Hi all,
A man arrived at his girl friend's apartment but she wasn't ready, so he made himself useful by putting away the clean dishes from the dishwasher. No asking, prodding, or hinting by her - he just thought he would help out. She was impressed! This guy is marriage material!

As he was unloading it she went to the cupboard for something and found he had stacked the measuring cups in the wrong order - instead of nesting them as they were designed, he had stacked one on the other in the order he got them out of the dishwasher.

She opened her mouth to say, 'That's not the way these should be stacked, next time...' when something stopped her. She thought, 'Is this really important?'

Trivial, or deal breaker?
She remembered her friends complaining about things their husbands did NOT do - laundry, dishes, cleaning the house, helping with the kids - And she thought, "Am I going to correct him over measuring cups not stacked correctly when he took it upon himself to empty the dishwasher? We may be together the rest of our lives. Is this really important?"

In a flash of time she saw years into their future - years of her correcting little things he did wrong. She suddenly realized she had assumed her way was the only way and she thought it her job to train him - nested measuring cups here, properly folded towels there, dishwasher loaded the 'right' way...

In a revelation of role reversing clarity she imagined herself going to the grocery store, and him saying to her as she left: "Do you have the list? Make sure you use the coupons! Remember I like the whole milk not the fat-free stuff. And get the right washing detergent this time! Ours is the bright orange one. Be sure to get our favorite ice cream. And remember you have to pick up the dry cleaning too!"

The risk
She realized by keeping quiet she was risking laundry disasters, clothes left another day at the cleaners, wrong items bought at the store, food in the 'wrong place' in the refrigerator, and wallets and keys on the table that is supposed to be spotlessly clean. But she realized it was worth the risk keeping quiet.

And in that moment of clarity instead of correcting him, she closed her mouth and gave him a big kiss: "Thank you for unloading the dishwasher honey!"

They've now been married nearly 20 years, and he still does things 'the wrong way', but it all works out because they each look at the big picture instead of pointing out each other's mistakes.

What if...
Let's play what if. What if she had opened her mouth to correct him with the measuring cups? Then she would have moved effortlessly to how he did the laundry, how he cleaned the house, how he folded the clothes, how he kept the car - nothing would be off limits to her corrections!

And he would have felt trapped with no where to turn, for anything he did would be wrong. Perhaps he would eventually shut her out so that anything she said was answered in automatic mode; 'Yes dear' while never actually listening to what she was saying.

Or maybe resentment would build up in him to the point he kept a low anger simmering, feeling she never saw the good he did - how hard he worked, that he took it upon himself to unload the dishwasher, go to the store, clean the floor, empty the trash - all he got was correction on how he did all those things not quite right and nothing was ever good enough for her. But she would never understand, after all, she was just trying to help.

Not the correct perspective
Some Christians are what her boyfriend could have become in my 'what if' scenario because they think God is constantly looking over their shoulder trying to tell them how they could do things better. Or they feel trapped, that He is always ready to correct even their best efforts. Some are angry at Him as if He is just trying to help, they feel they can't do anything right.

Big picture...Ephesians 2:6-7
But what if God is more like the way this woman reacted? What if He chooses to overlook the incorrectly stacked measuring cups of our spiritual life in favor of the big picture, and just give us a big spiritual kiss (blessing)?

What if He chooses for the sake of the long-term relationship, to remain quiet, even silently cleansing us of sins we did but weren't aware of, all because of His great love and the fact we will be together for eternity.

Ephesians 2:6 says "...And God (the Father) did raise us up together and did seat us together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus..." This verse is about our salvation, our instant access to the Father, our adoption to the Father through Christ.

But verse 7 tell us WHY He saved us: "...that He might show in the ages that are coming the exceeding riches of His grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus."

The Father saved us so that in the AGES to come He can continue to show us how much He loves us!

His purpose for the cross wasn't just about this life, it was about the ages to come - eternity with us. He is looking at the big picture.

Verses 6 & 7 together: "God the Father, did raise us up together, and did seat us together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that He might show in the ages that are coming the exceeding riches of His grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus."

The Father is not an over-bearing or maybe even abusive Father continually pointing out each 'measuring cup we don't stack properly' in our lives. The Bible says He is actually already thinking about how He can show His exceeding grace and kindness towards us in the ages to come. Wow!

