Last Daze Letter to The Body of Christ  

Chapter 1   Going Up to God's way of Thinking

                                

Ho!  Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat.  Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.  "Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy?  Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in abundance.  "Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, according to the faithful mercies shown to David....   Seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near.  Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the LORD, and He will have compassion on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.  Isaiah 55:1,2,3,6&7            

Are you thirsty? Do you really want what God intended for you to have? Do you think you have done what is needed to acquire what satisfies your thirst? In a world that has gone astray, we do not know right from wrong. We have exchanged truth for lies. Although we have the truth, there is little to no standard of the truth. We believe what we want, do what we please and then over time that becomes what is considered normal and okay! The understanding and interpretation of God's Word today is as vast as the sea! If we are not careful, we can make the scriptures say whatever we wish. What has brought us to this place of stupor, desensitization, confusion, and delusion?

Settle for second or third or fourth best no longer. Why remain in a daze, roaming here and meandering there with no direction, no standard? How can you possess what He desires for you? How can you acquire understanding of what is right, knowledge that satisfies and direction that will bring you to a true place of residence?

You must hunger and thirst for righteousness. You must hunger and thirst for truth, clarity, justice and God Himself! If you want to turn the tide, know and understand God, usher in righteousness, equity and holiness, you have no other choice, you must set yourself aside and Go Up to God's way of thinking!

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.  Matthew 5:6

How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver.  Proverbs 16:16

How far, how vastly different, how contrary is our understanding of God's ways? We struggle daily, even in a small way, to truly understand and know Him better. We must deny our own way of thinking and Go Up to God's way of thinking!

Here is an example of the many ways we bring God down to our level (I have heard this several times): one of the reasons Jesus came down to earth was to experience pain, suffering and hurt so He could understand and relate to the pain we go through and experience down here on earth.  No! No! No! A thousand times, no! Jesus knows all things, He did not have to humble Himself, become a man, suffer and die and experience what we go through for Him to understand. Jesus is the one who created all things and holds all things together. He knows how many hairs are on your head. He put a gazillion stars in the sky; He knows them all by name! Jesus came to us so we could relate to Him, not so He could relate to us!  We must repent and 'Go Up' to His way of thinking, not bring Him down to ours!

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.  Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.  Heb 4:14-16

If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me...)  Mark 8:34b, Matthew 16:24b, Luke 9:23b 

The emphasis here is the word deny, which means to forget one's self, lose sight of one's self and one's own interests.[i] The less we think our way, the more we can think God's way. Our natural way of thinking leads to death, spiritual death, and eternal death! We must come out of our natural way of thinking to live and understand true life and understand life truly.

There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.  Prov 14:12,16:25

For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent."  Where is the wise?  Where is the scribe?  Where is the disputer of this age?  Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?  For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe...  Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.  1 Corinthians 1:19-21,25 (NJKV)

How different are God's ways above our ways?

For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD.  "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9

His ways are far, far different from ours. To help us understand further how far God's ways are above our ways the following study found in National Geographic brings us an amazing reality of what this scripture says about the vast difference that exists between His way of thinking and ours. In light of this reality, we would only be foolish to consider that our understanding is adequate and does not need to improve.

Let me use a few illustrations to help us get a better perception of how vastly different our natural thinking is than our creator God in the way we think.

Millennium in Maps, The Universe[ii] 

In October 1999, National Geographic Maps did what was called Millennium in Maps, The Universe [iii] With several pictures, they show how vast the universe is. So vast is space that just to find our solar system we must make five leaps of scale. The first solar system being ours is just a dot in a galaxy of planets referred to as "The Solar Neighborhood" [iv] and that dot in the solar system is 235,000,000,000,000 miles across in "The Milky Way" and "The Milky Way" is just a dot in "The Local Group" and "The Local Group" is just a dot in "Our Super Cluster." The closest star from Earth is four light years away and the farthest star is 75,000,000, yes, 75 million light years away! (1 light year = 5.9 trillion miles). Imagine traveling at 186,000 miles/second (seven and a half times around the earth in one second!), taking 75 million years to get to the last star, and beyond that is where God Almighty resides!

