Sat, 14 Mar 2026 05:25:46 -0700WeeblySat, 14 Mar 2026 09:00:00 GMThttps://www.cwowi.eu/weekly-thoughts/why-the-wilderness-1of-3Hi all,
 
A common expression is 'I'm going through a wilderness'. Sometimes people say; 'God isn't talking to me' or 'I feel like the Lord has left me.' Sometimes a person feels like they are in a wilderness if they haven't moved in the gifts of the Spirit or had a spiritual dream for a time. All these and more can go with the feeling of being in a dry spiritual wilderness. 
 
We compare our wilderness to Israel in the desert
We feel like we are in a dry place trying to get to a spiritual Promised Land of fulfillment, purpose, and direction, which will give us peace and a closeness to God. In I Corinthians 10:1-13 Paul makes the point concerning Israel, that they were all under the same cloud of God, all went through the same Sea together, all ate the same manna, all 'drank from the same Rock and that Rock was Christ'. Yet with some of them God was not pleased because they fell into sexual sin, idolatry, and lust for the relative abundance they had back in Egypt. So the question is:Why the wilderness and what should we expect from it? Perhaps also:What should our attitude be when we are in a spiritual wilderness?
 
After mentioning Israel in the wilderness, Paul said in v6 and again in v11:"...these things happened to them as examples to admonish us..." The Greek word 'admonish' means to 'draw attention to, a mild rebuke, a warning (to take notice).' In other words - notice, study, learn and don't make their mistakes when you are in your own wilderness. 
 
Consider Israel's wilderness experience...
The Lord gave Israel the 10 Commandments and the rest of the Mosaic law while Israel was in the desert. At that time, roughly 1400 BC, no nation owned that desert. This tells us the Word of God belonged to no single nation. It was for everyone, for any who would have Him. We might also say Jesus (the Word of God in the flesh) hung on the cross between earth and heaven, and in that in-between place owned by no one, He paid the price for all. 
 
Otherwise, if God had given the Word to Israel after they'd settled in the land of Israel, they could have said no other nation may have the Word of God. If the Jews alone had crucified Jesus they might be able to claim Him exclusively as their own. But it was Jews and Gentiles (Romans) involved in the crucifixion of Jesus. Therefore the person who is the Living Word in the midst of His own wilderness, is for all who will receive Him. 
 
Consider too...
If God's Word had been given to Israel within the land of Israel, all other nations would have an excuse not to receive the Lord. They could say with justification He is only Israel's 'god'. But He didn't, so no one has an excuse. The wilderness is no excuse to lose faith in God, for the greatest miracles in Israel's existence happened while they were wandering in the wilderness. He parted the Sea, turned poison water to fresh, made water pour out of a rock, supplied a cloud by day and fire by night, provided manna, quails, their clothes and shoes didn't wear out, and so much more - all while Israel was in the wilderness. 
 
We too must look for His miracles while in our wilderness. Some of them complained of the way the Lord provided for them (manna) - let us not be like that!
 
This pattern of the Lord giving His Word in the wilderness is why so very often, a person draws near to God and feels spiritually strong in those times. Though in a wilderness, inside they are strong. They notice the 'little' miracles of provision (sometimes barely there), but also timing, grace, and many other signs that He is with them, and they are comforted. 
 
Years ago I led a Bible study in a medium security penitentiary. The men in the Bible study had done very serious crimes and were in for life. They were in a wilderness they had made, and would remain until they died. But those men were more free than many people walking through normal life outside the prison walls. They were free in their spirit, in their soul, the Lord being so real, so gracious to them, and they truly exhibited the joy and peace of the Lord in the midst of the prison and its difficult prison culture. 
 
Paul valued his wilderness experiences:"He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is perfected (matured, completed, made whole) in the midst of your weakness.' Therefore I will glory in my weakness that the power of Christ will reside in me." II Corinthians 12:9 
 
Each person's wilderness experience is unique to them, and deeply personal
It can be claimed by no one else, and it proves we are just passing through, which is important to remember. Walking through a wilderness is temporary, just a season in life. When our oldest son Chris had a stroke at age 17, causing him to lose the use of his left arm and much of his left leg, the Lord told Barb:"Make this a moment, not a lifetime." The meaning being from heaven's perspective it is just a fleeting moment, and He wanted her to see that larger perspective in the midst of the crisis. 
 
We aren't to stay in a place where we could say we were victims of circumstance - or that our wilderness came because of the sins of others - no, we shouldn't say that. "If only the Egyptians had just let us go voluntarily", isn't valid. "If only the pastor didn't have the affair with the worship leader I wouldn't feel so angry at them and God." "If pastor hadn't sinned I wouldn't feel like my whole spiritual world has crumbled." No. 
 
No matter who did what and when, remember the saying; "If you don't feel as close to God as you used to, guess who moved?" Israel had to go through a wilderness to get to the Promised Land. Jesus' crucifixion caused the disciples to flee in shock and confusion. But resurrection day came. Wilderness is part of life on earth, but wildernesses are seasonal.
 
Peter wrote this in II Peter 1:4:"...through which are given to us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these we might come into fellowship* with the divine nature..." We look at the promises of God as answered prayer, so we do all to stand 'in faith'. We cast out demons, ask the Father for angels, maybe fast and pray as we await the promise fulfilled. *Greek:koinos, fellowship, having in common
 
But said He gives them first and foremost that we might fellowship in His divine nature. In my experience, in most cases, the quicker I focus on being more Christ-like and growing while I eagerly await the fulfilling of His promise, the faster that promise is answered. Rather than adopting the error that it is all on me to fight and stand and rebuke and fast and pray to see the answer, I stop and draw near to Him. I do all I can in that time to develop the character of Christ and fruit of the spirit while awaiting the promise to be fulfilled. Align your heart with His higher purpose of giving you the promise so you may fellowship with the divine nature, and the wilderness time gets shortened very quickly.
 
Next week; Tenderness in the wilderness. Until then, blessings!
John Fenn
cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com 
 
 
 
]]>Sat, 07 Mar 2026 09:30:00 GMThttps://www.cwowi.eu/weekly-thoughts/where-is-the-fear-of-god-1-of-1Hi all,
 
When I was a child we lived in the country with a horse farm bordering the back of our property. We had about 2.5 acres (1 hectare) with a creek and a few fruit trees on the hill on the other side of the creek. We had a swing set and sand box outside the back door dad had built for we 4 kids. The neighboring horse farm had a cat that regularly wandered onto our property, and used the sand box as a giant litter box. My dad hated that cat because we were always having to clean out the sand box before we could play in it. 
 
One evening I was playing in the sand box when dad burst through the back door with a rifle in hand. I didn't even know there was a gun in the house. Without hesitation he cursed the cat once again, took aim as it walked along our back fence about 110 yards away (100m), and with 1 shot killed it. At that moment I was afraid of my dad. I was probably 6 or 7 years old at the time, and being afraid of my dad was a new emotion for me. I knew him as the one the dog and I wrestled with, the one who cut my hair in the basement, the one who taught me how to shake hands and shine my shoes - I didn't know him as a man with a gun who would kill a cat! That was a revelation. 
 
When we had horses
I told my sons not to think of their horses as giant pets. I told them they may love their horse and think their horse loves them, but never forget they are a 1,000 pound animal (453k). Love them, but never forget their power. 
 
In Numbers 16:9 when Korah and friends, who were Levitical priests, rebelled against the leadership of Moses and Aaron, Moses asked him:"Do you think it is a small thing that the Lord chose you from the congregation to minister in the tabernacle and minister to the congregation?" In Jeremiah 23:32 the Lord says of false prophets; "They cause my people to err because of their lies and their 'lightness'." The word 'lightness' is 'pachazuth', meaning frivolous, extravagance, lightness, casualness. 
 
