Myles Munroe once said, "If you don't know the purpose of something, abuse is inevitable." I feel this statement is appropriate for the third person of the trinity, the Holy Spirit.

In the beginning of this year, my Pastor proclaimed this as the year of the Holy Spirit. In line with that, he has been teaching on the Holy Spirit and a couple of weeks ago, he brought a guest Pastor into our church to do a two day conference on the Holy Spirit. Those two days were very very intense as the guest Pastor was trying to give us 20 weeks of teaching in two days. Needless to say, we were overwhelmed! To me, it was invigorating. I love learning all I can about the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Although it was a refresher course for me, it was extremely necessary. You know, faith comes by hearing the Word of God, and when you don't hear it for a while, on a certain subject, you tend to lose it.

As a worshiper and psalmist, nothing bothers me more than when people sing songs that insult or grieve the Holy Spirit. As stated earlier, if we don't know the purpose of singing in church, abuse is inevitable. Anyway, the first night of the conference, the choir sang, because it was a Holy Spirit conference, "Breathe On Me." They performed the song nicely and people were crying and shouting and I sat there thinking, "Why are they asking the Holy Spirit to breathe on them when He's already in them?" Well, apparently the guest Pastor was wondering the same thing because when he began teaching on the Holy Spirit, he turned around to the choir and said to them, "You don't need the Holy Spirit to breath on you, He's already in you." My point is that we can get so caught up in doing things out of tradition. Mark 7:13 says, the traditions of man make the Word of God of no effect. Just because you've always done something one way, does not mean it's correct.

Can you imagine asking the Holy Spirit, who is already in you to the fullest, to breathe on you? He's saying, breathe on you? For what? I am full of you and you don't even acknowledge that? You don't use the power that's already in you, what good would it do to breathe on you? The writer of that song probably wrote it out of emotions and ignorance, and unfortunately, it became very popular. What does that say about the Body of Christ?

The guest Pastor of the conference said that the majority of the Body of Christ is ignorant to the Holy Spirit. They only see Him in two ways. The first is to provide the gifts of the Spirit and the second is for the power of God. But he taught us as does the Word of God, that there is so much more to the Holy Spirit than that. Think about it. Jesus said, I must go but I will send you a comforter. Therefore, right off the bat, we know that the Holy Spirit is our Comforter. (John 14:16). In John 14:26 Jesus also told us that the Holy Spirit would teach us ALL things and bring to our remembrance the teachings of Jesus. There is no way the Apostles of Jesus Christ could have remembered all of those details to write the gospels without the help of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our helper.

Paul was chosen by God to preach to the Gentiles. Paul was a Jew. As a matter of fact, Paul was a very intelligent, prominent and well-respected Jew. At that time, the Jews really really really hated the Gentiles. Paul was also one who killed Christians. After God converted Saul from the man who killed Christians, into Paul, the writer of most of the New Testament, God gave him a revelation nobody had ever heard before, and one that went against everything he ever knew. God told him that the Gentiles were as much a part of the Body of Christ as the Jews were. Can you imagine the fear he must have had? Most Christians today would say, "Get behind me Satan! I know that ain't God." He received a new revelation from God that nobody had ever heard and he was commissioned to teach it to the Gentiles, whom the Jews hated. There is no way at all he could have done that without the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit taught him, comforted him, counseled him, gave him wisdom, gave him knowledge, gave him understanding, gave him might, shared with him the deep things of God, empowered him, and gave him the boldness to go where no man had gone before.

Even Jesus did not teach or minister to the Gentiles, except upon rare occasion, when they were persistent. That's why when the woman kept begging him to free her daughter from the unclean spirit. Jesus said to her that it was not fit to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs. He called the Gentile woman a dog. But she didn't care, she responded, yes Lord but even the dogs get the crumbs, and for that he delivered her daughter of the unclean spirit. It was because of her persistence. (Mark 7:25-30.)

My point is that the Holy Spirit is so much more than we give Him credit for. We have all of these gifts that we haven't even opened yet, and yet we keep asking for more gifts. As parents, we know how we would feel if we spent all of our money, and even went into deep debt, trying to get our children everything they asked for, and then some, for Christmas; paid big money for wrapping paper, spent hours wrapping up all of the gifts and placing them under the tree, just to have our children to wake up on Christmas morning, and never open a gift. Instead, they stand in our room begging for what they have downstairs under the tree. And no matter what you say to them, they refuse to open the gifts downstairs. They just continue to ask you for what they already have. Get the picture?

Hosea 4:6 says that we are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Let's get out of ignorance and open our gifts. Our lives will never be the same.

The Life Of A True Worshipper

Living beneath your privilege is disobedience and false worship.  Jesus Christ died a horrible death and suffered greatly to restore to you your dominion in this earth.  To love or walk in anything less than dominion on earth is to say what Jesus Christ did was in vain.

