by John DozierPosted on Posted in Training Table — No Comments ↓

Oswald Chambers once said, “If your hopes are being disappointed right now, it means that they are being purified” (God’s Workmanship).

Please take a moment to more closely consider the merits of this claim… this promise… this amazing guarantee: Hope is one of the most cherished founts of our everyday purpose, our light in the darkness, our energy to rise and face the happiest and the cruelest of days. Hope is the helmet of salvation—the promised glory of one day standing face-to-face with God—which we wear when properly girded against the wide and deep war of this broken seen and unseen world. Hope, when absent, turns into despair across all classes, creeds, colors, and claims of mankind while opening wide the gates of idolatry and death. Hope is huge!

And if, for whatever sovereign reason, God may respond to our needs in ways our comparatively puny expectations of life may be thwarted in, if we trust in God regardless, praise Him in any and all circumstances, our faith, our obedience, and our love for God and for others will be matured, grown-up like an Oak of Righteousness—strong, deep, undaunted in all and every gale, a shade and resting place for many, and more fruitful than we could ever dare hope for or imagine:

The Prophet Isaiah said, “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of His splendor” (Isaiah 61:1-4).

So, allow me to spin what Oswald Chambers said in another way, “If your hopes are being disappointed right now, it means that they are being purified… and if you will, in faith, allow God’s promises, love, and care for you to have its way, you will be given the unspeakable blessing (and challenges) of having the same calling as the greatest prophet in all of history… exemplified in Isaiah… and incarnated in God-with-us, Jesus Christ!

Please read the passage from Isaiah again… Have you been saved, and sent to serve?

Is the Isaiah passage some pie-in-the-sky, by-and-by, fanciful, metaphoric, “the impossible dream” thing? Absolutely not! This is nothing more and nothing less than being born-again and commissioned into a mission as a Disciple of Jesus Christ in a broken world, until we die, or He returns to make all things new.

This is our one true calling that is deepened, strengthened, and made more and more fruitful each and every time we place or hope—purified by our trust in God and our witness and works in service to a dark and decaying world—in the many promises God has so graciously bestowed upon us.

Lastly, even though we’re mixing our metaphors a wee bit, “hope purified as to pure gold” that results in a life akin to being “oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of His splendor”… will result in a picture of fruitfulness like few others: An acorn containing countless other oak trees… all bearing sweet, delicious, drooling-down-the-chin fruit for God’s glory and the blessing of His plan, His Son, and His people.

Please nourish your faith by feasting on the promises of your purified hope, your being an oak of righteousness, and being as fruitful as acorns galore… each day!

‘Till we feast again, your seat will be reserved at The Training Table,
JohnDoz

by John DozierPosted on Posted in Training Table — No Comments ↓

There is an important claim the Bible makes that worth, very worth, everyone’s close, life-long attention. This claim about the Bible is really the linchpin upon which a person’s life, for time and eternity, will hinge… or be unhinged:

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16).

As I was thinking about this wonderfully profound, true, and very practical claim just the other day, I was treated to a song on the radio that more deeply rooted this truth—but in a quirky, whimsical, and completely unexpected way: a review a the impact that Hank Williams had on the history of music.

Check out the lyrics. “Google the song’s melody”. Please consider today, what does, “keeping the main thing, the main thing” mean to you, your family, and the folks God has providentially placed in your midst, today?

Dust On The Bible, by Hank Williams
“I went into a home one day just to see some friends of mine,
Of all their books and magazines, not a Bible could I find.
I asked them for the Bible. When they brought it, what a shame!
For the dust was covered o’er it, not a fingerprint was plain.

Chorus
Dust on the Bible, dust on the Holy Word,
The words of all the prophets, and the sayings of our Lord.
Of all the other books you’ll find, there’s none salvation holds,
Get the dust off the Bible and redeem your poor soul.

Oh, you can read your magazines of love and tragic things,
But not one word of Bible verse, not a Scripture do you know.
When it is the very truth, and it’s contents good for you.
But it’s dust is covered o’er it, and it’s sure to doom your poor soul.

Dust on the Bible, dust on the Holy Word;
The word of all the prophets, and the sayings of our Lord.
Of all the other books you’ll find, there’s none salvation holds,
Get the dust off the Bible and redeem your poor soul.

Oh, if you have a friend you’d like to help along life’s way,
Just tell him that the Good Book shows a mortal how to pray.
The best advice to give him that will make his burdens light,
Is to dust the family Bible trades the wrong way for the right.

Dust on the Bible, dust on the Holy Word
The word of all the prophets, and the sayings of our Lord.
Of all the other books you’ll find, there’s none salvation holds.
Get the dust off the Bible and redeem your poor soul.”

