel very sheepish. . .

Jesus:
You should. And while we’re on this subject of right- and left-handed choices, the final distinction is the sanctified and the unsanctified, not the rich and the poor, the educated and the uneducated, and all those divisions and so-called discernments you humans are so fond of inventing.

Me:
Well, Jesus, I do try not to judge others. . .

Jesus:
Ah, but you do! The moment you entertain an unforgiving thought you are judging. The first word you utter in anger is a judgment. Think about that. And I know what you wanted to call him, too! You can thank my Spirit that you at least had the grace not to say it. My friend Matthew recorded what I had to say about name-calling. Anyone who calls another a fool is in danger of the second death. You’re to treat all with tenderness.

Me:
But it’s so hard to remember that in the heat of anger. . .

Jesus:
If you had my mind you’d have no heat. You need the heat from my lamp, my Word, not the world’s words. And don’t have the last word!!

Greg Ryan




We see it all the time in people’s lives some
unwanted circumstance enters and life is turned
upside down. A loss of a job, an unexpected bill,
sickness you name it. I think we have all said at
one time or another, “gosh, life just doesn’t seem
to be fair. It does not suppose to be this way; it
wasn’t what I had planned.”

We hear about it all the time in people’s lives
someone leaves a marriage, a friend disappoints
you when you need them the most, or someone is not
the person you expected them to be. Our
expectations in others sometimes just never seems
to be met.

We experience it at times in our own lives when
life and love come together and all we come up
with is the absence of logic. We rack our brains
to find some reasons or rationales for events or
peoples behaviors only to find ourselves left with
more confusion and frustrations.

Was life fair to Jesus? Absolutely not! Did people
disappoint him? You bet! Did events in his life
not make sense to him at times? Probably so! But
through it all even up until the time of his death
Jesus had a passion for giving people comfort in
the midst of events, unmet expectations and times
of no rhyme nor reason. One of the Passions Jesus
had was he is the great comforter. “Come to me all
who are heavy laden and I will give you rest.”
the bible says. Yet nowhere in the bible does he
say that our lives will be perfect. Nowhere does
he say others will always live up to our
expectations, and nowhere does he say that we will
understand it all. But what he does say all
through out the bible is when; life, love and
logic disappoints come to the cross and lay our
burdens down. There is no other place than on our
knees that Jesus would rather us be. It is in our
questions of life, our disappointments of others,
and our times of confusion where we find the most
comforter in Jesus.

If we wait until life is 100 percent, loved ones
are totally to our liking, and we try to
understand everything about them both, life may
never be lived, love may never be found and we may
miss out on the true meaning of why Jesus died on
the cross for us. Romans 8:28 does say, “And we
know that all things work together for good to
them that loves God, to them who are called
according to his purpose.” Jesus wants us to love
life, love others and love him that is the true
meaning of life.

This week when life isn’t fair, disappoints arise
and things don’t seem to make any sense remember
Jesus is our comforter and it’s at the cross where
he died that we can lay our burdens down.

Greg Ryan




I don’t know of anyone who really liked taking
tests in school if you did there is something
seriously wrong with you. It just seemed as
though some breezed through while people like
myself always struggled. Life is not fair!!!! Some
call it tests anxiety. I think I just concentrated
on trying not to get the answer wrong instead of
relaxing and allowing my brain to find the answer
in my head. Most times the next day I could do
better because of no pressure. Second golf shots
are like that too! So when I received my test
scores back all I noticed were the red marks and
disappointments instead of how many right answers
I had out of one hundred. Having said that,
perfect test scores were few and far between for
most of us I think.

Life at times gives us impromptu tests that at the
time we think we have fail in our minds. In other
words, when all said and done our nature is to
focus on what we did wrong and our imperfections
and not the opportunity for growth that is in
front of us. Life is not about perfect papers it’s
about learning from the red marks. Yet, in most
experiences lessons can be learned from those
moments.

Jesus was a great teacher. In the bible there are
thirty-nine parables in which Jesus teaches us
through life lessons. Jesus teaches this way for
two reasons: one, he brings in life experiences
that we all can relate to at different times in
our lives. Two, each parable has a much larger
meaning about life that may apply in numerous ways
to your own life for years to come. One thing to
point out is in each parable it is not so much the
beginning of the story but the end that is most
important. The accent falls on the last person
that is mentioned, the last deed, or the last
saying. The so-called end stress in the parable is
a deliberate design in its composition. Jesus in
each parable in different ways teaches us that
life is not about seeing how perfect one can
become, but becoming better people in the midst of
our imperfections.

