September 29-30 -- Part 3 -- Budapest and Kraków

Hello friends,  I started writing this about 28 hours ago when I was on the bus from Budapest to Kraków.  The bus was swaying and rocking but I was persevering until we hit a bump and the computer erased everything I had written up to that point.  I gave up and rested for the remainder of the trip.  I started again sitting in my hotel room looking out over the main railway station in Kraków as dusk settled over the city.

Yesterday in Budapest was powerful and wonderful.  Mariusz and I had a meal with our friend Kata and then walked to the bridge over the Duna River (known in English as the Danube).  It is a beautiful place.  Just after Kata went home, we went to spend the rest of the evening in a wonderful intense discussion about the Kingdom with a group of about a dozen folks.  Most of the participants were university age guys and gals.  These are some of our favorite people to get into a free form discussion.  Holy Spirit plainly directed the conversation and the impact on the lives of the young men and women was clear.

I am now sitting in Sweet Life, a wonderful coffee shop that serves some of the World's best cup cakes and muffins in an atmosphere filled with the presence of God.  Breakfast has been wonderful and I now have at my elbow my second latte.  I hope you have a cup of coffee and a bit of quiet as you join me.

It seems like everyone must pause a moment and look around when reading:

if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but just as it is written,

“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,

And which have not entered the heart of man,

All that God has prepared for those who love Him.”

For to us God revealed them through the Spirit;

It is literally impossible for man by reason and logic to conceive how the love of Papa God has prepared for us in the eternal realm.  These things are only grasped when we are born into the eternal realm and receive revelation from Holy Spirit.

Sadly much of the church has been deceived into thinking that eternal life begins when we physically die.  Eternal life is what we are born into when we receive Jesus as our Lord.  Our clear perception of the nature of this life in the eternal realm begins when we invite Holy Spirit to dwell in us fully and to reveal in our hearts what is in the heart of Father for us.  This realm is completely different from the realm of time and space.  In the eternal realm there is neither past nor future.  All is in the eternal now.  In the eternal realm there is neither east or west but all is in the eternal presence of God.  This is the reason why, when we are alive in the eternal realm, we are empowered to speak prophetically about events from which time and space completely separate us.  This is why, when we begin to see the eternal Bride of Christ and understand our own humble connections within the Body of Christ, we can, as Paul promised us, become experts on the perfect will of God.  

My prayer is: "Holy Spirit please come fully into every aspect of my life.  Please reveal to me all that Father wants me to see of His Heart of Love.  Please lead me into the whole character of Jesus and fill my life with your fruit.  Please empower me with and reveal to me all that I need to walk in the good works that Papa prepared for me."

What is yours ?

His, thus Yours,

  Stuart

Matthew 16:17

 . . . flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

John 4:24

God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.

I Corinthians  1: 22 - 2:13

For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.  For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”  And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.  Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but just as it is written,

“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,

And which have not entered the heart of man,

All that God has prepared for those who love Him.”

For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.  But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.

II Corinthians. 5: 13 - 21. (NASB) 

For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, 

therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.  

Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. 

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

September 28 -- Part 2 -- Budapest

Good Morning, I have had a wonderful breakfast and Mariusz is off to a swimming pool for his morning exercise.  The weather in Budapest is ideal.  It is pleasant and sunny but not too warm.  Yesterday we had a long afternoon lunch with a young apostle who is a refugee from the islamic killers who are murdering the saints in Nigeria.  He is living in a refugee camp on the edge of the city and has no way to earn an income.  It was fun to listen to him telling of his building relationships with others in the camp.  Amadi is a marvelous man of God with a great future ahead of him.  I often dream of the Body of Christ coming to the place where we could effectively bring such men into an economically safe environment where they could grow and get equipped.

You will recall that yesterday I published Part 1 of this.  Today I continue with Part 2.

I was further stirred as Holy Spirit highlighted another verse:

But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.

I was impressed with my own foolishness in holding onto false expectations.  I have often thought the eternal relational character of the Bride of Christ was so obvious everyone must see it.  And yet, many do not.  It is not because they are stupid, or unrepentant, or even unwilling.  It is simply that they are not seeing it spiritually.   

Most of us have been reared in the cultures influenced by the Greek philosophers.  They believed that truth would be deduced by reason and logic.  But Jesus, who is the Truth, told Peter, recognition of Him as the Son of God was not the product of reason and logic but was the result of revelation by God the Father.  Holy Spirit is sometimes referred to by the title Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation.  Sadly most of the leadership of church groups is men or women who have studied theology -- the logical study of God.  But logical study produces information not revelation.  Knowledge puffs us up, fills us with pride.  Thus all these theological studies have produced the doctrines that divide us into camps warring against each other instead of melding us into one family loyal to each other.

