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Conflict between the worldly religious and the spiritually faithful

According to social norm and practice, as well as political common sense and the art of war, this post that I write today might suggest to some that I am vulnerable to criticism. That opinion would be very wrong; however, concern for that opinion forming almost caused me not to write about a topic that I have considered all week. My fear of misjudgment by silly people is non-existent because I am very confident that the LORD God has caused me to consider these things, and moved me to share them with my Christian brothers and sisters.

Every post and every opinion I share with others on the Internet is signed by me. I don’t hide behind the name “anonymous” and I don’t waffle back and forth between popular ideas and the Word of God. Every study that Becker Bible Studies teachers and authors have ever written is supported by Bible verse for each point. Every blog written by me may well expose a candor, urgency, timeliness, pithiness, controversy; but it also is my thoughts shared as truthfully as I can with as much explanation as can be offered.

One thing is certain in the world of blogging and in the practice of religion. Some will be offended. The sharing of belief often challenges others to defend their own. Sometimes this challenge is too difficult to undertake. Those who have difficulty in rationally thinking about their stand, those who base their spiritual beliefs on social and popular worldly opinion, those who hide behind the signature of “Anonymous”, those who strive to force all people to believe and practice their religion as “one world,” those are the people who are going to BE IN CONFLICT with both me and the Word of God.

Every spiritually Faithful Christian is as different from every worldly religious Person, as the Word of God is as different to a “Movie of the Week.” One is real, and one is pretend.

The spiritually Faithful strive daily to get it right and to walk the walk with Jesus Christ, according to the Word of God. They form opinion and ideas based on that Word and boldly declare the Word of God as He moves them to share. The spiritually Faithful support their opinions with His Word, and maintain a public and open accountability for all to see.

The worldly Religious strive to conform daily to worldly ways. They walk the walk of the carnal, and project an openness and acceptance with all popular ideas and mediums. They form opinion on things they have been told by others and viciously attack those who do not conform to their ways. Their opinions are spoken with practiced speech with their worldly peers. Worldly Religious often maintain an “Anonymous” presence, so they can attack again and again without accountability for their own actions.

How easy it must be to be a worldly Christian in secret! How uncomplicated it would be for all believers to believe the same things! Where accountablity was never needed, where thoughts and ideas were formed by some religious leadership, and dictated through popular beliefs of the time!

This week, a worldly Religious Annonymous wrote me a letter. The writer had been offended by one of my blog posts, and proceeded to viciously attack my ministry, my spirit and my beliefs. As all who write things on the Internet every day know, the attack was not a big deal; it is a product of the outspoken worldly, who want their beliefs to take precedence over all others, who want their actions to control those who dare to stand above them.

But this writer did something that I had never seen done before. “Annonymous” attacked every work that we had done for the LORD God, judged us guilty of heresy, and promised to pray for us that night which takes me to the point of this whole discourse.

We strive daily to do the Works the LORD God would have us to do. Every spiritually Faithful Christian does the same thing as we do and try to accomplish those things that He Wills. Our focus is always on His Way, and we try to produce great works that will survive the test of fire, and in the end, glorify Him.

What happens when a worldly religious person prays against a spiritually faithful person? Certainly, the LORD God is not going to punish the Faithful who are doing His Works according to His Will, that brings anger to the worldly religious. I am also certain that He is not going to change the Faithful’s beliefs to match that of the worldly Religious. Would my Father God or Lord Jesus Christ get angry at the presumption of the prayers of condemnation by the Religious? Would my Father punish them for their attacks against His Works? Would my Father even hear their feeble prayers?

I don’t know.

But this I know for certain…When we pray to the Omnipotent, Omniscient, Holy and Powerful LORD God, it is probably wise of each of us to make sure we know what we are praying for and focused on His Will and Ways. I have a feeling deep inside my soul, that to attack the good Things that He has established with the venom filled outrage of the worldly religious, will not bode well.

