New World Order and Christian Persecution

Overcomer On Line Study Bible support document

Greek exposition and exegesis

           Overcomer Study Bible Support Page     Wed,15May2002

           Subject: The Mind - Introduction

       Further down in the body of this web page you may find highlighted and underlined statements
          and references called URLs which you can click on in order to obtain a detailed pop up information
          window with exposition, Greek exegesis, lexical references, Greek readings, etc.

Study Bible themes that influence exegesis

Determining scriptural intent by seeking correlative agreement

. The human mind is the most important aspect of our being. How we think and what we think determines our behavior and our deeds or accomplishments in life - even our eternal state. Our character is the personality that others experience when interacting with us. This character is a derivative of our mind and our very thoughts. As Christians we are to be transformed into the likeness of the mind and character of Jesus Christ. The bible and especially the New Testament teach that we are responsible for the state of our mind and how our mind applies itself to the problems and challenges of life. Are you a member of the Body of Christ? If you need advice or want to discuss what this means and what you must do to become a member of the Body of Christ then I would be pleased to correspond with you on this issue. One thing I would like to say first off is that not everyone that professes or calls themselves a Christian is a Christian. This is sad but a fact of life. Jesus said there would be weeds among the grain in his parable of the sower. Not all denominations and churches that claim to be Christian are true Christian organizations. This is obviously my view and not everyone would agree. But do I have a basis to make that kind of statement? Let me clarify. I call a true Christian a "fundamental" Christian. Do not confuse this term "fundamental" with how the news media are describing fundamental militant Muslim organizations. The word fundamental as in fundamentalist has the primary dictionary meaning of "Pertaining to or constituting a foundation; basic; primary; essential". As a noun the primary meaning is "Anything that serves as the basis of a system, as a truth, law, principle, etc.; an essential.". Unfortunately, the dictionary also defines fundamentalism (Christian fundamentalism) as the "belief that all statements made in the Bible are to be taken literally" and a secondary definition that it is a "movement among Protestants holding such a belief". More modern encyclopedic dictionaries would include other definitions regarding various world religions as well as how the word is used in physics and the sciences. By "fundamental" I mean seeking to understand the teachings of Jesus Christ as he intended those teachings to be understood by his followers. We gain first acquaintance with these teachings in the New Testament part of the Bible because his words are recorded and also they are explained by various New Testament writers as Paul, Peter, and others. There are a number of factors involved in creating an English translation of the original Greek manuscripts such as establishing the "cultural significance of words", "situation analysis", properly identifying the meaning of "words used exclusively in the New Testament", "syntax issues", "assumed definitions and relevance of basic concepts as applied to Christian living by the writers", as well as "teaching techniques or styles of making a point or underlining the importance of an issue". There are also many other issues that I won't burden you with unless you have an interest. What this all comes down to is that it is challenging to create an English translation that reflects all these issues so they can be properly expressed in terms of the so called western English speaking culture. This problem is made even more difficult due to the rapidly changing meanings of English/American words, expressions, and culture. Now I mention all this because my definition of Christian and membership in the Body of Christ are based on the bible and therefore on these early manuscripts. Further, as I have explained, there are challenges involved in the process of establishing the intent of the writers. So it should now be apparent the importance of establishing the intent as that is the real issue if my fundamentalism is based on that intent. To some extent this translation or understanding problem can be countered by seeking understanding as provided directly by God. You should not believe and grow your faith simply on the basis of what someone like me, or someone in a near by church, or someone on the Internet tells you. Of course you can take this information and check it out for your self. And that is what I encourage you to do. Check out the things I tell you. However, you should know that God can make His Will known to you regarding all these things as you become familiar with the New Testament and as you strive to make your mind holy and pure. But this kind of interaction with God comes out of an experience that usually takes time and that can only be enabled by Jesus Christ when he joins your spirit to God in a "personal way". Therefore, when I use the word fundamental I mean coming into this kind of relationship or experience with God through Jesus Christ and that involves a respect towards the writings of the New Testament as the written source of God's intentions towards the salvation or reconciliation of mankind to Himself. So you should be able to now understand that if some person or organization claims to be "Christian" but is not established in this experience or relationship then they only profess to be a "Christian". What is fundamental in this regard for them is not the experience but what they reason to be acceptable or unacceptable strictly on human terms with no regard to a living interaction with God as a person. As a person, God is not a human person except when He incarnated as Christ. But God is spirit (not physical or measurable as are things normally measured in this physical dimension within which we were born). God in human form has attributes of mind and personality as revealed in the mind and personality of Jesus Christ but transcending anything human. To make human something that is divine or transcending human attributes is to give a form and thus a limitation or containment to these divine attributes. The experience or relationship we as Christians form with God involves our spirit and mind as the key ingredient. On the main web page there are two study bibles, the first still in development but soon I will be publishing the first theme called the "mind theme" which covers in detail the issue of "mind" both in the form of Greek exegesis and commentary as well some of these "other" issues mentioned above, and aimed at developing an accurate understanding of the intent of the New Testament with respect to "mind". We have a responsibility towards developing our "mind" and must understand the "power and character of mind" and how our mind needs to be transformed. We have a responsibility before God to voluntarily engage ourselves with His Spirit toward the transformation of our mind into a mind that is "Christ Like". This first theme was selected because of the important issues and assumptions regarding mind that people need to understand in order to form this living experience or relationship with the person of God through the acceptance of the mediation or interface provided by Jesus Christ. A lot of people who are committed Christians only go so far with the development of their faith because they have not developed clarity in this experience and relationship. They are not actively engaged with the Spirit of God in the transformation of their mind. So they are subject to sickness, disease, and a great many problems all of which tend to "take them down" and they do not see the victories in their lives and the lives of their loved ones that they feel the New Testament teaches them to expect. They do not see how they have entangled themselves mentally, emotionally, culturally, and in many other ways into the standards and ways of the world driven by the desire, lusts, and reasoning capabilities of the "carnal" human mind. The "carnal" human mind does not naturally or by instinct have the living experience or relationship with God so all decisions and outcomes of those decisions, no matter how utilitarian, and compassionate, tend to build a world system with inherent corruption and corruptive affects on those that live within it. Perhaps some of these statement when taken together will help you understand what I mean when I use the term "fundamentalist Christian". Unfortunately, there is no longer a good English word for making the distinction between a professing and a true Christian for the word "fundamental" has now way too many mutations. So I use the English expression that we must become "Christ Like having a mind and character modeled