The Veil Has Been Lifted

Good day friends, I would like to thank you for taking time to read my blog. I would like to encourage you to make comments in the comments section at the end of each blog. I appreciate those of you who have commented so far. I hope that I have answered your questions well enough. If not, please let me know.

I had a gentleman ask me a few questions in regards to the changes that I have embraced along this journey that God has led me through, so today I would like to elaborate just a little. If you have not yet read my blog entries entitled What a Journey, I would encourage you to do so. There I share what God has taught me concerning what is known as westernized Christianity, and where I stood concerning my faith.

I would like to start by saying that, on the surface, I have not changed much at all. I still have my faults and weaknesses. The biggest difference is that I have learned that there is not one thing I can do to change those things about myself. The fact is all those faults and failures are who I am. I am a son of Adam. I was born into a life of sin and a sinner is what I am. There is not one part of Frank that is righteous, not one ounce of righteousness. “There is none righteous, no not one”. The only good thing about me is that somewhere deep inside of me there lives a righteous and holy God, and if there is one ounce of hope for me it is there. If you see anything in me that is holy and righteous, it will be Him that you will see not me. The only thing that makes me different from who I was a few years ago, is that I grew weary and tired enough of my counterfeit Christian existence, that God was finally able to reach me. All I did was lifted my hands in complete surrender to Him. The reality is I wanted Truth more than I wanted my religion, doctrines, and ministry. We can never see truth if we already think we know it. When you read or hear words like you read in my blog, you will automatically judge it upon what you know to be the truth. The question one must ask their selves is this, is the truth that I cleave to my truth, or is it God’s Truth? Is what I believe to be the truth been passed down to me by man, or has it been given by God? Where does our anchor really hold? Perhaps what you believe is truth, perhaps not. The fact is we will never know until we lay it all down before Him and approach Him as a little child knowing nothing.

I am reminded of a song that has excerpts of a preacher delivering a message, and he was telling of the day he came to God. He said that he told God that if he went to hell, he would go there believing in the blood of Jesus Christ. I do not know about all of that, but what I do know is that this is the kind of determination we must have in the pursuit of Truth. We must say to God…God, I may leave this world never really living in the fullness of your Truth, but I will leave this world with nothing less than my every effort of its quest. It is this heart that God can speak to and none other- a heart that can be satisfied with nothing less than His fullness, Truth, and righteousness. It is His promise that such should be filled. It is the day that one believes that they have it all figured out that his or her quest has ended. Friends, please hear me when I say that the Truth is not words one can read, or a message that one can hear. The Truth is the person Jesus the Christ. It is He that we must pursue. It is only when we begin to lay our wisdom down and pursue Him that we enter the first fruits of our forever changing lives. Therefore, the only thing that has changed in me is that I am no longer pursuing a what, but I am pursuing Him, and when we put everything in the light of Him, it is clear rather it is of Him. I was able to see the church system for what it is because I put it in the light of who Jesus is, and it failed to look like Him.

One reader of my blog asked me what made Rose Creek Village any different. It is because it looks more like Christ than anything that I have ever seen. That is what makes it the body of Christ because, when put in His light, it looks like Him. The same reader stated that not everyone can move to Rose Creek Village, so what can they do. All I can say is, when God opened my eyes to see the Truth, I felt alone, I no longer fit in to organized religion, and I had no direction. I was a complete mess dear reader. However, God did not leave me in such a place of despair. In the midst of my desperation, He introduced me to Rose Creek. God will not leave you wandering around my dear friends. Zion is calling out to all who have been chosen by God. It is your and my duty to heed the call. If that is to leave everything behind and move to Rose Creek Village, then that is what we must do. However, this one thing I do know, it will cost you everything to follow Him. The sad truth to this is there are very few that are willing to pay that price “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it”. This is the complete contrast of our so-called Christian nation, where the majority claims to be Christian.