The fervently expressed desire of Jesus is that His Bride would be united as one even as He and the Father are united as one.  But the Bride is a spiritual person.  Her unity is spiritual and can only be perceived spiritually.  This is true corporately and it is also true individually.  The scripture teaches we are the righteousness of God.  When we look at our lives logically from our human perspective we see clearly that we are not righteous.  We are not righteous even as men might be righteous.  We have all sinned and fallen far short of the glory of the righteous God.  But God says we are righteous.  Is God wrong ?  NO !  God is correct and we are wrong.  Despite what our logic tells us, if we are in Christ we are new creatures.  The old unrighteousness has passed away and all things have become new because One, Jesus, died for us.  And we have been commanded to stop looking at ourselves from a human point of view and start seeing ourselves as God sees us.

Indeed Jesus shows us in the pattern of His own life that the very nature of the work of God requires us to believe we are the sent sons of God.  We need to see ourselves as God sees us in order to do God's works.  If I were to proclaim myself to be merely a sinner saved by grace, I would in essence be saying that I have successfully resisted the work of the Holy Spirit who has been bringing to me transformation into a mature son of the Creator God.  God is not looking at our old sinful being.  He is looking at the new creation.  He deeply deeply desires for you to see yourself in that way also.

As exciting and fulfilling as seeing yourself from Papa's perspective may be, it is only the beginning.  Because His further desire is that by the grace of Holy Spirit you also see the corporate Body of Christ, the beautiful betrothed Bride of Jesus the Anointed One.  Indeed, Paul tells us in his letter to Corinth that our failure to correctly see the Body of Christ has very serious consequences.

My prayer is, "Jesus, I am blind.  Unless you heal me I have no hope.  Please let me see the revelation you have for me."

What is yours ? 

His, thus Yours,

  Stuart

Matthew 16:17

 . . . flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

John 4:24

God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.

I Corinthians  1: 22 - 2:13

For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.  For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”  And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.  Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but just as it is written,

“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,

And which have not entered the heart of man,

All that God has prepared for those who love Him.”

For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.  But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.

II Corinthians. 5: 13 - 21. (NASB) 

For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, 

therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.  

Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. 

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

September 27 -- Part 1 -- Budapest

Well, Good Afternoon, I had typed morning but I looked at my watch.  I am sitting in a sidewalk cafe in Budapest, Hungary.  I have just topped off breakfast with a traditional Hungarian Apple Strudel and a Cappuchino.  Yum !  If what I write today is a bit disjointed, please forgive.  I know I am to write this but I am quite unsure what it is.  I know Holy Spirit gave me the two scriptures below and a few unformed thoughts a couple of days ago.  And I know today I am to write.  But, I am not yet sure of how this will all come together.  Moreover, He said I do not need to know yet; just sit down and start writing.  SO . . . 

I am back after writing a bit.  I am going to publish this in multiple short pieces instead of as one long work.  I will keep the full scripture quotes at the bottom of each piece of the multi-part blog.

I was stunned when Holy Spirit highlighted the verse for me:

          Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

I could not help but immediately see that Holy Spirit was describing the overwhelming majority of the 'church' leadership today.  One group is searching for and finding validation in signs, wonders, and miracles.  Their claim to fame is the amazing miracles that God seems to work through them and their followers -- healings, deliverance, even gold flakes falling out of the atmosphere -- all amazing and all miraculous and all seemingly from God.  The other, and seemingly larger, group is searching for and finding validation in their wise doctrines based on profound logical research of everything from archeological evidence to ancient writings -- they proclaim as 'truth':  Calvinism, Armenianism, Reformed Orthodoxy, Fundamentalism, et cetera, et cetera, ad nauseum.  

I have no problem with miracles; I have seen far more than I deserve.  And I have no problem with brilliant men applying their intellect;  some folks over estimate my own intellectual prowess.  Holy Spirit is the author of both miracles and wisdom.  But, He is quite concerned with what we are asking, seeking, and searching after.  In Paul's writing He cries out to us for us to seek and search for an intimate relationship with the crucified and risen person of Jesus.  That miracles and wisdom may follow seems to Him quite natural.  But what never seems natural to Him is the idea that the process works in reverse.  We simply cannot find Jesus by pursuing either miracles or wisdom.  We find Jesus in pursuing a love affair with the most wonderful Bridegroom of the Universe.

