When the Lord refuses a sacrifice.

15 Samuel also said unto Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the Lord.

² Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.
³ Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
⁴ And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.
⁵ And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.
⁶ And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
⁷ And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt.
⁸ And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
⁹ But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
¹⁰ Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel, saying,
¹¹ It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the Lord all night.
¹² And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.
¹³ And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the Lord: I have performed the commandment of the Lord.
¹⁴ And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
¹⁵ And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
¹⁶ Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.
¹⁷ And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel?
¹⁸ And the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.
¹⁹ Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord?
²⁰ And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
²¹ But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal.
²² And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
²³ For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
²⁴ And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
²⁵ Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord.
²⁶ And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.
²⁷ And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.
²⁸ And Samuel said unto him, The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.
²⁹ And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.
³⁰ Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord thy God.
³¹ So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the Lord.
³² Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.
³³ And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.
³⁴ Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.
³⁵ And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the Lord repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.


Saul was given great position, blessings, honor, and responsibility. He loved the position, blessings, and honor. But, he tried to circumvent the responsibility. Therefore, he lost out with God.

Popular teaching today says that "God always honors our sacrifices." Really? He rejected Saul's. He rejected Cain's. Why? He rejects all sacrifices that are contrary to his word and ways of doing things.

When God's word says for us to live one way, but we reject that and live another, how can we expect God to bless what we try to do for him?

We buy into the popular theologies of the day that tell us of God's love for us, his desire for us to prosper, and all the blessings he wishes to give us. But, a half truth is a whole lie. These "doctrines" don't give the whole picture.

Samuel told Saul, "to obey is better than sacrifice..." The Lord is looking for a people that will submit and obey him. Many are the people who try, like Saul and Cain, to reach God their own way- without following the whole counsel of God.

Jesus' response to this attitude rings loud and clear: "narrow is the gate that leadeth to life, and few there be that FIND it.."

God's not gonna force us to live for him. He died for us. He'll help us to live for him and make heaven. But, he won't force us to obey. That choice is ours to make. We can give all we own to the needy, and still not make it. We can sing or preach to thousands, but be lost in the end.

We MUST obey him. The christian life is simple, really. It's a walk of faithful obedience to God. No matter what come our way or who comes against us, we must stay the path. If we will choose to obey him in all we do, we will barely make it in. Peter said, "If the righteous SCARCELY be saved..."

So, what is our choice? To obey, or not to obey? That is the question. (Sorry Shakespeare) Do we try Saul's way and go through the motions but cut corners off that we don't like? Or, do we pray and study and follow what we find there?

Time will tell. "As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord."

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I'm declaring my independence day!

2 Timothy 3:12
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.


Ephesians 4:14
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;


1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

I'm tired of it. I'm sick and tired of it. This life is very hard-especially living for God. Life is hard enough, but it seems that when a person decides to give their all for Jesus, the naysayers come out of the woodwork.

Living for Jesus is good and honorable. It is holy and righteous in the eyes of God. It all sounds fantastic to the young Christian. When the preacher/teacher begins to discuss living for God, the young child of God gets an almost euphoric feeling. They see things as rose colored and wonderful.

Then, when they begin- through prayer and effort- to implement the changes in their life that the scriptures declare they need to, it's "Katy bar the door" from their "friends" and "loved ones." Then comes the battles.
They begin to hear things like:

                              "Do you think you're better than us?"
                              "That's not how I raised you to live."
                              "It's not necessary to live that way."
                              "Don't you think you're taking this Jesus stuff a bit too far?"
                              "Well, Jesus loves us all and we don't all have to live that way."
                           
My personal favorite is when you've never said a word to the person about how they live. All you've done is change how you live. Then, they get mad at you? Ever heard this one? "How dare you tell me that I'm living wrong!" The truth is that your lifestyle is stepping on their toes without you ever speaking a word.

I've been living for God for nearly 22 years, now. I've made many mistakes in that time. I've stumbled and fallen along the way. I've hurt some folks along the way- unintentionally.