We cannot even fathom this distance, neither can we fathom God's ways, so let us admit it, humble ourselves, and deny our finite intelligence. When we come across what we do not understand we must admit we do not comprehend this truth and accept it. As we continue to seek Him, He will peel away, like an onion, those seeming paradoxes and obscure passages. He will also break down the prideful, traditional, doctrinal walls that keep us from unity, knowledge and understanding God Almighty.

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable.   Isaiah 40:28
 
How great are Your works, O LORD!  Your thoughts are very deep.  Psalms 92:5

Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You.  If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count.  Psalms 40:5

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!    Romans 11:33   

The Word Heaven(s) appears several times in the Bible. The scriptures talk about three heavens. We can understand this to mean: The 1st heaven; our atmosphere (from the Earth to the edge of Space (the O-zone layer). The 2nd heaven, the O-zone layer to the farthest star in the universe. The 3rd heaven is beyond the farthest stars, beyond "The Universe", beyond "The solar neighborhood(s)." This is where Our Lord Jesus and Our Heavenly Father reside on their throne, in Paradise! Paul illustrates this by sharing his hallowed experience.

(Paul's Vision) "Boasting is necessary, though it is not profitable; but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.  I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a man was caught up to the third heaven.  And I know how such a man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows—was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak.  2 Corinthians 12:1-4

Please forgive me but, I must mention this verse again. When God talks about His ways being higher than ours: "as the heavens are higher than the earth. So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts..." Isaiah 55:9.  He is not joking, not fooling, not messing around! His ways are so unconventional, so extreme, so vastly different, even opposite than our ways. Why do we expect to understand His ways immediately and then get frustrated if we do not understand? When we are not patient, we bring Him down and down, further and further to our way of thinking to get the answers we want, rather than the answers we need. We must deny our own way of thinking and Go Up to God's way of thinking!  Pride gets in the way; our pride we must swallow. The scripture tells us to humble ourselves before we can receive and understand His word. Swallowing our pride and humbling ourselves is the first key that unlocks the door to His great knowledge, understanding and a great relationship with God!

...in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.  James 1:21b

God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.  James 4:6b (NKJV)

He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.  Luke 1:52 (NIV)

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up.  James 4:10 (KJV)

The book of Job illustrates the concept of God describing how His thoughts and ways are so different than ours. Job, who (at the time) was the most-righteous man on earth, this example expresses Job's miss understanding of God after a long series of devastating trials. Later God speaks to Job. What God says to Job reveals how far away Job's thinking and understanding of God was! While you read this synopsis, keep in mind how important it is to deny yourself and Go Up to God's way of thinking.

My servant Job?  For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.  Job 1:8       

After Job went through a series of trials and a long period of God's silence, God finally speaks to Job:

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,  'Who is this that darkens counsel By words without knowledge?  'Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!  'Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?  Tell Me, if you have understanding, Who set its measurements?  Since you know.  Or who stretched the line on it?  'On what were its bases sunk?  Or who laid its cornerstone?'  Job 38:1-6   

"Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars, stretching his wings toward the south?"  "Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes his nest on high?"  Job 39:26&27

Then the LORD said to Job,  "Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who reproves God answer it."  Then Job answered the LORD and said,  "Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You?  I lay my hand on my mouth.  "Once I have spoken, and I will not answer; Even twice, and I will add nothing more." Job 40:1-5                                            

Even after Job most humbly answers God, God is not fished!  God continues to drive home the fact that He is God and we are mere man.