after the mind and character of Jesus Christ". I also use the term "practicing Christ". We must take on the mind set of Christ as revealed to us through the New Testament and the Spirit of God. We must practice (like a musician practices or a doctor practices medicine) Christ. We must consciously let ourselves be given over to this mindset and rely on Jesus Christ to effect this transformation in our lives. For this purpose Jesus Christ died and was raised from the dead to take on a glorified body and then to return to God the Father (the one single source and mind of all that exists who has no physical form but who gives form to all that exists). There is a lot of theology mixed into all of this all the way from Christ dying for our sins, preparing a heavenly place that where he is through the union of our spirits we are also, to Christ being the human expression of God for the purpose of reconciling by being both an example and interface between God and that which is human and corrupt, to the nature of God which is Divine, eternal, immutable, and transcends time. With all these aspects comes a lot of doctrine and teaching and this causes people to put more emphasis on the doctrine and not the simple basic intent that God has for man through Christ. That simple intent is that man out grow the carnal body of flesh; something analogous to the "worm" that "spins a cocoon" and "emerges from the cocoon as a butterfly" now able to "fly" where once it could only "crawl". Man has proved that he cannot do this on his own. The Old Testament testifies to this failure. Man by himself just does not have what it takes. The creation cannot discover and join in a personal way with the Creator. The Creator must enable this metamorphosis which I call a "transformation" which is part of having the "experience" or "relationship" with the person and mind of God. God intends that we move from the "worm" stage to the "butterfly" stage of human development. The "butterfly" or the "transformed" state is when we realize we are seated in a heavenly place with Christ and that we are becoming coworkers with Christ under God. Once we are coworkers and when death moves upon this corruptible body we shall still be present in this place he has prepared, still united, but no longer having to contend with the issues of the flesh which obscure this Divine experience. This obscuring of our spiritual and mental state comes as a matter of course as we engage in the experience of living life. The world can be very distracting depending upon how we "see" the world. That is also why we must learn to see Gods Will in the life we live for we cohere and have our very existence in God. Unfortunately, I cannot just make this point and proceed because many Christians go off like a fire cracker as soon as they hear certain things. They have assumptions and draw false conclusions based on a few words and their own lack of understanding regarding the Bible. A case in point is the statement I just made, "That is also why we must learn to see Gods Will in the life we live for we cohere and have our very existence in God." As soon as one says something like this, even though the apostle Paul said it with that intent on Mars Hill to a group of Greek philosophers, some so called fundamentalist Christians shout "fowl" and accuse one of being a Pantheist. But I do not teach Pantheism. The creation exists within God who is spirit (not physical in character as is the creation of which we are a part). This does not mean the creation is God any more than the "dream" (compare to the creation) is the "dreamer" (compare to God). But the person in the "dream" connects (experiences or forms a relationship) with the "dreamer" so that when the "dream" ends the person "dreamt off" still exists in the mind of the "dreamer" where all else regarding the dream fades from remembrance. Do we say the "dream" is the "dreamer"? No! Nor do we say the creation is the Creator. This is only a weak analogy expressed in human terms but it shows clearly the objective of God for man. God is not a dreamer. Creation is not a dream. We are not a character of such a dream. But as an analogy we are a character in the creative dream of God the dreamer. We can only attain eternal life by being "remembered" when the "dream" ends. It is the closest analogy in human terms that I can come up with that provides the most simple and yet elegant description of God's simple purpose for man. But in using an analogy we are giving a human form of creation to the Creator. So we must not be too literal in our use of the analogy. It is only a model to help our understanding. This analogy also shows the total dependence man and creation has upon God the source of all life. When the dream ends it is all gone. We are but nothing (only a character in the dream, Shakespeare said something to this effect) without God. Jesus said this sort of thing to his disciples. He told them (as the incarnation of God) they were nothing without him. He told them (as the human example of what man should be like) that they were nothing close to this example. Finally, he told them (as the interface or mediator between God and man) that they could not effect this state in their own lives with their own power, they were nothing without him. So we can stretch the dream analogy a bit more like this. In the dream, the dreamer must find a way to form a lasting union (that lasts outside the dream where the character in the dream will be remembered) and to do this the dreamer must introduce Himself as a character in the dream to establish the relationship that will last or be remembered. That character is Jesus Christ, called the "Word (will, expression and therefore meaning of God)". The union formed by Jesus Christ between man and God (the means of remembering in the analogy of the dream) is the "personal relationship formed", the "experience which involves the transformation". At the risk of creating a misunderstanding let us go look at the Book of Revelation, the last book in the Bible. The book of Revelation talks about our names (identities) being written in the Book of Life. Here is where literalism breaks down. Does anyone seriously think - even some Protestant literalists, if I can use that word - that God who is not human took a pen and some ink, put on some glasses, and in a book full of pages wrote down my_name, your_name, and so_on? Maybe some literalists believe this, but not many. Some literalists believe that heaven is not spiritual but a place in outer space where a man called God sits on a physical throne something like the throne Queen Elizabeth in England sits upon. They take every term, "throne", "crown", "book", and so on as literally meaning a throne in this dimension, a crown that looks like a crown a king or queen wears, and a book that looks something like your dictionary. I am not that kind of literalist. I pursue "intent" as opposed to "literalism". This means I believe the bible and it is fundamental to my faith. I believe it is inspired. But the word inspired was never ever intended to mean literalism. That meaning has been applied and pursued by those who place more emphasis on doctrines than they do on the living faith and fellowship of Christians that those doctrines are supposed to describe. Anyway, no more digressing,. The "Book of Life" mentioned in Revelation is a reference to the "remembering" of the "dreamer" in the analogy we have been considering. I doubt that the writer of Revelation had this analogy in mind, but get this, he most certainly had a similar intent as provided by this analogy. And that is what we need to discover, the intent. The Book of Life is symbolic. The intent of the expression is to amplify that God through his union with the saints has guaranteed their immortality and the one found worthy to open the book is Jesus Christ. Amen to that! Opening the book is the enabling process from "worm" to "butterfly". In a way, the author of the Book of Revelation is doing the same thing as I do with the dream analogy. There are many such examples in the Book of Revelation such as the "candle sticks", etc., where the author even explains their symbolism. Good thing. Because if he had not offered such an explanation there would be those taking it literally. This is what I meant earlier about understanding the "teaching techniques", "cultural background", "situation analysis", "assumed concepts and meanings", and so on. For example, it is clear, right from the onset that the 7 churches are symbolic and that the entire Book of Revelation was addressed to the 7 churches and was to be circulated amongst some of the assemblies in Asia. The obvious intent was to awaken them to critical issues regarding their Christian life style. It is a good exercise for every Christian to read the first few chapters of Revelation and try to identify what assembly (church) behavior and actions were pleasing to God and what were displeasing to God to the point of being dropped by God as a fellowship (church). Now, with all of this I am not even