I've worried and lost sleep sometimes over the opinions of people that I love and friends that I care about. I've suffered from that very human disease- trying to win people's approval. Let me tell you that this has added more than a few gray hairs to my head.

Folks will share a scripture that they think contradicts what God has shown me, and I go through a time of worry. Am I wrong? Did I mishear God? I begin to pray and search it out. Sometimes, I discover that I was wrong and my understanding changes. Other times, I discover that the person who gave me the scripture was wrong in their understanding. I then gently try to explain the correct understanding- usually to an increasingly angry person.

This causes more stress to me. If the word of God tells us how to live. If the word tells us something different than how we've been living, don't get mad at the messenger. We need to change our lifestyles to adapt to the word of God. Not the other way around.

I'm tired of the finger pointing. I'm tired of the nay-saying. I'm tired of worrying about the opinions of others who have no heaven or hell to send me to (no matter how much they may personally wish me to go to either place).

Therefore, today- as we celebrate the July 4th holiday- I'm declaring my own independence.

No more will I concern myself with the opinions of others. No longer will I worry about the finger pointers and Pentecostal fruit inspector's alike. Let the chips fall where they may. As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord in word and deed. If folks don't like how we live, that's their prerogative. If folks don't like the way we look- don't look. Don't like what we say? Don't listen. Have issues with what I write? Don't read it.

Hard times will come. But, we will stand- stedfast and unmoveable. Nay-sayers will come and go, but we will stand for Jesus. It's not that I don't care about you, it's that I care about Jesus MORE than I care about you. I'm not trying to run anybody off, but if I have to choose between Jesus and you, I choose Jesus- every time.

It's a free country and you have a right to move on down the road if you don't like my house (or writing, or Facebook page). I'm done worrying about you. I'm free. Why? Because "he whom the son hath set free is free indeed."

Jesus- because he's God!

For those of you who pray for me and my family, thank you. We have had a lot going on of late. I was able to go back to work after nearly two months of being out with both gall bladder surgery and a very extensive blood clot in my left arm. The Lord has faithfully taken care of us. Our youngest daughter, Heather, is now engaged to an Apostolic Marine, so we have all the wedding planning to do. My second week back to work (last week), had me running 16 hour days and I am physically ill from the strain of it. So, rather than getting ready for church this morning, I'm sitting in my living room coughing and sneezing and writing this blog. We do covet your prayers!

But, as I thought about how faithful the Lord has been to me and my family, an old song began to ring through my soul. It's called "He'd still been God". You can find the lyrics and hear it here: http://christiansongoftheday.blogspot.com/2009/06/hed-still-been-god.html

You see, many of us, when we think of Jesus, we think of Calvary, or healings, or salvation, or deliverance. We thank him for all he's done and all he's gonna do. We praise him for all his mighty wonders. We exalt him for .... (you fill in the blank). However, I think there's something we tend to overlook.

Jesus is worthy of all praise and glory and honor, not just because of all he's done, but because of who he is.

Jesus IS God!

The old Testament declares it: Isaiah 9:6

Jesus declared it: John 8:56-59, John 14: 6-11

The Apostles declare it: John 1:1,14; Colossians 2: 8-10; Colossians 1:12-19; 1 Timothy 1: 15-17, etc

We should praise him for all he's done. But, we should also praise him for who he is! As the song so beautifully says: "Even if he never did another single miracle, Jesus would've still been God."

He is not a politician to be elected again to represent us because we like his policies. He is not a mystical servant who exists to serve us what we think we need. He is not some cosmic Santa Claus who is supposed to give us all toys to play with.

He is God alone. And we who follow him (indeed, all of creation- even if folks choose not to follow him) are duty and love bound to worship him- for he is God. He is an awesome God, but he is God.

If we love our spouses only for what they can do for us, do we truly love them? No. We love them for who they are. The things they do for us are the icing on the cake. If we love Jesus only for what he does for us, do we love him? No. The wonderful things he does for us are the tip of the iceberg. Let's remember who he truly is and love him for that.