"Now gird up your loins like a man; I will ask you, and you instruct Me.  "Will you really annul My judgment?  Will you condemn Me that you may be justified?  "Or do you have an arm like God, And can you thunder with a voice like His?  "Adorn yourself with eminence and dignity, And clothe yourself with honor and majesty.  "Pour out the overflowings of your anger, And look on everyone who is proud, and make him low.  "Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him, and tread down the wicked where they stand.  "Hide them in the dust together; Bind them in the hidden place.  Job 40:7-13

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, Measured heaven with a span And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountains in scales And the hills in a balance?  Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has taught Him?  With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, And taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, And showed Him the way of understanding?  Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, And are counted as the small dust on the scales; Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.  And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering.  All nations before Him are as nothing, And they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.  To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him?  Isaiah 40:12-18 (NKJV)

This example of Job was given to help our limited perspective of who we think God is vs. who God really is. Incidentally, God remains the same, He does not change no matter what we try to make Him out to be.  We think we know who God is however, we must come to know Him truly, then He can be truly known.  

Below you will see, like Job, how poor our response to God has been played out over the centuries.  Because of our lack of understanding, we have fallen into our own various traps in    our relationship with God.

Have you ever wondered why there are so many different denominations, divisions, arguments, debates, cults etc. under the banner of Christianity?  In our Christian culture, we have an endless spiritual smorgasbord of beliefs!  Like a smorgasbord, we see what we like, take a little here, take a little there, eat what we want ignore and throw away the rest!  With our spiritual food: God's Word, His principles, commandments and statutes, we do the same thing! 

We read a little here read a little there, listen to a tape, CD or DVD, hear a song, tune in a message, hearken to a sermon, go to a seminar, view a movie, attend a retreat and so on.  We take what we want and throw away what is offensive, does not feel comfortable or line up with what we believe. Consequently, we have over 800 different denominations and non-denominations relating to Christianity and a countless amount of individual beliefs!  In our own churches, we all come from a multitude of various mixed backgrounds.  Our parents usually come from an assortment of religious compositions. How has this come to be? Where did we go wrong? How did we ever get where we are today? How can we prevent further decay? How can we reclaim and get back what has been lost?

With the ever-sliding, changing scale of the understanding of God and living out His principles, there is hope.  We must establish the standard of God's Word.  Let us return, institute and maintain His standard and a proper reality of who God is.  To do this, we must deny our way of thinking and Go Up to God's way of thinking!  

We do not know, understand and obey God's Word.  God's Word, can, at times seem paradoxical to us, one scripture can seemingly contradict another.  Our limited view causes us to choose one side or the other, one interpretation or another, make a stand as to the way it is, due to our inability to put these seemingly opposing truths together. To Christ these truths are not paradoxical at all; to Him they are most cohesive and fit perfectly together. If you look at God's Word with just the intellectual mind, it can, on the surface, appear to be one of the most contradictory books on the face of the earth! Several scriptures fit this enigma. Let us look at just a few of them.

Is Salvation free or does it cost something?

Deny yourself and rethink these scriptures:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Ephesians 2:8&9

"But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are."  Acts 15:11

 And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.  For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's shall save it.  Mark 8:34&35

So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.  Philippians 2:12-13

The Pathway to heaven: narrow or wide?

Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it.  "For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.  Matt 7:13-14

How blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee; In whose heart are the highways to Zion!  Psalms 84:5

Jesus, savior and judge

For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.  John 3:17

If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.  John 12:47

He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.  "For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.  "But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God." John 3:18-21

"For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son"  John 5:22

For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man..."I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. John 5:26,27&30

Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.  Matthew 10:34 (NIV)

This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world   John 3:19a

Faith VS Works:

James gives an excellent example here of putting seemingly opposites together. James clearly explains how both faith and works function purposefully together.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.  Eph 2:8-9 (NKJV)

What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?  Can faith save him?  But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works."  Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.  You believe that there is one God.  You do well.  Even the demons believe--and tremble!  But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?  James 2:14,18-20 (NKJV)

 The Lord desires all men to be saved and yet excludes some.