The common thread among these examples is a lack of a revelation:Me that my dad could kill. My sons that their horses were powerful. Korah that they were responsible to God. The Lord had revealed Himself to Israel by the plagues of Egypt, the miracles in the wilderness - because a revelation of His power should put the fear of God in a person. Today, the revelation of His power, His highest and best exertion of His power, was when He raised Jesus from the dead. With that, we are to see, know, understand and let it sink into our being, His power revealed when He saved us. Saved us from h*ll, prison, sin - whatever it was - He saved us through the exertion of His mighty power when He raised Jesus from the dead which eventually caused us to be born again in our spirit. When we think of that power in our lives, which has changed us so dramatically, the fear of God is the natural response. Stir that up once in a while! Live in it! Live in the awe of what He has done in us, for us, with us! When we know that, then we start the path of learning. 
 
The casual approach to the things of God in many churches and Internet today is reflected in the frequency of 'words' prophets or other ministers say are from God. It is reflected in the corruption and immorality so frequently revealed in pastors and ministers. It is reflected in the casual familiarity of those who call Almighty God the Father, 'daddy', in a misunderstanding of the use of the word 'abba' in the first century. This lack of the fear of God shuts off revelation for teaching, revelation in worship, revelation for holy living. 
 
I'm not talking about being afraid of the Father or Lord just because we sin here and there, or even if a person battles something habitual. No, I'm talking about a casual approach to the things of God within Christian culture. Many auditorium churches have exchanged the flow for the show, the manifest presence (anointing) of God for emotion, and going deep in the Spirit in worship for smoke and lasers. 
 
Sometime a few decades ago the idea took over that churches should not challenge people in a service and have the highest and best of everything in order to attract people to Christ. A church would raise millions for real Italian marble in the foyer or a million or more for the best sound system while many in their congregation couldn't pay their rent. Priorities were switched from caring for the true church to caring for the building called church. Appearance became what mattered. In the name of being relevant, the altar calls, fear of God, and preaching of absolutes ended. The things of God became a system, a formula, a scheduled professional presentation. 
 
"Be still and know that I am God"
That is from Psalm 46:10 and answers the question:"How can I get a (revelation) of the fear of God?"
 
Be still and know that I am God. Be still and think what He saved you from. Be still and mediate on where you'd be without Him. Awe, fear, worship is the natural response to that level of personal revelation. It is in that stillness we contemplate, we search, we shift attention down to our spirit where He reveals Himself. A rabbi said:Silence is the most powerful prayer. Rabbi Shimon son of Gamliel said:"All my days I have grown up around the wise, and I have found nothing better than silence." Many rabbi's write of silence being the main way to connect with God. 
 
Silence is not just the absence of sound, it is a state of being, 
A state of quietness of whole-self, of coming to the end of yourself to sit, stand, work, in His presence. When a person is silent in their being, they can work, they can sit - it is a state of being, not the lack of sound.
 
The ancient priests did not talk at all when performing sacrifices in the temple - the choir did - the people did - but the priests when making sacrifices to God did not talk at all. They were to be in a state of communion with the Lord through silence - observant, reflective - but actively doing their job. It is a condition of humbling oneself before God, silence in His presence in both the awe and fearful respect of the Almighty. 
 
Some might call it meditation, or shifting the mind to neutral, which allows for reflection, inner thoughts, thoughts turned to the spirit of man. In I Samuel 1:10-13 Hannah prayed silently for a son, whom she promised to dedicate to the Lord. Eli the priest saw her lips move slightly, but heard no sound. God heard her prayer. In Genesis 21:15-17 Hagar and teenager Ishmael are sent out into the wilderness. There, with water gone, she lays him under a shrub then walks away, saying to herself she can't stand to see her son die. But in v17 the Lord tells her twice 'I have heard the voice of the boy'. 
 
It was in that silence of near death for young Ishmael that the Lord heard him. It was in Hannah's silent prayer, that the Lord heard her. It is written in the Torah that when Sarah laughed in the Lord's presence when He told her she would have a son, in Genesis 18:12-13, that she laughed in silence to herself - but the Lord heard her. 
 
I have found most of the time, when I am in the Spirit and the Lord comes to visit me, it is when I am silent that He comes. I see Him in our conferences quite often while we are in worship. I have seen Him in house church meetings, often in worship. But most often, my most private times with Him that I never share with anyone, happen when I am silent. 
 
Paul wrote in I Corinthians 14:10 that there are many voices in this world, and none without significance. Consider turning off those voices, including your own. Yes, stop talking. In ancient times in the Breslov branch of Hasidic Judaism they practiced silence while walking out in fields. There is also a 'taanit dibbur' meaning 'a fast of words.' We fast food, we fast TV, we fast sweets. Consider fasting words for a time. In Judaism the most profound, private prayer is called 'tefillah be-lachash' or 'the silent prayer', based on Hannah's silent prayer of the heart in I Samuel 1. 
 
Consider silence to gain or regain the fear of the Lord. You won't find it in church. And...when the mind wanders, reign it back in to focus on the Lord. I have found the Lord to be a perfect gentleman in that He won't talk as long as I am talking. I employ this when I lay hands on someone for prayer. I tell them to be quiet - no praying, no praying in tongues - silence, for as long as they are talking He will not. I won't start praying for them until they are silent. Then He can flow into them and in them. 
 
And I'm ending this 1 page 'Thoughts' about the fear of God, to pick up next time with a related topic:Why the wilderness? Until then, blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org and email me at john@cwowi.org
 
 
]]>Sat, 28 Feb 2026 08:00:00 GMThttps://www.cwowi.eu/weekly-thoughts/insights-and-understanding-4-of-4Hi all,
 
The word 'tzitzit' (tsit-zit) means 'fringes', which was commanded by God to be on the clothing of ancient Israelis as a reminder of the Word of God in Numbers 15:37-41:
 
"Speak to the Israelites and say to them to make tzitzit (tassels) on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, with a blue cord on each tzitzit. You will have these tassels to look at to remind you of the Word of God, to do all His commands, that you may obey them and not follow your own hearts and eyes to fulfill your lusts. Then you will remember to obey all my commands and that you are consecrated to your God." 
 
The strings (tassels) must be tied directly to the clothing which means no clip-on tassels are permitted. There are 4, one on each corner, with each made of 4 threads (one of them blue) looped over to make 8 total. Then 5 knots are made in the 8 tassels near the top, making the tassel (tzitzit) into one cord. Because the Hebrew alphabet has a number associated with each letter, the name 'tzitzit' in Hebrew is also the number 600. By including the 5 knots in the 8 tassels for a total of 13, they add up to 613 - the number of laws in the Law of Moses, reminding the wearer of the commands of the Lord. 
 
Why a blue thread?
In ancient Israel every Israelite's clothing had a tzitzit at each corner of their clothes. Over time clothing styles changed, and now they have prayer shawls with tzitzit, usually of wide blue and white stripes. In ancient times God commanded a blue thread be included among the white threads. The blue dye was made from the chilazon snail, a type of Murex, that lives in the Mediterranean. Blue is the color of heaven and God; reminding each Israelite they were God's nobility, called as a nation to be a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:6).
 
What David did
The whole of I Samuel 24 is about David cutting off the hem of Saul's robe while Saul was relieving himself in the cave where David was hiding. Verse 5 tells us David's conscience 'struck him', which is a good translation of the Hebrew 'nakah'. It means to 'strike, beat, give a wound, or punish'. David felt very convicted he had cut the hem of Saul's garment. In ancient times and in some funerals today, a person's tzitzit was cut off at their funeral, showing they are no longer bound to the Laws of Moses. Some customs bury the person with their prayer shawl, but with one of the tzitzit damaged or removed to show the same. 
 
David's conscience bothered him because he had performed the funeral ceremony of cutting off a tzitzit from Saul, telling him that he is a dead man, released from having to obey God's Word - a direct reference to I Samuel 15 when Saul deliberately disobeyed the Lord - talk about putting salt in the wound David! David's repentance was so powerful Saul himself repented for trying to kill David, and went home. 
 
