God's Business Plan!

Scripture: JOHN 3:16

"Before the final visitation of God's judgements upon the earth, there will be, among the people of the Lord, such a revival of primitive godliness as has not been witnessed since apostolic times. The Spirit and power of God will be poured out upon His children. At that time many will separate themselves from those churches in which the love of this world has supplanted love for God and His Word.
Many, both of ministers and people, will gladly accept those great truths which God has caused to be proclaimed at this time, to prepare a people for the Lord's Second Coming." GC88

Peter at Pentecost talked about a latter rain that would come upon the earth just before probation would close. We read about it in Acts 3:19 " Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the {times of refreshing} shall come from the presence of the Lord;"
The apostle Paul preached that there would come a "falling away first.

The Revival and Reformation, which SDA's have believed AND taught, has begun. I believe that the sermon that Bev and I heard ONE MONTH ago on Sept 18, 2004, was the BEGINNING of a Revival and Reformation for us, and there's a fire in my bones that I never had before. It is my desire that you TOO will receive this same fire. When I think about the implications of this whole experience, I tremble, because God has PERFECT timing.

We truly have nothing to fear for the future except that we forget how God has led us in the past.

Friends, I can better understand NOW why Jesus told Peter, "WHEN you are converted, strengthen your brethern." That's where I am today, and the more I listen and read this sermon, the more I realize, I NEVER had the whole thing together before.
With the exception of a few personal stories, and some added data by me, THIS presentation is EXACTLY the same as we heard on Sept. 18, 2004.

Had we left on vacation in August, on schedule, we would have missed this sermon. Had we departed on the scheduled weekend Houseboat trip on Friday Sept.17, we would have missed this whole event, and you would NOT be hearing THIS presentation today.

Prayer!

Dear Heavenly Father,
Today, we're going to look at You, and the Plan that You set in place for all the universe. Father God, show us another picture of that great love, and how we can be a part of it. May you be glorified, and your people edified, in Jesus Name, Amen!

John 3:16 glorifies God and honours Him, so that WE can have a BETTER understanding of WHO He is, and WHAT He is going to do, and continue doing for us.

Perhaps we've been raised a bit confused about the TRINITY- the Godhead, and WHAT it represents.

Do we pray to God the Father?
Do we pray to Jesus?
Do we pray to the Holy Spirit?
OR does it matter?

HOW DO WE PUT IT ALL TOGETHER for organizing in our brain, so we don't have confusion WITH THE MINISTRY of the different parts of the Godhead?

The Muslims believe that there is only One God. One means ONE, and there's nothing beyond the one.

But there is also an apple, and that apple has seeds. There could be MANY APPLES inside that ONE apple. The Bible identifies Jesus AS God, the Holy Spirit as God, and of course, the Father as God.

WHO ARE WE IN BUSINESS FOR TODAY? Our Gospel Commission, IS to give the Good News of Salvation, so we're in Business with AND FOR Jesus Christ, are we not?

THIS IS BUSINESS OF THE HIGHEST ORDER- a very HIGH calling!

AND a Business Plan NEEDS to be put in place to fulfil our role- A BUSINESS PLAN consisting of STRUCTURE, FUNCTION , AND MANAGEMENT!

Any one of the above which does NOT work or succeed in right results, ends in failure. In today's world, businesses are constantly being RE-WORKED, or RE-STRUCTURED.

Men are looking for Business Plans that will not fail, and they're looking AT the STRUCTURE, the FUNCTION, AND THE MANAGEMENT!

One thing we can know for certain! God's Business Plan has never failed, NOR does it need to be RESTRUCTURED OVER AND OVER!
SO today, WE ARE GOING TO LOOK AT GOD- the TRINITY- from a Business Prospective.

We've already established the FACT that we're IN BUSINESS WITH/ FOR JESUS CHRIST.

Let's define TRINITY! To clear our thinking, God THE FATHER represents the STRUCTURE- THE ETERNAL Structure, but to us He has never been revealed. WHY? Because we have been removed from Him on account of sin, so we only know that God the Father is the ETERNAL STRUCTURE.
Since we're in business with God, we need to look beyond the Structure. The FUNCTION of the Structure is left up to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ REVEALS the love of God, and the love of God is the revelation in HOW God FUNCTIONS, so everything that Jesus FUNCTIONS, He does it in love. Jesus Christ, thereof, IS the FUNCTION of the STRUCTURE.