So, to display the love that Christ demands from me, I am not going to publish the foolish and ugly Anonymous letter. I am hoping that the writer was merely using practiced speech in an attempt to gain control, and was not seriously contemplating attacking the works of our ministry to the LORD God

I don’t know exactly how my Father would respond, but I am confident of this: He is very proud of me and every spiritually Faithful Christian who walks the walk of Jesus Christ every day in full view of the world, and if I were advising Anonymous, I’d tell him to sit back down and hide.

Kathy L. McFarland, MDiv.

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A true worker of God heals every person he prays for

Recently, a very young Christian who we had just met asked us to pray for a woman acquaintance of hers. We asked what type of prayer was needed. She explained that her non-Christian, non-believing friend, had suffered tremendously in recent years with the sickness of anorexia, which was kicked in beyond her control as a result of a traumatic divorce. The sick woman’s daughter had threatened to kill both her mom and herself “to put both of them out of their misery”. The young Christian then went on to list crisis after crisis this poor woman had experienced in recent past, to convince us that this woman needed our prayers. She said that she had tried to witness to the woman, but the woman would have nothing to do with the Word of God.

As gently as we could, we told our young Christian friend that we would not be praying for this woman. Our friend was aghast, and wondered aloud to her church community how people professing to be Christians could refuse to pray for somebody in such dire straights. She cried to common acquaintances that our position to not pray made a mockery of the love of Christ and bordered on wickedness. Finally, she got up the nerve and shared her disappointment with us.

As a very young Christian, our friend cannot know the ways of the LORD God. It takes concentrated study, practice, walking and grace through the LORD God to gain the mature understandings to grow in the faith. It doesn’t happen overnight, and it doesn’t happen to all Christians.

So often, new Christians think that being a Christian requires you to submit to all worldly pain and suffering in the name of Christ. Sometimes, even older Christians believe that we should attempt to change all pain and suffering in the world. This position causes the servants of Christ to become servants of worldly wickedness.

A wise believer once said to me that a “true man of God heals every person that he prays for.” A doubtful acquaintance looked at him in astonishment and said “that’s not possible…there has never been that many healings on the face of this earth!” The wise man answered “I didn’t say he prayed often for healings! A true man of God knows the ways of the LORD God, so knows the times to pray, and knows when to keep quiet!”

A Christian can never do the Will of the LORD God if he does not know the Way of the LORD God. Yes, the LORD God is completely capable of healing all sickness and disease that exist today. The LORD God is able to wipe out wickedness and change the fortunes of men. The LORD God can do anything He wants. BUT……He does not do anything at a whim. All Works of the LORD God are purposeful and planned, and follow specific ways.

If a mature Christian were to approach the LORD God with a request that conflicted with the LORD God’s ways, then the LORD God would think him a fool. If the LORD God has given the understanding of His ways to a person, that person is then responsible for honoring His ways in their works. The responsibility of every great child, in a very great family, is honoring the ways of the great Father, always.

Kathy L. McFarland, MDiv.

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Soldier in the Army of God (Unknown Author)

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me. Isaiah 6:8

I am a soldier in the army of my God. The Lord Jesus Christ is my commanding officer. The Holy Bible is my code of conduct. Faith, prayer, and the Word are my weapons of warfare.

I have been taught by the Holy Spirit, trained by experience, tried by adversity, and tested by fire.

I am a volunteer in this army, and I am enlisted for eternity.

I will either retire in this army at the rapture or die in this army; but I will not get out, sell out, be talked out, or pushed out. I am faithful, reliable, capable and dependable.

If my God needs me, I am there. If He needs me in Sunday school, to teach the children, work with the youth, help adults or just sit and learn He can use me because I am there!

I am a soldier; I am not a baby. I do not need to be pampered, petted, primed up, pumped up, picked up or pepped up. I am a soldier. No one has to call me, remind me, write me, visit me, entice me, or lure me. I am a soldier. I am not a wimp.

