The All-Encompassing All-Consuming OtherWorldly Life – By Thomas J. Koester

Because God Dosen’t Holdback Neither Should We!

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.

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 Power of Inner Peace – By Thomas Koester

Your inner peace expressed outwardly is a greater force than a sword or spear.

Inner peace equals outer peace. You can’t have one without the other. The world’s peace is fragile and flimsy. You’ve not been given worldly peace.

Jesus’ Gift of Peace

“Peace, I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful.” John 14:27

Jesus tells us that his peace transcends the world’s concept of peace. So much so that our hearts must not be troubled or fearful. To be troubled or fearful means that our focus on Jesus has been compromised. We’ve allowed something other than the peace of Christ to work its way into our hearts and minds.

This doesn’t happen overnight. A slow and steady diet of false peace that the world offers; that is, peace in persons, places, and things is nothing but empty calories, so to speak. We think that if we live in the world that we must act like the world. But honestly, we are no longer of this world. Our hearts and minds should be in heaven, the same place our treasures ought to be.

It’s the world’s trouble and fear, which makes us think that way. Closeness to Jesus, resting in his authority, his Holy Word, and abiding in the Holy Spirit (The Comforter) is how we have peace while the world and our Nation are in turmoil.

Are you aware that turmoil and chaos are just around the corner?

Are you ready?

Will your peace weather the storm?

The world has its warriors, but you men and women are sons and daughters of The Most-High God! You are heirs to Christ and possessors of the Holy Spirit. You have no trouble like the world has and nothing to worry about.

I’ll repeat it; you have no trouble like the world has and nothing to fear! Instead, don’t join the world, rather quiet the world with the peace of Jesus Christ.

Your Savior is the Prince of Peace, and he resides in you! But you also must reside in the Words of Jesus, in his promises, and in his commands.

What can make your trouble troubling is when you forget that Jesus has made you an overcomer. Jesus never said if we believed and belonged to him that we’d have no problems. On the contrary, here’s what Jesus has said:

“I have told you this so that through me you may have peace. In the world you’ll have trouble, but be courageous—I’ve overcome the world!” – John 16:33

Your inner peace expressed outwardly is a greater force than a sword or spear. If you have faith, trust, and obedience, your true enemies will know of your qualities well before you arrive—well before you pray and before you speak. You will be known as God’s Peaceful Warrior!

Have you ever thought of yourself as God’s peaceful warrior? Well, you have no reason not to. Jesus tells those following him:

“I tell you no one ever born on this earth is greater than John the Baptist. But whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” – Matthew 11:11

You see, what little faith you may have, and what little importance you may feel, dosen’t detract from your place in God’s Kingdom. No, not one bit! According to Jesus, you’re actually greater than John the Baptist!

Understanding this truth, coupled with “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus,” as read in Philippians 4:7, should supercharge you confidence!

Are you aware of just how frightening your inner peace is to the enemy?

Being a peaceful warrior devastates the devil and his wretched plans. It reminds him of the Messiah’s resurrection, and he scurries away, instantly defeated.

“Finally, my brothers, be strong in the Lord and the power of his might.” – Ephesians 6:10

“For unto us a child is born, unto us, a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” – Isaiah 9:6

“Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble.” – Psalm 119:165

When you understand that “all government” is on the shoulders of the Prince of Peace, and nothing can make you stumble, you’ll excel in calmness, courage, and boldness.

Rest in the Peace of Jesus, and join His army of peaceful warriors!

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!

A Few Good Men – By Thomas J. Koester

History shouts, “It only takes a few good men!”

I Dare You To Become Greater Than Your Fathers. I dare you to become a real man!

A Few Good Men is an intergenerational and interdenominational movement of men for all ages. We believe that segregating our youth from the men in our churches, ministries, and communities is counter-productive to the process of raising our boys into strong men and leaders of tomorrow. We believe men, without the opportunity and access of our youth, are a terrible loss of potential and vice-versa.

Becoming a man is not a chronological process. You simply do not grow into manhood or masculinity. John Eldredge describes masculinity as “that quality or characteristic of manhood being passed through close proximity to boys.” You can not take a class or read a book on becoming a man. It is mystically and methodically passed through the process of mutual struggle and the sharing of life’s experience.

Many times, when older men share their struggles, losses, and defeats in a room full of young men, you’d think they’d be bored to tears. They’re not. They are inspired to open and share their own struggles, losses, and defeats. And when we have this kind of “open vulnerability,” change is possible. Community develops, and a band of brothers is formed.

“This story shall the good man teach his son; … From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be remembered-We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile, This day shall gentle his condition, from this day, till the end of the world” – William Shakespeare, King Henry V, Act IV, Scene III.

We need each other. A father needs a son, and a son needs a father. In a perfect world, each of us would have a present, communicative, warm, and loving father. He would be their to father us through each of life’s challenges, showing us the ropes, teaching us, and modeling how life is to be lived, fought for, and how to love and sacrifice.