Some thoughts
If you have 100 years of born-again life on earth how does that compare to 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 infinity zeros following, in a glorified, sinless body in heaven through the ages to come? That 100 years is tiny in comparison. So should we be focused on the trials of the here and now, or look towards that 10 to the infinity power years ahead?

Now if you are God and you invested the life of your only Son to die for all mankind, the greatest of all prices paid, and you know that investment has yielded these spiritual children who will forever and ever be with you, wouldn't you look at life in this body as temporary?

So this series is about how the Father and Lord Jesus are looking at the big picture of us spending eternity with them, and how we need to change our thinking to their thinking. This is about 'big picture' thinking presented in scripture and evidenced by small 'winks' God gives us through our day that tell us to look higher, deeper, and further into the ages to come.

"Though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day...so we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen, because that which is seen is temporary, and that which is unseen is eternal." (II Corinthians 4: 16,18)

More about the big picture next week...until then, blessings,
John

Hi all,
Can you imagine asking a friend, 'While I'm gone will you mow my lawn, water my plants, feed my dog, get my mail?' and they responded, 'Not all that, but I'll get the mail for you!'.

That would be disappointing wouldn't it? Jesus and Peter had a similarly disappointing exchange.

Two kinds of love
In John 21:15-19 Jesus twice asks Peter if he loves Him, using the Greek word apape' both times. Agape' is unconditional, lay-down-your-life-for-others love. But Peter responds both times using the Greek word 'phileo' love - a lower form of the word love, the love of best friends, tender affection love.

Not all that Lord, but I'll get your mail!

Jesus is again cutting to the core issue of the heart, testing, probing, proving - as if slicing into Peter's heart in preparation for Pentecost a month or less future, and a life of sacrifice. "Do you love me unconditionally Peter?" Jesus asks 2 times. But 2 times He gets the response, 'I love you like a best friend'.

This is NOT up to the level of love Jesus is looking for. Yet He still gives Peter the commands after each response to 'Tend my sheep'. How interesting that even though Peter doesn't seem up to the level of love required for the call on his life, Jesus still issues the call - aren't we exactly the same? YES!

If you can do what He has called you to, its proof you invented the call, for He only calls us to that which is impossible with man, that the glory might be of God and not of us.

We are Peter
Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever - He still asks us about our love for Him - as this series has covered, He asks in different ways, leading us and inviting us to examine our hearts, our motives, but it boils down to the question: What is most important to you; Me and heaven, or going with the crowd off the cliff? 

The story is told of a meeting of Christians in a home church in the USSR, when soldiers burst through the door with rifles leveled. "Anyone who is not a Christian may leave!" Most quickly left, but a few stayed, in great fear about what was to come next. As the soldiers shouldered their weapons after the others were gone the leader said: "Finally, we've found some real Christians!" and they joined the time of worship, Bible study, and discussion. Would you be in the group of Christians that left, or the ones that stayed?

Peter and Jesus had known each other about 3 1/2 years, and His question comes after the resurrection, so Jesus feels comfortable asking Peter if now, after all we've been through, after all you've seen and heard and done, do you love me unconditionally in that 'lay down your life for Me', agape' love?

We know that Peter is honest and transparent - what you see is what you get with him - so he answers honestly, 'I don't love you unconditionally, I love you (phileo) as a friend'.

Agape' and phileo
Agape' is the love that describes the Father's love of His Son in John 17:26, and how the Father 'So loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son' of John 3:16. It is unconditional love, dependent completely on the giver of that love; Therefore the receiver of agape' cannot do anything to change, modify, or affect the love they are loved with. 

Phileo love on the other hand means 'tender affection' and is used of the 'tender affection' between the apostle John and Jesus as friends - remember John leaned on Jesus during dinner in John 13:23 - the love of best friends.

Twice Jesus asked Peter if he held that deepest love for Him, and twice Peter said no.

If he isn't ready to come up to my level, I'll come down to his level
The third time Jesus comes down to meet Peter where he is; "Do you phileo me, love me as a friend?" Peter was distressed at being asked a third time about if he loves the Lord, but responds as he did before - I told you I love you as a friend! - thinking he finally got his point across to the Lord.

That is why Jesus immediately prophesies how Peter will die - making a subtle but powerful statement that Peter will eventually come up to agape' love for Him when he is old; He will be crucified just as the Lord was.