His, thus Yours,

  Stuart

I Corinthians  1: 22 - 2:13

For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.  For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”  And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.  Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but just as it is written,

“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,

And which have not entered the heart of man,

All that God has prepared for those who love Him.”

For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.  But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.

II Corinthians. 5: 13 - 21. (NASB) 

For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, 

therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.  

Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. 

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

September 22 -- God is Love -- Travel Kraków to Prague

The Scripture teaches us "God is Love."  So let's do a simple little learning exercise together.  Let's take the famous chapter about love, I Corinthians 13, and use simple word substitution to see what it teaches us about God's character.  (Credit to the NASB translation for the basic text.)

​If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have God, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 

If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have God, I am nothing. 

And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have God, it profits me nothing.

God is patient,

God is kind and 

God is not jealous; 

God does not brag and

God is not arrogant, 

God does not act unbecomingly; 

God does not seek God's own, 

God is not provoked, 

God does not take into account a wrong suffered, 

God does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but 

God rejoices with the truth; 

God bears all things, 

God believes all things, 

God hopes all things, 

God endures all things.

God never fails;  ....  

Now, let's pause for a moment to ask ourselves the question, Is this the nature of the God I am expecting as I interact with Him today ?  Or is this just an imaginary God who I have never really met? 

His, thus Yours, 

 Stuart

September 21 -- Check the Forecast -- Kraków

Good Morning, it is a misty morning under a cloud covered sky.  Most of us regularly check the weather forecast.  Very few of us act like the young lady I observed last night.  Dressed in a thin lacy topped dress, she commented all the way from the seventh floor to ground level about how cold the weather has turned.  She then proceeded to walk out of the building with neither wrap nor jacket.  As my boyhood friend, Mr. King, would say, "She will catch her death of durn foolishness !" 

And yet, the Scriptures warn us about the impending spiritual storms that loom on the horizon.  Are we prepared ?  Are we even paying attention to the real world.  Or do we, like the young woman, live in a world in which our appearance is more important than our survival ?  What are we teaching those who follow us ?

I have a close friend.  I love him deeply and have for years.  But, he has a trait that I find disturbing.  Emotionally he simply cannot tolerate being told he is wrong.  Praise God, he is actually right most of the time.  But when he is wrong it is often in ways that are very hurtful to other people around him.  But, he simply cannot handle being told that he is wrong.  He explodes with anger.  He threatens to end our relationship.  He seems to live like the scripture that says, "A wise man embraces a rebuke." is from a satanic writing rather than from the Word of God.  I grieve for the pain his family and friends endure.  But even more I grieve for my friend and his tragic inability to receive the goodness that Father desires to pour out upon him and through him upon many others.

Many of us are going through similar places in our lives.  We have character traits that God desires to heal and mature.  Alas, we choose to turn away from the sources of help and transformation our loving Jesus is sending into our lives.  Jesus desires to work in our lives through the joints of relationship where He is connecting us into the Body of the Bride.  Most often the most effective healing happens through the relationships that require us to humble ourselves.  

Clearly and firmly, over the last several years Holy Spirit has been emphasizing the importance of our entering into closely bonded spiritual relationships that allow our spirits to genuinely hear the Holy Spirit speaking through our brothers and sisters.  Sadly, most of the people who believe they are part of the church continue to look more for the sand of meetings, titles, and rituals than for the bed rock of relationships of safe intimate Truth speaking.  And yet it is in such relationships that we find a safe foundation when the storms hit us.  The Scriptures are clear.  The storms will come.  The evil days will assail us.  We do not need a television to know the spiritual forecast.

Who are you genuinely connected with ?  When Jesus confused the crowds with words that sounded like eating human flesh was being required, His disciples did not leave Him because He had the words of spirit and life for them.  Who has those words for you ?  Are you building and nurturing relationship with someone who can affirm you when you are right and rebuke you when you are wrong ?  Or are you content with a tepid existence that never really challenges you to change and grow ?

His, thus Yours,

 Stuart

Intimacy

My friend and I were sitting in his living room chatting.  He wanted me to pray for him to find a job.  Holy Spirit prompted me to ask what kind of job he would like to have.  My friend responded, “Whatever the Lord wants me to have.”

When my wife and I were young and in love, I would offer to take her out to dinner.  She would agree to go out.  After we were all prepared and in the car, I would ask her, “Where would you like to go?  What kind of food would you like?”  She almost always responded, “Oh, anywhere is fine with me.  You choose.”  I would agree and start driving toward the restaurant of my choice.  She would ask where we were going.  When I told her, she would always object to that choice.