Hold that thought! Remember in our Church at Study, we studied about the different members of the body of the Church, Jesus Himself being the Head? Each one of us, then, is a representation of different body parts of the Body of Christ.

FROM a Business Prospective, WE assume, NATURALLY, a portion of the FUNCTION of God…in our BEHAVIOUR, in our CONVERSATION...WHATEVER WE DO IN Business with God, we are a part of the FUNCTION. 2 Peter 1:4 says, "We become partakers of the divine nature. WHY? Because, WE are to be a REFLECTION of Jesus Christ- Jesus IN and THROUGH us, so that others can see the love of God. In 2 Corinthians 3:18 the Bible says, "By beholding we become changed."

Friends, it certainly matters what we behold, doesn't it?

Because some people only know God as a STRUCTURE,through us, they can see HOW God FUNCTIONS, because "we" draw more people to Jesus Christ.

Isn't it OUR desire to reveal Jesus to all we meet?

THEREFORE, since we represent Jesus Christ's Body, WE represent the FUNCTION side of His Business Plan.

But, then there is MANAGEMENT. Management has ALWAYS been, and ALWAYS will be represented by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit "MOVED THE FIRMAMENT" AT CREATION. The Holy Spirit was seen at the baptism of Jesus Christ. It is the Holy Spirit's BUSINESS to run the affairs of God as a MANAGEMENT.

So!

Will YOU invite the Holy Spirit to manage YOUR affairs?

God is inviting YOU and ME to be a part of His Business Plan, and form a BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP with Him.

And God says, "Because you are in Business WITH Me as a FUNCTION, the Holy Spirit will supervise and MANAGE your life's affairs!"

Since 1 Corinthians 1:30 tells us about Jesus Christ being OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS, THIS MEANS THAT WE, TOO, are to know Him personally, and to pass ON His loving-kindness to others. So NOW, we can organize our thoughts in HOW "we" FIT into God's Business Plan.

Let us PRAISE God for WHAT He has done, IS DOING, and WILL continue to do in our behalf. Let's thank Him and worship Him for the Eternal God that He is, for the LOVE that we BEGIN to understand that comes forth from the FUNCTION of Jesus Christ.

God withholds nothing. God will hide nothing. He will disclose all things to us appropriately in His time. Through Christ, God reveals everything about Himself.

And the Holy Spirit MANAGEMENT is looking for ways that the doors and windows of our hearts can open up, that says, "I WANT TO BE MANAGED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT!"

Jesus submitted to the power of the Holy Spirit- to be led in the desert, to be led in His ministry- everywhere He went, and it was because of MANAGEMENT! Jesus was submissive to the WILL of the Father, under the MANAGEMENT of the Holy Spirit. He couldn't fail. Jesus couldn't go wrong as long as He was managed by the Holy spirit. His BUSINESS is going to succeed- a BUSINESS PLAN that CANNOT FAIL!

Praise God! What do you say?

Lots of people today go to the Stock Market. They go to the Broker- they look for STRUCTURE, FUNCTION and MANAGEMENT. They want GOOD profit on their investment.

Over the past few years, we've all seen restructuring of Maritime Tel and Tel…now called ALIANT. We've seen AIR CANADA structured, and RE-STRUCTURED AND RE RE-STRUCTURED, and they're still not out of the woods. NOR-TEL has been RE-STRUCTURED over and over again !!

BUT our God has a wonderful Business Plan, so let's EXPLORE HOW that Plan works- how it FLOWS in the most PRACTICAL way!

Let's talk about God as a STRUCTURE. Who is God? 1 John 4:8 says "God is love." Let's reverse it.

Love is God? Why not? We can't do that. Here's why!

We worship God. We don't worship love. LOVE IS A FUNCTION.
Do you see the difference?

God is the STRUCTURE.
Jesus Christ proved the FUNCTION!

Having said that, God and heaven FUNCTIONS under the PRINCIPLE OF LOVE- a love that we have need of discovering, so let's explore it more.

ALL of the world churches are challenged by this SAME PRINCIPLE- LOVE! And you and I are going to find out at the end, we are ALL going to stand or fall based on the JUDGMENT of the Principle of Love.