I am amazed at the Lord's grace. Right then, somewhere around 32 AD, Peter doesn't yet love the Lord with agape' love. Yet Jesus tells him when he is older he will - Peter died around the year 66 AD, 34 years future - and the Lord was content to tell him 34 years from now you have come up to agape' for Me even if you don't hold that love for Me now. Amazing love!

Another view
Another view of this exchange is that Peter thought loving the Lord as his friend was higher than agape'. I love you as my best friend! To think phileo is higher than the agape' isn't correct, but it may have been what he was trying to say - I love you tenderly as my best friend!

But that would mean he really, really missed Jesus' point which would be consistent with his history in the gospels. So Jesus met him where he was at, the third time asking if he loved Him as a friend.

And that is how we are today - the Lord either goes right to our heart asking what kind of love do we have for Him, or we totally miss what He is trying to do in us. How many times have we asked Him to deal with someone who has hurt us, but He seems to ignore that request and instead zero in on our heart asking us to forgive and do good to them! Argh! Just teach them a lesson Lord and don't ask me to deal with my heart! lol

Fraternity life
When I moved into the fraternity at Indiana University in 1976 I met several other Christians. I thought how wonderful all these guys are serious about the Lord in such a party University in the ever ready to party world of fraternities and sororities. Some of us were there to study and in my case, also because my dad had been in that fraternity, so I was thrilled to find what I thought were solid believers.

My world was shaken when I saw one of them stumble down the hall drunk during the first of the school year weekly Thursday night beer party with a sorority. Then another described the next day how one of the sorority sisters came into his room and stripped, and he asked us 'What was I supposed to do?' (Not what he ended up doing that night, that's for sure)

Of the 8 or so Christians in the house, only 2 of us consistently walked the walk in our lives. The temptation was there to jump off the cliff with my Christian fraternity brothers, but I never did. Barb was a year behind me in school so she was back home finishing her senior year of high school, and I think that helped keep me focused.

We wrote letters back and forth (this was before the days of emails and texting), and when we felt like all the other lemmings were jumping off the cliff we consoled ourselves, correct or incorrect, as lone believers refusing to follow the herd. But we were able to stand strong because we loved the Lord and heaven's opinion more than we loved earth and man's opinion.

Summary
Over this series we've seen a common thread in the Lord's probing and proving men's hearts, and that thread is about valuing heaven above earth.

He is the same today, asking us about our core values, about who He is to us. But who He is to each of us has changed over the years. None of us started our walk with the Lord by being in agape' love with Him. We got saved because we sought Truth, or were in a tragic situation only God could change, or some other reason. We progressed from not knowing Him to barely knowing Him to loving Him like a friend, and many have moved on to the love Jesus asked of Peter: Agape' love.

This is a life-long process, for every time we choose to do the right thing, we lay down our lives a little bit more for Him, proving we value heaven's treasures, proving we value heaven's thinking above our own.

Don't jump off the cliff with the rest of the crowd, establish your core beliefs and values and allow them to form a line you will never cross even if all your friends jump off the cliff. New series next week, 'The Big Picture'. Blessings,

John Fenn
www.cwowi.org

Hi all,
I've been sharing ways the Lord tests us for good, proves our potential, and today how He tests our motives and gives us opportunities to adjust our hearts.

Eat my flesh, drink my blood
Matthew, Mark, and John record Jesus walking on water, and each records a particular point of view of the event, but only John captures what happened AFTER the boat got to the other side. (Mt 14, Mk 6, John 6)

You'll recall Jesus had just fed 5,000 men plus an unstated number of women and children by multiplying a boy's lunch. Afterwards He sent the 12 away in a boat with instructions to get to the other side and He would join them later. Meanwhile, He went up into the mountains to pray, but came walking on the water to them between 3am and 6am. (Mt 14:25 states it was during the 4th watch, which was 3-6am)

Matthew is the only one who records Peter getting out of the boat and walking on water. Mark tells us Jesus would have kept walking right past the boat had they not cried out in fear. And John tells us when Jesus got into the boat "Immediately the boat was at the land to which it was going." What we call 'translated' - boat, contents, and the 13 men in it - were instantly transported 3-4 miles (5-7km) to the shore on the far side of the lake. (John 6:21)

"The day after, the crowd that had been on the other side of the lake when He fed them saw there was no other boat there, only the one Jesus had sent away with the disciples in it, and knowing Jesus had not gotten into that boat...and when they found Him on the other side of the lake they asked Him, 'Rabbi, how did you get here?'