Sadly, marriage counsellors are continually dealing with couples who are unhappy with each other.  But, more often than not, in their unhappiness the partners have often complained to or about each other but they have never affirmatively communicated what they desire to their partner.  This is true in matters ranging from the simple choice of a restaurant to money management and sexual relations.

All these failures of communication, and many others, are often based in our fears.  Fears of rejection; fears of being a disappointment; and, fears of intimacy keep us from opening up true communication.

The other frequently recurring element in these failures of communication lies in the unknowns.  Often a person will not communicate his desires to another because he or she honestly does not know what he or she actually desires.  When my wife was not telling me what restaurant she wanted, it was because she really did not know.  Sadly, she lived in a world in which she did not know what she wanted but she knew she did not want whatever I was choosing.  This perspective in life continued to the point that in our later years we almost always ate at McDonalds because she could accept that even though it was a place neither of us really wanted.

Often, I get the opportunity to talk with young women approaching the age to consider marriage.  I tell them that it is important for them to take ownership over themselves. Owning implies being responsible for themselves and thus requires getting to know themselves.  The woman who does not get to know herself and take ownership over herself cannot possibly truly give herself to her husband.  

The same dynamic is also true for each of us as we become the Bride of Christ.  Jesus desires His bride to be able to enter into deep intimacy with Him.  When He rejects the charismatic miracle workers in Matthew 7:23, He uses the same language that describes His mother Mary as continuing as a virgin until after His birth.  His concern was not with the performance of the miracle workers but with their intimacy of relationship with Him.  He is telling us that He wants a bride that will pursue intimacy with Him, the Bridegroom.

A related problem that marriage counsellors face on a daily basis is our failure to own our emotions combined with our willingness to accept responsibility for another person’s emotions.  For me to say to my wife or my children, “I am angry so you need to change.” makes no more sense than for me to say to them, “I am hungry so you need to eat something.”  Tragically for my wife and children it took me many painful years to learn that simple truth.  If I am experiencing emotions, whatever they may be, I am responsible for them.  I have been given a gift of self-control.  I choose whether to be angry or to be loving.  I choose whether to be happy and hopeful or to be depressed and despairing.  No other person is responsible for how I feel.  My feelings are the result of my choices not the result of my circumstances.

No one can make me angry.  No one can make me happy.  And all the same choices I have the power to make, are also choices that every child of God has the power to make.  However, the enemy of our souls is always working to deceive us into believing we do not have the power that God has given to us.  

If I do not know myself, if I have not admitted to myself, that I have the power and responsibility to live in control of myself and my own emotions; then to that extent I am imprisoned in the enemy’s deception and I am foreclosed from becoming intimate in my relationships with Jesus and with other people.  For too many years I was living deceived in just this way.  I was deceived because I wanted to be deceived so that I could believe my failures as a husband and father were not really my responsibility.  Indeed, I was so deceived that I was also actively working to deceive my wife, my children, my counsellors and the world that my failures were my wife’s fault or my children’s fault or someone else’s fault.  

Sadly, I kept myself entrapped.  It was not until I was willing to know myself that I could change.  It was only when I was willing to admit to myself that I was responsible that God’s grace would begin the process of cleansing me from the unrighteousness of all that I had been.  Failure to confess our sin does not keep God from forgiving us.  But, it does keep us from receiving His cleansing from all the unrighteous foundation the sin is based upon.

The foundation upon which all these forms of self-deception are built is one simple belief.  It is the choice to believe that God does not really love me like I am right now.  God cannot love me.  Because I do not love myself the way I am clearly neither God nor anyone else can really love me the way I am.  The only ones who love me are the ones from whom I have kept myself hidden.  And when they see the real me they will reject me too.

BUT THAT BELIEF IS A LIE !

THE CREATOR GOD OF THE UNIVERSE LOVES EVERY ONE OF US 

EVEN WHEN HE KNOWS EVERY DETAIL ABOUT WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE HAVE DONE ! !

When we choose to believe this truth, when we choose to receive this enormous unending love, His perfect love will cleanse away all of our fears.  His love will empower us to accept our true selves and to accept responsibility for actual control over ourselves, our emotions, and our responses to the people around us.

Then, we have the power to pursue true intimacy with Jesus, with our spouses, with others whom we love.  Then we are empowered to get to know ourselves more deeply and then to pursue even deeper levels of intimacy.  