So, God for ETERNITY, and all the inhabitants of heaven FUNCTION on the Principle of Love.

Having said that, TRUE LOVE comes to us FROM God.
We also KNOW that if love came from heaven, something else came from heaven TOO. Sin!

Sin did NOT originate here on earth. So let's put TRUE LOVE (on this left side) representing God, and HOW He FUNCTIONS.

Follow me carefully! THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!
On this (RIGHT SIDE), we're going to put Lucifer, otherwise known as Satan. Lucifer had no problem with the STRUCTURE of God's Business Plan, but He had a problem with the FUNCTION. He had no problem with "love", BUT THERE IS A PROBLEM. You see TRUE LOVE represented by God is ALWAYS COUPLED WITH A WILLING SACRIFICE.

God had been CONTINUALLY making sacrifices. Lucifer thought, "I'm going to experiment with this Principle of Love, and I'm going to introduce a NEW kind of love- a "SELF-SERVING love."

God has ALWAYS enjoyed an ALL-SERVING LOVE.

So now, we have a DIVISI0N in heaven- a DIVISION OF LOVE. Love has divided us in heaven, and that's the BEGINNING OF SIN.

Interestingly, it is love that divides us, and because of love, we struggle all the time.

We need to RE-THINK the process of this Business Plan and get hold of the division that exists...Love on God's side is ALL SERVING!

Love on Satan's side is SELF-serving!

We don't know for how long or for how many years that God expressed grace to Satan, and 1/3 of the angels, but we do know that God's love is ALWAYS SACRIFICIAL.

IMAGINE ! 1/3 of heavenly beings "kicked out of heaven". WHY? Because they were in conflict with love, and in heaven, 2 different kinds of love CANNOT EXIST!!

Can you imagine Satan having the power to convince 1/3 of heaven's angels. How many years did it take?

We don't know, but one day we are going to find out, and we are going to say, "GOD, You were just, and patient, and loving, and willing to try and win them back with a love that was willing to sacrifice so much."

BUT HOW DO YOU WIN BACK WITH A LOVE SACRIFICING SO MUCH WHEN IT'S DIRECTED AT SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T CARE TO SACRIFICE ANYTHING AT ALL???

SO FRIENDS! Get a hold on your life, and FIND OUT WHICH LOVE YOU ARE EXPERIENCING. And when you do, you'll find out WHICH SIDE YOU'RE ON, because there is a kind of love in the world TODAY that rules.

It's called SELF-SERVING love. And the moment you realize it's SELF-serving, YOU KNOW which side you are on.

So let's see if this love principle is true and workable HERE on this earth. We know, of course, that God created the earth with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit- all THREE combined in the Structure, the TRINITY.

Satan's problem was with the FUNCTION. So, if we're going to have a problem with the FUNCTION, doesn't it follow, we will have trouble with the MANAGEMENT too?

"I don't like the way they run the church!

"Who's the MANAGEMENT?"

"Who's in charge?"

"I'm certainly going to voice my opinion? "

DO YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENS?" We can't get along with that one, and we can't get along with this one, and the PROBLEMS magnify!

We end up dividing ourselves.

We end up dividing our friends.

WE END UP DIVIDING THE CHURCH!

Friends, we don't need to spend time fighting among ourselves. This is NOT God's Plan. This is the devil's plan FOR SELFISH LOVE!

Let us see how man responded to the division that existed in heaven. Let's just pause for a moment and THANK GOD.

Father God, we praise Your Name to be so holy and so loving, that You were willing to SACRIFICE so much. We know that heaven is NOT divided today.

Satan was cast out with his "love affair"- his SELFISH love affair! Satan and his angels were all cast out of heaven because of their SELFISH love affair!

ALL the angels had to make a decision, either to be functioned by ALL serving love, or SELF serving love.

WE humans have the SAME decision. We will have to decide WHICH love we will accept, but I assure you that HEAVEN has room for only ONE love, not the other.

So we need to praise God in worship, and thank Him that Satan is OUT. SELFISH LOVE has no place in heaven.
Where I am going, I sure don't want to visit it again, do you? We know what SELFISH love has done, AND IS STILL DOING to the world.