The scriptures declare that: Philippians 2:⁹ Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

¹⁰ That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

¹¹ And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

We're ALL gonna bow one day. We may as well do it today from our hearts, rather than then because we're forced to.

So today as we worship him, let's just love him for who he is. He is worthy because he is God.

The mother's challenge. (Pray for the mothers)

Genesis 2:¹⁸ And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.


Ephesians 5: ²² Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

²³ For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

²⁴ Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

²⁶ That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

²⁷ That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

²⁸ So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

²⁹ For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:

³⁰ For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

³¹ For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

³² This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

³³ Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

Deuteronomy 6: ⁴ Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:

⁵ And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

⁶ And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

⁷ And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

Titus 2: But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:

² That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.

³ The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;

⁴ That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

⁵ To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

I appreciate my wife. Truly, I do! But, I'm very glad that I'm a man. I don't believe that I could do her job. The worst thing that our femenistic society has ever done, is to convince a generation of people that being a wife and mother is a waste of material. Our children and our homes are suffering for this- desperately. 


Understand this also, God in his infinite wisdom created the family BEFORE he created the church. The family relationships are to be a model of the relationship between Christ and his bride. Our homes are MORE important than our callings of ministry. In fact, if we don't perform our duties at home correctly, the word says we are not fir to lead in his church.


So many preachers kids go slap wild because they were neglected in their homes! The parents put most of their emphasis on their ministry, rather than on their family. This is wrong and needs to be corrected- now! 

Lets take a close look at what scripture says about her job. Let's really look at how tough her job is. 

First of all, she is to be a "help meet" to her husband. Many folks have taken these two words and made them mean something they do not. This does not mean that husband and wife, male and female, have equal authority in the home. In fact, the term "help meet", in scripture, actually means, "help help" in the Hebrew. 

The wife is there to help the husband, but as we will soon see, this does not make them equal in authority. It is NOT a 50-50 proposition, as some teach it. And we husbands DO need, probably, twice as much help as the wife does. 

However, the husband is the head (authority) of the wife in the same way that Christ is the head (authority) of the church. It is HIS job to lead the family in the direction that Jesus wants the home to go. It is the wife's job to submit to his leading- even when she disagrees or doesn't like it- just as we must submit to Jesus in the same way. 

Disclaimer: Paul told the church to "follow (him) AS (HE) follows Christ". It's the same in the home. If the husband is trying to lead the wife and children down ungodly path's, she can disobey him and not submit. 

We husbands are to love our lives as Jesus loves the church- AND GAVE HIMSELF FOR US! We are to pray, work for, follow Jesus, and lead our family- even if it kills us to do so. If we will devote our lives to our families, then them following us won't be an issue. They'll be happy to follow us. Just as we are happy to follow Jesus- look at all he's done for us. 

We are to nourish and cherish our wives and children. Our wives are to love and obey us- and nourish and cherish our children. The children are to be taught to submit to the parents and will learn to love and cherish their own families one day by what they see modeled in the homes that they are raised in. 

If the wife is submitted to the husband, then the children see a picture of how the church is supposed to submit to Jesus. If the wife is not submitted to her husband, but rules him or tries to be equal to him, then the children are raised to think that Jesus is to either give them equal say so or even is to submit to them- and they get mad when he doesn't! 

Deuteronomy 6 tells us how we are to raise our kids. But, guess who does most of the teaching? MOM! Read Titus 2. The husband does lead, teach, and enforce. But, mom does most of the teaching to the children since they spend the most time with them. 

If we line our homes up the way God tells us to, then our children will be raised to fear the Lord and come to know him. If we do not, then our children will not only have a hard time in their future marriages and with their future children, but they will have a hard time in their walk with God. Mom's have the tougher job, by far. 