trying to suggest that there is no prophesy in the Book of Revelation. I am not trying to direct you to the Book of Revelation, and if you haven't read the New Testament, I urge you to stay away from the Book of Revelation, at least at first, because of these complexities. There are those on television that trumpet out every week doom and gloom and mingle this with verses from the Book of Revelation, as well as verses from other books in the New Testament, and verses from the Old Testament. They tend to talk as if prophesy is the key issue of the Bible. But when the disciples of Jesus asked him about the physical coming of the kingdom and other things he stressed to them that their concern should be with his commandments not with time and event issues such as the establishment of a physical kingdom. Watching for and being prepared for the second coming are two differen't states of mind. Jesus wants us to prepare by attending to the more important conversion and spiritual walk issues of the day. How we live for Christ and express his love to one another and to the world is the command Jesus pressed upon his disciples. This is the preparation. It is according to this directive that we should all be applying our efforts and teaching. And when he comes again it will be those that are obeying his commands or following his teachings that will not be condemned. Therefore, how he comes, when he comes, what happens when he comes, is of little significance relative to how we live our life today. We must live Christ not talk about Christ. Prophesy cannot be an excuse for not living Christ. Event and time driven prophesy such as what I speak of here should not be put before the other kind of prophesy (speaking out the will of God) which testifies regarding his love as purposed in each of our lives and how that love should be fostered by our behavior one to another. Event oriented prophesy is interesting but should not be our preoccupation. Anyone that makes historic time event prediction prophesies their preoccupation is not following the commandment of Jesus. We need to be preoccupied with the love (caring for others) of God as we watch for his eventual coming. Expressing in our lives the love of God under the direction of God for the purpose of God is the primary mandate. This is abundantly clear. Even evangelism should be the expression of unity and love that comes out of the body of believers. Non believers should seek God because of the testimony (evidence in word, deed and behavior of the saints) of the love of God made possible through Christ in the body of believers. It is a crime against God where we find the great number of Christians that can fluently spout off about historic time event conscious prophesy, yet not exhibit and demonstrate in their lives the love (caring) and divine fellowship of believers. There is also more preoccupation with doctrines than there is with forming close and intimate relations with fellow Christians. When it comes to doctrine versus relationship the relationship is the first to go as there was not much to it in the first place. Consequently, I stay away from historic time event prophesy that attempts to predict the soon to be arrival of the so called second coming of Jesus Christ. I don't believe in scaring people into becoming Christians because that is the wrong reason to become a Christian. We become a Christian because of the testimony of love as evident in the behavior and deeds of the Body of Christ. We become a Christian because we want to be part of this love and benefit from this love and be able to give this love. Jesus died because of sin and on behalf of the sinner so that sin would be destroyed. Sin which keeps us from the experience of God is overcome when we are reconciled through Christ to God. This happens when we are joined to God and His love by our spirits and with our minds by Christ who said of himself that he was the way, the truth, and the life. True Christians are to unite together in one accord (world wide) in an effective social and community style living similar to what took place after the Day of Pentecost for several years in Jerusalem prior to it's destruction by the Romans. In terms of again arriving at this living style, we are historically, in the plan of God, somewhere between two points. The first point is the period of a corrupt Catholic church that more or less ruled a slowly dying Roman empire and that practiced orchestrated and manipulative control over Christians and apparently exercised no emphasis on the kind of Christian society and community that manifested after the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem. The second point in time is the "preparation and readiness of the Bride". The Bride is the Body of Christ - the Divine Fellowship of believers - the corporate entity of God's love to man - characterized by love (caring) for one another and for those lost in sin. Readiness of the Bride involves a special kind of "fellowship" of caring expressed between individual Christians as they individually minister to one another and to the world. I explain this kind of fellowship which I call Divine Fellowship in various places of this web site where you will see terms such as "intimate, collaborative, supportive, social intercourse of sharing and ministering one to another" to characterize the kind of relationships that should exist between Christians. Most Christians are not there in terms of that kind of interaction with other Christians, nor do they want to be, and they have close to a million excuses why they cannot be this way. Some just simply lie to themselves about the whole issue. What keeps me going on this is not just the confirmation of the Spirit of God but I have witnessed the power that manifests from this kind of "fellowship". I know of a certainty that this kind of "fellowship" will bring the reign of Satan to an end and the power of darkness will leave this world. Satan also knows and fears this and uses every device and means to prevent Christians from realizing this most important truth which was at one time part of the living gospel, the testimony of the saints in first century Jerusalem. This kind of caring and intimate social interaction characterizes the true Body of Christ - the physical manifestation of God in human form but now a corporate expression managed by Jesus Christ from his heavenly position and authority. Only people who assemble together in this expectation and attitude and behavior constitute the true Body of Christ. They are also those who "practice Christ". These people and congregations are evident by their works. If they tend to work alone and are not working in support relationships on a daily basis with other such persons and organizations then they cannot legitimately call themselves a cell or group of the Body of Christ. If Christians avoid worship, sharing, intimacy, ministering by members of a group to and for other members, and other collaborative, supportive, spirit driven intimate social intercourse, at any level from individual or member level, church or organization level, denomination or institution level, they are not participating members of the Body of Christ. There should be no organizational structure or orchestrated church management that prevents this required "fellowship". To be a member of the Body of Christ you have to be active in this special fashion of "fellowship". As with "righteousness" when we take the step of turning our life over to God through Christ we have the "imputed righteousness" of Christ. We still have to voluntarily engage with the Spirit of God in the transformation of our mind and resultant character to this end. We are therefore given a status before God pending the manifestation of what that status represents. It is expected that we progress in that for which we have been imputed. We are given this status not by our own works but by the grace of God in Christ. But that does not mean consequent works are not required. Just the opposite! Ask the apostle Paul. It was all about works, our behavior and our deeds coming out of our mind and character. But how we behave as Christians is not to be confused with the freely available gift of salvation by turning our life over to Christ. That is the beginning point of our good works. Likewise, we are also imputed as members of the Body of Christ pending the manifestation of that behavior on our part with respect to fellow Christians. God expects us to become Christ Like in mind and therefore character and with that transformation occurring to become participating members of the Body of Christ. If you want to become a "member" of the Body of Christ then you must desire and strive to engage in this kind of fellowship. Your challenge will be to search out and "try" different congregations of so called "believers" and after about 3-6 months per try if you do not find this kind of interaction, go try somewhere else. Why might finding an assembly of believers that are so committed in love to one another be a challenge? It may be difficult