When will we as Christians arise to our rightful place?  When will we put aside fear of the things of this world and trust God to say what His Word says, instead of our personal opinions, based upon the world's society?  When will we walk in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free?  When will we put on boldness and do what's difficult, instead of hiding behind what's easy?  Why do we sit around praying, hoping and believing that God or Jesus is going to do something from heaven to help us, when they have already empowered us with the blood of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God to take dominion over our circumstances, our community and the things in this earth?  Most Christians don't like where we find ourselves, but what do we do about it?  How many times has the Holy Spirit prompted you to do something, and you put it off as something else?  How many times has the Holy Spirit, who is a gentleman, prompted you to say something, and you knew it was the Holy Spirit, but you declined to say it out of fear?  How many times have you stayed in a safe, secure, miserable place, instead of taken a leap of faith or even obeyed the Holy Spirit to move to where He would have you go?

My prayer everyday now is that the people of God, the Body of Christ, or God's Kingdom people would get in their rightful place on this earth.  Your rightful place is the place where God has called you.  In the place that God has called you are your blessings, your peace, your joy, your strength, your boldness, your confidence and every other resource you need to accomplish what God created you to accomplish on this earth.  God has a plan that He has laid out in His Word.  Everyone who has been saved by the Blood of Jesus has a role to play in God's plan.  However, you can live your whole life and never be where God has called you to be, and that would be the biggest tragedy of all.  Because, people don't necessarily go to hell for drinking, cussing, smoking etc.  Those things are the fruit of the real sin, which is disobedience.  Disobedience is the real sin that will truly send you to hell.  People operate in the fruit of sin out of the frustration of disobedience.  God can overlook the fruit of sin, but not disobedience.  We are all here for a purpose.  He created you for a purpose.  When you don't operate in that purpose, by getting in your rightful place, you operate in disobedience.  You see, God's will SHALL be done in this earth as it is in heaven.  Therefore His people SHALL obey His voice and accomplish what He has created them to do.

How do you get in your rightful place?  By simply seeking God and asking Him why you were created?  Ask God why are you here?  Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you to your rightful place, and walk in obedience to Him.

Awake To The Call of the Prophet Haggai: We Need Your Help

We believe God has given you the call of the prophet Haggai to call the people of God back to completing the building of His kingdom.  We believe God has given to each member of the Body of Christ a kingdom assignment, before we even entered our mother's womb.  It is up to us as members of the Body of Christ to develop a relationship with Christ, allow Him to remind us of our assignment, and walk in it. Our power, resources and anointing will only come when we walk in our kingdom assignment. God is obligated to complete His plan in the earth. If not, God’s horrendous death on the cross would be in vain. Therefore He is obligated to empower us, when we get in our rightful place. In completing our kingdom assignments, we fulfill God's purpose for which we were created, and help to fulfill God's plan in the earth.  

We, as the Body of Christ, are to rule, subdue and take dominion in this earth. Our leaders should be looking to us for answers or solutions in these perilous times, but that is not the case. The Kingdom of God is broken, the people of God are exposed.  The kingdom walls need rebuilding.  The church looks too much like the world.  People are confused and we've lost our authority in the earth.  Prophets are ridiculed and attacked instead of respected.  Men are walking right in the church and shooting pastors in their own pulpits.  Homosexuals are taking over church services to promote their own agenda.  Where are the intercessors?  Where is the discernment?  Where is the power, the dominion and authority God has given us to subdue the earth?   I am not singling out any particular church, it probably could have happened to anyone.  Our walls are down and in need of repair.  We are modern day Haggai prophets calling God's people to rebuild the walls of God's Kingdom.

98% of Americans profess to be Christians and yet, prayer has been removed from our schools, replaced with guns and violence.  Our legislature have replaced our children's education with prisons because they are more lucrative. We can't display the name of Christ in our workplaces.  They're talking about removing, "In God We Trust" from the dollar.  Everybody has civil rights except the Christian.  Our walls are down and in need of repair.  We are modern day Haggai prophets calling God's people to rebuild the walls of God's Kingdom.

The Justices have interpreted the First Amendment to mean separation of church and state, when it is well known that our forefathers were men of God and meant no such thing.  Pastors are redefining the Word of God, and instead of preaching an exclusive God they are now teach "all inclusive" messages. Our walls are down and in need of repair.  We are modern day Haggai prophets calling God's people to rebuild the walls of God's Kingdom.

Our children, oh our children, they are so confused, so damaged, so angry, so wounded, so bitter, and so ignorant.  They don't know who they are.  They don't know who their enemies are.  They don't know who to love or hate.  They don't know who loves them or who hates them.  They are working for the wrong team and they don't even know it.  Our walls are down and in need of repair.  We are modern day Haggai prophets calling God's people to rebuild the walls of God's Kingdom.

