God, Sex, and Confused Christianity By Thomas J. Koester

A few years ago, a Christian brother approached me and confessed that he was in a relationship with a married woman for the past two years.

He went on and told me the woman was unhappy in her marriage and that he and this woman were in love. The real shock came after he told me that he had spoken to his pastor about this relationship. Under full disclosure, he had asked the pastor if he should continue with the relationship, and the pastor’s reply:

“Well, let me pray about this and get back to you.”

Scripture is quite clear as to the answer of my friend’s question and confusion.

Why are so many Christians practicing sexual fornication, adultery, and other destructive lifestyles unchecked and unchallenged by churches and pastors?

Why are so many Churches and pastors so outspoken against homosexuality, yet tolerate their congregation’s practices of heterosexual sins and adultery?

Sexuality is sacred and purposed filled and is sanctioned only in the bonds of marriage between a man and a woman. Yet, even Christianity is progressively easing back from the sacredness of sexuality and marriage. And, it is creating excuses and confusion by its silence towards the biblical view of sexuality and its sacredness.

I guess it’s more profitable to be silent as a pastor regarding sexual sins than to preach God’s Word and truth as it relates to the sacredness of true sexuality. Christianity has created within itself a sin-dependent class and a sin tolerant class of Christians. I think many pastors and church boards believe that if pastors and teachers preached the biblical truth on sexuality their church attendance and tithing would rapidly decline.

And so, many churches and Christian leaders across this nation are flirting with the development of a hybrid-Christian world view of sexuality and political/religious correctness. Thus, mixing two world views to increase their fame and fortunes. I sincerely wish it were not so!

You can not use post-fallen man as a template of God’s ordination for the sacred. Only in Christ is man/woman restored, body, mind, and spirit. Either his/her mind is transformed or it is not. Our identity is not our sin, nor is it our sexual proclivities. Our identity and sexual orientation is redeemed and cleansed, and so we must cease from sin through the power of God’s grace and the blood of Christ Jesus, his Son.

Therefore, one cannot be a Christian and be homosexual, bisexual, transgender or transvestite in thought or in deed. Nor can one be a Christian and live a lifestyle of unchecked fornication and adultery. For Christ not only fulfilled all the law, but changed the direction of the law to inwardly, making even our hearts and minds the territory of His Holy Presence and Kingdom.

Sexual purity is a necessity and is not an option! Even so, God is full of grace and mercy. Only do not use his grace and mercy as a crutch.

The sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit transforms and conforms us, even those with homosexual thoughts and feelings, into the attitude and image of Christ, the perfect man. It is a cooperative relationship between the Spirit of Christ and the spirit of man, and it is not an easy process. It is at times messy and wrought with failure and setbacks, but God’s grace is not only his goodness, but more so, his enabling power of transformation and aid in our times of need.

The Spirit of Grace does not leave us in our sin and with our proclivities, nor leaves us subjugated to its strongholds of thoughts and imaginations, but rather delivers us from evil.

Yes, race, sex and gender are sacred and ordained by God as he originally created them to be. But not what sin has devolved or distorted it into.

Do not equate the plight of racism with sexual orientation or gender confusion. Even if gender confusion and homosexuality happens in the womb or is a result of early childhood environmental development, it does not make it sacred, but rather the results of the original fall and rebellion of man.

We are all born into sin, and none are innocent. Whether one is born heterosexual or chooses to be homosexual, we are all in need of a Redeemer and utterly lost and hopeless without Christ. The power of the Gospel is good news to both the outer and inner life of all people. None are left out or excluded from salvation and redemption in Christ. In God, there is no favoritism; nor racism; nor sexism. He is the God of all and has all the power to transform any sinner and of any sexual orientation.

Even though God originally created man heterosexual, the fall of the heterosexual man and his sexual promiscuity is just as vile as the sexual actions of homosexuality. The promiscuity of one is met with the same consequences as that of the other.

God ordained man and woman to be one. Anything beyond this is outside of God’s ordination and is subject to the laws of sin and death, for both the heterosexual and homosexual.

Christ is the hope of all peoples of the earth, and none are excluded from his saving power, except only those who refuse to believe and obey.

“Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God.” –Romans 12:2 World English Bible (WEB)

Don’t be confused, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, thoughts, and imaginations.

A life without standards is a life without value. A valueless life is a life without real love. Don’t be that person that cheapens love for sex—don’t do as the world does, but rather do what’s right, true and pure. Value your sexuality and the sexuality of others. Honor God with your body, and do not be confused!

A Man And God’s Mission – By Thomas J. Koester

Never trust the gift more than the Giver!

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

Deception in Your Church? – By Thomas J. Koester

No one who is deceived will say, “I’m deceived!” Deception is the state in which one has been taken captive by falsehood and error.

Did you know that error is a spirit? It is parasitical and will weaken your faith and ability to discern truth from error. If you are in a church, which is preaching and practicing error and there is no repentance, no correction, and no apology, you should not stay. Your spiritual health and possibly your eternal state are at risk.