I am in place, saluting my King, obeying His orders, praising His name, and building His kingdom! No one has to send me flowers, gifts, food, cards, candy or give me handouts. I do not need to be cuddled, cradled, cared for or catered to. I am committed. I cannot have my feelings hurt bad enough to turn me around. I cannot be discouraged enough to turn me aside. I cannot lose enough to cause me to quit.

When Jesus called me into this army, I had nothing. If I end up with nothing, I will still come out ahead. I will win. My God has and will continue to supply all of my needs. I am more than a conqueror. I will always triumph. I can do all things through Christ. Devils cannot defeat me. People cannot disillusion me. Weather cannot weary me. Sickness cannot stop me. Battles cannot beat me. Money cannot buy me.

Governments cannot silence me and hell cannot handle me. I am a soldier. Even death cannot destroy me. For when my commander calls me from this battlefield, He will promote me to Captain and then allow me to rule with Him.

I am a soldier in the army, and I am marching claiming victory. I will not give up. I will not turn around. I am a soldier, marching heaven bound. Here I stand! I will not turn around.

Will you stand with me?

Kathy L. McFarland, MDiv.

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What is your position on Christians who struggle with homosexuality and the gay lifestyle?

You are welcome at Becker Bible Ministries, Inc!

What a dilemma you are struggling with! To be honest to yourself as the person that the LORD God created places you directly in the path of sin, but to deny your true self causes you to move closer to Him with only part of your self.

In my mind, holding back from having a complete relationship with the LORD God through Jesus Christ because you can only share a part of yourself is just as much of a sin as any of the sins of nature recorded in his Word.

First, you must be true to who you are if you seek to have a closer relationship with Jesus Christ and the LORD God. You must come to them with your complete mind, heart and soul. If you hold back a part of your self because it is judged a sin by man’s interpretations of the Word of God, then man is stopping you from moving closer to Him.

The farther away you are from Jesus Christ, the bigger the dilemma of your struggles become. Soon you find yourself on a path of loneliness and shame, with confusion to who you really are, your unworthiness to come to God, and the devil himself whispering words of judgment to you to prevent you from ever walking forward to Jesus.

In my opinion, there are many different kinds of homosexuality and heterosexuality in the world today.

  1. The Nasties – Many sexual deviants attempt to destroy the innocent souls in liberal game playing that encourages a gay or straight lifestyle with sexual vulgarities that shock and horrify traditional society. Most usually, these movements of depravity are initiated by Lucifer as he uses the lust of people to move them toward wickedness. These types of homosexual and heterosexual activities are sinful and will be judged harshly by Jesus Christ, and the doer will indeed be punished for these nasty deeds.
  2. The Abused – Innocent souls who have embraced their sexual preferences as a result of abuse in their childhood. These sexual preferences surely will not be weighed the same as the doers of wicked nasties, by Jesus Christ. I personally believe that the Abuser will be accountable to all sin that the abused has done as a direct result of that abuse.
  3. The Born – Now we get to the classification that you seem to fit. You are what you are, and you’ve known for a long time. You are what Jesus Christ made. True homosexuals and true heterosexuals are not sinners! HOWEVER, many of the sexual acts of homosexuals and heterosexuals are sin, and these sins are listed briefly in his Word, and quite strongly in the hearts of those who love Jesus Christ.

My advice is to quit trying to make yourself perfect and sin free before you establish a close relationship with Jesus Christ. It isn’t going to work. Every one of us is too weak, too sinful, to ever make ourselves perfect and clean before we approach Him!

Come to Jesus Christ just how you are! He loves you just the way you are! He knows who you love, and he knows how you love, and he knows all of the dilemmas you are facing as you struggle with these issues. If he wants you to change, he will gently guide you to that change in His Time and in His Way.