The best advice that I can give would be to learn Christ. Do not spend your time going after knowledge of anything else. Learn who Christ is so you can recognize him in others, and when you see Him in others, join yourself to them. Trust me; this is not an easy task. Some of the people here at Rose Creek sought many years for a true body of Christ before they found it. True Disciples of Christ will always look like Him. They will act like Him, walk like Him, talk like Him, and love like Him. Dear reader, settle for nothing less. Until next time, may God lead you into the path of righteousness

Hello friends, I hope that the “My Journey Till Now” blog entrees have challenged you to look at where you are in regards to your walk with Christ, and I trust that they were a blessing. My heart in sharing my testimony with you is that you could see that God is much more than what we have made him, God has so much more for us than we have embraced, and God has a much greater plan for our lives than we could imagine. There is a life that we were created to live, and that life can only be found “IN HIM”. We can have experiences with Christ anywhere He chooses to show up. I was in a Missionary Baptist Church at age 13 when I first met our glorious savior. I have seen, felt, and experienced Him in Baptist, Pentecostal, Methodist, and non-denominational churches. He has been with me while driving down the road, at concerts, in living rooms, on street corners, in the hospital, and many other places. Just because we have a heavenly experience with God in a certain denominational structure, does not make that structure God’s chosen constitution for His Church. All church organizations claim to be the way to God. Every one of them believes that their way is the right way, and that their doctrine is true doctrine. However, Jesus says that He is THE WAY, THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE. His name is not Baptist, Methodist, or Pentecostal. His name is Jesus (Yahshua).

Jesus in deed has a body in the earth, but it does not carry a banner of some denominational name either. It can, however, be recognized easy enough; It will look just like Christ. Do not look to some organized church system to find out what Christ is like. Read about Him in scriptures. You will find someone who had left His home, came to earth, spent his time with the scum of the earth, healing the sick, and He became a servant to everyone around Him. Jesus had no place to lay his head, He did not own anything of earthly value, and everything he did was for the salvation of us all. To prove that to all of us, He stretched out His hands and he died on a cross. All the things that Jesus taught to us were not just words; they were who he is. He tells us things like love our neighbor, do good to those who do wrong to us, love our enemy, give your shirt to the one who will take from you your coat, lay down your life for those around you, pick up your cross and follow him. Everything that you hear him teach is wrapped up in one word…Love…The love of Christ. Love is the fruit of a true child of God. Love is what we produce when we abide in Him. That is how we know if someone is a true disciple. True disciples are not known by their many words, their great interpretation of scripture, or their great doctrines. They are known by their LOVE. Inside of this four-letter word, you will find all that Jesus taught. I would like to challenge all of you once again to do an extensive study on Christ and his teachings.

What if I told you that I have found a people that fits Jesus’ prerequisite of being true followers of Christ. What if I was to say that there are a people who lay their lives down every day for one another. A people who have left and forsaken all that they once regarded as life to follow Christ. A people who are not out to gain their American dream of houses, cars, and fat bank accounts. What if I told you that there are a people who have truly become living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God. Let me confirm to you that I have. The things that God showed to me that was missing in the church system, I have found living and breathing in about 300 people down in Selmer TN.They are not a flawless people who never make mistakes. They are not people who are exempt from the temptations of the enemy. They are not Super Saints walking around thinking they are better than anyone. They are, however, a people who love and fear God. They are a people who are crazy enough to, actually, believe that they are supposed to live out the life Jesus told us to. There are no halfhearted Christians here. Believe me, you cannot live in the kingdom of God and be halfhearted. They love God, and therefore they love one another.

Let me give you one small example of the love of Christ that can found among these people. About three years ago, the doctors found a cyst on my pancreas. It is not cancer, but it can be life threatening. The problem I had was that this ailment required a great deal of medical attention, and I could not afford to pay for it. I did the best I could, but I had no health insurance and so I could not get the care that I needed. I was living with a great deal of pain back then, and there was nothing I could do about it. The church that I was attending at the time was a good size ministry, with churches all around the world. Everyone was aware of my condition and my lack to take care of it. I was never offered any help to make sure I was taken care of. All that was offered to me was their prayers. Now do not get me wrong, prayer is a good thing. The problem is faith without works is nothing but dead faith. The people here at Rose creek village acted in complete contrast to former. As soon as they knew about my condition, they have not failed to make sure I was completely taken care of. They give me time off work to go to the doctor, they help pay the dr. bills, and they even put me in a job position that would not aggravate the cyst. This is just a small example of the love of Christ here. They are a people who care more about me than what I can do for them. In fact, they do not expect anything in return for the love they give. It sounds a little like Jesus does it not.