because the second point in time that I spoke of above involves a battle to be fought against Satan who controls this world order even after 2000 years. This is control made possible through deceit. Christians can claim victory over this because all authority belongs to Christ. Christians could unite in trust, sharing and a collaborative ministry of caring to one another done in a socially intimate manner. But many Christians have been intimidated and their minds set in ways that compromise their participation in the Body of Christ. They no longer keep their word. Their actions do not agree with their words. They do not trust one another. They cannot trust another with intimate details of their life without fear of betrayal. They look at one another as the world looks at one another with the same suspicion and fear. They rarely see into one anthers heart and fail to empathize with each other. They are often found to be in disagreement regarding not only purpose but also important doctrines. They compete with each other for converts. They are constantly seeking money and funds rather than working together and pooling their resources. They want to be supported in their ministries but do not want to support others in their ministries. They will listen and converse with strangers rather than those they have known for years in their own congregation. They idolize those that have some kind of fame and ignore the help of those in their congregation. And on and on it goes. This is how the world operates. The "spell" of the world, is the way the world system or cultures program the human mind and herds the human cattle into submissive behavior to serve the ends and purposes of this world order. This "spell" must be broken. There are many ways that it will be broken. The most terrible way, is that mankind will collectively find itself destroying itself motivated by hate as practiced by terrorism and dominance and/or conflict with corporate and/or political powers. There is a strange blend of money flow, national economies, global business organizations, military prowess, international forums such as the UN, EU, etc., and lust for power, all driven by hate and greed, that is collectively building towards international conflict of the most serious dimensions. This social violence and conflict is all coming about as a result of the Bride of Christ needing to be made ready. The Bride has to be made ready. This means that voluntarily or involuntarily the sovereignty of God will be at work in this situation and things will happen that will force true believers to bond together effectively into a properly working Body of Christ. I believe it is a mistake to preach that Christians will be raptured out of this situation when it comes as it appears to be coming now. I do so, if for no other reason than this rational is used as an excuse not to prepare. We are told to watch and be ready. There is no excuse for not preparing. Preparation involves the Bride which means the collective body of believers. We as individuals are not properly prepared unless we are participating in the required way in the Body of Christ. Therefore, we prepare voluntarily or we will find ourselves in situations where our response and interaction as forced by the circumstances will bring about the same end. Christ cannot be defeated. There is no way a true believer that has given his or her heart to God through Christ will escape this calamity now befalling the world unless they prepare. Their preparation by definition must involve their participation in the Body of Christ to the extent the witness of love is self evident to the entire world. This is the second point in time. The holy and pure Bride of Christ (no longer imputed but mature) will become ready and the marriage can take place. All this is obvious symbolism. Technically how can the Body of Christ be the assembly of believers with Christ spiritually at their head and all united in the Spirit of God and also be the Bride of Christ. It is because the writers of the New Testament are saying different things at different times and they use analogy to help express the character of each situation. Again, we must be concerned with the "intent" not the literalism. Also, don't give any money during your testing of the assemblies. Feed the starving instead. Ensure the assembly you test accepts you as you are. But also try giving of yourself. If you are valued you will feel it. If you are not valued then leave, try somewhere else. You may have to make some contributions to each fellowship such as, you should try to stimulate unity where ever you go. You should prize others more than their doctrines or possessions or what they can do for you. You should be valued in several clearly perceptible ways. The first way is that the others you are associating with should be able to see beyond themselves and your personality and should be able to see God working in your life. They should be concerned about the well being of your transformation. If they are constantly becoming offended and hurt with their noses out of joint then they lack the ability to be perceptive and to see beyond their own concerns. They will not provide for you a proper environment of spiritual growth. If you feel tolerated as well as valued then this testifies to an active spiritual union between you and them. If they see God working in your life they will respond in ways that are supportive and helpful to you as an individual as you find your way through the transformation mentioned above and all over the place in this web site. This means they will encourage you in some things and discourage you in others but if you develop a specific service or ministry inclination and feel that is the will of God manifesting in your desires, feelings, and intellect then they should be able to establish with you the genuineness of this inclination and they should voluntarily offer assistance in many different forms to support and speed you along in this inclination. Christians are to be there for each other. They are to perceive each other as members of the same family. Likewise, the reverse should also be true, you perceive them as members of your family. If they make this difficult and uncomfortable then they just don't have what it takes, so move on again. As a result of this cross supportive and trusting behavior between members of the congregation - as led by the Spirit - you all should have a very sharp and vivid appreciation for each others roles, problems, victories, challenges, and other aspects of life. From this perspective and relationship you should experience through prayer and worship, alone and with these other individuals the confirmation of an objectively determined "success" or "victory". In other words, both you and these others should be experiencing victorious living in Christ. If it does not happen then try again somewhere else. You should be warned, that because of the stage Christianity is in there could be great difficulty either finding or forming such an assembly of believers. If you encounter impossible difficulty then set up your own home based (from out of your home) Christian fellowship cell and over time build up these relationships of "divine fellowship". Apparently this goes on in China at great risk to those trying to "fellowship". But this isn't China. You don't need to associate yourself with so called Christians who want to serve God under Satan's rules. You don't have to be a scholar, preacher, or even a wiz at the bible. You don't have to know how to pray or anything else. You only need to truly value with all your heart the company of others that want to grow in Christ. That is all it takes. But if you are not a wiz then don't pretend to be something you are not, be proud that you are learning and be humble and learn. It will take time. As a small cell you can witness to other Christians by inviting speakers from various denominations and cells that don't really have what it takes, into the home or homes where you carry on "divine fellowship". This will expose them to successful "fellowship" (not necessarily brilliant bible studies) and although they may never credit you they will take the information transfer back and some good will have been done. Your character and motivation is more important than a head full of knowledge. They may even ask you or members of your cell to testify regarding your success to their people. And believe me, you will be successful if you value the "fellowship" and growth in Christ more than anything else. Be sure to check out the "Mind Theme" soon to be published on this web site within the Overcomer On Line Study Bible.
Copyright © 2001 help-for-you.com. Some rights withheld. Permission is granted to freely copy, use, and distribute this web page or it's contents but not reuse of the contents or web page under a separate copyright or for commercial purposes. This ministry takes no responsibility for such use or the consequences of such use. Any other useage requires permission from thilts@help-for-you.com