What the woman of Mark 5 did
In Matthew 9:20, Mark 5:24-34 and Luke 8:43-44 we see a woman with a severe and chronic (12 years) hemorrhaging condition. "When she had heard of Jesus she touched his clothes, for she said within herself; If I just touch the hem of His clothes I will be whole.'" He told her:"Your faith has made you whole." 
 
A few chapters later, in Matthew 14:35-36, we are told:"And when the people of the place recognized Jesus was there, they told everyone in the area. People brought their sick to Him and begged Him to at least let them touch the hem of His clothes, and all who touched it were healed."
 
We could speculate that because she is first mentioned in Matthew 9 of touching the hem (tzitzit) of His clothes and was healed, the crowds of Matthew 14 had heard how she was healed, and emulated her, full of faith because of her faith and actions. We don't know, but we do know the tzitzit stands for the Word of God, and there in the crowd before their very eyes was the Word of God in the flesh - the whole of the Word fulfilling the 613 commands perfectly, in the flesh - and just touching the Living Word through touching the tzitzit, healed many people. 
 
The Lord's Supper - part of a larger communal meal
In most churches today, the Lord's Supper is celebrated as a separate part of a service. In the first century the Lord's Supper was part of the meal. Matthew 26:26:"As they were eating Jesus took the bread and blessed it, and gave it to His disciples saying; Take, eat, this is my body...." Mark 14:22:"While they were eating Jesus took the bread..." 
 
In house church, food is integral, and in some cultures today resembles the way Jesus celebrated that first 'Lord's Supper'. In fact it was the celebration of these community meals that helped Christianity grow so quickly throughout the Roman Empire. This is because Roman, Greek, and Jewish culture all had these large family and friends meals as part of the basic social fabric of Mediterranean life in the first century. When Jews, Greeks, and Romans became Christians, they naturally incorporated Christ into the community meals they'd been doing all their lives.
 
In Judaism, Jews didn't eat with Gentiles, but they had their own community meal. Romans looked down on the Greeks, but each culture had their own community meals. A good example of them coming together is seen in Acts 18 with the founding of the church at Corinth. Paul led many Jews in the synagogue to Jesus, and as such needed to meet in someone else's house, which turned out to be a Roman name Justus. We are told "and many of the Corinthians (Greeks) also believed and were baptized." Later, in I Corinthians 11:17-34 some of those in this racially and socio-economically mixed body of believers, refused to eat with the rest. 
 
For Romans, the community meal, the meal was open to family, friends, and neighbors, but segregated by social and economic status. For Greeks, usually only elite people were invited, the poorer classes were shunned. For Jews, only Jews were invited. The meal was about remembering their history, bonding around the things of God, reinforcing their unique identity and strengthening social and family bonds. Now imagine these 3 cultures thrown together for a community meal. They were all new believers in Jesus, and each had their own expectations of what these meals should look like. Additionally, Corinth was a sea port and it was known that the city's white collar workers never mixed with dock workers, sailors, and shop owners. It is no wonder Paul's first letter to the Corinthians addressed at least 10 major issues! At least 3 of those involved separating into insulated little groups who didn't associate with the others, and strife!
 
Paul brought it all together for them in I Corinthians 11:17-34 by writing to them to focus on the real reason they had come together:To celebrate the life, sacrifice, and promises of Jesus Christ. Paul urged them in so many words to lay aside that which divides; their prejudices, their preconceived ideas of what the traditional communal meal should look like, and focus on Jesus. Paul repeats what he said he learned directly from the Lord:Take the bread which represents the body broken, and the wine which represents the blood shed, and partake together. 
 
Paul told those who chose to separate from the others; "Many are weak and sickly among you, and many have died early, because you have not properly discerned the Lord's body." In context, the discerning of the Lord's body isn't about healing, but about the body of Christ. That He died and rose for Jew, Greek and Roman, and if you dismiss race, socio-economic, and life history issues from those in the room, you can focus on what Jesus did for each one present. This provides for a true community meal. 
 
If you are in a house church, or maybe a Bible study or prayer group, consider this:Have a meal together and somewhere after everyone has eaten most of their meal but still talking and eating and sharing, step in to casually pass around bread and juice or wine. Get everyone's attention, and point out the rich conversations going on, how Jesus saved each person with no concern for who they were or where they came from, just that He loves each one - and then after a moment to consider and get one's heart right, eat the bread, drink the fruit of the vine....and then continue in the conversations, reflections, and appreciation for each one present. 
 
More insights and understandings next week to close the series. Until then, blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com or john@cwowi.org
 
 
 
]]>Sat, 21 Feb 2026 12:00:00 GMThttps://www.cwowi.eu/weekly-thoughts/insights-and-understanding-3-of-4Hi all,
 
During the time I was on staff as the Bible school Director of a large megachurch, about 1998 or 1999, a well known teacher was a guest speaker during a week-long conference. Because of my position Barb and I were seated on the front row a few seats from the Pastor. At one point the speaker asked the congregation to come forward and leave $100 cash or checks written to her on the platform as a point of faith. When I say 'asked' I am being polite. More like yelled at, urged, exhorted, preached at, all with a dose of condemnation for those who didn't comply. It was to get from God whatever the desire was:Healing, financial breakthrough, loved one to be saved, or something else. 
 
Barb and I were horrified at her manipulation, and were even more horrified when senior members of the church staff got up and did as she requested. To my great shame I too got up and left a check on the platform in what would prove to be the last 'fear of man' act of my life. I glared at the pastor as I walked back to my seat, wanting him to put a stop to the nonsense. But at the same time I felt pressured by him and my immediate boss (the Associate Pastor) to comply. 
 
Some time after that set of meetings I got the dreaded phone call from the pastor. When I saw the caller ID on my office phone I froze in fear, but just then the Lord spoke to me:"I'm the one who put you here and I'm the only one who can remove you." All fear of being fired left, peace came, and I answered the phone. (I wasn't fired)
 
The core teaching from; 'Give $100 to get your answered prayer', finds its roots in the earlier Word of Faith teaching of the 100 fold return. 
That phrase is from Mark 4:1-20, the Parable of the Sower (Planter). In v1-8 Jesus teaches the parable of the planter planting seed; Some fell by the path and birds came and ate the seed. Other seed fell on stony ground, but because it had no soil once sprouted it dried up and withered away. Some fell among thorns (weeds) and the weeds choked off the seed so it never grew to the point it produced. And in v8, some fell on good ground and produced some thirty, some sixty, and some one hundred fold. 
 
He went into detail privately with the disciples in v13-20, explaining the ground represents the human heart, and the various conditions the Word (Jesus is the Word) finds when it (He) is planted in hearts. The good soil produced He said now for the 2nd time in v20; "Some 30, some 60, some 100 fold". The rest of the chapter through v34 is related to this parable, including the instruction to be careful what we hear, and that how we value the things of God is how He will give to us. (v24)
 
Word of Faith (WOF) teachers took the '100 fold return' out of context, turning it into a teaching about giving - give to get - that if you give $10 God will give you back $100 or $1000. Clearly that is wrong. Here is what Jesus meant by the expression; "some 30, some 60, some 100 fold return." 
 
This was a common agricultural assessment of a crop. 
Farmers would talk of getting 30, 60, or 100 fold return on their crop in any given year. The '100 fold return' is not a mathematical statement, but rather one of completion, maturity, the best one could get out of the given situation. Consider that if a seed falls on stony ground and only sprouts, that is the best it could have done in that situation. If a seed falls among thorns and weeds and grows up but gets choked off, it is the best that seed could have done in that situation. 
 
The good heart is like good soil and produces 100 fold - not a literal amount, but of maturity and completion. It produced the highest and best it could because it had good soil. Today we use 10 or 100 in the same way. For example:On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your interaction with our team member today? Or:How pretty is she (or handsome is he)? A 6 or 8? How do you like our product on a scale of 1 to 100? You aren't literally saying you found the number 10 or 100 as a mathematical formula, rather a representation of the highest and best. That's how Jesus was using percents. 
 