“Blessed (happy and to be envied) are those who cleanse their garments, that they may have the authority and right to [approach] the tree of life and to enter through the gates into the city. [But] without are the dogs and those who practice sorceries (magic arts) and impurity [the lewd, adulterers] and the murderers and idolaters and everyone who loves and deals in falsehood (untruth, error, deception, cheating).” –Revelations 22: 14-15

When you tolerate error and biblical untruth, you will become party to the same eternal judgment on those who practice and teach such error. “Those who cleanse their garments” are those who have both authority and right to the tree of life and will pass through the gates.

Those who endure and tolerate error and falsehood are as guilty as sorcerers, murders, adulterers, and idolaters. Their’s is the same judgment.

There is no middle ground. Truth is not negotiable.

You can not, even in the slightest way, dismantle a portion of truth without becoming guilty of untruth, error, and deception.

You can not say that you hold and preach the “whole counsel of God” and at the same time ignore the command to love, cherish, and honor your wife. You might ask, what has marriage to do with truth and deception. It’s because the wife is the first to know.

You can not preach ecclesiastical unity and put your wife and marriage vows asunder. You can not hold to the New Covenant and ignore the marriage covenant. But far too many ministers do.

You shall not worship the anointing above the Anointer, who is God!

Did you know that you can perform signs and wonders; heal the sick, raise the dead, and preach the gospel and still end up in hell? Well, shouldn’t you at least think about it? After all, religious sin has got to be the most damnable and deceptive.

“Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven.

Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name and driven out demons in Your name and done many mighty works in Your name?

And then I will say to them openly (publicly), I never knew you; depart from Me, you who act wickedly [disregarding My commands].” –Matthew 7:21-23

I plead with you, my brothers and sisters. Do not put up with error, even though you sense the “Lord’s presence” and an “anointing.” There is no excuse for falsehood, error, and deception. You can not violate God’s commands, no matter how many miracles and wondrous signs are displayed.

Remember, the Man of Sin, or the Lawless One [the one who does so called “righteous acts” without God’s approval], is about to be revealed, and his spirit is already at work in disobedient minds throughout the world.

The first command of the ten commandments of Satan is:

“Do what thou will.”

This satanic command is behind many so-called ministries. When a ministry is not doing God’s will, His way, they are indeed doing what “thou will.” They are obeying demons and not the Son of God. Their lack of discernment is due to their lack of knowing Jesus Christ and that Jesus has no relational knowledge of them. They don’t belong to God. They belong to the Devil.

People, attending a church and being involved in ministry, performing acts of healing, deliverance, prophesying, and speaking in tongues doesn’t make you a Christian or validate you as one. It may make you feel like a saint, but since when does feelings make you a saint?

Only he, who washes his robe and who does the will of God, shall enter through the gates and into the City of God.

Not everyone who says; “Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven…”

Check yourselves! Your pastor will not be standing next to you on the day of judgment, just you and the Lord. It’s you who must give an account as to what you have and have not done—to what you have believed while on earth.

The key to entering the city is to know and be known by God. You are known by God when your love is validated by obeying His commands and doing His will. There is God’s will, and there is rebellion. No other will exists.

Flee the house of deception and don’t look back!

Cover your ears to the flattery and tune into the voice of your True Heavenly Father. Don’t fall for favoritism of ministers and “important preachers” over the favor and approval of God.

Don’t exchange your identity of son or daughter of God, for position or title. Don’t marvel that you belong to a church or ministry, but marvel that your name is written the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Do not tolerate deception, false and new teaching, error, untruth or half-truth, do not accept the gospel of earthly prosperity at the expense of eternal life and heaven.

“Repent and live, why must you die, O’ house of Israel!”

Rather, worship God in the wilderness of this life and world. This world is our wilderness, and heaven is the promised land for all who obey—all who truly love and are truly known in the courts of heaven.

Pray for clarity and flee deception. Do it now!

The Great Reversal – By Thomas J. Koester

Fascism is the absence of common sense and is designed to exploit common decency until the indecent rules everything.

Isn’t that the exact reverse of normalcy? Our society and culture being ruled by indecent people?

How do we stop “wokeism” and the cultural decay it causes to our liberties?

Doing nothing is not an option. Our churches and pastors remaining silent on the philosophical descent into cultural hell must stop! Passivity is not an option!

Descending into hell is easy; the gravitational pull of passivity and apathy is the devil’s specialty.

Passivity is the unfortunate welcome mat that always leads to personal and national disaster.

Real men flourish when they battle the evil of their time. Doing nothing destroys the masculine soul. Men, at all cost, avoid passivity!

While many women are speaking out against men invading femininity, where are the men speaking out against the transitioning of boys and men into women? Where is your voice against women becoming men?

If nothing is said; if men shy away from defending traditional masculinity, fatherhood, and brotherhood, culture and society will reverse into the abominable.

The abominable cannot reproduce sons and daughters. Rather, they can only corrupt and convert your sons and your daughters to their ideology. Once the abominable reversal takes root, it will be irreversible.

Sadly, though, we have entered into a new era called:

“The Great Reversal”

That is, all that was once true is now false, and what was once false has become “true.” This Great Reversal is an engineered social-political and philosophical machine designed to destroy traditional values, and its purpose is to eliminate all value centers, including: marriage, family, fatherhood, gender, and any religious organization that denies the “new social norm.”

