A life where there’s no believin’ is a life where there’s no livin’.
Have you noticed lately that the things worth believin in are quickly disappearing?
Sadly, many marriages and romances are vanishing. I’m not talking about Hollywood’s shallow relationships but marriages of our friends and family members. I think marriages fail because people, once in love, stopped believin in the important things.
It’s not about the type of groom we were during the wedding. That’s the easy part. That day was fanciful, romantic, and ceremonial. It’s the kind of man that we’ve become in the crucible of marriage, and while the ceremony has long since faded, romance and passion are still alive and well. That’s the sign of a good marriage and of a good man. We need more good men and healthy marriages these days.
A good man brings out the best in his woman. Likewise, a good woman does the same for her man. A marriage becomes ugly when we forget those things.
I love the movie “Secondhand Lions,” starring Robert Duvall. It’s a movie rich with quotable dialog.
“… True love never dies. Doesn’t matter if it’s true or not. A man should believe in those things, because those are the things worth believin in.”
True love never dies. It’s certainly true of our faith, isn’t it? Christ’s love for his Bride will never die, neither his love for you, if you believe in those things, and in Him, because, “those things are worth believin in.”
As a matter of fact, it’s Christ in us, which makes us into a good man and a good woman. And, the trinity of Jesus, a man, and a woman together as one creates an unbeatable marriage.
The reason why so many good marriages fail is when one or both walk away from Jesus as the center of their individual lives and the center of their marriage. The reason why the world hates marriage is because it is the physical manifestation of the Holy Trinity. It is a Living example of Christ loving the Church and giving up His life for her, His Bride.
“I’m Hub McCann. I’ve fought in two World Wars and countless smaller ones on three continents. I led thousands of men into battle with everything from horses and swords to artillery and tanks. I’ve seen the headwaters of the Nile, and tribes of natives no white man had ever seen before. I’ve won and lost a dozen fortunes, KILLED MANY MEN and loved only one woman with a passion a FLEA like you could never begin to understand. That’s who I am!” The movie, “Second Hand Lions”
Who are you?
What kind of Man are you?
What kind of woman are you?
When you have no firm identity, you have only weakness against the things out to destroy your love for your wife or husband. You have very little strength to fight the enemy of your relationship with God.
So goes your relationship with God, so goes everything else!
A good and lasting marriage vitally depends on your relationship to God through Jesus Christ. Remember? It’s the three-fold cord of Christ Jesus, a man, and a woman. That’s your superpower against the enemy of your marriage.
Don’t settle for the passion of a flea. Have the passion of a ferocious lover, willing to surrender and sacrifice your life for the one you love and for God, the Lover of your soul.
I know that so many of you, even my close friends, have given up on their marriages and God. You’ve walked away searching for meaning, significance, and identity. You’ll not find it in another lover if you never had it with the one you left.
You’ll only find meaning, significance, and identity in God. Not in sex, romance, and one-nighters. Turn back to Him, and turn back to your First Love.
“These are the things worth believin in.”
So, don’t be a flea brain! Believe in the things worth believin in.
Doubt is the gravitational force that keeps you from piercing through the atmosphere of the impossible.
Doubt is a killer of dreams and all that gives your life meaning.
Your faith is the rocket fuel that allows you to violate the forces of nature, doubt, and even physics.
Faith destroys doubt despite fear.
Faith in the ability and will of God can only win when you reject all other options. The more primary your faith becomes, the more God can do through your faith.
Are you asking God how? Author John Eldredge has written that “the question how?” is faithless. The question “how” can cause a failure in launching your faith and your ability to break through the gravitational forces of doubt…
… God wants your immediate obedience because this shows how much you trust him for all the unseen details.
When you break the gravitational forces of doubt, angels gather in excited anticipation, and demons become unsettled and defeated.
Now, do what you’ve been called to do. Sometimes, the equipping and provisions are developed during the journey, and this, too, will cause your faith to soar.
What are you waiting for?
You already have permission from God’s Word to do the impossible. When you step out to do the impossible, God shows himself in each impossible step. His miracles become the breadcrumbs for others to follow and a testimonial to your faith and to God’s faithfulness.
Doubt is a killer of trust and belief. Doubt keeps your relationships shallow and creates distance between you, God, and eternity.
You will never enjoy life to the fullest or know the depth of God until your trust becomes bigger than your doubt.
Break through the gravitational force of doubt. Until you do, you’ll never know your true purpose in life—You’ll never see the impossible happen.
When Toni and I were called to do the impossible, the doubters came out of the woodwork! Not because they were afraid for us but because they were afraid of us. Doubters love doubters, but those who break free from the gravitational force of doubt are a threat to their excuses.
Many years ago, August 4, 1984, to be exact; God called Toni and I to Youth With A Mission (YWAM). We needed $4,500.00 tuition for the Discipleship Training School and traveling money from California to the city of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, some 3,500 mile distance.
We embarked on our cross-country journey with our two small children, Josh and Jordan. Toni and I had only $300.00 cash and a gas and oil guzzling, 1973 Chevy station wagon. Needless to say, we were over $5,000.00 short. Yet, we truly believed that God would provide.