In Georgia, 40% of our students drop out of school in their freshman year, 90% of them are African American.  Our children are making too many wrong choices and it's our fault. The Word of the Lord came to the people of God through the prophet Haggai saying, "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains in ruin?" (Haggai 1:4).  God is saying, through his prophet, that we have been too self absorbed.  We have been focusing on getting our houses, cars, and bling bling, instead of completing our God-given assignments.  We've lost our focus and our priorities are out of order.  In the book of Haggai, God shut down the prosperity wave of the people of Judah for the same reason.  (Haggai 1:5-11).  

Specifically, IYP Management Group, LLC has been called to call God's people forth to rebuild the walls of God's kingdom in the music industry. We are building a fail proof empowerment system that will ensure that God’s artists rule, subdue and dominate the music industry. No longer will we be subjected to the secular music industry. No longer will we copy the ways and things of the world, or perform as the world for acceptance. No longer will we act as if God is not our heavenly Father and the creator of all things. The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof and they that dwell therein. If that’s so, why are God’s people begging to be accepted by the secular music industry?  

I admire the independent artists because they have taken the first step. They have made a decision that they are not going to become modern day slaves to the music label gods. They have already made a decision to separate themselves and come out from among them. Their reasons may not be as I’ve stated, but whether it be for freedom from slavery or for a bigger percentage of their record sales, they’ve made a decision to become an independent artist, and that’s a big step.  I believe that’s the reason we have been called to serve the Christian independent artists, and that’s the reason I need your help.  

IYP Management Group is a group of personal and artist managers and consultants who cater to the needs of Christian independent artists. We offer a hybrid of management and business services depending on the needs of the artists.

This year we would like to launch two added services that we feel, if done correctly, could transform the Christian independent artist industry and help to move Christian independent artists to their rightful place in the ranks.

First, we plan to launch a website solely for Christian independent artists where they can go and bid on Christian venues in which they can perform. The people with venues will submit their venue information, such as, the number of artists and the type of Christian music they are requesting. Indie artists can go and search the sight and bid on the venues of their choice. Each venue will have a nominal fee to cover costs. The website is called HYPERLINK "http://www.christianindiegigs.com" www.christianindiegigs.com. We are presently searching for the right developer to design it.

The second service we will provide for our Christian independent artist is we are planning to build a Christian independent artist cafe where our artists can perform regularly and get the right exposure to launch their prospective careers. This cafe would be a beautiful comfortable facility which serves food and has a regular house band which are composed of all independent artists. The independent artists will perform on a rotating scale and we would make sure that the schedule would be posted well in advance. IYP Management Group would be responsible for advertising the cafe and the artists. We will send out press releases, invitations, and email blasts to make sure that the artists have extensive media coverage.

You can help by:
Providing venues for Christian Indie Artists. 

If you are a church, group, business, artist, Producer, radio station, magazine, or a qualified individual and are looking for independent Christian artist, for a venue-- anything from a circus, fashion show, church function, fun day, amusement park, or a wedding, any Christian venue which needs a Christian artist would work, we could use your help. Magazines, radio stations, Producers, labels, successful artists who have arrived, or any other media outlets, we would need you to listen to artists and give them honest evaluations. You could donate so many hours per month to evaluate music from our independent artists.

We need sponsors. 

You can sponsor by donating, money, ad space, or an appearance or two.

We need funding. 

If you would like to invest into the Kingdom of God by donating funding to this project, we would be most helpful. This is a for profit business, therefore, there would not be a tax write off. However, because this is God ordained, and we believe VERY STRONGLY, that we are in the perfect will of God, WE ARE good ground for your kingdom blessings.

We need board members. 

We need people who have a personal relationship with God, called to serve on this board, who are seasoned, creative music veterans, website builders, sales & marketing gurus, promoters and business owners to serve on our board. We need to build a coalition of minds of Christ to ensure we are doing everything He has commissioned for us to do in the way He wants it done.

As stated earlier, we want to do everything in our power to empower our Christian brothers and sisters to take their rightful place at the top of the industry. I truly say brothers and sisters, because we will do thorough background checks, check references, and give thorough interviews before accepting artists. And even if everything looks clean, we still won’t accept an artist until we’ve prayed about it and God has given us the clearance. We realize that in order for this to work, these artists have to be sold out for the ministry mission and anointed by God for this call. They will be the launching pad for others, so we will conduct this process seriously.

I realize this is a broad summary request. For those who would like more information, I will be happy to send you a copy of our business plan for 2009-2010. For those of you who God has led to read this proposal and He is prompting you to answer the Haggai call in the music industry, please contact me by way of email reply or at my office. Thank your for your time. God bless you.