As your relationship with Jesus Christ grows, he may change your thoughts and heart gently and steadily and move you toward the heterosexual world. He may ask you to give up your sexuality in this life in service to him, with promises of great reward for your dedicated sacrifice on the New Earth. And, this is important, He may keep your heart and mind and thoughts and spirit toward your love of same sex just the way you are right now, and give you teaching and guidelines in how to live righteously with who you are and continue to grow to His expectations.

There is a way for you to have a true and close relationship with Jesus Christ and still be you. The trick of it is giving Jesus Christ the control, and letting him lead you to the path he has chosen for you, with the loving relationship of people he has led your way that are walking the same path toward Him.

Most importantly, keep walking toward Jesus Christ in spite of those who condemn you in their judgments. It is the sinners of great faith that Jesus Christ loves the most!

God’s blessings in your journey!

Kathy L. McFarland, MDiv.

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Denying Christ with a gun pointed at you, is still denying Christ

We’re so happy to see that the renegade Palestinian kidnappers released the two Fox journalists who were held hostage. It was moving to see them finally free and embracing their spouses and colleagues in celebration. So many kidnappings within that region have resulted in such tragedy, that to see freedom gained is a time to celebrate.

I don’t know if the two reporters are Christian or not. If I did know, I would have to consider many more things when I write today. But since I don’t know, I have an opportunity to remind all of our students a very important fact:

IF YOU DENY CHRIST because a gun is pointed at you or at your loved ones, or to remove yourself from a fiery death, or to gain your release from kidnappers, or to stop persecution, or to gain advantage, or to survive in order to live another day; it doesn’t matter the reason, you are still guilty of denying Jesus Christ!

The kidnappers of the reporters held a gun to their heads and told them to read a prepared statement that announced to the world that they had converted to Islam. They complied, then after their release announced that they did not mean what they read.

End Times Christians do not have that freedom! There comes a time when every Christian must stand up strongly and faithfully declare their allegiance to Jesus Christ. In these times, it is crucial to stand firm, regardless of the threats made to you.

The world considers the reading of the kidnapper’s letters as mere propaganda; to the Christians who are forced to read that trash, it is something more. It is the denial of their allegiance to their King.

Certainly, many would argue that to survive is the important thing, for if they were dead, their witness to Jesus Christ could not continue. But in reality, a Christian’s witness to Jesus Christ is destroyed the first time He is denied. From that moment of denial, the word a Christian speaks is of no consequence; if a Christian cannot stand tall in conflict, then his faith is pretend. It is a Christian’s strong stance in times of danger to himself or his family that is the powerful witness of the One they serve and love.

It’s scary times, I know, and to imagine yourself or loved ones in this situation is sickening and terrifying. We can hope that each of us survives these end days intact, without being placed in the threat of death or persecution for our belief. The Word of God, and reality, tells us that most of us will in fact be placed in very difficult and scary positions in order to break our testimony for Jesus Christ.

It is the testimony of the martyrs and saints that spread Christianity throughout the world. It is the blood of those who stood strong in faith in Jesus Christ, and announced to the witnesses that He is King and Savior above all! It was the burning saints that looked to the Heaven for redemption, rather than the world for salvation, who cried out to their Lord in faith as they burned, rather than remove themselves from fiery death through denial of the One they loved.

When your time comes, and you are faced with that terrible choice of saving your life, reputation, family, possessions or freedom through the denial of your walk with Jesus Christ, or going to your death and facing persecution for your belief.

Shout loudly to your Savior so all can hear:

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO MY LAMB! WITH ALL MY STRENGTH, WITH ALL I AM!

Then ready yourself for your glorious reward! Any day is a good day to die, when you can go with your faith in Jesus Christ being proclaimed to the world!

Kathy L. McFarland, MDiv

“9 ¶ And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? 11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they [were], should be fulfilled. (Revelations 6:9-11 KJV)

Special Note: Obviously I wrote this post many years ago. Please understand my point to always hold allegiance to Christ. Do NOT use the current protests of unwanted vaccines as part of this point. Uphold Christ, not necessarily your own personal belief system concerning the different happenings in these End Times. That is the real meaning of this message. NEVER DENY CHRIST!