This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.  1 Tim. 2:3-4

As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables.  And He was saying to them, "To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables, so that WHILE SEEING, THEY MAY SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE, AND WHILE HEARING, THEY MAY HEAR AND NOT UNDERSTAND, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT RETURN AND BE FORGIVEN."  Mark 4:10-12

At that time Jesus said, "I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.  Matthew 11:25               

The LORD has made everything for its own purpose, Even the wicked for the day of evil.  Prov 16:4

The Lord desires that all be saved and not perish.  He has chosen not to reveal His truth to some and He has even made the wicked for the day of slaughter.  All of this is true at the same time! I do not always understand why, but what I do understand is the all of the Word is true weather I understand or not! When we choose, only one truth vs. the other, then we go down the wrong path of misconception and deception.

We can begin to understand deeper and deeper when we put seemingly opposing, paradoxical truths together and see that both are true at the same time! When there is still difficulty in my understanding, it usually comes from the need for additional scriptures, history, culture, archeology etc. to illumine that passage or subject. There will always be things we do not understand, however we can know and understand more as we put God's word together and not separate it!  Let's face it; we will never know all of God's Word in our lifetime, however we can know and understand much more by, "Going Up to God's way of thinking."

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.  2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)

You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.  Jeremiah 29:13

Predestination vs. man's free will

The Holy Sprit has used; Guy P Duffield with NM Van Cleave and Charles Spurgeon to open my spiritual eyes in this area. For too long a time, I thought God's truth was either black or white, that is, what I am reading is one way or the other. I would get confused, trying to figure out which scripture was correct and which one was incorrect. Now I can see more clearly and understand more thoroughly. I trust this following nugget of wisdom will give you new insight as well!  In this quote Samuel Fisk quotes Charles Spurgeon. Guy Duffield & NM Van Cleave. use the age-old controversy of predestination vs. man's free will as an example, one of many seemingly paradoxes in the Bible as seen above. I will share the most popular related scriptures first. After reading the following scriptures, I encourage you to really absorb the following directive.

He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will...Eph 1:4-5 (NKJV)

"You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit." John 15:16

"Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." Josh 24:14-15                        

And let him who hears say, "Come! And let him who thirsts come.  Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.  Rev 22:17 (NKJV)

"I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse.  So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants..."  Deut 30:19

Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."  When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.  Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" Mark 10:21 (NRSV)

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  Matt 23:37 (NKJV)

"...Our inability to reconcile any two positions does not make one position or the other untrue. Our inability to see how both can be true at the same time is due to our finite human comprehension. God can be Sovereign without violating Man's essential freedom. All Divine truth is in a sense paradoxical to us, because our vision of reality is only in parts, at the most 180 degrees. Divine truth is a full circle, 360 degrees. Samuel Fisk quotes Charles Spurgeon as saying:" [v] "Brethren, be willing to see both sides of the shield of truth. Rise above the babyhood, which cannot believe two doctrines until it sees the connecting link. Have you not two eyes, man? Must you need to put one of them out in order to see clearly?" [vi]

We must understand that the Word of God is written in the language of God! We cannot use our finite way of thinking any longer! We must see and understand God's Word from His perspective. It is His language! We must get beyond our limited, meager, scant, misperception of God's Word! Let's face it! We have missed the boat for too long! Let us no longer bring God down to our natural way of thinking. Let us "Go Up to God's way of thinking!"

"If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me"...)  Mark 8:34

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.  Romans 12:2                                        

Let us stop bringing God down to our level! He is far, far beyond our finite understanding, wisdom, comprehension and ability. As we dispute against our mind's limitation, we can absorb more and more of the fullness of His Real Truth! Come on, let us Go Up to His level, His way, not my way, but Yahweh! We need The Holy Spirit to understand His Living Word, to do this we must set ourselves aside! I am not asking you to check your brains in at the nearest donation container, but use them in the way of common sense, seeing things through His eyes! After all, isn't He God, and not we ourselves? If we continue to bring God down to our level and fail to deny ourselves and Go Up to His level, then we are guilty of putting ourselves in the place of God, sinning against the first commandment, creating our own god and being a god of our own!!! We must Go Up to God's Way of thinking!