It is the purging of our hurts, losses, and pains, which eases the suffering of becoming a man. It helps young men and boys to see the scars and wounds older men have amassed over the years. It helps because they learn they’re not alone, not misfits nor Martians. Life is hard. I said earlier, “In a perfect world, each of us would have a present, communicative, warm, and loving father;” this, however, isn’t reality.

Some of our deepest wounds were delivered by our dads. And, because it was our dads, the wound is life altering and disruptive; it takes many of us “off course” from the path of our intended journey.

Most of us have not been invited into manhood but have entered in, without guidance and the advantage of a present and available father. We are lost. Lost sons and then lost men. Most of us men are simply aged boys. We’re stuck and trapped, and inside is a small and frightened boy. On the outside is the body of a man, pretending to be a man on the inside. His life is carefully lived, concealing this truth.

If boys are to become men; or, if lost adult males are to become men; we must open up in a sanctuary (safe place) for us to share our stories. The telling of your story is the first step to being found.

One of my favorite movies is “Hook,”with Robin Williams as “Peter Panning” and Dustin Hoffman as “Captain Hook.” The scene where the Lost Boys have their early encounter with “Peter Panning, the Lawyer” was one of rejection and disbelief. “‘He’s not ‘The Pan,’ he’s fat and old!'”

The Lost Boys become divided; some believe he is “The Pan,”and others do not. Even Peter Panning thinks they’re all nuts. However, a little boy approaches Peter Panning. The little boy takes the face of Peter Panning into his hands and begins to shape it, looking for something lost, peering into his eyes. Suddenly, the boy lifts Peter’s sagging face into a smile, and the little boy exclaims; “Oh, there you are, Peter!”

You see, deep within you is that lost boy. You were knocked off your intended journey into manhood and masculinity. Somewhere, you became lost. It sometimes takes the brave young boy to look you deep into your soul and say, “There you are, Jeff! There you are, Bob! There you are, Mike, or John or Steve!” We need the youth, and the youth need us. Together, we find each other. Together, we become men.

We invite you; no, rather we call you to join A Few Good Men. I dare you to be greater than your fathers. You do indeed have what it takes. You are no longer a lost boy but found, wanted, and needed.

Join us in becoming men. Men of honor. Men of God. A Few Good Men!

The American Marxist-Jihadist – By Thomas J. Koester

The melding of Fanatical Jihadist and Marxist-Socialism is what led to the death of many Jews, Christians, Gypsies, and homosexuals during the rule of Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist Party. This is an unknown fact of history. However, I saw it firsthand during my youth, and it’s a part of my personal story.

When I was a teenager, my boss, who was an Arab-American, was married to a German-American woman, and they constantly invited me to their Nazi meetings each week. I’ve also been to my bosses home in Pleasant Hill, delivering furniture from time to time, where I saw many relics of Naziism.

During their meetings, they would hang out their Nazi flags, lay out their hate-filled pamphlets, and hold their meetings in the very furniture store showroom that I had worked at. This was in the City of Pleasant Hill, California, and the year was 1977.

My boss would chase Jewish and Black Americans out of the store, and he forbade me from buying my lunch from the Jewish deli a block away from the furniture store. I quit the job when I understood what was going on and especially when I brought one of the Nazi pamphlets home for my parents to read, and who were shocked how this could be happening in America and in our own small town and county!

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” is what has both created, and still to this day maintains this evil axis.

The same evil axis exists between a rapid and rising National Socialistic/Progressive infiltration of both the Democratic and Republican Parties. Jihadist fanaticism has seriously embedded itself into nearly all sectors of our government.

It doesn’t matter whether by Sharia Law or Communistic Totalitarianism, the USA has already been infiltrated by both political systems and our government, and many of our elected and appointed officials are complicit and guilty of this axis.

With mass media already under their control, there may not be one true American and Constitutionalist who can win a national election. We’ll have to see if this holds true this November 5, 2024.

With the influence of the Progressives in the Democratic Party, pushing the party towards Amnesty, once approved and signed into law, it will be all over folks! The whole open borders issue is by design and is one of the most destructive, anti-American efforts of the left, including those within the Democratic Party with jihadist sympathies.

It’s long past the time for every freedom and liberty loving American to stand up, whether Christian, Jewish, Catholic; Islamic or atheist, we’ve lost our Nation while we segregated ourselves by our religions and the cold dead traditions of men.

We lost our inertia to fight because the progressives kept us occupied with our own conservative talking heads—oh how very clever!

We ceased the role as American Watchmen of our own Government in exchange for watching stocks and bonds and our real estate values rise and fall.

So, my dear fellow Americans, we are now finally ripe for our new master’s harvest, and it will not end in a festival, but in slavery.

You’ll Not Find Me There – By Thomas Koester

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!

Touching Heaven to Change Earth – The Beauty of The Glorious Gospel – By Thomas J. Koester

Through the fog, I hear a distance roar, the sound of people, their voices raised, and the sound of footsteps in almost perfect rhythm. They’re marching toward something, perhaps a sporting event, concert, or political rally. Maybe it’s a parade or a military procession.