Sharan Coleman
Managing Partner
IYP Management Group, LLC
Office: (770) 506-1904
Cell: (404) 889-5509
Email: HYPERLINK "mailto:sharan@iypmanagement.com" sharan@iypmanagement.com
Website: HYPERLINK "http://www.iypmanagement.com" www.iypmanagement.com

Why Would God Allow That To Happen?

Evil has been present in this world ever since Eve was deceived by it in the Garden of Eden. The only thing God did was kick Lucifer (Satan, The Devil, Evil) out of heaven for treason, because he thought he could overthrow heaven, AND give mankind "free will."

Ever since Adam's sin, man was separated from God. A man separated from God is left with a carnal mind. Roman 8:7 says, "Because a carnal mind is enmity against God; it is not subject to God's law, neither can it be. A carnal mind without limits will create a new level of evil each decade. All Satan has to do is offer suggestions. That's his strong suit, the power of deception. Just like he did with Eve in the garden of Eden. All he said to Eve was, "hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? Just a small suggestion, to start the road to deception. (Genesis 3:1). What he spoke to Adam and Eve, of whom he had no hold by any corruption in them, he speaks in us by our own deceitful hearts and carnal reasonings; this makes his assaults on us less discernible, but not less dangerous.

Just think about it. Eve walked and talked with God everyday. She was not born in sin. There was no sin found in her. She knew God intimately. She did not have television commercials making sinful suggestions, she did not hear on the news about robberies and murders, and rapes, she did not have to worry about being molested by a family member, she did not have to deal with corrupt preachers and priests, her eyes only beheld God, her husband made by God and his awesome creation, And yet, she still was deceived by the devil. All he did was use simple words to deceive someone who spent that much time with God. No wonder, God just put them out of the Garden of Eden. How could He redeem them? Adam was no better. He spent even more time with God. God gave him specific instructions. It's been said that Eve may have received the command, not to eat from the forbidden tree, from Adam. However, there is no dispute that Adam heard it straight from God. God created him from the dust of the ground. God breathed His Spirit directly into Adam. God told him everything to do from the time of his arrival. God talked to him constantly, teaching, leading, enjoying Adam. There is no way Adam should have listened to ANYBODY or ANYTHING over God. God was his everything. How could a few mere words convince him to turn his back on God and His instructions? Do you see how powerful that power of deception can be? What could God say or do at this point to redeem them? But even after all of that, God still put them out of the Garden of Eden so that they could not eat of the tree of life and remain in that "dead" state forever. He was still thinking about their redemption. WE SERVE AN INCREDIBLE GOD.

So, we can't blame evil things on God. Evil things happen because mankind, who was born in sin, and with a carnal mind, who refuse to be reborn into the family and spiritual mind of God, have been raised under their spiritual father, the devil, who knows nothing but evil, and who uses the power of suggestion and deception to lure people to do evil things. He knows his time is limited. He also knows his end result is to be condemned to hell forever. Ever since Satan was kicked out of heaven, he has but one goal, which is to take as many people to hell with him as he possibly can. Why? Because Satan knows how much God loves us and wishes above all that we would prosper and be in health, EVEN AS OUR SOULS prosper. (3 John 1:2). He wishes for none of us to go to hell. It pains Him to see us do evil to each other and to see us go to hell. But do not be deceived. God gave us free will, and if we choose to go to hell, He will respect and honor our right to do so, even though it pains Him. However, that is not his intention. God sent His only Son to sacrifice his life by dying a horrible death, just to save all who wanted to be saved from hell. (John 3:16). God sacrificed greatly, Jesus sacrificed greatly to prevent us from going to hell.

However, while Satan and his hosts are working overtime to take us to hell with them, the Body of Christ is asleep. We are not being about God's business. Because we are of God; The Greater One resides in us. (I John 4:4). We have power over all of the power of the devil. (Luke 10:19). We can tread on serpents, we can cast out devils, (Mark 16:17) we can speak to mountains, (Mark 11:23) for it is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us. Galatians 2:20) If we chose, we could ensure that God's will be done, and that none perish. We should be evangelizing the world and saving people from themselves and the fiery pits of hell. But we're not. We're judging each other, we're in church looking down on people, we're living self-righteous lives, we're too AFRAID (another tool of Satan) to do what God told us to do, which is go ye out into the world and preach the Gospel. (Mark 16:15). We need to tell people about the love of Jesus Christ. We need to remind people of what we're placed on earth to do. We need to remind people of why God spared our lives from eternal damnation. We're blessed to be a blessing.