"Jesus answered them saying, 'Truly, truly I say to you, you seek me NOT because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the bread and were filled.'" (John 6:22-26, my emphasis on 'not')

Motives
Jesus is still cutting right to our true motives today: 'Truly, truly I say to you, you want to be involved in the Sunday school not just to give to others, but because you hope the pastor will notice.'

'Truly, truly I say to you, you want this job not so you can give more as you have told people, rather you want the raise and boost to your ego it would bring.'

'Truly, truly I say to you, you aren't going to the Wednesday night service to receive from me, you are going because you hope I will notice the extra effort and be reminded of that prayer request you want answered.'

'Truly, truly I say to you, you aren't fasting just to draw closer to Me, you are fasting to also lose 10 pounds.'

Truly, truly I say to you...fill in the blank. The only difference between John 6 and now is that today we have the Holy Spirit within trying to be heard by that still, small voice, asking us to purify our motives.

What if purifying our motive means someone else with all the wrong motives gets that position you wanted? Will you rejoice in your heart that you grew just that much more in Christ today, or mourn the position lost?

Separate the men from the boys - back to the loaves/fishes people
Once Jesus told them they were following Him not because He was Messiah, but because He was apparently an endless supply of food, He taught them the loaves and fish were a type of Him being the endless source of eternal Life. He also taught them Moses' manna was a type of eternal life, not just food.

This is similar to people following Jesus 'with strings attached' today - He seems to be their endless supply of ... These are users of people and God, and impure in life, using God and man to get what they want.  

Jesus is always going to direct us through the Holy Spirit to purify our motives, holding up our ugly impure motives before our face, giving us the opportunity to reject them and choose Life, moving into maturity just that much more, all in a moment in time. Some choose wisely, some choose to serve God for the endless supply of the things of earth.

These people followed Jesus all the way around the lake and many followed Him into town where, and still weren't dealing with their motives, so He finally put an end to it by saying this in the local synagogue:

"Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood, has eternal life..." (6:54)
If they are willing to purify their motives THEY will make a decision towards their destiny even if their mind doesn't understand the parable. But many did not want to deal with their motives: "From that time on MANY of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. (These weren't just 'followers' and 'hangers on', these were DISCIPLES of Christ.)

We don't know if Peter understood all Jesus said, but we know he stepped back and looked at the larger picture, which helped purify his motive and identify his core values. Jesus said to the twelve, 'Will you also leave?' Then Simon Peter answered Him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life! And we believe and are sure that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (6:66-69)

The Lord is still asking us to not jump off the cliff with the others who were offended and left Him; He is still asking us to identify our core values and purify our motives. Are we jumpers or disciples?

Motives, motives
Jesus said the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth. That truth also means the ugly truth about our own motives and ego. How many of us started out as a disciple just loving God, but along the way we attached expectations and strings, some to the point they think God serves them, or that faith is for getting things from Him, or they can make Him do things, or He is a means of getting rich?

When I was in Bible school I worked the night shift at a convenience store. When the shifts changed the cash and receipts were balanced out so that the next shift began 'even' in terms of cash on hand.

One day when money was very tight for us, my cash drawer came out $20 extra at the end of my shift. I momentarily had a thought God was blessing me with that $20 and I could pocket it, thinking how much that would help with food that week, but I rejected that and recorded it properly. My motives had come up before my face in a moment of time by the Holy Spirit, and I responded properly, dismissing my genuine need and thought of spiritualizing an illegal act in the name of God in order to justify the crime.

Rich young ruler
When the rich young ruler came to Jesus, he said; "Good master, what must I do to have eternal life?"

Most miss the fact Jesus immediately exposed his core need and issue: "Why are you calling me good? There is no one good, but God!" (Mt 19:16-22)

In other words, Jesus was asking him; By calling me good, are you calling me God? We read from one sentence to the next in 10 seconds never stopping to realize this was a real conversation taking place, full of pauses, reflections, responses, over time. As a result we fail to grasp that it took place over minutes not seconds - these pauses and exchanges indicated for us by a period or comma or semi-colon. Are you calling me God because you called me good? Pause, wait for answer, no answer, change tactics.