The men here at Rose Creek go to work every day to help provide the needs of the widows, single mothers, the poor, and orphans every day. The love they have for each other means more than any disagreement they may have. Out there in the church world, that I came from, when someone would have a disagreement we could just agree to disagree and move on, but not here. Here, preserving the unity of the faith has the upmost importance. We work through all problems that may arise until we find God’s truth in the matter. This is a beautiful thing to see.The best thing I could tell you here is to just “COME AND SEE” for yourself. Words cannot describe the beauty that is found in such unity. We have heard much teaching on the body of Christ, and we thought we had an understanding of what it is, but when you really see it for the first time, it is breathtaking. Do I think that the people here at Rose Creek Village are the only people of God in the world…Absolutely not? They are, however, the first demonstration of the true body of Christ I have seen. I have seen true Christians out there, I know there are many people who love God, and they are intertwined in several different ministries. I have seen missionaries who have laid their lives down for the sake of the gospel. There are people every day pouring their lives into the lives of others, and are demonstrating the true love of Christ, but this is the first time I have ever seen a whole body of people with the same heart, mind, and spirit. I know there are others out there, and I am always looking for them. We have found some in Rhode Island, South Dakota, and possibly some other states that we are aware of. It is exciting to see what God is doing.

I am forever grateful for what God has opened my eyes to see. I may have lost friends, and possibly some family in the process of following the path God has laid; however, He is worth it all. I love every single friend and family member I have, and it kills me to think that they’re hurting in any way, but I must follow God. He is my way, my truth, and my life. Where ells could I possibly go.

Do I think that I will always be at Rose Creek Village…I do not think so? I will, however, always be attached to the body of Christ. All I know at this point is I am where God wants me, and my prayer is that God would let this life spread into every town, city, state, country, and nation.

Oh God, let your Kingdom come.

Hello friends, I want to wrap up my journey-to-now entries today if I can. For the past several weeks I have been sharing my heart and experiences that I have endured over the past several years. (Please go back and read all of the “What a Journey” blog entries before going further.)  I understand that much of what I have said sounds way out there, or a little rocky. I will say again; I do not claim to KNOW anything. All I have done here is shared what God has done in me.  I am sure you can tell by my writing that I am not this big educated bible scholar. I do not have a PHD or some fancy title in the front, or at the end, of my name. I am just a messily old, good for nothing, sinner boy that without God would be a lying, cheating, murdering rapist. Jeremiah says it this way “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” That is what we all are without God…deceitful and desperately wicked. I do not know why God would choose me; however, this will be one of the first things I will ask him when I see him. I have done nothing in my life that can possibly warrant God’s attention; those of you who know me can amen that. All I can say is He has chosen me. He did not leave me in my hypocrisy. That is what I was dear reader… a hypocrite. 

Sure, I loved souls, and I wanted nothing more than to see them come to Christ. I cared about people, and the things I did in the ministry where not for the money I assure you. On the other hand, I would preach that people should live holy and virtuous lives before God, yet I did not understand what I was preaching. I would preach things such as we need to love one another, walk as Christ walked, go to church, win souls, and –God forgive me- church doctrine. I am sure I was telling people some truth; however, it was coming from a lack of understanding. I had knowledge; that is all I had. I had knowledge that I had obtained from my many different teachers over the years, and from bible study, which relied on those same teachings. I had knowledge, but I lacked understanding. Knowledge is not difficult to get. All you need to do is listen and retain what is taught; however, to get understanding you must physically experience something. If I told you not to put your hand in the fire because you would burn it, you would have that knowledge; moreover, if you put your hand in the fire and received a burn, you would then have understanding. I was preaching to people warning them not to put their hands in the fire when I myself, had never been burnt. It is not enough to know how Jesus walked, talked, and responded to diverse situations. If all we have is knowledge of all that Jesus taught, we have fallen short. We must experience Christ.

We must leave our old lives behind, put our own selves aside, walk in a world that we do not belong, become a servant to all of humankind, pick up our cross, and carry that cross to the place that we must die. It is not until then that we come to understand what Paul was saying to the Galatians when he said… “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” It is here when we find not our understanding at all, but that we share in the one who understands all things.