On our way to Canada, and after driving all night, the following morning, an 18-wheeler hit our car clocked by a Nevada State Trooper doing 90 miles per hour! The truck burst into flames on impact, skidding 600 feet before it exploded, catapulting debris 100 feet in the air! The impact to our Chevy station wagon thrusted us while inside our large vehicle, up the steep embankment, some thirty feet!
The truck driver jumped out safely, seconds before his rigg exploded! Later, the State Trooper told us that the truck driver had dosed off, which was why he collided into our car. Miraculously, none of us were seriously hurt, even though our Chevy station wagon was totaled. Our trip to Canada appeared to be cut short.
I put my family up in a Motel 6 in Elko Nevada, using part of the $300.00 we had started out with to cover the hotel expense. Yes, my wife and I were confused and dismayed, but soon experienced God’s peace over the crisis.
Within 24 hours of the accident, we received a knock on our hotel room door. It was an insurance adjuster, representing the trucking company responsible for the accident.
The adjuster wrote Toni and I a check for $25,000.00! At that time, it was more money than I had ever held or seen! Way more than enough for our YWAM tuition and traveling expenses!
Since our car was totaled, we took a bus ride to Salt Lake, Utah, to eventually catch a flight. While staying at another hotel, It was the next morning that God took me to a passage of Scripture:
“Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Since you have forgotten me and turned your back on me, you must bear the consequences…’ — Ezekiel 23:35
This verse popped up three times within 24 hours! It took me a while, but I began to understand what God was saying. Because we had received such a large sum of money that our faith and trust shifted, ever so slightly, from God to the money. In other words, we put our trust in the gift and not the Giver.
Later that morning, I lost my wallet with all the money in it! That Ezekiel verse kept echoing in my mind. Fortunately, I had kept part of the $25,000 settlement in the form of a certified check for $4,500.00, the rest in cash. But the certified check was also in my wallet!
You see, it is so easy and subtle to shift our trust and focus in God to other things. Because God loves us and that he’s a good and faithful Father, he won’t leave us in our sins. He corrects every son and daughter he loves.
Two weeks after we had arrived in Quebec, Canada, the Salt Lake Police Department in Utah sent me a letter, asking me to call or write back and describe the wallet’s contents. I want you to know that I didn’t have time to file a lost wallet report, and nothing in my wallet could’ve led the police to our temporary stop in Quebec. I still have this letter!
It was an absolute miracle that the Salt Lake Police Department found Toni and I while staying on a dairy farm in Quebec, Canada! I still, to this day, do not know how they found us!
Everything was still there in my wallet, except the $20,500.00 cash. Fortunately for us, the Canadian exchange rate in 1984 was 130%. Turning that certified check from $4,500.00 to $5,850.00! Because we had repented and adjusted our hearts, God gave us back just enough. As a matter of fact, because of God’s faithfulness, we were the only students who paid the required tuition in a lump sum!
When God calls us to obedience, he also provides the essentials. For us, his essentials came after each stage of obedience. The miracles were His way of rewarding our faith. Just like a father rewarding his son for doing a good job—God delights in our obedience!
I want you to know that when God calls a man, our response is critical. If we ignore His purpose for our lives, He sees this as rebellion—as stubbornness, which, God can be quick to show His displeasure. Just like He did for me, when I shifted my focus to money and away from Him.
Author and speaker John Eldredge has written that God wants you and me to become His “intimate ally.” He invites you and me to join Him in an adventure—a mission, if you will—a divine purpose that He uniquely planned for us. His mission is so critical for us that He planned it in every detail before He laid the foundations of the earth!
Dudes, did you just hear what I said?
Whether your name is John, Gary, David, or Steve, God thought of you, planned for you, and created a unique purpose for you outside of space, matter, and before time began! Let that sink in for just a moment—you matter so much to God, that you were, and are, in His thoughts, before He created the world and before you were even a twinkle in you parent’s hopes and dreams!
What will you do with this information? Don’t you want to connect with God’s mission for your life and His glory?
I can promise you this; when you do discover God’s divine purpose for your life, it will blow your mind so powerfully that your only response is to weep, tears of deep satisfaction and humility!
That’s what happened to me, I know God wants it to happen for you, too.
When I was twenty-one, my father-in-law, Gary Waltz, took me out to lunch to depart some fatherly wisdom into me, as I was about to become a father. One of the things he spoke to me didn’t make any sense at the time. He said, “Tom, you may never become a good speaker, but you will become a great writer.” By the way, I also became a public speaker!
Honestly, being a speaker or a writer wasn’t even on my radar. I was about to become a father, and that in itself was terrifying enough!
So, in 1981, my father-in-law spoke over my future, and in 2006, over twenty-five years later, it became true! Let’s take a look at a passage in Romans:
“As the Scriptures say, “I have made you a father of many nations.” This is true before God, the one Abraham believed—the God who gives life to the dead and speaks of things that don’t yet exist as if they are real.” Romans 4:17
God used my father-in-law to plant a seed of mission and purpose into my heart and soul. This mission was planned by God, our Creator, before He created our world!