There maybe times when we disappoint ourselves or
especially others that we love, but remember none
of us are perfect only Jesus is. Yet it is in
those disappointments that the lessons learned can
draw us closer to Christ and those we love. It’s
the great teachers in life that teach us how to
fish, rather than counting the ones that get away.

Remember this week, life, you, others may
disappoint or you may experience Joy and
happiness, which ever it is in those times count
it lessons to be learned.

Patricia Nordman




“Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish” (John 21:13.) “And he says to me, Write, Blessed [are] they who are called to the supper of the marriage of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9).

Jesus is our Host. One of the most compelling invitations in all the Bible is Revelation 3:20: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” We would have to be astonishingly hard-souled and soiled to ignore His constant and tender invitations to us to fellowship with Him. Here in John 21 Jesus has done all the work for this special communion with His beloved disciples. Would He do less for us? I don’t think so.

Jesus saw that these dear friends of His were still reluctant to come to Him, so He goes to them with nourishment. What an example for us who are as shy to approach Him as were these hesitant interns of His! Again, Jesus meets us on the shore of our particular experience. He brings to us all ordinary provisions, plentiful and plain, and serves us. What a remarkable passage and symbol this is!

Another thought considers how Jesus was treated by His disciples and how He treats us. When Jesus most needed His dear friends in the Garden, they fell asleep. Then they deserted Him, one by one, when He was arrested. Would we have done the very same thing, had we lived then? I’ve often wondered if I, too, would have shouted, “Crucify Him,” with the mob. We need to take heed lest we fall! But what I would like to share here is the enormously comforting thought that Jesus will never treat us as we treat Him. This passage from this extraordinary chapter of John proves that He will be there for us, on the shore in our severe times, ready with His provisions of love and promises. He will come and meet us, too, at the juncture of our despair; we don’t need to worry about going to Him. In the depths of anguish, this is a crucial belief.

Dr. Kim Bloomer




“…I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4: 11b – 13, NIV.

From the time I can remember, I have loved and had an affiinty with critters. When asked as a young girl what I was going to be when I grew up, I would always say a veterinarian. However, that did not happen. My life took a downward spiral that led me away from God’s purpose for my life into a world of sin which greatly detracted from my goals. While my love for animals never abated nor changed, my direction did.

I truly misspent my time and yet I can look back now and see that everything I’ve done has still led to God’s purpose for my life in the manner He gifted me with. I maybe didn’t become a veterinarian, I did work with them for years. In fact, I learned a lot of different vocations in working with animals which has all led to me being in the holistic pet care industry.

Again, what has that to do with being able to do all things through Christ Jesus? Well, He gave me this passion. He gave me this desire. He gives us these goals and dreams to serve Him with. He also gives us the strength and endurance to fulfill those desires. Isn’t that amazing? We think it’s all on our own power at times and energy, when in reality it is all from Him for His glory!

This last week was very trying in many ways including the loss of Pope John Paul II. While I am not a Catholic (was when I was growing up), I feel the world has lost a true child of God while God has gained another son into His kingdom. I haven’t been sad for that very reason and in fact have been encouraged by the Pope’s life but it is the end of an era leaving a bit of uncertainty. Again though, God is in controll

The week was trying because while two partners and I pursue a new online venture in holistic pet care seminars, a veterinarian who was initially involved decided to bail out. He did so because partly he couldn’t figure out some of the technical stuff. I can totally understand that though. What I don’t understand, however, is the way he left -with a stabbing attack upon me, my partners, the internet community we are using as our platform, the support team, even the fact that I’m not as educated as he. In fact he even attacked our website and the fact that we didn’t glorify him as the week’s featured instructor. He went so far as to attack our dream and that he hopes I find a particular little venture I can actually do.

While I’ve tried various ventures to go forth with this particular veterinarian, nothing seemed to work out. It all felt forced. Rather than continue to stress out and wonder why no one was even signing up for his class, I prayed. That’s what I should’ve done in the first place. Why is it, it’s always our last resort instead of our first? Our strength and power come from God alone and yet we try to go upon our own strength so often.

It was amazing how much of the weight of this troubling situation lifted once I prayed and received clarity from God on this whole thing. While I didn’t yet know that this doctor would attack me (and when he did, it did hurt a lot), I did know instantly that it wasn’t going to work with him on our team.

Once I received the very hurtful and veiled ugliness of that particular email, and I did cry (a lot), I began to pray and ask God for His direction and strength. Funny thing is, an encouraging story I posted on the IVWCC RSS channel came to mind “Tiny Frogs”. I laughed out loud knowing God was telling me to go forth, and to grow some more character!