I believe if we where to really look at the life of Christ, and truly LEARN HIM, or should I say UNDERSTAND HIM, we would have a real hard time finding him in our church, and most importantly, in ourselves. The truth is most of us have not so learned Christ.  Eph 4:20-24 says “But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness”.  The Greek word “learned” in this verse is manthano meaning, you guessed it, understand. That is what God showed me. When I would stand in the pulpit to deliver “God’s message”, they did not see Christ, they saw Frank Lee, and believe me he is not much to look at. -God may have used something I said to drive something into someone’s spirit a time or two, but remember what He used to speak to Balaam- (Num 22:28).

No one can come to Christ without first seeing Him. No one can see Him unless he is on us (the new man) and we are in Him. We cannot be in Him if we do not have an understanding of Him, and if all we have is knowledge of him with no understanding, where does that leave this lost world? These are just a few of the things that God was revealing to me during this time.

Look, I know that there are good people in the church system. There are people who may even have the Love of Christ. There are preachers who stand every week and plead to their congregants to live a life pleasing to Christ, and they do the best that they know how. There are men and women who are on their faces before God weeping for the souls of this world. I have worked alongside of some of them; I was one of them. My prayer is that God would give to them a Damascus experience, then send to them their Ananias, and have the scales fall from their eyes.

 All the things that you have read in my blog have been my Damascus experience. Up to that point, I thought that I was on the right path as Paul did. I believed I was doing the right thing and serving in the right capacity. My Ananias, however, would not be found in these experiences. My Ananias was found in a little town in southwest Tennessee called Selmer where I now reside. It is a people, a people of God, and when the scales fell from my eyes I seen the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. It was the body of Christ.

In my next blog entry, I will share a more about this place in which I now LIVE, and I will tell what makes it the most beautiful place I have ever seen. Until then, may we all come to understand Christ.

Hello friends, once again I would like to share with you my heart and all that God has taught me concerning today’s Christianity. As always, if you are new to this blog, please read from the first entry and work your way up to the present so you will know how I got to this point. I am almost finished telling you about my journey (at least the short version) that has brought me to where I am now. God has taught me so much; however, it would take too much time to write it all down. I just wanted to focus on a few highlights to give you an idea of how I have arrived where I am now spiritually.

I left off last week sharing how God opened my eyes to see the “church establishment,” what it has become and its absence of the unity of Christ. The body of Christ was never meant to be divided just to come together a couple times a week. Close your eyes and get a mental picture of a body scattered abroad; completely separated from itself: a hand over there, a leg over there, a torso living over there and so on. If you get the same picture that I do, it looks like something from a Steven King movie. It is not a pretty picture, so imagine what God sees looking down at all of that. You may say that the body of Christ is supposed to be taken spiritually and not literally, which brings up another question I would like to ask; why do we choose one verse of scripture and say that is meant to be taken spiritually and another is supposed to be taken carnally? What would happen if we just took the scriptures for what they say and not try and read into them all of the time. Now I am not saying that when the bible says to cut off your right hand when it offends you that you go get a hacksaw.  A good example would be the billboard that reads…”that love your neighbor thing…I meant that, singed God”. God means exactly what he says; He says not to murder and in the Hebrew translation it means, you guessed it, do not murder, so when God refers to His body needing to be fitly joined together, it means just that. Now, do not get me wrong…I believe that the scriptures are extremely spiritual; by this I mean that when applied in the natural there will be spiritual results. Now, I know that there are deep things that will nourish our souls in the scriptures however, I am just trying to make a point that we need to take God for what he says.

Anyway, let us move along.

I asked God to open my eyes and He has. Dear reader, remember, I was in this system, I believed in the system, and I loved that system, so you can imagine what I was feeling like at this point. I could no longer enjoy ministering; I no longer had any idea of what I should preach about. You want to hear something really crazy? I could not stand even going to church any longer.

One night God reviled a scripture to me that messed me up worse, if that was even possible. It is found in 2^nd Cor

chapter eleven, and it says this,” 2Co 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him”; read that whole chapter. Paul was writing to the Corinthians and warning them of these “super apostles” coming in, blinding them of the simplicity that is in Christ (it goes back to what I was saying about making even the scriptures more complex than they really are), preaching about a different Jesus (remember, Jesus is being preached, but not the same Jesus Paul preached about), receiving a different sprit, and was hearing a different gospel. I am afraid that the same fear that Paul had towards the Corinthians has become true in today’s Christianity.