So, back to the year 2006, around Spring time…
… I was about 46 years old when I had met a few people at a ministerial conference. I was there because my brother-in-law, Dwayne DeFount, known by most of you; he and I had started a men’s ministry titled Call To Courage. It was for that reason I was invited.
One of the individuals I had met was an editor of a bi-monthly publication titled America’s Good News, newspaper. We discussed nothing more than brief pleasantries and answered a few questions about our new men’s ministry.
A few days later, I received an unexpected call from a staff person from the newspaper. They invited me to become a columnist and to join the newspaper as a regular writer! I was shocked! I spoke to no one about writing, nor was it on my mind! I acted like I knew what all this meant. The staff-person explained what type and size font to use, how many words to include in each article, and the submission deadlines. Then the call ended.
As I hung up my phone, I placed my face into my hands and burst into tears! Tears, not of fear or sadness, but tears from an unexplored depth within my heart and soul! Those tears were of great humility and of purposeful fulfillment.
God had united His divine purpose and mission, for which He had planned before space, matter, and time existed, to be His writer! Now, do you see why it was so important for my father-in-law to plant God’s seed of mission and purpose into my life, so many years, prior? My father-in-law didn’t have a clue what and why he said that I was to become a writer, but God did.
Remember Romans 4:17?
“… Abraham believed—the God who gives life to the dead and speaks of things that don’t yet exist as if they are real.”
That is exactly what God did to me. He spoke those “things that were not yet, as if they are real!”
And this is why I’m here, speaking with you young men and even the older men here today. God has planned a mission or missions for you, too. I know this as I know the sun will rise in the East and settle in the West.
No man here today, in this place, at this moment and time is missionless or without divine purpose. As a matter of theological fact, you being here tonight was so ordered by God! This message was crafted, especially for you! You were and are in the mind and heart of God before He spoke the world into existence. In His timing, the seed He planted into the depths of your heart and soul is either being watered or harvested in you this night.
God longs for you to join Him in His adventurous mission for your life and for you to become His trusted and intimate ally. God trains the stouthearted during the journey. He looks for men, like you, who’ll not ask the faithless question about how? but will be brave enough to ask, when?
When God? I am willing. I know you are able. Prepare me as you have done with the men of Scripture. So that one day you will say to me, “… we’ll done my good and faithful servant.”
Oh, and remember to never trust the gift more than the Giver! Amen
It’s those forgotten little memories that can change everything!
Early in 1998, my brother called and told me that my dad was dying of cancer and that dad was asking for me.
When I heard this, I was very upset. Not that my father was dying, mind you, but that he’d asked for me. I needed him all my life, and now, he’s asking for me?
“Tell Dad I’m not coming!” I replied.
I have four brothers and a sister, and they all called me, urging me to visit Dad. A week or so went by, and I finally caved into the pressure.
I first visited my dad in the Contra Costa County Hospital, as the VA in Martinez, California, was short on beds. There, he lay in a bed surrounded by adjustable rails. My younger brother, John, and my mother were present.
My mom pulled me aside to tell me the seriousness of Dad’s esophageal cancer. She said, “It doesn’t look good, I’ve researched the prognosis, and he doesn’t have much time left.” By the time I had visited my father, he’d already been battered by chemotherapy and every other treatment.
The cancer had permanently closed up his esophagus, and he could no longer swallow but was fed through a feeding tube, which was surgically inserted through the side of his abdomen and directly into his stomach. My father was so frightened; I had never seen him so fragile and helpless.
Since things did not look good for my dad, I called one of my pastors from our church in Danville, California, called East Bay Fellowship, which I was attending with my wife and kids. I asked if Pastor Allan Shrewsbury could come by and pray over my father in the hope that it would give him some comfort.
Pastor Allan quickly arrived, praying with my dad and confirming my father’s faith and trust in Jesus Christ as his Savior.
It was getting late, and we began to ready ourselves to leave when I noticed tears filling my father’s eyes, along with the room filling with a sense of heaviness. It seemed as though this might be our last goodbye. I think the feeling of; “he may not make it through the night” hit all of us at the same time.
Compassion began to rise within my heart. I leaned over his bedrail and gently kissed my father’s unshaven face. His prickly whiskers caused my lips to tingle. My brother John leaned in and kissed our dad, as did my mom, and then we all tried to convince and reassure him that he would be fine as we slowly left the room.
As John and I walked out together towards the parking lot, my lips still tingling, I said:
“John, there is something strangely familiar about kissing dad.” I continued:
“My lips—they’re still tingling!”
John responded:
“What’s up with you, Tom? Don’t you remember when we were little kids, we’d line up in front of dad’s favorite chair and kiss him goodnight on his cheek, and he’d say with a smile,
’… Don’t let the bedbugs bite!’”
All of a sudden, good memories came flooding into my mind. That gentle kiss on my father’s unshaven face was a key to my dungeon of despair and loneliness. All my years of anger, bitterness, and hatred; all my doubts and unforgiveness, all swallowed up from the tingly whiskers of my father’s unshaven face!