The failure to answer the direct question from the Lord meant the young man wasn't willing to deal with his true motive and true love of riches openly, so Jesus would have to make him deal with it another way: "Go and sell all you have and give the proceeds to the poor and you will have riches in heaven, and come follow me." The man went away from Jesus very sad, for he was rich.

The core issue was the man wanted to serve God while loving money and status and never settling in his heart just who Jesus is. Because he wouldn't answer directly if he believed Jesus was God, the Lord exposed his motive and made him deal with it by telling him to sell it all for the sake of riches in heaven, AND become a disciple of Jesus. If he had done that he would have purified his heart and started serving God with no strings attached, valuing heaven alone - just pure love of God.

People want to hear God's voice and have all sorts of spiritual experiences, and I fault no one in this, but the truth is He speaks to us most often down inside, asking us for purity of focus, purity of motive, purity of love.

More next week on how the Lord leads us in these ways. Blessings,

John Fenn
www.cwowi.org

Hi all,
Last week I shared how Philip responded to a normal question Jesus asked, with a normal 'natural' answer. Yet we are told in John 6:5-6 that Jesus asked the question to test Philip - in other words to see if Philip would think like the rest of the crowd, which he did: 'It would take half a year's wages to buy all the bread needed to feed them', or would he think outside the box about what God could do?

Jesus has never changed, and this series is about how He leads us by the Spirit to these same points of decision, and how He tests us to prove what is in our hearts just as He did in the gospels. Here is another example:

Who am I?
"Who do people say the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah, but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" (Mt 16:13-18)

This is just like Him testing Philip in John 6. The conversation is going along a 'natural' path, giving no hint He is looking for revelation, looking for someone to respond with 'outside the box' thinking.

When Peter responded with, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God", Jesus said he was blessed because flesh and blood had not revealed this to him - He didn't come to that conclusion by debating with other's ideas about Him being Elijah or Jeremiah come back from the dead - Peter had received revelation from the Father that Jesus was the Christ and said so.

In both of these cases Jesus was watching, observing, letting the thought processes play out in Philip and Peter, looking for revelation from them and thinking that was not the 'jump off the cliff with the rest of your friends' kind of thinking.

What will you drive?
The year was 1978, August, a month before Barb and I were married. I was working at the PTL Club near Charlotte, North Carolina, in the part of the ministry known as "Heritage USA". Barb was back home in Indiana getting ready for the wedding while I was working, had rented an apartment for us, and was now waiting on the Father to provide us a car. It was a 15 hour car drive from Indiana to Charlotte.

I had begun working there that May, driving my mom's 'spare' car until I could get my own. The trouble was I had not saved anything towards a new car and mom needed her car back after 2 months. I was seeking the Father about how He was going to get us a car. Earlier in the year Barb and I had made a checklist of everything we'd need in a car: Automatic transmission since her first (and last) effort at learning how to drive a stick shift ended dramatically with my stalled car and other's cars backed up 3 deep at a 4-way stop.

Details, details
We wanted air conditioning as we were going to be living in hot and humid North Carolina, and 4 doors as we'd have wedding presents and such to take to our apartment, and good gas mileage. Once we made our list I was drawn in my spirit to the cover of a car magazine called 'Motor Trend' that pictured the 'Cars of the Year' for 1978: The Plymouth Horizon/Dodge Omni. I knew in my spirit that was what the Father had provided - there was such a pouring out of peace and assurance from my spirit bearing witness to that fact. So we stopped looking.

Several months had passed since I knew we were to have that model of car, but no car materialized. I had pondered how it might happen - a wealthier friend might give us a car, maybe a car for a wedding present from my dad or maybe even my mom or her parents would buy and gift one to us? The scenario played over and over in my mind how God would fulfill His word.

Desperate for that car!
I had been getting rides to and from work from my co-workers, but our wedding day of September 16 was drawing close, only 1 month away, so I hit my knees one Saturday and really, really sought the Father about that car I was going to need in about 3 weeks to make the drive to my wedding in Indiana.

Suddenly I heard His voice, but it wasn't about the car. He started talking to me about how to be a husband, how to treat my wife (He said to treat her like a queen, though I readily admit I've not always fulfilled that instruction) and learn what it meant to lay down my life for her, and other things I've never shared with anyone, not even Barb. But nothing about a car.