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What will they think of us on the New Earth?

As all of you dedicated Bible students know, at some point in the LORD God’s Timing and Will, the old earth and old Heaven will come to an end, and a New Earth established under the rule of Jesus Christ. Oh what a glorious life that will be when every law and judgment is righteous, and our neighbors are loving Him as much as we do!

It will be an exciting time, when all of the people who are judged worthy to continue life, began to occupy the new Earth. Sometimes, when the burdens of this life seem especially heavy, I think about that new life, when faithful people from all time periods on this earth will gather together and began forming that new and different life in the presence of the One we love.

How cool will that be? Imagine what it will be like when different century people come together and share perspectives from their place of life and growth. When the strong, 19th century frontier men and women, share their steadfast courage and adventurous nature with the 20th century manager of machines and goals…..When the 17th century founders of theological thought mix with the 20th century feel good practitioners of religious abandonment….When the Apostles who walked with Christ live next to those who barely survived the tumultuous times of the End Days…When all the different time periods of God’s people gather together to worship and praise His Grace, and to establish cities and towns, and to make ways of life and patterns of developing according to the Truths they know.

I wonder if there will be different cities for the 14th century explorers and artists, and others for the 20th century advanced race. Will some gatherings of people have a slower life pacing, than others? Common sense suggests that groups will gather among like kinds, and known by the traits that differ from other groups; that’s human nature, isn’t it?

What will our 20th century End Times people be known for? Will they marvel at our intelligence, and our mechanical skills, our abilities to multi-task, to drive at speeds unknown by most of the human race until now? Will the people of old seek us out to learn new things, or will they kindly walk past us in search of slower and more predictable people? Will they find our learned actions vulgar in spite of our righteousness? Will they try to emulate us, or try to teach us their ways of life?

What habits have we formed as a result of living today, that will one day identify us to others. Will our men be thought effeminate, and our women aggressive and unbecomingly bold? Will our animated actions picked up from our televisions and the jerks and poses of our hip hop culture, translate to be tagged a people with exaggerated and untrustworthy affects?

Will we slow down to the pace of most other century people, or will they strive to speed up and learn the things of technology and knowledge? Will they share their skills of plowing with us, as we share our language of computers with them? Will they stick with riding the horse, as we zip around in the newest developments, or will we all choose to walk where we have to go?

Will our contact with the people of God from all times, stir us to greater heights of worship and praise? Will our lives have more even more meaning when the rich tapestry of His Creation gathers together in His Presence and shares the things each knows?

I don’t know.

But I do know one thing. The day when the New Earth is established and the New Jerusalem with Jesus Christ on His Throne governs with righteousness for all to see, will be one of the most glorious and hoped for events I have ever thought about in anticipation. As I am meeting my brothers and sisters in Christ from all times and places, I am certain that we all will play an important role in each of our lives, as we began our new life walking in the Way and Will of the LORD God. I can hardly wait!

Kathy L. McFarland, MDiv

“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God [is] with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, [and be] their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:1-8 AV)

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We Raise Our Children in Fear

We are parents who raise our children in fear, and all of the parents of the world can mind their own business, and we will mind ours.

During our first four children’s growing up years, we were mocked because we were so overly protective. None of our children were permitted to roam freely in the world, and were watched over continuously to make sure they did not stray and were free to grow-up without abuse. As they grew older, and their maturity level increased, the areas of the natural life they could participate in broadened, but we continued to watch, limit, worry and pray as they were exposed to the wicked things in the world that could destroy them if care was not taken

Now, twenty years later, we’re raising three more beautiful children of our LORD God. We are even more protective today, as we homeschool them and watch over them and limit them to only the things we choose is good and righteous for them. They do not get to do many of the things the children of the world get to do, because their participation in those activities would bring harm to them.

Now before you start uttering that same mockery that we have heard so many times before that we are raising our children in fear, let me warn you, we are.