After that moment, I couldn’t wait to see my father. I saw him over the next several months as often as I could.
Several weeks before my dad passed away, a nurse came into his hospital room, asking:
“Who is your executor and healthcare director?”
My father lifted his feeble arm and pointed in my direction. I turned to see if one of my two older brothers was behind me, but there was no one.
For some, this would have been an unwelcome appointment, a burden, but for me, it meant I had my father’s complete and utter trust and respect. The significance of my dad’s appointment was a paradigm shift for me, possibly one of my most life-affirming events.
Later, I learned that my father had consulted with my mother about whom he should appoint as Trustee of his estate and healthcare. My mother agreed with my dad on his final choice. My sister, Laurie, was also named co-trustee. Simply amazing!
A few weeks later, my dad’s condition was worsening. His organs were beginning to show signs of shutting down. At this point, my siblings and I would trade off, spending the night with Dad alone.
Finally, it was my turn. It was October 7, 1998. I arrived shortly after the dinner hour. A nurse brought in a cot with a blanket and a pillow for me to sleep on. My dad and I talked for quite a while, mostly about politics, which was my dad’s favorite topic. Soon, it was lights out, which never happens in a hospital.
As I lay there, realizing the significance of this moment with my dad, I knew if I didn’t say what was indeed on my heart now, that this moment would be lost forever. You see, my father had never told me that he loved me. I was thirty-nine years old, and my dad was about to turn sixty-nine the next day. I wanted so much to hear those words from him; no, I needed to hear those words from him—something in me was guiding me and granting me the courage to say what I needed to say:
“Dad?”
“Yes, son?” he replied
Dad … I love you!” I said cautiously.
Only mere seconds passed by, but it felt like years.
“… I love you too, son,” Dad replied.
I exchanged “I love you” with my dad for what seemed like all night long! I said those precious and life-giving words, which he echoed back:
“I love you too, son.”
All my hate and anger against my dad had washed away, and now for good! I heard the three most important words every son or daughter needs to hear:
“I love you, son!”
“Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the LORD arrives. His preaching will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.” — Malachi 4: 5-6
The days of the “curse” were finally over for me. For a greater spirit than Elijah had entered that hospital room that night. The Spirit of the Living God had softened the hearts of father and son, and the mess I had made of my life suddenly became beautiful!
“His wrath, you see, is fleeting, but His grace lasts a lifetime. The deepest pains may linger through the night, but joy greets the soul with the smile of morning.” — Psalms 30:5
My dad, while broken with cancer, poured into me so much life and hope, and, in such a short time! The man whom I had despised all of my life was my dad, with whom I just fell in love but who is now leaving.
The morning came, with it, a smile and a “Happy Birthday, Dad!”
It was October 8, 1998, and my father wanted to get cleaned up for his Birthday. He said:
“Tom, get my shaving bag, it’s over there, in that cabinet.”
“Here it is, Dad,” I replied.
“Okay, get my Electric Shave lotion and my razor out,” my dad directed, and then he asked:
“Son, will you shave my face?”
This may sound silly, but this was the most intimate moment I’ve ever had with my father. The whiskers that tingled my lips and softened the hardness of my heart, the mouth that finally spoke: “I love you too, son,” was the face I was about to care for and shave.
“The deepest pains may linger through the night, but joy greets the soul with the smile of morning.”
… and I shaved my father’s face.
That is why I would not change a single moment of my life. The pain is swallowed up in the sweetness of heartfelt forgiveness and the “I love yous.” For what had become broken has now been given, and the mess of my life has now become beautiful!
Four days later, on October 12, 1998, my father passed away. At his right-hand side, I stood a restored and beloved son, loved and approved. As life was quickly draining from my dad, he looked up towards the ceiling, letting out his final breath; he smiled, his heartbeat stopped, and we wept loudly in the grief of our great loss! I then reached over his body and closed my father’s eyes.
He died my hero triumphantly and bravely; he faced death and passed from this life into the heart of God.
“Death swallowed by triumphant Life! Who got the last word? Oh, Death, who’s afraid of you now?” – I Corinthians 15:55
While this was both a painful and magical time for me, these events with my father were a new beginning and a paradigm shift for my present and future.
I can honestly say that God used the final moments of my father’s life to make me into a better man, a restored son, and a better father.
Letting my anger for my father go allowed love to come bursting in. Becoming my father’s beloved son made it possible for me to believe I could be God’s beloved son, too.
Good night. Sleep tight. Don’t let the bedbugs bite. I’ll see you in heaven. I love you, dad!
We can’t live a happy life with an unforgiving soul and a stubborn heart.
When we refuse to forgive ourselves and others, we split our identity. One part loaths the offender, and the part hates self. It is the inner voice of self hatred and toxic unforgivness, which curses the outer self of life and the inner self of peace.
I know you know what I’m saying. I’m not trying to gulit you, but to help you!
I don’t want you to end up with two personalities in one body. That’s a horrible way to live!