I read once somewhere about a farmer whose crop got hit by hail. But it wasn't a total loss, for he was able to harvest enough to pay the bank what he owed and live on for the next year. But all around him farmers were completely wiped out, unable to meet their loan payments. While the farmer was very disappointed with his crop, a friend pointed out he was in far better condition than any other farmer in the area, telling him he got a 100 fold return - he got the best return he could for the given circumstances. 
 
Let me say it another way. Sometimes because the situation is rocky, you will only get a 30 fold return - but that is the best you could do given the situation. Sometimes 'weeds' may have grown up to interfere with a transaction or family situation, giving you only 60 fold of what you wanted. But for the situation, 60 fold was the best you could do. You got the most out of it by God's grace that could be had for that situation. 
 
This kind of thing happens all the time in our lives - God's grace in difficult situations - and we need to start seeing that while we often don't get the fullness of the 'crop' we desired, we did by His grace get the fullness of what we could given the situation. It may be just 30 or 60 fold, but it was the highest and best possible outcome for the given situation. 
 
Can the devil hear your prayer language? (And is there a prayer language with which we speak to the devil?)
I Corinthians 13:1:"Though I speak in the tongues (languages) of men and angels, if I don't have love..." In Romans 8:26-27 we are told our infirmity is that we don't know how to pray as we should, so the Holy Spirit joins us so that we pray 'according to the will of God', speaking of tongues.  
 
A key point in that verse is that tongues is to the Father. It isn't to the devil. There are intense tongues spoken in intercession during which you know you are heavily interceding for someone and the Father uses that prayer to Him to help the oppressed be free of demonic forces and strengthened spiritually and emotionally, but the prayer is to the Father. I remember once seeing a famous TV preacher bringing someone on stage for deliverance and telling the crowd to stretch their hands towards the woman and pray in tongues 'against the devil'. Nope, that isn't what the New Testament says. Tongues goes to the Father. The devil doesn't shriek at the sound of your prayer language. He isn't afraid. To him, it's a language like any other of men or angels - from which he came. 
 
We might ask:Does the devil understand the words of an American, German, Chinese, Spanish or Italian? Yes, for the devil and his minions are all over the planet. So does he also understand languages of angels, from whom he fell? Yes, of course. If I move to Germany and need to speak German, I was raised with American English and will remember it. So what difference does it make if the devil understands what I am praying to the Father, whether in my native language or a heaven-given language I never learned? 
 
I asked the Lord in a visitation when He was teaching me some of these things:"Why tongues? It's so controversial and misunderstood." He replied (shortened):"If you can receive this, the earth was delegated to man, so for the most part the Father and I function by invitation in the earth. Though we retain our right as Creator. But man doesn't know how to pray as he should. The Father had to find a way to by-pass man's ignorance to get His will done on earth. He does this by giving a person a language they never learned, by-passing their ignorance, and filling that language with His will and His emotions and His desires, in their spirit. Then they pray it to Him, completing the loop and make the transaction legal. For truly, truly I tell you:No one will be able to bring accusation against us on that day. All will be revealed to have been done justly and in righteousness." 
 
That may be lots to think about, enough for today, I'll close the series next week. Until then, blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org and email me at john@cwowi.org
 
 
 
 
]]>Sat, 14 Feb 2026 11:00:00 GMThttps://www.cwowi.eu/weekly-thoughts/insights-and-understanding-2-of-4-wedding-outer-darkness​Hi all,
 
In the Parable of the Wedding Feast of Matthew 22:1-14 the guests are assembled, but one guest isn't wearing a wedding garment. When asked why, he is speechless. The order is given he be thrown out to the outer darkness where there is weeping and the gnashing of teeth. Jesus concludes saying:For many are invited, but few are chosen. 
 
The parable starts with:"The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king, who made a marriage for his son." Jesus is obviously talking about the Father and Himself. Verse 3 says:He sent servants to call them (it was time to start) who had been invited, but they would not come." In the first century it was custom for the host to send reminders of the great day approaching. Verses 4-5 tells us the king sent more servants, and told those invited about all the food and provision made for them; "But they made light of it." Literally; "They paid no attention to the invitation", and went back to their farms and jobs. 
 
In verses 6-7 it says some of those people even treated the messengers horribly and even killed some. The king was angry and sent His armies to kill those who had murdered his servants and destroyed their city. This is an obvious reference to the treatment (Old Testament) prophets had received at the hands of unbelieving Jews of Israel. So the king in verses 8-10 instructs his servants to invite those who had not been originally invited (Gentiles in the parable), and he said, the good and the bad were invited. 
 
In verses 11-12 the king notices someone there without a wedding garment and asks how he got there. The man was speechless. 
 
Wedding garments in the orient
It was the custom of the day for a king hosting a wedding or a host in a 'regular' wedding, to provide a light linen outer coat to all guests. This custom persists in modern form in China where guests are often provided wedding coats or other gifts by the bride and groom to show appreciation for them coming to their wedding. In Jesus' day kings and 'regular' weddings, the host provided a light linen coat so all guests would be properly clothed and equal being all dressed the same, no matter their social status. The wearing of the provided wedding garment showed at the wedding there was no rank, no social status, the king or host was making all equal for the happy day, so all could mix and mingle freely. 
 
The man without such a wedding garment stood out, making it clear he had tried to come to the wedding of his own accord. This is symbolic of a person trying to work their way into heaven, into the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. The man was given the opportunity to confess but he was silent. "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so" from Psalm 107:2 states, but the man was silent. He wasn't redeemed yet tried to get into (heaven) the wedding feast on his own. Romans 10:9-10 which came long after Jesus' parable in Matthew, also says we believe with our heart but confession to salvation is made with our mouth. The man was silent, meaning not saved. 
 
Outer darkness
The king then arrested him and had him thrown out into 'outer darkness' where there is weeping and the gnashing of teeth. In those day as in many parts of the world today, there are no street lights. The wedding banquet was fully lit with many oil lamps, but they did not light the streets. The term 'outer darkness' was a first century term used when someone was kicked out of a business or home, meaning 'kicked to the street' or 'kicked to the curb' we might say. They had been in the place of light and found themselves thrown out into the darkness, the term 'weeping and gnashing of teeth' was a term for that person being quite angry. Update it to modern terms and think of a person thrown out of a pub, bar, or restaurant and out on the street cursing and spitting in anger at his fate. But it was his own actions that caused others to throw him out. 
 
In the parable it is a picture of the unsaved, on the outside looking in to those who readily accepted both the invitation AND the wedding garment the host had provided. 
 
You may recall in Genesis 3:21 the Lord God made coats of skins for Adam and Eve, covering their (sin) nakedness. Ephesians 5:27 says for husbands to love their wives as Christ does the church, that He might present it to Himself 'without spot or wrinkle' on our garments. In The Revelation 19:7-14 it say of the believers in heaven at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb:"To them was given fine linen clean and white. For the linen is the righteousness of the saints." These same saints in v14 still clothed in their wedding clothes accompany the Lord on horses at Armageddon at His return.
 
Many are invited but few are chosen
I mentioned above the custom of the host sending out reminders before the day of the wedding feast. Upon acceptance it is understood the guests arrive and are given the wedding garment. This means the chosen are those who accept AND comply with the condition of attending. They choose to accept the invitation and are therefore chosen to be allowed in - whereas the man who refused the wedding garment and refused to confess was thrown out. Many are invited, but few of the invited comply with the invitation's requirements. True believers in Jesus have both accepted the invitation AND complied with the condition. Consider the famous John 3:16:God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son, that all who believe in Him will have eternal life. The invitation is there for God invited us by giving us His Son. The requirement is to believe in that Son. The invitation is given, but few will comply with the requirement within the invitation. 
 