Where the children of the world can run free to the places of nature that make them happy, my children are restricted to the places where their spirit is fed. Where the natural children prosper and grow in the safety of a common world, our children are in danger of being hurt and changed in that same world. Where the “normal and free” children are not limited by rules or force, our children must abide by our rules established by us and the LORD God we serve.

It isn’t fair. Sometimes it makes me sad that we have to be so protective, when the neighborhood children can run free at night, without supervision, and no worries from their parents about what they’re doing. Sometimes it makes me angry that we live in a world that many would want great harm to come to our children, to destroy the things of God before they even develop.

Job was angry about the same thing…

7 ¶ Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power? 8 Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes. 9 Their houses [are] safe from fear, neither [is] the rod of God upon them. 10 Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf. 11 They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance. 12 They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ. 13 They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. 14 Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.” (Job 21:7-14 KJV)

The wicked were safe from fear, because they did not have the rod of God upon them. They didn’t have to live by His rules nor His discipline, and were not accountable to His Laws, thus, they had no fear, and were safe.

They could send their little children out like a flock of sheep, and the children could dance and sing and be free, and joy could result. They didn’t have to worry about the wicked attacks coming to them, because they belonged to the world they danced in.

We and our children do not. We are raising them for our Kingdom, not the World that belongs to others. Our Kingdom of God, that will one day be established on a New Earth, where our children can finally run free and be able to experience those things that they missed doing in this life that might have elevated their soul even higher to Him. I have a feeling, it won’t be many things missed, if any, as my children are blessed, prosperous and growing daily with the Things of God and His Way.

Kathy L. McFarland, MDiv

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The Six Measures of Faith


A person does not get faith by himself. The LORD God decides how much faith a person will have, and deals it to each man accordingly.

His measure focuses on six areas to determine how much faith to give you after you are called forward by Him.

He examines you to determine your ability to:

1) Be a living sacrifice
2) Be holy
3) Be acceptable of God
4) Be non-conforming to this world
5) Be able to transform yourself by the renewing of your mind
6) Be able to prove what is the good, acceptable, perfect will of God

1 ¶ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. (Romans 12:1-3 AV)

Reasonable service to the LORD God, means the reasonable amount of worship that the LORD God expects from one of his people. This reasonable service consists of three of the measured areas:

1) Be a living sacrifice
2) Be holy
3) Be acceptable of God

Worshipping the LORD God means you must be a living sacrifice. A living sacrifice means that you give up your will, and allow the Will of the LORD God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit to perform works through you. Worshipping the LORD God also requires you to be holy and acceptable to Him. These areas are measured by the LORD God from his expectation that these three areas are reasonable requirements that should be met.

The LORD God uses the other three measurements for determining the amount of faith you will receive. These three measurements are not under the “reasonable service” standard. They are not required for faith to be given by the LORD God, but they are important measurements to test for your ability to handle faith. People given large amounts of faith will possess these other three abilities, and people of little faith will not. These three measurements are

4) Be non-conforming to this world
5) Be able to transform yourself by the renewing of your mind
6) Be able to prove what is the good, acceptable, perfect will of God

The six measurements that the LORD God uses to determine the meting out of faith are not works, but spiritual necessities for faith.

Understand this well. Anytime that you are doing any of these six things, you are doing them as a matter of spiritual necessity. They are not works and they will not be rewarded as works. These six measurements are used by the LORD God to give you faith. He determines the measurements, and He determines the standards, and in His Grace, He decides how much faith you will have.

The LORD God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit will not think you are great for letting Them use your body. It is expected of you. It is a spiritual standard required of you by the LORD God. However, if they use your body, and works result, you will receive reward from those works. So, being a living sacrifice is your spirituality which leads to faith. What your body does as a living sacrifice is works

When you see some with great faith, and some with little faith, recognize that their faith is given to each individual by the LORD God after a careful and exacting measurement in six areas to determine the amount of faith that they can handle. To increase the amount of faith that is rewarded to you, attention must be paid to those six attributes, all of which are dependent upon a steady and forward walk with Jesus Christ, study of His Word, and a dedicated focus on the Things of God.