One world is real, full of life, hope, and dreams. The other is false — filled with lies, masks, and illusions. Sure, you can survive in your false world, but you were made for so much more than surviving…
… and I think you know that!
You’ve felt it your entire life, that there’s something wrong. You don’t know what it is—you feel trapped inside—imprisoned by offense. Maybe you feel like a hostage, only it’s you that holds the key to your own prison cell.
In the movie The Matrix, Neo asks Morpheus a question:
“If you’re killed in the matrix, you die here?”
Morpheus:
“The body can not live without the mind.”
The book of James puts it this way:
“The splinter of a divided mind shatters your compass and leaves you dizzy and confused.” —James 1:8
Do not yield to thoughts of condemnation for others and hatred of self, for the end of such thoughts are self-destruction and death. You need to yield to, and desire wisdom from God, who understands both the body and the mind. But if you reject his wisdom and truth, your inner thoughts, no matter how untrue and false, will become reality. For either the wisdom from God and the belief of self-hatred are both initiated by faith. You see, faith activates the power of both truth and lies.
If you believe in the truth and wisdom from God, you will live and thrive. Conversely, if you believe in self-hatred and unforgivness, you will become lifeless and die. For the body obeys the mind, and a double minded person is unstable, confused, and lost.
I don’t want you lost—I want you found and freed!
The standard of God’s Word, Wisdom, and Truth never changes, so anchor all your thoughts, fears, and doubts on him, and you will find your way again.
This very moment, you are standing at the crossroads—as Jeremiah puts it:
Yet the Lord pleads with you still: Ask where the good road is, the godly paths you used to walk in, in the days of long ago. Travel there, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, “No, that is not the road I want!” —Jeremiah 6:16 (TLB)
Don’t yell an angry, “NO!” Cry a humble “yes,” and find rest again.
If you will not turn to God, The Holy One of Truth and Wisdom, not even your loved ones can help you. Until you’re willing to expose your false self and cease your fake salvation, you can’t be helped. Until you ask to be rescued, you’ll continue to drift further and further away.
Unrelenting unforgivness hurts no one but yourself. The one who offended you is unharmed by your hoarding of anger and offense. They’re free, but you’re not!
I plead with you, turn to God and be honest. Be brave. Be loving to yourself again and live! You may not realize it, but you’ve had the keys to your own prison all along.
“… You will weep no more. He will be gracious if you ask him for help. He will surely respond to the sound of your cries.” —Isaiah 30:19
Jesus Christ died that you may live and was raised to life that you may never die.
For there is no peace and no rest in wasting your life being unforgiving. There is life and peace in Jesus Christ.
Here, please read Psalms 23 — it’s a beautiful passageway to life!
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” —Psalm 23
Trust Him—He will give you rest for all your weariness and heal your splintered mind!
Maybe you’ll be restored enough to even feast in the presence of those who once hurt and offended you.
A while ago, I was awakened in the middle of the night, deeply troubled about the potential results of the 2024 elections. I got up to use the bathroom, and on my way back to bed, I distinctly heard a voice say:
“And this too must come to pass.”
I wrestled with those words for a few moments. And then I understood what the Lord was saying. If you truly trust and believe in my Word, then you must understand that these things must come to pass.
While nothing more would please me, and possibly you as well, would be a change in the moral and economic condition of this great nation. Even if for just a few years of reprieve, so that some of us can get back on our feet again and reengage the “American Dream.” Or perhaps finish our education and land a career. Or enter retirement with a full nest egg and an adequate 401k.
Now, as it must prophetically roll forward, the future seems unclear. But is it as unclear as we think, or have we forgotten, as we so easily do, what the scriptures have said?
“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” –Mathew 24:6
“If you examine the past, you will find direction for the future,” has always been a reliable saying. However, we must examine our future and God’s promises to understand the times we live in and the days in which we’re all heading. Then we can understand what the Spirit is saying to the Churches:
“And this too must come to pass.”
This is our greatest opportunity to meet the tremendous needs unfolding before us. As our forerunners of old, we must declare that the Kingdom and the Economy of God are at hand. This hope must replace the hope we have in our politicians—in the American dream—in our careers and in our retirement. All these things are mere shadows of the bigness, brightness, and expansion of the Kingdom of God! Don’t we want this to come to pass?
The Kingdom of God is where all our hopes and dreams should be focused!
It is, and always, will be necessary for us Christians to engage in our civic duties and be good citizens of whatever country God has placed us in. But we must remember that we are also citizens of the Eternal Kingdom and a better place called Heaven. Our lives must reveal our eternal hope in God’s promises and the future he plainly marked out for us in his Holy Word.
If we truly live as citizens of Heaven and declare to this needy world that the Kingdom of God and its glorious economy is here, now, then we’ve lost nothing but have gained everything!
I love politics. I love to watch its unfolding — the potential of good vs. evil. I love to see good men and women statesmen stand against evil and the injustice of our time. These are the vanguards of our society, suppressing the evil power against the weakest among us. But wokeism, Leftest ideologies, and the sexual exploitation of children are too much to bear.
“And this too must come to pass.”