Your only antidote is to focus your heart and mind to Jesus Christ, who is the only Eternal and Unchanging Truth of God. Seek him while he can be found and before his truth is outlawed. The outlawing of all that speaks and promotes truth is happening all around us. Instead of truth, untruth is promoted to our children in their schools, colleges, universities, cable networks, Hollywood, and the Worldwide Web.

Canada is also going through a fierce assault on truth and reality. This leads me to ask, where will you go if we lose America?

This great reversal is creating a fascistic society here in America. It’s obvious, isn’t it? Those who accuse America as being fascist are themselves the fascists, all the while ignorant about fascism.

Fascism is the absence of common sense and is designed to exploit common decency until the indecent rules everything.

Do not become an agent for the Great Reversal. Uphold truth even if it’s unpopular. Speaking out may cause you to lose your job, friends, and family members. But the alternative is far worse, worse for you, your children, and your children’s children.

Understand the times in which you live.

Passivity is the unfortunate welcome mat that always leads to disaster.

There may be a time coming, whereby fighting for truth may cost more than your reputation.

Will you fight?

Real men flourish when they battle the evil of their time. Doing nothing destroys the masculine soul and any nation.

There was a time in history whereby most men, young, and middle-aged, clamored to join the armed forces to battle European communism, and again against North Korea, and then once more in Vietnam and Laos.

Men, do you not see that communism is already here, now, and all around you?

It didn’t arrive as a mechanized army, with planes, helicopters, and tanks in our air or on our beaches; it quietly arrived in our institutions, schools, colleges, universities, and yes, even in many so-called churches. It’s taken over our halls of congress, the Whitehouse, American corporations, and the entire TV and cable news broadcast industry.

We won’t be fighting the Chinese, North Koreans, and Russians. We’ll be fighting fellow Americans who have sold their minds to communistic professors and educators who turned your children into their homegrown revolutionaries! Heck, many of you even paid the tuition towards the demise of your own offspring!

But you didn’t notice the takeover because you chose to be silent, passive, and tolerant during the rise of The Great Reversal.

The push to reverse what we see, hear, and say is to force or trick us into denying the present reality. If we allow this to continue, reality will turn into hell.

Who is the author of the Great Reversal?

It is the ancient Father of Lies. He’s famous for twisting the truth. He began in the Halls of Heaven, being cast down to earth, where he’s been deceiving mankind over and over again, beginning in Eden. Now, over the past 130 years, his dark regime has been progressively destroying our values and replacing them with the satanic.

“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20

The definition of “woe” is: 1. a condition of deep suffering from misfortune, affliction, or grief, or 2. ruinous trouble, calamity, tragedy.

Boycotting is not enough to stop the Great Reversal. We all must find our voices and in unison shout, NO! Not today, tomorrow, or ever!

Real Hope For A Hopeless America – By Thomas Koester

The hope that is in every believer is real hope for a hopeless America.

We need to find our place in His Story so that we can leave our mark in history.

The Nazi-Socialist and their sick eugenics are alive and well in America. Their aim is a “perfect society” through science and political power.

Abortion was originally, according to Margret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, a form of “depopulating the blacks from society.” Just like the Nazis dehumanized Jews, Gays, Gypsies, and Christians, Margret Sanger, and her “Planned Parenthood” cohorts have dehumanized the unborn, especially the unborn of color. Now, since its inception, abortion has killed nearly 60 million unborn just in America alone.

You see, dictatorial and tyrannical control requires a manageable population. This is not only about the numbers of humans but also the dollars it takes to manage them. Coronavirus was, among many things, about the killing off, or shall I saw more humanely, euthanizing the elderly and the weakest among us. In addition, the killing off of businesses creates general economic ruin and caused melee in our cities and towns.

This was done to usher in a New Economic Order that will require efficiency and dependence. Don’t you realize that we validated their evil trial balloon by our compliance?

Efficiency, that is, a more manageable populace, and a more weakened people lowers the possibility of uncontrollable revolt. This is why patriotism and those patriotic institutions we all love must go. This is why “The Good Ole American Way” has been under assault. This is why football, baseball, basketball, and soccer have been ruined, and our American flag and our National Anthem desecrated. This is what’s behind the destruction of women’s sports! Everything that makes us America is slowly canceled and removed in order to take away our identity and patriotism.

All of this is not new. It’s how every great nation before us has fallen. The coronavirus was simply the mechanism the Left used to take away many of our freedoms and liberties. It was used to divide us and subjugate us to lawless mandates. The virus also preoccupied us, giving the Democratic Left cover for the grandest theft of all times, the Presidency of the United States, and to control all houses of government, both federal and local.

These things were necessary in order to usher in the New World Order and the “New Economy.” Or, as the Globalists have renamed it, “The Great Reset.”

We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, is hard to grasp, when we see so many bad actors in our government and news media outlets. So we have to remind ourselves daily that this is foremost a spiritual battle, which has brazenly manifested itself in the world of men.

There is no question as to where this is all heading. Godly men and leaders, such as pastors, reverends, and priests no longer have the luxury of the status quo of a typical Sunday service or Mass. It’s time to raise up armies of intercessors and train and equip God’s people in evangelism and spiritual warfare!