I pray for each one of us to hear and heed the call of Jesus to connect with Him in a deep intimate relationship experiencing the total acceptance and approval that flows through His Spirit into the very core of our hearts.

His, thus Yours,

  Stuart

September 19 -- Reprise 3 -- Kraków

Good Morning,  I am sitting in the midst of The Sweet Life !  This is a wonderful coffee shop with fresh baked cup cakes and muffins, et cetera.  It is operated by some wonderful Jesus centered folks.  And they have a good wifi.  I have a cup of latte and just finished devouring a Peach Cheesecake Muffin that was fabulous !  YUM !

On Tuesday morning and evening Holy Spirit focused us on pouring out Papa's love for His people and on His call for them to develop intimate relationships.  We shared prophetic words with many of the folks.  These themes of ministry continued through out the week with several different groups.

During the days, between messages we were making trips to the hospital and struggling to ensure Bruno and his family were supported.  We also were teaching in the car to the two young men that Bruno had assigned to drive and support us.  We also were meeting with families and individuals to minister deliverance from sorcery and witchcraft curses and from other demons.  So as torturous and far as the drive was to get to the hotel, when we finally got there in the nights we were grateful to fall into the beds and sleep the sleep of the exhausted.

One day when things were moving fast around us our drivers needed to meet with some of their colleagues.  We stopped just a few minutes from the hospital at the Ibis Hotel for the meeting.  I have used Ibis Hotels all over the world.  It occurred to me to ask why do we need to be at that other hotel instead of at the Ibis.  Well it is close to Bruno's new home.  Yes it is but neither Bruno nor his family are at that house.  But Bruno wants you to see the house and pray over it.  Great let's do that today and move to the Ibis.  We did.  Ken and I estimate that the move gave us about 10 additional man hours of ministry time every day after the move.  That was a good decision.  And we were much more comfortable and eating more healthy food.

One morning I awoke with a fever, achy muscles and all the signs of a viral infection.  Prayer plus ibuprofen relieved the symptoms and we continued as usual except I was careful to give myself a bit of rest time during the hottest part of the afternoons.  Within three days I was completely back to normal.  But I was reminded clearly by the Lord that we all need to do a better job of guarding our days of rest and the health of our immune systems when we are traveling in Africa.  Once again I am appreciative of all of you who have been so faithful to pray for our team as we serve.

Our second week in Cotonou was only 4 days, Monday through Thursday.  But it did not seem short by any means.  Monday and Wednesday Mornings we were scheduled to serve a group led by a delightful Saint whom I have known in ministry for at least 15 years, Ernest.  The group was composed of leaders from among his wide ranging contacts in the Cotonou area.  Each morning we taught for about 3 hours.  Our focus was on the nature of the transition that Holy Spirit is bringing to the Bride.  We talked about the importance of serving the purposes of God for our generation instead of the purposes of past generations.

We would have gone to the same group on Tuesday morning but that day we had a commitment to go to the local television station.  The television station cancelled at the last minute so instead we were ministering deliverance and peace to a toddler who was having bad dreams as a result of a sorcerer's curse.   

On Monday through Wednesday evenings we were with a lovely group of folks led by Austin and Mary.  During the 3 evenings we did a compressed version of the complete Overview of Disciple Making Seminar.  In addition we shared a prophetic word with each of the attendees.  There was one very fascinating difference about ministering to this group.

During the morning meetings we were warmly introduced and endorsed by the leadership so the reception by the people was open and easy to serve them.  However, during these evening meetings, it became apparent that these were a people who knew that they were loved.  And the apostle who loved them deeply introduced us, endorsed us, and he explained to them that what we were presenting was exactly what God wanted them to receive.  During these meetings it was like ministry was being sucked out of us with a vacuum pump.  This was the clearest demonstration I have seen in years of the importance of people being prepared to receive the Lord when He comes.

We thought that on our last day in country we would enjoy a relaxed day of preparation for our evening flight to Turkey and connections onward.  Alas, it was not to be.  At the last minute we were informed that the television station had called and they wanted us to come to the station this the morning of our last day.  We arrived at the station to discover they expected us to record a half hour teaching program.  So, we did.  Well that went so well would we be willing to record a second one.  Yes, we recorded a second one.  Well, now our driver's daughter needed more ministry could we meet her and minister to her on the way to the airport.  Well, yes, of course we would.  So then we could all have lunch together on the way to the airport.  Finally we were safe behind security at the airport where we could breathe a few minutes before boarding our over night flight to Istanbul, Turkey.