I don’t like this—not one bit! But again, God’s word and his promises drive us all forward and set the stage for what will soon be. If we engage our citizenship of Heaven, what lies ahead is to be welcomed—not feared!
I say, let us be like the people of Whoville; while Christmas had been stolen, they still gathered as a village and celebrated Christmas anyway, and even to the Grinch’s shock and surprise:
“How could it be so? It came without ribbons!—it came without tags!—it came without packages, boxes, or bags!”
Rise up, O People of God! Rise up! “Greater is He within you than he in the world!” Act like a people whose God is the Lord and declare that a far better political order has arrived! It is The Lord God Almighty, Wonderful Counselor, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace! And the government shall rest upon his shoulders, and his kingdom shall know no end.” This is our true heritage, our future, and our true identity!
We may fail with political might. But, let us succeed with true spiritual power by loving each other so that the world may see and hear the True King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and President of Presidents!
Let us welcome all of it and fear not but rejoice because nearer are the days of our Lord’s return than when we first believed.
Remember and have faith, as “this too must come to pass.”
I can’t think of any other time than now to pause and reflect on the God of the universe. Isn’t our country; for that matter, the entire world being overshadowed by abnormal politics and abhorrent behavior?
The spreading of evil in our world is beyond rumor—it’s boldly flaunted in our faces.
Where else can we go for wisdom and truth other than to God? All other institutions have failed us. Indeed, they’ve failed God and country!
But, there is still hope!
Did you know that God is wirelessly available at this very moment? He is, and he has unmatched bandwidth from Heaven’s Throne!
God has infinitely more knowledge than Alexa—more wisdom than Siri and has far greater influence than TikTok!
God does desire your worship of him, but worship is not an end in itself; it’s not the pinnacle of what you have to give the Eternal Lover of your soul. He’s after your heart. Your heart is what he wants from you. For without it, your worship is empty and unpleasing to him.
God is not happy with only raised hands, bowed heads, and pretty choruses—he’s not impressed with your Sunday’s best and part-time devotion!
He’s poured out all his pent-up wrath against sin on His very own Son so that he can pour out all his love on you! He’s found a way to make you his very own and desires to be the sole occupant of your heart. He wants your desire to match his Son’s desire to be in him so that together, Father and Son, may dwell within you!
What will it take for you to cut out and remove what is useless and self-destructive to your precious heart and soul?
Is not your life hard enough—empty enough—lonely enough that you’ll go on without God?
You want all these things; all the answered prayers and open doors, but are you really pursuing God, or simply what you want from him?
He’s not behind the doors for which you so wearily push against; earnestly seeking safety, comfort, and security. He’s not playing hide and seek with you. He wants to be found as your One and Only Lover and Everlasting Father.
Only in returning to him will you find everything you are truly seeking and desiring.
Pray to receive him. Climb over every obstacle to find Him, and not what your flesh cries out for, which by the way are only temporal remedies of an eternal desire. God’s promise is that he will be found if you seek him and him alone with your whole heart.
But perhaps you haven’t done so, at least not with all your heart and strength, or else this note you’re reading wouldn’t be speaking so deeply to you. To honestly and sincerely turn towards God is, my dear friend, the only change and the most important decision that you must make at this moment—at this very second!
All other passions, concerns, and worries must be trained on the heart of your fierce Lover and only Healer of your heart and soul. All other methods are simply medicating you. Worldly tips and techniques are not healing you but masking the pain. “Time does [not] heal all wounds,” God does! God wants you restored and made whole—not medicated.
You want to talk about hands-free devices?
Did you know that God is wirelessly available this very moment with unmatched bandwidth from Heaven’s Throne?
God has infinitely more knowledge than Alexa. He has more wisdom than Siri and far greater influence than TikTok! We 21st-century Christians are so distracted, not with idols made of wood and stone, but with artificial intelligence (A.I.)!
We crave Idols that talk back and that hear our every word and answer our immediate questions. Yet the God of Creation, the very One who knows you by name, has counted every strand of your hair and has collected, like diamonds and precious jewels, every tear you’ve shed, is waiting patiently for your devotion and your “signing in.”
He has far greater connections than LinkedIn and has more excellent opportunities than Ziprecruiter. He wants more than your market share and algorithms—he wants all of you—body, mind, and soul, but especially your whole heart.
God can fill your heart and soul, but the Internet, well, it leaves holes in your heart and never absolutely never fills your heart as God can. The internet is designed to keep you empty, shallow, and alone, causing you to need and crave things more and more.
God is not after your money. He’s not marketing you—he’s trying to love you as you’ve never been loved before! He wants to update and download into the center of your being and fill your memory with images of Heaven that you’ll never find on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or WhatsApp.
Did I mention how much I needed to hear this?
My name is Thomas Koester, and I’m addicted to A.I. too. I need more than I’d like to admit the words I’ve written in this article. I, too, am convicted!
Close this post. Log off Facebook. Shut down your devices. Lower the lights and open your heart to God. Log into Heaven’s Throne, and tune into His presence, scroll up to His homepage so that you may truly see and understand. God is far more exciting than X! He has exceedingly more to offer than Amazon, eBay, or Temu!