I spent several years in restaurant management. People think that you're the boss and have it made. You're not. The owner is the boss. The supervisor he hires is your direct boss. Yes, you manage the restaurant and the crew, but you are confined in what you can and cannot do by the policies that the owner and supervisor lays down. 

It's not a problem, really, if the owner, supervisor, and manager are on the same page. But, if the supervisor begins to go against the owners policies, problems arise. It is then the managers job to stick to the owners policies, irregardless of what the supervisor says. 

If the manager steps out of line and the supervisor has not, it is the supervisor's job to discipline the manager and bring them into compliance with the owners policies. 

If the crew steps out of line, it is the managers job to discipline them and bring them in line with the owners policies.  

If the supervisor convinces the manager to go against the owners policies, they cause BIG problems. If they don't change, the owner will fire them.

The husband, in a home, is the supervisor. Jesus is the owner. The wife/mother is the manager. She is confined in her job by what her husband allows her to do and not do. 

If the husband tries to do things a different way than Jesus has said, then problems arise. The wife is to hold her ground- standing in prayer on scripture- until Jesus (the owner) disciplines him and brings him back in line. 

If the husband is following Jesus and the wife is not, then it is his job to pray for her and lovingly correct her. No, husbands, you cannot whip our wives. God does a much better job of that than we do.  

If husband and wife are following Jesus, and the children are out of whack, it is the parents job to pray for, correct, and whip them when they need it to bring them in line with God's rules. 

If husband and wife are NOT following Jesus, expect a bad whipping, possibly even being fired (we can lose our salvation). The kids will go slap wild in this case! 

This is why Titus 2:5 says that if the husband and wife don't do their jobs they risk "blaspheming (1) to speak reproachfully, rail at, revile, calumniate, blaspheme

2) to be evil spoken of, reviled, railed at the word of God!" 

Titus 2: But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:

² That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.

³ The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;

⁴ That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

⁵ To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

Mothers do the majority of this teaching, as they spend the most time with the children.

Men are the head of the home, but mom's are the heart. As the heart goes, so goes the body (home). If the mom submits to dad, and dad leads, loves, and corrects, then the children turn out right. 

But, if our homes are not in God's order, then the kids don't turn out right and we risk blaspheming the word of God. 

Lord, help us to fix our homes. Help the husbands to lead, and help the wives to obey and lead the kids. No job on earth is anywhere close to as important as Mom's job. Help us to help them. In Jesus name! 

Hey Mr President! You might want to look at this.

Romans 1: ^{21 "}Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

²² Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

²³ And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

²⁴ Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

²⁵ Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

²⁶ For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

²⁷ And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet."

1 Corinthians 6:8-10

King James Version (KJV)

⁸ Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.

⁹ Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,

¹⁰ Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

"Effeminate", by the way, means, "1) soft, soft to the touch

2) metaph. in a bad sense

a) effeminate

1) of a catamite

2) of a boy kept for homosexual relations with a man

3) of a male who submits his body to unnatural lewdness

4) of a male prostitute"

These are 2 of the NT scriptures that condemn- absolutely- homosexuality/lesbianism. Our president claims to be a Christian, yet he ignores the very words of God in supporting the LGBT agenda and now, same sex marriage. Yet, there is more. 

Leviticus 20: ¹³ If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

The Lord sees homosexuality as a sin worthy of death! 

1 Kings 14:24
And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.                                                                                                    

The word for "sodomite" here means "male temple prostitute". The vast majority of these were prostituted to other men. In other words, homosexuality! 

This is not to mention the well known story of Sodom and Gomorrah who's obvious major sin was homosexuality (Remember, the men tried to have sex with the Angel. They were trying to sodomize him!) and the Lord destroyed their nation! 


There is a silver lining here, however. 


Luke 17:28
Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;


Lot's day, was Sodom and Gomorrah! So, the more widespread the LGBT lifestyles become, the closer we are to the Lord's return. So, Mr President, you have time to repent and get right with God. But, I'd do it now, if I were you.