Fwd: [The Life of a True Worshipper] A Dying Shame

Begin forwarded message:

From: Sharan Coleman <gapsec46@gmail.com>

Date: November 17, 2008 9:23:33 AM EST

To: Twyla Mckissick <tmmckissick@hotmail.com>

Subject: Re: [The Life of a True Worshipper] A Dying Shame

You're so right Twyla.  I couldn't agree with you more.  Why didn't you respond on the blog?  Anyway, the problem must be a generational thing.  Because, if it's just common sense, how do you explain the number senseless murders committed by people like Second Son every day, Twyla, EVERY DAY!  I agree that some things are just common sense, but if so, these young people must not have any.  Where do you think common sense comes from?  in your story, you had a support base.  It may not have been your biological father, but you had someone.  You stated yourself that you had people in your life who taught you those things you deem as "common sense."  Truth be told, "common sense" or as some call it, "mother wit" are taught, just like prejudice.  They come from the values, character, and life skills that someone has instilled in us as we grow up.  All I'm saying is that some people are not growing up with those things you and I believe should be a natural part of childhood.  It takes love for a person, to take the time to show them right from wrong, or to instill in them values, character, Christ, or life skills.  It takes loving someone enough to want to see them be a better person.  However, you can't  give love to someone else unless you have it to give.  I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, but a lot of parents have no clue of how to love their children.  I can name a few of my "Godchildren," who were always around our house, whose parents didn't have a clue about giving them love, because they didn't have it to give.  One in particular was adopted and raised by her grandparent, who she didn't discover was her grandparent until she was an adult.  She also discovered her brother was her father.  It explained why she only received rejection her whole life.  The grandmother probably resented the fact that she had to raise another child right when she thought she was through, I don't  know.  I will tell you this, the mother and the son are both struggling every day looking for love in all of the wrong places.  The spirit of rejection is one of the devil's most powerful tools.  He has used it to destroy so many lives.  However, if the "true worshippers" or the Body of Christ could just share the love of God with more people, instead of sitting up in churches looking down on people who are not like them; if they would just walk the walk, and not just talk the talk, the love of God could do so much healing to these people walking around with this spirit of rejection, hurt, anger, you name it.  After all, the bible says that love covers a multitude of sin.  The hurt, anger, hatred, it all stems from the spirit of rejection.  These young people are hurting and they are angry and they don't know what to do with this anger, so they do stupid things.  You can call it common sense, but everything starts with the spirit.  

On Nov 16, 2008, at 10:32 PM, Twyla Mckissick wrote:

Sharan, 
 
Some things just need to be classified as lack of common sense. As I read your story so many things come to my mind. Take me and my brother and sister for an example. Her father spent way more time with me and brother than my true father did, but my true father did pay my mom child support and got us every weekend, holiday, and so forth. Nevertheless, my true father made sure that we had everything that we needed. From the best of clothes and shoes, to money in our pockets, but it was my sister father and my step mom who taught us our morals and taught us how young men and young ladies should act and look. Not our true blood parents. You know the story with my brother and how his life did a whole 360. He blame our parents for his drug use and his continued failures in life. Now he has been drug free for 5 years and working on becoming a minister, and spread the word of God to everyone (whether you want to listen or not). Even though our lives took so many dramatic changes and we never tried to kill or steal from others. Life experiences taught me a lot and made me to become the person I am. Even though I may slap my face into a wall every know and then. We have NEVER thought about robbing, stealing, or killing anyone to get anything. Even when my brother was going through his dark times, he blamed, but never complained. We never even knew about his feelings about our parents until the final stages of his rehabilitation process. I say all of this to say that some things are just common sense. My dad did everything for us, but when we were with him in weekends and so forth, it was my step mom who spent time with us. My dad was either sleep or at work and when we did do things as a family, it was always about him and what was going on with him. He never ask us about school or talk to us about life and what to and not to do. My dad, father and mother has been together since they were 10 and have been married over 60 years. My grandfather is the best man you could ever know and my father is in no way the father to us, like his father was to them. My grandmother started taking us to Church way before I know that I would walk or talk. Life and our positive part of up bringing, made us want to be better than our parents and not fall short. God is in all of us, but in the end it is up to make sound decisions and listen to him and abide by his word or go astray and suffer the consequences. All and all, some things are just common sense. 

Life is too short. Grudges are a waste of perfect happiness. Laugh when you can, apologize when you should, and let go of what you cannot change. Love deeply and forgive quickly. Take chances...... Give everything and have no regrets. Life is to short to be unhappy. You have to take the good with the bad, smile when your sad, love what you got and remember what you had. Always forgive but never forget. Learn from your mistake with no regrets. People change and things go wrong, but always remember that life goes on.....................