I've seen what SELFISH LOVE has done in my own life, and I don't want any part of it. I DON'T EVEN LIKE IT!

So, HOW CAN WE LONG FOR HEAVEN, and yet hang on to SELFISH love here?

There is no way we can minister to each other IF we are going to hang on to SELFISH love. Once we understand the Principle of "two" loves, we KNOW that both cannot exist at the same time.

Something has to go, and the Bible makes it very clear that God's Business Plan is in conflict with the world's business plan.

This world's love affair is DOOMED, DAMNED AND CONDEMNED. It's gone, and God has NO PLACE FOR IT, AND THERE IS NO FUTURE FOR IT.

Let us see how HUMANS HAVE RESPONDED TO THE choices- THE conflicts that divide us- THE 2 kinds of love!!!

The Bible story of creation is a familiar one. Adam and Eve were our first parents, and they TOO had to make a CHOICE. Perhaps, it would have been better if God had NOT introduced them to the FACT that there was a "sin package".

But remember, God does NOT hide anything. Sooner or later, they would found out about sin. So that's the reason why God chose to disclose it fully to them. FIRST of all, God wanted to disclose to them the problems that He Himself experienced so they wouldn't fall into the same problem.

SECONDLY, God wanted us to learn from the Love of God HOW He dealt with the problem. SO, He fully disclosed it to Adam and Eve that the SIN problem originated IN heaven.

And God said, "You want no part of that, TRUST ME.

"SO He put the tree over there and said, "IF you eat of that tree, you will surely die." That's what God said.

But you know something? TRUE LOVE on this side (LEFT) does something very beautiful.

We know that Adam and Eve ate, and God had a visit with them. God said, "What happened?" Adam said, "Well, it was Eve, You know, the woman You provided me with, it was her!" And then God asked Eve, and she said , "It was the snake that You created, If it weren't for the snake, I wouldn't have been deceived."

And so it went..."Passing the buck", and blaming each other.

Let's examine this for a moment. What did Adam say in his heart?

He LOVED Eve. Hey, there's nothing wrong with love, but you have to know which kind it is.

Adam loved Eve all right, insomuch that he said something very interesting- something that divides us. He said, "I will die WITH her."
So Adam ate the apple. He couldn't see himself living WITHOUT her. So we place Adam over on the SAME side as Satan, because his love was a SELFISH love.
"Hold on", you say? "That wasn't selfish"!

YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT, IT IS!.

Because on the left hand over here, is represented TRUE LOVE- God's love- ALL serving and ALL giving!

Do you know what Jesus, when speaking to Adam and Eve, did NOT say? We find this out later, when Adam and Eve are driven from the garden, they were RELOCATED. God THEN began to share with them the PROCESS OF SALVATION, the LAMB story- the Lamb who was the Son of God- so ADAM and EVE began to understand that THIS LOVE OF GOD INCLUDES A SACRIFICE!!

What God did NOT say, at the time when He said, "You will surely die if you eat the fruit of this tree." He did NOT say, "BUT I WILL DIE to win you back! SO HERE IS THE distinction BETWEEN THE two loves.

God says, I will die FOR you.

Adam said, I will die WITH you.

Do you see the difference? BIG DIFFERENCE!
Adam was willing to die WITH her, but not for her.
Adam loved Eve so much that he couldn't see himself SELFISHLY not living with her.

Instead of seeking God, and saying, "God, she deserves to die, but I want to die FOR her, Adam chose the other kind of love- Satan's self-serving love.

Can we pause for a moment? Thank God. I just want to thank God for making the provision of Jesus Christ in our lives. We want to praise His name. We want to glorify You Lord in the name of Jesus for wanting to be the Lamb of God that He would be OUR Lamb. We are Your children and we receive the ultimate love from Him- His willingness to make a complete sacrifice . So we praise You, Jesus.

We thank You Jesus. Thank You God and Thank You for the Holy Spirit that led Him to that end. AMEN!

ALRIGHT! The Principle is THIS!

TRUE LOVE is ALWAYS coupled with A WILLING SACRIFICE.

The will is there, but the need may not always arise. God may not always ask YOU to step out sacrificially, but YOUR willingness NEEDS TO BE ALWAYS THERE.

In all the FUNCTIONS we relate to, we fulfil one LOVE or the other.