Until we gather at the Training Table again, please “Taste and see that the Lord is good…” (Psalm 34:8), each and every morning of the day.

JohnDoz

by John DozierPosted on Posted in Training Table — No Comments ↓

Granted, there are benefits to unpacking what “JOY” really means to each of us, but if we had the time to hang out and “GoDeep” for while (a luxury we rarely afford ourselves) we would uncover many very common desires of our heart and life… about JOY.

Also, it’s important to see that there are many people who have so deeply identified themselves with their pain, addictions, or false self that they would not (initially at least) dare identify themselves as desiring or deserving JOY. But this “heart disease” can be cured—and the desire for JOY revitalized.

THE JOY-SORROW CONNECTION
The Bible has lots of places to help us see how JOY reveals, revitalizes, and revolutionizes the heart and life, but let’s take a gander at two key Bible passages which have one big thing in common.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him” (James 2:2-5).

“Now when he (Jesus) saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them saying:
‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you’” (The Beatitudes, Matthew 5:1-11).

THE BOTTOM-TO-TOP, TOP-TO-BOTTOM… LINE
Responding to the unavoidable brokenness and the blessings of this temporarily broken world by relying first, foremost, and forever on the God of the Bible will result in JOY—that begins within, must be spread abroad without, and will change the world… for the best.

Conversely, responding to the unavoidable brokenness and the blessings of this temporarily broken world by relying first, foremost, and forever on the god of self will result in SADNESS, BITTERNESS, HARDENING, DESPAIR—that begins within, must be spread abroad without, and will change the world… for the worst.

“Joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God.” (Madeleine L’Engle)

“To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with.” (Mark Twain)

Make your JOY complete (Philippians 2),
JohnDoz

by John DozierPosted on Posted in Training Table — No Comments ↓

“Yum, Yum! Eat ‘Em Up! Yuuuum, Yum! Eat ‘Em Up!”, Spanky’s distant uncle and jungle native cannibal said as he chased Spanky ‘round and ‘round the kitchen.
“You don’t wanna eat me”, Spanky insisted, as he narrowly escaped in terror. “Mama said I’m spoiled!”

This flashback to one of my favorite “Little Rascals-Our Gang” episodes reminded me of one of the most important things in all of life to avoid: indiscriminate eating.

We all know the foibles of indiscriminately eating all kinds… no matter what, like there’s no tomorrow, gluttonously glooming ghastly globs of gooey food… sorts of eating, right?

It’ll eventually goo-up the whole system until we resemble the likes of the Willy Wonka characters, the gluttonous Augustus Gloop, spoiled Veruca Salt, and chewing gum-addicted Violet Beauregarde! Yikes…

But even after we become a born-again, bona-fide, repentant-regenerated-right-with-God, discipline of Jesus Christ, we can tend towards some pretty “indiscriminate spiritual diets”, can’t we?

WE ARE, IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH, WHAT WE EAT:
Maybe it’s taking in those R-rated movies that we’re “free in Christ” to partake in; but does the content really edify the Spirit of God within? Perhaps it’s being lax with the church we attend that may stray far and wide of Bible-based preaching, teaching, partaking in the sacraments, and service? Maybe it’s the crowd we hang out with that reflects our old life; and not the new man or woman God has spiritually wrought within? Or might it be the habit of “being in the Word”, but treating the sacred time and text as duty and some light discourse… and not delight and really digging deep?

Please take some time to check out what your spiritual diet really and truly consists of. Talk to one or more trustworthy brothers or sisters in Christ about “the menu” or the spiritual diet you’re on. Perhaps you know a “spiritual nutritionist”, or have some good resources. And, in the meantime, enjoy some delicious morsels from the Bible below that explode in the heart, spirit, and life… like the infamous Everlasting Gobstopper… Breathed by The Everlasting Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

FEAST ON THE TRUTH OF GOD:
“When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God Almighty” (Jeremiah 15:16).

SHARE THE TRUTH IN COMMUNITY:
“Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:46-47).

PROPHESY* THE TRUTH WHEREVER GOD HAS PLANTED YOU:
“So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. Then I was told, ‘You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings’” (Revelation 10:9-11).

*Remind, warn, encourage, exhort, and give thanks.

“YUM, YUM! EAT ‘EM UP!”

Enjoy. Employ.
JohnDoz

by John DozierPosted on Posted in Training Table — No Comments ↓

Welcome to the Feast of the Heart “Training Table”.

The Training Table is set to offer a regular and appropriate diet for the heart, spirit, and faith-lived-out of Christians who are passionate about “running the good race” (Galatians 5:7).