His, thus Yours,

  Stuart

September 18 -- The Reprise-2 - Addiction -- Kraków

Good Morning, it is getting close to noon here in Kraków, Poland.  It was delightful to sleep in a room filled with fresh, cool air.  I had napped yesterday afternoon.  This morning I awoke feeling deeply refreshed and more well rested that I have felt in about one month.  My old body simply does not endure the heat nearly as well as it once did.  People who do not travel from temperate climates to Equatorial Africa often do not realize how draining it is on a person.  One is continually hot and sweaty.  One is continually on alert for: mosquitos; malaria; petty theft;  the need for toilet paper; contaminated water (not only for drinking but also for brushing ones teeth); contaminated foods; cultural traps; problems with translations; AND for all of those same problems that might affect another team member.  Just the emotional wear and tear of being continuously on alert for so many unusual dangers is in itself tiring even if you do not seek to accomplish anything.  If, in addition, one is speaking 2-3 hours at a time through a translator (sometimes through 2 translators) and that twice each day, one necessarily learns to completely rely on God's grace.  It is simply not reasonable to believe that one person can do these things without generous portions of grace.

As you read these reprises, please allow for the fact that our time was so full and with so many things going on that I may have mixed up the order of things.  I am more trying to give you a feel for it than trying to create an historical record. 

That first evening in Benin we went to a group we have been with several times before.  It is a very successful church organization.  They have built a beautiful building.  They are well organized.  The principle leader is wise, thoughtful and generous.  The people are very effective in accomplishing all the goals taught in any good church growth seminar.  The staff is alert and thoughtful.  They take care of their people well.  This group took the lead in raising local funds to help Bruno and his family with medical expenses.  And yet at the same time they all received us and our teachings about the relational church with open hearts and great enthusiasm.  They are plainly showing signs of great growth and development in building relationships.  Some are even beginning to practice the concepts of disciple-making.  I am watching with fascination to see what God does.  They continue to receive us and honor us greatly. Starting Monday night then Tuesday morning and Tuesday night we taught a three message series.

The first message caught me by surprise.  Holy Spirit led off with an extended warning to His people about the dangers of our emotional addictions to religious worship experiences.  For many people, one goes to worship services; there one finds the ecstasy of high praise and worship to be an intoxicating release of chemicals in the brain.  The euphoria is wonderful, relaxing, even refreshing.  Then the meeting place is left behind but the residual feelings continue for hours or even days.  But, alas, the feelings begin to ebb.  One feels less and less close to God.  One begins to hunger to again be in the presence of God.  So one goes back to another meeting.  Again the musicians perform their magic.  Once again one finds the ecstasy of high praise and worship.  Again the euphoria is wonderful, exhilarating and refreshing -- ahh so deeply satisfying.

So, what is the problem with all this ?  It is all based on a fundamental LIE !  If we are sons of God, we do not find the presence of God in a meeting.  We carry the presence of God with us every moment of every day.  If we are sons of God, worship is not based in music.  Worship is the fundamental nature of life for us.  The meeting emotional euphoria is a carefully crafted addiction manufactured by the spirit of the imposter christ.  It becomes a substitute for real ongoing connected relationship with Jesus.  It is a substitute for living only doing what Father is doing and only saying what Father is saying.   

Do not mis-understand, there is nothing wrong with having exhilarating euphoric praise and worship.  In the same manner there is nothing wrong with a married couple having exhilarating wild and passionate sex.  But, when a marriage is reduced to satisfying the needs of one sexually addicted partner or the other.  It is no longer a healthy relationship.  

It is time for the Bride to be seeing far more of the character of Her Bridegroom than His ability to satisfy Her desire for worship.  The oft repeated lie that we were created to worship is still a lie.  We were created to become a complete Bride to Jesus.

His, thus Yours,

 Stuart

September 16 -- Reprise Part 1 -- Somewhere Over Europe

At the moment I am airborne.  I have left Istanbul, Turkey, about noon.  I will sleep in the early hours of tomorrow in Kraków, Poland.  Yes that is yet another change to the travel plan.  Ken was telling me this morning that he intends to send an email to our heroic travel agent Gretchen. "Oh," I asked, "Why ?"  Ken replied, "I just want her to get one from us that does not require her to change anything !"  By the way Gretchen, if your family allows you time to read this, we want you to know that we did not let the bullet holes in the wall of the lounge in Instanbul bother us.  And Turkish Airlines gives about the best service either Ken or I have experienced.  And one more note for you, this Boeing 777-300ER aircraft is marvelously comfortable.  Even the Loo is large enough that a fat old man does not have to be a contortionist.  