Jesus is being preached today in fact, you may hear him being preached in your church but what I ask you is:  is it the same Jesus we find in scripture? I would suggest that you do an extensive study on Christ and see what He did, hear what He said, and really learn what He taught. Then ask yourself, is this the Jesus that is being preached to me?  I believe the results will mess you up as they should anyone!

How about the Sprit you have received? How sure are you that the Sprit you have received is truly the Spirit of God? Do you refer to the Spirit as being a goose bump, a feeling of some sort, or some other emotional experience? If so, where in Scripture do you get that ideal? Where I came from, when someone would feel the spirit, they would shout, cry, or some other outward manifestation would take place. In another church, you may see someone laugh, run, pass out, and even bark…what in the world is that about? Let me ask you another question, we can all agree (I think) that Jesus walked in the Spirit, why do we not read where He went around shouting, barking, or anything else that would give us an ideal that these are the things that happen when the Spirit is “moving” on us? Remember, Jesus is who we model our lives after. Could it be possible that we have indeed received another sprit? The Bible says we are to test the spirits and see if they are of God.  Now I know that not all denominations practice the examples I have made here, but the truth is, most of those churches that try to avoid the word spirit as much as they can just do not want to be identified with “holly rollers.” Now, I know that when you feel the presence of God it can be somewhat emotional but we are talking about the indwelling spirit of God ~ God IN US; the spirit that Paul says we should walk in. Folks, if we walked around barking, falling over, shouting, or any of those things, we would not win one soul to Christ; in fact, you would, more than likely, end up in a mental institution.

The Spirit of God is not a feeling at all; He is our link to heaven and to the will of God. For us to walk in the Spirit means to be linked with God all of the time, that He may guide your every step. The truth is today’s Christianity does not need the Spirit of God because we have our own links to God. We have pastors, elders, teachers, and, dare I say, the Scriptures. Who needs the Spirit of God when we have the Scriptures? Dear reader, I thank God for His written words we call the Holly Bible; it is a beautiful thing to read the words He has given us through His beloved servants. However, they are not to take the place of His Spirit. What we have done is exalted our interpretation of the Scriptures above Christ Himself. Our faith and trust is not in THE WORD - that is to say Christ - but in our interpretation of the Scriptures and what we think they are saying. Look around you dear reader there is a church building on almost every corner of this country. Every one of them claims to know the Will of God, and they base it upon their interpretation of the bible. The bible says that every man is right in his own eyes, but the end of those ways is death. How am I any different from anyone ells you ask? I am no different. If I were you, I would not trust me either because I do not even trust myself.  God is who we must trust my friends. Like I said in an earlier entry, if what I say is true or not, is for you and God to decide.  All I am doing is sharing with you the path that God has brought me down, and these are some things He opened my eyes to.   

What God was showing me back then was that I was not serving in his Kingdome at all but rather, as a friend of mine says, serving in a kingdom of words. I have come to understand what the difference is between the relationship I had with God when I was a young man and the absence of His presence latter. It was because I had left Him to pursue knowledge of Him. My failed spirituality did not come from the “honeymoon” being over. It came from me leaving Him to pursue Him. The fact is I had such a great relationship with Him back then because I was a child, and I knew nothing of doctrine, bylaws, church government, and things of that nature. All I knew was the Love of Christ. I know many of you can identify with what I am saying here. Think about it…Jesus says that such is the Kingdome of God. What is? Children, right? We call ourselves the children of God, but I think we are more like the grumpy old men of God that are no longer on their honeymoon with Christ.

God is calling us back to the simplicity that is in Christ Jesus. He is calling us to go back to the basics and learn what we had missed. We must forget about the things “we know” and ask God to teach us the elementary things we have no idea about or have forgotten. Like to Love the way Christ Loves, to live the way Christ lives, and to walk the way He walks. We need to learn what it means to lay down our lives for Him, to die for Him, to come out of the world and be separate. We must learn what God wants when it comes to us being His body, His people, and His children on the earth. To not come together but be together…One Body in Christ. Therefore, the whole earth can know That He is King. We will not do that with meetings, worship music, church buildings, doctrines, t-shirts, and bumper stickers. We will do it by showing the ONE; one body, one mind, and one soul…THE SIMPLICITY OF CHRIST…LOVE.      