The human mind is the most important aspect of our being. How we think and what we think determines our behavior and our deeds or accomplishments in life - even our eternal state. Our character is the personality that others experience when interacting with us. This character is a derivative of our mind and our very thoughts. As Christians we are to be transformed into the likeness of the mind and character of Jesus Christ. The bible and especially the New Testament teach that we are responsible for the state of our mind and how our mind applies itself to the problems and challenges of life.

Are you a member of the Body of Christ? If you need advice or want to discuss what this means and what you must do to become a member of the Body of Christ then I would be pleased to correspond with you on this issue. One thing I would like to say first off is that not everyone that professes or calls themselves a Christian is a Christian. This is sad but a fact of life. Jesus said there would be weeds among the grain in his parable of the sower. Not all denominations and churches that claim to be Christian are true Christian organizations. This is obviously my view and not everyone would agree. But do I have a basis to make that kind of statement? Let me clarify.

I call a true Christian a "fundamental" Christian. Do not confuse this term "fundamental" with how the news media are describing fundamental militant Muslim organizations. The word fundamental as in fundamentalist has the primary dictionary meaning of "Pertaining to or constituting a foundation; basic; primary; essential". As a noun the primary meaning is "Anything that serves as the basis of a system, as a truth, law, principle, etc.; an essential.". Unfortunately, the dictionary also defines fundamentalism (Christian fundamentalism) as the "belief that all statements made in the Bible are to be taken literally" and a secondary definition that it is a "movement among Protestants holding such a belief". More modern encyclopedic dictionaries would include other definitions regarding various world religions as well as how the word is used in physics and the sciences.

By "fundamental" I mean seeking to understand the teachings of Jesus Christ as he intended those teachings to be understood by his followers. We gain first acquaintance with these teachings in the New Testament part of the Bible because his words are recorded and also they are explained by various New Testament writers as Paul, Peter, and others. There are a number of factors involved in creating an English translation of the original Greek manuscripts such as establishing the "cultural significance of words", "situation analysis", properly identifying the meaning of "words used exclusively in the New Testament", "syntax issues", "assumed definitions and relevance of basic concepts as applied to Christian living by the writers", as well as "teaching techniques or styles of making a point or underlining the importance of an issue". There are also many other issues that I won't burden you with unless you have an interest. What this all comes down to is that it is challenging to create an English translation that reflects all these issues so they can be properly expressed in terms of the so called western English speaking culture. This problem is made even more difficult due to the rapidly changing meanings of English/American words, expressions, and culture. Now I mention all this because my definition of Christian and membership in the Body of Christ are based on the bible and therefore on these early manuscripts. Further, as I have explained, there are challenges involved in the process of establishing the intent of the writers. So it should now be apparent the importance of establishing the intent as that is the real issue if my fundamentalism is based on that intent.

To some extent this translation or understanding problem can be countered by seeking understanding as provided directly by God. You should not believe and grow your faith simply on the basis of what someone like me, or someone in a near by church, or someone on the Internet tells you. Of course you can take this information and check it out for your self. And that is what I encourage you to do. Check out the things I tell you.

However, you should know that God can make His Will known to you regarding all these things as you become familiar with the New Testament and as you strive to make your mind holy and pure. But this kind of interaction with God comes out of an experience that usually takes time and that can only be enabled by Jesus Christ when he joins your spirit to God in a "personal way". Therefore, when I use the word fundamental I mean coming into this kind of relationship or experience with God through Jesus Christ and that involves a respect towards the writings of the New Testament as the written source of God's intentions towards the salvation or reconciliation of mankind to Himself.

So you should be able to now understand that if some person or organization claims to be "Christian" but is not established in this experience or relationship then they only profess to be a "Christian". What is fundamental in this regard for them is not the experience but what they reason to be acceptable or unacceptable strictly on human terms with no regard to a living interaction with God as a person. As a person, God is not a human person except when He incarnated as Christ. But God is spirit (not physical or measurable as are things normally measured in this physical dimension within which we were born). God in human form has attributes of mind and personality as revealed in the mind and personality of Jesus Christ but transcending anything human. To make human something that is divine or transcending human attributes is to give a form and thus a limitation or containment to these divine attributes. The experience or relationship we as Christians form with God involves our spirit and mind as the key ingredient. On the main web page there are two study bibles, the first still in development but soon I will be publishing the first theme called the "mind theme" which covers in detail the issue of "mind" both in the form of Greek exegesis and commentary as well some of these "other" issues mentioned above, and aimed at developing an accurate understanding of the intent of the New Testament with respect to "mind".

We have a responsibility towards developing our "mind" and must understand the "power and character of mind" and how our mind needs to be transformed. We have a responsibility before God to voluntarily engage ourselves with His Spirit toward the transformation of our mind into a mind that is "Christ Like". This first theme was selected because of the important issues and assumptions regarding mind that people need to understand in order to form this living experience or relationship with the person of God through the acceptance of the mediation or interface provided by Jesus Christ. A lot of people who are committed Christians only go so far with the development of their faith because they have not developed clarity in this experience and relationship. They are not actively engaged with the Spirit of God in the transformation of their mind. So they are subject to sickness, disease, and a great many problems all of which tend to "take them down" and they do not see the victories in their lives and the lives of their loved ones that they feel the New Testament teaches them to expect. They do not see how they have entangled themselves mentally, emotionally, culturally, and in many other ways into the standards and ways of the world driven by the desire, lusts, and reasoning capabilities of the "carnal" human mind. The "carnal" human mind does not naturally or by instinct have the living experience or relationship with God so all decisions and outcomes of those decisions, no matter how utilitarian, and compassionate, tend to build a world system with inherent corruption and corruptive affects on those that live within it. Perhaps some of these statement when taken together will help you understand what I mean when I use the term "fundamentalist Christian". Unfortunately, there is no longer a good English word for making the distinction between a professing and a true Christian for the word "fundamental" has now way too many mutations. So I use the English expression that we must become "Christ Like having a mind and character modeled after the mind and character of Jesus Christ". I also use the term "practicing Christ". We must take on the mind set of Christ as revealed to us through the New Testament and the Spirit of God. We must practice (like a musician practices or a doctor practices medicine) Christ. We must consciously let ourselves be given over to this mindset and rely on Jesus Christ to effect this transformation in our lives. For this purpose Jesus Christ died and was raised from the dead to take on a glorified body and then to return to God the Father (the one single source and mind of all that exists who has no physical form but who gives form to all that exists).

