Knowful Knowingness

"Hi! I know you know, and you know I know, and you know that I know that you know, and in my knowing, I know that I know you know, and by so knowing, need not speak, since words are finite and cannot express the knowingness which the two of us (being one) share from such a knowful place. Know what I mean?" -Mitchell Ditkoff

"If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know; but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him." -1 Corinthians 8:2-3 NASB

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. -Matthew 7:7

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;and all these things shall be added unto you. -Matthew 6:33

"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed." - John Newton

I love you.

-Daddy

Forgiveness

"Then Peter came and said to Him, 'Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?' Jesus said to him, 'I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.'" -Matthew 18:21-22 NASB

Good friends are hard to find. I have taken friendships for granted and have been taken advantage of before when I thought it was safe to open up to another person. It is hard to trust, and even harder to forgive a trust that has been broken.

The most precious relationship we have is with our Lord and Savior. He was mocked and spat upon and made to suffer an horrible death, executed like a criminal. Sinless Master and Lord. He spilled His blood so that we might live. Before He gave up His Spirit, hanging upon the Cross, He asked the Father to forgive us.

We have all sinned and taken His love for granted. But through the blood atonement of Jesus Christ we are able to be forgiven and reconciled to God. Even the most hardened of sinners have access to His mercy through confession, repentance and prayer. JUST ASK, ASK, ASK! Ask for forgiveness and mercy, wisdom and strength, peace, love, joy, and a New Heart. He will give you a New Heart! Remember, you must also sincerely forgive all those who have ever hurt you...

Surrender and be a living sanctuary for the Spirit of our Lord. When you are in Christ, all things are truly new.

I love you.

-Daddy

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV

"Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." -Ezekiel 36:26 NASB

"Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions." -Mark 11:25 NASB

"Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." -Colossians 3:13 NIV

"Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!" -James 2:12-13 NIV

Testimony, Part I

Written August 17, 2007:

Second weekend in March (2007). Vicious storm on night that time changed (Sent by ****** along with game?). Parched throat upon waking. Unquenchable thirst. Pain and emptiness in my heart. Anger. Wrath. Punishment for sins. “In” my mind. Knows all my thoughts-even before I think them. Fear. On the precipice. Days of mental torture. In living hell. Cannot escape. Unfathomable Power! All my sins of past and present laid before me. Logos could hear all my thoughts. Shame and shamed. Blaring horns. Burning oven. Being sacrificed? Nowhere to run. Cannot talk to anyone about it. No sleep for three days. Crazy? Convicted!

Called upon Lord Jesus in prayer with my friend…Sweet forgiveness. Light of Love and Life shining everywhere I look! Trees, birds, people – all Life. Just a dream? No! ******** and
******* my sweet cherubs. Glowing faces. Tender words. Holy Spirit spoke through them.

Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, Master, Creator. No doubt. Rules all time and space. Eternal Love. Abolishes sin, fear, and death.

Lord Jesus, please give me the strength to witness, persevere, and always obey Your Will. Thank You for Your love, mercy, grace and forgiveness. I love you! Amen.

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called "Uncircumcision" by the so-called "Circumcision," which is performed in the flesh by human hands--remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. -Ephesians 2 NASB

"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do." -Hebrews 4:12-13 KJV

"It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God." -Hebrews 10:31 NASB

You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, "MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES." It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears. For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind, and to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them. For they could not bear the command, "IF EVEN A BEAST TOUCHES THE MOUNTAIN, IT WILL BE STONED." And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, "I AM FULL OF FEAR and trembling." But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel. See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven. And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, "YET ONCE MORE I WILL SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO THE HEAVEN." This expression, "Yet once more," denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire. -Hebrews 12 NASB

"He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name." -Revelation 3:12 NASB

His Perfect Timing

I wrote to you yesterday about my fear of not being able to persevere. This morning I received the following e-mail (actually someone sent it to me last Saturday and I saw and opened it for the first time today ;)

THE FOUR BLESSED LOOKS
Look back and thank God.
Look forward and trust God.
Look around and serve God.
Look within and find God.

I asked God, 'How do I get the best out of life?'
God said: 'Face your past without regrets,
Handle your present with confidence
And prepare for the future without fear!'

Leave it all in His loving hands. His timing is always perfect.

I love you.

-Daddy

"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." -Isaiah 30:41 KJV

"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. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does." -James 2:2-8 NIV

Watch.

Sometimes I am afraid that I will not be ready when He returns. This is my greatest fear (Please, dear Lord, help me to persevere!).

Watch and continually pray for repentance and mercy, both for ourselves and the whole world. Cleanse through confession, repentance, and reconciliation with Him. Read from His Word each day and meditate upon what you have read. Receive His Body and Blood in Holy Communion. Ask in prayer for the Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, Counsel, Fortitude, Piety, and Fear of the Lord!

May He eternally bless and keep you.

I love you.

-Daddy

"Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." -2 Peter 1:5-8 NASB

Born Again!

"Peter said to them, 'Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself." -Acts 2:38-39 NASB

I just finished reading Billy Graham's book How to Be Born Again. I bought a compilation of his bestselling books Angels, How to Be Born Again and The Holy Spirit at a used book store for $7-and-change. My walk with Jesus began the first time I called upon His Holy Name in complete sincerity and surrender. I remember the day and the exact spot where I was kneeling on the floor. This was my first real experience of Christ and His saving power. I had finally turned to Him (or He turned Me).