---

Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2008 12:55:27 -0800
From: gapsec46@gmail.com
To: tmmckissick@hotmail.com
Subject: [The Life of a True Worshipper] A Dying Shame

The other day, my husband came to me with a real life tragic story that I want to paraphrase, with a twist.  I want to call this "A Tale of Two Sons."

There were two sons by two different fathers.  

The first son was close to his father.  His father taught him how to be  a man.  He supported him in sports, he gave him extra money for dates, he was an ear to listen to his problems and a shoulder to cry on.  He taught him how to respect his elders and how to be respected as a man.  He was there for his high school and college graduations.  He was there handing out cigars at the birth of his first grandchild.  He was simply the father most boys and young men would love to have.  Although the mother was in the home, his father was his "rock."  They were like two peas in a pod, almost inseparable.  Even when he moved away from Georgia to Ohio, a week didn't go by where they didn't talk on the phone.  If they weren't talking on the phone, they were emailing each other on the computer.  Needless to say, this son LOVED his father.

The second son is now about 17 years old.  He was the oldest son of four kids.  His father worked 12 hour shifts at the Mayfield Manufacturing Plant.  Although he hated his job, he worked six days per week just to make ends meet for his family of six.  His daily routine was to get home around 6:30 p.m., have his wife bring him dinner in front of the television while he tried to catch some of the news, take a shower and go to bed, just so he could get up the next morning and do it all again.  He spent little time to no time with his kids, not because he didn't like them or was a mean man, it was just all he knew to do, because that was the way his father raised him.  So even though he was present in the home, he didn't have time to be present in Second Son's life.  When Second Son played sports, he wasn't there, when he needed extra money for dates, it wasn't there, when he needed an ear to listen to his problems, or a shoulder to cry on, he wasn't there.  There was no one to teach him how to be respectful or earn respect of others. Each day he had to come home from school to watch his father be there, but not be there.  He was physically present, but that was it.  He hated hearing his friends tell him how lucky he was because at least he had a father--at least he stayed and didn't run off.  Because he couldn't disagree more.  So, as if he didn't have enough on his plate, he had to deal with the added guilt he felt, for not appreciating his father for staying.  His love for his father turned into a love/hate, and then to full blown hate.  Not, just for his father, but for all fathers.  He hated the fathers who were there for their sons, as much as he hated his own father for not being there.

Suddenly,  First Son's father dies.  First Son is grief-stricken over the death of his father.  He tries to get his head around it but, being in Ohio, it just doesn't seem real.  He drives his family to Georgia for the funeral services.  He arrives at his father's house and the realness of it all is overwhelming.  He decides that he's got to get out of that house.  If he stays, he's going to lose it in front of his family, including his mother.  As he walks out of the kitchen into the garage to exit, he sees his father's cadillac.  He sticks his head back into the house through the garage door and tells his mother he will be right back.  He says he's going to take his father's cadillac to the car wash.  So he and his cousin drive up the street to the car wash.  He pulls into the car wash, goes inside and pays for the car wash.  As he walks back to his father's car, Second Son walks behind him and tells him to give him the keys to the car or he'll shoot him.  First Son knows he should just put his hands in the air, turn around slowly and give Second Son the keys.  But this is his father's car.  And, although he could hear his father say, "Boy, are you crazy!  It's just a car!  Give up the keys!"  He can't make himself do it.  So, instead, tries to plea with Second Son.  He tells him that it's his father's car, his father just died, and he wants to keep the car as a memorial.  Second Son could see how broken up First Son was over his father's death and it just made him more angry.  He yells to First Son, "Give up the keys or I'll shoot!"  First Son starts to run with the keys, and Second Son, shoots him, in the back, and kills him.  

Senseless killing?  Absolutely!  So may people died in that story who didn't have to.  Again, I have to ask, where is the Body of Christ?    Where are the true worshippers?  There are so many areas where, if the TRUE worshippers were about our Father's business, this tragedy could have been avoided.  Let's start with First Son.  What if he had been ministered to by the Body of Christ?  If he had a relationship with the Lord, would he have become so grief-stricken that he chose to risk his life over a car?  Grieving with the Holy Spirit is a different grieving than without.  I can attest to that.  I've had enough tragedy in my life to know the difference.  When my mother died, instead of running away from God, I had God to run to, and I can truly say, His peace does pass all understanding.  Then when you read things like, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, and you know your loved one is saved, then it is extremely helpful with the grieving process.  

Second Son is easy.  If he was saved, he could have used his personal relationship with Christ to easily substitute for the lack of his father's presence.  And, God could have used him to minister salvation to his father and get him saved, perhaps changing their relationship.  He certainly would not be walking around with a gun trying to take what did not belong to him.  People in relationship with God just don't do things like that.  There are so may other ways things could have been different.  Help me out.  What do you think could have changed, had the Body of Christ ministered salvation to these two sons.