I’ll backtrack a bit here and say that in a nutshell the Tiny Frogs story is about a bunch of tiny little frogs who were going to have a race to the top of a big building. It was a daunting task for these little frogs but they all knew they could do it. There was a huge crowd at the bottom of the building initially cheering them on as they went forth to conquer this building. However, after a while many of the frogs got very tired, and then the crowd started to turn, telling them things like “You’ll never make it! Turn back! You’re gonna fall!” and on and on. Eventually one by one all the frogs dropped out except one little frog who never wavered but kept his eye on the goal and he made it all the way to the top. When he was later interviewed he was asked why he was able to make it but not the others. He went “what? can’t hear you”. He was deaf! He couldn’t hear the naysayers so he just kept on going!!

Moral of the story is, when it is God’s will for us to accomplish His purpose for our lives and His voice is the only one we listen to while on that purposeful mission, we’ll accomplish that goal upon the strength and power of our Savior Jesus! By serving others, we are serving our God.

Tumwesigye Wycliffe




Jesus Christ left all His glory in heaven and came down on earth to die for the sins of the human race. He willingly laid down His life to redeem us from both the consequences and penalty of sin. People of all races and ages can find new life in Him if they chose too. For God so loved the world that He gave His own son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). Below are the 5S’s of Jesus Christ

Search- Jesus searches every sinner where he/she is on the face of the earth. He uses different means including: His word, the Holy Spirit, circumstances around us, dreams and many more so that every individual will not have an excuse for not hearing from God.

Save- Jesus saves every one who accepts Him after being found. The saving grace of Jesus is such that none of the human race will perish but have everlasting life. He saves us from both the consequences of sin such as sicknesses, poverty and misery as well as the penalty of sin, which are death and the everlasting suffering in hell. Because He formed you, He is able to transform you.

Sustain- Jesus is the creator and provider of all our needs. If he feeds the birds and wild animals which are of less importance, what about you who is made in His likeness and was given the ability to look after the rest of the creatures? He tells us not to worry about what to eat or feed on but to pray and put our trust in Him because He cares for us.

Satisfy- Jesus Christ provides the peace and satisfaction that cannot be got from anything else in this world. Believing in Him gives everlasting joy and comfort despite the hardships that may be prevailing in our environment. He fills up the vacuum in every heart that usually yearns for more and grants satisfaction in all situations.

Send- Jesus does not only save you to remain in the comfort of your home but to go and tell others about what he has done for you. This sharing will bring medicine to the many who are undergoing many forms of suffering resulting from sin and this will give you credit before God hence rewards.

Dalip Singh Wasan asked:



Religion started reformation?

Dalip Singh Wasan, Advocate.

If we go deep and trace the history of this man, we come to the conclusion that the man had gone astray and the people who started reforming this man and giving him right directions are really the founders of religion. They prepared codes for the people and the people who started following those codes turned into a separate unit and the people who were not coming to that code were forming a separate unit. At a later stage, more and more people had been establishing these codes of conducts and they started giving these units separate names. Today, we call these units as religions and sub religions.

It is on record that the people who started writing these codes were creating fear in the mind of this man and declared that those who are not following these codes shall be punished either in this world or the world to which they go after their death. These are the people who gave the ultimate name to the most powerful unit as God. They told the followers that God is supreme and we all have been sent on this earth by that Supreme Power. They gave different names to this Supreme Power and they also told us that every person who is created and sent on this earth has got a luck and this luck and destiny is written by that God and this work is done when the man is sent on this earth. They also told us that this luck is written only once and there are no chances to change this because the file on which this luck and destiny is recorded by God is never recalled by God for correction and change. So the man has to suffer or enjoy as per this writing and he is not in a position to get this change. The people who were writing down these codes also told us that there is an authority appointed by God who takes all accounts when we die and if our good works are on higher side, we could be given Heaven and if the number of bad works are on higher side, then we are given Hell. Some people get salvation and they never visit this earth once again.

All these entries in the codes give us guidance and this work is on since time immemorial and it is still on. But we must accept that this man is listening to all, but in very rare cases, this man follows the directions given in religious books and when confronted, he gives an explanation that it is very difficult to follow code of conducts given in religious books.