The only and best way to be assured of being victorious in this particular race is to regularly chow down on sound doctrine, chew your food well, and share the delight and the difficulties with the folks gathered ’round the table!

Remember, a private change of heart won’t be fully manifest with-in, until it is publicly viewed, shared, and tempered with-out.

To begin, please consider the following two statements. Why are they both important to understand? And how, having distinguished between the two, can we live as more truth-full witnesses to the True Truth of… Who we were. Who we are. And exactly who we hope to be?

“Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.” (Winston Churchill)

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth… So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8).

Until we feast again, may God richly bless your race for the crown!

JohnDoz

by John DozierPosted on Posted in Training Table — No Comments ↓

What is First?
Third, to the legions of angels, saints and messengers God has placed into my life—in the form of myriad colors, creeds and credentials and from places around the world. I have been immeasurably blessed by so many people God’s providence has supplied me over the years. There are a handful of particularly stalwart encouragers who, at every turn, have pressed me to push onwards and upwards towards the goal.

What is Second?
Fourth, to my dad and mom—both gone now—who have meant so much to me in great and good ways and, at times, not so great ways. I now see how embracing all of them—in my own great and gruesome heart—I harbor no regrets that cannot be easily swallowed up in God’s everlasting arms by his absolute truth and everlasting love. I am what I am, by biological birth and spiritual rebirth, it’s all to the glory of God. The spiritual will triumph for all eternity while biological will mark my personal story—mightily redeemed by God.

See ya soon,

JohnDoz

by John DozierPosted on Posted in Training Table — No Comments ↓

So, in Part 3 of this journey about what FREEDOM really amounts to, we’ve reached a course in the feast that we might describe as “a fork on the road”! Here’s a reminder of the fork in the road:

1) If mankind, as the Bible tells us, is the culmination of the Triune God of the universe’s creative act (Genesis 1, 2), then here is the very best definition of FREEDOM: “Jesus answered: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Luke 10:27; Exodus 20:30—“no other gods”; Deuteronomy 6:5, Leviticus 19:18).

2) If, on the other hand, mankind exists apart from God and as a result of a random collocation of molecules evolving over a gazillion years, and has as the ultimate end of being nothing more than food for worms, then here is the definition of FREEDOM: “Eat, drink and be merry; for tomorrow we die” (Ecclesiastes 8:15; 2:24; 1 Corthintians15:19)!

So as to create a wider array of locations on the “worldview spectrum” for being, say… agnostic, “God-fearing but liberal”, “socially conscious but relativistic”, having integrity yet making any sort of allowances for others’ views, “non-judgmental”, “not as bad a Hitler or good as Mother Teresa”… as opposed to an ardent atheist, some folks may try and get some sort of wiggle room between the two choices I’ve offered above.

But, frankly, it’s not easy to achieve, really. After all, is there not a pretty good reason for the over 2,500 choices of “religions” or worldviews around the planet? I mean, is it possible for all of them to be equally true? Attempting to make them all equally true is either insanely irrational, or a deeply insulting proposition for every one of them!

You see, if we could take the sort of time that we will rarely take to go much deeper into the important stuff of life, we would see that all of life’s choices, the consequences of our choices, and celebration and/or forgiveness from our good and/or poor choices, exist within one or the other of the above-mentioned propositions about FREEDOM, and how it relates to all of humanity.

As an example, if I adhere to Proposition #1, I know that I am most free, most human, most joyous, and most forgiven in my poor choices, when I exist within the “restrictions” of my origins in God, my love of God, and of all people made in God’s image as well. I will embrace and celebrate the “restrictions to my freedoms” because I know it’s in concert with my very nature, my identity. Akin to the amazing whale ballet in the ocean analogy, I will exert all of myself against the God-designed restrictions of my nature… and I will feel as free and as real as my Most Marvelous Maker desires I am!

If, on the other hand, I adhere to Proposition #2, I will exert my freedoms to gain whatever advantage and power I can over the other beasts of the field that, like me, will live and die based on their ability to eat, drink, procreate, survive, and surmount all attacks that would thwart their right to superiority! Even under the most admirable goals to establish a “timely or timeless socially beneficial legacy”, if all things will simply burn up in the sun when it’s all over, sentimentality about a “timely or timeless socially beneficial legacy” is moot. After just a few hundred years my contributions will be largely forgotten. In fact, if we live life as prescribed in this worldview, we can not only not complain to God about all the chaos in the world, but we must, in fact, celebrate it! For it is simply the outgrowth of a dog-eat-dog, Darwinian demolition derby that must be cheered on with a Busch Beer and Bratwurst in paw… erhh… hand!