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Posted By Gapsec to The Life of a True Worshipper at 11/16/2008 11:28:00 AM

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Sharan Coleman

Managing Partner

CDG Management Consulting, LLC

Office:  (770) 506-1904

Cell:  (404) 889-5509

Home:  (770) 506-0853

gapsec46@gmail.com

I have observed something else in this world of ours. The fastest runner doesn't always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn't always win the battle. The wise are often poor, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don't always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being at the right place at the right time.  Eccleaistes 9:11

Sharan Coleman

Managng Partner

CDG Management Consulting, LLC

Office:  (770) 506-1904

Cell:  (404) 889-5509

Home:  (770) 506-0853

gapsec46@gmail.com

I have observed something else in this world of ours. The fastest runner doesn't always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn't always win the battle. The wise are often poor, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don't always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being at the right place at the right time.  Eccleaistes 9:11

A Dying Shame

The other day, my husband came to me with a real life tragic story that I want to paraphrase, with a twist.  I want to call this "A Tale of Two Sons."

There were two sons by two different fathers.  

The first son was close to his father.  His father taught him how to be  a man.  He supported him in sports, he gave him extra money for dates, he was an ear to listen to his problems and a shoulder to cry on.  He taught him how to respect his elders and how to be respected as a man.  He was there for his high school and college graduations.  He was there handing out cigars at the birth of his first grandchild.  He was simply the father most boys and young men would love to have.  Although the mother was in the home, his father was his "rock."  They were like two peas in a pod, almost inseparable.  Even when he moved away from Georgia to Ohio, a week didn't go by where they didn't talk on the phone.  If they weren't talking on the phone, they were emailing each other on the computer.  Needless to say, this son LOVED his father.

The second son is now about 17 years old.  He was the oldest son of four kids.  His father worked 12 hour shifts at the Mayfield Manufacturing Plant.  Although he hated his job, he worked six days per week just to make ends meet for his family of six.  His daily routine was to get home around 6:30 p.m., have his wife bring him dinner in front of the television while he tried to catch some of the news, take a shower and go to bed, just so he could get up the next morning and do it all again.  He spent little time to no time with his kids, not because he didn't like them or was a mean man, it was just all he knew to do, because that was the way his father raised him.  So even though he was present in the home, he didn't have time to be present in Second Son's life.  When Second Son played sports, he wasn't there, when he needed extra money for dates, it wasn't there, when he needed an ear to listen to his problems, or a shoulder to cry on, he wasn't there.  There was no one to teach him how to be respectful or earn respect of others. Each day he had to come home from school to watch his father be there, but not be there.  He was physically present, but that was it.  He hated hearing his friends tell him how lucky he was because at least he had a father--at least he stayed and didn't run off.  Because he couldn't disagree more.  So, as if he didn't have enough on his plate, he had to deal with the added guilt he felt, for not appreciating his father for staying.  His love for his father turned into a love/hate, and then to full blown hate.  Not, just for his father, but for all fathers.  He hated the fathers who were there for their sons, as much as he hated his own father for not being there.

Suddenly,  First Son's father dies.  First Son is grief-stricken over the death of his father.  He tries to get his head around it but, being in Ohio, it just doesn't seem real.  He drives his family to Georgia for the funeral services.  He arrives at his father's house and the realness of it all is overwhelming.  He decides that he's got to get out of that house.  If he stays, he's going to lose it in front of his family, including his mother.  As he walks out of the kitchen into the garage to exit, he sees his father's cadillac.  He sticks his head back into the house through the garage door and tells his mother he will be right back.  He says he's going to take his father's cadillac to the car wash.  So he and his cousin drive up the street to the car wash.  He pulls into the car wash, goes inside and pays for the car wash.  As he walks back to his father's car, Second Son walks behind him and tells him to give him the keys to the car or he'll shoot him.  First Son knows he should just put his hands in the air, turn around slowly and give Second Son the keys.  But this is his father's car.  And, although he could hear his father say, "Boy, are you crazy!  It's just a car!  Give up the keys!"  He can't make himself do it.  So, instead, tries to plea with Second Son.  He tells him that it's his father's car, his father just died, and he wants to keep the car as a memorial.  Second Son could see how broken up First Son was over his father's death and it just made him more angry.  He yells to First Son, "Give up the keys or I'll shoot!"  First Son starts to run with the keys, and Second Son, shoots him, in the back, and kills him.  