“It means buckle your seatbelt, Dorothy, ’cause [America] is going bye-bye.”

If we want America to survive, the Church must become the standard-bearer once again. It must lead America back to God, or God will allow our nation to spit us out!

But remember, we’re the Church, and our mission is to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom. The Kingdom Gospel puts things in the right order without the aid of political power. As a matter of fact, the Church is most powerful under persecution.

When the Roman armies occupied First Century Israel and all of Palestine, did it deter Christianity, or did it propel it?

We know the answer—persecution became the Early Church’s rocket fuel and launched the Church into world evangelism!

“… And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” – Matthew 24:14

We know what our mission is. It’s not to cower in fear or shirk our responsibility or to proclaim that the rapture cometh. It is to stand fast, hold our ground; keep the faith, and engage darkness with the might and power of God of the Angel Armies. It is to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom and unleash the power of the Gospel, that is, The Good News against the Bad News of World Socialism.

If we die, it’s gain. If we live, it’s Christ, the power of God unto salvation. Let’s show and offer the World Jesus Christ. Let’s all become Jesus with skin on and hold fast to the attitude, humility, and power of Christ.

Whether we are free or in bondage, our job is to be the Church and the Triumphant Bride of Christ.

Like you, I don’t want to disappoint Jesus when he returns. I want him to not only find faith on earth but to find a bright, beautiful, and radiant bride!

So, come what may! The Devil and his minions will do their worst. The Church, we will do our best because we have the Spirit of Christ, the love for Truth, and have love for one another, or at least we should.

We will win because God has already won the victory in Jesus Christ, our Risen Savior, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. The ending of the story has already been written. Just make sure that your names are written in the Lambs Book of Life, and all will go well.

We need to find our place in His Story so that we can leave our mark in history.

The hope that is in every believer is real hope for a hopeless America. Amen

The Church Without Mission – Thomas J. Koester

A church without a mission is nothing more than a religious country club!

If we are to speak honestly and with integrity concerning local and world evangelism, we have to ask ourselves the following questions about our churches:

How many doors of homes and businesses have you knocked on?
Do you knock on doors weekly or monthly?
Do you have a regular and ongoing classes on outreach and evangelism?
How many times per month are you preaching the Gospel outside your building, in the market places, town squares, etc.?
How much of your annual budget is spent sending out its own evangelists and missionaries?
Is the summation of your mission and evangelism work simply ”tithing” 10% of your Church’s revenue to foreign missionaries?
Do you share, in an active and practical way, the Apostle Paul’s passion for reaching all the world with the Gospel?

I’ll make no guesses or assumptions about your honest answer to these questions. I will, however, make an observation. America would be in a much better state, culturally and spiritually if a fraction of evangelical churches prioritized these things.

Do you know how and why some churches grow and some churches decline here or in your local cities and towns? I’ll give you one word…

… SCANDAL!

Churches here, and I’m sure elsewhere, grow while some decline is mainly due to church-hopping, transient Christians, that have been hurt, wounded, devastated, ignored, maligned, and forgotten by well meaning spiritual leaders. Many brothers, sisters, and families leave churches due to scandal and abuse. If more churches were outwardly focused on reaching the world, we’d have much less of the world and scandal inside churches.

The Barna Group has polled hundreds of unchurched believers and has determined that nearly 3,500 people per day exit church never to return! The age group polled were from 14 to 33 years old. The number one response was that they left church due to a lack of connectedness!

Herein lies the proof that far too many inwardly focused churches obsessed with millennialism, prosperity, and emotionalism, rather than Kingdom of God outward expansion, eventually self-destruct, producing devastated and retreating believers, longing for an exfil.

Is it time for people to church-exit what church has become in America? No, I think it’s time for churches to exit its self-absorption and get busy evangelizing its own communities and beyond. For all you futurists out there, the Kingdom of God is here, now, and will expand with or without you.

“To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism.” – Romans 2:7-11

“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28:18-20 ESV

A church without a mission is nothing more than a religious country club!

Not Enough Heaven – By Thomas J. Koester

If you’re not living as though heaven is for real, then you’re not prepared to live there.

“Nobody gets too much heaven no more It’s much harder to come by I’m waiting in line Nobody gets too much love anymore It’s as high as a mountain And harder to climb…”
“Too Much Heaven,” by (Songwriter(s): Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb) Recorded: July 1978

We’ve got to stop playing into the hands of Unbelievers and Utopians by joining them in bringing heaven to earth. It’s our job as believers to bring people to heaven and living a lifestyle that points the way.

Heaven is our destination, which makes us sojourners and not settlers while here on earth.

The old saying:

“Don’t be too Heavenly minded, or you’ll be no earthly good.”

That is a lie!

Being Heavenly minded is how we avoid becoming too worldly, and so becoming ineffective on earth.

We lead people towards God because of the amazing hope of heaven within us.

Colossians 3:1-2

Living the New Life

“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.”

Hmm, “… realities of heaven,” I like that! Heaven is a reality; it’s for real, or have you forgotten?