There is a lot of theology mixed into all of this all the way from Christ dying for our sins, preparing a heavenly place that where he is through the union of our spirits we are also, to Christ being the human expression of God for the purpose of reconciling by being both an example and interface between God and that which is human and corrupt, to the nature of God which is Divine, eternal, immutable, and transcends time. With all these aspects comes a lot of doctrine and teaching and this causes people to put more emphasis on the doctrine and not the simple basic intent that God has for man through Christ. That simple intent is that man out grow the carnal body of flesh; something analogous to the "worm" that "spins a cocoon" and "emerges from the cocoon as a butterfly" now able to "fly" where once it could only "crawl". Man has proved that he cannot do this on his own. The Old Testament testifies to this failure. Man by himself just does not have what it takes. The creation cannot discover and join in a personal way with the Creator. The Creator must enable this metamorphosis which I call a "transformation" which is part of having the "experience" or "relationship" with the person and mind of God. God intends that we move from the "worm" stage to the "butterfly" stage of human development. The "butterfly" or the "transformed" state is when we realize we are seated in a heavenly place with Christ and that we are becoming coworkers with Christ under God. Once we are coworkers and when death moves upon this corruptible body we shall still be present in this place he has prepared, still united, but no longer having to contend with the issues of the flesh which obscure this Divine experience. This obscuring of our spiritual and mental state comes as a matter of course as we engage in the experience of living life. The world can be very distracting depending upon how we "see" the world. That is also why we must learn to see Gods Will in the life we live for we cohere and have our very existence in God.

Unfortunately, I cannot just make this point and proceed because many Christians go off like a fire cracker as soon as they hear certain things. They have assumptions and draw false conclusions based on a few words and their own lack of understanding regarding the Bible. A case in point is the statement I just made, "That is also why we must learn to see Gods Will in the life we live for we cohere and have our very existence in God." As soon as one says something like this, even though the apostle Paul said it with that intent on Mars Hill to a group of Greek philosophers, some so called fundamentalist Christians shout "fowl" and accuse one of being a Pantheist. But I do not teach Pantheism. The creation exists within God who is spirit (not physical in character as is the creation of which we are a part). This does not mean the creation is God any more than the "dream" (compare to the creation) is the "dreamer" (compare to God). But the person in the "dream" connects (experiences or forms a relationship) with the "dreamer" so that when the "dream" ends the person "dreamt off" still exists in the mind of the "dreamer" where all else regarding the dream fades from remembrance. Do we say the "dream" is the "dreamer"? No! Nor do we say the creation is the Creator. This is only a weak analogy expressed in human terms but it shows clearly the objective of God for man. God is not a dreamer. Creation is not a dream. We are not a character of such a dream. But as an analogy we are a character in the creative dream of God the dreamer. We can only attain eternal life by being "remembered" when the "dream" ends. It is the closest analogy in human terms that I can come up with that provides the most simple and yet elegant description of God's simple purpose for man. But in using an analogy we are giving a human form of creation to the Creator. So we must not be too literal in our use of the analogy. It is only a model to help our understanding. This analogy also shows the total dependence man and creation has upon God the source of all life. When the dream ends it is all gone. We are but nothing (only a character in the dream, Shakespeare said something to this effect) without God. Jesus said this sort of thing to his disciples. He told them (as the incarnation of God) they were nothing without him. He told them (as the human example of what man should be like) that they were nothing close to this example. Finally, he told them (as the interface or mediator between God and man) that they could not effect this state in their own lives with their own power, they were nothing without him. So we can stretch the dream analogy a bit more like this. In the dream, the dreamer must find a way to form a lasting union (that lasts outside the dream where the character in the dream will be remembered) and to do this the dreamer must introduce Himself as a character in the dream to establish the relationship that will last or be remembered. That character is Jesus Christ, called the "Word (will, expression and therefore meaning of God)". The union formed by Jesus Christ between man and God (the means of remembering in the analogy of the dream) is the "personal relationship formed", the "experience which involves the transformation".

At the risk of creating a misunderstanding let us go look at the Book of Revelation, the last book in the Bible. The book of Revelation talks about our names (identities) being written in the Book of Life. Here is where literalism breaks down. Does anyone seriously think - even some Protestant literalists, if I can use that word - that God who is not human took a pen and some ink, put on some glasses, and in a book full of pages wrote down my_name, your_name, and so_on? Maybe some literalists believe this, but not many. Some literalists believe that heaven is not spiritual but a place in outer space where a man called God sits on a physical throne something like the throne Queen Elizabeth in England sits upon. They take every term, "throne", "crown", "book", and so on as literally meaning a throne in this dimension, a crown that looks like a crown a king or queen wears, and a book that looks something like your dictionary. I am not that kind of literalist. I pursue "intent" as opposed to "literalism". This means I believe the bible and it is fundamental to my faith. I believe it is inspired. But the word inspired was never ever intended to mean literalism. That meaning has been applied and pursued by those who place more emphasis on doctrines than they do on the living faith and fellowship of Christians that those doctrines are supposed to describe.

Anyway, no more digressing,. The "Book of Life" mentioned in Revelation is a reference to the "remembering" of the "dreamer" in the analogy we have been considering. I doubt that the writer of Revelation had this analogy in mind, but get this, he most certainly had a similar intent as provided by this analogy. And that is what we need to discover, the intent. The Book of Life is symbolic. The intent of the expression is to amplify that God through his union with the saints has guaranteed their immortality and the one found worthy to open the book is Jesus Christ. Amen to that! Opening the book is the enabling process from "worm" to "butterfly". In a way, the author of the Book of Revelation is doing the same thing as I do with the dream analogy. There are many such examples in the Book of Revelation such as the "candle sticks", etc., where the author even explains their symbolism. Good thing. Because if he had not offered such an explanation there would be those taking it literally. This is what I meant earlier about understanding the "teaching techniques", "cultural background", "situation analysis", "assumed concepts and meanings", and so on. For example, it is clear, right from the onset that the 7 churches are symbolic and that the entire Book of Revelation was addressed to the 7 churches and was to be circulated amongst some of the assemblies in Asia. The obvious intent was to awaken them to critical issues regarding their Christian life style. It is a good exercise for every Christian to read the first few chapters of Revelation and try to identify what assembly (church) behavior and actions were pleasing to God and what were displeasing to God to the point of being dropped by God as a fellowship (church).