Sorry if I’ve burst any bubbles, but we humans were made to exist for eternity. And the choice between proposition #1 or #2… TODAY… will determine each of our destinies in eternity. Oh, please don’t forget, all 2,500+ choices I referred to include eschatology (a belief concerning death, the end of the world, or the ultimate destiny of humankind). It’s very, very important and incumbent upon each of us to find out which one is true. In which one are we FREE… FREE INDEED!

Let’s get together again soon at The Training Table to feast of some more True Truths pertaining to this very important issue of FREEDOM. Next time, we’ll take a look at how the history of ideas has had a dramatic impact of this thing called FREEDOM.

Until then, stay the course in running the good race!

by John DozierPosted on Posted in Training Table — No Comments ↓

It has been wisely stated by someone, that “a beautiful and yet unrestricted river is nothing more than a nice pond”. When is a river FREE to be a river?

As a reminder of where we left off last time, we’re feasting on what the very best way to define FREEDOM might be. As I said earlier, FREEDOM, devoid of some consensus about the object’s ultimate purpose and design, is meaningless, if not irrational; a waste of time… or even deadly dangerous!

So, in so far as mankind is concerned, let’s pull up some chairs for feasting on the truths about the best parameters of FREEDOM. As mentioned before, the Bible poses an interesting and pertinent question of God, and of mankind, “What is man that You are mindful of him” (Psalm 8:4)?

On the most basic levels, what do you believe all of mankind has in common with one another? How exactly do you define the origins of mankind? And, as logic might have it, how do you then define the ends of mankind? Do you think these sorts of questions (and their possible answers) have any bearing on any thing at all?! We’ll look more closely into some repercussions as this multi-course feast continues.

Check it out: I’m going to serve up two ideas (or, better put, worldviews) that might help lovingly and truthfully polarize people’s thinking:

1) If mankind, as the Bible tells us, is the culmination of the Triune God of the universe’s creative act (Genesis 1, 2), then here is the very best definition of FREEDOM: “Jesus answered: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Luke 10:27; Exodus 20:30—“no other gods”; Deuteronomy 6:5, Leviticus 19:18).

2) If, on the other hand, mankind exists apart from God and as a result of a random collocation of molecules evolving over a godzillion years, and has as the ultimate end of being nothing more than food for worms, then here is the definition of FREEDOM: “Eat, drink and be merry; for tomorrow we die” (Ecclesiastes 8:15; 2:24; 1 Corthintians15:19)!

At the end of the day, these two concepts, and ultimately choices offered us in the way we will orchestrate our lives, are the only two choices that exist about mankind’s “origin, purpose, design, and ends”.

FREEDOM, as we’ve seen from the beginning, has certain restrictions associated with it. We’re talking about the “restrictions of every being’s origin, purpose, design, and ends”.

Are you okay with the two words and ideas, FREEDOM and RESTRICTION, not only coexisting, but being required of one another for the universe to have any order… and for you and me really and truly living life to the fullest?

See you at The Training Table very soon! And, unitl then, run the best race you can!!

by John DozierPosted on Posted in Training Table — No Comments ↓

Pull up a chair, Training Table Athletes! Today, we’re going to serve up a tasty and filling fare of remembrance, exploration, application, and sharing about the crucially important subject matter of FREEDOM. It’s a multi-course meal for those who, by faith, have an appetite for all things which prepares us to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1).
In concert with the Feast of the Heart Vision, Mission, and Core Values, I will endeavor to offer True Truth for the purposes of consumption and revival of the heart and spirit as well as the constructive revolution needed to transform the world for good… right where each one of us lives each day.

LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS
The foundations of what FREEDOM really and truly means must be based upon a premise that we rarely take the time or thought to consider: Freedom Is All About Identity.

A baseball bat is truly FREE when it is used to hit one out of the park… and not used to rake the lawn.

A backhoe is truly FREE when it is used to move lots of dirt, dig a hole, or a trench… and not used to perform a coronary artery bypass grafting procedure—the most common type of heart surgery.

An airplane is truly FREE when it is used to fly and transport passengers or cargo through the air… and not used to take the place of a submarine, or Formula Series race car.

“Drive tubes” are truly FREE when used to sample lunar regolith (the dust and rocky material covering the Moon’s surface) to a depth of 0.6 meters… and not used to eradicate those pesky moles we all know and love! (Clearly a result of The Fall…)

A mammoth Sperm Whale is truly FREE and awe-inspiring when it is confined to the deep blue sea… and not beached, flailing against the air as if it were the water, and fast approaching death by suffocation.