The Lord has not changed his mind. The course that our country is heading down is ungodly. All of our presidents- present and future- should pay very special attention to this verse:


Proverbs 16:12
It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness.


May God have mercy and bring revival on our wayward country! 

Mike and Dewain: A short story

Mike shuffled through the lines to pay his entrance fee for the “county fair by the sea”.

“What am I doing here?”, he thought.

Still, he continued forward. He idly ignored the happy family of four with the two year old, laughing in her daddy's arms. Her mother held their four year old son. He ignored the obviously in love couple flirting behind him.

He stared straight ahead with a grim look on his face. He couldn't watch. It reminded him of what he'd once had and lost. The anonymity of the crowd, he hoped, would ease his loneliness.

“That'll be eight dollars, sir,” said the girl in the booth. He paid the fee and meandered off into the fair.

As he watched the nearby ocean, memories assaulted him. His beautiful Evon and little Marie. He could see them playing in the surf. More scenes played across his mind. Laughing at Marie's three year old antics. Evon and he throwing water at each other. Holding Marie on one arm and Evon's hand with the other.

A weary smile crossed his face, only to be replaced by a wince of pain as other memories invaded his reverie. The frantic phone call from Evon. The car parts strewn about the freeway. The angry policeman yelling at him as he slid to a halt near the wreck. Firemen using the jaws of life trying to cut Evon out. He was told, but didn't remember, that he'd kept yelling their names. The terrible feeling of doom that had fallen over him as he saw them lifted from the wreckage. They weren't moving.

He physically ached whenever he thought of them. He quickly averted his eyes from the surf and moved further into the fairgrounds. He took deep breaths and let them out slowly, trying to regain control of his emotions.

“Pastor Moody?” he heard a voice say.

Surprised, he looked up to see two young couples. Aaron and Heather Sinsley and John and Erica Brown. He remembers their courtships and their weddings. Then, the young couples had moved away. The Sinsleys to his North Carolina Marine base. The Browns to Florida. He shouldn't have been surprised to see the sisters and their families together here on the coast.

“Just Mike, please. I haven't pastored for more than a year.”

An awkward silence fell. Some small talk. Some offerings of prayer. Then, the group parted ways. They didn't say it, but they obviously wondered how he could've walked away from his calling. Mike wondered how he could have stayed.

“How could you take them?” he asked God for the millionth time.

Again, no answer came. So, he'd trudged on through the neon lit booths and rusty rides. Leaving his ministry behind, he'd started driving a truck. He made a good living and he wasn't bothered. How could he tell people about the love of Jesus anyway?

A piercing scream caused his blood to freeze. A thousand memories resurfaced. He forced them down and tried to walk away, but the press of the crowd gave him no choice but to move toward the cries of help. Soon, the sirens blared and the police had come, followed shortly by an ambulance. Curiosity overcame him and he made his way to a clear vantage point.

From there, he could see the scene. The young couple that had been ahead of him in the entrance line lay on the ground, their bodies twisted. Their screaming and confused children were being held back by the young couple that had been behind him. One glance told Mike that the couple was dead, having fallen from the top of the roller coaster, somehow.

Renewed rage at a God who would allow this to happen filled him. He tried to leave, but the crowd had him hemmed in.

“How could I have been so blind?” he inwardly screamed. “I told people for all those years how God loves them and he allows this kind of stuff to happen.”

A movement caught his eye.

An old man stepped from the crowd. He had gray hair, carried himself with authority, and used a shepherds staff- of all things.

“Is he trying to look like Moses?” Mike thought.

The man walked right past the officers trying to control the crowd. His attention was focused on the bodies. An EMT tried to block him, but, something about him caused the EMT to allow him access.

The crowd went silent. Hundreds watched as the old man stepped forward, knelt down, layed his hands on the corpses, and closed his eyes. After a few moments, he simply said, “In the name of Jesus, arise and be made whole.”