Now, with all of this I am not even trying to suggest that there is no prophesy in the Book of Revelation. I am not trying to direct you to the Book of Revelation, and if you haven't read the New Testament, I urge you to stay away from the Book of Revelation, at least at first, because of these complexities. There are those on television that trumpet out every week doom and gloom and mingle this with verses from the Book of Revelation, as well as verses from other books in the New Testament, and verses from the Old Testament. They tend to talk as if prophesy is the key issue of the Bible. But when the disciples of Jesus asked him about the physical coming of the kingdom and other things he stressed to them that their concern should be with his commandments not with time and event issues such as the establishment of a physical kingdom. Watching for and being prepared for the second coming are two differen't states of mind. Jesus wants us to prepare by attending to the more important conversion and spiritual walk issues of the day. How we live for Christ and express his love to one another and to the world is the command Jesus pressed upon his disciples. This is the preparation. It is according to this directive that we should all be applying our efforts and teaching. And when he comes again it will be those that are obeying his commands or following his teachings that will not be condemned. Therefore, how he comes, when he comes, what happens when he comes, is of little significance relative to how we live our life today. We must live Christ not talk about Christ. Prophesy cannot be an excuse for not living Christ. Event and time driven prophesy such as what I speak of here should not be put before the other kind of prophesy (speaking out the will of God) which testifies regarding his love as purposed in each of our lives and how that love should be fostered by our behavior one to another.

Event oriented prophesy is interesting but should not be our preoccupation. Anyone that makes historic time event prediction prophesies their preoccupation is not following the commandment of Jesus. We need to be preoccupied with the love (caring for others) of God as we watch for his eventual coming. Expressing in our lives the love of God under the direction of God for the purpose of God is the primary mandate. This is abundantly clear. Even evangelism should be the expression of unity and love that comes out of the body of believers. Non believers should seek God because of the testimony (evidence in word, deed and behavior of the saints) of the love of God made possible through Christ in the body of believers. It is a crime against God where we find the great number of Christians that can fluently spout off about historic time event conscious prophesy, yet not exhibit and demonstrate in their lives the love (caring) and divine fellowship of believers. There is also more preoccupation with doctrines than there is with forming close and intimate relations with fellow Christians. When it comes to doctrine versus relationship the relationship is the first to go as there was not much to it in the first place. Consequently, I stay away from historic time event prophesy that attempts to predict the soon to be arrival of the so called second coming of Jesus Christ. I don't believe in scaring people into becoming Christians because that is the wrong reason to become a Christian. We become a Christian because of the testimony of love as evident in the behavior and deeds of the Body of Christ. We become a Christian because we want to be part of this love and benefit from this love and be able to give this love. Jesus died because of sin and on behalf of the sinner so that sin would be destroyed. Sin which keeps us from the experience of God is overcome when we are reconciled through Christ to God. This happens when we are joined to God and His love by our spirits and with our minds by Christ who said of himself that he was the way, the truth, and the life.

True Christians are to unite together in one accord (world wide) in an effective social and community style living similar to what took place after the Day of Pentecost for several years in Jerusalem prior to it's destruction by the Romans. In terms of again arriving at this living style, we are historically, in the plan of God, somewhere between two points. The first point is the period of a corrupt Catholic church that more or less ruled a slowly dying Roman empire and that practiced orchestrated and manipulative control over Christians and apparently exercised no emphasis on the kind of Christian society and community that manifested after the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem. The second point in time is the "preparation and readiness of the Bride". The Bride is the Body of Christ - the Divine Fellowship of believers - the corporate entity of God's love to man - characterized by love (caring) for one another and for those lost in sin.

Readiness of the Bride involves a special kind of "fellowship" of caring expressed between individual Christians as they individually minister to one another and to the world. I explain this kind of fellowship which I call Divine Fellowship in various places of this web site where you will see terms such as "intimate, collaborative, supportive, social intercourse of sharing and ministering one to another" to characterize the kind of relationships that should exist between Christians. Most Christians are not there in terms of that kind of interaction with other Christians, nor do they want to be, and they have close to a million excuses why they cannot be this way. Some just simply lie to themselves about the whole issue. What keeps me going on this is not just the confirmation of the Spirit of God but I have witnessed the power that manifests from this kind of "fellowship". I know of a certainty that this kind of "fellowship" will bring the reign of Satan to an end and the power of darkness will leave this world. Satan also knows and fears this and uses every device and means to prevent Christians from realizing this most important truth which was at one time part of the living gospel, the testimony of the saints in first century Jerusalem.

This kind of caring and intimate social interaction characterizes the true Body of Christ - the physical manifestation of God in human form but now a corporate expression managed by Jesus Christ from his heavenly position and authority. Only people who assemble together in this expectation and attitude and behavior constitute the true Body of Christ. They are also those who "practice Christ". These people and congregations are evident by their works. If they tend to work alone and are not working in support relationships on a daily basis with other such persons and organizations then they cannot legitimately call themselves a cell or group of the Body of Christ. If Christians avoid worship, sharing, intimacy, ministering by members of a group to and for other members, and other collaborative, supportive, spirit driven intimate social intercourse, at any level from individual or member level, church or organization level, denomination or institution level, they are not participating members of the Body of Christ. There should be no organizational structure or orchestrated church management that prevents this required "fellowship". To be a member of the Body of Christ you have to be active in this special fashion of "fellowship".

As with "righteousness" when we take the step of turning our life over to God through Christ we have the "imputed righteousness" of Christ. We still have to voluntarily engage with the Spirit of God in the transformation of our mind and resultant character to this end. We are therefore given a status before God pending the manifestation of what that status represents. It is expected that we progress in that for which we have been imputed. We are given this status not by our own works but by the grace of God in Christ. But that does not mean consequent works are not required. Just the opposite! Ask the apostle Paul. It was all about works, our behavior and our deeds coming out of our mind and character. But how we behave as Christians is not to be confused with the freely available gift of salvation by turning our life over to Christ. That is the beginning point of our good works. Likewise, we are also imputed as members of the Body of Christ pending the manifestation of that behavior on our part with respect to fellow Christians. God expects us to become Christ Like in mind and therefore character and with that transformation occurring to become participating members of the Body of Christ. If you want to become a "member" of the Body of Christ then you must desire and strive to engage in this kind of fellowship. Your challenge will be to search out and "try" different congregations of so called "believers" and after about 3-6 months per try if you do not find this kind of interaction, go try somewhere else.