Their sound becomes louder and louder, closer and closer; the ground begins to vibrate as several people begin to emerge from the fog. Suddenly, only a few steps behind them emerge a cavalcade of glorious people, as far as the eye can see — Inestimable in number.

Without burdensome expression, the weak, the lame, the sick; the poor, and the forgotten ride upon each of their shoulders. And in their hands, carefully cupped were carried the Aborted, the Unwanted, the Discarded Ones. The passion and fervor of their quest was brazen upon their faces so that nothing could stop or detour them.

As they rushed past me, I became engulfed in a sea of people, young and old. A tremendously intense bright light, white in brilliance, diffused from above and behind this enormous movement of God’s People, lending them the appearance as that of a crystal sea.

My heart began to pound in my chest, with uneasiness and apprehension, as I realized I was swept up into this great sea; my legs began to move and my feet began touching earth with the same rhythm. Upon my shoulders, I felt a gentle burden unequal to its size, a leper, and a prostitute road counter to each of my shoulders.

Without fatigue, I kept in step with my new friends, while a certain joy began to well up from within. As soon as my countenance found my heart’s joyous expression, my hands came together cupped, and within them appeared an Aborted One! My joy turned into inexpressible compassion as I held the contents of my hands against my beating heart.

My face was now brazen, undaunted, and without turning to the left or the right, I quietly asked, “Where are we headed?” Suddenly, in solemn unison, the answer came:

“THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, OF GOD AND HIS CHRIST, WHERE NONE ARE REJECTED, DISCARDED, OR DESPISED”

In the distance, I saw a mountain, which touched heaven and earth at the same time. The brightness of the mountaintop matched the brightness above and behind us. Suddenly, from deep within my heart rose a whisper:

“Heaven is opened to those who sacrifice for the least, and my glory is your rear guard.”

At that very moment, all that was left behind; the sofas and pews, TVs, computers, the comforts of life were forgotten. I’m no longer just one man, I no longer live for myself, and it’s with this procession I’m now known; to live holy and godly, touching the heart of God by touching the very least of these. God dwells within moving temples and invests his glory and grace to those who spend it!

Let us lavishly spend it on those who are truly hungry for righteousness; the hurting and broken, for those who are truly seeking redemption and mercy, and those that are impoverished for the Kingdom of God. Heaven’s supply shall never run dry!

Jesus Christ died for all and has been raised to life that all may live.

“God will repay each person according to what they have done.” To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, he will give eternal life.”
Romans 2:6-7

We do not earn salvation. Rather, our actions prove it!

Become so heavenly-minded that you’ll do tremendous earthly good!

Hard Fought Happily-Ever-After — By Thomas J. Koester

Because every love story has an adversary!

Love is worth the battle—you are worth battling for. Don’t surrender. Your story is not over!

An adversary and a battle always precedes a happily-ever-after. Not only is this true for every romance and marriage, but it is also true of our faith. Storytellers and movie-makers are consistently using this theme over and over again.

What kind of romance, marriage, or faith would there be without an adversary and without a battle? Wouldn’t a movie or story be boring without an adversary and without battle?

After all, adventure, battle, and beauty are within our DNA—within the very depths of our hearts and souls.

As a matter of fact, the themes of an adventure, battle, and beauty are actually borrowed from God’s story of his crowning creation, that is, Adam and Eve. First, he creates them, then loses them to the Serpent’s craftiness. Then, God pursues his creation until he later rescues mankind back from the adversary by sending our champion, Jesus Christ the Righteousness One. Not only does God rescue those he lost, but his Son delivers a death blow to our most wretched adversaries, Sin and Death!

“Will I ransom them from the power of the grave? Will I redeem them from death’s hold? Death, where are your diseases? Grave, where is your victory? — Hosea 13:14

“Death’s sting is sin, and the power of sin is the Law. Thanks be to God, who gives us this victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” — 1 Corinthians 15:56-57

“But the LORD says, “The captives of warriors will be released, and the plunder of tyrants will be retrieved. For I will fight those who fight you, and I will save your children.” — Isaiah 49:25

And, for those who believe, this is not quite the end of God’s story—not by a long shot! He is preparing a place for us, our happily-ever-after. A place where all adversaries, including sin, death, disease, and the devil; where all loss, decay and brokenness, and even our tears will be forever vanquished.

So, don’t despise hardships and adversities, with it comes a life worth living and a God who, not only loves to come through for his children, but trains us through our adversities and battles, to come through for those whom we love, including strangers that God brings across our paths.

“A song of David. Praise the Lord! He is my rock. He prepares me for war. He trains me for battle.” — Psalms 144: 1.

Happily-Ever-After is worth the scars and setbacks, for life and true living are their reward.

“But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and obtain life.” — Hebrews 10:39

Stand your ground. Cling to your faith. Be brave and upright. Hold to the truth. Love fiercely and never give up on others.

“For I consider that our present sufferings can not even be compared to the coming glory that will be revealed to us.” — Romans 8:18

“What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” — Romans 8:31

Engage your battles as a victor and never as a victim. For you are a true Child of God after all and your Heavenly Father, well He’s the God of the Angel Armies!

God is your happily-ever-after. He fights for you!