God is live right now, and his live feed is where you’ll find real life and all that you’ve been longing for…
“Above all else, guard your heart, for from it flows the wellspring of life.” – Proverbs 4:23
Your heart is so critical to your redemption that it is the first thing the enemy attacks! He attacks it when it’s very young, vulnerable, and imaginative, able to believe in the unbelievable.
“For one believes with his heart and is justified, and declares with his mouth and is saved.” – Romans 10:10
If The Evil One is successful in his assaults against our hearts, his work will cancel our justification and shut our mouth’s declaration of salvation.
This warfare is so profound that it’s the last thing mentioned in the Old Testament and the first thing in the New Testament! If our hearts are not restored, our land and lives will be cursed. And this is the plight of so many lives—lives, whereby the heart has been so treacherously wounded that everything is cursed.
But, there is hope! Please read on.
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.” – Malachi 4: 5-6
Who was the great prophet spoken of by Malachi?
It was John the Baptist. His preaching, as it says, prepared people for the Messiah. – Luke 1:17…
“… And he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people.”
Our hearts do indeed matter, and unfortunately, it is the battleground that the Enemy first strikes.
I can think of no greater scene than from the movie Spider-Man (2002), which powerfully demonstrates the evil one’s scheme…
Green Goblin: Spider-Man is all but invincible; but Parker, we can destroy him.
Norman Osborn: I can’t.
Green Goblin: Betrayal must not be countenanced! Parker must be educated.
Norman Osborn: What do I do?
Green Goblin: Instruct him in the matters of loss and pain. Make him suffer, make him wish he were dead.
Norman Osborn: Yes?
Green Goblin: And then grant his wish.
Norman Osborn: But how?
Green Goblin: The cunning warrior attacks neither body nor mind.
Norman Osborn: TELL ME HOW!
Green Goblin: The HEART, Osborn. First, we attack his heart.
If you’re going to live from and believe with your heart, and I highly recommend that you do, you must armor up and ready yourself for the onslaught of your life. Why? Because the Enemy fears and hates nothing more than a man or woman living from their heart. The heart is where the God of the Angel Army dwells!
This is why before most of us had reached the age of eleven or twelve, that we encountered “heart attacks,” that is, a vicious assault on our heart— the very center of our being.
“The cunning warrior attacks neither body nor mind—first, he attacks the heart.”
If you, like me, have suffered attacks of the heart, while young and impressionable, there is hope and healing. As a matter of fact, there is nothing so vital as the healing of your heart. Your heart is so vital that Jesus of Nazareth read the following from the ancient scrolls at the very beginning of his earthly mission:
“The Spirit of the Almighty Lord is with me because the Lord has anointed me to deliver good news to humble people. He has sent me to heal those who are brokenhearted, to announce that captives will be set free and prisoners will be released.” – Isaiah 61:1
Your heart matters to God—you matter to God. The cunning warrior shall not win this battle against your heart. The battle belongs to the Lord. He’s defeated the enemy on the cross. All you must do is believe in your heart and confess with your mouth, and you shall be saved and healed. Don’t be afraid, be saved! Amen
Full-Time Pastors are no justification for part-time Christianity. Neither is Christianity simply a vocation of the elite and educated clergy.
It is a radically new culture and community; a new way of life and living, it is not a compartmentalized life, whereby God is public on Sundays, but private on Mondays through Saturdays; not an alternate-parallel lifestyle–that is, one foot in Church and one foot in the world. It is an all-consuming, all-encompassing otherworldly life.
True Christianity is so radical, so alien that your only way to survive in it is to suit up in complete faith. Natural laws and physics are without limits and barriers; economy and dominion are infinite and ever-expanding. Sickness and disease are opportunities and victories for growth. For the believer, death is but a brief nap and an instant passageway from a lesser glory to full glory.
However, someone suggested that to reach the world, we must act like the world and, well, that’s backfired!
Somewhere along the way, we’ve become the world, and therefore the world has nothing to see; there’s no contrast. The world is left without a testimony. Jesus himself said before he ascended into heaven:
“When I return, will I find faith on earth?”
Let’s stop our part-time Christianity and make it our full-time life. Let’s not leave our Christian duties and responsibilities to our pastors, but all do the work of ministry.
Doing nothing to very little with our faith stunts our growth as a godly people. Serving others and doing the work of ministry causes us to flourish and reach maturity in the faith.
The world needs grown-up Christians and not another worldly-religious order.
There’s no doubt that tribulation can be a useful tool for the Refiner’s fire; purifying our body, soul, and mind. But, if we reject the Holy Spirit’s conviction of God’s Word, expect all pleasantries to disappear.
Worldly comforts are not a sign of godly favor. No sir—They are an indicator that you may not be a true son or daughter of God. True sons and daughters are purified by the things they suffer. They know it is the hour of chastisement, bringing about true repentance; so rather than pout and complain, they act with dispatch to be renewed and rejoined. They don’t get bogged down with shame, they get lifted with praise!