SO, WHEN IS ANYTHING TRULY FREE?
Am I making the point concerning, “Freedom Is All About Identity”? Here’s the scoop: The only way for us to discuss even the most remote possibility of any one, or any thing, being really and truly FREE is to know the origin, purpose and design of the object, entity, or being… that is FREE, or not.

FREEDOM, devoid of some consensus about the object’s ultimate purpose and design, is meaningless, if not irrational; a waste of time… or even deadly dangerous!

Now, the above examples may seem somewhat absurd, but they are not nearly as foolish and deadly dangerous as discussing the FREEDOMS inherent to a human being, if we can’t agree on the origin, purpose, and design of any and all human beings.

The Bible poses an interesting and pertinent question of God (and by association of mankind): “What is man that You are mindful of him” (Psalm 8:4)? Next week, we’ll take a look at this question and the repercussions of how we might answer such a foundational question—and what the answer has to do with FREEDOM.

Stay hungry for the next course at the Feast of the Heart Training Table coming soon! Hey, ya gotta eat! Eat well, Christian, eat well. For you are what you eat!

“Sous-chef de cuisine”, JohnDoz

by John DozierPosted on Posted in Training Table — No Comments ↓

Beloved of and in Christ,

One of the most challenging apsects of the Christian life is staying vulnerable, weak, listening, available, and teachable SO THAT we do not run the risk of self-sufficiency. Those of us who know our wretchedness-covered by Christ yet not completely gone-well enough, know that given one tiny-tiny, itsy-bitsy chance to swerve towards the cliffs of self-sufficiency, we will do it with “Adam’s abandon”, “Did God really say” (Genesis 3)?!

CS Lewis, as he’s astonishingly apt to do, put it very true and well:

“The human spirit will not even begin to try to surrender itself well as long as all seems to be well with it. Now error and sin both have this property, that the deeper they are the less their victim suspects their existence; they are masked evil. Pain is unmasked unmistakable evil; every human being knows that something is wrong when he or she is being hurt and pain is not only immediately recognizable evil, but evil impossible to ignore.

As I am progressing along the path of life in my ordinary contentedly fallen and godless condition, absorbed in merry-making with my friends for the morrow, or a bit of work that tickles my vanity today, a holiday or a book… When suddenly a stab of abdominal pain that threatens serious disease, or a headline in newspapers that threatens us all with destruction, sends this whole pack of cards tumbling down.

At first, I’m overwhelmed, and all my little happiness’s look like broken toys. Then, slowly and reluctantly, bit by a bit, I try to bring myself into the frame of mind that I should be in at all times: I remind myself that all these toys were never intended to possess my heart, that my true good is another world, and my only real treasure is Christ!

But the moment threat is withdrawn, my whole nature leaps back to the toys: I’m even anxious, God forgive me, to banish from my mind of the only thing that has supported me under the threat because it is now associated with the misery of those few days.

Thus, the terrible necessity of tribulation is only too clear!

God has had me only for forty-eight hours – and then only by dint of taking everything else away from me! Let him but sheathe the sword for a moment and I behave like Poppy (the dog) when the hated bath is over: I shake myself dry as I can and race off to reacquire my comfortable to dirtiness, if not in nearest manure heap, at least in the nearest flower bed. And that is why tribulations cannot cease until God either sees us remade, or sees that our remaking is now hopeless.” (CS Lewis, The Problem of Pain)

So what’s the best way to stay truly self-aware and “at risk”, or vulnerable and courageously weak enough, to always need the True Truth, Love of God, and compassion to serve at every moment of the day? Or at least most of the time? There are lots of Biblical examples of how best to achieve this worthy goal, but here’s one of my favorites:

The Stewardship of Our Temptations and Suffering: “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12).

To Name A Few: 1) Staying available to God and free to serve Him requires putting ourselves at risk and radically repenting when we’ve gone off course-not by an occasional mission trip to some remote and impoverished land, or some guilt-ridden process of remorse-but every day, and repenting in a community of faith. 2) Serving the poor, orphaned, widowed, weeping, marginalized, and abused right in our own circle of influence. 3) Giving of our time, talent, and treasure “until it hurts” (Mother Teresa) means having to sacrificially give, first to the church, and then other charitable entities. 4) “Dying to self”, by killing PRIDE (our right to look down upon others) and CONTROL (our obsession to control every aspects of our life). 5) Bringing an end to our fear of man and slavery to the things of this fast-decaying world. 6) End the whining that our church is not serving our needs, but rather seek how we can serve the church in ways in which we are GIFTED as well as a reflection of a REDEMPTIVE TURN-AROUND of our own personal story.

God richly bless your “TODAY…” (Psalm 96:7-8), JohnDoz