“Nobody gets too much heaven no more” is because our worldly goals and comforts have replaced our heavenly destination. Jesus spoke of a present Heavenly Kingdom, which is here, now, and already within us, who believe.

… We’ve just forgotten it!

Heaven is both our prize and reward, which is barely spoken about or herald from pulpits. Doesn’t truly loving God mean that we have a longing to be with Him; to be where our Lover and Redeemer dwells?

We’ve trivialized what it truly means to “love the Lord thy God,” and turned love into an impossible feat, making real love as unreachable, “as a high mountain” that has become “too hard to climb.”

No heaven and no love no more is making our world into a hellish place, whereby more and more people want off earth, but in the wrong way, and in the wrong direction!

Why are so many “broken people” willing to take as many people to hell with them as possible?

Why would John Lennon pen the famous lyrics…

“Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky”

… which happens to be the atheist’s Anthem!

This song, as popular as it is, is not directing people to a place of world peace. It’s directing people straight to hell, all during a nice tune and a sweet melody.

According to Ecclesiastes 3:11, We were created with “eternity written on our hearts.” We can’t fathom “only sky.” We have souls fitted for eternity.

Where are the Holy People of God who are to lead the lost and hopeless to the love of God and the only pathway to heaven, which is Jesus Christ?

If you’re not living as though heaven is for real, then you’re not prepared to live there. If you’re not loving God for real, then you’re making love impossible.

God’s love is real, and so Heaven is real, too!

As a matter of fact, heaven is so real that God sent his only Son, in the form of a baby, to make a way for you and me to enter heaven.

Before Jesus gave up his last breath, he said to the thief, hanging on his own cross next to him:

“… This day, you will be with me in Paradise.”

Jesus came to earth so that you too may be with him in heaven. The thief on the cross recognized Jesus’s innocence, and in so doing, believed that Jesus is the Christ.

I hope you, too, will believe.

The world would be a better place with more heavenly minded people on it! Wouldn’t you think so?

The Under Reformed Church – By Thomas Koester

“… men don’t follow titles; they follow courage.”

Is it just me, or does 21st Century Christianity need a second Reformation? Is it possible that the 16th Century Protestant Reformation didn’t go far enough?

Comparing Contemporary Christianity to Greco-Roman religious ritual of the 3rd century reveals some uncomfortable similarities. I believe it is those lingering similarities, which, to some degree, has neutered the Church’s testimony and witness to the nations.

The Under Reformed 21st Century Christianity has decentralized the message of the cross and resurrection as the focal point of preaching, teaching, and evangelism. The loss of these foundational doctrines as regular and consistent Church practice is why, for the most part, the Crucifixion has been replaced with Good Friday, the Resurrection replaced with Easter, and the Birth of Christ replaced with Christmas!

The Cross of Christ, the Resurrection, and the birth of Christ have become nothing more than religious holidays for churches to put on shows to capture new parishioners. These religious holidays are no different for Hallmark, Target, and Best Buy; they spruce up their stores and adds to attract consumers, just like many churches do.

Pastors and religious leaders may no longer be wearing long flowing robes loaded with phylacteries or the priestly liturgical vestments with golden threaded sleeves. These religious garbs were used in their day to separate the clergy from the laity to hold the learned in higher esteem than the unlearned, commoner, or laity class.

Today, the learned clergy rely on postnominals to separate themselves from the laity. Postnominals are letters placed following a person’s last name to indicate educational qualifications, the title of office, decoration, or honor. White wigs, long flowing robes, and liturgical vestments may be passe among evangelicals and fundamentalists, but postnominals are not; these letters and titles grant them hierarchy.

“Your title gives you claim to the throne of our country, but men don’t follow titles; they follow courage.” – William Wallace

Courage means action. It means to serve the interests of others. To risk. To venture. Titles separate us from one another, but courage, real courage is contagious. It makes us all brave and inspired.

Real courage and bravery is sharing Christ to a world that hates him. Being a true disciple of Jesus Christ is loaded with risk, but only outside of chapels and steeples. In reality, the call to discipleship is more like Jesus saying, “Come die with me for the sake of the Gospel and the Kingdom.” Heaven is where all things evil are vanquished and where the real potluck begins, not once a month at local Methodist Church!

“When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” – Deitrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship

We must break free from the religious trappings of safety, comfort, and convenience.

Too much of this “tradition” of orbiting the pulpit, the building, and the alter is to the detriment of local and world evangelism. To the equipping of the laity and the average believer. To the expansion of the Kingdom of Heaven. Frankly, the high expectation of the clergy doing all of the work of ministry leaves most parishioners disengaged with their faith, their calling, and the development of their spiritual gifts.

The offices gifted to the Church from Christ were not for the clergy to do all the ministry, but that they would equip and train the laity (saints) to do the work of ministry, so that all may reach maturity in Christ. Equipping the saints is for the maximum productivity in the body of Christ and the Gospel. (Eph. 4:11-16)

Being the audience once or twice a week does not forge men, women, and children into saints; but faith put into practice and action with one’s spiritual calling and giftedness does. Far too many well-seasoned believers are simply benchwarmers or spectators of a game they have no skin in.

Brothers and sisters, we don’t reach maturity in Christ Jesus as spectators or simply being faithful to a 90-minute program. Weekly services without the exercise of spiritual gifts and calling create weak Christians.