The cross in the desert
As Israel starts its march across the desert the Lord gives them very specific instructions about how they are to travel. Their general direction is east, having come from Egypt and going east to Israel. In Numbers 1:50 He says to 'camp around the tabernacle' behind family standards, with Levites in the center. The tabernacle with the cloud of day and pillar of fire by night was at the very center of the camp. Chapter 2 has God's instructions on which tribe travels on which side of the tabernacle as they march forward. In v3-9 the Lord says the "east side toward the rising of the sun' will be Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, totaling 186,400. This is the majority of the population, making it a long column as they marched behind tribal standards. 
 
The north and south sides were roughly equal. The south tribes were Reuben, Simeon, and Gad for 151,450. The north was Dan, Asher, and Naphtali for 157,600. These were like 2 pillars or arms proceeding from the central tabernacle, even as Judah, Issachar and Zebulun were the long leg of 186,400 extending far east. On the west was the fewest of all, comprised of Ephraim, and half tribes of Manasseh and Benjamin, for 108,100. If you look at this from the air, it makes a perfect cross, with Judah leading the way towards as the Lord said, the rising of the sun. 
 
Another cross...
Nearly 1000 years later Judah finds itself captive in Babylon, most of the population having been captured and transported there by Nebucadnezzar. Those include Daniel and Ezekiel. Some quickly fall away from their faith, while others remain faithful. In Ezekiel 9:4 the Lord tells Ezekiel to go and put a mark on the heads of those who cry out when they see the sins of their brethren, marking them as belonging to God. The word 'mark' is 'tav' or 'taw' and was expressed differently through the centuries, but often as an + or X. 
 
Marks on the forehead (or wrist) were later used by Rome when they took slaves, taking away their name and tattooing a number on their head or wrist. The 666 of The Revelation communicates that those who receive that mark are slaves of that economic and political system. In Romans 16:22-23 we learn who received dictation from Paul for the letter to the Romans:"I Tertius who wrote this letter greet you...Erastus the Treasurer of the city greets you, and Quartus, a brother." 
 
Paul wrote to the Romans from Corinth, for the name Erastus was discovered there stating he was in fact the Treasurer of the city. The name 'Tertius' is the Roman number 3, and Quartus is the Roman number 4, showing in Christ socio-economic status means nothing, for the great apostle had working with him the Treasurer and two slaves - amazing grace. 
 
More next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com
 
 
 
]]>Sat, 07 Feb 2026 09:00:00 GMThttps://www.cwowi.eu/weekly-thoughts/insights-and-understanding-1-of-4​Hi all,
 
I love studying Jewish culture of the Bible because it provides context and understanding of things otherwise lost on us. And some things don't have anything to do with culture:Sometimes a preacher will lift a verse out of context and twist the meaning for a sermon, book, or web grab, so what we think is God really isn't. So I hope this will be fun and at least part of it new information.
 
Some of what we'll cover in this series is:Can the devil hear your prayer language? What is the 100 fold return? What is 'outer darkness'? What is the significance of the 'clean linen' at the Marriage Super of the Lamb? Why did Steven say he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God? And more!
 
We can't know His higher ways
Many a preacher has based a sermon about the mysteries of God on Isaiah 55:7-11:
 
"Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth:It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."
 
The focus is always on we cannot know God's higher ways. His ways are higher, His thoughts are higher, and we mere humans cannot know these higher things. But look at what it actually says:"Let the wicked forsake (leave, turn his back on and leave) their ways and their (unrighteous) thoughts and the Lord....will pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your ways my ways."
 
The passage actually commands that we leave our ways and thoughts and come up to His higher ways and thoughts. It isn't a statement that He is too high and we too low, rather an invitation to forsake our ways and thoughts and come up to His ways and thoughts. 
 
This is consistent with New Testament realities, including Romans 12:1-2 which says to present our bodies a living sacrifice, undergo a metamorphosis by renewing our minds to His ways and thoughts, and thus we will be able to walk out the good, acceptable and complete will of God. He invites us in Isaiah 55:7-11 to come up to His ways and thoughts. 
 
When I was a teenager I saw this, and set my heart on Psalm 103:7:"He made known His ways to Moses; His acts to the children of Israel." The 'acts' were the miracles the people of Israel saw as they wandered in the wilderness. Even as a teen I had seen Christians living miracle to miracle, with low valleys in between in a roller coaster faith. But Moses knew the ways of God. If we know the ways then the miracles will happen. We can live in His ways and thoughts because we have thoroughly forsaken our own.
 
Why did Steven see Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father?
The whole of Acts 7 is taken by Steven being arrested and giving his defense before the Sanhedrin. His martyrdom happened like this in v55-59:
 
"But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep."
 
Why did Steven see Jesus standing - not sitting - at the right hand of God? Why did it cause them to be enraged enough to drag him out of the city and execute him? It is from Isaiah 3:13:"The Lord stands to plead (accuse), and stands to judge the people." There are several other scriptures that talk of Him standing or arising to judge. 
 
In Judaism God's judgment is seen in two actions:Standing up or arising, and sitting down. The standing up/arising is the accusation against the accused, it is the charging of the crime, for which the Lord states His case. This is seen in Isaiah 2:19-21 and 33:10. Vs 19:"And they will run to holes in the rocks and caves of the earth for fear of the Lord and the glory of His Majesty, when He arises to terribly shake the earth." This is when God comes forward to accuse, to lay the charges against the guilty. He stands to do so. 
 
His accusation is irrefutable because He is Truth. Therefore the accusation contains the sentence. Accused by God, the person knows instantly the accusation is true and accurate in every way. God then sits down to render His judgment. 
 
When Steven saw Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father, the whole of the Sanhedrin understood the Lord was bringing accusation against THEM, not him. Instead, he never sees Jesus sit down. Their destiny lay in their response to Jesus standing. And yet, Steven showed grace. Why? Because as he is dying he says:"Lord lay not this sin to their charge." In other words, 'Lord, dismiss the charges against them, do not hold them accountable.' Once Steven released them from the sin of his murder, the accusation/judgement was dropped. Case dismissed. Whatever other sins the members of the Sanhedrin may stand account for on that day, murdering Steven won't be one of them. 
 
Here is what it means for you and I
This why the New Testament says Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father. (Colossians 3:1, Hebrews 10:12, 12:2, I Peter 3:22) Jesus brings no accusation against His own. He carried the 'handwriting of ordinances that was against us, taking it out the way, nailing it to His cross.' The cross caused the dismissal of all charges against us, nailing it to His cross. Jesus is therefore seated with the Father. Now He oversees the body of believers who have accepted His payment of the accusations and justification for those who believe. (Acts 13:39, I Corinthians 6:11) We are justified by faith in Christ.  
 
All accusations, all charges have been dropped, so He isn't standing to accuse. In fact it is better than that, for I Corinthians 6:11 says:"...now are we justified in the name of the Lord Jesus by the Spirit of God." Justification means not just pardoned, not just the charges dismissed that were leveled against you, but you stand before the court as if there never were any charges. The Judge justifies us because we've been washed in His blood. All things are new and all things new are of God. 
 
Jesus stands to accuse, and sits to render judgment. II Corinthians 5:10 says:"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for the things he did while in his body, good or bad." So we don't come before a standing Jesus who might stand to accuse, but rather with no accusation, He sits to judge what we've done while in our body. This isn't a threat of hell, for we are already part of His Kingdom. A father may catch his child doing wrong, but there is no threat of disowning the child, only within the family a reckoning. That is the judgment seat of Christ. Not based on accusation, but based on what we've done since being in Him. 
 
So if you've believed the judgment seat of Christ is about you may not be allowed into heaven, now you see the truth. You're already a child of the king, He isn't going to kick you out. He is seated at the right of the Father. The Father was in Christ reconciling us to Himself. Old things are gone, all is new, and what is new is of God. 
 