You shall have no other gods before Me.  "You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. "You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.  Exodus 20:3-6

As I resist my own way of thinking I am able to go to higher ground and understand things from God's perspective. Now, rather than just the use of my limited comprehension, I can see clearer. When running across difficult passages, I first put seemingly opposing truths together purposing to see how both are true at the same time, "rightly dividing the Word of truth." (2 Tim 2:15b (KJV) If I still cannot discern, I realize the time of understanding has not yet come for me on this passage or topic and I admit it is just my lack of insight. I must remember what I am reading is written in the language of God! The more I understand Him and His language, the better I will be able to discern His truth! God's Word is correct and spiritually discerned. If there is a misunderstanding, God's Word is not the problem, I am the problem. Therefore, when we come across seemingly opposing truths do not separate them, illuminate them. Ask The Holy Spirit to help you see both sides of the shield of truth and understand how they fit together. Then you will see the fullness of His Word, rather than fractured, broken truth that leads to misunderstanding and false doctrine. We must Go Up to God's Way of thinking!

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.  Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.  Amen.  Eph 4:14-21

God's word is a hidden treasure and like a treasure, we must painfully go after it to find the hidden jewels that are for those who will diligently seek it,

Jesus certainly did His part by coming down to earth to close the huge gap between God and man. Through Christ Jesus and The Holy Spirit, we can come to know and understand The Father. Since Jesus did His part to close this vast distance, shouldn't we also do ours by denying our way and Go Up to His way of thinking?

Are you Going Up? Let's Go Up to God's way of thinking, deny yourself, pick up that cross and follow Jesus! Then we can help fulfill the following scripture:

"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.  "For you will go out with joy and be led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.  "Instead of the thorn bush the cypress will come up, And instead of the nettle the myrtle will come up, and it will be a memorial to the LORD, for an everlasting sign which will not be cut off."   Isa 55:10-13

Thank you for pressing through this first foundation chapter. Now as you journey forward being open for more of what Jesus has for you, you can receive new understanding. You will read scriptures with new revelation and more complete knowledge. Now controversial topics and narrow doctrinal views will open and unfold to you. The veil, the dividing wall between the two opposing truths will be lifted as you bring them together through an open approach and insight of the Holy Spirit. As you journey forward remember what you just read and apply it because you will read controversial topics that will challenge your doctrinal upbringing and current doctrinal stand. Most of the time when we are challenged with seeming opposing truths, it is because we have not studied them fully, diligently and thoroughly for ourselves. We must be open, teachable, studying the scriptures objectively, not subjectively! Be a Berean, "examining the scriptures daily to see whether these things were so" (see Acts17:11) and "study to show yourself approved to God..." (see 2 Tim 2:15). And let us balance this with; "to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God." (Eph 3:19)

Now, with this new foundation, I encourage you to truly study scriptures on the following chapters and topics of challenge so you can own them for yourself. Deny yourself and Go Up to God's way of thinking! I prefer that you go through the following chapters in sequence, but if you cannot, feel free to read in the order you choose.

Footnotes

[i] Strong's Greek & Hebrew Dictionary Greek # 533 1b

[ii] The Millennium in maps The Universe Maps for National Geographic Magazine Copyright © 1999 National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C. Printed august 1999 maps call 1-888-call-ngs

[iii] ibid

[iv] ibid

[v]  Guy P Duffield / NM Van Cleave, Foundations of Pentecostal Theology p.73, © 1983

[vi] Charles Spurgeon, Faith and Regeneration, quoted in Samuel Fisk, Divine Sovereignty and Human Freedom Cover (Neptune, NJ:Loizeaux Brothers, 1973).

Last daze Letter to the Body of Christ

Joseph G. Wellhoff / jgw / 1999 - 2016