I will try rapping up my journey on the next entry. Thank you once again for reading this blog. Until next time, I pray God will lead you into the simplicity that is in Christ

Hello dear friends, I hope this blog has blessed you in some way thus far, or at least caused you to look at where you are in regards to your walk with Christ. Because this blog always puts my last entry on the top of the page, I must once again ask all new readers of this blog to go back and read the last three entries in the order that they were posted, so you know where I am with my testimony. Otherwise, I may make some references that will make no sense to you at all.

I left off with my last blog talking about the revelation that God gave me in regards to the lack of cross bearing love in the church system. I hope you got a chance to check out the video that I have posted on my MySpace. If not, make sure you do. www.Myspace.com/franklee72.

I would like to continue my journey with another revelation God gave me during this time, which is, what I  call, “part time Christianity”.  These two day-a-week spiritual filling stations (churches) that we like to go to so we can have enough “strength” to make it through the rest of the week. I looked and looked in the scriptures for anything that would give me even the slightest hint that God wants us to meet in this manner. I never read anywhere where Jesus said to any of his disciples that he would see them in church on Sunday, nor did I find him ever saying to Peter “don’t forget prayer meeting on Wednesday. In fact, except for a few times when Jesus went to pray or minister, he and his disciples where always together. They were together Sunday –Saturday, 24 hours a day, and seven days a week. Jesus did send them out to minister as well, but these guys where together from beginning to the end. They were family. Remember, Jesus was laying the foundation of what was going to be his church. Read the book of acts. You will see this same example of unity continuing. Jesus never meant for his children to walk alone. He never meant for us to walk alone five days out of the week and have unity two days a week; in fact, it is completely unattainable to have any unity at all when we only see each other two days out of the week.

Anyway, I was not seeing the unity of Christ in the church. What I was seeing was not the body of Christ at all; it was more like the body of a Mister Potato Head (the body was dismembered most of the week, and put back together two days a week). The truth is, most people would not be able to be together any more than that because there is so much diversity; we would drive each other nuts if we were together any longer than that. Why is that? It goes back to my last blog entry; it is the lack of the Love of Christ, and do not forget, we need those other days to pursue our worldly kingdom.

I know these words may come across a little callous, and I probably sound arrogant. The truth is my heart breaks over you my brother and you my sister. I know how hard it is to try living a life for Christ on this two day-a-week church mentality. I know how hard you try living a life that will please our King. You have good days and you have bad days. Most of you are still struggling with the same sins and strongholds that you have dealt with from the beginning. There is not one evangelist out there that has enough, anointing, power to cast these things from you. Your only hope is the same hope Peter had, and that was the accountability he had with his new family. He could not come home after a hard day’s work and slap his wife around…why? He was no longer alone. He had his brothers there to make sure of it. The truth is, we need the whole body of Christ; “the hand can’t say to the foot I don’t need you”.  I think one of the best gifts God has given us, next to himself, is each other. God never meant for his children to live separate individualistic lives away from each other. David new that value of Gods people being together; in Pslm 133:1 he says “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity”! Even from the beginning, God gave his people a land so that his children could be together. Jesus taught this to all who would desire to be a disciple. He never told anyone, if you want to be my disciple then go to college, get a good paying job, raise a family, go to church on Sunday and Wednesdays, and live individualistic lives apart from the rest of my body. No. He said things like drop all that you’re doing, forget yourself, sell all you have and give it to the poor, let the dead bury the dead, forsake mother father and you own life also, and follow me. Jesus even prays for this in the book of John 17^th chapter 22^nd and 23^rd verse. 17: 22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: 17:23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Do you hear what this is saying dear reader? Gods will is that we are one single unit, and it is by this unity that the world may know of Christ. It is by Gods people living together as one body, one heart, and one mind that will show the world that God is God, and he is alive and well. The early church had no problem understanding this. What was the first thing the new believers did in the book of Acts? They sold all of their possessions, continued daily at the feet of the apostles, went from house to house, eating their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.  Ask God to give us eyes to see the scriptures in his light and not through religious, denominational, and traditional, spectacles. I believe, if you will seek His truth with all of your heart, you will see all of these things very clearly in the scripture.          