In many churches, people run out as soon as they hear the final amen. In less than five minutes, the parking lot empties. Just like at the movie theaters, as soon as the screen fades to black and the credits roll, the theater and parking lot empties. What about fellowship, relationship, and koinonia? This proves that the service or show is more important than true fellowship and serious connectedness.

We believers must have a vital connection and role within the local fellowships, whether in commercial buildings or homes. This is why there are so many transient believers; they’re searching for belonging, meaning, and purpose.

The more risk and challenge for believers to exercise their faith and practice their spiritual gifts, the more spiritual growth and maturity will be realized. If this is allowed, edification will become mutual among the laity and not exclusively within the clergy.

For example, I moved from the Bay Area to a lake community in the Sierra Foothills. There is a substantial lack of spiritual urgency up here. It was a culture shock and frankly still is. Spiritual complacency is a real danger, and the 21 Century Western Church structure is responsible for it — sadly, it is what they are producing, spiritual complacency.

I have the privilege to speak with pastors and evangelists in India, Pakistan, and the Philippines. Do you know what they tell me?

They tell me they want to be like America’s big successful churches. This breaks my heart. We don’t risk our lives as they do, preaching the gospel or passing out bibles among Muslims and the Taliban. We aren’t threatened by Hindus, ISIS, or Boko Haram.

Here in America, we’re too scared to share the gospel with strangers, neighbors, or anyone shopping at Walmart. Our greatest threat here in America is getting jailed by Facebook, canceled by Twitter, and de-platformed or demonetized by Youtube. Our Americanized, homogenized, and pasteurized form of Christianity has been genetically modified to produce seedless fruit. We should not be in the exporting business.

I encourage them not to mimic Western Christianity and not to model their Churches and ministries after American mega-churches, TV evangelists, our wretched prosperity gospel pontificators, and the NAR movement.

I suggest they follow the authentic biblical model of Christian practice and the ecclesiastic men of Scripture. Christianity needs Indian, Pakistani, and Filipino believers and pastors to be themselves, not an Americanized version. I encourage them to study what the Holy Scriptures instruct and to listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to their Churches. Follow Christ Jesus, not American pastors.

Perhaps the First World Churches need a Bible lesson from our brothers and sisters in the Third World. They are the courageous, bold, and faithfu onesl that we Westerners should be.

Be courageous, bold, and faithful like Jesus and bury the grave clothes of the religious order of men.

Standing In The Gap – By Thomas J. Koester

Can one man or one woman make a difference?

Standing in the gap for our nation has nothing to do with complaining, talking, podcasting, or even simple prayers. The word “Intercessor” is made up of two words:

(Inter) meaning: “between” and (ced) meaning: “go.”

To intercede literally means to go and get between God and the need. It means to actually stand in the empty void until God steps in and fills the need.

It is real labor and a deep spiritual endeavor and undertaking of intense pleading, repenting, and even arguing before God on behalf of others, who are either unwilling or unaware for the need to repent or change. Sometimes, this means going to a logistical place and filling the breach in a wall until restoration and revival begins.

Several years ago, a pastor commented about his disappointment with the decision by the Supreme Court, which redefined marriage. His concern, as I’m sure is the concerns of many pastors across the nation, was lawsuits and possible jail time for refusing to officiate certain marriages.

“Maybe I’ll just refuse to do any marriages,” the pastor sadly opined.

Standing in the gap, or becoming a true intercessor is not to abandon culture or society, or to abandon marriage rites altogether, but is to “go between,” even if it means lawsuit or jail time.

Standing in the gap is costly, and true intercession is not a quiet and passive endeavor, but stepping in and between the offenses of men, or even the offenses of a nation and the God of justice, righteousness, and holiness. It is indeed costly!

Daniel was such a man, which bravely stood in the gap of his time.

If you recall, prayer and worship, in public or in private to Jehovah, or any other god for that matter, was outlawed by King Darius. Unscrupulous men of the King’s court had encouraged the King to enact a law (sounds familiar) forbidding any prayer or worship for thirty days.

Daniel, being a continual intercessor for the return of his banished people to Israel, refused to cease his prayers to God. He faithfully prayed three times a day towards Jerusalem near his window, as he had regularly done. But these crafty men had set up surveillance, waiting for the man of God to violate the King’s edict. Having arrested Daniel, they brought him before the King.

Regrettably, as the King had been unknowingly coerced by these evil men to enact the law, the King had no other option but to pass judgment on Daniel, sentencing him to death by caged ferocious lions.

Even in this, Daniel did not waiver in his commitment to intercede or to even apologize for his violation of the new law.

Spoiler alert — When Daniel was tossed into the lion’s den, the lions acted like kittens. When King Darius saw that Daniel’s God had saved him, the King realized that he was duped by the men in his court, and so orders the immediate release of Daniel. The King, now being furious with the men of his court, orders them to be immediately tossed into the lion’s den, where they were instantly torn apart and devoured by the lions.

God saves and protects his intercessors! Did you hear that? God saves his intercessors!

WHERE ARE THE DANIELS OF OUR DAY!?!