In due course, in stead of following the items given in religious books, the people started dividing themselves in names of religions and it is also on record that a sense of competition came into being. The religions are running in a race and they are trying to compete and come forward winners. They are utilizing all the methods to win this race. It is on record that they had been killing the people in other religions. It is also on record that they had been converting others to their own fold and if need be, they utilized force and if need be, they killed the people who were not agreeing to convert. It is on record that they had been destroying religious places of those in the opposing groups. It is also on record that all these terrorist and rioter groups are formed and established on the basis of religions which are fighting amongst each other. And in spite of the fact that people are pronouncing religious toleration and secularism, they are still fighting as terrorists and rioters.

If we go deep we find that all the religions are telling us the same things about God, about this man, about the luck, about the accounts taking, about the Hell, about the Hell, about the prayer and other religious discourses. But still they are divided and the people who established all these religions, if come to this life once again, they shall be sorry to note that what they had founded, all has gone wrong and some Devil Type force has started functioning in this man and it has gone astray. At present even governments are not in a position to control this man because they too are siding with one group of the other and their conduct is under doubt in each country.

We have noted that so many people have started explaining the principles laid down in all these religious books, but at the same time we note that these preachers are also trying to establish that the religious book they are preaching is the best in the world which clearly means they are dividing the people and they are not having any desire in their mind that this man should unite. We had seen in history that in India one ruler known in name of Akbar the great tried to establish one common religion in the name of ‘ Din I Illahi’ but he failed because his own people did not allow him to lead that organization. Similarly Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Guru of the Sikhs forwarded this concept of common religion when he compiled Shri Guru Granth Sahib in which he included works of all the saints and Bhagatas irrespective of their religion, caste, colour and creed. But later on this Guru Granth sahib became the religious book of the Sikhs and the others are not accepting this Granth as their own religious book. So the Sikhs too got a separate religious book of their own and on the basis of this Granth they could declare that they are also a separate religion and they have actually been allowed and recognized as a separate religion.

Today, none of us is trying to establish a common religion. We are separating and going far away from each other. All the people in different religions are at fight and there is no love lost in between these religions and people in different religions. We have introduced some concepts of religious toleration and secularism in each constitution in the world, but all these are paper transactions and people are still at fight and they are killing people in name of religions either as terrorists or as rioters or in wars. Therefore, we can pray that God Himself should come down on this earth and He should set the things right and must establish the world which was in His mind when He was establishing this world.

————————-

Dalip Singh Wasan asked:


Do not compare your religion.

Dalip Singh Wasan. Advocate.

Everyman on this earth has taken his birth and he had got the same religion to which his parents had been belonging. The man on this earth has got no choice in selecting a religion. There had been instances when some people had to change their religion under force from the state side and there had been very rare chances when a man had changed his religion and adopted another religion. There are people who say that they do not believe in the existence of God and therefore, they say that they are not falling in list of any religion on this earth, but they are misleading us. actually, they too belong to a religion in which they had taken their birth and they are counted in that list.

There are religious books and there are religious places and we are seeing that people of those religions are collecting there and they are listening to the religious discourses and they are performing religious discourses and religious ceremonies and rites. The world is divided on he basis of religions. There are some major religions like Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, Christians and there are so many sub religions and the people had been adopting their own way of life as per principles of those religions in which they had been taking their birth. They are speaking different languages, they have got different lifestyle, different way of saluting each other, different methods of marriage and divorce, different style of wearing on clothes and different items of eating and cooking in the kitchen. It is also on record that the people in these religions had not been having peace amongst each other, rather there had been instances when they were fighting against each other. The whole history of this man on this earth had been spent in wars and infightings and most of the wars and the fighting had been against one and another religion. The whole history of this man on this earth had been written with the blood of this man and that is the reason a bad smell is coming out of the history books.

There had been occasions when people of one group had been forcing the people of another religion to convert and they had been forced to covert. There had been occasions when people of one religion had been demolishing religious places of the other religions and they had been constructing religious places of their own religions on those places just to establish that their religion is more powerful and more near to God. The people who had been killing people of other religions had been declaring themselves as brave people and they had been claiming that they shall go to God and shall be given Heaven and the people who had been killed were called martyrs and it had been said and believed that such martyrs shall get place in Heaven. These had been the beliefs in the past and these beliefs are still alive in us and we are not joining because of our different religions and this world shall remain divided on the basis of religions. If there is another world war, that shall be between two religions and one religion shall try that the people of the other religion should die or they should convert. So we must admit that religions could not play a useful role in the life of this man and therefore, we should not try to compare our religion with religions of other and we should also not to try and establish that our religion is better than the other. All the religions are telling us the same principles and there is no difference and the difference is only in names and style of living because all the religions had been taking their birth at different places and at different times.

—————————-