Anyway, all that God was opening my eyes to see was breaking my heart to the deepest core. I would literally drive past church buildings and weep as I watched people walk into them. What is worse was, at that point, I felt more alone than I ever did; I was an emotional wreck. I would break down and start crying right out of the blue. It did not help matters any when God gave me yet another vision (or picture in my mindJ. This time it was of the church.

I saw a straight road that went all the way back to the early church that we read about in Acts. I saw this little black dot running back and forth across the road. At first, I could not make it out, but it kept getting closer and closer, running back and forth through generation to generation. It went from church body to church body. It finally got close enough that I was able to see what it was doing. It was the enemy; now you can call him satin, the devil, Lucifer, or whatever, but in this vision, his name was clear; it was Religion. What he was doing was going back and forth through the ages dropping seeds. The closer he got the darker the church got; the churches light got dimmer then dimmer, and by the time it got to our generation, the light was almost completely overshadowed by the darkness. I began to weep uncontrollably, and I cried out “oh God where has the light gone, where is that city that sits on a hill that cannot be hid”. This establishment we call the church, at one time, may have been the church, but it was no longer.

I know how all of this may sound; probably the same way I felt at the time…crazy. Some lunatic, atheistic infidel, but what is true is I asked God to open my eyes, so he was and still is to this day. The fact is, when I leave this world, it will not be pastor so and so, brother so and so, or dad or mom I will need to answer to, it will be God. Let us always remember that my friends, and let your prayer be that God will lift the veil from your eyes. Until next time, may God give us the eyes to see.

Over the next couple or few weeks, I will be re-entering my testimony that some of you may have read already. It was entitled “What a Journey”. If you have read it already, I encourage you to read it all again. This is the main reason I felt to start writing my blog to begin with. The journey that God has brought me through to this point has been amazing, and I look froward to seeing all that is ahead. I would also encourage you to ask questions or make any comments you wish. Remember, however, I am not writing so I can get some great debates started. I am merely sharing what God has done in me, and has opend my eyes to. Find out why I have titled my blog “The Veil Has Been Lifted”. God Bless.

I am new to all of this, so I ask for your forgiveness as I plunder my way through all of this blog technology. I started all of this because I thought it would give me an opportunity to share my heart, and all that God is, and has been, doing in me. Once again, I beg your forgiveness as I am no great writer, but I hope that God, in some way, will dictate his heart through me so we can examine ourselves to see whether we are truly in the faith. 2Co 13:5 “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” KJV.

Did you see anywhere in that verse of scripture that says go and ask your pastor whether or not you’r in the faith, or ask your Sunday school teacher if there is something written in the bible that can give you that assurance? NO. Nor will you find anything in scripture that says as long as you fly you banner under some denominational name or follow the same traditional religious pathway your father and great great granddaddy traveled will give you the blessed assurance that you are in Christ. Maybe you are putting your hope in the fact that you get holy goose bumps or other emotional experiences. Are these the things you really want to rely on for having abundant life in the kingdom of God? If so, then this blog will be a big waist of your time; however, if you’re one of those who have had something rise up in you and make you wonder if there is something more to Christianity than you have seen, and that God has to be more than just mere entertainment, bible studies, stain glass, and steeples, then you are why I feel I need to write this blog. Just look at me as someone who would like to help you put 2cor 13:5 into action.

All I would like to do is just share with you the path that I have traveled that brought me to where I am today. I must first tell you that I by no means have “arrived”, if you know what I mean. I do not claim to know all the answers to your questions. All I can tell you is what 1Jo 1:1 says, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life “. I will leave it to you and God to decide if what I speak is truth or not. I just ask you to search you heart and test if you are in the faith.

I also write this blog for another reason. I would like to share with my family and friends that feel I have left the faith and have joined some cult, the truth that has set me free. My prayer for you all is twofold, one: that God would give you peace in your hearts that I am truly in His hands, and that he is the creator of this life that I now live, and two: that your eyes also will be opened to some truth as well, and that you may be set free from the religious bondage that once held me captive. My love for you all is deep as the sea, and I hope that, no matter what you may read in this blog in the weeks to come, you never forget that.