They become consumed in the life of Christ. He is the reason they triumph through tribulation and suffering. Their suffering is purpose-driven, that is to become closer to Jesus and the all-encompassing, all-consuming, otherworldly life He offers.
Final thought…
Remember, your pastor will not be standing in for you on your behalf at The Judgement Seat of Christ. Nope, it’ll be just you, and what you have, and have not done to the least of one of these.
You’re not saved by your works, but your works validate your faith. Faith without works is dead and works without faith and love is nothing at all.
I challenge you to show off your faith to the unseen world so that the world in which we live will see your faith and believe. Make your Heavenly Father proud, and give him many reasons to say: “Well done, my faithful son or daughter.”
When your faith lights up, it shows off the incomparable brightness and weightiness of God. Because God is all-encompassing and all-consuming, there is no room for worldly life.
I’m not in your work, so why do you lose yourself there?
The Barna Group and USA Today have estimated that 3,500 people walk away from church each day. Of these dechurched people, 80% are from the age group of 14-33.
It’s interesting that the single greatest issue reported by these people walking away from the Church is due to a lack of connectedness.
What does this mean?
It may mean that while people are looking for spiritual connectedness, our youth are not finding it in Church! So, they leave the organized Church looking for God elsewhere. Is it possible that in many churches today, God is not there?
I remember several years ago, Toni and I visited a church in Sonora, California. For the City of Sonora, it was considered one of the largest churches. We walked in and then later out of the church without any welcome or introduction. On our way to our car, I asked Toni,
“Honey, do you think we’re invisible?”
We then visited another church in Sonora and were ambushed by teens and adults with hands held out and warm greetings. Afterward, several people were genuinely interested in us. At one touching moment, a young man introduced himself and offered to pray over my back, as he noticed the pain I was in from a recent collision with a Hummer on Interstate HWY-4.
The stark difference between these two churches we visited, while anecdotal, seems to jive with the Barna Group’s study.
Needless to say, we joined the Church where we not only felt connected but became vital to that body of believers. In other words, the people there took the time to know us, understand our spiritual gifts, and, so, plugged us in to serve.
So, I want to tell my estranged fellow believers, “Don’t give up on the Church and find God there.” Like in most things and in many people there are good ones and not so good ones. Keep searching until you find a church you can call family and become vitality connected and useful.
Complacency and apathy do not belong in God’s people and in His Church. Yet, for many churches, their lack of utilizing people’s spiritual gifts breeds complacency and apathy. And so, sadly, many people become church dropouts.
Your spiritual gifts matter, and never settle for you or the gifts that God gave you to be benched or shelved. Your spiritual vitality and health are important to God and in the right Church also. Be humble and patient with God’s spiritual gifts, but also be wise and discerning.
So, to my dechurched brothers and sisters, I want to challenge and invite you back to God. To tell you that Jesus is there, where He said He would be if two or three are gathered together in His Name.
I am not on the internet, so why are you searching there?
I’m not in your work, so why do you lose yourself there?
I’m not in your affairs or hookups, so why do you hide there?
Is it because you no longer believe in Me or see Me that you continue to wander aimlessly? Is that why you have no fear of Me because I don’t shout and yell at you?
Is that why you trust more in things than in Me?
You’re hanging too tightly to the temporal things at the expense of the eternal!
It doesn’t matter how many Sunday services you attend. It’s your secret life that is denying your belief in Me. Your lack of connectedness in Church stems from your lack of connectedness to Me!
Your Sunday morning “hallelujahs” and “amens” mean nothing to Me without your holiness and devotion. I’m supposed to be in your heart and not in your religious ambitions.
I’m pleading with you to return to Me, even though you’re chasing shadows and lingering in sin, I’m still not willing for you to perish. All your difficulties are not a string of bad luck. It’s Me, dealing with you as a faithful Father!
You will not find Me in the false gods you love; in A.I., Tictok, X, Meta, or Instagram. People are into those things, not Me, I’m here, inside your heart—whispering My heavenly will, which is uniquely designed for you.
Take out the trash in your heart and mind. Ask Me to create in you a clean heart and clear head. All you have to do is admit your sins, cry your eyes out, and invite Me in. I don’t want to judge you—I want to love you!
Turn away from darkness, and come back into the light. I won’t shame you, I want to tame your feral heart. I want to quiet all that hateful self-talk you’re constantly muttering at yourself. Those nasty voices come from the deep broken places that you’ll not let me heal.
Hasn’t my Son, Jesus, convinced you enough that I’m in love with you? I want you here with Me in Heaven so that Father and Son can be with you there on earth.
I know that’s what you want because I put that desire in you before I created you. So, stop holding hands with sin and the devil! He wants you in hell. I want you here with Me. You’ll not find Me there in the devil’s darkness. I’m over here, in the Light of My Word, and in Jesus, My Son.
If you want the devil to stop harassing you and your soul to cease its pain, seek Me with all your heart and weary soul. I’ll be found. I’m not the one hiding.
You’ll Not Find Me There, because I’m over here—I’ve never left!
Call To Courage 