Then He told me some other things concerning my time at PTL, where He was sending me to school after PTL, but nothing about a car. When I asked about a car He was silent - no response. Strange I thought since He had just been so talkative about marriage and our future over the next year.

Raising my upper body from the floor and leaning back on my legs, I pondered His silence. It was just like the incidents above with Philip and Peter - I knew the Father and Lord were watching me, watching my mind whirl, watching my heart reason things out.

I concluded that maybe getting that car was actually up to me and not someone else. It may be that someone wasn't being disobedient or hesitating about gifting us a car, maybe the Father was silent because the means to get a car was in my hands.

That couldn't be I thought. I had no money down, had never bought anything on credit - could the Father's provision be THAT easy? Have I been hitching rides these last 2 months and had borrowed mom's car the months before while completely ignoring the possibility the provision was there all along; that the supernatural part would be approval for credit for me? Could it be?

I told Him!
"Father, if you don't tell me about how I'm going to get that car I'm going to march down to the first dealership I find and make a fool of myself trying to buy a car! You'd better talk to me now!" (How bold and foolish was that, even for a 20 year old still wet behind his charismatic ears)

Nothing. Zip. Not a word. He stayed silent and I could tell in my spirit He was watching me like a Father watching a son. But now I was forced to follow through with my threat - so I did. I walked the mile to the first dealership I found, a Chrysler dealership, and there on the lot sat a white Plymouth Horizon that I almost bumped into as I clambered up the hill to the dealer and bounded into the parking lot.

I had never bought a new car, and the $5400 price (brand new, 1978) seemed huge as I was making $150 per week. But they either had some 'new driver' program or were desperate for sales in the natural, but in the spiritual the Father provided, and I drove that car off the lot with no money down and just $157.88 per month.

Another car story
Several years later, after the Plymouth Horizon had driving its last mile, we made some bad business decisions and ended up having to borrow a car once again. This time it was from someone in church and was a big, 2 doors the size of wings, Lincoln Continental. It was OK for me to drive around town, but not suitable for our family of 5. A church had opened up about a 3 hour drive away and we were preparing to move, but once again realized we needed a car and had no means to buy one.

My pay wouldn't start until we had moved to the church, so I knew there was no chance of me securing a loan through a bank as I was still technically unemployed at that point. Yet we were moving in a week and the Father had not provided another car for us.

Once again I had gone through the thought processes about someone giving us a car, but heaven was silent on the matter. One day I was reminded of how I had bought the Plymouth Horizon and told Barb: "Philippians 4:19 is true no matter what the circumstances say; He provides our needs according to HIS riches in glory, and this is a need not a desire. And II Peter 1:3-4 says "All things that pertain to life and godliness have been provided through the Lord", so I have to believe provision is out there. I keep feeling drawn to that little used car lot by the church, so I'm going over there to see if that's where the Father has provided."

Again, we had made up a list: Automatic, 4 doors, air conditioning, good condition, and not required to make any payments until 30 days after taking possession of it. Those were needs, so it was settled in my mind.

As I walked the parking lot I came across a white, 4 door Chevy Impala and asked about it. The lot owner told me he was selling it on consignment for a friend of his from church. When I said I was a pastor and asked what church, I found out I knew the woman who owned the car. The lot owner suggested I call her and talk to her, and he would waive any fees if we worked something out. When I called her she immediately agreed to everything - I told her what I thought we could afford, told her I couldn't start paying her for 30 days, and she said that was fine. I drove it off the lot!

I've shared these stories from my own life because they may help someone not jump off the cliff like everyone else which leads to lack and/or not living in the supernatural provision of heaven - it may help someone realize often when there is no provision, it means it is within your hands to decide to trust God, or not. It is within you to go with natural thinking as Philip did, or to let revelation pour from your heart as did Peter. Much of heaven is 'according to your faith be it unto you'.

The Holy Spirit will lead you to the edge of decision, Jesus still tests us, gives us opportunities to prove our potential - but He can't make the decision for us. Examine the choices before you, be grounded on right priorities, and then do what is right - it may just be outside the box you had been thinking in. More next week - blessings,

John Fenn
www.cwowi.org