Where are the pastors who are willing to go to jail because they stood in the gap against the gods of our culture?

Where are the everyday men and women who’ll stand in the gap for the dismembered unborn!?!

Where are the men and women who will stand in the gap for the fatherless, homeless, or alien, illegal or not in need of salvation?

Where are the evangelists and preachers proclaiming God’s redemptive word in the streets and marketplaces?

Where are the voices of 70.6% of 318 million Christians in America!?!

The darkness is so vivid that even the smallness of true faith can brighten a single city!

WHERE ARE THE FAITHFUL OF THE LAND?

Where is the authority of the believer?

Our silence and passivity have reached heaven. The cries of the unborn and the blood of their partially born dismembered bodies have reached the eyes and ears of the God of Creation. The lost and abandoned children of our cities and towns have reached the courts of God. America’s sins will not go unpunished.

If the sinners will not repent, it is time for the people of God to repent in their stead and stand in the gap, even for the unrighteous acts of our great land!

In all of this, God is still looking for men and women to stand in the gap; to risk time, treasure, and talent; and, if necessary, blood, sweat, and tears for the Good News of the Kingdom.

Diabolic means to “divide” (di) and “abolish” (abolic) – di-abolic. To divide and abolish. It is literally the opposite of the word intercessor!

Can you not see what is happening before our very eyes? Every sector of our culture and society is being divided and abolished, including history, children, family, marriage, sex/gender, education, justice; race, religion, etc.

The evil in our nation is diabolic and is a serious spiritual virus, spreading like an airborne pathogen, infecting the very soul and foundations of our nation and people.

Intercessors in our nation, cities, towns, and villages must stand in this gap and reestablish what darkness has divided and abolished. Fill in the gaps of the moral and spiritual holes in our nation’s walls.

“So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.” Ezekiel 22:30

Can one man make a difference? According to Ezekiel, one man or woman can!

Christ made the difference by his standing in the gap between the just wrath of God against the sins of mankind. Christ was hung on a vertical alter, pointing all people towards the God of Heaven.

Because of what Christ achieved, God exalted his Son to the highest honor and now sits on the right side of God’s throne.

You, too, are seated in heavenly places with Christ and because of Christ.

Do you know how much authority you have in Christ at this very moment?

Be that man or woman, young or old, and stand in the gap on behalf of the lost and our land.

Silence the diabolic and divider with the heart of an intercessor and stand in the gap! AMEN

The Good The Bad & The Phony – By Thomas Koester

Don’t Be The Bad, And Certainly Not The Phony!

Even in writing this, I am plagued with the thoughts of acclaim and “likes,” but I must admit that I am not worthy of the calling of God, nor am I capable of carrying it out. It is only with God’s grace and mercy on my life that this is written, along with learning from the mistakes I’ve made while being tested.

The following words fall heavily upon my soul and motives, and I hold myself to the same scrutiny and examination.

Being addicted to the approval of others is a nasty and deadly trap. Using people and ministry to satisfy my approval addiction is like a cocaine addict using heroin to kick his drug habit. The lack of significance can only be resolved by becoming insignificant to applause and accolades until your soul is so quiet that you hear only God’s approval. It is only necessary to have the confidence and support of your Heavenly Father. The applause of heaven is far greater than the applause from men. Heaven’s applause will echo for eternity.

Did you know?

1,500 pastors leave their ministries each month due to burnout, conflict, or moral failure.

Doctors, lawyers, and clergy have the most problems with drug abuse, alcoholism, and suicide.

70% of pastors don’t have any close friends.

75% of pastors report severe stress, causing anguish, worry, bewilderment, anger, depression, fear, and alienation. The list goes on and on.

This stems from the stress of being a resource and reservoir rather than a funnel. It is far healthier teaching people to hear directly from God and how to read and study the Bible rather than being the “Bible Answer Man.”

The movie, “Bruce Almighty,” comes to mind, staring Jim Carrey, Morgan Freeman, and Steve Carrel. Chaos ensues when God allows Bruce to take over for a while. Bruce, in his excitement with unfettered power of God, checks the “yes” box to everyone’s prayer requests throughout the entire world, causing global chaos! Bruce learns he’s not equipped to be God, and in the end, he surrenders the power back to the Almighty.

“All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. Matthew 5:37. (NIV)

Perhaps all your yeses and nos came from the wrong place. And your ministry has become a coffin rather than a platform.

And this is exactly what’s killing our pastors at the rate of 50 per day. We’ve expected our pastors to be god and to answer all our questions with “yeses.”

We are like the wilderness children of Israel, who were too afraid of God and stayed, trembling in their tents, crying to Moses, “Speak to us yourself, and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us, or we will die.” Exodus 20:18-21.

Their “no” to God was a “yes” to Moses, and it nearly killed him. His frustration built up over time until he exploded with anger, disobeying God and striking the rock. Moses became disqualified from entering the promised land.

Not much has changed. And like the children of Israel, we’ve failed the test as a people and have burdened our pastors like they’ve burdened Moses. It is a two-way street, to be sure, but pastors need grace too!

However, clerical abuse is like domestic violence. The wife can not leave her abuser; his abuse validates her wounded psyche, body, mind, and soul. Our pastors need to relinquish power back to God. They need to allow The Almighty to be God to their congregations.