Kathy L. McFarland, MDiv

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Dancing and Leaping for the Holy Presence of God

Something was very different this Christmas. My family gathered around the piano to sing our traditional Christmas songs of joy and praise in celebration of our Christ’s birth; but this year familiar faces were gone. We were smaller in number than we had been in last year. A few of our missing family members chose to walk the paths of the world, and were separated by their choices from participating in our spiritual celebration. One went even further down the path of destruction, and embraced the wicked ways of a life in darkness. So our numbers were down, and our voices leaner and strained as we struggled to carry on with our praises to God, in the midst of loss and pain.

Suddenly, in the middle of one of the songs rejoicing at Christ’s birth, I felt the surge of His Holy Spirit move through our family congregation. Our music stopped instantaneously, as each of us literally absorbed His comfort and love, as He moved within us to heal the pains of loss.

It was one of those moments when time stands still. It was silent. There was no music, there was no talking, there was no praying nor was there any of the familiar outbursts of joy that we commonly displayed in His Presence. We were too pained and scarred, desperately needing of His Touch, as each of us became enveloped in His Presence, without thought of our own or each other’s time or place.

What a wonderful Touch it was. What a wonderful Christmas gift we received that day. Just as Christian’s burdens dropped from his shoulders in Pilgrims progress, our burdens of pain were removed and replaced with an even greater love than we had experienced before. With His healing presence, He brought a new and deeper understanding of Christmas Praise.

Back in the day, the Ark of the LORD God, the vessel that the actual presence of the LORD God inhabited had been removed from the Tabernacle in Jerusalem by forces against Israel. Eventually, King David was determined to bring the Ark back to the place it belonged inside Jerusalem.

When the opportunity and time was right, He took his priests and prepared them to deliver the most Holy Ark. As they moved the Ark, the oxen that pulled the cart shook, and the Ark began to fall. Uzzah, one of the cart drivers, and a very holy and faithful man, reached out to catch the Ark before it fell. The LORD God became very angry at Uzzah for touching the Holy Ark, and He smote him immediately, causing his death.

David was very upset and angry that the LORD God would punish Uzzah so severely when he was just trying to help. David could not figure out how to prevent the same thing from happening again, so he stopped the movement of the Ark, and left it in a house along the way.

After leaving it at the house of Obededom, he saw that great blessings of the LORD God were being bestowed upon Obededom. These blessings were so much greater than the risk of moving the Ark to Jerusalem, that David chose to try the task once again.

This time, as the Ark was moved, King David went before it, dancing and leaping for the LORD God. He put on the simplest of garments, and danced with a joy, and sang with a praise that could be heard by all. He danced and shouted and trumpeted with all his might, announcing to all the the Holy Presence of the LORD God, and His Holy Ark were entering the city of Jerusalem. There was no doubt left in any mind, that the holiest presence was arriving in the place He Willed.

And so the King of Israel danced. He was seen to be dancing in the most unroyal way by a very royal daughter of a former King. She chastised David, reminded him of his position, and reprimanded him for his unkingly-like dance through the streets of Jerusalem. His reply left no doubt to his position.

David would dance and leap and shout and sing and joyfully announce the presence of the LORD Godin the midst of human error and human frailties. There was no doubt to the LORD God in Heaven that David knew the holiness of His Presence. There was no doubt to the people of the world that watched the movement of God, that His Holiness was moving among them.

Our Christmas gathering, and our Christmas songs took on a deeper meaning. We were announcing the arrival of our precious and holy Jesus Christ. We began dancing and leaping and praising God, shouting and blowing our trumpets of His Arrival! It mattered not who was with us, nor how others interpreted our celebration. We were announcing our joy of Christ’s birth, and our anticipation of His return, as the Holiness of the LORD God moved among our gathering.