I attended parochial school from first grade through my sophomore year in college. I took religion and theology classes nearly every semester over this entire period of time. Our family attended church services every week. In spite of all my exposure to His Life and Word I NEVER CALLED UPON HIS NAME AND TRULY BELIEVED.

Ungrateful, selfish, prideful, spiteful, vengeful, jealous, envious, rebellious, disrespectful, disobedient, irreverent, boastful, hateful, deceitful, hypocritical, double-minded, duplicitous, angry, blasphemous, immoral, unfaithful, unbelieving, cowardly, lazy, judgemental - all these describe what I was and did not mind being. I especially judged people for what they had said, written or done. The great hypocrisy was that I thought even worse things than what I judged people for saying, writing or doing. I was "clean on the outside", but soiled and rotten on the inside.

When I was born again, Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit showed me that He knows everything we do, say and think before we even do, say or think it. He knows all our thoughts and motives. He knows what is in our hearts. You cannot lie to Him because He knows everything already. Through the working and conviction of the Holy Spirit Jesus reproves us, and instructs us, and molds us into His image after our spiritual rebirth. This is an ongoing process. Each believer's experience is unique because each of us is different. Only Jesus Christ knows how to bring us back into the fold because only He truly knows our hearts. We cannot save ourselves. Only through His supernatural love, strength, divine mercy and grace can we be saved.

Reach out to Him through prayer. He hears you.

I love you.

-Daddy

"Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. -Revelation 3:19-20 NASB

Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?" Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit." - John 3:3-8 NASB

"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life." -1 Timothy 1:12-16 NASB

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. -Romans 1:18-32 NASB

"For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all." -Romans 11:32 NIV

If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. For, "ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS, AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS. THE GRASS WITHERS, AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF, BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER" And this is the word which was preached to you. - 1 Peter 1:17-25 NASB

Just Ask Him

And Jesus answered saying to them, "Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you." -Mark 11:22-24 NASB

Are you confused or troubled? Do you feel lost sometimes, even in familiar surroundings? Are you sad, depressed, lonely or about to give up? Are you having bad thoughts? Do you think your sins are too big to be forgiven? Are you unfocused or muddled? Do you feel like you are a small boat being lashed by waves and wind? Are you stuck and directionless, drifting in the doldrums?

Call upon His Name! Consciously reach out to Him without embarassment and tell Him what you are thinking and feeling (He already knows, but that's OK!). Let it all out. Believe and watch the wonders that He will work in your life. He loves you so much.

I love you so much too (you bet I do),

-Daddy

O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
You understand my thought from afar.
You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O LORD, You know it all."
-Psalm 139:1-4 NASB

I Am There

by James Dillet Freeman (1947)

Do you need Me ? I am there.
You cannot see Me, yet I am the light you see by.
You cannot hear Me, yet I speak through your voice.
You cannot feel Me, yet I am the power at work in your hands.

I am at work, though you do not understand My ways.
I am at work, though you do not understand My works.
I am not strange visions. I am not mysteries.

Only in absolute stillness, beyond self, can you know Me
As I AM, and then but as a feeling and a faith.

Yet I am here. Yet I hear. Yet I answer.
When you need ME, I am there.
Even if you deny Me, I am there.
Even when you feel most alone, I am there.
Even in your fears, I am there.
Even in your pain, I am there.

I am there when you pray and when you do not pray.
I am in you, and you are in Me.
Only in your mind can you feel separate from Me,
For only in your mind are the mists of "yours" and "mine".
Yet only with your mind can you know Me and experience Me.

Empty your heart of empty fears.
When you get yourself out of the way, I am there.
You can of yourself do nothing, but I can do all.
And I AM in all.

Though you may not see the good, good is there,
For I am there. I am there because I have to be,
Because I AM.

Only in Me does the world have meaning;
Only out of Me does the world take form;
Only because of ME does the world go forward.
I am the law on which the movement of the stars
And the growth of living cells are founded.

I am the love that is the law's fulfilling.
I am assurance. I am peace. I am oneness.
I am the law that you can live by.
I am the love that you can cling to.
I am your assurance.
I am your peace.
I am ONE with you.
I am.

Though you fail to find ME, I do not fail you.
Though your faith in Me is unsure,
My faith in you never wavers,
Because I know you, because I love you.

Beloved, I am there.

Resolutions...

Happy New Year!

This is an important time to reflect, give thanks, and resolve to change things for the better. Last year I quit using tobacco. It was a disgusting habit that I began years ago in high school. This year I am determined to quit drinking caffeinated beverages. I have been thinking about doing this for years, but have never had the willpower to follow through with the program.

So today is the day. Now is the hour. No more caffeine...Done.

Earlier this year when I was going through some difficult times, I wrote down a list of resolutions for our family. Mommy placed this list on the side of the refrigerator, and that is where it stayed unnoticed until last week...Looking back on things, we followed through on a lot of these pledges. This is what it said:

"Everyday try to...

1) Pray as a family
2) Hug and kiss each other
3) Do something nice for someone else
4) Take time to talk, especially about what we are thankful for!
5) Listen to joyful music and sing
6) Dance
7) Play outside. Work outside.
8) Speak positively about others
9) Say "I love you!"

Let's resolve to follow through with this list again this year (and beyond)...

I love you,

-Daddy