Pastors need to let their people feel the weight of God as He is, so they can genuinely encounter the Lordship Jesus Christ. God’s grace must become the motivator for both the pastor and the congregation. We need to bring our pastors back down from the mountain and directly seek the presence and heart of God as obedient sons and daughters.

And so, both the pastor and the congregation need to do their part. We must let our pastors off the hook and allow them to be human. And pastors need to cease their co-dependency and enablement of weak believers by usurping God’s role in their lives.

When the only acclaim sought after by the pastor and congregant is, “well done, my good and faithful servant…,” with no other obligations or legalities, the congregation can reach maturity. The workload becomes lighter and not heavier. If we are motivated by the applause of men, we have our reward, and it goes no further than the dust of the earth. The gravitational pull of pride keeps it from heaven and creates an imbalance in the life of the pastor, and so affects the entire body.

Your mission is not to be the “man,” the pastor, or preacher, but to be the son, in strict obedience to the Heavenly Father, and to carry out His work in His way, in Spirit and Truth. Your authenticity as a servant of God is your sonship to Him. The strength of your ministry flows from the depth of your belovedness in the Father-heart of God.

The burdens you receive from the heart of God, in Christ Jesus, are always light. The limitations and expectations from the people are always heavy. You are God’s servant and not the people. The people belong to God, and God belongs to the people. Ask God for balance and be brave enough to establish reasonable boundaries. Redistribute the ministry to the people so that the Holy Spirit can distribute and apportion gifts accordingly.

The Church is under a kingdom economy and not a democratic order. If you want the Prince of Peace, relinquish the governance to His shoulders. Isaiah 9:6.

Don’t settle on becoming a traditional church pastor, aspiring to build a Mega-Church, but rather, aspire to be faithful with the little God has given you. Therefore, allow His favor to exponentially grow the Kingdom of God and His Royal Economy in and through you. The Good News is the Kingdom of God, and it must be good news to you, too! Then, when Godly order has entered your own life, the reign of peace will begin, and the lost and lonely will hear and see its message.

The Church needs to cease its favoritism of the attractive and wealthy and its addiction to celebrities. They may give you resources and bodies to build a cathedral, but the Spirit of Christ will not inhabit it. We have had many King Sauls as pastors and desperately need King Davids.

It’s all about the fulfillment of Isaiah 6 and those humble yet daring souls who’ll serve the least and the last.

I was in a meeting several years ago in Antioch, California. There was a long line of men and boys waiting for a sumptuous buffet. Naturally, it was always the teenagers that fought to be at the head of the line. We offered our thanks for the food, and then I announced:

“Okay, the beginning of the line is at the end.”

You should have seen their faces! I will never forget it. The following week, the line formed again, and all the boys were clamoring to be last! So that night, the first became the least, and the last became the proud. The guys at the end of the line revealed their foolishness, and the guys at the head of the line showed their humility as they gained understanding.

Are you a good, bad, or phony pastor?

And this is how God works. He’s constantly changing things up, even though He remains the same. We want greatness or the privilege of being first, but genuine humility will always prefer anonymity and silently promote others rather than themselves. A humble man is always searching for the will of God and is brave enough to obey it, even though it comes with risk to his reputation.

“… but emptied himself by taking on the form of an enslaved person, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature. He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross!” Philippians 2:7-8

Pastors, we are called to the way of the cross and not just lectures behind the lecterns.

Church, we are called to the way of the cross and not just benchwarmers or spectators.

If you settle for doing things you do not need God to come through, you are burying the talent that He’s entrusted to you. Raw talent and seminarian training are not an indication of true anointing. True spiritual talent and anointing are birthed in a humble heart and a contrite spirit. His effort is not to be seen or even heard, except for the character and nature of Christ being exalted through his humility.

There is more power in the death of reputation because it leaves room for God’s power. It allows the Church to become transformed into the radiant bride, and the world will see her beauty through her actions. But egotism stops the process of authentic spiritual transformation. When the body of Christ engages the Great Commission, doing all the work of the ministry, true maturity reaches every soul that participates.

True pastoral talent and anointing are to serve and equip the children of God to do the work of ministry, which you tirelessly and at a high cost, hoard for yourself and your glory.

You may think you are carrying the weight of the Church, but it is the weight of your ego, which is weighing the Church down and keeping her from her beauty and spiritual growth.

A lingering question remains: will all your work stand the fiery test? Will it burn up like wood, hay, or stubble?

“Take particular care in picking out your building materials. Eventually, there is going to be an inspection. If you use cheap or inferior materials, you’ll be found out. The inspection will be thorough and rigorous. You won’t get by with a thing. If your work passes inspection, fine; if it doesn’t, your part of the building will be torn out and started over. But you won’t be torn out; you’ll survive—but just barely.” I Corinthians 3:12-15 (MSG)

As goes the pastor, so goes the congregation!

The answer to this question is between you and God. Just understand that your church is a vehicle, and where you are headed in your private life is where the church will end up.

It is better to be ashamed before men than to be ashamed before God.

Be the good, not the bad, and certainly not the phony.