I did not get much restful sleep last night.  The seat I am in now lays down nicely.  Alas, I cannot convince my body to sleep.  So, you are stuck with me having a cup of coffee and writing to you.  Last time I wrote was 12 days ago when we had just returned to Lomé from Kara in Togo.  Those days have been: hot, humid, stressful,busy, frustrating, uncomfortable,and some of the most productive days in the history of my walking with the Father.  I am sure I will not remember all the details but I want to give you some highlights and a sense of what ministry in Africa can be like.

We remained in Lomé until Monday Morning.  Sunday would have been a marvelous day to rest.  Ha ha, it did not work out that way.  It turns out to be very difficult to actually get a day of rest in Africa.  In order to do so you either must go into hiding so no one can find you or you must be ready to be "harsh" turning people away.  But most often the process of turning them away is even more tiring than just spending time loving them.  It is an environment where you become very grateful to the Lord for just one or two African friends you can spend time with without any kind of draining or friction.  Ken and I think we found a few more such relationships this trip and that makes the idea of future trips much more appealing. 

Saturday night, almost immediately after our six hour drive from Kara to Lomé, we went to dinner with a very successful family of business persons.  The Father is an auditor; the daughter is a consultant for insurance and other financial products.  As we talked over dinner they each became interested in understanding the concept of having someone watch over ones soul (Hebrews 13:17).  As we explained, of course, that lead to more and more discussion of the nature of the Bride of Christ and the centrality of Her relationships to the nature of the Kingdom of God.  After dinner, Christophe made clear that he would join Ken and Winner and I in Cotonou. 

Sunday we got laundry done and met with various people.  Included were the Mother and Daughter for whom you, through your generosity, made the purchase of new eyeglasses possible.  I do not have words to convey their joy and gratitude that you not only covered the cost of the glasses but by a bit extra you made it possible for other medical care debts to also be paid.  Two healthy African ladies think that you folks are genuine messengers of the goodness and grace of God.  thank you to each and everyone who contributed to their health and joy.  The mother, whose first and second languages are not English, wrote:  "Please, I would like to send you a mail for the person who sent us money. Dear sister, We send you greetings in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to you for the money you sent us through brother Stuart. It has really been a godsend to us because it has enabled us to meet some of our needs. Thanks a lot for your kindness. May the Lord bless you and lift you up higher in your ministry.  Odette Djawan"

It was Sunday night that we received word of Bruno's serious accident.  Not only did this change our priorities because of his apparent critical care needs but Bruno was the only person who knew the details of what had been planned for our work in Benin.  In his very damaged head were all our appointments and engagements.  In addition, Bruno was our primary and in most cases only translator when the plans were made.  Praise Jesus that Winner decided to travel with us.  We would have been stuck with out the gift of his language skills.

We awoke EARLY Monday morning (groans in background) to get packed and meet our driver at 8:00 AM.  He took the four of us through the city to get to the waterfront.  There I stood under the palm trees for about 1 minute while Ken clicked a picture for FaceBook then we all climbed into a "taxi" that would drive us to downtown Cotonou, Benin (about 4 hours plus time at the border crossing to go through all the paper work required).  When we arrived, hot, tired, sweaty, and jammed together in the car, we switched cars for another 45 minutes through city traffic to get to the hospital and visit Bruno.  Praise God by this time he was at least conscious enough to speak and to confirm that he recognized us.  That was very reassuring.  He had explained the beginnings of our plans to Jean Luc ( yes, like Jean Luc Piccard of Star Trek fame).  After a short visit Jean Luc and Claver drove us to our hotel.  The hotel was a new one.  So new that our rooms were 2 of only 6 rooms that were finished.  The rest of the building was still under construction. But it's other significant feature was that it was 45 minutes drive from everywhere we ever needed to go.  Half that drive was over roads that were nearly impassable for any ordinary automobile.  Motion sickness was a constant threat.  Moreover we discovered that African expect to have multiple persons sleeping in any one bed.  So none of the rooms have 2 beds.  Ken and I are closer than ever before.  No secrets are being revealed about any snoring or other night time noises.  

After a brief time to check in and refresh our clothes, we headed off for the First evening meeting.  I will begin part 2 of this reprise with that meeting.