Why might finding an assembly of believers that are so committed in love to one another be a challenge? It may be difficult because the second point in time that I spoke of above involves a battle to be fought against Satan who controls this world order even after 2000 years. This is control made possible through deceit. Christians can claim victory over this because all authority belongs to Christ. Christians could unite in trust, sharing and a collaborative ministry of caring to one another done in a socially intimate manner. But many Christians have been intimidated and their minds set in ways that compromise their participation in the Body of Christ. They no longer keep their word. Their actions do not agree with their words. They do not trust one another. They cannot trust another with intimate details of their life without fear of betrayal. They look at one another as the world looks at one another with the same suspicion and fear. They rarely see into one anthers heart and fail to empathize with each other. They are often found to be in disagreement regarding not only purpose but also important doctrines. They compete with each other for converts. They are constantly seeking money and funds rather than working together and pooling their resources. They want to be supported in their ministries but do not want to support others in their ministries. They will listen and converse with strangers rather than those they have known for years in their own congregation. They idolize those that have some kind of fame and ignore the help of those in their congregation. And on and on it goes. This is how the world operates. The "spell" of the world, is the way the world system or cultures program the human mind and herds the human cattle into submissive behavior to serve the ends and purposes of this world order. This "spell" must be broken. There are many ways that it will be broken. The most terrible way, is that mankind will collectively find itself destroying itself motivated by hate as practiced by terrorism and dominance and/or conflict with corporate and/or political powers. There is a strange blend of money flow, national economies, global business organizations, military prowess, international forums such as the UN, EU, etc., and lust for power, all driven by hate and greed, that is collectively building towards international conflict of the most serious dimensions.

This social violence and conflict is all coming about as a result of the Bride of Christ needing to be made ready. The Bride has to be made ready. This means that voluntarily or involuntarily the sovereignty of God will be at work in this situation and things will happen that will force true believers to bond together effectively into a properly working Body of Christ. I believe it is a mistake to preach that Christians will be raptured out of this situation when it comes as it appears to be coming now. I do so, if for no other reason than this rational is used as an excuse not to prepare. We are told to watch and be ready. There is no excuse for not preparing. Preparation involves the Bride which means the collective body of believers. We as individuals are not properly prepared unless we are participating in the required way in the Body of Christ. Therefore, we prepare voluntarily or we will find ourselves in situations where our response and interaction as forced by the circumstances will bring about the same end. Christ cannot be defeated. There is no way a true believer that has given his or her heart to God through Christ will escape this calamity now befalling the world unless they prepare. Their preparation by definition must involve their participation in the Body of Christ to the extent the witness of love is self evident to the entire world. This is the second point in time. The holy and pure Bride of Christ (no longer imputed but mature) will become ready and the marriage can take place. All this is obvious symbolism. Technically how can the Body of Christ be the assembly of believers with Christ spiritually at their head and all united in the Spirit of God and also be the Bride of Christ. It is because the writers of the New Testament are saying different things at different times and they use analogy to help express the character of each situation. Again, we must be concerned with the "intent" not the literalism.

Also, don't give any money during your testing of the assemblies. Feed the starving instead. Ensure the assembly you test accepts you as you are. But also try giving of yourself. If you are valued you will feel it. If you are not valued then leave, try somewhere else. You may have to make some contributions to each fellowship such as, you should try to stimulate unity where ever you go. You should prize others more than their doctrines or possessions or what they can do for you. You should be valued in several clearly perceptible ways. The first way is that the others you are associating with should be able to see beyond themselves and your personality and should be able to see God working in your life. They should be concerned about the well being of your transformation. If they are constantly becoming offended and hurt with their noses out of joint then they lack the ability to be perceptive and to see beyond their own concerns. They will not provide for you a proper environment of spiritual growth. If you feel tolerated as well as valued then this testifies to an active spiritual union between you and them. If they see God working in your life they will respond in ways that are supportive and helpful to you as an individual as you find your way through the transformation mentioned above and all over the place in this web site. This means they will encourage you in some things and discourage you in others but if you develop a specific service or ministry inclination and feel that is the will of God manifesting in your desires, feelings, and intellect then they should be able to establish with you the genuineness of this inclination and they should voluntarily offer assistance in many different forms to support and speed you along in this inclination. Christians are to be there for each other. They are to perceive each other as members of the same family. Likewise, the reverse should also be true, you perceive them as members of your family. If they make this difficult and uncomfortable then they just don't have what it takes, so move on again. As a result of this cross supportive and trusting behavior between members of the congregation - as led by the Spirit - you all should have a very sharp and vivid appreciation for each others roles, problems, victories, challenges, and other aspects of life. From this perspective and relationship you should experience through prayer and worship, alone and with these other individuals the confirmation of an objectively determined "success" or "victory". In other words, both you and these others should be experiencing victorious living in Christ. If it does not happen then try again somewhere else. You should be warned, that because of the stage Christianity is in there could be great difficulty either finding or forming such an assembly of believers.

If you encounter impossible difficulty then set up your own home based (from out of your home) Christian fellowship cell and over time build up these relationships of "divine fellowship". Apparently this goes on in China at great risk to those trying to "fellowship". But this isn't China. You don't need to associate yourself with so called Christians who want to serve God under Satan's rules. You don't have to be a scholar, preacher, or even a wiz at the bible. You don't have to know how to pray or anything else. You only need to truly value with all your heart the company of others that want to grow in Christ. That is all it takes. But if you are not a wiz then don't pretend to be something you are not, be proud that you are learning and be humble and learn. It will take time. As a small cell you can witness to other Christians by inviting speakers from various denominations and cells that don't really have what it takes, into the home or homes where you carry on "divine fellowship". This will expose them to successful "fellowship" (not necessarily brilliant bible studies) and although they may never credit you they will take the information transfer back and some good will have been done. Your character and motivation is more important than a head full of knowledge. They may even ask you or members of your cell to testify regarding your success to their people. And believe me, you will be successful if you value the "fellowship" and growth in Christ more than anything else.

Be sure to check out the "Mind Theme" soon to be published on this web site within the Overcomer On Line Study Bible.

Copyright © 2001 help-for-you.com. Some rights withheld.

Permission is granted to freely copy, use, and distribute this web page or it's contents but not reuse of the contents or web page under a separate copyright or for commercial purposes. This ministry takes no responsibility for such use or the consequences of such use. Any other useage requires permission from thilts@help-for-you.com

NEXT RELATED ARTICLE

email: thilts@help-for-you.com

Return to the help-for-you main page

HOME: http://www.help-for-you.com