“Moses” (as Mike now had him dubbed in his mind) got up. Suddenly, the breath entered back into the bodies. The bones that were broken were now straight. The skin that had been opened and pouring blood, was now as smooth as a newborn's. The couple stared at each other in confusion. The other couple, who now had tears rolling down their faces, released the two children. Immediately, the kids ran to their confused and healed parents. The family embraced.

The crowd stared at “Moses” in awe. He ignored them all and headed straight for Mike. A strong hand reached out and rested on Mike's shoulder.

“My name's not Moses, it's Dewain. I've come a long way to see you. We need to go somewhere where we can talk.”

Shock displaced anger, and Mike allowed himself to be led away. They walked right out of the park and down the road.

“Why am I following this guy?” he asked himself. “He could be just out of the psyche ward, for all I know.”

Yet, for all the reasons he could think of to walk away, the memory of those two bodies coming back to life kept his feet moving. As much as he wanted to leave, he wanted answers more.

Dewain suddenly turned left down a well worn path into the woods. The night was dark and the humidity and temps were high. As they walked, Mike kept being hit by tree limbs and palm leaves. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, an opening appeared.

A fire with two tents nearby greeted Mike's vision upon entering the clearing. The tents were little more than white pup tents. A circular row of rocks surrounded the fire. Around this, sat three small canvas chairs. Mike hears the sounds of running water nearby.

“Won't you have a seat, Mike?” Dewain said as he motioned toward the chairs.

“Why are we way out here? You said we needed to talk. We could've talked anywhere. Why here? Wait. For that matter, how'd you know my name?”

“I cannot answer all your questions at once. Perhaps if we were to sit, we could have a better discussion?”

Begrudgingly, Mike sits, as does Dewain.

“Now, I suppose you need answers.”

“Answers to what?”

“To why your life fell apart, of course.”

“And a man who lives in a tent and dresses like Moses is gonna give them to me?”

“Things aren't always what they seem, my friend.”

“It seems to me they are. You want to answer all my questions about life, and you don't even have your own place to live?”

“Like my Lord before me, I have no place to lay my head.”

“How can you possibly understand what I've been through? I suppose you call yourself a prophet. Truly, you're a vagrant psychologist!”

The old man's face reddened and his countenance grew fierce. With authority in his voice, the man stood and faced Mike. “If you won't ask your questions, then maybe I should ask some of my own.”

The authority in his voice and the fire in his eyes caused Mike's angry retort to stick in his throat. The prophet continued. “Who do you think you are? How could you just walk away from the lives that the Holy One intrusted to your pastoral care?”

“How did you know...?”

“I know far more than you could possibly imagine, boy! Life is hard. Sin ravages the land right down to its roots. Souls die and face eternal flames every hour of every day. Some of those that trusted God have walked away because of your lack of a backbone. Did you think that the world revolved around you? Did you think that you had control? Only one being in the universe has control, Mike, and you certainly ain't him! How could you just walk away from them?”

Mike angrily stands. “Evon and Marie were my life! I'd die a thousand deaths for them at any time. Yet, God saw fit to take them from me. What did they ever do to deserve that? How could a truly loving God allow them to die- mangled in a car like that? How could I tell people about a loving God after seeing that? What testimony could I possibly give them that could ever compare to the loss of my family?”

In the past, on the few occasions someone had questioned him for leaving his ministry, Mike's angry retort had shamed them and turned them away. Not now. 

Dewain got nose to nose with Mike, his eyes glared and veins extended on his forehead. “How DARE you! How dare you stand here in your arrogance and blame your loss and your own lack of intestinal fortitude on the almighty.”

“But, he...”

“HE is always right,” Dewain screamed. “HE is righteous. HE is Holy. HE knows all and sees all.”

“If he's so righteous, then WHY did he take my family?” Mike's hands shook with his pain.

The prophet now spoke in a softer tone. “Evon had cancer, Mike. She was going to die a slow and painful death. Marie's life would've went in a downhill spiral from losing her mom.”

Shocked, Mike asked, “How did you know about her cancer? We'd just found out.”