Amazing grace!
More next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com

]]>Sat, 31 Jan 2026 19:00:00 GMThttps://www.cwowi.eu/weekly-thoughts/it-isnt-about-us-going-to-heaven-2-of-2-purity-not-perfectionHi all,
 
I've been sharing how the focus of New Testament living is about the Father's will being done in our lives, rather than; 'Lord beam me up!'. As The Revelation closes, we see heaven coming to earth, not earth beamed up to heaven. Most of the NT is focused on the kingdom of heaven coming to earth. Let us have that same mindset. (Rev 21:2)
 
"Father in heaven, holy is your name" is how Jesus started His teaching on the pattern of prayer we call The Lord's Prayer. 
Everything else in that prayer is traced directly back to and flows from, 'holy is your name'. 
 
Let's go back to the Garden of Eden when Adam named the animals. (Genesis 2:18-20) The rabbi's say the names Adam gave them were the result of him knowing the character, nature, and place in creation each animal and its kind fit. We do the same today, one of the better known cases might be the naming of a dinosaur 'Tyrannosaurus Rex' or 'terrible lizard', summing up its character after looking at its bones. 
 
When Jesus said 'holy is your name' the focus isn't on a particular name but rather used as a summary for all the attributes of His Being. People get side-tracked arguing over the proper name of God, not satisfied with 'Father' or even 'Jesus', completely missing the point that 'holy is your name' means the sum total of His nature and character. The use of 'Father' completely sums up His character, nature, loving-kindness and justice within His Being. 
 
Similarly, we are called Christians, first seen in Acts 11:26. The title 'Christian' literally means 'kinsman of Christ', but in use it means a follower of Christ. With that identifier we can say the attributes of Christ are within us and we are set aside for His use. The words 'sanctification' or 'set apart for use' and the word 'holy' are often considered synonymous. I would say it this way:Holy is belonging to the divine. Holiness is the condition or state of being holy. 
 
Purity not perfection
You are holy without being perfect. Purity is in our spirit, our soul is being renewed to think more like Him daily, and our bodies have been made a living sacrifice. "We have this treasure in earthen vessels (earthly bodies) that the glory will be of God and not of us." II Corinthians 4:7 states this mystery. It isn't about us. It's about Him. So eyes off self.
 
When Jesus said in Matthew 5:38-48 in His great instruction on walking in love with those who don't love us, He concluded saying in the King James Version:"Be perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect." The use of 'perfect' in 1611 English meant 'mature, complete', not as we use it today meaning no imperfections at all. The Greek 'teleios' means 'complete' or 'mature.' "Be complete/mature (in love) as your Father in heaven is complete/mature (in love)." He is always moving us towards greater love within the framework of holiness. 
 
The Father's grace is so overwhelming that when we have a revelation of the depths of our own sin we can scarcely take it in. Human tendency is to turn inward at the sins of the past or present and conclude we are doomed to hell in spite of New Testament realities. They believe their own fears and doubts rather than believing God. This process of course is part of the growing up in Christ everyone of us must do. Yes, His grace is overwhelming. And yes we sinned and continue to sin, and maybe said things to Him like a toddler having a tantrum with their parents that cause us to fear we have offended Him beyond grace. But being holy is about how He recreated us and placed us in His family, not about our imperfections. 
 
He planned us while we were still within His mind before time began. II Timothy 1:9 says of the Father:"Who saved us and called us with a holy calling not according to what we've done, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before times eternal." 
 
It's too late to argue the point
It's like someone telling me the baptism with the Holy Spirit or healing's aren't for today. Too late, I've already received the Holy Spirit, opened the eyes of the blind, opened the ears and speech of the deaf and dumb - I'm already walking in what they say doesn't exist today. So too is someone who says they sinned too much and are doomed for hell, even though they love Jesus with all their heart. Too late, He already recreated your spirit meaning Christ is in you. It's too late, He already made you one of His children, part of a royal family. Too late; He saw every sin we would ever do, and still in times eternal gave us Christ. Wow. 
 
This truth comes home when we understand:“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid. And because of his joy, he goes out and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. Upon finding a pearl of great value, he went out and sold all that he had and bought it."
 
In these parables Jesus is the man who finds a treasure in a field (the world). 
Jesus is the merchant who traveled far and found a pearl 'of great value', and then sold all He had and bought it. WE are the pearl of great price which He bought with His own blood. You see, it's too late for us. He already saved us before times eternal. 
 
In I Corinthians 6:9 Paul states the unrighteousness (those who don't know Jesus) will not enter the kingdom of heaven. He then lists lifestyles of the unrighteous just to be sure they knew who he was talking about. Lifestyles of promiscuity, adulterers, effeminate, abusers of themselves with mankind, thieves, drunkards, extortionists, and rioters (riotous living) will not inherit the kingdom of God. Then he says:
 
"And such were some of you (proving he was talking about lifestyle not individual sins done after knowing Christ). But now you are washed, now you are sanctified (made holy), now you are justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ by the Spirit of God." v11 Washed, set aside, justified. Justification is an amazing word. It doesn't mean a person was charged with a crime and then had their record erased. It is a legal term for a judge stating no charges existed in the first place. NOW are we justified Paul wrote. 
 
Some get stuck on what they did, even after they came to know the Lord. In their spirits they are pure, but that treasure is in a soul greatly burdened and a body used to sinning. That is the whole process Paul describes in Romans 12:1-3, where he says to make our body a living sacrifice, then we will undergo a metamorphosis as we change how we think, and then we will be able to 'prove (walk out) the good, acceptable, and complete (perfect) will of God.
 
"Fear not little flock, it is the Father's good pleasure (Greek:Father took delight) giving you the kingdom." Luke 12:32
 
Jesus' statement had nothing to do with our imperfections. No! The Father knows all that, saw all that, made provision for all of that, and STILL found it in His good pleasure to give us the kingdom. Purity, not perfection. Perfection will come and He has the long-term view. It IS about us forging our way seeking His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, right now in our lives. The kingdom of heaven is now within us. Let us live it out, demonstrating to those around us the ways of our Father and Lord. 
 
I will conclude with something I've said for decades:Anyone can say they are a Christian. But the Father in His wisdom has made it so that righteousness is proven within a framework of relationships. It is within those relationships we see the Father's will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
 
New subject next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com
 
 
 ]]>Sat, 24 Jan 2026 10:00:00 GMThttps://www.cwowi.eu/weekly-thoughts/it-isnt-about-us-going-to-heaven-1-of-2Hi all,

"Our Father in heaven, your name is holy. Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven", from The Lord's Prayer of Luke 11:2. "Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven"  is the subject of the rest of the prayer. The whole motive of the Lord's Prayer is for the Father's will being done in our lives through the Father's will being done in us. 
 
The Lord's prayer is more of a statement than a request
The verbs of The Lord's Prayer were written in the aorist text, which means they are written as completed tasks, or statements. Surrounding those verbs it was written in the imperative, meaning as a request. Today, we pray the prayer only as a request, which changes what Jesus actually said. 
 
Look at what Jesus said and what tense He used:
"Holy is your name" is aorist imperative, meaning an earnest, heart-felt statement coupled with a burning desire to also be holy. 
"Your kingdom come, your will be done" is aorist imperative, meaning a firm, heart-felt statement reflecting the earnest heart-cry of the disciple who wants His will first and foremost in their life. These opening statements reflect a person praying with the intensity that reflects their unquenchable zeal for God's will to be done in their life. 
 
"Your will be done" uses the same - reflecting that earnest desire on the part of the disciple who has completely surrendered their will to His. Have you ever been so desperate for God that you make statements to the Father about your heart and love for Him while also crying out for more at the same time? That's this:Your will is done in my life Father let your kingdom come into my life even more - reflecting a burning zeal for God's will and ways in our lives.
 