In my next journal entry, I will begin my testimony of the past years, and how God has broke me, crushed me, and brought me through his own personal detox program to begin washing me clean of the religious system we call Christianity. I will do my best to write something at least once a week. My plan is to bring you up to date to where I am now, and then give you a week-to-week account to what God is doing with me. Until then, may God give you a hunger, like never before, for His righteousness.

I am reading a book right now entitled The Ladies Confession by George McDonald.  In it, there is an old minister who has this vision. In this vision, he is filled with the love of God, and all of a sudden he sees this great and awesome light beginning to shine all around him. After a moment, he notices that the lite was coming from him. The light got brighter and brighter. He began to see faces of those he loves and all he has ever loved. The light illuminated their faces to this beautiful radiant glow. Then the light began to grow brighter and it spread farther out, beyond all the faces he seen. This is a a beautiful picture and the reality of the love of God.

When the true love of God fills a man, or women, it has no place to go but out. God,s love is not something you can bottle up and keep contained. When the love of God shines out it will cause others to shine as well. The bible says that when “the True Light” is present, it will manifest everything that is in the darkness. When those who have that light shown on them will in return begin to shine with the love of God, and the light will be brighter and extend further. It is kind of like the “butterfly Affect” which says that the simple flapping of a butterfly’s wings can completely change the weather patterns on the other side of the planet. The love of God can change the world, and it starts with the simple flapping of your wings.

A simple act of kindness can show the love of Christ to someone, and forever change that person. Let us put our minds and self-centered ways aside, and let the love of God illuminate all that is around us. If you really want to change this world, it is not going to happen by fighting evolutionist and trying to stop gay rights legislation. It can only happen when Gods kingdom, his church, His city, is shinning bright, so let it shine.

As God has loved us, so let us love one another.       

Luke 6:39-40 And he spake also a parable unto them, Can the blind guide the blind? shall they not both fall into a pit? The disciple is not above his teacher: but every one when he is perfected shall be as his teacher.

In this chapter in Luke Jesus teaches that we are to love our enemies, to do good to those who do us wrong, not judge, to forgive, and be merciful, among other things. All of these things are a picture of who Jesus is. In this particular verse of scripture(above), Jesus makes a pretty strong statement, “Can the blind guide the blind? shall they not both fall into a pit?”

The question I would like to leave with you today is, are you blind following the blind, and/or blind leading the blind? Ask yourself who you are following. I know many of you will quickly say that you following Jesus; however, are you living your life according to the examples he gives to us in this chapter, or are you walking in the image of your pastor or denomination? “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” What are His commandments? Love…Love God and Love man. All the examples that you will read in this chapter are examples of the fruit of Love. Are you producing this fruit?

Simply put, as verse 40 says above, The disciple is not above his teacher: but every one when he is perfected shall be as his teacher. Are you like Christ? Does your life produce the things Jesus says it would produce if you where His disciple? Is He your teacher?

Friends, I challenge you to read the whole chapter and see if your life is reflecting His teaching. If not, who is your teacher? If our lives do not mirror that of the Christ, then it is hypocrisy to call ourselves Christians. Let us humbly look at these things and walk with The Way, The Truth, and The Life.

Hello friends, I will be flying out tomorrow, the 19th, for Rhode Island to visit some friends., so it may be several days before you hear anything from me. I will try sharing something with you while I am up there, but you know how that goes. I ask for your prayers for our journey.

I would like to leave you with a poem written by my favorite author George Macdonald. It is from Diary of an Old Soul. I recommend anything from George Macdonald. God bless.

 But love is life. To die of love is then

The only pass to higher life than this.

All love is death to loving, living men;

All deaths are leaps across clefts to the abyss.

Our life is the broken current, Lord, of thine,

Flashing from morn to morn with conscious shine–

Then first by willing death self-made, then life 

divine.

I was a man named legion numerous bonds restrained

Lifeless pit of emptiness darkness did flow my veins

Torment bond shackles of loneliness death I dream

No escape exitless no plan no scheme  

What through cracks of darkness see?

Glimmer of hope can not be

My soul does quake a voice like thunder

Shackles fall my torment over

A face of sun my eyes behold

My heart of flesh no longer stone

Bones of death now to stand

Yet cannot help my face in sand

I WAS a man named legion