Dewain gently placed his hands on Mike's shoulders. “I am his emissary, Mike. I spend my life going where he sends me. He gives me tasks and messages. He tells me what I need to know.”

When Mike looked up, he saw tears rolling down Dewain's cheeks.

“I've walked in your shoes, Mike. I lost my son. I wrestled with the very things that are tearing you apart now.”

“So...” Mike paused to get his composure, “God took my family?”

“No.”

“But, you just said...”

“I told you what God knew. God didn't take them, though. The enemy of your soul caused their deaths in order to destroy your life and ministry. The Lord simply allowed it, because it suited his purposes.”

“How?”

“It showed mercy to both Evon and Marie. They are both in eternity, happily engaged with their savior and the many that have gone on before. They have no more pain or suffering.”

“That's fine and wonderful for them, but what about me?” Mike said. “How can I.... How can I continue without them?”

“By giving it to him, Mike. This experience can either break you or make you. He longs to hold you in his arms. He desires to ease your pain and comfort you.”

“I walked away in anger.” Mike said- as he shook his head in defeat. “He won't have me.”

“Yes, he will.”

“But, the Bible says 'No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.' He wouldn't want me.” Mike started to walk away.

Before he could leave the clearing, Dewain responded, “Mike, it also says 'If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness.”

Mike froze in mid-stride. Could it be? He looked back at the old prophet.

Tears flowed down his face. “Yes, son. He is willing and able to forgive you. He is ready to use you again.”

Mike remembered his wife and daughters deaths. Yet, now he could almost see... Wait! This isn't in his mind. Suddenly, as if through a window, he could see them! They were running towards the clearing. His clearing! They were laughing and smiling. They ran right up to Dewain.

Dewain was now facing away from him and hugging Mike's family. Yet, his clothes were changing texture and color. His skin darkened and, as the prophets robes slipped down his arm, Mike could see a nail scar on his wrist.

“What in the world....?” Mike whispered. He tried to step forward, but it was as if an invisible barrier were there. He lifted his arms and tried to reach for them, but his hands could go no farther than his feet. He screamed their names, but they couldn't hear him. Tears rolled down his face. He balled his hands into fists and dropped his head, his eyes closed against the sight.

“Why, Lord?” he asked. “Why show me this? Are you trying to taunt me? Haven't I felt enough pain?”

Gentle hands gripped his shoulders again. “I show you this to help you see where they are and what's awaiting you on the other side- IF you return to me. They truly are in a better place. Walk with me down the path's I choose for you. You will see them again in glory.”

Mike's knees lost their strength and strong hands guided him to the ground. Strong arms embraced him, as he began to pour his heart out. All his pain. All his hurt. All his anger. All lain at the master's feet. When he finally reached the end of himself, strength infused his being.

Mike stayed there, engulfed in love like he'd never felt. When he finally opened his eyes, the old man smiled.

“Dewain, I....”

“Shhh, son. What you have seen and felt, go and tell. Others need to hear your testimony. Go and tell them what great things God has done for you.”

“But, I'm not worthy.”

“You've been made worthy, son.”

Suddenly, as if a mist were being blown by a gentle breeze, Dewain and the rustic camp site began to disappear. The voice repeated, as if on the air, over and over, “You're worthy, son. You're worthy .”

A sharp raven's cry broke the spell. Mike looked around in surprise. He stood in the same clearing- alone in the sunshine.

“Was it a dream?” he wondered.

Immediately, a familiar “still small voice” inside him answered, “look down”.

He could see two sets of footprints- his own boots, and a set of bare feet that looked as if there was a hole in the middle of each foot. A soft smile appeared and fresh tears ran down his face .

“Thank you, Lord. Thank you.”

In response, he heard, “I love you, son.”

As he turned to leave, the old Shepherd’s staff was still there against an old oak.

“Take your staff, and go tell them of my love.”

Mike picked up the staff and headed back into the rest of his life and ministry. He'd been gone too long already.         