"Give us this day our daily bread" is both aorist and imperative, meaning in English it is a statement with a view towards a continual act of fulfillment. We might say in English:You give us our bread, daily." This agrees with Jesus' teaching of Matthew 6:24-34 where Jesus said Gentiles (non covenant people) search for food, clothing and a roof over their head, whereas when we seek the Father and His righteousness, these things are added to us by Him (Father). He DOES provide daily. But 'according to your faith be it unto you'. If you are weak in faith, you may not see His provision, and have to live miracle to miracle. It is far better to live IN miracles as part of everyday life. 
 
This agrees with II Peter 1:3-4 which states in part:"...all things which pertain to life and godliness have been provided through knowing Jesus Christ our Lord." I have used this SO many times when something happens that surprised me - an emergency, an unexpected bill - and immediately stated:"Father, reveal your provision! II Peter 1:3-4 says everything pertaining to life and godliness HAVE BEEN provided by you, so Father, reveal your provision!" Living like this means rest, for you know what caught you by surprise has not caught Him by surprise, and you gain a child-like excitement waiting to see how He (Father) has provided. 
 
And yes, in intense moments I have said it just like that to Him. He and Jesus are the ones who said in the Lord's Prayer and through Peter that all things are provided, so I am when times are intense, that bold. Other times, like with a bill I'm hit with unexpectedly, it is not as intense, almost reflective:"Father, this didn't catch you by surprise but it sure did me. How have you paid for it? Please reveal your provision, your way to meet this need." In a humble, reflective attitude, searching in my mind my own Plan A, Plan B and so on, but determined to see His plan fulfilled. 
 
"Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who owe us" is the same:"You forgive us our sins according to us forgiving those who owe us." The Greek word translated 'owe' or 'debt' is not in first use about sin, though in context it is that, but also much more. Jesus said we are to state the Father forgives us our sins while we forgive those who owe us - that includes sin, but includes those emotional 'I'm sorry's' we look for, those apologies, those recognitions from those who wronged us that tells us they realize the damage they did. The word 'owe' is all that in Jesus' statement. "You forgive us our sins while we forgive all who owe us anything." That doesn't mean cancel financial debt as that wasn't the context, but emotional debt, an acknowledgment of them doing wrong to us debt, is the context. And again, it is written in the aorist, meaning a statement of fact - we do indeed have our sins forgiven by the Father for we also forgive those who owe us. 
 
"Lead us not into temptation" and "deliver us from evil" are once again written in the aorist, meaning as statements. This agrees with the rest of the New Testament, that the Father does not tempt us with evil for He is not tempted with evil, as James 1:13 states. He does deliver us from evil, as I Corinthians 10:13 says, when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Father raises a standard so we are not tested above what we are able to handle, and makes a way of escape. "You do not lead us into temptation and you do deliver us from evil" reflects a more accurate translation of the aorist-imperative grammar here. 
 
Matthew 6:9-13 also records The Lord's Prayer, and he was led to add the closing line:
"For yours is the kingdom, the power, the glory forever. Amen." This too is aorist (as a statement) as reflected in the accurate translation of this sentence. It is not a request that it is the Father's kingdom, but a statement, emphatic statement. It is emphatic that it is the Father's kingdom, the Father's glory and the Father's power. The word 'amen' means "steadfast" in Hebrew (apeitheia). The Greek 'amen' means steadfast, firm, trustworthy. Sometimes it is translated 'so be it'. I like 'trustworthy' as in, these statements of The Lord's Prayer are trustworthy. That's how Jesus ended His instruction.
 
My point in all this detail is that this prayer pattern is about the Father's will being done on earth, expressed first in our lives. Not the rapture. Not when the moon is red or the calendar's line up. But now, the Father's will and kingdom done in us, now. The awareness of our citizenship of heaven and therefore our immediate home-going upon death is always in our minds, but first and foremost is the Father's will being done in our lives right now on earth. 
 
Some believers are so heavenly minded they are no earthly good. 
It is fun to speculate, and the Internet feeds that desire (lust) to know the latest news from heaven. Part of that is completely normal human nature, for even the Old Testament prophets having just promises of the coming salvation, sought diligently for more information. (I Peter 1:9-12) 
 
But when that desire for more information about being taken to heaven gets out of balance with our Prime Directive of the Father's will being done on earth in us daily, then it is a problem. As long as we are alive we are to live for the Father's kingdom-will being done in earth. Yes, we live with the certainty that Jesus has gone ahead to prepare a place for us, but no where does anything in the New Testament teach that should be our focus. 
 
What is taught is the discipleship process of ever learning, ever growing, ever becoming more Christ-like in the here and now. If you read the gospels, the bulk of Jesus' teaching was about how to live out God's kingdom on earth by walking in love backed by strong moral and spiritual backbone. 
 
Jesus started The Lord's Prayer saying:"Father in heaven, holy is your name." We will start with holiness next week. Until then, blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com
 
 
 
 
]]>Sat, 17 Jan 2026 11:30:00 GMThttps://www.cwowi.eu/weekly-thoughts/adult-children-breaking-contact-with-parents-4-of-4Hi all,

Today we conclude this important series.
 
Finding 'my truth', 'protecting my peace'
Adult children who tell their parents these things are deceived into thinking they are protecting themselves, but in reality they are shoving their pain under another layer. Their minds become weaker as they run from those who challenge them. Real peace comes from learning how to navigate the difficulties of life. Strength comes through maturity and emotional maturity. 
 
An emotionally healthy young person will realize...
...their parents weren't trying to control them, but to protect them. Parents speak from experience, having been hurt in the world, they have made mistakes and aren't perfect. At some point an adult child will realize it wasn't about control, but protection. Instead of pulling away from mom and dad, they will esteem them higher in their lives, pulling on their experiences good and bad. 
 
What goes around comes around
The actions you take to your parents now is what your children will do to you. They will hear you say one thing, but will watch what you do, which is training. They will grow up to be just like you. You will be training them to avoid relatives who love them, to avoid conflict, to look for offense. You will one day experience the same alienation from your own children that you are now doing to them. Every missed birthday, every missed holiday that you now avoid with your parents, will be done to you. Is that what you want? 
 
I said I would get back to this
On a larger scale, once mom and dad are dishonored in this way, your offense and refusal to deal with real issues spreads insidiously into your whole life. When I said previously the last 5 commandments are directly linked to honoring mom and dad, this is what I was talking about. Your life will be stolen from, your emotions will be stolen, your time will be stolen, your child-like faith will be stolen from you. Those you love will be unfaithful and betray you. You will want what others have when you see happy marriages and children, and successful live. You will find yourself the victim of those last 5 Commandments, for the command to avoid those sins are directly linked to honoring your parents. 
 
My advice is therefore to stop the cycle you are creating. 
Get off the merry-go-round before it is too late. Sit down with your parents to hear their side of things. Let them tell you their life story, before they knew the Lord, mistakes made before and after. Hear the burdens they carried for you that you never saw. Hear their pain. Hear how they have grown in life and the Lord. Parents, be vulnerable. Kids, realize they are flawed just like you, but are the only ones who love you in the way only parents can love their child. There is no one on planet earth who loves you in such a way. 
 
You have to get to an age when you have to stop blaming your parents for everything. You have to stop replaying the same story over and over letting it excuse you for every choice you have made. Blaming your parents for your entire life is taking zero responsibility for your own growth. Healing isn’t cutting those who love you out of your life. You aren't healing by inflicting pain on your parents by not showing up for birthdays and holidays. 
 
Reaction or response?
Popular culture which includes social media, trains people to react, when in fact a response is needed. A reaction is knee-jerk, emotional, and done without thinking things through. A response is done once a situation has been thought through with the purpose of a plan. 
 
A response is measured. For instance, if a person reacts with an anger that is greater than the level of offense - something deeper is going on in them. For a child to react by completely ending all communication and contact with their parents, it is a reaction.
 
Now it is time to put on your big boy pants and respond. Not react, respond. Both parents and child in this study are adults. Be adults. Kids, this isn't social media where you can react and blow up like the kid you were having a tantrum. No, it is now time to sit face to face with mom and dad and respond - it will be a negotiation and you won't end up saying everything imagined saying (goes for mom and dad too). But you will be able to air enough to be at peace with the compromise. 
 
