Its Thursday!

Its Thursday. I am here at work early; and have gratefulness and joy on my heart. I am thankful for so many things. Life in God, Health, Provision, Faith...Encouragement.

There are also a number of things that I am looking forward to. In about 20 days I have plans to fly out to Missouri and spend the beginning part of the Feast of Unleavened Bread with the Hall Family. A family that is very very close to my heart. It means the world to me to be able to spend this special time with them. This time of remembrance of our Master's Passover.

In the more immediate future....tomorrow as a matter of fact; if God wills, I will rent a vehicle and drive out to Tennessee to spend time with the Community I visited recently. I wrote about my first visit in a recent blog.

But in short; recently I visited a self sufficient community and their way of life; love and hospitality impressed a great deal upon my spirit. Its been on my heart ever since leaving there to return. And I pray that my endeavors to spend this upcoming weekend with them are blessed.

My mind is a lot clearer now in regards to all of the things I was trying to figure out.

The primary desire of my heart is just simply to spend time with them. They do wish for me to join them, to become a part of their community indefinitely; and they have made this no secret. Yet I don't feel led by God to do so. And I know one of the primary reasons is their exclusiveness. They live a life that they believe exemplifies all of what Christ called for his followers to do while here on earth. They have no individual possessions, they work, live, and worship together. There is no rich or poor, and all needs are met. They are an example in a high regard, of a true life of faith and dedication;the highest that I have personally seen in my life time.And because of the genuineness and depth of their way of life, they believe themselves (with their communities as a whole throughout the world) to be the sole embodiment of Christ's body here on earth.They see the over 22,000 denominations of Christianity as in great error and disunity; out of touch with the Lord they claim to serve. With this being said;I know with a clear conscience that the Body of Messiah as a whole is more than just them. And I am so grateful to God because in my short time in this faith I have been blessed to witness great diversity within the Body of Messiah, and I can't even begin to imagine all of the implications of that diversity as a whole throughout this earth and throughout time. I have written in particular about this more than a few times on this blog, and I think its something that will forever be on my heart.

In witnessing this diversity throughout my walk of faith I have come upon some truths that I believe one can only grasp through seeing it for themselves; and those truths are

* God meets us where we are; according to our heart of repentance and faith towards Him.
* Our life's journey, environment, and circumstance shape our faith
* We hold to our convictions and life of faith by what we are taught, and come to understand.



We are all on different levels on our journey of faith; our inner struggles against sin and the flesh, coupled with our desire to seek and please God are common. Above all of this, the work of God in our lives is the same; the end goal for those who are His are the same also.


But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity."-2 Timothy 2:19


Again, God knows, and God is in control. Its up to us as believers, (no matter what label we put on ourselves) to hold to the faith of the Son of God; to obey Him and walk after Him in sincerity of heart and trust....its up to us who hold to this faith in Him, to not judge one another based on doctrinal or ideological differences; to love one another as brothers and sisters; helping each other along the way of this journey.



But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side 48and said to them, "Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great."
John answered, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us." But Jesus said to him, "Do not stop him, for the one who is not against you is for you."-
Luke 9:47-51 (ESV)



Closing Scriptures:

Psalms 34:18/Pslams 51:17/Isaiah 57:15
Matthew 5
1 John 2:1-6
2 Timothy 2:19
John 17
Luke 9:47-51
John 3:16-21
Ephesians 3:13-21