His, thus Yours,

  Stuart

September 4 -- Alone

Good Morning Beloved Ones !  I started writing this about 24 hours ago in my dormitory room in Kara.  I am now back in the Hotel dining room in Lomé.  Of those 24 hours, 6 long ones were spent riding in the back seat of a hot humid car.  The Togolaise "inter-state" makes for fascinating driving.  At times it was raining so hard the driver could only see one or two car-lengths ahead.  During those times we had to roll up the windows of this un-air conditioned metal box.  Sauna is a much too civilized word for the experience.  At other times were moving along at 100 to 120 kph (60 to 75 mph).  But this inter-state had only 2 paved lanes and no paved shoulders along the edges.  Thus any broken down truck was simply stopped in the travel lane.  Usually it had some men crawling under it or walking around it.  In addition, there were frequent holes in the pavement.  Pot-holes is much too puny a word to describe them.  Many were large enough to break an axle if we hit them too fast.  Some were large enough to hide the casket which you would need if you hit them.  Our driver was  OUTSTANDING !  But, even he had to stomp on the brakes hard from time to time.  To say the least it was not a restful drive.  Of those 24 hours, 8 which seemed much shorter, were spent sleeping here in Lomé.

Although the sleeping and driving seem like they should be enough to completely fill the day, they were the easy parts of the day.  When  I interrupted writing yesterday morning it was to get into the car with all our luggage, check out of the dormitory, and drive to our usual breakfast restaurant.  We knew we would have no time to eat lunch so we each had a hearty breakfast.  After eating we dashed to the meeting.  There the team shared about being connected in relationships in the Bride of Christ.  We also shared about getting our minds renewed.  And finally we shared about our freedom in Christ.  For the last hour we shared prophetic words with each of the people who desired to receive. Then we dashed for the car to drive south.

After we arrived in Lomé we had time for a quick shower before leaving to go out for dinner with a lovely local family.  The father, our host, asked us to explain the concept of having someone watching over our souls.  He, and his lovely daughter Stephanie, were marvelous dinner companions and a great time was had by all.

There is a great classic American movie starring Tim Robbins called The Shawshank Redemption.  Shawshank is the name of a prison where the Tim Robbins character is incarcerated.  During his imprisonment he is frequently punished for offenses by being placed in a dark cell where he is completely alone, "the hole".  And yet, it appears that his time alone, at worst has not affected him, and often he appears to emerge from "the hole" stronger and more confident than before.  Every person goes through periods in life when he feels like he is completely alone.  During these times we feel like no one understands what we are going through. We feel alone, imprisoned, and cut-off from any real contact with love or empathy.

When Jesus went out into the desert to be tested he appeared to be alone.  But we only believe that if we forget that it was just before he went the Holy Spirit came upon Him like a dove. Whenever you are feeling alone.  When you look around yourself and see no one standing with you.  Pause a moment and look within yourself.  That is where God chooses to live when we invite Him.  His commitment is that He NEVER leaves us.  NEVER !  Simply believe Him.

His, thus Yours,

 Stuart

September 2 -- The River is High -- Kara, Togo

At the back of my second floor dormitory room is a porch.  When I open the door and step out into the heat and humidity, I look out across a corn field to see the Kara River.  The river has been running very high.  Yesterday we had downpours of rain in near cloudburst proportions.  So the river this morning appears close to overflowing its banks.  When I step out the other way on to the front porch, I look down to the stone patio below (where Christophe killed the cobra).  This morning much of the stone is covered with a layer of mud silt that was washed from the gardens onto the stone by yesterday's rain storm.  By God's grace my sleeping room is air conditioned.  The restaurant where we are eating our meals is not air conditioned.  Rather it has two sides that are completely open.  Around the room above the tables are good fans that create a breeze across the table during our meals.  We try to eat early in the day before the heat builds up to its oppressive worst.  I did not bring any coffee making equipment with me to Kara so here I must wait until we all drive to breakfast before I get my morning coffee.  Alas . . . . 

We taught a seminar session starting at 3 Wednesday afternoon.  It was very hot then.  The following sessions are all in the mornings starting at nine.  It is cooler then.  During the seminars we have been helping people catch a vision of how to train their disciples to survive in the hostile world of persecution.  Here people are very aware that not very far to the north the islamic jihadists have taken over the city of Tombuctou, Mali.  The terrorists could come here to Togo also at any time.  In every little community along the N-1 (the equivalent of an Interstate Highway in the USA or a major motorway in Europe) the islamists have built a mosque or cultural center with a minaret for calls to "prayer".  These buildings stand out and are the tallest building in virtually every town.  

In our seminars and in the one on one conversations afterward, the river of life is also flowing with a strong current that draws people closer to the King.

His, thus Yours,

 Stuart