THE QUESTION WE NEED TO ASK OURSELVES IS THIS, "Are we willing to sacrifice our minds, our will, our hearts to GOD ?"

Is there really any other choice?

Let's look at Cain and Abel. We know that Cain slew Abel. WHY?

It's very interesting!
Love. When SELFISH love is experienced and ASSOCIATED WITH WORSHIP, we are in "hot water."

This kind of a love affair is NOT restricted to a private lifestyle and issues. God becomes involved NOW!

The FIRST person who set out to include SELFISH LOVE when it comes to worship was Cain. Cain brought fruit, when God asked him for a lamb. That's "New Theology"!

TODAY, there are a lot of churches built on THAT principle.

"We don't have a problem with God."

"We don't even have a problem with love, but WE DO HAVE A PROBLEM WITH SACRIFICE.

Friends, with this type of love, there is NO provision for a SACRIFICE.

Yes, it's love, but the WRONG KIND OF LOVE. When we don't recognize that Jesus IS the Lamb of God, then there is NO grace for us.
Moslems recognize Jesus as a Prophet, but not a Lamb. Hence, Jesus is NOT their Saviour. It's sad, very sad !!

When TRADITION replaces God's Laws, Legalism enters the picture-a form of selfish worship, because substituting God's law with one's own is legalism !!

And God says, "BUT in vain they do worship Me teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Matthew 15:9

Satan was able to convince 1/3 of heaven's angels through a "love- affair"- a love affair that is DOOMED, DAMNED, AND CONDEMNED- a SELF-SERVING love that did NOT include Jesus Christ !!

So when Cain founded the first church on earth, with the love of a different kind, he offered fruit, and he did it with love directed towards himself. Cain, in effect, said, "God, take it or leave it. It's going to be fruit."

WHERE'S THE SACRIFICE?

TODAY, we need to accept the "FULL package". This is the Business Plan that God has given us through John 3:16. "For God so loved the world". Do you know that God loves the whole world?
He loves the Universe. GOD IS LOVE. He can't do anything but love. God has a love affair with YOU and He has a love affair with me.

FRIENDS!

We need to be sensitive to recognize that when we are dealing with each other, WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND that BEFORE I care, and could care less about you, that GOD ONGOINGLY CARES and has a love for you that is ETERNAL.

God's love is SELFLESS, an ALL-GIVING love.

A lot of churches today are built on SELF-SERVING LOVE. The devil has churches. Lucifer became Satan, and Satan has churches, and likes to be worshipped. YES, people come and worship in love, BUT IT'S A DIFFERENT KIND OF LOVE.

We talked about Adam and Eve, and Cain and Abel, and we can use this LOVE principle on every person mentioned in the Bible. They will either stand or fall based on the choices they made in relation to the Principle of Love.

JUDAS!
What kind of love did Judas experience?
He loved Jesus.
Judas loved the disciples.
He followed them everywhere.
Judas was loved by the disciples.
He loved their fellowship- LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!

But THIS love was all towards himself. Judas' love was built on a foundation of SELF-SERVING LOVE.
It wasn't built on God's true love principle. And what happened to Judas' love? It was doomed, damned and condemned, and had no place with God's ALL-SERVING love.

God's love is an ETERNAL SOLUTION- not a quick fix.- AN eternal solution for heaven to win us back.

Love divided us universally. God lost 1/3 of His angels.

HOW MANY OF US WILL HE LOSE?

HOW MANY OF US DOES GOD STAND TO LOSE?

I pray today, in worship, that NONE of us will be lost, because we all MUST CHOOSE TO ALLOW the Holy Spirit to MANAGE our life affairs with His kind of love. The Holy Spirit is commissioned to lead us into God's LOVE AFFAIR !

SO IN CLOSING!

FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD. God has a LOVE AFFAIR with you and me. THAT HE GAVE, and when He did, it was a GIFT- a gift of God. When God gives, He doesn't take it back.

The taxman takes, and gives very little. God doesn't work that way.

When God gives, he gives with BOTH HANDS- stretched out upon the cross. He spared neither one hand or the other.

IT'S A GIFT OF GOD, and when God gives, He doesn't take it back. Because there is so much love, He wants us ALL to win. God wants us back in a MOST loving way. So He gives us His gift of love.

FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD that He demonstrates to us with a gift. God gave ALL that He had- the BEST OF HEAVEN. 2/3 of the angels. TWO -THIRDS of the angels that were spared because of wanting God's kind of love.

Two-third's of heaven's angels were willing to die for you. HOW DO I KNOW THAT? Because THEY CHOSE SELFLESS LOVE.

The Bible says, "Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)


One third of the angels are cast out of heaven- because they would give NOTHING FOR YOU. They are filled with a SELFISH love. That's what caused their fall. That's why they are not IN heaven. They're out forever!

FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON. Why the Son and no one else? Because, ONLY the Son, knows the CHARACTER of God. The angels didn't, so God had to give the One who knows Him best. God spared Jesus not from us, BUT that we could do the best for Him.

SO, CAN WE DO THE BEST JOB AT LOOKING AT JESUS CHRIST?

Friends! If this is the TRUE PICTURE OF GOD, I want to be in the company of God the Father, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the heavenly angels. What do you say?

THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM-Whosoever believes in Jesus, and no one else. God isn't going to confuse us with Buddah, or Mohammed or Confucius, or any other created person...there's only ONE TO BELIEVE IN, AND THAT'S Jesus Christ!

THAT WHOSOEVER SHOULD BELIEVE IN HIM should have what? ETERNAL LIFE!

Do you like living? DO YOU LIKE WORSHIPPING GOD here today? We are in company with God and the holy angels with this PRINCIPLE OF SELFLESS LOVE !!

So let's WORSHIP God in ALL things that we do. God is honoured when we invite the Holy Spirit to lead us in the affairs of our lives.

NOW we understand the STRUCTURE, and also what divides us. We really need to be sensitive in HOW WE FUNCTION- in our BEHAVIOUR AND CONVERSATION to the world. So let's take with us, the Principle of SELFLESS LOVE and allow God to work in us His good pleasure.

Thank You Lord! Thank You Jesus. Thank You so much. We praise Your Name. We honour You, IN THE NAME OF JESUS, and our Father in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name today. AMEN

[ October 15, 2004, 11:57 AM: Message edited by: Laurie Mosher ]

Dear Sister Laurie, I loved reading your message about the renewal of spiritual life in these last days. But I just wonder why SDA have to make so much of what exactly is involved in The Trinity. I've been SDA most of my life, and went to an SDA school from first to 12th grade. So, I do know some of what they believe.

But, if I had to ask myself exactly which member of the Godhead I must drect each prayer to, I would get terribly sidetracked. I know I would miss the purpose of my prayer, which is to ask for forgiveness and help with my life. Instead, I would get all bogged down in nitpickin wonderings about exactly who I'm talking to up there. Why get all entangled with issues way above our little human intelligence? In heaven all will become clear.

For now, let's just pray. If you need a picture in your mind, just let it be whichever one comes up first. Do you really know what Jesus, or God, or the Holy Spirit look like? So, what's the big deal about which one?! We all know who God is, don't we? I realize that Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit help me and care about me, but I feel Lucifer would be pleased if he could get me so wrought up about which one was just right for each prayer, I be obsessed with that rather than working on my character!!!

One of the main purposes of prayer should be giving thanks and praise to God.

/Thomas

Amen, västergötland !

I am finding this formula is essential:

Gratitude = Praise + Thanks, and results in Power + Wisdom from Him

It's strange how different people react to different sermons. For me, this sermon made more sense than any I had heard in the past.

Granted, we can pray to any Person of the Godhead, but it would seem to me, that our Mediator is Jesus Christ.


And for those who don't know me, I'm a six foot 8 inch MAN".. , as in Brother Laurie!!

Hey, Mr. Mosher...long-time-no-see!

As I am wall-to-wall with Muslims, Buddhists and Confucians here in Borneo, I daily get zapped with a different sort of "ecumunalism" here from the Papal-Protestant brand back over in N. America. Yet the real powerlessness of these systems in the characters of real life people is so clear, and the uselessness of the rounds of rituals, laws and traditions is most striking.

Paganism is not dead, Western friends! If anything, it outnumbers God's Way enormously, if numbers are anything. Yet, this makes the word "remnant" even more stark, when looking at the entire world, as Jesus does.