The Gall of us humans

Judges 17:6
In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right inhis own eyes.

Deuteronomy 29:17-19

King James Version (KJV)

 ¹⁷And ye have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them:)

 ¹⁸Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood;

 ¹⁹And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst:

The other day, I had a gall stone attack. In the painful process, they had to remove my gall bladder for the betterment of my health. The Gall bladder is not something we really think about a lot. It is the little organ (that looks a lot like an Eggplant- another reason for me not to eat an eggplant) that the body uses to temporarily store bile from the liver. 

The liver is the bodies impurity filter. It catches these impurities, forms them into Bile, and forces them out of our system. When we eat wrong, and bring in too many fats and things that aren't good for us, then excess Bile is made and it is stored in our Gall bladder until the body can push it out.

In the Bible, the term Gall means, "1) gall, venom, bitter, poisonous". 

So, the Gall bladder is so named because it's job is to store things that would be poisonous to our bodies, until they can be pushed out. For this reason we (emphasis on WE) need to be careful what we eat in our diets.

By the same token, we need to be very careful what we take into our spiritual man. In ancient Israel, they were told to stay away from the abominations and idols of Canaan. If they did not, God knew that these things would take root and grow into spiritually poisonous practices that would cause their destruction and their eternal separation from him. 

The New Testament boldly declares that we are "saved by Grace through faith". Yet, Grace is not a free pass or a "get out of jail free card". Grace is the name of the spiritual relationship with God that we enter into through the New Birth (John 3:3-8, Acts 2:37-39). Because of this relationship, we are to "work out (our) own salvation with fear and trembling". 

The New Testament is chock full of warnings about the avoidance of sinful acts (adultery, fornication, idolatry, etc), attitudes (pride, haughtiness, looking down on others, etc), and even dress (immodest clothing, costly array, etc). Scripture tells us to FLEE these things, to get rid of them WITH ALL MALICE, to chase after the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Why?

Sin is spiritual Gall. We are to avoid it with everything we have. It even helps to purposely plan our lives in a way that will help us to stay away from people, places, and things that tempt us. For instance, is it a good idea for an alcoholic to go to a store called "the beer palace"? or to eat at an establishment with a bar? No. He should avoid those places. He should stay away from those former drinking buddies who are still drinking, as well. Knowing full well that hanging out with them will eventually lead to his being around that substance that almost destroyed his life.

For the Christian to repent of his/her sins and then keep hanging out with people and in places that are full of those same sins, is like Israel leaving the chains of Egypt, but staying IN Egypt instead of leaving. Eventually, they would have been slaves again. By the same token, when we repent of our sins, we need to stop hanging out in places that tempt us to get caught back up in those same things. If you were addicted to porn, don't hang out at the video store or magazine rack! If you were a drug addict, don't hang out near those places you used to buy drugs (or similar places). If you tended to eat too much (gluttony), don't hang out at the Buffet!

How can we truly say we've repented of our sin, but yet we keep staying in the same places, watching and reading the same filthiness, living the same ways? This is like the crook who gets caught and says "I'm sorry". Is he truly repentant? Not usually. He's sorry he got caught. If he had been truly repentant, he'd have stopped doing it. 

To repent is to make a clean break with those sins. This cleanses them out of our active systems and stores them up for expelling from the spiritual man. Left there, our spiritual gall bladders will become overfull and infected- poisoning our spiritual man. 

When the blood of Jesus is applied through water baptism in Jesus name- these sins are washed out of our spiritual man. We are cleansed and made whole- a new creation! 

Then, the baptism of the Holy Ghost gives us the strength and guidance to enable us to live the way the Lord wants us too. 

Let us, as Christians, truly stand for what is right. Let's pray and ask God to show us the Bile that is in our own lives. When he does, let's truly repent of it! Then, pray and ask God to cleanse them. This will allow him to spiritually wash them away from our inner man. 

1 John 1:9

King James Version (KJV)

 ⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.