My feet are still dancing! Praise be to God!

Kathy L. McFarland, MDiv

Again, David gathered together all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims. 3 And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drave the new cart. 4 And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab which was at Gibeah, accompanying the ark of God: and Ahio went before the ark. 5 And David and all the house of Israel played before the LORD on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals. 6 And when they came to Nachon’s threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it. 7 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God. 8 And David was displeased, because the LORD had made a breach upon Uzzah: and he called the name of the place Perez-uzzah to this day. 9 And David was afraid of the LORD that day, and said, How shall the ark of the LORD come to me? 10 So David would not remove the ark of the LORD unto him into the city of David: but David carried it aside into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. 11 And the ark of the LORD continued in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months: and the LORD blessed Obed-edom, and all his household.
12 And it was told king David, saying, The LORD hath blessed the house of Obed-edom, and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the city of David with gladness. 13 And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings. 14 And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. 16 And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul’s daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart. 17 And they brought in the ark of the LORD, and set it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. (2 Samuel 6:1–17)

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Who is Jesus Christ Really?

Your question is deep and probing, and the answer to it has been debated among scholars, misunderstood among preachers, and confusing to the faithful. Some believe that the LORD God Himself came down from Heaven and inserted His complete self into flesh. Others believe that a portion of the LORD God, a portion of Jesus Christ, and a portion of the Holy Spirit join together to make a complete LORD God. Many believe that Jesus is God and the LORD God is a greater God. In a manner of speaking, these schools of thought are correct to a point, and most of these beliefs are harmless to the Faithful and do not prevent them from growing to the places that God wills.

In fact, early on in our beginnings, this very question of a Triune God, surfaced time after time in our studies and caused us to focus on defining and teaching about Jesus Christ in a way that our student’s human minds can grasp and that was supported completely through the Word of God.

It was that direct focus to the Word of God that opened up our understanding to a place that many things became clear. As the Holy Spirit led us from one understanding to the next, many of our Guided Bible Studies were derived from this one question. The answer centers around one verse in the Bible; but, there are many, many verses that support our place of understanding.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:1-4 KJV)

Jesus Christ is the Word of God. When the holy, all powerful, all knowing LORD God spoke His Will at the start of His Creation, Jesus Christ was begotten. As a result, he received the essence of His Father, which was imputed throughout his being.

Jesus was with His Father at the creation of this world, and assisted in all things created. He is greatly loved by the LORD God, and His Glory shined brightly throughout the Heavens as he accomplished the Things of God.

To effect these Things, in the order and pattern that God had planned from the start, Jesus Christ was given human form in order that he might die, and through his experience and conquering of death through glorious resurrection, bring God’s people salvation and redemption and life eternal.

As a result of Jesus Christ’s dedicated walk and faithful accomplishment of every task given to him by His Father, He was given even greater authority and responsibilities following his Resurrection. Jesus now sits at the right hand of his Father in Heaven, and welds His power of Judgment, which will be executed completely and fully in the great Day of Judgment to come.

He has the essence and the power of the LORD God, and is glorified as well. Though he is not the LORD God in completeness, he completes the LORD God, and has been given the Things of God to accomplish His Will. His power and existence is derived from the LORD God, and without the LORD God, he would not exist. Without Jesus Christ, we would not exist.

On a personal note: Jesus Christ is my Savior, my King, my Priest, my Lord, my Intercessor, and my Love. It is only on the personal level that one can understand and know the deep things of his existence and there is only one place you can learn about Him.

The Word of God. The Bible. Just as the LORD God spoke and Christ was begotten, the Word of God IS Jesus Christ. When you read the Word, you are reading Jesus, learning of Him from the same essence that created Him. It is that Holy Word of God that truly reflects and explains the completeness of Jesus Christ which would be an impossible task by mere man’s words, but accomplished completely through His!

Kathy L. McFarland, MDiv