Senseless killing?  Absolutely!  So may people died in that story who didn't have to.  Again, I have to ask, where is the Body of Christ?    Where are the true worshippers?  There are so many areas where, if the TRUE worshippers were about our Father's business, this tragedy could have been avoided.  Let's start with First Son.  What if he had been ministered to by the Body of Christ?  If he had a relationship with the Lord, would he have become so grief-stricken that he chose to risk his life over a car?  Grieving with the Holy Spirit is a different grieving than without.  I can attest to that.  I've had enough tragedy in my life to know the difference.  When my mother died, instead of running away from God, I had God to run to, and I can truly say, His peace does pass all understanding.  Then when you read things like, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, and you know your loved one is saved, then it is extremely helpful with the grieving process.  

Second Son is easy.  If he was saved, he could have used his personal relationship with Christ to easily substitute for the lack of his father's presence.  And, God could have used him to minister salvation to his father and get him saved, perhaps changing their relationship.  He certainly would not be walking around with a gun trying to take what did not belong to him.  People in relationship with God just don't do things like that.  There are so may other ways things could have been different.  Help me out.  What do you think could have changed, had the Body of Christ ministered salvation to these two sons.

Are There Any Christians In Massachusetts?

Is Massachusetts a modern day Sodom and Gomorra?  I am upset that the judges of Massachusetts felt the people of Massachusetts would let them get away with passing a law that would allow same sexes to marry.  Have we gotten that far away from God?  

I'm not upset with the homosexuals.  They don't know any better.  I am upset with the Body of Christ in Massachusetts, which is why the homosexuals don't know any better.  This is not the only issue that concerns Christians in Massachusetts.  It seems the people have gone so morally astray that the courts don't know right from wrong.  

Now before people go off on their liberalism leftist theories, I will proudly say that I am from a family of strong proud Democrats and I have voted primarily Democrat all of my life, and I proudly voted for Barack Obama.  However, I do not consider myself a "liberal."  I am a strong Christian with strong Christian values, as I believe are a lot of Democrats.  We have just been politicized by the Republicans to the far left, when in fact, we are not.  I believe the last election strongly supports that view, which is why the Republicans are stunned and discombobulated.

However, I am not here to talk politics.  I am here to discuss with the Body of Christ the serious issue of Apostacy.  Apostacy is when the people of God become so consumed with the world around them that you can no longer tell they are Christians.  There is no difference between their behavior and the behavior of a non-Christian.  Christians who have found justification for copying the world.  God speaks very strongly about Apostacy.  God said in Genesis 6:7, "And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them."

There are things that the bible tells us Not to do that we do on a regular basis.  As a matter of fact, we do it so much that we don't realize it's a sin anymore.  A good example of that is gossip.  And there are things that the bible tells us to do that we don't do and have never done.  For example, Jesus tells us that we are the salt of the earth.   He tells us we are the light of the world.  He tells us to go out into the world and preach the gospel.  However, we don't do any of it.  We don't go out and tell the homosexuals that God loves them.  We don't tell them that God laid His life down for them that they would have life and have it more abundantly.  We don't tell them that God can heal the brokenhearted, he can heal their wounds of pain and rejection.  We don't tell them that Jesus Christ was wounded for our transgressions, that He was bruised for our iniquities, and by His stripes we are healed.  We are healed spiritually, physically, and emotionally.  Despite the number of homosexuals who say they were born homosexuals, the truth of the matter is that they were not.  Homosexuality is a spiritual issue.  Whether they received the spirit at birth or as a child, homosexuality is a spiritual issue.  It is up to the Body of Christ to minister to them, counsel them, or lay hands on them and cast out the spirit.  We have not done our job and now the spirit of homosexuality has spread like a cancer.  Yet, we must not leave out the God factor.  The bible says, "Greater is He who lives in us than he who is in the world.  I John 4:4.  We have been endowed with power to tread on serpents and cast out devils.  Mark 3:13-14,  Mark 16:17 and Luke 10:19.  

Look, God already destroyed the entire world once by drowning it in water.  He destroyed the city of Sodom & Gomorra with fire and brimstone.  Isn't it clear that He will not tolerate sin.  When we sin, it's a blatant disrespect for what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross.  Also, when we disobey God, such as we don't go out into the world to preach the gospel, it is a definite sin.  The world is in dire need of the Body of Christ.  We must stop being afraid, put on boldness and go forth.  We can't sit idly by and allow this type of legislation, any more than we can protest and vote and make judges reverse Roe vs Wade.  It is up to the Body of Christ to go forth person to person and preach the gospel, lay hands on the sick and pray for their healing or cast out devils.  It's time for the Body of Christ to do the work of the ministry, not Congress and Judges.  How can the sick heal the sick.  (That's another topic).   

As you can see, we can't rely on government to do what only we are "anointed" to do.  When we stand before God, He will not ask us why didn't you vote for the "pro-life" candidate.  He will ask us why didn't we do what He has mandated us to do, which is to go into all of the world and preach the gospel.  Mark 16:15.