Learn to control your reactions because they are your parents and they will make you angry, they will offer advice you don’t want, they will challenge you. Blaming your parents for your life circumstances is avoiding the facts of your own choices. You need to stop viewing any social media that feeds the breaking up of the relationship, and distance yourself from people who feed your hurts. 
 
Give parents back their authority 
Step back and allow a parent to step in, they offer options, experience, they add perspective. Allow them to step in before a crisis happens. Allow their opinions even if different, don't be threatened, be empowered - it's a matter of perspective. 
 
The Prodigal son
The story of the Prodigal Son is found in Luke 15:11-32. Volumes have been written about him and his brother. The son asked for and received his inheritance early, and spent it all on lavish living. He ended up feeding pigs while working for a Gentile - something upright Jewish man would have done in that day. 
 
While feeding the pigs and realizing they ate better than him, making him unclean on a level beneath pigs, Jesus said; 'he came to himself'. That moment is what every parent who has an adult child who has cut them out of their lives is looking for. 
 
Paul's prayers of Ephesians 1:17-19 and 3:15-20
These are prayers asking the Father to work on the inside of people. He asks in 1:17-19 that the Father give them the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him that they may see the invitation He has extended.
 
In 3:15-20 he prays the Father will strengthen them in their inner man by His Spirit so they can know the love of Christ which is beyond knowing mentally. Paul also compared praying for someone like being in labor in Galatians 4:19:My little children, I am travailing in birth again until Christ be formed in you.
 
Parents - don't give up, pray along the lines of Paul's prayers, which weren't about seeing them do this or that, rather that they be changed from the inside out by the Father's Spirit. 
 
Adult children - do the same for your parents. You have each been wrong.
 
Both parents and children will have to forgive each other, and realize that peace between them is more important than going over every single little thing that led to them cutting off contact. Jesus said forgiveness is a decision not an emotion:"When you stand praying, forgive if you have something against someone." Mark 11:25-26
 
Make the decision to lay all the justifications aside - mom, dad, child - and decide to forgive and move forward. Make steps to act on that decision. Be the bigger person. Take the initiative and then to the other, accept that initiative. 
 
Emotions may take years to work through once a person has made the decision to forgive. 
There will be times a horrible memory will come roaring back into your memory. The way to deal with it is that once you've worked through that emotion, you bring that emotion back to your decision to forgive. You will find once you go through all that anger again and bring it back to that decision, God will heal you. The memory will remain but the pain will be gone. That is how you know He has healed you. 
 
There could be much more to say, but this is enough. New subject next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com
 
 
 
]]>Sat, 10 Jan 2026 12:30:00 GMThttps://www.cwowi.eu/weekly-thoughts/adult-children-breaking-contact-with-parents-3-of-4Hi all,
 
We continue with part 3 looking towards reconciliation. 
 
The more disconnected they are from God the more they become angry. 
If they are believers, they often fool themselves into thinking it is God leading them to break contact. But when balanced and pure faith is gone everything feels like an attack. 
 
They are confused because if what they are doing is God's path to healing, why do they have no peace? Why are they so unhappy? They stumble through life, going through the motions, fueled by anger at mom and dad. 
 
Anger is not strength, nor does it mean they are taking control of their life. On the contrary, it is proof that peace and God are far from them. They can smile on the outside but be miserable on the inside. They aren’t as close to God as they need to be, for the closer to the Father a person is, the less they need to win the argument - and that goes for the parents too.  
 
I define these qualities this way:
Justice is getting what you deserve. Mercy is not getting what you deserve. Grace is getting what you don't deserve. In any reconciliation, all 3 will come into play at some point. A recognition that all the hurt and pain is what happened as a result of the actions of both is required. Mercy, in withholding volleys of poisonous words that hurt the reconciliation process. Grace, extended because each loves the other, overlooks the past, and empowers each other with respect and honor for each person's place in life. 
 
Anyone you love will make you uncomfortable at times. If you can't sit down with them in that, you can't love them. Love isn't love until it's proven. Sit down and prove your love for one another. If you can’t handle disagreement you can’t grow as a person or in faith. 
 
If you cut off everyone who challenges you the more you become an island to yourself, which is what the devil wants. If you cut off all who challenge you, you aren’t protecting yourself, you are choosing to live in a world of anger, turmoil, and broken relationships – extending into your (kids) own lives. 
 
The devil tries many ways to destroy the family. 
Satan hates families. When a Christian adult child breaks contact with their parents 'unto God', their faith has become poison. 'Toxic' is the popular term for people and a faith structure that is poisonous to us. 
 
Their faith is often within a religious system that allows the religion (structure) to control a person’s life rather than the Lord. Leaders in that religious system like pastors, their spouses, elders and others manipulate them into blind obedience. Often, this system will agree with the adult child, leaders hearing only 1 side of the story but siding with the offended adult child. It's often manipulation, to keep them in the fold, keep their money, talents, resources within the 4 walls of that church. 
 
Toxic faith is about inventing a god or faith that honors self. 
Such a misplaced faith is counterfeit, and often fear-based, and in that, addictive. They can't miss a service because the devil may get an opening. If they don't watch the next service they might miss their miracle, and so on. Faith becomes very narrowly focused to just the voice of that pastor or spouse, to the exclusion of voices of reason, common sense, and healthy emotions and thoughts. Reconciliation with parents may mean breaking away from that toxic church, maybe out of a toxic marriage or other relationships. They feel trapped when the realization hits them and they don't know what to do. They need to go to mom and dad. 
 
The result is fragile people. 
Whether Christian and in a controlling and toxic church, or not a Christian, surrounding oneself with people who agree with them that cutting off their parents was good, are emotionally fragile. In such fragility they have lost the ability to tackle real issues. Sometimes too fragile to admit mom and dad were right. 
 
In this fragility they have become easy to influence.
They become easily influenced by people who don't purely love them and/or who don't have their best interest at heart. They need to know that families have arguments. Teenagers push boundaries, rebel, test the limits. They yell at each other. Children face consequences for their actions. Families with young children have rules, discipline, and boundaries. Family life is messy sometimes, and it is within those messy moments God forges character, back bone, helping a child establish boundaries. 
 
It is the family dynamic that teaches a child to stand up for what they believe. To state their case to their parents. To decide while still at home what they believe and why. Cutting off contact with parents removes the very people who can provide that challenge, those hard questions, to that young adult. The adult child thinking they are establishing their own identity, are actually fragile and easily influenced by people who don't love them as their parents do. 
 
At some point....
That adult child realizes their parents are flawed human beings just like them. Perhaps the parents were overbearing, strict, too religious without helping them find the Lord for themselves. More than one well meaning parent has used the Bible to punish their child:"Go to your room and read your Bible" only causes a child to associate God with punishment. But when that child grows up they realize mom and dad were just trying to prevent them from really poor decision making and the consequences that would have come with such decisions. 
 
And mom and dad recognize they were flawed. They recognize there is a kernel of truth to some of the accusations their child levels against them. 
 
...reconciliation enters a negotiation phase.
In a negotiation neither side gets 100% of what they want. But they can live with the results. When the Prodigal Son left, it wasn't what the father wanted, but he allowed his son the freedom to take the money and run. When he returned the father extended grace that the other son wasn't happy with. 
 
In John 21:15-19 Jesus asked Peter 2 times if he loved Him. Jesus used the word 'agape', which is unconditional love. Both times Peter replied in the negative, using 'phileo' love, which is the love 2 best friends might have for one another. The third time Jesus came down to Peter's level, asking if he loved Him with phileo love. Peter, disturbed by the whole line of questions, blurted out for the 3rd time:I love you as a best friend! To that, Jesus prophesied there would come a time Peter would love Him with agape', even being led away to die for it. 
 
More steps to reconciliation next week. Until then,  blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com 
 
 
 
]]>